Virginia Cavaliers Availability Report vs Wake Forest: Who’s In and Who’s Out?

Who is playing this week for Virginia as the prepare to host Wake Forest?

Sept 9, 2023; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Head Coach Tony Elliot discussing plays over the headset to his players during the second half against the James Madison Dukes at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Hannah Pajewski-Imagn Images | Hannah Pajewski-Imagn Images

Virginia is back home after a long road trip to California, where they emerged victorious. The Cavaliers controlled the game throughout, and their offense was clicking on all cylinders in the victory. J’Mari Taylor rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The Cavaliers defense also came up big, forcing two turnovers, and one resulted in an interception returned for a touchdown. 

Saturday presents a new opportunity and challenge for the Cavaliers, who look to remain undefeated in conference play and pick up another win in the ACC. This week, they will face Wake Forest, a team that has shown they are capable of an upset. 

Notable players Out 

The only player who is questionable this week is offensive lineman Drake Metcalf, according to the official availability report on the ACC website. 

#UVa availability report for Saturday night against Wake Forest.

Most notable: RG Drake Metcalf listed as questionable. WR Jayden Thomas (ankle), RB Noah Vaughn (ankle) and OT Ben York (ankle) are out. pic.twitter.com/RdsuJBNf7n

— Greg Madia (@GregMadia) November 7, 2025

The most notable players who will not be playing are wide receiver Jayden Thomas, RB Noah Vaughn, and offensive tackle Ben York. All are key contributors to Virginia and have had an impact on the team this season.  York has been a bright spot and has continued to grow in his role with the team, so it is an unfortunate injury that comes at a bad time. 

"He (Ben York) was in the spring, man, we were super, super, super excited about the progress he was making, and then he got his shoulder dinged up a little bit, which hampered him. And then you started to see those flashes coming back to where, man, he was playing really good football last week before he got hurt. He was actually the lineman of the week for us and played in the 30 snaps that he played. So we’re starting to get to the point where we have confidence to be able to play him on the right and the left. So I hate it with him going down, but I'm hopeful that he'll be back this week and continue to progress. So his confidence has really started to pick up. I think athletically, we knew coming out of high school that he had a chance to be really good."

Linebacker Caleb Hardy and TE John Rogers are probable 

Can The Offensive Line Hold Up With Injuries Piling Up 

Nov 27, 2021; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; The Virginia Cavaliers offense lines up against the Virginia Tech Hokies defense during the second quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

A few weeks ago, the Cavaliers gave up six sacks to North Carolina and struggled to protect Veteran quarterback Chandler Morris. With Drake Metcalf questionable and Ben York out, it makes you wonder how much this group can hold up against Wake Forest. Wake Forest is led by Langston Hardy, who has a team-high 4.5 sacks this season for the Demon Deacons. Coach Elliot talked about the pass protection earlier in the week, prior to some of the injuries. 

“Right, so I think I said last week that the six sacks that we gave up were kind of an anomaly, not who we are, and you are what you repeatedly do. And this week, for the record, we had two sacks, and I don't think they were on the offensive line, right? One was the quarterback; it was well protected, and he kind of pulled it down early to scramble and got tackled. And the other one was a move to pocket, and he slipped. So I thought they responded and came back and did a really good job of creating some clean pockets, which has been pretty consistent because we've had several games where we haven't given up any sacks, and we've kept our quarterback clean. 

Pass protection will be a key area to watch, and keeping Morris upright and healthy. He’s been a little bit banged up this year. 

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•What do the Advanced Analytics Say About Virginia's Matchup vs Wake Forest?