The Virginia football team’s linebackers stepped up to the mic this past week to discuss their progression throughout the spring. Assistant coach Clint Sintim seemed impressed by the team’s overall energy so far as well as the step in understanding from year one to year two in UVA Defensive Coordinator John Rudzinkski’s scheme.

“The expectation for these guys is set in stone,” Sintim said. “You spend less time talking about what you expect out of them, and you spend more time with the details of the defense or what exactly we’re doing with the techniques. Those guys do a great job. They’re smart kids. They’re well intentioned kids, and I assume they’re just going to continue to get better because they want to be great at all they do.”

The Hoos bring back plenty of experience at linebacker this year, but will have a massive hole to fill with the departure of Nick Jackson to the transfer portal. Jackson is a three-time All-ACC selection who led the ACC with 10.4 tackles per game last season in addition to posting 5 sacks (a career high), 4 QB hurries, 7.5 tackles for loss (a career high), and 4 pass breakups. He has posted 100+ tackles for three consecutive years. He chose to use an additional year of eligibility from the pandemic season elsewhere after graduating from Virginia.

Jackson’s brilliance, however, was not solely limited to his statistics. He was voted UVA Defensive Team MVP last season and was named to the NSCA Strength and Conditioning All-America team based on his academic achievement, personal integrity, athletic accomplishments, and dedication to strength and conditioning.

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