Virginia is attempting to rebuild their roster for the 2025 season in the transfer portal, and that starts in the trenches on both sides of the ball. One key addition for UVa’s defensive line came last week, when Elon edge rusher Cazeem Moore signed with the Hoos. Moore picked up a ton of interest when entering the portal, receiving quick offers from USC, Colorado, Wisconsin, and a bunch of other P4 programs. In the end, he chose UVa over Cincinnati and Texas Tech.

The Vanceboro, North Carolina native was a productive player at Elon, and it’s easy to see why he picked up so much interest when entering the portal. Moore was a two-year starter at Elon, and is coming off of his most-productive season. This fall, Moore played in 12 games, recording 51 tackles, with 12 TFLs and 6 sacks. He also forced three fumbles and had one pass defended. For his career, Moore recorded 106 tackles, 21 TFLs and 13 sacks, with four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. For his efforts, Moore was named second-team All CAA.

We mentioned that UVa needed to rebuild their lines, and the defensive line has received significant boosts with three commits, including Moore. But specifically, Moore is an important addition because of his ability to get after opposing quarterbacks. Moore has some physicality to him at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, and shows some athleticism on film that should be able to translate to the P4 level. Virginia’s defense has been one of the worst nationally in creating sacks the last two years. Adding Moore gives UVa another option on the edge, as they desperately attempt to create more havoc plays, which should in turn create more big plays that help the team play complimentary football.

Moore played three years at Elon, and was having a nice career there. But a move to Virginia gives him an opportunity to showcase himself against P4 competition. That sort of move is particularly important for players on the line, as Moore can now show that he can get after quarterbacks, getting off blocks from power conference offensive lines and make plays in the backfield.

And surely UVa was able to sell a big-time need here. Virginia loses Kam Butler and Chico Bennett, and returns Mekhi Buchanan, who missed the entire season with injury, and a few other younger, unproven players. Moore has more sack and TFL production than the rest of the defensive end group combined, so it’s an obvious fit for him if he’s looking for playing time.

We always use the caveat that you never know with transfers how it’s going to work out, especially when the player is moving up from the FCS level. But given how Moore looks on tape, his actual production, and the interest he received from big-time programs when he entered the portal, it seems like a safe bet that Moore will have every opportunity to start at defensive end this year. UVa probably needs to go out and get another edge player in the portal, and between that player, Moore, UVa’s interior defensive line additions and what they bring back, there’s a very good chance this group will be improved in 2025.