During his first season at Virginia, linebacker Maddox Marcellus has taken to fourth-year coach Tony Elliott’s advice.
“I just knew coming in that I wanted to help the team in whatever role,” Marcellus said Tuesday. “Coach E always says, ‘Whatever your role is, master your role.’ So, coming in on third down or whenever my number is called, that is what I stick with.”
Marcellus, a transfer from FCS Eastern Kentucky where he was an All-United Athletic Conference first-teamer, arrived at UVa in January after coming off of his outstanding sophomore year in 2024. Last fall, he racked up 97 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown.
That, though, was as an every-down, starting linebacker.
The Cavaliers already had their top linebackers — Kam Robinson and James Jackson — in place, so Marcellus was challenged to find his niche and carve out his own responsibility for his initial campaign in Charlottesville.
Elliott, Hoos linebackers coach Mike Adams and defensive coordinator John Rudzinski valued Marcellus’ athleticism, and his skills were a natural match for UVa’s third-down defense to add more speed on the field in passing situations.
“What you saw in Maddox on tape [in recruiting] was that, man, he was a physical guy that flies around,” Elliott said. “He can go sideline to sideline and he can down the football, and then he gets here and you see all of that validated in spring practice.”
On top of UVa’s offer, Marcellus picked up other notable ones from Houston, Indiana, Kansas State and Michigan State.
Marcellus said even though Robinson and Jackson were out during the spring with various injuries, he listened to whatever they had to say in order to better understand Rudzinski’s schemes.
In Marcellus’ jump from the FCS to Power Four football, he said he’s realized he can’t simply count on his quickness and instincts to help him make tackles.
“At EKU, I probably relied on going out there and just playing football, but at this level, you have to know what the offense is trying to do,” Marcellus said, “and what our scheme is trying to do against them.”
Robinson and Jackson as well as defensive tackle and Marcellus’ roommate, Jason Hammond II, have assisted Marcellus in that department through the first month of the schedule.
Entering the No. 24 Cavaliers’ (4-1, 2-0 ACC) contest at Louisville (4-0, 1-0 ACC) this Saturday, Marcellus has 13 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a pass breakup. The 6-foot-2, 228-pounder who appears on most passing down-and-distances said he’s comfortable covering bigger tight ends or smaller, shifty slot receivers.
“If I see somebody that’s pretty fast and then somebody pretty big, you change your technique up a bit,” Marcellus said. “You’ve got to know who you’re going up against.”
Last Friday in UVa’s upset victory over Florida State, Marcellus had four tackles including two on third-down to force the Seminoles into fourth downs. He had a third-down tackle the week before against Stanford, too.
Elliott said Marcellus’ emergence has made the Cavaliers’ group of linebackers a deeper one.
While Robinson missed the first three games of the year with a collarbone injury, Marcellus was the first linebacker off the bench behind Jackson and fill-in starter Landon Danley. Currently, Danley is dealing with a shoulder injury, and Marcellus has taken additional reps that might’ve went to Danley.
And, “what you love about Maddox is first and foremost, he’s very intelligent as a football player,” Elliott said. “He has a lot of pride in his preparation.”
Marcellus said he’s been studying up on the Cardinals this week, and pointed out Louisville running back Isaac Brown’s one-cut-and-go approach makes him an extremely explosive ball-carrier.
Louisville quarterback Miller Moss, “always knows where to go with the ball,” too, according to Marcellus, who said he’s even spoken to a handful of his former Eastern Kentucky teammates over the last few days to learn more about the Cardinals since EKU and Louisville opened the season against each other.
In Louisville’s rout of the Colonels, Cardinals return man Caullin Lacy had a 93-yard punt-return for a touchdown. He’s had two punt-return touchdowns already this season, and has proven to be superb in the kick-return game as well.
Marcellus is a starter on UVa’s kick-coverage unit and said corralling the speedster Lacy on special teams will be critical in the Cavaliers’ quest to extend their winning streak to four straight games.
Marcellus has enjoyed the Hoos’ hot start, and he said he’s appreciative of every minute he’s spent at UVa.
“Overall, it’s a blessing,” he said. “This is a place that you dream about being since you were a little kid. Obviously, I don’t take any day here for granted. You walk in here and it’s a beautiful facility and just playing at this level is a blessing.”
Greg Madia
gmadia@dailyprogress.com
@GregMadia on X
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Greg Madia
UVa Sports Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today