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The Virginia football team continued adding to its secondary over the weekend, gaining a commitment from former Iowa State cornerback Tayvonn Kyle. Kyle announced his decision via Instagram on Sunday night, becoming the second transfer defensive back the Cavaliers have added since the transfer portal window opened in early December. The 5-foot-11 defender spent the past five years with the Cyclones, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors in 2019 and 2020. Over the course of his career there, he played in 42 games and made 12 starts with 10 of those coming at cornerback.

He was a starter and regular contributor for the Cyclones when they won the Fiesta Bowl and finished ranked No. 9 nationally on the heels of reaching the Big 12 title game in 2020. That season, he tallied 28 tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception and a team-best six pass breakups. For the entirety of his stay in Ames, Kyle racked up 76 tackles, seven tackles for loss, an interception and 12 pass breakups. - Charlottesville Daily Progress

(DS#95 CB) rSr/2024

CB Tayvonn Kyle, Virginia
News Source: Charlottesville Daily Progress
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12/28/22 - Perris Jones, rSr/2024, Virginia, 5-06, 179 (DS#999 RB) + More +

On Tuesday, veteran Perris Jones, who started eight times at the position this past fall, announced on Twitter he'll play a sixth season with the Cavaliers in 2023. "When I set foot on campus," Jones wrote, "I had a set of goals that I planned on accomplishing. While I have been blessed to accomplish the basics, I still have some goals on the table that need to be crossed off. With that being said, I would like to announce that I will be returning to UVa, exercising my last year of eligibility." In August, Jones emerged as UVa's top running back option during training camp to earn the team's starting job.

Before this past season, Jones, a former walk-on, had only registered three career carries and was briefly moved - out of necessity - to defensive back in 2021, but his work ethic and understanding of Cavaliers coach Tony Elliott's offense propelled Jones forward to make an impact on the 2022 squad at his natural position. Jones ran 81 times for 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also hauled in six catches for 43 yards and two more scores this past season. He had standout performances against Richmond and at Syracuse. Versus the Spiders, he racked up 104 rushing yards and a touchdown along with a receiving touchdown, and against the Orange, he ran for 87 yards and a score. - Charlottesville Daily Progress

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2024

RB Perris Jones, Virginia
News Source: Charlottesville Daily Progress
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12/22/22 - Chico Bennett Jr., rSr/2025, Virginia, 6-4, 249 (DS#82 DE) + More +

Not only did Virginia officially add to its roster during the start of the early signing period on Wednesday, Cavaliers coach Tony Elliott also announced 10 key upperclassmen will return to the team, too. "So, obviously I know we lost some guys," Elliott said, "going into the portal, but we also had a good number of guys that decided that they want to come back and make another run at it." Elliott said defensive end Kam Butler and defensive lineman Aaron Faumui will take the NCAA up on the extra year of eligibility it granted all UVa players whose eligibility would've expired after this past season. Butler announced his intentions to earlier this month, but Faumui hadn't. The pair combined for 68 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Those two on the defensive front aren't the only ones at that position who will be back either. Defensive end Paul Akere, as well as defensive end Chico Bennett Jr., are returning as well, according to Elliott. Elliott said Akere, after spending this past fall with the Hoos following four seasons at Columbia, had job opportunities and could've entered the working world. Bennett, following a breakout campaign in which he tallied 34 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks, probably would've had an opportunity to play pro football. Others choosing to spend another year with the Hoos include tight ends Grant Misch and Sackett Wood Jr. as well as defensive backs Antonio Clary and Coen King and linebackers Josh Ahern and Hunter Stewart. Misch, Wood, Clary, King and Ahern were all starters at different times throughout the 2022 season for Cavaliers. - Charlottesville Daily Progress

(DS#82 DE) rSr/2025

DE Chico Bennett Jr., Virginia
News Source: Charlottesville Daily Progress
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12/18/22 - Kam Butler, rSr/2025, Virginia, 6-3, 267 (DS#66 DE) + More +

At least one veteran member of the Virginia football program will take the NCAA up on its offer. On Thursday, senior defensive end Kam Butler announced on Instagram that he'd return to UVa for his second season with the Hoos and his sixth year in the sport. Butler, who transferred to UVa from Miami (Ohio) ahead of last season, racked up 29 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles in his first campaign with the Cavaliers this past fall. He's the first team member whose eligibility would've ended this year to announce a decision to return to UVa. Last week, The Daily Progress reported the NCAA would grant any Virginia football player whose college eligibility expired this past season an extra year to play as a response to the shooting on Grounds that killed three teammates last month. - Charlottesville Daily Progress

(DS#66 DE) rSr/2025

DE Kam Butler, Virginia
News Source: Charlottesville Daily Progress
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12/17/22 - Harrison Waylee, rSr/2026, Virginia, 5-09, 212 (DS#52 RB) + More +

