Virginia Football Notes: Hoos Set To Begin 2019 Spring Practice

Virginia football head coach Bronco Mendenhall made it clear in his comments to the media on Monday (March 18) that his team is not content with last season’s accomplishments, which included an 8-5 record and a dominating victory over South Carolina in the Belk Bowl.

“There’s no one that’s satisfied,” Mendenhall said. “We’re hungry for more than what we currently have. We want unbroken growth. We certainly do not want a step back or to stay the same, and that’s going to take a re-doubled effort on our part. The players know that.”

“I think what our bowl game last year did was add confidence to not only what can happen but how fast it can possibly happen,” Mendenhall added.

Defeating in-state rival Virginia Tech, winning the Coastal (something the Hoos were in prime position to do last November), and making postseason victories like last year’s the norm and not the exception, are among next season’s goals cited by UVA’s fourth-year head coach. The Cavalier players have put in hard work in the weight room and in terms of conditioning this offseason. What is the focus heading into spring practice, which begins next Monday (March 25)?

“It becomes more situational now,” Mendenhall said. “There are core things that always need to be addressed within our offense, defense, and special teams, so the core strategies and some of the improvements that we’ve self-studied over this offseason certainly make a difference, but now you put it in context of two overtime losses. You talk about now playing on the road late in the season to win the Coastal. There are contexts now that we have to work and be situational and be very specific to address, and we can in the spring and we can in the fall prior to playing.”

Perkins’ Workload Will Be Monitored As He Comes Back From Finger Surgery

Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins dealt with an injured pinky on his throwing hand from September 22 on last season. The 6’3”, 215-pound signal caller was able to play and play very well despite the injury. However, following the Belk Bowl, Perkins underwent surgery on his injured finger.

“Bryce, he visits with the doctor [Monday, March 19]. Hopefully he’ll be cleared to throw, so he hasn’t thrown yet,” said Mendenhall, who indicated he expects Perkins to be cleared to throw. “It’ll be a great thing for not only him and our program. We’ll be managing his volume through the spring, which gives [rising redshirt freshman quarterback] Brennan Armstrong a chance to be developed. And then it gives us two quarterbacks that are certainly ready and capable, and when you start making conference pushes to win the Coastal or to win the ACC or to accelerate your program, it’s always good to have the second quarterback ready. When you have a player of Brennan’s ability, then there’s certainly possibilities they can both play at the same time.”

How much we will see of Perkins this spring is uncertain. There are some Hoos we won’t see at all as they come back from injury, including …

– Defensive end Richard Burney (medical condition)
– Safety/linebacker Chris Moore (hip)
– Wide receiver Joe Reed (ankle)
– Defensive back Myles Robinson (hip)
– Safety Joey Blount (ankle)
– Offensive lineman Chris Glaser (hip)
– Offensive lineman Dillon Reinkensmeyer (knee)
– Safety Brenton Nelson (ankle)
– Offensive lineman Gerrik Vollmer
– Offensive lineman Bobby Haskins (knee)
– Placekicker Hunter Pearson

Defensive end Mandy Alonso, defensive end Isaac Buell, cornerback Germane Crowell, wide receiver Terrell Jana, offensive lineman Micah Mariteragi, wide receiver Ugo Obasi, and Perkins fall into the “partial participation” category with varying degrees of participation expected. Mendenhall is hopeful Crowell, who has been plagued by injuries since he arrived in Charlottesville, will be full-go roughly halfway through spring practice, while players such as Jana (knee) may be highly limited.

Because of the amount of injuries, Virginia may not be able to run an actual game for its Spring Game. Mendenhall, however, is hopeful this will not be the case come Saturday, April 27.

“I would like to be able to play a Spring Game,” Mendenhall said. “I stop short of promising, but that would be our hope.”

“With the injuries, it keeps us a little bit still limited on what practices might look like, what the Spring Game might look like,” Mendenhall said.

