99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff

By: Chris Horne |
Tim Harris during spring practice of 2017. If healthy, he could play a big role for the Hoos in 2018.

Virginia football players Tim Harris and Malcolm Cook have quite a few things in common, such as …

– They both hail from the Richmond (VA) area.
– They both play defense.
– Both have both been dogged by injuries in their University of Virginia career.
– Both have been granted a sixth year of eligibility.

We’ll add another. Both could play significant roles in the Cavaliers’ 2018 defense.

Harris, a heralded recruit out of Varina High School, played 11 games as a true freshman in 2013, earning seven starts at cornerback. He would play in 20 more games his sophomore and junior seasons, earning nine starts at cornerback during that span.

Then the injury bug hit. Harris entered the 2016 campaign as one of the starting cornerbacks, but two games in he suffered an injury that would sideline him the rest of the year. As a fifth-year senior in 2017, Harris, who once again had earned a starting cornerback spot, suffered a season-ending wrist injury at the end of the Virginia’s season opener against William & Mary.

Meanwhile, Cook’s career has gone like this …

2013 – Redshirt.
2014 – Slowed by an injury in fall camp. Played three of 12 games, finishing with one tackle.
2015 – Appeared in three of 12 games before suffering a season-ending injury.
2016 – Missed season with medical condition.
2017 – Appeared in nine of 13 games, earning six starts at outside linebacker. Missed four games because of injury. Had 46 tackles, including four tackles for loss.

99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff: No. 52: The Sixth-Year Seniors

Virginia’s projected starting defensive backfield is Harris (SR) and Bryce Hall (JR) at corner, Juan Thornhill (SR) and Brenton Nelson (SOPH) at safety. Thornhill has performed very well at cornerback the previous two seasons in place of Harris, earning All ACC Third-Team honors at the position last season. Safety, however, may be his best position, and Harris’ return is the key to the standout senior getting a chance to prove it.

Even if he stays healthy, Harris isn’t a sure thing at cornerback as his play so far has been up-and-down. The potential is there, though. The 6’1”, 205-pound Harris has always had the physical tools to become a top corner. He performed well at the start of each of the past two seasons, but we haven’t seen him put an entire season of consistent football together. If he can stay healthy and put together a consistent season, this paves the way for what I think could be a dynamic defensive backfield with Thornhill leading the way at safety.

Without Harris, or if his performance is not up to par, it’s likely we see Thornhill move back to corner. Joey Blount, Germane Crowell, and Myles Robinson are among the capable replacements at either position, but the top Virginia 2018 defensive backfield from a potential standpoint is with Harris and Thornhill starting at corner and safety.

All-American and current Los Angeles Ram Micah Kiser left a massive void at inside linebacker. Jordan Mack will man one starting inside linebacker spot. Cook is among those being considered as Mack’s inside linebacker counterpart.

Cook was the other inside linebacker starter in the spring; however, Mendenhall acknowledged at the time that he and his staff were “deciding if we like” the move. Cook’s athletic ability and speed are his strength, so he should be a plus in the pass coverage and pass rush categories. But how good would be against the run?

There are some questions to be answered if Cook does stick at inside linebacker. If he is not the replacement for Kiser, he could be a large part of the equation should the Cavaliers try and replace the position by committee. Sophomores Rob Snyder and Zane Zandier are the other most likely candidates for this position.

If the Cook-to-inside-linebacker experiment doesn’t work out, or should Snyder or Zandier or someone else grab the inside job opposite Mack full-time, there still should be a significant role somewhere for the embattled sixth-year senior. Cook could move back to outside linebacker if Charles Snowden isn’t ready for a full-time starting role. At the very least, he could provide leadership and depth to a defense that can use both.

Ideally, Cook and Harris will have significant roles this season. But if not, at the very least, let’s hope they can exit on their own terms, without injury.

The “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series has discussed much more. The previous articles are below. Click away.