Preseason All-ACC linebacker Kam Robinson will be “ready to roll” for Friday night’s Week 2 game with Norfolk State, UVA Football coach Tony Elliott confirmed today, in his weekly pregame press conference.
He’s got to get back out there at some point, but, have to admit, I’m a little nervous.
Robinson hasn’t participated in full-contact anything since going down with an ACL injury in the 31-17 win at Duke last November, meaning, per Elliott, that Friday’s game “will be the first time that he’ll be out there in full contact, because all of our tackle-to-the-ground scrimmages, he was not available during fall camp.”
“We’ll be smart. We’re going to turn him loose, but we’ll also be smart,” Elliott said.
Robinson was a game-time decision for the Aug. 29 opener with NC State, and Elliott said afterward that the decision that he had to make at game time “was close.”
“I think he could have played, and he would have played. But at the end of the day, just, I didn’t feel great about it,” Elliott told reporters after the 34-8 win, in which the Virginia D held the supposedly dynamic NC State offense to 168 total yards and 3.3 yards per play – and 4-of-13 on third downs.
ICYMI
State QB CJ Bailey, who passed for 3,105 yards and 25 TDs, against nine INTs, with a 68.8 percent completion rate, in 2025, had a career-worst game – 12-of-23, 84 yards, an INT, a fumble, and he ended the day on the sidelines, lifted for a relief pitcher in the fourth quarter.
That was without Kam Robinson on the field.
“He said he felt great, and he looks great. It was just more of, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself throwing him out there, and something happened, right?” Elliott said after the opener.
Today, looking forward to Norfolk State, I wouldn’t expect Robinson to get more than a cameo appearance, given how the linebacker room stepped up in his absence in the opener.
UVA LBs vs. NC State
- Maddox Marcellus: 33 snaps, 1 QB pressure, 4 tackles
- Landon Danley: 27 snaps, 5 tackles
- Myles Brown: 19 snaps, 6 tackles
- Caleb Hardy: 17 snaps, 2 pressures, 1 sack
- Justin Rowe: 6 snaps, 1 tackle
“You look at the way Danley’s playing, Marcellus, and Myles, you know, Myles Brown stepped in, led us in tackles, then you got Caleb Hardy. I just think the biggest thing with that group is, there’s not a huge drop-off when Kam’s not in there, you know, and that’s what we’ve wanted to do,” Elliott said.
Friday night will be more about just getting Kam Robinson some reps, ahead of the battles that are ahead.
“We all know what Kam Robinson is capable of. Now he’s got to get back into play mode and play shape and all of that,” Elliott said. “I think the first thing is to make sure we know where he’s at, right? We’re not putting him in a position to ask him to do something that maybe he’s not ready to do yet with his process of returning to play.”
Availability updates
- Safety Corey Costner (2025: 260 snaps, 28 tackles, 9 catches/16 targets, 2 INTs, 1 PBU) is also “ready to roll,” per Elliott, and is listed as a second option at the spur safety position on the depth chart for Friday night.
- Wideout Rico Flores Jr. (2025 at UCLA: 26 catches/37 targets, 274 yards) will not be back this week, though Elliott is “hopeful for West Virginia next week.”
- Quick hits: wideout Isaiah Robinson “should be back this week,” according to Elliott, but is not listed on the depth chart for Friday; defensive end Ezekiel Larry has returned to practice, but is also not on the depth chart for Friday.
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Chris Graham