The good news is that, according to Mendenhall, none of the players mentioned in his injury report are in danger – at least at this point – of being sidelined this fall because of these injuries. From the sound of things, if recovery goes as expected, these players are expected to be ready to go by the fall. This is particularly good news for Burney, whose career was in jeopardy because of this medical condition, which sidelined him for all but three games last year.

Position Updates

As you might imagine, Mendenhall was very pleased with Perkins’ performance last season (2,680 passing yards, 923 rushing yards) and is looking forward to seeing what he can do this coming year.

“We’re chomping at the bit to have year two in this system with the same quarterback,” Mendenhall said. “We think there will be significant growth from a strong start a year ago.”

Mendenhall also expressed his excitement that Armstrong was able to hold on to his redshirt status. The lefty signal caller, a rising redshirt freshman, is on track to be the successor to Perkins once Perkins’ playing career in Charlottesville comes to an end.

At running back, Virginia must replace 1,000-yard rusher and team-leader Jordan Ellis. Mendenhall noted that the Hoos feature three running backs in its offense – A “Pistol” back like Ellis, who can run downhill, slash, is physical and can move the chains; a “Speed Back” who can run the ball and catch the ball out of the backfield; a “Big Back” who is a mover, a blocker, and a player who sometimes gets yards in the trenches but mostly is more of a role player.

Rising junior PK Kier will have the first crack at replacing Ellis at the “Pistol,” although Mendenhall noted to look out for incoming first-year Mike Hollins out of Louisiana. Rising junior Lamont Atkins is what the Cavaliers are looking for in its “Speed Back,” while rising junior Jamari Peacock will continue his role as the primary “Big Back.”

“I like who we have,” Mendenhall said, discussing the running back position. “Now, how they are all utilized, that remains to be seen and has a lot to do with how PK does in terms of Jordan Ellis’ role. If that looks good, then you won’t notice much difference. If that doesn’t look maybe what we’re hoping for, then you’ll see more committee-ish and more different types of run game then maybe what you saw a year ago.”

Staying on offense, Virginia has added a few more players to the tight end position. Gone is dependable senior Evan Butts. We already knew the Hoos were returning rising senior Tanner Cowley. Who else will play the position?

“Tanner Cowley moves up into the spot left by Evan Butts,” Mendenhall said. “We also moved Grant Misch from outside linebacker/defensive end to tight end. That move has already happened. We also have Christian Baumgardner, who has returned to our program, and he originally came in as a tight end.”

Baumgardner, a rising junior, has been back with the team for a few weeks, Mendenhall noted. He needs to catch up with his conditioning and sharpen his skills, but Mendenhall feels tight end could be a good spot for him. Baumgardner arrived at UVA as a tight end before moving to the defensive line. He was not on the team last season.

As for Misch, Mendenhall said: “We’re really excited about Grant Misch as well and what he might be able to at that position.”

Misch played tight end in high school, so the position won’t be foreign to him.

Switching over to defense, Coach Mendenhall seemed very optimistic about being able to continue playing on a high level on that side of the ball despite losing All-ACC safety Juan Thornhill, cornerback Tim Harris, and outside linebacker Chris Peace.

“Culturally, I feel really good about our defense as well as the number of returning players,” Mendenhall said. “That gives us a collective that I feel very good about. Now, it is hard to replace Juan. It is hard to replace Tim Harris and who he became, and Chris Peace. There were up to nine other players that had starting experience. There will be those that emerge and take the next step up, as well as some new players. I like where we are going into year four. There’s more confidence. There’s more experience. There’s more certainty, and more expectations I would say internally to what we can accomplish.”

From a leadership standpoint, Mendenhall believes Perkins will be a leader on offense. Defensively, he pointed to All-ACC cornerback Bryce Hall, linebacker Jordan Mack, outside linebacker Charles Snowden, and the uber-consistent Eli Hanback for leadership next season.