Hoos are/are not present at the season opener

When the Virginia football team's Week 1 roster was released Tuesday for Saturday's season opener against Richmond, one name was conspicuously missing: Ben Smiley III, a sixth-year defensive end who has played in 29 games in his career and started eight times on UVA's defensive line in 2023.

Tony Elliott provided some clarity on Smiley's omission in Tuesday's press conference, explaining that Smiley had missed a lot of time during fall camp due to an injury and had only returned to practice that day. He added that sophomore Miles Greene had also missed time due to an injury and returned to practice last week. These setbacks were the main reasons why neither Greene nor Smiley were listed in the Week 1 roster.

Instead, junior Terrell Jones, who recently made the switch from defensive tackle to defensive end, and walk-on freshman Billy Koudelka were listed as replacements for Kam Butler and Chico Bennett, respectively.

“I think you'll see the depth at that position continue to grow as we move forward,” Elliott said of UVA's defensive ends. “But with Miles [Greene]we only got him back last week. And then Ben [Smiley]he's back in training. Today was his first day of training in a while.”

While Elliott did not provide any further details on Virginia's other injured players, the rankings do answer some questions. As expected, junior wide receiver JR Wilson is not on the rankings after undergoing a knee exam during fall practice, although Elliott was previously optimistic that Wilson's injury would not be permanent.

Also not included on the list were graduate offensive lineman Drake Metcalf and senior defensive end Bryce Carter, both of whom are out with lengthy injuries. As previously announced, junior linebacker Stevie Bracey, sophomore defensive end Mekhi Buchanan, junior offensive lineman Noah Hartsoe and freshman wide receiver Triston Ward are out for the remainder of the season.

And now the good news. No longer on the injured list are offensive linemen McKale Boley and Brian Stevens, both of whom missed extended periods of fall camp and are both ranked as starters. Additionally, junior running back Xavier Brown has returned from his shoulder injury and is listed as Virginia's third running back behind Kobe Pace and Jack Griese. And finally, senior linebacker James Jackson, who missed part of fall camp due to offseason surgery, is back in his usual spot as starting linebacker alongside Kam Robinson.

Virginia opens the 2024 football season on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Scott Stadium. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

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