It's December 9th, and the transfer portal is officially open. For a week since the regular season ended, we've learned about many players, at UVa and elsewhere, that plan to be part of the portal process as they look to find a new home for the 2025 season.

Coming off of a 5-7 season and with a pivotal season ahead, Virginia will need to be aggressive in the portal, and following last week's anonymous gift, they seem to have a better chance to do just that. But with upgrades needed across the roster, the staff will be very busy trying to cobble together a competitive roster for a make-or-break 2025 season.

In today's transfer portal primer, we're taking a look at UVa's needs at each position in the transfer portal, starting with the offense.

Need: A starter, possibly a backup

Importance Level: 10/10

So yeah, this one is top of the pile of needs heading into the transfer portal window. Tony Muskett is done with college football and Anthony Colandrea entered the portal, leaving the quarterback pretty empty heading into 2025. Gavin Frakes returns, and while he did start some games at New Mexico State, he’s not expected to be the long-term plan at QB1. UVa also adds two freshmen in their 2025 recruiting class, Bjorn Jurgensen and Cole Geer. Both Jurgensen and Geer look like quality adds, but expecting either of them to be the starter in the fall seems like a foolish plan.

Expect UVa to be very aggressive with transfer quarterbacks, and they could certainly opt to take more than one. Perhaps it depends on the interest level they receive. If they’re able to convince a bonafide starter to come, UVa could try to take that player and ride with Frakes and the freshmen as backups. If there’s no slam dunk option, UVa could try to add two quality quarterbacks, potentially one with experience and one with upside, and let them compete for the job. This works even better if the experienced guy has one year left and the upside player has multiple years, because if the experienced quarterback wins the job for 2025, perhaps the other addition could take over in 2026.

Need: Potential starter or complimentary back with experience

Importance Level: 7/10

Virginia loses Kobe Pace, who went into the season as the starter at running back, but ended up splitting carries with Xavier Brown for most of the season. As of now, Brown is expected back, as are backups Noah Vaughn, Donte Hawthorne and Jack Griese, all of whom saw the field and have eligibility remaining. But that doesn’t mean UVa doesn’t need a running back.

Brown has now had three seasons end early with injuries, so that’s a risk going forward. Brown is also a big-play threat, which is great, but he might be more of a change-of-pace back rather than a workhorse. Vaughn got some looks late in the year, but unless the staff feels he’s ready to share the load with Brown, UVa could probably use another option.

This is a position where UVa’s need isn’t as dire as it is at some other spots, but if the right opportunity presents themselves, they should take it. If they could pair Brown’s speed and pass-catching ability with an every-down back, the running game could be improved. At a minimum, they might have to replace what Pace gave them, unless they think one of the guys on the roster is ready to do that.

Need: A quality starter

Importance Level: 7/10

Virginia is losing quite a bit at receiver, both to graduation and the portal so far. Malachi Fields’ career is done, barring a last-minute change of heart (technically he has another year of eligibility, but isn’t expected to use it.) Chris Tyree will also graduate. JR Wilson and Jaden Gibson have already entered the transfer portal. With all of those departures, there’s just not a ton of production left over. Trell Harris had a promising start to the season, and would be UVa’s best returning receiver, assuming he opts to stay. Assuming he’s back and nobody else that played leaves, UVa returns no more than 54 catches and two touchdowns of production from this season. UVa does add a few freshmen receivers from the 2025 class, and receiver might be the strongest position group in the class, but UVa will either go into next season hoping for a bunch of breakout seasons, or with some new faces.

Truth be told, UVa should probably be in the market for a WR1. Harris showed flashes, but seems more like a good #2 option than a guy you build the offense around. He could probably be a WR1 if forced to be, but if UVa could go out and find someone even half as productive as Malik Washington was in 2023, that would be a huge help. At a minimum, UVa probably needs to add at least one starter and then hope Kam Courntey, Suderian Harrison, Andre Greene and others can pick up the slack.

Need: A player who can compete with the existing group for the starting job, or, potentially a projected starter.

