Three Virginia Players To Watch On Saturday Against California

These players could have a big impact on Saturday

Oct 18, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers defensive back Ja'Son Prevard (10) celebrates with Cavaliers defensive back Donavon Platt (28) after intercepting a pass against the Washington State Cougars in the fourth quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Virginia will head out west for a matchup on Saturday against California. The road trip will present a new challenge for the Cavaliers and one they will have to be ready for this weekend. Let’s take a look at some key players who could affect the game this weekend. 

1. QB Chandler Morris 

Oct 25, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson (94) sacks Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris (4) in the second quarer at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Morris is the engine of this Virginia team, and without his play, they wouldn’t be one of the top teams in the ACC. He has been a great addition from North Texas this season and has done a great job of taking care of the football. In addition to his pocket presence, Morris has been a great dual-threat quarterback and is on pace to set career-highs in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He had a dynamic overtime run that helped the Cavaliers immensely in pulling out a victory. 

"He had the ability to audible based on a look that we thought we might see in that situation, and it was similar, but then they did a good job of showing it and then turning it into something else. And so part of it was it was kind of a run flip option. So the flip wasn't there. You've got to go run it, bud. Yeah. So I know that the quarterback position gets the most scrutiny, right? They probably get too much credit when things are going well, and they get all the blame when things aren't. But if you question Chandler Morris's commitment to the Virginia Cavaliers, our university, our program, then I don't know what else to tell you because there's nobody in that locker room that's more committed to our program. I told you he's a warrior, right? He's got the heart of a champion, and he's going to lay his body on the line, which he showed in two games that resulted in putting us right there on the three-yard line with a chance to go win it in overtime.”

Morris helps this team go and is the lifeline of the Virginia Cavaliers. They will need another strong effort from him on the road in hostile territory on Saturday to have a chance. It starts with protecting him and giving him enough time to survey the defense and making throws that turn into big plays. 

2. DB Ja'Son Prevard

Sep 26, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers defensive back Ja'son Prevard (10) makes a game winning interception in the end zone on a pass intended for Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Squirrel White (4) in the second overtime period at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The junior defensive back has been a pleasant surprise this season for the team and is having a career year. He leads the teams with three interceptions and also has three passes defensed. His best game came in a scintillating overtime victory over Florida State, where he finished with two interceptions. One of the best parts of his game is his versatility and being able to play anywhere on the field. That has allowed him to see more time and minutes, which has boded well for the Cavaliers and their improved defense this season. 

"It's just his flexibility, football intelligence, and then as you started to see him spend time in our weight room, his body developed and changed. And so when you can have a guy that has the ability to cover like a corner, but then also is big enough to be physical enough to come support the run. Then you feel like you got an opportunity to have a guy that's very, very flexible and so you don't have to change personnel. You can respond to tempo with that kind of guy. So I think it was his skill set and then his body started to grow as he spent time with our folks in nutrition and strength and conditioning,” said Elliot. 

3. RB J’Mari Taylor 

Oct 4, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Virginia Cavaliers running back J'Mari Taylor (3) celebrates a touchdown during overtime against the Louisville Cardinals at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Virginia defeated Louisville 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Can the running game get back on track for the Cavaliers? Virginia just lost Xavier Brown for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. He was a key depth of the team. With him going out, Taylor will continue to get a large bulk of the carries. The last few outings have been tough sledding for Taylor, who averaged 2.8 yards per carry against Washington State and then 3.3 yards per carry against UNC. They desperately need to get him going and rushing offense back to the level that it was at earlier in the season. It will help their quarterback, Chandler Morris and prevent him from taking so many hits and getting battered. Coach Elliot hasn’t liked where the running game has been at and pointed out how it can improve.

"Yeah, well, we're not going to focus on what happened last week from a statistical standpoint, because it's a good football team we're getting ready to go up against. And so for us, it's back to us doing what we need to do. and controlling what we can control. So I want to see our pad level down,” said Elliot. 

“I want to see our hand placement to be better. I thought that was one of the biggest differences in the game. I felt like for the first time, we didn't win with our hands, the matchup at the line of scrimmage, right? I thought North Carolina did a really good job of hand placement and using length, and not allowing us to get to them. They got to us first in some instances. So I want to see us reestablish the hand placement and win the hand fight.” 

“I want the backs to be decisive and a little bit more. when they're decisive, squaring up their pads and hitting it downhill, and turning a three -yard run into six. And I think that was the difference, right? And sometimes when it's perceived that you may be struggling, now you're trying to hit the home run instead of taking the base hit. And I want us to just take those base hits, and A, if it's blocked for four, get four, and let's try to push it to six, right? As opposed to if it's blocked for four, well, we don't see the base hit. And now we're at zero, right? Because we're trying to do too much.” 

“So just get back to focusing on us and what we can control, get our pads down, move with our hands and then backs be decisive with your eyes and let's go forward and fall forward. I think that will turn into when you swing and you're trying to make contact and you're hitting base hits, the home runs will come."

Coach is confident the home runs will come back to the tunning game if they can sure up some things. They will need Taylor to be a big part of that, especially in slowing down a high-octane offense. The solution to slowing down any quick-scoring offense is a dominant running game that can milk the clock and keep them off the field. Virginia will need this on Sunday in California to have a chance.