Which Cavaliers face the most pressure as fall camp begins?

A year ago, the vast majority of the pressure sat squarely on the shoulders of head coach Tony Elliott as Virginia's football team began training camp. In his first three seasons on Grounds, Elliott had yet to produce a winning season, and his proverbial seat was red-hot.

A school-record 11 victories dialed down the temperature immensely. Now, any scrutiny on Elliott is to maintain and even build on last season's success.

That still means pressure, although much of it is now shared by the players who agreed to join his program on the assumption that it's on the rise. Thirteen players who started the Gator Bowl victory over Missouri are no longer with the team, which means opportunities for others to step into leadership roles.

With great talent comes great expectations. As training camp opens on Wednesday, here are three newcomers who face the highest pressure to perform well this season.

1. QB Beau Pribula

No surprise here. The starting quarterback gets the most praise, the most blame and the most scrutiny on almost every team.

After previous stops at Penn State and Missouri, Pribula arrived at Virginia with a high price tag (between $1.5 million and $1.8 million in NIL money, according to published reports) and vast potential. Virginia Tech coach James Franklin (who had him at PSU) lamented Pribula's 2024 decision to transfer and raved about his physical and mental gifts.

All that said, Pribula's college career to this point has not been overwhelming. He never could unseat Drew Allar as the Nittany Lions' starter, and he managed just 11 touchdown passes (against nine interceptions) at Missouri last season.

After outdueling fellow transfer Eli Holstein in spring practice, Pribula gets his best and final chance to prove himself on the field -- and to NFL scouts. He has the arm strength, mobility and supporting cast to succeed. He just has to prove it.

2. WR Rico Flores Jr.

Another two-time transfer, Flores was productive in complementary roles at Notre Dame and UCLA, making a combined 65 receptions in two years with the Irish and one with the Bruins.

At Virginia, he'll be asked to assume the No. 1 receiver role handled so ably by Olamide Zacchaeus, Dontayvion Wicks, Keytaon Thompson, Malik Washington, Malachi Fields and Trell Harris in recent years.

He has the size (6-2, 211 pounds), speed and experience to become Virginia's next go-to receiver. He also should benefit from playing with an experienced offensive line, a talented passer in Pribula and a capable running game to prevent defenses from keying on him. But he'll need to prove he can separate from top rival cornerbacks and any double-teams he might face.

3. S Brandyn Hillman

Besides talent and experience, Hillman has what every Cavalier covets: a championship ring.

He was a backup on Michigan's 2024 national championship squad before moving into a starting safety role with the Wolverines last year and earning honorable mention all-Big Ten honors. Now, he brings that pedigree to Virginia with hopes of helping the Cavaliers reach the College Football Playoff.

A Virginia native, he figures to slip into the strong safety spot that Devin Neal occupied capably last season, when he led the Cavaliers with 88 tackles. He's a strong candidate to call signals for a secondary which features several newcomers in key roles and act as the last line of defense in case of any mistakes or miscommunication among his teammates.

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