Virginia’s large transfer class is melding with the existing roster to form a new-look team

While talent and scheme fit are important, UVa’s staff also had to find players that they felt worked with the existing locker room. That’s not always easy in such a fast recruitment during portal season, but the staff feels confident that they picked the right players to join the program, both from a talent perspective but also from their character. 

“As football started veering in the direction it’s going, your biggest concern as a veteran coach is ‘how are we going to build a locker room, how are these guys going to react when you bring in other guys, there’s money involved, there’s so many pitfalls,’” offensive line coach Terry Heffernan said. “What’s been incredibly refreshing is how quickly these guys have meshed together. Turns out they all want to win and if they look over and see a really talented offensive tackle they think ‘gosh, this guy can help us win.’ They’ve embraced it.”

Figuring out a player’s “why” is a big part of the recruiting process. It helps refine the pitch but also helps the staff understand the player’s goals and how they can help them reach that. Money is certainly a part of the calculus now and having increased resources this offseason certainly helped the Hoos close some recruitments. But once the pads go on, it’s still about the sport for Virginia’s newcomers. 

“Financial gain is probably a reason some of these guys came here but it wasn’t their biggest reason. They still all love football, and they want to be a good teammate and part of something successful,” Heffernan said. “Now they’re living in nicer apartments and driving nicer cars, but their main focus has been football and being a good teammate and part of this program.”

One big question in the offseason was how the existing players on the roster, who have struggled through so much over the past several years, would feel about all of the talent being brought in. Obviously coaches are always going to look to bring talent in, but adding 32 transfers speaks pretty loudly about how dire they felt their needs were, particularly at certain positions. 

“I feel like a vet, for real. It’s been really good with all the transfers coming in; we mesh really well and this fall camp is only helping us become more of a team,” tight end Dakota Twitty said. “We’re getting to know people that aren’t necessarily in your position, so that’s good.”

“The offensive staff has done a great job bringing in the right type of players,” receiver Trell Harris said of the newcomers on his side of the ball. “Especially in the receiver room. I feel like all those guys, I’ve known them for a while now and I feel like I can have all those guys at my wedding. That’s exactly what you want in a receiver room.”

It helps get the existing players on board with their new teammates when they see that investment from those players once they arrive on Grounds. It seems, based on what players have shared during camp, that the big transfer group has come in and put the effort in to help assist in the turnaround. 

“Credit to all the guys who came in, they’ve been nose in the playbook and we haven’t had any issues ever but it is something they’ve been told,” linebacker Trey McDonald said about the transfer additions on defense. “‘Hey, look to these linebackers, they know what they’re doing. If you ever have a question, they know it.’”

Virginia’s transfer group comes to Charlottesville from so many different places and levels of football. They took a transfer from Alabama, and also added players from the FCS ranks, and everywhere in between. And while UVa is still a program in a rebuild, it still has resources that many of the transfer additions are happy to have, and despite the fact that money is part of the equation now, the transfer group appears to appreciate what they have at their new home.

“It feels surreal if I’m being honest. Every day I wake up and come to the facility and walk up, coming up the steps, and knowing I have came from somewhere that we really didn’t have that,” safety Da’Marcus Crosby said. He comes to UVa from New Mexico State, but started his career at the junior college level, playing alongside fellow transfer, offensive tackle Wallace Unamba.  “

“At JUCO we didn’t have breakfast, lunch, dinner; you had to get it how you live. I’m really appreciative of everything and it’s really been a blessing.”

This football team will surely face adversity this fall, at some point. While talent and coaching will win games, how the group stays together or falls apart when things get tough can make or break a season. And that’s why incorporating the transfer group into the bonds of the locker room is so key. So far, the returns seem to be good for this new-look Cavalier team.

“I’ve heard horror stories about the transfer portal and how you go to a team where there’s so many guys that are selfish and try to do stuff just for them. Here, Coach (Elliott) really did a good job picking the right guys,” Army transfer Donavon Platt said. “And that’s huge when you talk about bringing in transfers that really want to build those relationships. Because at the end of the day, that’s what’s going to win games, having those relationships and knowing the people you’re going to war with on a day-to-day basis. So it’s been easy.”