PFF Grades and Snap Counts For Virginia in Their 34-8 Win Over NC State

How did the Cavaliers grade out after their dominant showing in week zero against NC State?

Aug 29, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Beau Pribula (7) hands off to running back Xay Davis (25) during the third quarter of the game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Atkins-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Virginia Cavaliers could not have asked for a better start to their season than the one they had yesterday against NC State.

In what was considered a toss-up game by many, Virginia came out and laid to rest any doubt about whether they were a team that was capable of getting back to the ACC Championship game and if last year under Tony Elliott was a fluke.

The Cavaliers were dominant from start to finish in this game and never really gave the Wolfpack a chance to win. The run game was strong, the defense was suffocating, and now UVA is 1-0 and already has an important conference win under its belt.

So who were the top performers from yesterday's win over the Wolfpack? Here are the PFF grades for each player who saw action yesterday, with snap counts in parentheses.

Offense

Aug 29, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Beau Pribula (7) exits the field following the game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Atkins-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

1. QB Beau Pribula- 85.6 overall grade (62)
2. OT Monroe Mills- 73.0 (55)
3. OL Dane Wleklinski- 68.8 (6)
4. WR Da'Shawn Martin- 67.8 (28)
5. WR Ty'Lyric Coleman- 66.3 (35)
6. OL Makilan Thomas- 66.2 (39)
7. OT McKale Boley- 65.8 (62)
8. OL Noah Josey- 65.7 (62)
9. OL Drake Metcalf- 64.6 (62)
10. RB Xay Davis- 64.4 (13)
11. OL Ben York- 64.4 (33)
12. RB Noah Vaughn- 64.3 (8)
13. RB Jekail Middlebrook- 64.1 (30)
14. RB Xavier Brown- 61.8 (16)
15. TE Connor Cox- 60.8 (25)
16. WR Jack Rhodes- 60.5 (10)
17. TE Henry Omohundro- 60.0 (3)
18. WR TeKai Kirby- 60.0 (2)
19. QB Eli Holstein- 60.0 (6)
20. OL Dane Steele- 59.8 (3)
21. RB Peyton Lewis- 59.4 (7)
22. WR Dylan Cope- 59.3 (22)
23. OL Jon Adair- 59.2 (6)
24. OL Grayson Reid- 58.9 (6)
25. WR Josiah Abdullah- 58.5 (12)
26. WR Tyson Davis- 58.3 (4)
27. WR Kameron Courtney- 57.9 (25)
28. TE John Rogers- 57.8 (32)
29. WR Jacquon Gibson- 57.8 (28)
30. OL Cole Surber- 57.2 (6)
31. TE Hayden Rollison- 56.6 (3)
32. TE Dakota Twitty- 55.1 (37)

Overall takeaways from the offensive grades are that Beau Pribula had a really strong debut as the Cavaliers quarterback, the running backs and the offensive line were solid, and Virginia is going to need more from its wide receiver corps at some point this season, but they had such a strong day on the ground that it was not an issue yesterday.

Defense

Aug 29, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Landon Danley (32) celebrates a fumble recovery during the second quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Atkins-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

1. CB Jacobie Henderson- 74.2 (42)
2. LB Myles Brown- 74.1 (19)
3. LB Landon Danley- 73.8 (27)
4. CB Omillio Agard- 72.8 (41)
5. S Brandyn Hillman- 72.4 (36)
6. S Jaylen Jones- 70.7 (19)
7. DL Justin Townsend- 68.5 (1)
8. S Ethan Minter- 67.9 (34)
9. DL Anthony Britton- 67.7 (27)
10. LB Caleb Hardy- 67. 4 (17)
11. DE Billy Koudelka- 67.3 (8)
12. LB Maddox Marcellus- 67.0 (33)
13. DE Nnanna Anyanwu- 66.9 (20)
14. DL Jonathan Allen- 66.5 (7)
15. DE Devon Baxter- 66.1 (18)
16. CB Donovan Platt- 65.9 (29)
17. DB Justin Ross- 65.5 (18)
18. S Christian Ellis- 65.0 (16)
19. S Jalen McNair- 64.8 (6)
20. LB Justin Rowe- 64.7 (6)
21. CB Patrick Campbell- 64.3 (10)
22. CB Jam Jackson- 63.9 (9)
23. S Lukas Sanker- 63.1 (6)
24. DE Fisher Camac- 61.6 (41)
25. DL Kervins Choute- 61.5 (13)
26. DE Matthew Fobbs-White- 56.9 (38)
27. DE Darrion Henry-Young- 55.8 (18)
28. DL Jason Hammond- 55.6 (23)
29. S Montino Williams- 54.4 (20)
30. DL Sichan John- 54.2 (14)

The defense had a really strong day against NC State and did not allow them to get anything going on the ground or through the air. I think the secondary was the most impressive unit to me while I think the defensive line could stand to do a little better, especially when it comes to pass rush, but that is nitpicking more than anything. UVA had one of the best defenses in the ACC last year and look to have another strong unit again.