Virginia has added transfers from all different sorts of places, from Alabama, to Eastern Kentucky and many places in between. But it’s incredibly rare to add a transfer from a service academy, and that’s what UVa did in landing Army cornerback Donavon Platt last month. Platt comes to Virginia after three years at West Point, with two years of eligibility remaining. He is one of seven defensive backs added to the UVa roster in the spring portal window.

Platt is a North Carolina native who played his high school football at Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, NC, before landing at West Point. In his time with the Black Knights, Platt carved out a major role on a good defense. As a true freshman Platt played in 11 games with three starts at cornerback, and recorded 19 tackles. As a sophomore Platt played in four games and was able to maintain his redshift season, after missing the first month or so of the campaign. In 2024, Platt had his breakout season, starting every game for Army at corner. He finished the season with 15 tackles and a pair of interceptions, both coming in the end zone to shut down scoring opportunities. Platt also recorded a pair of PBU’s, and helped Army to an impressive 12-win season that included an American Athletic Conference title, and a bowl win over Louisiana Tech.

UVa is rebooting their secondary, and Platt will be in the mix to compete for playing time. An added bonus here is that Platt has two years of eligibility remaining. Most of UVa’s additions have been players that just have one year remaining; Virginia only added two DBs in the spring that have more than one year left to play, to go along with Morgan State transfer Ja’Son Prevard who was added in the winter window.

Platt had a very solid season in 2024 with Army, and has played quite a bit of football for the Black Knights. Platt is a bit of an outlier in this portal class in that he isn’t a particularly big cornerback, listed at 5-foot-11, 204 pounds. While Platt has played as an outside corner during his collegiate career, his size and skill profile might make him a natural fit for UVa’s nickel position, which seems totally up for grabs heading into fall camp. Platt has shown lockdown ability at corner, so if he can matchup with receivers in the slot, that would give him another leg up and a better chance to play a lot this year.

Platt’s experience at Army should make him a quality addition to the locker room, too. Playing at Army requires a lot more commitment than a typical program would, and Platt was able to excel there and get on the field right away. He should come to UVa with a great worth ethic and grittiness that has been evident in Jeff Monken’s Army teams over the years.

Moving to Virginia allows Platt to show what he can do at the P4 level, and take advantage of NIL opportunities that are not available to players at West Point. The service academies have strict NIL rules and UVa simply offers financial benefits that he couldn’t get if he stayed at Army. Platt should be able to compete for playing time in UVa’s new-look secondary, which is wide open right now. Platt having two years to play also allows him to put himself in a position to be a major contributor in the 2026 season even if he doesn’t break into the starting defense this year. Platt also gets an opportunity to play closer to home, with UVa just 160 miles from his hometown in North Carolina.

UVa has added a lot of talent and experience to the secondary through the portal, but don’t sleep on Platt as a potential starter. He played quite well last season at Army and has P4 starter potential if things can click for him in the fall. We mentioned that he could be a fit for the nickel position as well, which gives him one more avenue to playing time if the Hoos end up going with bigger cornerbacks on the outside. If nothing else, we think Platt should be an excellent addition to UVa’s depth on defense and should be able to make an impact on special teams, with upside to be a major factor in 2026, with a lot of his fellow transfers wrapping up their eligibility this fall.