University of Florida graduate Jacob Finn will use his extra season of eligibility at the University of Virginia, he announced Monday (May 3). Finn was the Gators’ starting punter in 2020.
Finn, who measures in at 6’4”, 197 pounds, will be the fifth graduate transfer Virginia has added this offseason, joining tight end Jelani Woods (enrolled), cornerback Anthony Johnson (defensive back), running back Devin Darrington (enrolling this summer), and cornerback Josh Hayes (enrolling this summer). UVA also welcomed linebacker transfer Chico Bennett from Georgia Tech in February.
Finn, who arrived in Gainesville as a walk-on in 2016, played in five games his first four seasons before becoming the starting punter as a redshirt senior. He performed well, averaging 46.3 yards per punt in 26 tries. Fourteen of those punts pinned the opponent inside the 20. Six went for 50 or more yards, including a 67-yard effort against LSU.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall is in search of a replacement for Nash Griffin, who handled UVA’s punting duties each of the past two seasons. Griffin averaged 41.9 yards per punt in 2019 and 42.4 yards per kick in 2020. In his final season with the Hoos he booted nine punts of 50 or more yards and had 12 punts inside the opponent’s 20.
Virginia has only one punter on the roster this spring in walk-on Brendan Farrell. Coach Mendenhall told reporters on April 19 that the Farrell, who is finishing up his second year at UVA, was “punting really well” through spring practice.
Although he has only one season of starting experience, Finn brings maturity and proven production and would seem to be the frontrunner to start heading into fall camp. At placekicker, rising redshirt junior Hunter Pearson and rising redshirt sophomore Justin Duenkel will battle for the starting role. Pearson signed a full scholarship with Virginia in the class of 2018. He played in two games as a true freshman, converting two short field goals (28, 24) and all three extra points. The South Carolina native did not see any action in the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, primarily because of the emergence of Brian Delaney. He battled injury as well in that span.
Duenkel, a recruited walk-on out of Great Falls, Virginia, has played in eight games in his first two seasons in Charlottesville. He played in only one game his first year, enabling him to maintain redshirt status that season. Duenkel converted an extra point in 2019. In 2020 he handled kickoff duties for seven of UVA’s 10 games.
Pearson and Duenkel attempted field goals during the 2021 Spring Game. Duenkel missed one (bounced off the uprights), but both had successful attempts.
Best guess scenario at this point for the 2021 season is Duenkel handling kickoffs, Finn handling punting duties, and placekicker still to be determined between Pearson and Duenkel. Looking ahead to 2022, UVA could potentially add two scholarship players to the kicking spots as the Hoos have offered full scholarships to placekicker Will Bettridge and punter Alex Bachetta. Both prospects are scheduled to be in Charlottesville on official visits the weekend of June 25-27.
