Bronco Mendenhall was featured in a book titled “Running Into the Wind” about successful team building while working as the head coach at BYU. The general concept is that challenges – like running into the wind – represent opportunities.
Much to his liking, and perhaps surprise, Mendenhall inherited a group of Virginia football players that so far feel the same way. Since taking the UVA job in December, Mendenhall has challenged the team to work harder, to push through adversity, and to become mentally tougher. The teaching points have been a mix of physical and mental challenges. He expected more resistance, but instead has been greeted with a hungry group of Hoos.
The players feel like Mendenhall has presented a tailwind more than a headwind so far.
”We used to start off ‘ready prep’ doing it over and over again,” receiver Doni Dowling, one of the standouts this spring, said. ”We weren’t as bad as they thought we were going to be, but we definitely grew. Just the communication factor, team bonding – they really preach that going through hard things together will make a stronger bond and it definitely has. … That’s the main thing they did, outside of performance, they made us more of a brotherhood and that’s something that we never really had before so I really appreciate that. It’s just the little things. Stay disciplined. … It’s the little things that make us who we are now.”
”Oh yeah, I definitely feel rejuvenated,” defensive lineman Andrew Brown said. ”It’s a process. I definitely feel like the work we’re putting in now is going to pay off come this fall. I cannot wait. We have one more stepping stone and that’s this summer. We’re going to be in even better shape when that time comes. The best is yet to come.”
Virginia assistant Marques Hagans, the lone holdover from the previous coaching staff, has detected the change in attitude this spring as well.
”I think it’s awesome to see these guys having fun again,” Hagans said. ”It’s been a tough four years. Things haven’t gone the way we though they would, but now to see guys are having fun again and working as hard as they possibly can is an awesome thing. Now we haven’t won any games yet, but I believe we are on the right path, I know we are. To see the guys have confidence in what we’re doing and believe in what we’re doing, having fun and working hard together, I’m happy to see that.”
[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]”I believe we are on the right path, I know we are.” ~ Marques Hagans @coachmhagans[/tweetthis]
Among the changes coming with the new coaching staff are a faster pace on offense and a 3-4 scheme on defense. Offensively, instead of multiple substitutions on nearly every play, a huddle for several seconds, and the snap in the final 10 seconds of the play clock, the emphasis is now on a no-huddle offense. The coaches want the offense to get lined up again as soon as possible and to get a snap off quickly. Substitutions only come when necessary and certainly not after every play.
On the sidelines, the plan includes the popular picture cards seen with other high tempo offenses around college football. And while the hurry up and go philosophy might seem complicated with the varying pictures and the limited time to process information from the defense, returning quarterback Matt Johns said he thinks it is the opposite. The main thing for players is to play fast and read the right keys. He said once you’ve seen the flash cards once or twice, you know what they mean.
”I wouldn’t say it’s more sophisticated – it really can’t be because you’re playing so much faster,” Johns said. ”If it’s more complicated and you’re playing faster, then you’re thinking more and they don’t want us to think. They want us to play fast. A lot of things we do have the same sets, we just run a lot of different things out of it. It’s a matter of finding my keys like I said earlier and then making plays.”
The running backs caught the eye of the coaching staff this spring in the early stages with the new offense. With a host of players like Taquan Mizzell, Albert Reid, Daniel Hamm, and Jordan Ellis in the fold, there’s a good blend of speed, size, and varying levels of experience. Even Olamide Zaccheaus, an inside receiver in the new scheme, could land in the backfield at times as the coaches find ways to use playmakers like him and Mizzell.
”Oh I think the previous staff did an excellent job recruiting playmakers here and it’s a compliment to them,” UVA offensive coordinator Robert Anae said. “Our running back group as a whole has the most answers and they’ve done a really good job this spring running, catching, blocking – they’ve done a really good job. That was the overall highest performer of the spring. … There are playmakers sprinkled throughout the other groups and we’re going to need new players to come in and assume a few key roles and we look forward to starting the season at a really good pace.”
