99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff

Early in the “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series, a Friday flurry on the recruiting trail led to an entry headlined “A June Jolt” that talked about the buzz it created among UVA fans. Two of the commits that day were a pair of Dolphins planning to come across the pond.

Luke Wentz, an athlete with quarterback on his resume, and Kariem Al Soufi, an offensive lineman, each play for the Paderborn Dolphins overseas in Germany. Wentz and Al Soufi were picking up recruiting steam after attending a series of camps in the United States. That included a stop at Virginia where both received scholarship offers from the Hoos. On June 22, the duo pledged to the program.

Wentz and Al Soufi aren’t the first German players to join the Virginia football team with Bronco Mendenhall, though. The “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series checks in with a German that’s already here.

No. 14 – German Flair

While Wentz and Al Soufi play football overseason in Germany, redshirt freshman Gerrik Vollmer took a different path to the Virginia football program. Three years ago, he left his home in Hamburg, Germany, as an exchange student at Philip Barbour High School in West Virginia where he played football and earned 2A All-State honors. From there, Vollmer decided to stay in America and attended prep school for in Connecticut at the Taft School. He made the Class A All-New England team there as well in 2016.

Prior to leaving for the United States, Vollmer had spent his whole life in Germany. He began to study English in the fourth or fifth grade so he’s a fluent speaker. He admitted that it was tough to switch from translating in his head to simply thinking and responding in English, but joked that now he’ll forget some German words back home to puzzled looks from his parents. In fact, he’s been immersed with English for so long that even his dreams unfold that way. That’s sort of a running joke with Vollmer.

“Me and my roommate always joked about it. I dream in English, but I sleep talk in German,” Vollmer said. “So that freaks him out. When you dream in English the first time, it’s really weird.”

Vollmer showed enough in two years of football to earn a scholarship spot with Virginia.

“It was definitely football too. At first, I just wanted to come over here and experience the whole culture,” Vollmer said. “I always wanted to go to America. Once I got here, I was like OK, I can probably make it to a Division I college and fulfill my dreams. Now I’m here.”

Here is a little less clear when using it to mean Vollmer’s spot on the offensive line. He’s worked at both left tackle and center during preseason camp, especially after Tyler Fannin and then Jake Fieler missed practice time. With only Dillon Reinkensmeyer holding experience at center at that point, other players like Chris Glaser and Vollmer got in the mix at center. Vollmer had played the position some times in high school.

Getting work at multiple positions is standard practice for UVA linemen, but it’s especially beneficial for a player like Vollmer. That’s because the start of his career with the Cavaliers was challenging. He tore his ACL and had meniscus damage in his knee during fall camp last season. That ended his first year of football work right as it began. On the field at least.

While that injury kept him out of drills, the coaches did not let him drift. Vollmer watched film of every practice and every one-on-one rep between offensive and defensive linemen. He met with quarterbacks on he team to make sure he understood the line calls and the plays.

The coaches engaged him in meetings and more to see if he was on top of the playbook.

“I met with the coaches and they got me ready,” Vollmer said. “They said I have to be ready in the meeting room and asked questions. It definitely helped me. I know way more about the offense than I did last year. … The coaches texted me every day and made sure ‘You know the stuff?’ They’d quiz me. They called me in the office and said what did you learn today? They make sure you’re going to be on top of all your stuff.”

Perhaps at some point, Vollmer will be the one giving advice and pop quizzes to teammates. After all, there’s a natural connection with Wentz and Al Soufi joining the program from Germany as well. The redshirt freshman was excited when he heard the news of their commitments this summer.

“I think it’s awesome,” Vollmer said. “We have a lot of great players from Europe, especially from Germany. I texted with some of them already. I’m excited they’re coming here. It’s going to be awesome – I’ll have some family around basically.”

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
• No. 18 – I Need A Sub!
• No. 17 – Is Mejia The Answer Virginia Needs At Place-Kicker?
• No. 16 – More Position Changes In Store For The First Years?
• No. 15 – Moore More Ready