Three Position Battles To Watch In Virginia's Spring Game On Saturday

Keep an eye out for these battles this weekend

Nov 29, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Beau Pribula (9) rushes during the third quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Missouri won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Virginia is less than two days away from its annual spring game, and there will be several key position battles to watch for in the spring game. Let’s take a closer look. 

Quarterback- Who Will Be QB1? 

It feels like, at the moment, Beau Pribula is the frontrunner and is in good standing. However, Saturday is a chance for Eli Holstein to put some pressure on him and potentially tighten the race between them. Holstein is a former starter for the Pittsburgh Panthers before getting injured and coming over in the transfer portal. Pribula came over from Missouri and was having a great season before he went down with a lower leg injury that derailed his season. Pribula led Missouri to a 6-2 start before going down. Who will emerge as the guy at the position and take the next lead as a starter? 

Running Back- Who will be the top running back? 

This running back room is loaded with talent, and the Hoos brought in Jekail Middlebrook, Solomon Beebe, and Peyton Lewis. All of these guys have the traits and qualities to be the top running back for the Cavaliers. It feels like they will all be in rotation this season and have some kind of role, but the question remains: Who will be the top back? The spring game can be an audition for any of these three running backs to be the top guy.  Head coach Tony Elliot gave a candid answer on wanting a workhorse. 

"I think selfishly you want to have several guys because I know there were several games and weeks where you like you're crossing your fingers like man, we're one turned ankle away from being very, very thin at the position. You want to have very functional, quality depth there that's competitive, and they'll determine if it becomes that I think when we went into the season, like we didn't fully know what we had in J’Mari if we're if we're being transparent, and he determined that he was going to become the workhorse just with his productivity and he separated. So if one of them separates, then we'll go in that direction. If it turns into a committee-type deal, we'll go in that direction, but I do like the competition and the depth that we have at that position right now," said Elliot.

Safety- Who emerges as the top safeties?

Safety was one of the most experienced positions for the Cavlaiers last season, but they will have to replace some guys. They lose Antonio Clary and Devin Neal, who are pursuing their professional careers. One of the returners will be Ethan Minter, who had 47 tackles last season. Corey Costner will also return for the Cavaliers and got better as the season went on. Caleb Hardy, Montino Williams, and Keke Adamas will also return. Virginia didn’t waste any time in adding players from the portal, including Brandon Willman, Christian Ellis, Jalen McNair, and Jaylen Jones. You can make the argument that this group has the potential to be better than last year, but we still have to see who emerges and will be the starting safeties in 2026. Spring will give us a glimpse of how it can look.