99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff

The Virginia football team’s linebacker group features players at different points in their career. Well-known names like Malcolm Cook and C.J. Stalker have been around the program for five years or more. Jordan Mack and Chris Peace return as two of the top producers at the linebacker position in the entire ACC.

Then there are potential up-and-comers among the freshman and sophomore classes. That includes a sophomore that got on the field as a true freshman last season and distinguished himself during offseason strength and conditioning workouts this offseason.

The “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series continues.

No. 23 – Tag Team Linebacker

There’s no denying that Zane Zandier looks the part. The question, perhaps, is whether that part is for a role as a linebacker or as a wrestling superstar. He could be cast as either.

In his official bio photograph for VirginiaSports.com, he’s got his hair shaved and spiked into a mohawk. When he walked into practice last week, he wore the high neck collar on top of his pads and had his stomach exposed with his jersey tucked up near the pads. All linebacker. Throw some spikes on those pads and add some eye paint. All Road Warrior.

Either way, the Hoos could use that type of animal among the linebackers this season. (Animal, for those not very WWF nostalgic among you, was one of the Road Warriors.)

The Cavaliers, of course, are replacing All-American and All-ACC linebacker Micah Kiser in the middle after he led the ACC in tackles per game for three straight seasons. But beyond that, the defense is focused on playing a more physical brand of football and shoring up the run defense from a year ago. The Cavaliers allowed 199.31 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked 102nd nationally. A lot of that responsibility falls to the linebackers in Bronco Mendenhall’s schemes.

It looks like some sophomores, including Zandier, will be a part of that equation. Linebackers Zandier, Charles Snowden, and Matt Gahm each were among the first players to earn numbers during preseason practice. Snowden has been working with the first-team defense at outside linebacker, while Gahm took first-team snaps in the spring with Chris Peace out at the other outside spot.

Zandier, meanwhile, could plug into either spot. He backed up Kiser on the inside last season and has worked on the outside as well, a spot he was tagged for during recruiting. The scouting services ranked him as a three-star recruit as a projected linebacker. He played receiver and defensive back at Thomas Jefferson High School near Pittsburgh. He performed well in those skill roles too. He caught 44 passes for 900 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior.

The key may be whether he can translate those skills repeatedly, something that Mendenhall noted in the spring was progressing more slowly than everyone hoped. Zandier said he’s focused on consistency from snap to snap to try to earn more playing time.

“Just playing every snap physical,” Zandier said. “I should be able to be good with my hands and be good with my feet, that’s really important at linebacker. Being able to do that is the way to get the most production.”

If Zandier’s offseason work is any indication, he’ll get there soon. That’s because Zandier gained 20 pounds of muscle this offseason, going from 6’3” and 215 pounds as a true freshman up to 235 pounds ahead of camp. He impressed new strength and conditioning coach Shawn Griswold during the offseason months as well.

Griswold brought in a new competition among the team called “The Dirty Dozen” after the 1967 film of the same name. Only 12 players on the roster – four each from three different groupings (skill, big skill, and linemen) – make the cut after testing in the final week of summer workouts. The results are based on a combination of lifts, runs, and jumps.

Zandier made the linebacker quartet along with Mack, Cook, and Peace. Only one other sophomore broke into the dozen spots and that was Mandy Alonso on the defensive line. In other words, Zandier appears to have the physical skills to give a boost to the linebacker group and possibly special teams too.

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!
• No. 38 – Sorting Out The Secondary
• No. 37 – Preseason Injury Report Concerns
• No. 36 – The Third Down Swap
• No. 35 – The Last Time
• No. 34 – More Rushing Options
• No. 33 – Opponents Say
• No. 32 – Preseason Practice Watch List
• No. 31 – Snowden Emerging
• No. 30 – Deja Vu With Dubois?
• No. 29 – Reduce Opponents’ Explosive Touchdowns
• No. 28 – Nelson’s Encore
• No. 27 – Ranking The Positions On Offense From Strongest To Weakest
• No. 26 – Hold On To That Ball Petey!
• No. 25 – R.J., The Elder
• No. 24 – Bratton’s Road Of Resilience