Tony Elliott speaks on Class of 2022 ruling, Jacob Holmes and Cazeem Moore

Student-athletes who started NCAA competition during the 2022-2023 year and exhausted eligibility this past season will be allowed to play in the 2026-27 season. The exact specifics are still up in the air, but in theory, Virginia football could bring back Jacob Holmes and Cazeem Moore.

“Yeah, so that was a crazy deal, wasn't it?” Tony Elliott said Monday. “It kind of came out of nowhere.”

The timeline to add players is complicated — the Cavaliers started fall camp Wednesday, and will play a regular season game just 25 days from now. When the NCAA officially adopted its five in five eligibility rule in June, student-athletes from the high school Class of 2022 were not grandfathered into the new system.

The NCAA landscape has now evolved dramatically given that those seniors will be eligible to play a fifth season. That evolution is especially chaotic given its tardiness.

“I wasn't expecting that,” Elliott said. “Wasn't planning for that, but I know we're going to do everything from an administration standpoint, from a program standpoint, to position Virginia to be successful in the future. I think the challenging thing is that each day there's an update, right? There's more information. So I think you got to be very careful in the interpretation so that you get it right. But I know that our folks are looking into it.”

Elliott told the media that Virginia has been in contact with Holmes and Moore — two defensive linemen who played crucial reserve roles for the Cavaliers in 2025. It would not be impossible for them to don Virginia jerseys and join the team mere weeks before the season opener.

“Yeah, there's been contact because as we learn more, there's more information that you have to be able to answer the questions that are arising on both sides, right?” Elliott said. “So there's been communication, but still, in terms of the direction, we're still just waiting on things to get ironed out.”

Elliott mentioned that if Holmes and Moore were to join the team, they may face some difficulties readjusting. Without in-house offseason training, spring practice, summer workouts and the early weeks of fall camp, health is a concern.

Those players would have to be in ideal football shape — and acclimate to a new team full of new additions.

“And again, you didn't plan on those guys being a part of your program, so you made decisions and went out and provided opportunities to guys that have been here putting in work,” Elliott said. “So you just would have to work through the dynamics of integrating those guys back into the team, especially with the newer guys that you have on the roster.”

Virginia did add several defensive linemen in the transfer portal — which could limit snaps for Holmes and Moore. However, if they do return, that scenario could benefit them by taking away any pressure to handle extensive playing time early on.

The Cavaliers cannot think that far ahead, though. There is not a guarantee that Holmes and Moore join the team. At the moment, it appears as though any grandfathered players will not be able to transfer unless they entered the portal during the original window — but that too could change.

“There's a lot more layers to it than maybe what you initially think,” Elliott said. "It's like, oh, hey, this is the new rule. Well, there's unintended consequences, right that I think now, because of the landscape, people have a little bit more caution when it comes to, right?”

Elliott said that there are many details which need to be sorted out before Virginia makes any final decisions. If a reunion with Holmes and Moore is in the cards, though, the Cavaliers might make it happen.

“So we're going to position ourselves to be successful and competitive, but at the same time, we're going to make sure that we do things the right way,” Elliott said.

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