Virginia aggressively attacked the offensive line this offseason, and despite making a bunch of additions in the winter portal window, UVa’s staff added three more linemen following spring ball, including Syracuse transfer David Wohlabaugh Jr. The son of former NFL center David Wohlabaugh, UVa’s newest tackle comes to Virginia after stops at a pair of P4 programs, with hundreds of live snaps under his belt.

Like many transfer around college football, Wohlabaugh’s move to UVa isn’t his first transfer. Wohlabaugh started his career at Kentucky and played two years there, appearing in nine games with one start. In 2023 he moved on to Syracuse to play for Dino Babers and his staff. Wohlabaugh looked to be in line for a bigger role with the Orange than he had with the Wildcats, and was named the team’s starting right tackle heading into the season opener. That potential breakout campaign was cut short though, as Wohlabaugh suffered a knee injury in Syracuse’s second game against Western Michigan. In a very short campaign, Wohlabaugh didn’t allow a sack.

In 2024, Wohlabaugh was a rotational player on a Syracuse team that added a ton of talent via the portal, under new head coach Fran Brown. Wohlabaugh appeared in nine games, playing nearly every snap at left tackle. Wohlabaugh was a backup for most of the season but started the final three games of the year, all wins. Wolhabaugh was part of a dynamic Syracuse offense that was good through both the air and on the ground, and when he played, Wohlabaugh was a solid performer. Wohlabaugh finished the season with the offense’s eighth-highest grade, second-best among offensive lineman, and with a very good pass blocking grade of 80.0.

Wohlabaugh now gets another fresh start at Virginia, where he’ll have two years of eligibility remaining, and should be in the mix to earn playing time in a suddenly very deep offensive line group.

The addition of Wohlabaugh made even more sense after tackle Monroe Mills was lost for the season with a knee injury suffered during spring practice. Mills, arguably UVa’s top transfer get in the winter window, was penciled in as a starter at one of the tackle spots, and his absence will open up opportunities for others. Wohlabaugh has had some bad luck with injuries during his stops at Kentucky and Syracuse, but has played pretty well when he’s had opportunities. And he’s done that at P4 stops against P4 competition, which makes projecting his abilities a little easier. As Wohlabaugh’s career has shown, injuries happen on the line, and depth is key. UVa has struggled in some games recently when they’ve been down a key offensive lineman or two, simply because they didn’t have enough playable depth behind the starters. Wohlabaugh, if nothing else, gives UVa another competent option at a tackle spot if there’s an injury, or poor play from a starter. And make no mistake, Wohlabaugh will have a shot to earn one of the tackle spots, too. The fact that he has two years remaining is another plus, because even if he ends up being a backup this season, he could potentially take over one of the tackle spots in 2026.

Wohlabaugh gets another fresh start, and at a third power conference program. Wohlabaugh enters an offensive line room that has been turned on its head with additions over the past few months, and heading into the summer, the two-deep is certainly not settled. And with Mills’ injury, the tackle spots are even more open. Wohlabaugh will have an opportunity to compete with returnees McKale Boley, Jack Witmer and transfer addition Makilan Thomas, Tyshawn Wyatt and others to win one of the tackle spots. Wohlabaugh has played both left and right tackle, and both spots seem open for competition right now. As we already mentioned, Wohlabaugh has two years to play as well, so hopefully he’ll be able to settle in at UVa and finish his career healthy with a chance to earn a starter’s role.

It’s really tough to project who is going to start on the offensive line against Coastal Carolina, but we expect Wohlabaugh to compete to start at one of the tackle spots. Nothing is guaranteed, and hopefully Wohlabaugh can at least stay healthy and give himself a shot to earn one of the spots. Given his experience and level of play when he’s been on the field, Wohlabaugh probably has as good a shot as any to be one of the top two tackles at the end of August, but he is playing a bit of catch-up in relation to the transfers added last December. We aren’t going to predict Wohlabaugh to be a starter necessarily, but we expect he’ll be somewhere on the two deep and will see game action during the 2025 season.