CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia football program celebrated the 2025 season with its annual banquet on Saturday (Dec. 13) at George Welsh Indoor Practice Facility. The Cavaliers recognized members of the 2025 team with a variety of program awards and honored their senior class.
2025 Captains
DT Jahmeer Carter
TE Sage Ennis
LB James Jackson
QB Chandler Morris
*For the first time under Tony Elliott, captains were voted by the team after the eighth game of the season.
OFFENSIVE AWARDS
Offensive MVP Award – Chandler Morris
Offensive Impact Player – J’Mari Taylor
Offensive Newcomer of the Week – Brady Wilson
Offensive Rookie of Year – Ben York
Most Improved Offensive Player – Trell Harris
12th Man Award – Jayden Thomas
DEFENSIVE AWARDS
Defensive MVP Award – Kam Robinson
Defensive Impact Player Award – Mitchell Melton
Defensive Newcomer of the Year Award – Devin Neal
Defensive Rookie of the Year Award – Corey Costner
Most Improved Defensive Player Award – Ethan Minter
12th Man award – Jacob Holmes & Daniel Rickert
SPECIAL TEAMS AWARD
Most Improved Special Teams Player of the Year – Caleb Hardy & Elijah Slibeck
Specialist Rookie of the Year – Corey Costner
Special Teams Player of Year – Cam Ross
PROGRAM AWARDS
Jim Daves Media Award – Mitchell Melton
This honor recognizes the UVA football student-athlete that displays excellence in cooperation and dignity with the media. The award is named in honor of Jim Daves who spent 19 years as Virginia Football’s Director of Communications from 2005-2023.
H.E.A.R.T Award – Noah Josey
The core values of the Virginia Football program are Humility, Effort, Accountability, Respect and Toughness. The recipient of the H.E.A.R.T. award not only embodies the program’s core values but also was very dependable, resilient, committed and provided extremely valuable leadership to the team.
The 1.15.41 Legacy Award – James Jackson
In November of 2022 the Virginia Football program was changed forever with the tragic passing of No. 1 Lavel Davis Jr., No. 15 Devin Chandler and the No. 41 D’Sean Perry. Members of the UVA Football community have been tirelessly working to turn tragedy into triumph. The 1.15.41 Legacy Award goes to the individual that embodies strength, unity, selflessness and service.
Mike Hollins Perseverance and Courage Award – Austin Kaigler
Mike Hollins & Austin KaiglerCavalier Code Man of Service Award – Cam Ross
Through the pillars of Character, Opportunity, Duty, and Engagement, The Cav CODE Man of Service Award is given to a player who demonstrates exceptional character, seizes all opportunities that come his way, understands his duty of being a true man of service, and engages with not only his teammates but the greater community around him.
ACADEMIC AWARDS
The Academic Awards recognizes the UVA players for academic achievement for their respective classes.
First Years – Corey Costner
Second Years – Dane Wleklinski
Third Years – Dre Walker
Fourth Years –Jahmal Edrine
Graduate Students –Kevin Wigenton
NSCA Strength & Conditioning All-America Nominees – Jahmeer Carter, Sage Ennis, Devin Neal, J’Mari Taylor, Jack Witmer
The National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American Athlete of the Year program recognizes the collegiate athletes whose athletic accomplishments reflect their dedication to strength training and conditioning. These athletes are also recognized for their academic achievement, personal accomplishments, and their integrity as student athletes. If selected, this year's nominees will be displayed permanently in the weight room.
Strength & Conditioning Dedication Award – Jahmeer Carter (Defense), Sage Ennis (Offense)
The Strength & Conditioning Dedication Award recognizes the Virginia Football players whose commitment, work ethic, and leadership in training serves as an example to other players. These scholar-athletes place the team above individual accomplishments and are committed to excellence in all areas of training and performance enhancement. This award is voted on by their teammates.
Iron Hoo Competition Winners – Devin Neal (Speed Group), Jewett Hayes (Big Speed Group), Makilan Thomas (Power Group)
The Iron Hoo Competition is a culmination of players’ off-season training testing numbers. The players earn points in various weight room and field-testing metrics based on their performance compared to their peers. The events are power clean, back squat, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 20-yard sprint, and pro agility drill.
Power Hour Award – Henry Omohundro & Grayson Reid
The Power Hour Award recognizes the player whose commitment, work ethic, consistency, and leadership in training served as an example to other players. This award is voted on by the team members in the Power Hour group comprised of a group of developmental players who train with the strength & conditioning staff four days per week during the season.
Accountability Challenge Champion Award – Team 10 “The Winning Team” – Stevie Bracey (Capt.), Fisher Camac (Capt.), Sage Ennis (Capt.), Jordan Robinson (Capt.), Grant Ellinger, Jim Harris Jr., TeKai Kirby, Henry Omohundro, Tyler Simmons, Gabe Sneed, CJ Spence and Evan Ward.
Each January, the rising seniors meet with the Strength & Conditioning staff to draft every player on the team into 10 accountability teams. The seniors serve as captains of each team. All accountability teams begin with 150 points, representative of a national championship season. Throughout the year, each team is awarded points for positive behavior such as community service and academic excellence. Each team is also deducted points for actions below program standards. The points are totaled, and at the end of the year the winning team is honored.