1. There have been few surprises among UVa’s departures.

A lot of UVa’s expected portal entries leaked out last week, before the portal officially opened for everyone on Monday. We knew, for example, that Anthony Colandrea was going to enter a week before the portal opened. In all, UVa has had 14 portal entries from scholarship players. Most of those have come from players that you would expect to want a fresh start: players that have achieved their degrees, players further down the depth chart, or some combination thereof.

Obviously its usually not great news when a program has attrition, but so far, Virginia has avoided massive attrition from their most-critical returning players, outside of Colandrea, whose time at Virginia came to a rapid conclusion, but probably one that benefits all parties. Perhaps UVa’s attrition hasn’t seemed so bad is partially because they were already losing so many starters to graduation and expiration of eligibility, but I wouldn’t say UVa has reached “mass exodus” territory, at least not yet.

2. UVa has reached out to a ton of transfers in the portal, targeting a few key positions specifically.

Virginia has been very active since the portal opened on Monday, reaching out to vet players’ situations, talk resources and potentially set up visits if it reaches that stage. And one thing that has stood out so far is that the staff are certainly prioritizing a few critical positions of need.

Quarterback has been a priority, but UVa’s work their has been relatively quiet. They have, however, gone after a ton of offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs. Those positions make a lot of sense as key areas of focus, as they are either the areas with the most departures, or the areas where performance has lagged, or both. Virginia needs a lot of help in the trenches, and the staff has been aggressive in offering linemen and getting visits scheduled. The entire offensive line could use as much help as possible, and UVa’s pass rush needs a reboot after two lackluster seasons, too. Virginia also loses several key DBs to graduation, so they’re going to need to fill those roles with proven players.

Linebacker is a bit curious, as Kam Robinson hasn’t gone in the portal (yet) and James Jackson could theoretically return. And UVa runs a base 4-2-5, so it’s not like they play a lot of linebackers at once. But they must feel they have a need there, because they’re already lined up visits with linebackers Cam Burden from Charlotte and Alex Mitchell from Chattanooga, just to start.

3. Quality transfer targets can come from many different football backgrounds.

I’ve noticed a lot of UVa fans getting anxious or frustrated that UVa is offering a lot of FCS and G5 players in the portal. Don’t worry about that, but instead, look at how much traction those players are getting from other schools. UVa is in the mix for Elon edge rusher Cazeem Moore, for example, a player who was offered by a ton of P4 programs including USC, and UVa is still in the mix there. The Hoos are also expecting a visit from FAU DB CJ Heard, who has ACC and SEC interest, but is coming to Charlottesville.

Obviously visits are one thing and commits are another, but UVa fans should take note that they’ve been sniffing around players that didn’t seem to give them the time of day in past cycles. UVa took FCS and G5 players in previous rounds, and some of them did have interest from other schools, but a lot of them had only one P4 offer, the one from Virginia. At least so far, UVa seems to be targeting talented players, regardless of what level they’ve played at, and at least through the first week, it feels like there’s better traction than what we’ve seen before. Now it comes down to whether or not they have enough staying power in some of these recruitments to get visits and close the deal.

1. How much is UVa’s improved NIL war chest helping?

By now, everyone reading this probably knows that UVa received a significant financial donation for football, which is being used to rebuild the roster. Virginia has been included in a lot of players’ “schools that have reached out lists,” and one has to wonder how much the financials are making a difference here.

The money certainly can’t hurt. It’s going to get UVa into conversations that they may have otherwise not been able to have. For some players, it may be the end-all-be-all. And for others, it’s going to be part of a complicated decision-making process. Which school offers competitive money, and the best football situation? How far away from home is a player willing to go? How much does the coaching staff situation matter? What promises can UVa or other schools make about playing time? It all factors in.

The answer to this question is, time will tell. As we mentioned above, it does seem like UVa has been in the mix for players with impressive offer lists and have been able to schedule some visits with a few of them. The question is, will they land them?

2. Are there surprises, good or bad, looming?

So far, things haven’t been perfect since the season ended, but have gone about as expected. Tony Elliott didn’t make any staff changes, and a lot of the players that went into the portal are the types that typically do. So now, while UVa’s staff has turned their attention to building the 2025 roster, could something be looming that changes things?

For starters, the most likely thing to happen is a player that the staff expected back decides to transfer. Players are going to see what’s out there in the transfer market, and may want a piece of it. Or, on the flipside, UVa could have a player return that they counted out, either a transfer leaving the portal or, in UVa’s case a player deciding to play another year of football. Virginia’s roster is full of players eligible for extra years, many because of the tragic shooting that took place in 2022, and the NCAA’s willingness to approve waivers for an additional year for players on that team. Jahmeer Carter’s father has teased a potential decision coming, and while the common logic is that receiver Malachi Fields has wrapped his college career, UVa’s staff would surely love to have him back if he changed his mind. The same is true for several other players.

There are other potential surprises looming too, like a potential staff change that wasn’t foreseen, or UVa becoming a player for someone in the portal that is out of left field, particularly if it’s a quarterback.

1. Virginia will sign two quarterbacks: A senior and a younger, developmental player.

Speaking of signal callers, UVa’s quarterback room is the most in need of a reboot this offseason. With Colandrea and Tony Muskett gone, the Hoos are left with Gavin Frakes and a pair of inbound true freshmen, Cole Geer and Bjorn Jurgensen. Frankly, that may be the most dire QB situation in a power conference program right now. But help is on the way.

UVa has been working the quarterback position relatively quietly, and have already had one visit, from North Texas transfer Chandler Morris. The son for former Elliott colleague Chad Morris, Chandler has options as he looks for his fourth school, and with his visit in the rear view and no commitment coming yet, Virginia will need to move on to other options and see what’s out there.

But when the dust is settled, we expect the Hoos to try and take a pair of transfers, rather than just one. Ideally, UVa will add a fourth or fifth-year player to be the odds-on-favorite to start in the fall, someone who has played a lot of football and done so effectively. And then, they can also take a developmental option with multiple years left, but upside. That player will have a chance to upset the older guy and win the job this year, or if not, they’re a competent backup and have the inside track to take over in 2026. That’s what good succession planning at the quarterback position can look like, and that’s what Virginia’s staff should be trying to pull off through December.