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A former All-ACC center for the Cavalier football team, Zac Yarbrough will be honored at Scott Stadium on Oct. 10 during the Homecomings game against Syracuse. Yarbrough has been battling cancer for seven-plus years.

Former Cavalier defensive end Chico Bennett, who earned two degrees at the University, is back on Grounds. He's director of NIL business development and athlete services for UVA Athletics.

Former UVA tailback Perris Jones, who's pursuing a doctorate at the University of Louisville, has written a memoir that will be published in August. It's titled Ashes to Endzone: The Fight for Identity, Faith and a Future Bigger Than the Game.

Justin Speros, who's in his fifth year on head football coach Tony Elliott's staff at UVA, is the program's general manager.

Bowen Sargent is in his 22nd year as head coach of the UVA men's golf team, which has won back-to-back ACC titles and is looking to improve on its runner-up finish at last year's NCAA Championships.

Drake Metcalf started all 13 games on the Cavaliers' offensive line in 2025, and he's hard at work preparing for his final college season. Metcalf, who has a bachelor's degree from Stanford, will earn a master's this year from UVA's Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

In AJ Gracia, UVA's baseball team has one of the nation's top outfielders. Gracia, a junior from Monroe, N.J., is one of the players who followed head coach Chris Pollard from Duke to UVA last summer.

One of the most versatile running backs in UVA history, Alvin Pearman was also a serious student. After his NFL career ended, he earned a master's and Ph.D. at Vanderbilt, and he's now an assistant professor at Stanford.

Four games into his UVA career, graduate transfer Jacari White is already a fan favorite at John Paul Jones Arena. The 6-foot-3 White, who starred at North Dakota State, is averaging 9.5 points per game and shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range.

One of the top young tennis players in the world, UVA sophomore Rafael Jodar has won three ATP Pro Challenger tournaments this year. Jodar, who's from Madrid, Spain, was named the ITA National Rookie of the Year as a Virginia freshman in 2024-25.

Former UVA running back Mike Hollins, who survived the November 2022 shooting that took the lives of three teammates, continues to inspire with his indomitable spirit. He's working with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and coaching football at the Covenant School in Charlottesville.

In Steve Swanson's first 25 seasons as its head coach, UVA women's soccer advanced to the NCAA tournament 24 times. The No. 7 Hoos are locks to return to the NCAAs this fall, and Swanson's next win will be his 500th in 36 seasons overall as a head coach.

With a 6-1 record, UVA football is off to its best start in since 2007. Tailback Mikell Simpson, who's back in his hometown of Harrisburg, Pa., was one of the many standouts on the '07 team, which won nine games and played in the Gator Bowl.

Perseverance has marked the college career of UVA tight end Sage Ennis, who's bounced back from two serious knee injuries. Ennis, who left Clemson with two degrees, in its his second year at Virginia, where he's tied for the team lead with three touchdown catches this season.