Virginia Continues To Add To Their Defensive Line With Pair Of Transfer Commitments

Virginia has added more players to their defensive line and continue to build out that unit

Sep 4, 2021; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; A Virginia Cavaliers helmet is seen on the sidelines during the game between William & Mary Tribe and the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images | Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images

The Virginia Cavaliers have made the defensive line a priority during this transfer portal cycle and they have added a couple of experienced players to that unit today.

East Carolina defensive end Zion Wilson and Kent State defensive end Jamon Mathis announced their commitments to the Cavaliers today joining Michigan transfer Devon Baxter, Baylor transfer Matthew Fobbs-White, UTSA transfer Nnanna Anyanwu, and Yale transfer Ezekiel Larry as front four players that are now committed to the Cavaliers.

BREAKING: ECU transfer DL Zion Wilson has signed with Virginia, @PeteNakos reports⚔️https://t.co/kSYG7dZ8sR pic.twitter.com/4dpXqJZ0WV

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 12, 2026

Wilson was a solid player for the Pirates last season, totaling seven sacks and 42 tackles. He played in 457 snaps this season according to PFF (Pro Football Focus) and finished with an overall grade of 73.8 on defense. He played for the Pirates for two seasons and will look to bring the same juice to Charlottesville.

Mathis finished the season with six sacks for Kent State and was their highest-graded defensive player on PFF. He finished with an 85.3 overall grade in 453 snaps, including an 82.9 pass rushing grade. These two players should be able to see the field this season and potentially make an impact for the Cavaliers.

New Look D-Line

There is plenty to be excited about with this new group up front for UVA and Devon Baxter is someone that could be one of the best new additions to the defense.

While light on playing experience, Baxter has talent and was a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school. As a prospect in the 2024 class, Baxter was the No. 338 player in the country, the No. 27 edge in the country, and the No. 11 player in the state of Maryland. The 6'6 225 LBS EDGE played at Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine, MD.

UVA's Approach to the Portal

Virginia was a portal heavy team last offseason and it should be the case again this time around.

At his national signing day press conference, UVA head coach Tony Elliott talked about his approach to the portal compared to high school:

"Yeah, so if I'm putting a number on it like I did when I first got here, I don't know if I have the number. I'd say I'm probably now more 50 -50 with just the philosophy. And I will say that this group of young men have really helped me make the transition, just because at first you were a little bit leery, not about the ability to increase the numbers. on your roster, but just the chemistry the buy-in being able to create team and this team has been able to show that you can you can do that. However, I think if we look through college football, we can see that You got to get it right and it's not as easy to get it right as people think. So in order and what we learned that the reason that we were able to make the transition as a team is because we had a really, really good nucleus of guys that were fully bought into the program, understood what the core values are, understood how we were going to do things, and they were able to help the new guys make the transition.So I think in order to do that, you're going to have to have high school guys.

And then you may have to take some, some portal guys with multiple years so that they become embedded in your culture to help you make that transition. But I don't know what the, what the mix is. And to be honest with you, it's going to change from year to year, right? It may be a situation where you see that a, the high school route is, is heavy. this year, less portal, and it could be vice versa.So I don't want to pigeonhole myself. That's what I've learned. Don't put myself in a corner from that standpoint. But I will say that this team and the group of guys that we brought in have helped me to say, you know what? OK, it can be done. But they've also kind of showed me what it looks like and what you've got to have in place in order to have a chance to make it work with so many new guys coming in the door. "

Elliott and his staff have a lot of work to do if this program is going to be back in the mix in the ACC in 2026.