99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff

The Virginia football team wrapped up summer conditioning Friday with the final lifts, sprints, and workouts of July. The Cavaliers will open preseason practice next Friday morning outside of the McCue Center.

To celebrate the end of the summer offseason period, the Hoos instituted a new tradition brought in with Shawn Griswold, who UVA brought in as its new Director of Football Development & Performance this offseason while expanding the overall staff. The “Break The Rock” tradition borrows on this quote from Jacob A. Riis, a 19th century journalist and photographer.

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” ~ Jacob A. Riis

Here’s a short video of the final blow to wrap up UVA’s summer workouts:

Coach Griswold brings new tradition to UVA to close out summer conditioning. ⚔️ #BreakTheRock #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/wQpG1NxCly

— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) July 27, 2018

The “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series explores something to watch during preseason practice.

No. 38 – Sorting Out The Secondary

With summer workouts in the rearview mirror, fall practice is now on deck for the Hoos. When those sessions open next Friday, there will be plenty of storylines and things to watch, many of which have been detailed over the last 50+ days in this series. Still, one area that’s expected to be a strength for the Cavaliers has gotten bypassed when it comes to a detailed overlook and that’s the secondary.

It’s easy to look at the returning players in the Virginia secondary and draw high expectations for the 2018 season. The Hoos, after all, return third-team All-ACC selection Juan Thornhill, 20-game starter Bryce Hall, and the 2017 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in Brenton Nelson. They also get back Tim Harris, who was granted a medical hardship waiver for a sixth season, and Chris Moore, a hybrid linebacker-safety that played a big role on defense last season.

So with that many recognizable names in the fold, the secondary is expected to be force this season. That’s impressive considering the unit lost the program’s all-time leading tackler in Quin Blanding, who signed a free agent deal with the Washington Redskins.

Despite all the returning names, however, sorting out the secondary requires evaluating the options. That’s because UVA also has several potential newcomers vying for snaps too.

Safety Joey Blount stood out on special teams last season and made some early waves in spring practice before a collarbone injury took him out. He’s been cleared for full practice next week, though. Corner Nick Grant also ended his spring workouts earlier for minor surgery, but is cleared to go next week. Shawn Smith shifted over to the secondary after working out at receiver during his redshirt year, flipping spots with Riah Burton.

That’s eight potential contributors without even considering other freshmen or returning players that are trying to fight off the injury bug like Germane Crowell and Myles Robinson.

The coaching staff could go a number of ways with that personnel, particularly considering the versatile talents of Thornhill that allow him to shift to just about anywhere in the lineup. If you go with the presumed starters for the base defense, that’s an experienced group that moves Thornhill to safety to take over the reins from the departed Blanding. Nelson slots in at the other safety spot with Hall and Harris at corner, both with 20 or more starts already under their belts. That’s three guys in the 6’0” to 6’2” range at around 200 pounds to roam the secondary and lean over receivers.

Considering that Thornhill could move into the box as a sure tackler, flip into man coverage as a previous starter at corner, or drop back as a centerfielder with range and strong ball skills, there’s a lot you can do with just those four options in the toolbox. Thornhill posted 108 tackles and 16 passes defended the last two seasons.

That versatility is one reason the Cavaliers planned to move Thornhill to safety last season, but Harris’ injury in the season opener led to a chain reaction that pushed Thornhill back to corner. That’s also what shifted Nelson into the lineup and he capitalized as the conference’s top rookie. Considering Harris’ unfortunate injury history, would that be on the table this time too? Possibly, but that seems unlikely due to the year of experience gained by players elsewhere on the roster. In fact, the Hoos could choose to platoon Harris’ corner spot in general if needed or as a way to guard against injury. That’s where Grant appeared to make some headway in the spring prior to his surgery. He’s another rangy 6’1” type that can hold his own on the edge. Smith impressed the staff enough this spring to stick at corner too so maybe he gets into the game at corner as well in certain situations.

The real interesting debate, however, comes with sub packages. That’s where Moore carved out a big role in 2017 as a hybrid player in a 3-3-5 type scheme. The ability to play on the edge in space, but still make tackles in the run game made him a valuable sub at the linebacker level. He ended up with 41 tackles and an interception. That’s certainly something Virginia could choose to do again with Moore or perhaps Blount due to Thornhill’s versatility. Imagine a sub packge with Hall and Harris at corner and Thornhill, Nelson, and Blount at safety for example. There’s a lot of athletes with cover ability in there. Of course, Blount can also sub directly into the base defense too to keep Nelson and Thornhill fresh as well.

