Transfers Providing Depth and Experience on Virginia Defensive Line

Virginia football defensive line practices during fall camp. — With the help of some impact transfers, the Virginia defensive front hopes to bring back the ‘Havoc Hoos’.

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

When Virginia had its breakthrough season of the Bronco Mendenhall era in 2019, the team’s run to appearances in the ACC Championship and Orange Bowl was fueled as much by the dynamic play of quarterback Bryce Perkins and the Cavalier offense as it was by the tough and capable UV protection. A key part of Virginia’s defensive success that season was the Havoc Hoos, a characterization of the Cavalier front seven that quite literally wreaked havoc on opposing offenses, sacking quarterbacks and forcing turnovers.

In 2019, Virginia’s defense totaled 41 sacks, the third-most in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Two years later, UVA’s defense ranked last in the ACC with 19 total sacks in the 2021 season. A weak pass rush was just one of many problems for the Virginia defense, which was one of the worst in the country last season, holding back one of the most explosive offenses in all of college football.

Under new head coach Tony Elliott and in particular, new defensive coordinator John Rudzinski, the Virginia defense enters the 2022 season with a chip on its shoulder. Righting the ship will require significant improvements in each facet of the defence, but the defensive line in particular has a huge opportunity for growth this fall based on a major influx of talent and depth.

This offseason, Virginia added four quality pieces to the defensive line depth chart through the transfer portal: Kam Butler (Miami Ohio), Paul Akere (Columbia), Jack Camper (Michigan State), and Devontae Davis (South Carolina).

Butler, a 6’3″, 265-pound edge rusher from Florence, Kentucky, comes to Virginia after a stellar career at Miami (Ohio). He earned Second-Team All-MAC honors in 2019 and 2020 and then topped that feat with a First-Team All-MAC selection following a 2021 campaign that saw him record 53.0 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three forced fumbles, three quarterback hits, and an interception. With kind of experience, talent, and production, it should come as no surprise that Butler quickly worked himself to the top of the depth chart at the edge for Virginia during fall camp.

“There’s a great worker, there’s a young man that has played a ton of football and had over 700 snaps last season at a high level and so it’s exciting to have him,” John Rudzinski said of Kam Butler. “He’s one of those guys that came in here and was very intentional. He’s very, very twitchy, and he loves to practice. So what he’s done is he’s upped the competition level and set the standard for what game reps look like,” added Tony Elliott.

Columbia grad transfer Paul Akere also had a solid fall camp. The 6’4″, 258-pound edge rusher earned a spot on the All-Ivy League Second Team last fall after recording 42 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, five sacks, and a forced fumble. Look out for No. 1 to make some plays when the UVA defense takes the field against Richmond.

Jack Camper returns to his home state of Virginia after appearing in 27 games over the last four seasons at Michigan State. He had a solid 2020 season for the Spartans, recording 18 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery. The Virginia Beach native’s experience playing Big Ten football in East Lansing will be invaluable.

“Camper continues to just be steady and he might not make the play, but he’s influencing the play,” said Tony Elliott. “He’s flushing the quarterback so somebody else can make the play.”

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Finally, the last player to transfer to UVA this year was Devontae Davis, who announced his commitment to the Cavaliers after spring ball in mid-May. Davis comes to Virginia from South Carolina, where injuries prevented him from garnering a more prominent role. He missed the 2019 season with a foot injury, but worked his way back and eventually appeared in a career-high eight games in 2021. Davis recorded four total tackles last season, three of which came in a single game against Texas A&M. Of course, what stands out most about Davis is his size. At 6’4″ and 306 pounds, he has the measurements to cause chaos on the interior of the line of scrimmage. If he can remain healthy, Davis could be due for a breakout season with his new team.

Those newcomers reinforce a group that already includes difference-makers like Ben Smiley III, Chico Bennett Jr., Jahmeer Carter, and Aaron Faumui. With a level of depth and talent not seen in the UVA defensive line room for the last few seasons, the Virginia coaching staff will have a tremendous luxury to mix up different defensive looks depending on the game situation. The outcome will hopefully be a unit that effectively rushes the passer and stops the opponent’s ground game at the line of scrimmage.

At the very least, the depth should allow the Cavaliers to keep a continuous flow of fresh players on the defensive line. When asked which specific defensive linemen were starting during fall camp, Tony Elliott answered, “They mix that up. They mix that up every day and that’s how I like it to be honest with you. Keep those guys hungry and competitive. You really want to have a D-line that all of them can go in there and start and play for you. If you want to have success at the highest level, it’s inside out. So I like the fact that every day it’s a different guy based off the previous day’s performance. So it keeps those guys hungry. So you’re starting to see that all those guys are showing flashes of improvement.”

The potential return of the Havoc Hoos in 2022 could be the x-factor Virginia needs in order to have a big season in the first year of the Tony Elliott era.

Transfers Providing Depth and Experience on Virginia Defensive Line

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