”Offensive line is one of the thinnest positions on our team. Thankfully we managed it well enough and we held together through a season. We were concerned about that even before last year, but this now is thinner than that.”

During a wide-ranging interview with reporters back in December, that’s how Bronco Mendenhall described the state of the union when it comes to the Virginia football program’s offensive line. In Mendenhall’s first season at UVA, the roster carried only 15 offensive linemen but due to some good fortune in the health department that didn’t lead to any major issues. Senior starters Jackson Matteo, Michael Mooney, and Eric Smith exited at the end of the season, however, so the unit took a significant experience hit at the end.

Undoubtedly, some of that was on Mendenhall’s mind this offseason as he tries to rebuild the line. Through an incoming freshman class that includes five offensive linemen (expect future classes to have heavy OL numbers too) and two graduate transfers, he addressed the immediate depth concerns. The Cavaliers enter the season with 17 offensive line players listed on the roster. That’s still thin, particularly with so many true freshmen as part of the head count, but it will have to do for 2017.

Among the 17 offensive linemen are four returnees, all that started at least one game last season.

The most seasoned of the quartet are Jack English and Jack McDonald, who each started in 11 of 12 games last season. English (6’5”/300) enters the season as one of the clear leaders of the group. He played in 11 games or more in each of the last three seasons with 18 total starts the past two seasons. He is expected to start at tackle, likely on the critical left side where he will protect the back of quarterback Kurt Benkert.

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