Virginia’s starting nose tackle Jowon Briggs leaves program, enters transfer portal

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia’s football program received a major blow on Tuesday when it was learned that starting sophomore nose tackle Jowon Briggs has left the team and has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal.

Briggs will not be available for the Cavaliers game this Saturday with visiting Abilene Christian and has played his last game for UVA.

He is the second starting defensive lineman lost in recent weeks. Sixth-year defensive end Richard Burney’s season ended due to an undisclosed medical issue.

Briggs, a 6-foot-1, 310-pound, former four-star recruit from Cincinnati, was the highest ranked recruit during the Bronco Mendenhall era. He was the fifth true freshman to start on Virginia’s defensive line since 1986. Playing in 13 games and starting seven, Briggs had 19 tackles and three tackles for loss en route to becoming a freshman All-American.

He has been a staple on the Cavaliers defensive line ever since. This season, Briggs has posted 20 tackles and three sacks and has drawn raves from Mendenhall ever since he stepped onto UVA’s campus.

There hasn’t been any immediate indication where Briggs may transfer but he chose Virginia over Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee and Penn State when he was in high school.