He didn’t offer up many details about scheme and shared no plans about personnel. But if there’s one conclusion that John Rudzinski has come to in the early days as his tenure as Virginia’s new defensive coordinator, it’s that the Wahoos need to tackle.
“Everyone talks about it, but for us it’s making sure we continue to focus fundamentally and again when it comes down to it, it comes down to block destruction and the ability to pursue and finish on the football,” Rudzinski said last week in his first meeting with media since being hired last month. “And when you talk about finishing on the football, it’s being able to tackle.”
Virginia’s shortcomings on defense last season were well documented. The Hoos ranked 121st in the country in total yards allowed per game (466.0) and 123rd against the run (225.8). They allowed five of their final seven opponents to run for at least 200 yards, including 320 for Virginia Tech and 385 for BYU. Out of 130 FBS team, UVa graded out at No. 115 overall on defense and No. 126 against the run according to PFF College.
The Wahoos’ tackling grade wasn’t nearly as harsh, ranking No. 48 in the country. But tackling was still the initial point of emphasis for Rudzinski, whose defense at Air Force graded out fifth nationally as a tackling unit in 2021. In his four years as coordinator, the Falcons also a top-20 defense against the run three times and top-10 twice. Last season, Air Force gave up just 102.2 rushing yards per game, which ranked seventh nationally.
Rudzinski is one of seven new assistants on the initial staff of new UVa head coach Tony Elliott, who was hired in mid-December. Also new to UVa is offensive coordinator Des Kitchings, who in his first meeting with media last week talked about the importance of bringing balance back to the UVa offense. Last year’s team threw the ball almost 62 percent of the time.
Kitchings talked about how a more balanced game plan also means working on the run more regularly in practice—which brings the added benefit of giving the defense more looks against the run. A few days later, Rudzinski raised the same point.
“And if we have an offense that’s committed to running the ball in spring and fall camp,” he said, “we’ll be able to play with our hands, play with great pad level, and frankly, be able to be great tacklers. There’s no real magic to the scheme, but what it is is frankly, it’s being able to play against it day-in and day-out and build a mentality for guys that love playing downhill and playing physical football.”
Beyond sharing his affinity for strong tackling, Rudzinski offered little about his vision for the 2022 UVa defense. He’s been collaborating with his new staff to talk scheme and studying film from last season, but wasn’t ready to go into detail about what the Hoos may run or where players may fit. The staff will use UVa’s upcoming spring practices to get a better sense of what his new players bring to the table and what works schematically against the UVa offense.
“The best way to evaluate a football player is watch him play football,” Rudzinski said. “As much as the weight room is a huge part, and the ability to move and do dynamic movements in the indoor or out on the field is important, but frankly, what you need to see to really have an evaluation if a young man can play football is to watch him play football.”
Since CavsCorner first broke down the 2022 UVa roster in early January, the Hoos have finalized their defensive staff—Rudzinski hadn’t even been hired at that point—and added a few defensive players. An updated look at the defensive roster as spring ball approaches:
