During the offseason, Virginia receiver Olamide Zaccheaus and assistant coach Marques Hagans made no secret about their feelings following the rising seniors’ record-setting season in 2017. Despite a single-season record 85 catches, 895 receiving yards that ranked fifth all-time in program history, and five touchdowns, the tandem agreed that it could have been better.

One of the main targets for improvement: yards after the catch.

“I’ve been saying this this whole offseason, me and Coach Hagans wanted to focus on like my mindset after I catch the ball shouldn’t be like conceding the tackle or anything,” Zaccheaus said Saturday. “I need to be able to make people miss and that’s the next level to my game.”

The encore performance debuted to strong reviews Saturday against Richmond in a 42-13 UVA win. Zaccheaus pulled in six catches for 101 yards and a touchdown for the Hoos. Three of the five true receptions (one was a pop pass in the backfield that he immediately tossed to Joe Reed on a reverse) saw Zaccheaus add the all important YAC. The other two throws didn’t give him a chance to up the total.

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