Virginia has been aggressive adding talent to the secondary and one of their top additions came with the signing of Miami cornerback Emmanuel Karnley. The Antioch, California native never actually suited up for the Hurricanes, having signed with Miami in the winter portal window, transferring in from Arizona. Karnley spent the spring at Miami before reentering the portal, and ultimately signing with Virginia. At the time of his signing, Karnley was considered to be one of the top available transfer defensive backs in the portal.

Prior to his transfer to Miami and ultimately to Virginia, Karnley spent two seasons at Arizona. He redshirted the 2023 season before having an impressive redshirt freshman campaign with the Wildcats. Karnley played in ten games with Arizona, starting six, all at cornerback. In his season with Arizona, Karnley played 369 snaps, and recorded 16 tackles with five PBU’s. As a high schooler, Karnley was a three-star prospect, playing at Los Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, California. He chose the Wildcats over several other P5 offers, including a few then Pac-12 rivals.

UVa lists Karnley as a junior, though he did redshirt his first season of college football, so he has three more seasons to play. Karnley is one of a big group of incoming defensive backs signed in the spring transfer portal window. UVa has signed five defensive backs in this portal window, including at least three projected to play cornerback, with Karnley alongside Georgia State transfer Ja’Maric Morris and Cincinnati transfer Jordan Robinson. UVa also signed transfer corner Ja’Son Prevard from Morgan State in the fall.

This is a no-brainer addition for UVa. The secondary was their biggest area of deficiency coming out of spring practice, and the Hoos’ staff has been quite aggressive in solving that problem, and they might not be done yet, either. Karnley, as we mentioned, was considered a top cornerback option in the portal in the winter, which is why he ended up at a top transfer destination like Miami. For whatever reason, that move didn’t work out for Karnley, and UVa benefits from him reentering the transfer portal. Karnley is a boundary corner that fits a major need for the Hoos, with depth already an issue there and the problem exacerbated by an injury to projected starter Jam Jackson that will cost him the 2025 season. Karnley, along with UVa’s other additions, should be enough to cover for Jackson, as they will compete for the starting job on the outside and allow UVa to rotate in the secondary if they need to, and cover for any injuries that occur throughout the season.

The fact that Karnley has multiple years left to play is another potential boost for the Hoos. Obviously there are no guarantees for anything past the present, but if they can get Karnley to build on his 2024 season at Arizona and keep him in the program for the years to come, he could be a key piece in Virginia’s future defenses. Karnley was also on Big 12 Academic Honor Roll last fall at Arizona, so he’s probably a good fit for UVa in that respect as well.

This is a bit trickier, but obviously playing time is available at Virginia. It’s a bit unclear why Karnley opted not to stick at Miami. The Hurricanes have brought in arguably more talent via the portal than any other team in the conference, Karnley included, and perhaps he wasn’t set to start there. Or, he didn’t feel like the school or the program was a fit for some other reason. But hopefully he found what he was ultimately looking for in Virginia. UVa is going to have a wide open competition for the cornerback spots, and based on what Karnley has already shown in his time at P4 school, he should have as good a chance as any to win the job. Karnley will also hopefully settle in at UVa for several years in what could be a good mutual fit. Virginia has also not been afraid to spend big in the portal, and perhaps they were able to offer Karnley a very enticing package to sign with the Hoos.

Nothing is promised, obviously, but if Karnley can come in and win one of the cornerback spots, that could be a good thing for the defense in the long-term considering his eligibility remaining. Karnley had an impressive back half of the season last year at Arizona, and UVa’s staff is surely hoping that he can build on that at his new home, and continue to launch a successful collegiate career. Karnley is going to have to beat out some talented and experienced competition though, so it’s tough to just pencil him, or anyone else for that matter, into the starting lineup. Still, Karnley was considered one of the top available cornerbacks for a reason, and his addition should be a big boost to the position group heading into what should be a very competitive fall camp.