The depth for UVA Football on the D line might be getting deeper, with the program announcing on Saturday that Jacob Holmes and Cazeem Moore are being “integrated” into preseason activities “as the program assesses matters associated with their return.”
The release didn’t include any comments on this development from Tony Elliott, but the fourth-year head coach did address questions from reporters on the possible availability of the two at a press availability on Monday – the questions coming following a ruling from last week by a federal judge in Colorado granting a preliminary injunction to student-athletes allowing who began competing in the 2022-2023 academic sports year and had used up four years of college eligibility in the 2025-2026 academic sports year to compete in the 2026-2027 academic sports year.
Holmes and Moore are D linemen who entered college in the 2022-2023 academic sports year, and completed their fourth year of eligibility in the 2025 football season.
Both are obviously interested in coming back for one more college season.
“Yeah, there’s been contact because, you know, as we learn more, there’s more information that you have to be able to answer the questions that are arising on both sides, right? There’s been communication, but still, in terms of the direction, we’re still just waiting on things to get ironed out,” Elliott said on Monday, adding the observation that “there’s a lot more layers to it than maybe what you initially think.”
To say the least there, Coach E.
The background to the court ruling from last week takes us back into June, with the NCAA adopting a new age-based eligibility system that will give student-athletes five seasons of competition during a continuous five-year period beginning with full-time college enrollment or the academic year after the athlete turns 19, whichever occurs first.
The new system was meant to apply fully to student-athletes entering college in the fall of 2027, with a transition period allowing current student-athletes to use either the old or new system, depending on which provides more eligibility.
The new rules specifically excluded athletes who had already completed their fourth and final season during the 2025-2026 academic sports year.
I think we can all see why a judge would rule on the side of student-athletes who would be set to miss out on the benefit of an extra year of eligibility by virtue of the year they were born.
The NCAA, on Monday, appealed the federal court ruling granting the 2022-2023 first-year athletes an extra year of eligibility, asking for an emergency stay, but at the moment, the July 31 ruling remains in effect as schools prepare for the 2026-2027 academic year.
This is where things get difficult for coaches and administrators, who want to do right by everybody involved – but there are so many moving pieces to take into account.
“It kind of came out of nowhere. I wasn’t expecting that, wasn’t planning for that, but I know we’re going to do everything from an administration standpoint, from a program standpoint, to position Virginia to be successful in the future,” said Elliott, adding:
“I think the challenging thing is that came out that each day there’s an update, right? There’s more information, the intent. So, I think you got to be very careful in the interpretation so that you get it right. But I know that our folks are looking into it.
Both Holmes and Moore would, on paper, be valuable depth pieces for the D line room – Holmes, a defensive tackle, played on 432 snaps for the Virginia D in 2025, with three sacks, 27 QB pressures and 26 run-game tackles; Moore, an edge rusher, played on 256 snaps with the Virginia D in 2025, with three sacks, 16 QB pressures and 12 run-game tackles.
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Their value on paper would be based on the assumption that both guys are anywhere near D1 football shape.
“Those guys may have transitioned on to a different style of life from January, right, that didn’t go through offseason training, spring ball, or the summer workout. So, an individual like that, you’d have to get him in shape first, and then you got to get them in football shape, then you got to integrate them into the team,” Elliott said on Monday.
The other big issue, in addition to fitness and conditioning: we’re three weeks from the Aug. 29 season opener; the team has been in training camp for a couple of weeks now, after going through a full spring.
“You didn’t plan on those guys being a part of your program, so you made decisions and went out and provided opportunities to guys that have been here putting in work. So, you just would have to work through the dynamics of integrating those guys back into the team, especially with the newer guys that you have on the roster,” Elliott said on Monday.
Me, personally, I don’t know that this ends up being a good thing, in the end, just due to the timing.
I am curious, though, with another sport where the timing isn’t all that bad yet, that doesn’t begin practice until next month, and gets its season tipped off in early November …
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Chris Graham
