Over the past three seasons, quarterbacks for the Virginia football team logged more than 500 carries. In fact, the past two seasons saw the QBs lead the team in total carries. That’s part of the dual threat model that the UVA coaches like, but they want it as part of a diverse rushing attack so this spring there is a renewed focus on traditional runs by the running backs.
So far, Cavalier coach Bronco Mendenhall said, so good.
“Competition really makes you a good coach,” Mendenhall said. “The competition is bringing out the best in our run game. Our traditional run game is more violent, more productive, and more physical than I’ve seen it at least in my time here.”
Certainly some of the credit for that has to go to an offensive line where a bevy of experienced players returner. That includes six players with starts: Olu Oluwatimi, Chris Glaser, Ryan Nelson, Ryan Swoboda, and Joe Bissinger closed out the 2020 season as starters while Bobby Haskins started 13 times in 2019 before working his way back from injury to contribute again in 2020. Nelson said the line is pushing hard toward an imposing run game this offseason.
There is also what appears to be depth at the running back position with several players in the mix for action. That’s where Mendenhall said the competition is really taking root. There are three players with college experience battling it out this spring, while true freshman Amaad Foston enrolled mid year and is getting up to speed and “showing a lot of promise” per Mendenhall. Harvard transfer Devin Darrington will join the fray this summer too.
The Taulapapa, Hollins, and Walker trio are in a close race as April winds down.
“Our run game is currently effective,” Mendenhall said. “We have deception runs, we have creative runs, we have quarterback runs, but then when it comes to traditional runs, there’s a fierce competition developing between Wayne Taulapapa and Mike Hollins as well as Ronnie Walker. They’re all running more violently, more productively, and more urgently because of the competition. … In terms of productivity, it is literally dead even right now with all three of them.”
Taulapapa has worked as the main back for much of the last two seasons at UVA. He logged 116 carries for 473 yards (4.1 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns in 2019. He added 88 carries for 395 yards (4.5 ypc) and 5 touchdowns last fall. Mendenhall praised Taulapapa at the start of spring practice for leading many of the offseason strength and conditioning tests.
Hollins opted out last season during the pandemic, but has return to school this semester. A promising prospect out of Louisiana, he had 21 carries for 112 yards (5.3 ypc) and 3 touchdowns in 2019 as a true freshman. Walker transferred to UVA from Indiana and spent a long time in limbo with the NCAA waiver process despite it being a free eligibility year due to the pandemic. Once he was cleared to play, he then battled an illness and only made it to the field for four games. He posted 23 carries for 66 yards (2.9 ypc).
Nelson said that the offensive linemen love the potential of the group behind them.
“You can go look at all the running backs right now and they’re all studs,” Nelson said. “They’re interchangeable. You think about every great vehicle, you can replace one piece and put another piece in and it still works. Our running backs are all great. They all have things they excel at. … All these guys are in here and they’re all balling out. … Any single one of those guys, we’re about to get a huge gain. It’s a great thing for us [on the offensive line] because we don’t have to worry about ‘oh man let’s get three yards and see what we can do the next play.’ It’s ‘this play is about to hit off, let’s go!’ That’s a great thing right now.”
Armstead’s Focus
Ira Armstead enrolled in January 2020 with plans to get a jumpstart on his career through spring practice. Of course, the pandemic cancelled spring practice so he participated in the Zoom calls from afar after returning home. When he returned for the fall season, Armstead settled into a ‘slash’ role alongside Keytaon Thompson but his season ended early due to a lower body injury at Miami that required surgery and rehab.
Fast forward to this semester and it’s sort of like being a first year all over again, Armstead said. The redshirt freshman is getting those valuable reps that he planned for when he enrolled early. While a ‘slash’ role may still be on the table later, right now that means he’s locked in at quarterback.
“My main priority is just being under center right now and taking snaps at QB,” Armstead said.
The reps in spring practice are the starting steps for a quarterback to grow as a college quarterback. That means some small bites of the playbook at first and eventually more as the player shows development.
“Really it just starts with the basics,” Armstead said. “Simple plays and things of that nature just to get your feet wet a little bit. Then just building off of that, just continuing to build and build and build and then adding new things and new tweaks.”
Armstead does have two older players to lean on. Brennan Armstrong, Virginia’s starter, worked through those steps while backing up Bryce Perkins. He started 9 games last season and registered 2,117 passing yards (18 touchdowns-11 interceptions) with 552 rushing yards (5 touchdowns).
Thompson, who embraced a multi-faceted role last fall after a shoulder injury, played quarterback at Mississippi State before transferring to Virginia. He won both his games as a starter at MSU and scored 18 career touchdowns. Last season for the Hoos, Thompson rushed 39 times for 234 yards with 3 touchdowns and made 7 catches for 98 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“Both Brennan and Keytaon are like big brothers to me. Keytaon, a funny guy, and Brennan being like the serious one,” Armstead said. “Brennan, just watching his game and picking up on certain keys from him, his leadership, the way he communicates with guys, and things like that. Keytaon just being so versatile as well – I was in the same position last year so me and him talking and going over things. Those two guys were very helpful for me.”
Early Progress
Someone following in Armstead’s early enrollee footsteps is offensive lineman Logan Taylor. The Episcopal High School recruit enrolled at the start of the semester and is working through spring practice. MaxPreps named him a top 25 offensive tackle prospect and CanadaFootballChat.com named him one of the top 5 Canadian players for the Class of 2021.
Taylor earned first-team division 1 all-state honors for the Virginia Independent Schools Football League as a junior in 2019. Episcopal did not play football in the fall of 2020 so Taylor’s reintroduction to live football came at UVA’s spring practice. The 6’7”, 295-pound freshman is showing promise in his early stages according to teammates and coaches.
“He’s always soaking up knowledge from me, Ryan Swoboda, Bobby Haskins,” Nelson said. “He’s young of course. When guys come in, especially mid years, they have to learn a lot so for now he’s trying to be a sponge and learn everything he can. Strong kid, athletic – he’s going to be really good.”
“It’s been really fun to watch his growth over this short period so far,” Virginia offensive line coach Garret Tujague said. “Just swimming at first. He’s done a really good job of getting one percent better every day. If he can stay healthy, if he can stay humble, I think he’ll be really good.”
