99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff

A prevailing theme for the Virginia football team from the start of spring practice through Friday’s preseason session at Lambeth field centers around the defensive line. More specifically, do the Hoos have enough depth up front? With kickoff new fewer than 20 days away, the answer there is as murky as ever.

UVA coach Bronco Mendenhall noted with reporters Friday that Richard Burney, a projected starter at one defensive end slot, is currently out with a concussion and that transfer Cassius Peat continues to be sidelined too. Mandy Alonso, another projected starter, remains in a walking boot. Incoming transfer Dylan Thompson has yet to arrive from Ohio State and Mendenhall labeled his chances of playing at Virginia this year “unlikely” with reporters.

All of that followed what led to the questions at the beginning. Andre Brown finished his career and joined the Cincinnati Bengals. The Cavaliers suspended Juwan Moye and Steven Wright prior to the bowl game and stripped them of scholarships and both players subsequently transferred. Osiris Crutchfield flipped back to the D-Line in the spring, but then was lost for the year with a knee injury.

Basically, that leaves just Eli Hanback with any experience on the defensive line as the season opener approaches. At this point, just three players on the D-Line even have a number because so many freshmen and redshirt freshmen are expected to get playing time. Mendenhall mentioned Aaron Faumui and Jordan Redmond as possibilities for example. The next round of approximately 20 numbers takes place this weekend.

In other words, what is perhaps the biggest question for the UVA football team in 2018 is no closer to an answer than months ago. So what’s that mean for the Hoos?

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

No. 18 – I Need A Sub!

When you shuffle through the defensive line part of the roster, it’s clear that Hanback look like the projected starters. The good news with Burney and Alonso is that both could be back by the opener with Richmond even though they’re not practicing now. It’s after that first line, however, that things get murkier.

The answer could be among either the freshmen or the transfers, but it could be somewhere else entirely. As in another position entirely. While the Hoos appear to be seriously thin up front, they have a lot of potential depth among the linebackers and defensive backs. The staff already moved freshman outside linebacker Grant Misch up to defensive end, but shifting players’ positions may not be the solution either.

The choice, either by necessity or preference, may be with the substitution defensive packages. That crossed the radar last week when Mendenhall mentioned four safeties playing well in practice and only grew in probability with the additional D-Line news Friday.

Remember, Mendenhall’s background on defense started in part with a 3-3-5 with Rocky Long at New Mexico. Plus, if you circle back at last year’s season opener, the Hoos actually opened the game in a 2-4-5 look with only Hanback and Brown up front. Both of those options got a lot of field time a year ago for UVA.

The starting lineup against William & Mary along with what that might look like this season is one way to address depth issues on the line:

• Defensive end: Andrew Brown – Richard Burney
• Nose tackle: Eli Hanback – Eli Hanback
• SAM LB: Malcolm Cook – Charles Snowden
• MLB: Micah Kiser – Jordan Mack
• BLB: Jordan Mack – Malcolm Cook
• WILL LB: Chris Peace – Chris Peace
• Corner: Bryce Hall – Bryce Hall
• Corner: Tim Harris – Darius Bratton
• Safety: Quin Blanding – Juan Thornhill
• Safety: Juan Thornhill – Brenton Nelson
• Safety: Brenton Nelson – Chris Moore

Later in the year, things shifted more frequently to a 3-3-5 alignment as Alonso developed. If the health situation up front improves and the coaches feel more comfortable with younger players as they develop, then maybe this concept along with the standard 3-4 option becomes more palatable for increased snaps. The starting lineup against Miami last November along with what that might look like this season follows:

• Defensive end: Andrew Brown – Richard Burney
• Nose tackle: Eli Hanback – Eli Hanback
• Defensive End: Mandy Alonso – Mandy Alonso
• MLB: Micah Kiser – Jordan Mack
• BLB: Jordan Mack – Charles Snowden
• WILL LB: Chris Peace – Chris Peace
• Corner: Bryce Hall – Bryce Hall
• Corner: Tim Harris – Darius Bratton
• Safety: Quin Blanding – Juan Thornhill
• Safety: Juan Thornhill – Brenton Nelson
• Safety: Chris Moore – Chris Moore

Keep in mind, those are just samples. Sophomore safety Joey Blount is very much in the mix at safety right now too. So he could plug into an additional defensive back spot too. Mendenhall said that Moore knows all three safety roles and is having a strong preseason so that creates flexibility for a rotation just among those four players too.

Other sub defenses could end up on the table too simply due to the “best 11” approach that Mendenhall prefers. A dime-style option with even another defensive back on the field in a 3-2-6 outline could be dialed up situationally as one example. That would simply mean putting an option like Blount in the game for Snowden from the 3-3-5 list above. Perhaps even a science laboratory defense with a 2-3-6 is possible? That would line up like Hanback-Alonso, Peace-Mack-Snowden, Hall-Bratton-Thornhill-Nelson-Moore-Blount.

The general point is that if the coaches feel like they’re short of an the minimally ideal five- or six-man rotation up front, then maybe you can cover it up against some opponents – or certainly on obvious passing downs – with other personnel. For example, you start the game with your base look and three linemen, but then give a defensive lineman a series off with the 2-4-5 look that brings a safety on the field as the sub. This reduces the pressure to handle too big of a workload for a true freshman in certain scenarios obviously.

The biggest drawback to a sub-heavy approach could be run defense, particularly if a team rolls into the game with a Boston College type scheme in tow. Run defense is an area the coaches have emphasized this offseason regardless of the defensive scheme in use because UVA ranked 102nd nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (199.31), 85th in yards per carry allowed (4.65), and 88th in rushing touchdowns allowed (25). In the scenarios above where you take a defensive lineman off the field, you’re basically trading a freshman like the 280-pound Faumui for an option like the 210-pound safety Moore. There’s more versatility and experience in that example, but not as much overall size or weight.

While we’re dabbling in hypotheticals, there’s one more area to explore here too. That would be goal line defense. If some things don’t become clear as quickly as hoped, what does that mean for the jumbo situations inside the 10 or on short yardage downs? The Cavaliers often stay with just three down linemen in those situations and walk up the linebackers and safeties. But what if the worst-case scenario with sustained injury time lost for Burney, Alonso, and Peat happens? Would that mean Hanback lines up with freshmen for those downs? Is there a sub defense to solve that possibility?

This is certainly one area that’s not at all clear from the outside just two weeks away from kickoff.

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
• No. 23 – Tag Team Linebacker
• No. 22 – Numbers Begin To Fill In
• No. 21 – Ranking The Positions On Defense From Strongest To Weakest
• No. 20 – Eli’s Gold
• No. 19 – Covering Punts