Elton Brown is one of two seniors on the offensive line.

Football games are won and lost in the trenches. It’s been said so often that it’s become a cliché, but there’s a lot of truth in that statement. It’s no surprise that three of the last four national champions started at least three seniors on the offensive line.

So what does that mean for Virginia? Hard to say.

This season the Cavaliers return seven offensive linemen who have combined for 112 starts, yet they still possess one of the youngest lines in the ACC in terms of age and time in the program. Of the seven returning linemen with starting experience, only two are seniors (right guard Elton Brown and center Zac Yarbrough), while three are juniors (right tackle Brad Butler, left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Brian Barthelmes) and two are sophomores (left guard Ian-Yates Cunningham and Ron Darden).

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