Darrius Bratton methodically worked his way to the Virginia football program and up its depth chart. Through a prep year at Fork Union Military Academy, limited duty as a true freshman in 2017, and as a part-time starter in 2018, Bratton’s steady development put him in position as a potential starter in August of 2019. A knee injury changed all of that.
A torn ACL on the first day of fall practice stopped that steady progress and veered Bratton’s path in a completely different direction. Fellow defensive back Joey Blount called the injury “devastating” for someone that had put in so much work to reach that point.
“Darrius is a close friend of mine and is someone I came in the program with and got to know as a brother,” Blount said. “Going into last season, he was very confident – the year before we had Tim Harris playing and they were battling for a spot. He was very confident going into this past year to play a lot of snaps and help the defense out a lot and it was a terrible thing that happened with his ACL. But the way he handled it, as does anyone with injuries, you kind of take it your own way. There were some highs and definitely lows, but he always kept his mind about the team and not himself. He was always very encouraging and he was always working hard in the training room on any type of rehab he had to do. I think his mental toughness is what really saved him and made him a better player.”
Bratton quietly went through that rehab grind over the last year. Virginia expected him to be a limited participant in spring practice before it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Reports around that time suggested that he had moved along quickly in his recovery. Fast forward to UVA’s return to Grounds for practice and the reviews continue to be positive.
Seniors Nick Grant and De’Vante Cross noted that Bratton is up to speed in practice and potentially competing at a higher level than before his injury. Bratton has five starts with 17 total tackles in his career to date, but the bulk of that playing time came during the 2018 season when he shared the cornerback spot with NFL Draft picks Tim Harris, Juan Thornhill, and Bryce Hall.
“It’s great to see D-Bratt out there,” Grant said. “He’s definitely more twitchy, he’s more technical than ever before because he’s had that time to hone in on where exactly his feet and his hands go. He’s been really impressing me. I’m so proud of him just for making his way back and being better than what he was.”
Teammates apparently noticed Bratton’s progress both before and after the injury. When the players set up the annual jersey draft in August, Bratton was among the first round picks despite missing last season. He ended up with a coveted single digit number too, taking No. 8 after wearing No. 32 previously.
If all of this adds up to a starter quality corner entering what is now his junior season due to last year’s injury redshirt, that could bode well for a defense already full of returning experience. The Hoos feature a pair of seniors on the defensive line in Mandy Alonso and Richard Burney, a linebacker group full of returning starters in Charles Snowden, Noah Taylor, and Zane Zandier, and a secondary with all of the pieces back from a year ago after Hall went down. Plus, the experience the secondary gathered last year created more depth due to the numerous injuries. That gives a coaching staff that loves 2-4-5 and 3-3-5 packages with extra defensive backs a lot of options.
Bratton’s teammates are looking forward to how he fits into that puzzle.
“For Darrius to be picking high in our jersey selections, we consider him a leader of the team, a leader in the secondary,” Blount said. “He has shown day in and day out how committed to the program he is. He’s low maintenance. He has a high work ethic. I think this is well deserved. I think the new No. 8 for him is a fresh start to put the past behind him and let him come into a new character that he wants to build upon. I see him being healthy this year. The knee looks great. He looks strong. His feet look good. I’m ready to see him play this year.”
Added Urgency?
The ACC announced game times for games in the first two weeks of the season. The Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry clash on Sept. 19 will fall into either a 3:30 or 7:30 p.m. slot on ABC. The network is using the six-day selection option and will announce the official start time following games played on Sept. 12.
It marks the second straight season that UVA will open with an ACC opponent. The Hoos hit the road to Pittsburgh last year in week one for a critical Coastal Division battle. While there are no divisions due to the modified conference schedule this season, this is the first time this century that the Hoos and Hokies will play each other in the season opener and the rivalry game received a boost last year when Virginia broke its losing streak in the series.
“With Pitt, it was the same thing last year because we hadn’t beat Pitt since I had been here or since Coach Mendenhall had been here really and that had a heightened urgency of starting the season off hot, starting the season off really, really good for the ACC,” Grant said. “We obviously only have ACC games this year so it’s the same urgency but you’ve got to multiply that by two or four because it is Virginia Tech. It is the Commonwealth Clash.”
Rivals Reunited
With many leagues canceling or postponing fall football, UVA picked up several graduate transfers from the FCS level over the summer months. That included running back Shane Simpson, an experienced player that appeared in 35 games at Towson. Simpson is a sixth-year senior after picking up a medical hardship waiver due to missing most of the 2015 and 2019 seasons due to injury.
Simpson proved productive when in action. He tallied 1,925 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns in his career with the Tigers. He was named a 2018 second-team FCS All-American and the 2018 CAA Special Teams Player of the year. He earned all-conference recognition at running back (first team), kick returner (second team), and punt returner (third team). That could make him a valuable pick-up for UVA, which lost star kick returner Joe Reed and substantial running back depth from a year ago. He is one of three scholarship running backs on the roster.
By choosing Virginia, Simpson also set up a offense-defense battle with a former high school opponent. De’Vante Cross came to UVA from Parkland High School in Pennsylvania, while Simpson played at Easton High. When asked for a specific memory of their high school games, Cross got in a little dig at his new teammate.
“Shane, that’s my guy. We’re both from the Lehigh Valley,” Cross said. “He’s a great player. We’re really lucky to have him too. I’d say for a specific memory of Shane, his senior year was my junior year of high school and I kind of put a cap on his football career for high school football, beat him in that district championship. That would be my one if anything. (laughs)”
Tight End Tricks
Another graduate transfer that joined the team for 2020: Central Michigan’s Tony Poljan. He provides much needed depth at tight end and could be an impact player there with some NFL projections already attached to his name. He caught 33 passes for 496 yards and 4 touchdowns last season.
Prior to taking on full-time tight end duties last season, however, Poljan played quarterback for CMU. That prompted a question for UVA tight end coach Ricky Brumfield about the possibilities of a little trickery in the playbook.
“We don’t really run trick plays here. We just stay base,” Brumfield said with a big grin. “That’s obviously always a good thing to have, a guy that played quarterback and can possibly throw the ball. It has crossed our mind, but we haven’t really gotten to that stage yet.”
