Virginia offensive lineman Ty Furnish ascended the depth chart to become a regular up front the last two seasons. In fact, he’s started 20 of 22 games since Tony Elliott took the helm for the Hoos. That doesn’t equal a smooth journey, though.

In 2022, Furnish started 9 of 10 games at center for the Hoos. He edged out Jestus Johnson III, who has since transferred, in a training camp battle and then split time with him during the season too. Furnish never fully settled in that season, his first playing center for that many snaps at any point in his high school or college career.

Before the 2023 season, Virginia changed offensive line coaches with Garett Tujague moving on to NC State and Terry Heffernan coming in for the Hoos. With that shift came a new voice, a different style of play on the O-Line, and different coaching emphasis. It also brought new teammates into the rotation as Ugonna Nnanna, Jimmy Christ, and Brian Stevens all transferred in.

Furnish remained at the top of the depth chart as the starting center when UVA opened its season. He struggled a bit with snaps and blocking, though, and Heffernan flipped things entering game three. Stevens moved to starting center, while Furnish slid over to right guard. Furnish ended up not starting the William & Mary game and shared time in some games at right guard as well. Stevens went on to earn honorable mention All-ACC honors and was named College Football Network’s ACC Center of the Year.

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