Virginia Football Secures Kentucky Transfer OL Wallace Unamba

A 6'6", 335-pound offensive lineman from Dallas, Texas, Unamba played three seasons of college football at Kilgore College, a community college in Kilgore, Texas. Unamba was a two-time NJCAA All-American at Kilgore, including a First-Team All-American in 2022.

Unamba then made the jump to the Division I FBS level, transferring to Florida Atlantic, where he appeared in only one game in the 2023 season, redshirting that year. He dipped back into the transfer portal after that season and committed to former UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall and the New Mexico Lobos. Unamba started all 10 games at New Mexico in 2024, didn't allow a single sack on a pass-blocking play, and helped the Lobos average 33.5 points per game and 253.6 rushing yards per game, good for second in the country in that category.

Unamba entered the transfer portal at the end of the season and Virginia was heavily in the mix for him in December, hosting the offensive lineman for a visit before Unamba ultimately decided to commit to Kentucky. He participated in spring practices with the Wildcats, playing some right tackle, which is where he started at New Mexico, but was mainly the backup right guard as Kentucky had a surplus of offensive lineman on its roster after the program added five offensive linemen during the winter transfer window.

Additionally, it was reported that Unamba suffered a minor injury during the Kentucky Football Spring Showcase, Kentucky's all-practice version of a spring game. Whether due to the minor injury or due to the projection that he might not be a starter this fall for the Wildcats, Unamba went back into the transfer portal yet again at the beginning of the spring window on April 16th.

Four days later, Unamba has committed to Virginia, giving the Cavaliers a potential answer for their dilemma at the right tackle position. Blake Steen was UVA's starter at right tackle for most of the last two seasons, but he entered the transfer portal at the start of the spring transfer window. Virginia's biggest recruiting win of the winter transfer window was Louisville offensive lineman Monroe Mills, who was ranked the No. 1 offensive tackle in the transfer portal according to On3. Mills was likely to be Virginia's starter at right tackle this fall, but he went down with an ACL injury during spring practice and is expected to be sidelined for the entire 2025 season. With Steen and Mills both unavailable for the fall, Virginia suddenly had a big need for a right tackle in the spring window.

Well, the solution appears to be Wallace Unamba, who started 10 games at right tackle for Bronco Mendenhall's New Mexico Lobos in 2024 and did not allow a single sack.

Unamba is the third transfer Virginia has picked up in the spring window, joining Cincinnati cornerback Jordan Robinson and Colorado running back Isaiah Augustave, who committed to the Cavaliers earlier on Sunday.