Virginia head coach Tony Elliott had some somber news to deliver at the opening of UVA football fall camp on Wednesday afternoon, reporting that four Cavaliers had suffered season-ending injuries before camp even began, while a few other players are also nursing injuries that will require varying recovery times.

The defensive side of the ball was hit particularly hard, as junior linebacker Stevie Bracey and sophomore defensive end Mekhi Buchanan, two players who would have likely had spots on UVA’s two-deep depth chart this season, will not be available this season. Bracey, who played in 11 games and made one start last season, tore his meniscus this week and will miss “four or five months” according to Elliott. For Buchanan, the diagnosis is an entire season off the field after undergoing hip surgery a couple of weeks before the start of camp.

On the offensive end, junior offensive lineman Noah Hartsoe, who would have been a key piece to that unit’s depth, suffered an ACL injury back in the spring, so he’ll be out for the season too. True freshman wide receiver Triston Ward, a three-star recruit from Griswold, Connecticut, will miss this season as well following hip surgery.

It was previously reported that UCF transfer Drake Metcalf, who played for UVA offensive line coach Terry Heffernan when both were at Stanford, suffered an Achilles’ injury back inthe spring and will be out for most of the season. Elliott expressed some optimism that Metcalf could return by November or even October and said that Metcalf will be heavily involved in fall camp despite his injury.

“I hate that Drake is gonna be down for a little while, but optimistic that he’ll come back at some point this season,” said Elliott. “Hopeful that Drake – we’re including Drake in everything that we’re doing, knowing that maybe sometime in October or November, we’ll have a chance to have him back.”

Other injuries that won’t be as long-term are senior defensive tackle Andrew Williams and senior defensive end Joe Holland, who are both expected to return this season. Senior linebacker James Jackson was wearing a yellow pinnie at Wednesday’s first fall camp practice, indicating players who are not full participants in practice. Elliott reported that Jackson had a minor “cleanup” operation on his knee and that his not being a full participant in practice is more precautionary than anything else.

“James Jackson had a cleanup. That’s really more precautionary,” Elliott said on Wednesday. “Getting him back, we anticipate, sometime next week, we’ll have him back in the fold. Just being smart with that. He’s played a lot of football. He’s one of those guys, you gotta protect him from himself. But he did have a scope in the summer. He’s probably three or four weeks out now.”

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