Virginia will begin the 2026 college football season against North Carolina State on Saturday. The Cavaliers are already dealing with a ridiculous amount of injuries.
The first injury report of the year looks more like the last injury report of the year.
Both college football teams are more banged up than they probably should be. Virginia is dealing with the most.
Virginia can make the College Football Playoff.
Head coach Tony Elliott is in his fifth season with the Hoos. It looks like he finally has the team in place to contend for an ACC title and, in turn, a national championship.
Virginia, coming off of 11 wins in 2025, will be led by either Penn State and Missouri transfer Beau Pribula or Alabama and Pittsburgh transfer Eli Holstein at quarterback. They will throw to UCLA transfer Rico Flores Jr., Kent State transfer Da’Shawn Martin and UMass transfer Jacquon Gibson. All three wide receivers are veterans with big-play potential. The offensive line should be even better than last season with the return of 6-foot-7, 322-pound tackle Monroe Mills.
On offense, the question mark is at running back. Middle Tennessee transfer Jekail Middlebrook ran for more than 700 yards last season. Tennessee transfer Peyton Lewis and UAB transfer Solomon Beebe have potential.
On defense, the question mark is in the secondary. Virginia Tech transfer Christian Ellis, Georgia State transfer Jaylen Jones and Rutgers transfer Jacobie Henderson need to take a big step forward. Michigan transfer Brandyn Hillman has to be a star at safety.
If those guys can figure it out, the Cavaliers have studs at the first and second levels. Baylor transfer Matthew Fobbs-White will line up across from Fisher Camac at defensive end. Anthony Britton and Jason Hammond are solid at defensive tackle. Landon Danley fits nicely next to Kam Robinson and Maddox Marcellus at linebacker.
Virginia must keep turnovers to a minimum and control the tempo on offense, and prevent big plays and make stops on third down on defense. The ceiling is an ACC Championship. The flor is Elliott’s sixth losing season in seven years.
The first injury report of 2026 is not ideal.
With kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, the ACC released its first official injury report of the 2026 college football season on Wednesday night. Virginia is already banged up.
The Cavaliers have 18 players who are injured before the first game. 16 of the 18 players are already listed as OUT. Two are listed as questionable.
The biggest concern is depth at wide receiver. Rico Flores, Dillon Newton-Short, Triston Ward and Isaiah Robinson are all out. That is four pass-catchers who are injured before the start of the season. The other injuries include two running backs, three defensive tackles, two defensive ends, two offensive linemen, two linebackers, two defensive backs, one tight end and one kicker.
Here is the full injury report:
The Cavaliers got hit with the injury bug. I don’t know if it’s bad luck or if they were hitting hard throughout camp, or both, but 18 players on the Week 1 injury report is not normal.