99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff

By: Chris Horne |

At his introductory press conference on December 7, 2015, new University of Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall discussed what it was about the opportunity at UVA that led him to leave BYU, where he had enjoyed a successful 11 years as head coach.

“Yeah, it did take something special, because I’m motivated by purpose, and I’m motivated by principle, and there has to be more than just football to do that,” Mendenhall said. “I love challenge. I love opportunity. I love growth. I love continued progress, and I saw every one of those things as a possibility [at Virginia]. Challenge, no question. Possibilities, endless. Opportunity, no question. A chance to make a difference, absolutely, while developing student-athletes at an institution that embraces fantastic standards, which I love, and I would not have considered it without all of that.”

“Fortunately I’m at a place that has all of that, and I’m ready to work, which is what it’s going to require,” Mendenhall concluded.

Now in his third year as UVA head coach, Mendenhall feels “lucky” to be in Charlottesville and seems excited to tackle the challenges ahead.

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There is no sugarcoating it. The first game of the Bronco Mendenhall era was rough. FCS-level Richmond strutted into Scott Stadium and handed the Cavaliers a 37-20 loss, a lopsided result certainly no one expected.

“I learned a lot more today about where we are starting from,” Mendenhall told the media following Virginia’s loss to Richmond.

He added: “This is a really clear indicator of the amount of work that lies ahead.”

Virginia concluded its 2016 season with a disappointing 2-10 record. In addition to the Richmond loss, the Cavaliers were embarrassed in Blacksburg, 52-10, to end the year.

At Tuesday’s (July 18) ACC Kickoff event, Mendenhall recalled how he and his coaches “basically did Lewis and Clark backwards and came across the country” over two years ago. He may have been rethinking that decision throughout the difficult 2016 campaign.

Sure enough, the Virginia job proved to be a bigger challenge than Mendenhall first thought. He and his staff have forged ahead, though. At Wednesday’s (July 18) ACC Kickoff, the now third-year Cavalier head man was asked again about his decision to leave Provo for Charlottesville and “the biggest challenge or challenges” he has faced.

“Yeah, I think you would have to say challenges,” Mendenhall began. “But to be clear, that’s exactly what I was looking for. So I was intentional, and I wanted challenge and I wanted change, and I wanted growth. And certainly we got all those things.

“Inviting 14 staff members to come with me, we basically did Lewis and Clark backwards and came across the country. It’s been a galvanizing experience. I’ve learned and grown maybe in the last two and a half, three years in working with Virginia than I have over my career, and I want desperately for the program but more importantly for the people to have success.

“I’ve become friends with a lot of new people. I’ve become captured by the type of young people that come to UVA, and I’m driven to see this to fruition, meaning consistent and successful football year after year at UVA.”

Virginia football has not only forged ahead since the Richmond loss. There has been improvement both on and off the field. Last season, the Cavaliers reached their first bowl game since 2011. Recruiting has seen an up-tick this summer as Mendenhall and company reeled in a pair of 4-star prospects, including Jowon Briggs, the No. 59 overall rising senior in the nation according to 247Sports Composite. Most importantly in my opinion, the culture Mendenhall hoped to instill appears to be taking hold.

Senior linebacker Chris Peace, who is the originator of UVA’s “New Standard” slogan, and senior H-back Olamide Zaccheaus both noted during ACC Kickoff how Mendenhall’s standards have separated those players who want to do what it takes to be successful from those who don’t.

“When he first got here, he just got rid of a lot of people just by holding the standard up really high, and other people just couldn’t uphold that standard or they just chose not to,” Zaccheaus said. “So just getting rid of those people was huge for us because now we know who’s really in it and who really wants to work; and just building upon that and trying to do better and get better each day.”

Peace said: “I would say everyone is completely bought in. I would say this year is — this year and last year I’ve never seen so many guys bought in. When I first came here, it was just a lot of half and half here, half and half there, and just a lot of people dragging their feet. I don’t think anybody on this team is holding anyone back or this program.”

Goals this season include beating Virginia Tech, making a second-straight bowl game, and, this time, winning the bowl game. Overall, “we want consistency,” Mendenhall said in this video courtesy of the ACC Digital Network. “We want more ACC wins, and we want ACC contention.”

Mendenhall continues to embrace the challenge he accepted in December of 2015. How far the program will go under his guidance remains to be seen, but he seems heartened by the players he has worked with and the accomplishments of the program so far. Furthermore, he seems to relish the challenge that lies ahead.

“I’m lucky to be at Virginia,” Mendenhall said during the ACC Kickoff event. “My wife and I talk about that all the time. I like the chance to make a difference. And to make a difference, it only happens if you’re allowed to make a difference, and the players have given me that opportunity, where they have taken myself and my staff at face value, have allowed their trust to be placed in me. I can feel that. And that’s a huge responsibility. And so to be trusted and relied on has been a powerful gift that they’ve given me, and I want more than anything for them to have success.

“I remember the locker room after Georgia Tech; it was one of the most wild celebrations I’ve ever seen in my life, and that mattered to me. It was gratifying — not enough in relation to what we want to accomplish, but it was fun payback for me to see them that excited, and I want more of that for them. They’re allowing me to coach them, because it does take that. They’re allowing me to coach them. I’m appreciative of that.

“I think just in general, what they’ve given me is this clarity that actually people want to improve. They want to be better. They want to be led, and they want to be dealt with honestly and openly, so it’s validated some of the beliefs that I had with just a brand new group of young people.”

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