Transfer Roundup: Breaking down UVa's roster additions

Virginia’s football roster for the 2022 season is close to finalized, as the final group of Cavaliers make their way to Grounds for summer workouts. Fall camp is right around the corner and the work that will be put in by the players and staff in the weeks leading up to the first practice will be pivotal.

UVa’s roster turnover includes the addition of an accomplished group of transfers. Virginia has added seven scholarship newcomers to the roster since the end of last season and all of them have either a clear path to playing time or should at least be able to contribute on special teams or as depth options.

As fans may have lost track of all the additions, with no official signing day for transfers and different amounts of publicity for each addition, today we’re taking a look at what UVa’s new staff has added to the roster from the transfer portal, and how those players may factor into the 2022 campaign.

The first transfer we have to discuss is an edge rusher, a transfer trend that will become obvious as we move through this article. Akere jumped into the transfer portal following the 2021 season and committed to Virginia, choosing the Wahoos over offers from UAB, North Texas, Buffalo and others. Akere is a Texas native who flew under the radar as a prospect coming out of high school.

The former Columbia Lion would be a defensive end in a four-man front, but if UVa plays some 3-4 looks, Akere could play as a stand-up outside linebacker. In his 2021 season at Columbia, Akere was Second-Team All-Ivy League, finishing the season with 42 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and six sacks in Columbia’s ten-game season. In his highlights, Akere flashes the ability to get by offensive lineman with power moves and with speed. He looks pretty quick in space and his tackle numbers show his ability to make plays against the run.

Virginia is clearly looking to retool its pass rush this season based on additions. Akere is an experienced player who seems like a rotational player at worst and potentially a starter if he can catch on quickly. Perhaps the biggest adjustment for Akere will be the significant uptick in skill going from Ivy League football to the ACC. But plenty of other FCS transfers have caught on at UVa (think Devin Darrington from Harvard and Ra’Shaun Henry from St. Francis), and Akere seems to have the athletic profile required to make that leap.

On to the next defensive lineman, as UVa added Butler to the roster in February, fending off quite a bit of competition to land the impact transfer. Butler entered the portal and graduated from Miami (Ohio), and ultimately chose Virginia over offers from Penn State, Ole Miss, Iowa, West Virginia and Kansas State, among others.

Butler was highly sought after for a reason. At Miami he was an All-MAC selection three straight years and was first-team all conference in 2021.

Last fall, he recorded 53 tackles with eight sacks, three forced fumbles, and 14 tackles for loss. Butler was an excellent pass rusher but also did a solid job against the run, recording 11 tackles against triple-option Army in September. He has been one of the best pass rushers in the MAC for the past several years, recording five double-digit sack games in 29 contests.

Based on his interest from other programs and his production at Miami, it’s not a stretch to say that Butler was UVa’s best get from the transfer portal, and is one of the most-likely newcomers to make an immediate impact. He wasn’t in Charlottesville for spring practice so he has some catching up to do, but if he can pick up the schemes quickly, the former Redhawk seems like a good bet to start or at least get a decent amount of snaps right off the bat.

UVa really needs to do a better job getting after the quarterback this season and Butler has demonstrated an ability to do that at the FBS level.

Switching to offense, UVa may have found itself a gem late in the transfer cycle. Brown entered the portal after one season at the other Miami. He played in 10 games for the Hurricanes in 2021, his freshman season. The highlight was a 14-carry, 77-yard performance against Central Connecticut State, as he finished the campaign with 139 yards on 34 rushes.

Brown showed flashes in his only season at Miami, after an impressive prep career. He was a four-star prospect and chose Miami over offers from Oklahoma, Ohio State and others, and was also signed with Tennessee before their coaching change. Brown entered the portal and committed to Virginia relatively quickly after a visit to Charlottesville, and perhaps given his prep career in Georgia, there was a familiarity with Tony Elliott and other members of the new UVa staff.

There will be competition for time at running back, with Wayne Taulapapa and Darrington gone. Mike Hollins and Amaad Foston battled for carries in the spring while Ronnie Walker went down with an injury. Brown will have a chance to get in the mix in the fall, after arriving in Charlottesville recently and taking part in summer workouts. He has the talent to ultimately become a starter at UVa, and has plenty of eligibility left.