2022 ALL-MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM: Running Back - Harrison Waylee, Northern Illinois,...Running back Harrison Waylee rounds out the 2022 All-MAC Huskies as the third-year sophomore led NIU with a career-high 899 rushing yards on 165 carries despite missing one full game and playing through injury in the final two games of the year. Wayleee averaged 5.4 yards per carry and 81.7 rushing yards per game and totaled 1,018 all-purpose yards to lead the team. He ranked fourth on the team in receptions with 17 and led the Huskies in total offense. - Northern Illinois Football

(DS#52 RB) rSr/2026

RB Harrison Waylee, Virginia
News Source: Northern Illinois Football
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12/07/22 - Jack Camper, rSr/2023, Virginia, 6-4, 252 (DS#999 DE) + More +

The NCAA will grant any Virginia football player whose college eligibility expired this past season an extra year to play, a response to the shooting on Grounds that killed three teammates, UVa athletic director Carla Williams confirmed Wednesday. Virginia initiated and submitted the request, she said. The decision from the NCAA comes in the aftermath of last month's tragic shooting on Grounds in Charlottesville that killed wide receivers Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler and linebacker D Sean Perry. The Cavaliers, who finished 3-7 in their first year under coach Tony Elliott, canceled their last two games of the campaign - a non-conference contest against Coastal Carolina and their annual rivalry game at Virginia Tech - after the shooting. Instead of playing football on those days, UVa players and coaches gathered for a public memorial service to honor the lives of Davis, Chandler and Perry.

Per the Virginia roster, players who completed their final year of eligibility this past season include wide receivers Billy Kemp IV and Keytaon Thompson, defensive backs Darrius Bratton and Anthony Johnson, defensive ends Kam Butler and Jack Camper, and defensive tackle Devontae Davis. Not all will use the extra year, though. Johnson and Kemp have already declared for the NFL Draft. Johnson was a sixth-year senior this past fall and will play in the Senior Bowl this coming February. Kemp was a fifth-year senior this past season. - The Daily Progress

(DS#999 DE) rSr/2023

DE Jack Camper, Virginia
News Source: Daily Progress
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12/06/22 - Keytaon Thompson, rSr/2023, Virginia, 6-4, 218 (DS#47 WR) + More +

2022 ALL-ACC FOOTBALL THIRD TEAM: WR - Keytaon Thompson, Virginia, 50 votes,...For the second-straight season, Thompson was UVA's top pass catcher. In eight games played, he had 53 receptions and 579 yards. Thompson's 6.6 receptions per game were the second-most of any ACC receiver. He caught a pass in the final seven games he played and his 72.4 receiving yards were the sixth most by any ACC wideout. - Virginia Football

(DS#47 WR) rSr/2023

WR Keytaon Thompson, Virginia
News Source: Virginia Football
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12/06/22 - Daniel Sparks, rSr/2026, Virginia, 6-6, 214 (DS#7 P) + More +

2022 ALL-ACC FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM: P - Daniel Sparks, Virginia, 97 votes,...Sparks matched the UVA single-season punting average record, with a 46.8 yard per kick average in 2022. He was named the ACC co-Specialist of the week on Nov. 15 after he punted eight times for 409 yards against Pitt. He had three 60+ yard punts in the contest, the only UVA punter ever with three 60-yarders in a game. Of his 46 punts on the year 12 landed inside the 20 and 14 were 50 or more yards. - Virginia Football

(DS#7 P) rSr/2026

P Daniel Sparks, Virginia
News Source: Virginia Football
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12/06/22 - Aaron Faumui, rSr/2024, Virginia, 6-1, 293 (DS#999 DT) + More +

2022 ALL-ACC FOOTBALL HONORABLE MENTION: DT - Aaron Faumui, Virginia, 22 votes,...Faumui started nine of 10 games on UVA's defensive line, totaling 39 tackles, including a team-best 8.5 tackles for loss. He was credited with four sacks and four quarterback hurries on a Cavalier defense that improved over 75 spots in total defense from a year ago. - Virginia Football

(DS#999 DT) rSr/2024

DT Aaron Faumui, Virginia
News Source: Virginia Football
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12/06/22 - Chico Bennett Jr., rSr/2025, Virginia, 6-4, 249 (DS#82 DE) + More +

2022 ALL-ACC FOOTBALL HONORABLE MENTION: DE - Chico Bennett, Virginia, 35 votes,...Playing UVA's bandit position, Bennett had a breakout season on a UVA defense that ranked 14th in the NCAA in sacks per game (3.0). Bennett started all but one game and led the team with seven total sacks. His 0.70 sacks per game are the third-most in the ACC. He garnered ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week twice this season, one of nine UVA defensive linemen ever to win the award twice in the same season. - Virginia Football

(DS#82 DE) rSr/2025

DE Chico Bennett Jr., Virginia
News Source: Virginia Football
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12/05/22 - Anthony Johnson, rSr/2023, Virginia, 6-2, 205 (DS#8 FS) + More +

2022 ALL-ACC FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM: CB - Anthony Johnson, Virginia, 84 votes,...Johnson started all 10 games at corner for UVA amassing 51 tackles, two interceptions and 12 pass break ups. His 14 passes defended (12 break ups & 2 interceptions) were the second-most among ACC defenders and his 1.4 passes defended per game are the eighth-best in FBS. Johnson's 38 career passes defended are tied for the fifth-most among active FBS defensive backs. - Virginia Football

