One Virginia position battle that's already taken an interesting turn in fall camp

The second week of Virginia football's fall camp practices begin today, and though there were a couple of surprises in week one, the competition in UVA's defensive end room has taken center stage.

Yes, Fisher Camac and Matthew Fobbs-White are expected to be the starters, but the rotation behind them is just as important, as DC John Rudzinski usually likes to have four to five guys play legitimate snaps throughout each game.

Jewett Hayes is making an early statement at BANDIT

On that note, one of the biggest surprises or interesting developments throughout week one of fall camp has been the fact that Jewett Hayes has been working as the starter opposite Fisher Camac in the BANDIT role so far. Fobbs-White is currently out nursing a lower-body injury, but everybody thought that Yale transfer Ezekiel Larry would be the "shoo-in" backup behind Fobbs-White heading into 2026.

Not only is it a surprise, but it's incredibly exciting to see, as Hayes has been talked about as having tons of potential throughout the past two seasons, but he hasn't been able to break into the lineup yet. Finally, it looks like he took the next step in his development and is ready to make a name for himself on the field for UVA this year.

Defensive end Jewett Hayes (15) | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Virginia DE Coach Chris Slade is undoubtedly excited, as he recruited Hayes incredibly hard in the 2024 class and played a big role in getting Hayes to choose UVA over other programs like Kentucky, Iowa, and West Virginia.

Two of the biggest reasons for Hayes being ahead of Larry right now are most likely Hayes' overall length and run-stopping ability on the edge. Hayes is about two full inches taller than Larry and has shown the ability in practice to collapse the edge or at least get his body in an advantageous position against the run, setting a decent edge at the point of attack.

His length could also allow him to utilize more pass-rush moves than Larry, though Larry is much quicker and has a very explosive first step. This is probably one of the main reasons why the coaching staff plans to use Larry as their DPR (designated pass rusher) in 2026, which is the role Daniel Rickert was so effective in last year for the Cavaliers.

A defensive end rotation of Fisher Camac, Matthew Fobbs-White, Jewett Hayes, Ezekiel Larry, and even UTSA transfer Nnanna Anyanwu could end up being one of the more effective pass rushing units in the ACC this season. The group has an excellent variation of size and skillsets that this coaching staff could unleash on opposing offensive lines in 2026.

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