Virginia Linebacker Kam Robinson Out For The Rest Of The Season

Robinson was the top defender on this UVA defense, but he will be out for the rest of the season

Nov 1, 2025; Berkeley, California, USA; Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Kam Robinson (5) reacts after sacking California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (not pictured) during the second quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Ahead of their big rivalry game vs Virginia Tech, Virginia head coach Tony Elliott delivered some bad news today for the Cavaliers. Elliott announced that linebacker Kam Robinson, the top defender on the UVA defense, is going to miss the rest of the season due to an ACL injury.

UVA coach Tony Elliott says linebacker Kam Robinson is done for the remainder of the season (ACL injury).

— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) November 25, 2025

Robinson has missed time this year due to injury, but he is the most impactful defender on the UVA defense. This season, he has 64 tackles, two sacks, and a game-sealing pick-six against Cal. He has scored on two defensive touchdowns this season. This is a big loss for the UVA defense.

Who will step up in his place? Elliott said that Landon Danley and Maddox Marcellus are going to step up in Robinson's absence:

"You saw in the last game that we played vs Duke, he (Danley went right in there and ended up leading us in tackles or tying for the lead in tackles in the game, coming in as a reserve role. The game has slowed down for him. He understands the process of preparation throughout the course of the week, his keys are becoming a little bit more known to him in terms of you are out there and the eye discipline that it takes, the maturity and the growth from that standpoint. I am excited about him and his opportunity to have a bigger role, Maddox will have to have a bigger role as well with Kam being out."

Tony Elliott says Landon Danley and Maddox Marcellus will see increased snaps for UVA with Kam Robinson out.

Elliott on Danley’s improvement this season. https://t.co/CxKJFRP2UP pic.twitter.com/oJtXYf6KNV

— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) November 25, 2025

Virginia Tech might be 3-8, but they have a strong running game that looked good against Miami last week and the Hurricanes have the No. 1 rushing defense in the country. After their loss to the Hurricanes, Hokies interim head coach Phillip Montgomery talked about the ground game for Virginia Tech and what worked for them:

"Well, I think we play physically. I think we play on edges. I think we create some problems for guys. I think we'd have put more on them if we hadn't gotten down as quickly as we did in certain times. If we'd been able to maintain a few other things in there, I think we've been able to to add a few more yards to that because I thought you saw the explosive runs that we had. We were doing a good job of staying ahead of the chains. Offensive line played really physical, backs ran physical. Trying to mix it up and do some different things. They're talented on defense, but I've got a lot of faith in our guys and what they do and how hard they play and I thought that was representative of tonight. You look at our team throughout this drive of games here. Florida State wasn't giving up many yards either and we put 200 and whatever on them. [Editor's note: It was 238 against the Seminoles.] We're going to put 100 and whatever we did tonight on these guys. [Editor's note: Tech accumulated 194 rushing yards against the Hurricanes.] We do a good job of that. And we take a lot of pride in that and that's the strength of our team."

Virginia Tech vs Virginia will kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.