With fall practice starting next week, our annual Countdown to Camp series starts to wind down today with a look at UVa's safeties, a unit that brings back a great deal of experience and depth heading Into the fall.

You can check out our previous features on the RBs, the CBs, the QBs, the DL, and the WRs/TEs.

While CB has a lot of turnover, the safety group is experienced and stable.

While John Rudzinski and Curome Cox will have a cornerback competition to monitor in fall camp due to the amount of turnover there, they’ll have a veteran group of safeties that’s nearly the same group we saw in 2022.

UVa rotated a number of safeties last season and therefore has both versatility and depth at those spots. And heading into 2023, everyone that played significant snaps at safety returns from last year’s team.

Last year’s group included a few breakout performers, most notably Jonas Sanker and Lex Long. Sanker and Long stepped in and earned playing time after UVa’s veteran secondary from 2021 departed. Both players figured to be major factors on this year’s defense, particularly Sanker, who looked like he could blossom into one of the league’s best safeties this season. UVa also returns veterans Antonio Clary and Coen King, both of whom have played a lot of football in Charlottesville, and had their most productive seasons in 2022.

The safeties have a nose for the football.

Virginia’s defense wasn’t incredibly turnover-dependent and really succeeded in large part because the Hoos were able to earn stops and get off the field rather than flipping possession. Still, the safety group showed that they can force game-changing plays in 2022.

UVa recorded five interceptions as a team last season. Cornerback Anthony Johnson led the team with two, and the other three takeaways came from safeties. King, Clary and Sanker all recorded an interception each, the first career pick for each player. Both Long and Sanker each forced and recovered fumbles during the 2022 season as well. UVa also got four tackles for loss from the safety spot, Long leading the way with a pair.

How UVa uses the safeties will likely depend heavily on how the cornerbacks perform.

Last season, the Cavaliers got more from their cornerbacks than most would have expected, and both Johnson and Fentrell Cypress were able to cover on the edge, sometimes with minimal intervention from the safeties. UVa’s safeties thrived covering ground in the box and closer to the line of scrimmage in addition to their duties in coverage help downfield.

This year’s group appears to be one that would thrive closer to the line of scrimmage than in “centerfield,” with players like Long and Sanker that are bigger players that can come up and defend the run.

This season, the cornerbacks are a bit of a mystery heading into camp, with a group of inexperienced returners and transfers. If Rudzinski and Cox can figure out a solid rotation there, they can use the safeties more creatively. If the CB group turns out to be more of a work in progress, it would likely require more safety help in coverage.

Regardless, this safety unit has the potential to be one of the best position groups on the team and they will certainly have a big impact on the defense’s success this fall.

Chayce Chalmers: A depth option during his three years on Grounds, Chalmers transferred out of the program after recording 10 tackles in his Cavalier tenure. He will finish his career at the FCS level, at Stony Brook.

Antonio Clary: Clary is the old man of the safety group, in his fifth year with the program. He missed a couple of games with injury but started seven contests and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 56. Clary also recorded his first career pick in UVa’s loss to Louisville in October.

Jonas Sanker: The Charlottesville native was one of the team’s breakout performers in 2022, and is one of UVa’s top returning players heading into fall camp. Sanker started nine games and played in all 10 last fall, finishing second on the team in tackles with 63. He also recorded an interception and a forced fumble in his enhanced role on the UVa defense.

Langston Long: Long may end up playing more as a linebacker going forward and we certainly saw him play in the box quite a bit last year. The Woodbridge native saw action in nine games last season, and recorded 44 tackles, including two TFL’s, and recovered a fumble in the loss at Illinois.

Coen King: We mentioned King in our cornerbacks preview, as he cross trained at the position in the spring and could play more on the outside this fall. King battled through injuries last year, playing in just six games, but still managed to record 44 tackles and recorded a critical end-zone interception in the win at Georgia Tech.

Aidan Ryan: The Fredericksburg native has yet to play in a game but has been a rotational player for the last two years. He could break through and earn playing time in the secondary but if healthy, he should factor in on special teams at a minimum.

Donovan Johnson: Johnson has spent three years in Charlottesville and has been a rotational player who has mostly seen time on special teams. He played in six games last year, and recovered a fumble on special teams in the loss at Syracuse.

Davis Lane: Lane wore a non-contact jersey in the spring game and made a big hit on special teams, and perhaps that was enough to solidify the move from quarterback to safety this summer. He is a solid athlete who could make an impact on special teams this year.

Caleb Hardy: Hardy is one of two safeties in UVa’s 2023 recruiting class, both of whom hail from the Peach State. Ye was a three-star recruit and all-region player, captaining Eagles Landing High School for two seasons.

Devin Clark: Clark was a late addition to the 2023 haul but one that could certainly make an impact at safety down the road. Like Hardy, he was an all-region selection and 3-star recruit, playing at Marietta High.