A key area of roster focus for UVA Football coach Tony Elliott has been on his defensive secondary.
Elliott added two more depth pieces in the past few days, with the pickups of Ja’Maric Morris, late of Georgia State, and Donavon Platt, who was most recently at Army.
First, to Morris, a 6’3”, 205-pound rising senior who played in one game at Central Florida in 2023 before transferring to Georgia State ahead of the 2024 season.
At Georgia State, Morris was on the field for 212 snaps in 10 games, with a Pro Football Focus grade of 62.4, allowing nine receptions on 16 pass targets on 83 coverage snaps, with two INTs and two pass breakups.
I should mention that he played one year of JUCO ball, at Hutchinson Community College, in 2021, and had five INTs that season, two of which he returned for touchdowns.
So, experienced guy, and a big guy at corner, at 6’3”.
Next, to Platt, who played at Army for three seasons, but only logged snaps in three games in 2023, so he would be a rising redshirt junior in 2025 at UVA.
Listed at 5’11”, 204, Platt was on the field for 521 snaps in the 2024 season at Army, with a PFF grade of 64.0, and 15 receptions allowed on 31 targets, also with two INTs and two pass breakups.
Both of these guys are solid depth pieces for the UVA secondary.
Quick breakdown of the 2025 secondary
- Jordan Robinson (PFF grade for 2024: 76.4) is a big (6’4”, 210) cover corner who was on the field for 228 snaps at Cincinnati in 2024, 111 of them pass-coverage snaps. On the pass-coverage snaps, he allowed eight catches on 14 targets for 42 yards. Robinson also had 20 tackles, 12 in the run game, with a run-defense grade from PFF at 90.7.
- Emmanuel Karnley, a big (6’3”, 184) cornerback, spent two years, one as a redshirt, at Arizona, and spent one semester at Miami before hitting the portal after spring practice at The U. Karnley was a three-star prep prospect, but got an extra star added to his profile after a solid redshirt freshman season in 2024, with the numbers that stand out to me being, 22 receptions allowed on 43 targets, with five pass breakups, on his 201 pass-coverage snaps.
- Ja’son Prevard (Morgan State) was in on 521 snaps in 2024, with 24 tackles, four PBUs, one INT, and a 60.6 PFF grade.
- In-house guy Dre Walker was limited to 66 snaps in parts of four games last season due to injuries, but he logged 268 snaps in 2023, and got a 60.8 PFF grade for his work in his freshman season.
- Christian Charles, a safety at Tennessee, started his career at Tennessee as a cover corner, getting 433 snaps at corner in 2022, before suffering an Achilles injury that forced him to miss the 2023 season. The shift to safety saw Charles getting on the field for 240 snaps in 2024, splitting between the box and free safety. The counting numbers: 26 tackles, six missed tackles, seven receptions allowed on nine pass targets. He’s listed at 6’1”, 200, so, good size for a safety.
- Antonio Clary is back for his John Blutarsky year. If Clary is healthy, big if there, given his track record, but when he’s healthy, he’s good – he got himself a 79.6 Pro Football Focus grade last year before he got hurt, again, with 43 tackles, four missed tackles, and nine receptions allowed on 16 pass targets.
- Devin Neal, a Louisville transfer, had 71 tackles, four INTs and six pass breakups on 662 snaps in 2023, with a 67.3 PFF grade, then played four games with the Cardinals in 2024 before deciding to hit the portal.
- Caleb Hardy, an in-house guy, was in on 171 snaps at UVA in 2024, with eight tackles, two PBUs, and a 52.2 PFF grade.
- Finally, another in-house guy, Ethan Minter, who was in on 130 snaps last season, with 18 tackles, one INT, and a 63.8 PFF grade.
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Chris Graham
