Virginia Football Preview - SCACCHoops.com

Virginia Football Preview

by Will Ojanen

Posted: 8/25/2014 9:19:29 AM


The 2013 Virginia football season started with an impressive home win over BYU, and after a win over VMI a few weeks later, went completely downhill. The VMI win proved to be the last win of the season for the Cavs, and the 2-10 season nearly cost Mike London his job. The hot seat for London is pretty warm right now, and he needs the team to show big signs of improvement if he wants to coach the team beyond this season. He has talent back, but a daunting schedule awaits. 

Offense

After seeing David Watford miss receivers high, low, left, right, or throw to the wrong team, or throw screen passes that went for short gains, the reigns have been handed to Greyson Lambert. The sophomore played a lot in mop up duty, but for the most part, did not do well. Lambert completed just 44% of his passes for 340 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Watford is still on roster as a backup, along with Matt Johns and Brendan Marshall.

If there is one thing Virginia has plenty of, it's running backs. There are three very capable backs that can carry the load in the running game, and are very capable pass catchers. All-ACC caliber back Kevin Parks rushed for 1031 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Khalek Shepherd ran for 304 yards and averaged 6.0 yards per carry. Highly touted Taquan Mizzell put up 184 yards on the ground and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. The Cavs will run plenty, and Parks will see most of the work, but Shepherd and Mizzell will get plenty of opportunities.

Virginia will need a big improvement from the wide receivers this year if they are going to be competitive. Some of the issues weren't necessarily their fault (quarterbacks not throwing accurately), but there were quite a few inexplicable drops. This year, there is some tinkering to the receiving corps. Keeon Johnson made an impact towards the end of the season, and became the go to guy for the quarterbacks. He only caught 20 passes, but 10 of the came in a two game stretch at the end of the year. Miles Gooch and Kyle Dockins are projected to be the other starters as well. They were used sparingly throughout the season. Backing them up are freshman Andre Levrone, junior Canaan Severin, and seniors Darius Jennings and Dominique Terrell. At tight end, Zachary Swanson replaces the departed Jake McGee. He caught 19 passes for 173 yards last season.

There were two big losses on the offensive line, and Virginia is going to have trouble replacing them. The departures of Morgan Moses and Luke Bowanko left big voids on the offensive line, which is a line void of experience. A starting five of sophomore Michael Mooney, sophomore Ryan Doull, junior Ross Burbank, senior Conner Davis, and sophomore Eric Smith is expected to open the season, but don't be surprised if that changes plenty throughout the season.

Defense

While the defense looked bad in spots last year, a lot of it was because of the situations the offense put them in. The good news is that most of the defense returns, with another year of experience under their belt, and two highly touted freshmen join the mix. The defensive line should be stout this year, led by Eli Harold, who had a breakout season with 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss, which were far and away led the team.  He will be joined by new starter Mike Moore, son of UVA great Shawn Moore, who did have 16 tackles and one sack in a backup role. Inside, David Dean was another player who stepped up his game for the Cavs last season, finishing with 49 tackles and four sacks. Backing up at end will be Kwontie Moore and Trent Corney, who have played sparingly in their college careers.  At tackle, Donte Wilkins will back up Dean, and play inside as well when the Cavs do play in the 4-3 defense. Also backing up is highly touted freshman Andrew Brown, who is one of the highest rated recruits to come to Charlottesville in recent memory.

Linebacker is not the strongest part of Virginia's defense, but it is a sold unit. All three starters return this year, led by leading tackler Henry Coley. The senior had 89 tackles and 10 tackles for loss last season. Number two tackler Daquan Romero returns, coming off of an 87 tackle season. Max Valles is the other starter. At 6-5 and 240 pounds, he is a beastly presence when coming after the quarterback. He only started four games, but still managed to get four sacks. 

Some consider Virginia's secondary as one of the best in the conference. There is front line talent, and plenty of depth. Demetrious Nicholson  has started 30 games in his college career, and has been a stout corner. He only played in five games last season because of injury, but still put up 20 tackles and four pass break ups. On the other side, Maurice Canady emerged as solid cornerback for the Cavs last season, finishing second on the team in pass break ups with eight. He also had 44 tackles and two sacks. Of course, you can't talk about Virginia's safeties without mentioning Anthony Harris, who led the FBS in interceptions last season with eight. He was also third on the team with 80 tackles. The other starting safety appears to be freshman Quin Blanding, the other highly touted freshman. Backing up at corner are Brandon Phelps, who was the starting safety last season, Tim Harris, and DreQuan Hoskey. All three saw plenty of time last year.

Special Teams

The UVA special teams were actually pretty good last season. While Ian Frye missed most of the season, he did have a good start to the season, going 3-4 on field goals, including a 51 yard field goal. Punter Alec Vozenilek filled in and went 12-15 on field goals, as well as averaged 41 yards per punt. The return game will have multiple participants. Kickoffs will be handled by Darius Jennings and Taquan Mizzell, and Khalek Shepherd and Dominique Terrell will handle punt returns.

Schedule

For the second consecutive season, the schedule will not do Virginia any favors. They open the season with Pac-12 favorite UCLA at home, along with Richmond and Kent State, and BYU on the road in non conference play. ACC play has Louisville, Pitt, UNC, and Miami coming to Charlottesville, while the Cavs travel to Duke, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Virginia Tech.

Prediction

A lot will have to fall Virginia's way in order for the Cavs to make a bowl this season. Number one, improved quarterback play will make a big difference. The Cavs were near the bottom of the NCAA in interceptions thrown last season, and cutting that number will make a big difference. The talent is getting better, but it's still a ways from being a competitive team. And there's no guarantee Mike London will be around should this team develop. This year, Virginia's schedule will be very daunting, facing two teams that could end up in the college football playoff in Florida State and UCLA. They also face Virginia Tech in Blacksburg in their attempt to beat them for the first time in over a decade. I don't think Virginia will make a bowl this year. I think they can get to four wins, but they will need to spring a couple of upsets to get to a bowl.

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