As winter conditioning prepares to wrap up shortly, the start of spring ball on March 23rd draws closer. Since UVa ended its 2019 season in the Orange Bowl, we’ve walked through a series of topics including a breakdown of five players who will have bigger expectations this fall.

Today, we’re going to look at three players who will finally get to see the field following their redshirt seasons. As such, these are players we’re particularly excited to see in action once the first practice of spring ball arrives in a few weeks.

UVa will obviously be without one of its starting linebackers from this past season as former senior captain Jordan Mack chases his professional dreams. And if you were going to put together a depth chart, linebacker might be one of the easiest spots to fill out. After all, it makes sense that seniors Zane Zandier and Rob Snyder are the likely starters inside with sophomore Nick Jackson as the primary backup along with senior Charles Snowden and junior Noah Taylor outside and junior Matt Gahm in the mix there as well. So, why is the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Stewart on this list? Production and fit, most of all. The Alexandria native helped Gonzaga win the WCAC in his senior year after putting together a 69-tackle (11 for loss) season the year prior. Given his potential to possibly move around plus his measurables, it’s easy to see a scenario where he plays plenty this season. And watching his film, few seemed to have fit what UVa does any better than Stewart. How much we’ll get to see him from scrimmage this fall will depend on injuries and how things shake out on the depth chart. But come the start of spring ball, we’re looking forward to seeing the former four-star recruit in action.

Given what we said about Seneca Milledge in our previous Looking Ahead piece, it would have made sense for him to be included here but Goddard is hard to overlook too. That’s not only because of his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame but also because the Cavaliers have a lot of wide receiver production to replace. Simply put, while the others on this list are intriguing because of their size and potential to make a good unit even better, Goddard is here because he’s very likely going to be fighting for meaningful reps with the 1s this spring and beyond. That should set up a scenario where he factors into how Virginia looks to replace the production of Joe Reed and Hasise Dubois. Goddard actually played in four games in 2019, though his time was largely on special teams. Now, he’ll have a shot this spring to really show what he can do.

As with Stewart above, there’s no getting around the fact that UVa has a solid group of linebackers that one would assume slide into the four starting roles with an experienced backup both inside and out. And yet, the 6-foot-3, 220 pounder makes the cut. Why? Whereas Stewart seems like a linebacker who will gobble up tackles, Perry seems like one who will wreak havoc more in the mold of Snowden and Taylor. He posted 89 tackles (16 for loss), three sacks, and three interceptions during his senior season at Gulliver Prep in Miami and has the kind of skillset that UVa has made excellent use of on D since this staff arrived. The program has a number of really talented defensive players waiting in the wings (and more on the way) but Perry might be the guy who flashes in 2020 and that should start with glimpses of that potential this spring.