Looking at the Virginia football team’s 2022-23 defensive line, and defense as a whole, there is a lot of work to be done.

Last year, the Cavaliers had one of the worst defenses in the country, allowing 466 yards per game that put the unit 121st out of the 130 teams in the nation. They also tied for 103rd in scoring defense (31.8 points per game allowed) and 123rd in run defense (225.83 rushing yards per game allowed). The latter stat may tie to the defensive line as much as any – how the front does its job impacts everything behind it.

This situation is compounded by the loss of veteran defensive linemen Mandy Alonso, who started the last 20 games for UVA, and Adeeb Atariwa, who had 106 total career tackles. It seems things can only go up from here. Despite the challenges, coach Tony Elliott does not seem fazed.

Following the Virginia Blue-White scrimmage this spring, Elliot said he was incredibly pleased with the defensive line’s performance and that he’s optimistic about what’s to come. In his eyes, the star of the game, and potentially of Virginia’s defense this season, was Ben Smiley. In Elliott’s words, “He’s strong enough, physical enough to go inside and be like a Jonathan Allen. … Not saying he’s Jonathan Allen … [but] he’s got that kind of flexibility and versatility.” To bring out this incredible talent, and help Virginia’s defense achieve its potentially high ceiling, Elliott made key moves surrounding his defensive coaching staff.

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