Hoos Start Building Process With Bronco Mendenhall

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Matt Johns looks for a receiver as coach Bronco Mendenhall watches at spring practice. ~ Kris Wright

The Virginia football team just finished its crash course in Bronco ball. The message has been clear from UVA’s new coach Bronco Mendenhall. Work hard, stay away from drama, and earn everything.

That tone was set immediately when Mendenhall and a large section of his BYU coaching staff rolled into town.

”Pretty much, he set the tone being out there five o’clock in the morning when it’s nine degrees outside and nothing but a spandex on,” defensive lineman Andrew Brown said. ”No gloves. He’s pretty much set the tone with us right there. Will before skill. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter. Less drama, more work. That’s the motto.”

Bronco-isms have obviously already crept into the team lexicon. He has spoken of ‘earned not given’ principles from the moment he arrived, applying that mantra to everything from the right to practice (each player had to pass tempo runs as an entry ticket) to locker room use (has to stay clean or the players get shut out) to the obvious one of playing time (returning starter Matt Johns is in an even competition with Connor Brewer exiting the spring).

As far as the ‘less drama’ piece? That one is fairly simple. Team first. Mendenhall said he believes reactions to poor plays and results lead to distraction and take away from the overall goal.

”Drawing attention to yourself, body language that reflects being affected by outcome,” Mendenhall said. ”In the heat of battle, you don’t really have time and energy [to put] into extra things in relation to yourself. I expect them to manage their emotions and apply everything they have to within the execution of their assignment and technique for the team. Anything extra is not welcome unless it’s celebrating for their teammates. I like positive body language and I like strong people. That’s what we’re building.”

UVA’s new coach has stated many times over the past couple of weeks that the team is ahead of schedule with that piece of the puzzle, while the execution end is still taking small steps forward. Through 15 spring practices, he said the team is “learning to be more resilient” and “becoming mentally tough” when it comes to playing through big momentum swings created by big plays on the other side of the ball (both ways).

On the other hand, there needs to be more consistency. That’s true at the quarterback spot and across the roster. Mendenhall noted that there are playmakers on both sides of the ball, but the team needs to develop more depth. That has led to players like Doni Dowling and Donte Wilkins emerging as standouts in the spring, while other spots like quarterback have seen someone like Brewer take advantage of the opportunity with a new staff and a new system in place.

Nothing is set in stone as one might expect.

”If any of you penciled in the two deep now, have your eraser ready because it can change,” Mendenhall said. ”Day to day, week to week, or within the year. I think that’s the reality of the real world and try prepare our guys for that.”

Worth Quoting

Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall on what he took out his first spring practice at Virginia: ”These kids, this team, and this community wants good football. They want to play good football, they want to watch good football, and they want to be part of something special. They’re willing to do what I’m asking them to do to make that happen. They’ve done that every day for 15 days. Plenty of work to do, but [Saturday’s final practice] was another really good work day getting rid of existing habits, building new habits at a really high pace with very little drama, and just work, excitement, optimism, and hope for the future.”

A Special Teams Note

One area that hasn’t gotten much discussion is special teams. With a new high paced offense and the defense’s conversion from a 4-3 to a 3-4, the third slice of the pie hasn’t received too much chatter. Still, Mendenhall gave a peek into his philosophy there when talking with reporters on Saturday. Get your playmakers involved, even if they’re likely starters, but make sure the foundation is solid there too. For example, Olamide Zaccheaus and Doni Dowling are among the options at punt returner but the top priority is someone who can catch the ball cleanly consistently.

”We’re working with O at punt return. We’re working with Doni Dowling at punt return,” Mendenhall said. ”We’re looking to have our most dynamic players that can also secure the catch so I can sleep well back there to catch the punt. Sleeping well for the coach is first, yards after catching it is second.”

Upcoming Schedule

Coach Mendenhall’s organizational skills have been evident from the get go, but he told reporters what the program’s schedule looks like all the way through opening kickoff this fall. Here’s the outline:

  • Recruiting for 2 weeks after spring practice
  • Exit interviews with all players as semester ends
  • Assistant coaches will be back on the road recruiting in May
  • Mendenhall will conduct thorough analysis of the spring season in his office and also continue to speak at VAF socials
  • In early June when the coaches are back from recruiting, they’ll break down the season’s first four opponents and provide analysis (Richmond, Oregon, Connecticut, Central Michigan)
  • Camps are scheduled at UVA in June
  • Coaches will be given some time off in July
  • August marks the start of preseason practice