When asked about quarterback Matt Johns, his Virginia coaches and teammates almost always turn to the intangibles first. Leadership. Resilience. Confidence. Energy. Improvisation skills.

And the Hoos aren’t worried about surface-level critiques. Johns doesn’t have the strongest arm. He’s a little bit lanky at 6’5″ and 210 pounds. When he runs, it’s unpredictable and deceptive … which is to say it isn’t a smooth line of impressive speed.

Mired in a three-year bowl-less slump that actually extends to twice in nine years, the Cavaliers hope to revive the program in a make-or-break year for coach Mike London and they are banking on Johns’ intangibles to finally turn things around this season.

“He’s just a gamer,” UVa linebacker Micah Kiser said. “If you watched Matt practice, you wouldn’t be like, ‘This guy might be the greatest,’ but when it’s game-time, he’s a whole ‘nother dude. That’s why we call him ‘Matty Ice.’ I actually told him the other day, ‘Matt, you can be the savior.'”

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