UVA Football: UAB’s Brady Wilson is a big O line get from the transfer portal

You wanted a high-profile guy from the portal for the UVA Football O line. You’re getting your wish, in the form of Brady Wilson, a three-year starter at center at UAB.

Wilson played on 863 snaps for the Blazers in 2024, and had a Pro Football Focus grade of 83.1.

His blocking numbers were off-the-charts good: no sacks allowed in 2024 on 542 pass-block snaps, and over the course of three years and 2,304 total snaps, and 1,265 pass dropbacks, he’s allowed a grand total of one.

One.

On3 had Wilson as a four-star portal prospect, for probably obvious reasons.

Wilson slides in nicely to fill the void left by the loss of two-year starting center Brian Stevens, who competed as a sixth-year senior in 2024.

In addition to Stevens, the UVA O line room is losing three interior linemen who are seniors or grad students with eligibility – Ty Furnish, Ugonna Nnanna and Charlie Patterson.

Furnish was in on 504 snaps in 2024, allowing four sacks and 20 QB pressures allowed, with a PFF grade of 59.7.

Nnanna was in on 455 snaps, with two sacks/12 QB pressures allowed, and a PFF grade of 55.7.

Patterson was on the field for 59 snaps, with two sacks/six QB pressures allowed, and a PFF grade at 53.4.

The O line returns:

• Redshirt junior Noah Josey (LG): 777 snaps, two sacks/15 QB pressures allowed, 66.8 PFF grade
• Sophomore Blake Steen (RT): 736 snaps, two sacks/28 QB pressures allowed, 66.1 PFF grade
• Redshirt junior Jack Witmer (LT/RT): 476 snaps, five sacks/21 QB pressures allowed, 57.7 PFF grade
• Junior McKale Boley (LT): 469 snaps, six sacks/20 QB pressures allowed, 60.4 PFF grade

Two other guys of note: Drake Metcalf and Ethan Sipe both missed the 2024 season with injuries.

Both are listed as grad students on the UVA Football roster page, so they’d need to get approval for a medical redshirt year.

Metcalf has primarily played at center in his three college seasons, logging 200 snaps at center at Central Florida in 2023 – allowing one sack and two total QB pressures on 90 pass dropbacks, with a 63.0 PFF grade.

Sipe logged 672 snaps at right tackle at Dartmouth over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and allowed just three sacks on 282 pass dropbacks, with a PFF grade of 69.6 in 2023.