Hoos Have Point to Prove in Charlotte

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia football team heads to Charlotte, N.C., this weekend to play at Bank of America Stadium. The Cavaliers hope to return to that venue in December for the ACC championship game. Their immediate focus, though, is their non-conference clash with the West Virginia Mountaineers.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, No. 25 UVA (2-0) meets WVU (2-0) in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

The Mountaineers haven’t played in Bank of America Stadum since 2023, when they defeated North Carolina 30-10 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The Wahoos played there last December in the ACC title game.

Three weeks earlier, in Durham, N.C., Virginia had pummeled Duke 34-17 at Wallace Wade Stadium. In the rematch, though, the Cavaliers’ offense struggled for much of the game, and the Blue Devils prevailed 27-20 in overtime.

The UVA players who are back from last season are intent on “leaving with a better taste in their mouth this time,” offensive guard Noah Josey said Tuesday in the Hardie Center, “going to the stadium and putting a better product on the field.”

UVA and WVU announced in November 2024 a deal to play two games in Charlotte: the first this month and the second in September 2032. The Cavaliers had no way of knowing then that they’d also play in Charlotte in December 2025, head coach Tony Elliott noted Tuesday, but this is “an opportunity for us to go back to the stadium, get that taste out of our mouth, and then hopefully do what we're supposed to do, take care of business, find a way to win the game.”

The trip to Charlotte will let the team’s newcomers familiarize themselves with Bank of America Stadium and give the Hoos “a clear vision of where we want to go,” Elliott said.

We’ll see you in Charlotte #Wahoowa

Get your tickets: https://t.co/eu5YakXSTT#GoHoos 🔶⚔️🔷 pic.twitter.com/cjWPbYcEFY

— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) September 15, 2026

UVA won a program-record 11 games last season, going 6-1 at home and 5-2 away from Scott Stadium.

Josey said he believes the key to winning outside of Charlottesville is “having a system, having a set of operations you do every time, whether that be home or away. The only difference is the stadium you're playing in. I think we do a good job of replicating our pregame where we do basically the same thing [home or away].”

TIES THAT BIND: Elliott, who’s in his fifth season at Virginia, goes back more than a quarter-century with WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez. During the 1999 and 2000 seasons, when Elliott was a wide receiver at Clemson, Rodriguez was the team’s associate head coach and offensive coordinator.

To get a chance to coach against Rodriguez is “pretty cool,” Elliott said. “It’s humbling too.”

He smiled. “It's also an indication of how old I'm getting. But it's pretty cool. What I remember about Coach Rich Rod is [that he was] intense. Very intense, very demanding, fast-paced, coached you hard, loved you just as hard. So I'm excited about the opportunity.”

When Rodriguez oversaw the Tigers’ offense, “I think he was ahead of all of the other guys from a tempo standpoint,” Elliott said. “I just remember it was spot the ball, and back with the 25-second play clock, we had to have the ball snapped by 19. So we had six seconds to get the ball off once it was made ready for play.”

The Mountaineers play fast, too, Elliott said. “Run the ball, attack, mobile quarterback, that's still very, very similar to our style back when I played at Clemson. So some similarities, but also a lot of differences too, because that's been a long time.”

West Virginia’s leading rusher (99.5 yards per game) is quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who’s “a threat at any second to change the game and score,” Elliott said.

Another WVU weapon is tailback Cam Cook, who’s averaging 97.0 yards rushing per game.

The Mountaineers are “going to really challenge you from a preparation standpoint with the schemes that they do to make you play assignment-sound football,” Elliott said.

Hawkins, a 6-foot-1 junior, has thrown only 21 passes this season, but he’s completed 16 of them for 287 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions.

TOUGH BLOW: Senior tackle Jason Hammond, one of the anchors of the Cavaliers’ defensive line, needs surgery on the injury he sustained last Friday night against Norfolk State, Elliott said.

It’s unclear how long Hammond, who missed most of the 2024 season with an injury, will be sidelined, Elliott said.

Virginia’s other tackles include Anthony Britton, Sichan John, Darrion Henry-Young, Kervins Choute, Jonathan Allen and Chase Morrison, who’s recovering from an ankle injury, and all will have “to step up” in Hammond’s absence, Elliott said.

