CHARLOTTESVILLE 鈥 His responsibility is to always push ahead and equip Virginia鈥檚 roster as best as he can.
So, fourth-year Cavaliers director of recruiting Justin Speros didn鈥檛 have time to flinch or be frustrated when offensive tackle Monroe Mills 鈥 one of UVa鈥檚 top-ranked transfer portal additions this past winter and a projected plug-and-play starter on the O-Line 鈥 went down with a season-ending ACL injury during spring practice.
鈥淲e felt really good about Monroe all the way through winter training and the early part of spring practice,鈥 Speros told The Daily Progress this past week. 鈥淭hen, life happens and unexpected injuries happen. But fortunately for us, it happened in March and not August.鈥
Speros felt similarly in April when returning starting cornerback Jam Jackson was ruled out for 2025 after suffering a knee injury.
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Speros said the Cavaliers intended to lean heavily on Jackson this coming fall and that while they already knew they needed to address the cornerback spot, the timing of Jackson鈥檚 injury only heightened the importance for Speros and his recruiting staff to identify veteran cornerbacks during the nearing spring transfer window.
鈥淚t allowed us to recalibrate,鈥 Speros said, 鈥渁nd fortunately, there were some attractive options who had high interest in UVa.鈥
The Cavaliers acquired 13 transfers after the spring, bringing their total number of transfers in the 2025 cycle to 32. UVa鈥檚 transfer class finished ranked 18th nationally by Rivals and 23rd nationally by 247Sports. Both services had the transfer group as the fourth best in the ACC.
And the bulk of those post-spring newcomers for the Hoos either play on the offensive line or in the secondary 鈥 the two areas Speros said UVa prioritized in April and May.
Five cornerbacks 鈥 Kenan Johnson (Utah/Georgia Tech), Emmanuel Karnley (Miami/Arizona), Ja鈥橫aric Morris (Georgia State/Central Florida), Donavon Platt (Army) and Jordan Robinson (Cincinnati/Kentucky) 鈥 were brought in to make up for the loss of Jackson.
鈥淎nytime you lose a player like that, it can be difficult to replace him with young players without any snaps,鈥 Speros said. 鈥淪o, it just increased the need for guys like Ja鈥橫aric Morris and Donavon Platt, who are battle-proven guys.鈥
Platt was a standout at West Point, helping the Black Knights to an American Athletic Conference title while starting all 14 games at corner and logging 521 snaps on defense in 2024. He had a pair of interceptions, including one against North Texas and current Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris.
Johnson won a starting job at Utah last year, but suffered a season-ending injury in its opener. He鈥檚 plenty seasoned, though, having appeared in 45 games over the five previous years with Georgia Tech. Karnley played in 10 games with six starts for Arizona before initially transferring to Miami during the winter and reopening his recruitment in the spring to land with the Hoos. Morris tallied two interceptions in his final two games with Georgia State, and Robinson played in 10 with the Bearcats last fall.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a wide-open competition and all those guys know that,鈥 Speros said. 鈥淎ll those guys know what they were getting themselves into and I think it鈥檚 a very unique situation because of where we鈥檙e at from a returning-production standpoint. You had Kempton Shine and Jam Jackson last year. They played the bulk of the snaps, so it really is wide open.鈥
Speros said transfer safeties Christian Charles from Tennessee and Da鈥橫arcus Crosby from New Mexico State grow the number of options at that position.
Crosby, New Mexico State鈥檚 second-leading tackler last year and an All-CUSA selection in 2024, can play either free safety or strong safety, according to Speros. He said Crosby鈥檚 physicality and tackling ability revealed itself on film when the Hoos were evaluating him.
Crosby and Charles are now in a group of safeties that already includes former Louisville starter Devin Neal and returning veteran Antonio Clary. Former Morgan State cornerback Ja鈥檚on Prevard practiced primarily at nickel during the spring.
鈥淲e feel like between the five DB spots, we鈥檒l have some really, really good personnel to deploy and put on the field, especially on third down,鈥 Speros said.
Up front, three newcomers in Makilan Thomas (Arkansas State), David Wohlabaugh Jr. (Syracuse/Kentucky) and Wallace Unamba (Kentucky/New Mexico) join UVa鈥檚 offensive line after four O-Linemen were brought in during the winter period to enhance a unit with only two returning starters in left guard Noah Josey and left tackle McKale Boley.
Thomas, a former All-Sun Belt Conference selection, has played both right and left tackle in his career and has more than 2,000 snaps of experience he鈥檚 bringing with him to Charlottesville. He鈥檚 likely to fit at right tackle where he spent last season for the Red Wolves.
In the spring window, Thomas was one of only a handful of offensive linemen who recruiting services and analysts projected could pencil in as a potential starter wherever he went.
鈥淗e鈥檚 such a good young man and a good worker,鈥 Speros said about Thomas. 鈥淗e鈥檚 already well-respected by his peers at Virginia and that was exactly the feedback we picked up on through the recruiting process.
鈥淭hen, I think the experience jumps off the screen at that position and then the quality of the tape. We were battling, battling multiple programs for a player like that and what he鈥檚 able to provide for us is being able to play both tackle spots and potentially if you need him to play an interior spot, he can do that. He has position flexibility. He鈥檚 an unbelievable worker with a great attitude and a ton of snaps and starts under his belt.鈥
Speros said UVa鈥檚 mission after the spring was to elevate the talent, experience and depth in the secondary and protect itself on the offensive line with more established players to compete.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something we鈥檝e learned,鈥 over the last few seasons, he said.
He believes, he said, the Cavaliers have done that as they look toward training camp.
Both Wohlabaugh and Unamba have started for their respective past schools, and the Cavaliers completed the spring encouraged by what they saw from UAB transfer center Brady Wilson and former Illinois guard Kevin Wigenton II.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 roll into the season with a stable of quality bodies at tackle, guard and center,鈥 Speros said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 going to be hard to make it through a 12-game season let alone a longer season if we鈥檙e in the postseason or trying to go to a championship game. It鈥檚 truly something we prioritized.鈥
Other post-spring additions were running back Harrison Waylee (Wyoming), defensive end Daniel Rickert (Tennessee Tech) and tight end Wallace Walker, a former national-champion winning lacrosse player at Cornell who will try football at the college level for the first time.