Importance Level: 4/10

UVa loses their top tight end, Tyler Neville, who played a lot of snaps after coming over from Harvard. The Hoos are also set to lose backup tight end Sackett Wood to graduation. Neville, Wood and the rest of the tight end room were a bigger part of the offense than they were in 2023, but still not as productive as some may have expected. With those two gone, the question is what can UVa get from the rest of the tight ends? Dakota Twitty moved over from receiver and showed flashes, particularly as a pass catcher. Sage Ennis played as Neville’s backup until having a season-ending injury, but he’s expected back next year. UVa also has seldom-used backups Karson Gay and TeKai Kirby on the roster, along with John Rogers, who redshirted this year.

If UVa isn’t going to prioritize the tight end in the offense, perhaps they can get by with what they have. This is another position where, if an opportunity to add a quality player came along, they shouldn’t pass it up. Nobody on the roster is good or proven enough to be penciled in as a starter, and if there’s a Neville-level player, or better, that wants to come to Virginia, they should probably take him. Because UVa has some younger tight ends on the roster, and the tight end simply hasn’t been used a ton under this staff, we’re setting this position as a lower priority even if it could certainly be upgraded.

Need: Bonafide starters or competition for Boley and Steen

Importance Level: 7/10

This is another interesting position for the portal. On the one hand, UVa is currently expected to have both starting tackles back. McKale Boley and Blake Steen were both late adds to UVa’s recruiting class that signed just after Elliott took the job, and now, three years in, they’ve played a lot of football for the Hoos. Assuming they don’t transfer, UVa could run it back with these two guys, and have younger depth options on the roster behind them, including Jack Witmer, who played a lot this year. But should they do that?

UVa gave up 47 sacks this year. Only one program nationally, Florida State, allowed more. Obviously those sacks aren’t all attributable to the two tackles, but some of them certainly were. The offensive staff will have to review the tape from the season, but again, if UVa finds options that can at a minimum compete with Steen and Boley, they should probably pursue those options. And if they find anyone better, then it’s a no brainer. Given how bad the pass protection was this season, nobody on the line should feel safe. Boley and Steen will have every opportunity, should they stay, to compete for their jobs.

The most straightforward path for UVa to show significant improvement next year, outside of QB, is if they can get better at the line of scrimmage. So given what we’ve seen, UVa should be looking to improve every spot on the offensive line, including tackle. We’re going with a medium importance level because they can return both starters, but it’s a critical position.

Need: At least one starter, probably two.

Importance Level: 9/10

The need at the guard spots is quite a bit more dire, and just as critical to the team’s success in 2025. It's not official, but possible to likely that UVa loses both starters at guard this offseason. Noah Josey and Ty Furnish both played a ton of football up front for the Hoos in the Elliott era, and while they have an additional year to play, they may opt not to use it. Ugonna Nnanna has another year of eligibility left, and has been called upon quite a bit. But he has often graded out pretty poorly in PFF’s grades, and has had his share of struggles. Beyond him, the position is a mystery. There are some younger players on the roster who could come along in the years to come, but probably can’t be counted upon to start next fall.

So we’re probably looking at two projected starters needed. At a minimum, UVa has to find a starter and then another guy who can compete with Nnanna, should he return. And frankly, UVa should probably add three players who can play at the interior line spots, to account for injuries and the potential of having one or two transfers not pan out. Guard is far from the sexiest position, but it’s a dire need for the Hoos this offseason.

Need: A potential starter or competition to start, or someone who can play center or guard.

Importance Level: 7/10

UVa loses Brian Stevens, who came to Virginia to play guard, but made the move early in 2023 and did a nice job. Cavalier fans got to see what life without Stevens was like when he missed the UNC game along with Furnish, who can also snap. So, like guard, UVa is going to have a new player snapping the ball to a quarterback to be named later.

Perhaps UCF transfer Drake Metcalf can fill the role. Metcalf joined the program last year after playing quite a bit at UCF and before that, Stanford, but he missed the entire season after getting injured in the spring. If Metcalf can go, he should at least be able to compete at center, and could also kick over to guard if UVa finds a better center option. UVa also likes Grant Ellinger’s development at the position, and Noah Hartsoe has another year of eligibility. Still, UVa will probably want to take a hard look at the center market, especially given the fact that Metcalf is coming off of a significant injury. There’s some flexibility within the three starting interior spots on the line, so how the staff attempts to address the center spot will affect guard, and vice versa.