 

“It's the unfortunate part about football,” Elliott said. “It’s next man up, and sometimes you gotta carry a little bit bigger load than maybe you want to, but it's whatever you gotta do for the team. So I'm excited for the other guys to get their opportunity. I'm really heartbroken for Jason, because I know how hard he worked to get back and he missed some time in the past. And nobody wants, just as you're getting going, to have to fix something to get yourself back ready to roll.”

GROUP EFFORT: Virginia’s running backs coach, Keith Gaither, is spoiled for options this season. The Cavaliers have used five tailbacks, and each has carried at least 10 times.

Xay Davis has run 18 times for 120 yards and one touchdown. Noah Vaughn is averaging 7.3 yards per carry, the most of any UVA tailback, and Jekail Middlebrook and Xavier Brown have rushed for 79 and 54 yards, respectively. Peyton Lewis has run for only 17 yards, but he has one of the team’s three rushing touchdowns.

 

“They're all competing to get on the field,” Elliott said, “and so far, all of them have earned the right to play. Let's just figure it out as we get into the game.

 

“And I know it may not be easy if you're the fourth one to go in there, because you're chomping at the bit, but they have confidence that they are going to get their opportunity. And the way that we practice, we try to rotate them that way in practice so that they have the ability to try and find their rhythm as quick as they can, and I think it's also a reflection of the offensive unit as a whole. The guys up front are consistent, so it helps those guys quickly get into a rhythm. And when you can jump in there and the offensive line is creating running lanes and you can pop a good positive gain when you first run, then you quickly settle in. And so really so far, it's just been by committee.”

Asked about the running backs, Josey said, “I think that room is probably the deepest room we have on the team, and it could be really easy for it to be a toxic environment in there with guys wanting snaps, wanting carries, but it's not. They’re all excited for each other to go out there and eat, which is awesome to see.”

MULTI-TALENTED: Quarterback Beau Pribula arrived at UVA in January with a reputation for being a talented runner. He’s distinguishing himself as a passer too.

Pribula, who’s averaged 6.0 yards per carry, has completed 21 of 25 passes (84%) for 317 yards and five touchdowns, with one interception.

When Pribula left Missouri, there were “probably some unfair assessments and evaluations of him as a quarterback,” Elliott said. “And I think I've said it several times, he's got a quarterback mind. So he is a quarterback. He's not just an athlete that plays a position. He thinks like a quarterback. He processes like a quarterback. He understands the nuances of the position, the game management, all of those things. And I think that has helped him to transition to the system to where he's very, very comfortable.”

IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Pribula’s targets include wide receiver Jacquon Gibson, who transferred from UMass to Virginia in January.

Gibson, who wears jersey No. 4, is listed at 5-foot-11, 196 pounds, and “he's got the ability to play on the outside if you need him, and then he's also got the skill set to play on the inside in the slot,” Elliott said.

“So what I think that does is, it allows us to maybe play a little bit more to his strengths. And he's got good short-area quickness, so he can do some of the underneath stuff that we used to do with Malik [Washington]. But he's had to be a Swiss Army Knight for us early on. He's had to play everywhere, which is good for his development.”

Gibson, who didn’t have any receptions in UVA’s season-opening win over NC State, caught two passes for 36 yards against Norfolk State, and each went for a first-quarter touchdown.

Led by Kameron Courtney (six catches for 47 yards), six UVA wide receivers have caught at least one pass each this season, and the position group will get deeper when Rico Flores Jr., Dillon Newton-Short and Jack Rhodes return from injuries.

When the ball is “thrown your way, I feel like you should take advantage of that opportunity,” Gibson said Tuesday, “and I feel like all our guys have that mindset where if the ball's coming your way, make the play, and then make the play a better play. So no matter how many times we get thrown the ball, we just want to win. We just want to reach all our goals as a team, and I feel like if you reach all your goals as a team, your individual success will come with that.”

Gibson, who grew up in Fayetteville, N.C., transferred to William Amos Hough High School in Cornelius, N.C., for his senior year. Cornelius is about 20 miles north of Charlotte, and Gibson will have a large cheering section of friends and family at the game Saturday night.

“It’s going to be fun to be back in Charlotte, Queen City,” Gibson said.

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