CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Virginia linebacker Kam Robinson is expected to play Saturday night in the team’s ACC football opener against Stanford, coach Tony Elliott confirmed Tuesday, giving the defense back its most explosive and athletic playmaker.
“I think the film speaks for itself,” Elliott said during his weekly press conference. “You just go watch him play and he’s a very, very fast, very instinctual, violent guy, can run sideline to sideline. So, you get a very dynamic athlete back at the linebacker position.”
Robinson, a 6-foot-2, 234-pound junior, suffered a fractured collarbone during the team’s first full-pads practice of the fall. He missed the opening three games of the season, though he did dress for last weekend’s 55-16 blowout of William & Mary.
Elliott said he wanted Robinson, who practiced without contact last week, to get back into the flow of gamedays, but he was not going to play last weekend.
The injury robbed the Cavaliers (2-1) of an impact player in the defense’s second level, and a player whose speed allows him to erase assignment mistakes by teammates. Robinson, who was No. 51 on the Athletic’s annual “Freaks List,” has totaled 135 tackles the past two seasons, including 10 ½ for losses.
Robinson was a freshman All-American in 2023 and led the team with five sacks in 2024.
“He’s a dynamic player,” graduate nose tackle Jahmeer Carter. “He can make a lot of plays. He’s already shown that throughout the years.”
Junior Landon Danley has seen most of the work at Robinson’s inside linebacker position, and has led the Cavaliers with 18 tackles.
Fellow linebacker James Jackson is second with 14 stops.
Junior Maddox Marcellus has also seen increased playing time in Robinson’s absence, recording eight tackles.
The Cavaliers defense smothered overmatched opponents in Coastal Carolina and William & Mary, helping UVA outscore those foes by a combined count of 103-23.
But in a non-conference contest at North Carolina State, Virginia gave up 416 total yards, 216 of that coming on the ground. The Wolfpack averaged 6.2 yards per rush and Hollywood Smothers went for 140 yards and two touchdowns in State’s 35-31 win.
Saturday, against Stanford (1-2), UVA will face another star running back in Micah Ford. The sophomore is coming off a career-high 157-yard performance in the Cardinal’s win over Boston College.
“Tackling’s going to be big for us,” Carter said. “He can run through arm tackles. He’s already put that on tape.”
NOTES: Safety Antonio Clary (knee) has also been cleared to play Saturday, thought it’s unclear how much, if any, action he’ll see. … Running back Noah Vaughn (ankle) is expected to miss “a couple” of games, Elliott said. … Daniel Sparks (hip flexor) is expected to punt Saturday against Stanford, but likely won’t handle kickoffs. … UVA doesn’t expect right tackle Wallace Unamba (knee) to return to action until after the open date in mid-October.
