Virginia’s first portal pickup in the spring window, Cincinnati defensive back Jordan Robinson fills a major position of need. Robinson entered the portal after spring practice, having played one season with the Bearcats. Prior to his time with Cincinnati, Robinson started his career at Livingstone College in 2021, before spending the next two seasons at Kentucky. Robinson redshirted his first season at Kentucky and played in four contests. In 2023, Robinson played in 11 games for the Wildcats with one start. He recorded 13 tackles in that season, and then transferred to Cincinnati. With the Bearcats, Robinson appeared in 10 games lasts eason, recorded 18 tackles, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery and one PBU. Robinson participated in spring ball and then entered the portal, landing at UVa.

Robinson is a big defensive back who should slot in at cornerback, but has the athletic profile to play safety if need be. Robinson is listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, and has a similar profile to UVa DB Ja’Son Prevard, who came to the Hoos from Morgan State in the winter portal window. Robinson has one year of eligibility remaining, and should be able to compete for playing time in a wide-open cornerback room.

UVa’s biggest need in the portal window this spring was in the secondary. That was the position Virginia wasn’t really able to fully address in the winter window, so it was always going to be a focus in the spring, regardless. But then, starting cornerback Jam Jackson suffered a knee injury during camp, which made UVa’s defensive back needs all the more dire. UVa needed to add depth anyway, but now there’s an even clearer path to playing time for anyone the Hoos bring in, and they’ll still need depth behind whoever ends up winning the starting spots.

Robinson is far from a sure thing to start given his career to date. Robinson played quite a bit at both Kentucky and Cincinnati, but was more of a depth option throughout his career, and perhaps there’s a reason he’s back in the portal. But if nothing else, given UVa’s defensive back situation, Robinson is a player good enough to compete for snaps and would be a solid depth option if he doesn’t end up atop the depth chart.

This seems like an obvious fit for Robinson, right? UVa has plenty of playing time available to compete for, and Robinson gets another power-conference home, the third of his career. With that, he continues to have access to power-conference resources, and frankly, power-conference NIL opportunities. And with UVa’s secondary depth a major concern, Robinson surely can see the football opportunities here, as well. Robinson is another big corner, and it seems that UVa’s defensive staff favors having big, physical players at the position. That’s certainly the case with fellow transfer Prevard, as well as returnees Jam Jackson and Dre Walker. So this feels like a slam dunk fit for Robinson. He has playing time available, fits what UVa does, and gets another chance at a major-conference program.

It’s difficult to project whether Robinson can slot in as a starter or not. UVa certainly isn’t done adding to the secondary, and both Walker and Prevard should be competing hard for the starting roles, and have a bit of a head start with time spent in the program. Regardless, Robinson should play for UVa this year. At worst, he’s a backup cornerback that can help on special teams. At best, he can come in and win one of the starting cornerback spots, or could at least fill in when someone in the starting defense is banged up or needs to rotate off the field. The addition of Robinson makes a ton of sense for both the player and UVa as the Hoos look to build up competitive depth at the cornerback spots.