(DS#8 FS) rSr/2023

FS Anthony Johnson, Virginia
News Source: Virginia Football
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12/04/22 - Harrison Waylee, rSr/2026, Virginia, 5-09, 212 (DS#52 RB) + More +

NIU running back Harrison Waylee announced Friday he was entering the transfer portal, the second year in a row the Huskies will have to replace the team's leading rusher. Last season, running back Jay Ducker ran for over 1,000 yards and was the MAC Freshman of the Year before transferring to Memphis. Coach Thomas Hammock could not be reached for comment. In a statement, Waylee thanked Hammock and the coaching staff for making his time with the Huskies a great experience. "Over the last three years I have grown as a player, student and person as a result of this community," Waylee said in the statement. Waylee played in all but one game this year, rushing for 899 yards and five touchdowns.

He was hurt after five games last year but still ran for 574 yards and four touchdowns, plus was the leading rusher in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. Waylee's injury last year paved the way for Ducker to take over as the lead back, running 218 times for 1,184 yards and three touchdowns. He was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and then transferred to Memphis, where he ran for 461 yards on 97 carries and five touchdowns this season. The Huskies won the MAC last year, but went 3-9 this year. - DeKalb Daily Chronicle

(DS#52 RB) rSr/2026

RB Harrison Waylee, Virginia
News Source: DeKalb Daily Chronicle
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11/14/22 - Lavel Davis Jr., Jr/2024, Virginia, 6-6, 219 (DS#999 WR) + More +

Three University of Virginia football players killed in an on-campus shooting were remembered Monday by their head coach as "all good kids." Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D'Sean Perry were juniors returning to campus from a class trip to see a play Sunday night when authorities say they were killed by a fellow student. The young men were also members of the Virginia football team, journeying through periods of transition in their careers - whether it was bouncing back from a season-ending injury, changing positions on the team or transferring in from another school. "They were all good kids," head football coach Tony Elliott said early Monday afternoon. He said he would talk about the victims "when the time is right." The shooting happened just after 10:15 p.m. Sunday as a charter bus full of students returned from seeing a play in Washington.

University President Jim Ryan said authorities did not have a "full understanding" of the motive or circumstances surrounding the shooting. Police on Monday captured a university student, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 22, whom they say is suspected of shooting the three football players and wounding two others. Jones had once played on the football team, but had not been a member of the team for at least a year, police said. Davis was a 6-foot-7 wide receiver from Dorchester, South Carolina. He finished the 2020 season ranked No. 2 in the nation and No. 1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference for average yards per reception, among many other accolades. - AP College Football

(DS#999 WR) Jr/2024

WR Lavel Davis Jr., Virginia
News Source: AP College Football
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10/28/22 - Dontayvion Wicks, rJr/2023, Virginia, 6-1, 206 (DS#24 WR) + More +

He was disappointed, but not deterred. Still, Dontayvion Wicks said he needed a pause on the heels of his underwhelming first half of the fall. "There was a lot of reflection and I knew I had to hold myself accountable," the standout Virginia wide receiver said Tuesday. The subdued feeling Wicks had earlier this month during the Cavaliers' bye week and at the midway point of their season was unfamiliar to him, especially considering he spent the previous year as one of the nation's premier pass-catchers while setting the school record for receiving yards in a campaign and having his 21.1 yards per reception top the Atlantic Coast Conference. He logged six 100-yard games, and was a key cog in the Hoos' then pass-happy offense. All he knew was success, so his struggles through transition into UVa's new balanced attack, which requires more attention to detail from its wide receivers, challenged Wicks.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder, who was an All-ACC first-team selection in 2021, labored to adapt, but didn't find the same level of production or impact as he experienced the year before, and uncharacteristically, he had trouble catching the ball. "At that point we had 39 drops," Cavaliers offensive coordinator Des Kitchings said, "and I think he had a large number of those, so there [was] some self-reflection and trying to eliminate that." Said Wicks: "It was just clearing my mind, like letting everything go and putting everything behind me to just focus on what's next and having to get better. I had to not worry about what happened and what was going on. I just had to play." - Charlottesville Daily Progress

(DS#24 WR) rJr/2023

WR Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia
News Source: Charlottesville Daily Progress
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10/24/22 - Chico Bennett Jr., rSr/2025, Virginia, 6-4, 249 (DS#82 DE) + More +

OCT 24 ACC DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Chico Bennett, Virginia, DL, Ashburn, Va.,...The Georgia Tech transfer had a huge game in his “homecoming” to help lead the Cavaliers' 16-9 win over the Yellow Jackets on Thursday night ... Virginia's defense did not allow a touchdown, held Georgia Tech to a total of 201 yards total offense (including 55 rushing yards) and notched eight sacks as the Cavaliers defeated the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta for the first time since 2008 ... Bennett had seven total tackles and two sacks to contribute to a UVA single-game sack total that tied for the second-most in program history. - ACC Football

(DS#82 DE) rSr/2025

DE Chico Bennett Jr., Virginia
News Source: ACC Football
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