Virginia Football: Three Most Likely All-ACC Candidates on Defense in 2025

Last year, against North Carolina, he had six tackles and helped shut down one of the best rushing offenses in the league. With more talent around him this fall, especially on the edge, he might get the kind of production this year that turns film-room respect into postseason recognition. If the staff cuts him loose a little more, he could play his way onto the All-ACC second team.

2. Kam Robinson – Linebacker

While Carter clogs things up inside, Kam Robinson does the cleanup. The senior linebacker was Virginia's most disruptive defender last season. He finished with 64 total tackles, six for loss, five sacks, a pick, and a forced fumble. And that was in just 11 games. He blitzed, he covered, he chased down plays from the backside. 

His two-TFL game against Louisville and the interception he pulled down against Clemson were some of the few defensive sparks in games UVA had no business hanging around in. The staff trusts him to be the tone-setter, and he's earned that role. If he plays 12 games and builds on what he did last year, he'll be in the conversation for first-team All-ACC. That's not a stretch, but rather becoming an expectation.

3. Mitchell Melton – Edge Rusher

Then there's Mitchell Melton, who might be the biggest wildcard on the roster. He transferred from Ohio State after winning a national title as a rotational edge rusher, but he didn't come here to rotate. He came here to start. Melton appeared in 13 games for the Buckeyes last year and finished with only two sacks, but he was buried behind NFL-level talent. Notably, his best game included 1.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry against Michigan State.

At 6'4", 261 pounds, his pass-rushing profile was more intense, explosive, and twitchy than UVA's had in recent years. That's what makes him dangerous. Last year, he recorded 3.5 TFLs with his explosive power. On a defense that already has a proven tackle and a do-it-all linebacker, Melton can help add to the missing edge-rushing component that is much needed. Now, as an expected starter, and if he hits 6 or 7 sacks, he'll shoot up the ACC rankings quickly. Sometimes all it takes is the right scheme and the right opportunity. He finally has both.

If Carter continues to plug the middle, Robinson keeps flying to the ball, and Melton makes good on the flashes he showed at Ohio State, this unit could be more than solid. It could be the reason UVA gets back to Charlotte—or at the very least, out of the ACC basement. If postseason awards are coming to Charlottesville this fall, they'll be wearing numbers 90, 5, and 17.

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