Elliott completes rebuild of defensive line with additions of Akere, Faumui

Virginia has made two important additions to its defensive line room this week: Columbia grad transfer Paul Akere, and Aaron Faumui, an in-house transfer of sorts.

Faumui, a 6’1”, 300-pound interior lineman, had put his name into the transfer portal on Dec. 13, but announced this week that he intends to stay on at Virginia, a huge get for coach Tony Elliott and his staff.

Faumui logged 460 defensive snaps in 2021, with a Pro Football Focus grade of 53.2, so he’ll bring back experience to a line that will lose Mandy Alonso (617 snaps, 61.3 PFF) and Adeeb Atariwa (38 snaps, 68.5 PFF) to graduation, and Nusi Malani (127 snaps, 29.2 PFF) and Jordan Redmond (123 snaps, 49.6 PFF) to the transfer portal.

Akere, a 6’3”, 240-pound defensive end, was a second-team All-Ivy selection in 2021, with five sacks and 25 total QB pressures on 530 snaps and a PFF grade of 75.7.

Akere joins another transfer-portal addition to the line group, former Michigan State defensive end Jack Camper, a native of Virginia Beach.

Camper, a 6’5”, 250-pound end, missed the final 10 games of the Spartans’ 2021 season with an injury. A backup in Michigan State’s first three games, he was on the field for 31 snaps.

He saw action on a career-high 249 snaps in 2020, with a Pro Football Focus grade of 59.3, and over portion of four seasons, two cut short by injury, he played 532 snaps, had 15 QB pressures, one sack and 29 tackles.

With Akere and Camper on the ends of the line, Faumui will be joined by 6’2”, 315-pound sophomore Jahmeer Carter (496 snaps, 49.4 PFF grade in 2021) atop the depth chart inside.

Depth will come from 6’4”, 270-pound sophomore Ben Smiley III (219 snaps, 30.4 PFF grade) and 6’6”, 280-pound redshirt freshman Olasunkonmi Agunloye (204 snaps, 54.0 PFF grade).

Class of 2021 four-star recruit Bryce Carter, a 6’3”, 280-pounder, only got four snaps this past season, but just based on what the recruiting services thought of him, you’d think he’d be in the mix to earn some two-deep time in the spring.

Another Class of 2021 recruit, Michael Diatta, a 6’5”, 255-pounder, got 35 snaps (with a 59.3 PFF grade) as a true freshman in 2021.

Other names to throw in for posterity: freshmen Lorenz Terry and Andrew Williams, redshirt freshmen Nate Morris and Sam Bond, and incoming freshman TT Jones.

Story by Chris Graham