CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – No. 25 Virginia expects to have preseason All-ACC linebacker Kam Robinson available for Friday night’s game against Norfolk State, though coach Tony Elliott said the Cavaliers might limit how many snaps he plays.

“We’ll be smart,” Elliott said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “We’re going to turn him loose, but we’ll also be smart. This is going to be the first time that he’s out there in full contact, because all of our tackle-to-the-ground scrimmages he was not available during fall camp. But we’ll be smart with him.”

Elliott said Robinson, who is coming off a late-season knee injury, “will be ready to roll,” as will safety Corey Costner. Both will be available for UVA’s game against the Spartans, bringing added speed and athleticism to a defensive unit that played well in the opener.

Robinson could be a major factor on blitzes.

“I think we all know what Kam Robinson is capable of,” Elliott said. “Now, he’s got to get back into play mode and play shape. I think he can be very effective getting home on the blitzes. The first thing is to make sure we know where he’s at and we’re not putting him in a position to ask him to do something that maybe he’s not ready to do yet.”

Wide receivers Rico Flores Jr. (hamstring) and Dillon Newton-Short (hamstring) won’t be available, but Elliott believes they could both return for the team’s Sept. 19 game against West Virginia in Charlotte. 

Robinson had 64 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions last year despite missing six of the Cavaliers’ 14 games due to injuries. He dealt with a collarbone injury at the start of the season and then suffered a torn ACL during Virginia’s Nov. 15 road win at Duke.  

UVA (1-0) opened this season with a 34-8 win over North Carolina State on Aug. 29 without Robinson or Costner. Landon Danley played in place of Robinson and finished with five tackles. Linebacker Myles Brown led the team with eight stops, one ahead of Maddox Marcellus who finished with seven. 

“There’s not a huge dropoff when Kam’s not in there,” Elliott said. “Now, Kam’s special and he’s going to go make those freakish plays that only Kam can make. But when he comes out of the game … hopefully now with the competitive depth that we have, he doesn’t have to be out there to make every play.”

The win over North Carolina State elevated Virginia into the new Associated Press Top 25 which was released Tuesday.

FCS Norfolk State, coached by former Virginia Tech and NFL star Michael Vick, is 1-1, drilling Winston-Salem State 56-0 in the opener before falling 31-10 at Old Dominion.