What about a more DB-centric sub package? Considering the potential depth issues on the defensive line, there could be the option of moving linebacker Chris Peace up on the line in a two-point stance for a defacto 2-4-5 or 2-3-6 look where you’re subbing for a lineman instead of linebacker. UVA has done that at times in the past. That would break down like this as examples:

• DL – Eli Hanback, Mandy Alonso | LB – Peace, Jordan Mack, Malcolm Cook, Charles Snowden | DB – Hall, Harris, Nelson, Thornhill, Moore

or

• DL – Richard Burney, Mandy Alonso | LB – Peace, Jordan Mack, Charles Snowden | DB – Hall, Harris, Nelson, Thornhill, Moore, Blount

That sort of sub look would have to come against spread looks or on obvious passing downs. You could put other names like Grant or Smith into the mix with six defensive backs as well vs. the examples provided. Overall, however, the point is that the strength of the secondary provides options for Mendenhall. Some of those could cover up depth issues up front in certain situations. It could create more of a rotation to keep players fresh over the long haul. It certainly will foster competition in practice as players try to carve out roles.

In other words, there are plenty of reasons to keep an eye on the secondary as practice gets going.

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

• No. 99 – The Importance Of A Fast Start
• No. 98 – The Impact Of Early-Ending Careers
• No. 97 – Jordan Mack’s Role
• No. 96 – Welcome Back
• No. 95 – Han Solo Says
• No. 94 -Smart Addition
• No. 93 – The Center Spot
• No. 92 – Finding A Punt Returner
• No. 91 – Facing Running Quarterbacks
• No. 90 – Interceptions
• No. 89 – Kickoff Times
• No. 88 – QB Optimism Not Enough To Tilt Early Predictions Too Far
• No. 87 – It Starts With Jordan Ellis
• No. 86 – Virginia’s Most Dangerous Game
• No. 85 – The Tight End Swan Song?
• No. 84 – Teach A Man To Fish
• No. 83 – No Ordinary Joe
• No. 82 – Now Or Then
• No. 81 – How To Treat The Kickoff Rule Change
• No. 80 – Play, But Still Redshirt
• No. 79 – Which Red Zone Offense Is The Real One?
• No. 78 – Schedule For Success
• No. 77 – Who’s The Worst?
• No. 76 – ACC Coach Rankings
• No. 75 – Keep That Cold Weather Gear
• No. 74 – 1,000 Target For OZ
• No. 73 – Cross Out Cross-Training For Cross
• No. 72 – Punting Plans
• No. 71 – Redshirted … Ready?
• No. 70 – A June Jolt
• No. 69 – Who?
• No. 68 – Stops To Start Second Half
• No. 67 – Root, Root, Root For …
• No. 66 – Wildcard Extras
• No. 65 – Defense Showed Red Zone Improvement
• No. 64 – Welcome Back, Mr. Robinson
• No. 63 – The Florida Footprint
• No. 62 – True Freshmen Will Play, But Who Will Make The Most Impact?
• No. 61 – Four Fireworks-Worthy Moments In The Bronco Mendenhall Era
• No. 60 – Juan Thornhill Primed For An All-ACC Caliber Season
• No. 59 – Rebuilding The Offensive Line Is On Schedule
• No. 58 – Bouncing Back On The Defensive Line
• No. 57 – Underrated Hoos
• No. 56 – Lordy, Lordy, How ‘Bout 40?
• No. 55 – Peace Talk
• No. 54 – Hoos’ Handle On Social Media Bodes Well For Future Recruiting
• No. 53 – Filling The Void At Wide Receiver
• No. 52 – The Sixth-Year Seniors
• No. 51 – Borrowing A Burning Question
• No. 50 – Beat Tech!
• No. 49 – A Resolute Leader
• No. 48 – The Perkins Theorem
• No. 47 – Beat Pitt!
• No. 46 – A Look At Virginia Football’s 2018 Walk-On Class
• No. 45 – I Sense A Trend.
• No. 44 – The Need For (More) Speed
• No. 43 – Progress With Penalties
• No. 42 – Preseason All-ACC Musings
• No. 41 – Designing Sacks
• No. 40 – Go Long
• No. 39 – Please Stay Healthy!