Elliott’s first commitment as UVa’s head coach, Camper may well make an impact in Elliott’s first season as well. He left Michigan State for Virginia following the season after an injury derailed his 2021 campaign. Camper, a Virginia Beach native who finished his prep career at IMG Academy in Florida, was mostly a rotational player at MSU on the defensive line and seemed to be on an upward trajectory in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. In seven games, he recorded 18 tackles, a pair of TFL’s, half a sack, and a fumble recovery for the Spartans.

Camper enrolled early at UVa, and Elliott mentioned during spring practice that he was coming along well, as the head coach expected a veteran transfer would. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 251 pounds, Camper projects as a defensive end if UVa goes with a four-man front. It’s obvious that there will be a lot of competition for playing time, but he has Power-5 experience which can’t hurt, and at a minimum should be able to compete for playing time with some of the newcomers and returning edge rushers on the roster.

The news certainly got lost in the shuffle on the day but Virginia did pick up a commitment from the former Wisconsin wideout just hours before Bronco Mendenhall resigned from his post. Chandler was a late bloomer as a prep prospect in North Carolina. UVa, Wisconsin and Florida State among others, got involved late in the proceedings before he ultimately chose to become a Badger. Virginia landed Chandler the second time around, however, and although he committed to Mendenhall’s staff, he stuck by his commitment and joined the program for spring practice.

Chandler played two seasons at Wisconsin, playing in four games in the seven-game 2020 season and six games in 2021. He saw most of his playing time on special teams as a return man, a role that he could earn at UVa, too: Chandler returned four kicks for 85 yards last season, with 73 return yards in the loss to Notre Dame. Chandler also tallied 156 return yards in 2020, including a 59-yard return in the bowl game against Wake Forest.

Virginia hasn’t had a dynamic returner since Joe Reed left and Chandler could potentially provide a boost. He could also factor in at receiver, particularly in a slot role. But with a host of competition for playing time at those slots, special teams might be Chandler’s best bet to get some early playing time.

The Wahoos picked up a late addition via the transfer portal, adding the former South Carolina Gamecock to the fold this spring. Davis is an interior defensive lineman at 6-foot-4, 300 pounds who played two seasons with South Carolina after beginning his career at the JUCO level. He saw time in eight games in 2021, recording four tackles. Davis is a very experienced player, having played in 2017 and 2018 at Georgia Military College, getting injured before the 2019 season, and then playing the last two for the Gamecocks.

Davis is relatively unproven at the FBS level but clearly demonstrated a lot of talent at the JUCO level to end up in an SEC program. He will join a UVa defense that is shaking things up in the front seven, and could use more depth if nothing else. Davis will have to compete with Jahmeer Carter, Aaron Faumui, and others for playing time but may be able to provide some depth for those players, and potentially earn himself a bigger role as the season progresses.

Finally, UVa added a much-needed offensive lineman to the roster from the portal and a second Ivy Leaguer. Flores comes to Virginia from Dartmouth and the Texan chose UVa over SMU, giving himself an opportunity to play right away with the Wahoos. Flores started every game over the past two seasons for Dartmouth, with 2020 a lost year as the conference didn’t play during the pandemic. He was a Second-Team All-Ivy selection in 2021 and helped Dartmouth go 9-1 and win the conference title.

Virginia’s turnover on the offensive line should be well known to Cavalier fans by now. And the lack of depth in spring ball between injuries and transfers demonstrated the need for talent and depth across the line. Flores seems like a safe bet to earn a starting job and his experience should be helpful for a line that is really starting from scratch in many ways.

Flores could play left or right tackle and the Wahoos will likely be depending on him to be not just a starter but a good one, to keep their star quarterback healthy and keep the chains moving.

Note: We did not include the following players in this article, for reasons outlined:

• Andres Fox: The Stanford defensive lineman committed to Virginia in February, but wasn’t announced by the school, and Fox still isn’t listed on the roster.

• Mac Hollensteiner: The Georgetown transfer has opted not to come to Virginia.

• Andrew Canelas: A former Lehigh OL, Canelas is joining UVa as a walk-on, at least for now.

•Daniel Sparks: The former Minnesota punter announced last night he would transfer to UVa. It’s unclear whether he’ll be a a scholarship guy or if he’ll need to earn that once he arrives on Grounds.