In a few short hours, media members will settle into their Zoom-ing chairs and tune in as Bronco Mendenhall holds his first game-week press conference of the new season.
He’ll speak about the depth chart (more on this in a minute) and the health of the team and what’s been working well and how things look heading into the weekend.
Undoubtedly, he’ll discuss the opportunity to prepare for an actual opponent. One of the most cliche stories of training camp every year is the point at which guys decide they are ready to hit somebody else. And cliche as it may be, it’s also true.
In this case, Mendenhall and Co. will be preparing for former Virginia coach Mike London, a coaching staff full of guys with UVa connections, and a William & Mary Tribe squad that would really love to make a statement right out of the gate.
UVa’s job, obviously, is to make Saturday (7:30 p.m., ACCN RSN) extremely routine. So, in essence, the exact opposite of the way Mendenhall’s first season at the helm opened up five years ago (minus a day) Saturday.
Much has changed since that game, of course. By that token, much has changed for the Cavaliers since their last game. But there’s also a lot that will be consistent for them.
For starters, it’s very likely that the entire offensive line that started then will start this weekend, with (from left) Ryan Nelson, Joe Bissinger, Olu Oluwatimi, Chris Glaser, and Ryan Swoboda getting the nod across the front. With Bobby Haskins and several other quality pieces in place, the depth chart up front looks solid and experienced. What’s behind them figures to be the difference for the Wahoos in 2021.
Brennan Armstrong is the clear QB1 but who backs him up remains to be seen. Smart money would seem to be on Ira Armstead and then possibly Jay Woolfolk depending on how the Hoos decide to list Keytaon Thompson. And speaking of No. 99, he’ll be one of the key starters at receiver, likely joined by Dontayvion Wicks and Billy Kemp. The depth there will be a key, as guys like Ra’Shaun Henry and Demick Starling will have to step up as more unknown pieces, like Marshall transfer Artie Henry and local rookie Malachi Fields also seem poised to contribute. But the story on offense (aside from if/when Lavel Davis returns) will be at tight end, where UVa boasts one of the league’s potential surprises (at least, in all places that aren’t Charlottesville) with Jelani Woods. Backed up by Grant Misch, Sackett Wood, and Josh Rawlings once he’s back healthy, that position has depth that it doesn’t seem to have had too often in recent years.
Yet, it’s what Robert Anae and his offense can get out of the RB spot that will tell the tale. It makes sense to expect Wayne Taulapapa, another well-known contributor, to be atop the depth chart today with Mike Hollins likely right on his heels. But Ronnie Walker and Devin Darrington will probably get touches, too. Collectively, they have to figure out how the rubber meets the road.
If there were a slew of names above that you recognized, the story will be much the same on the other side of the ball. But for the first time in years, the base defense may change. Sure, they could list a 3-4 and still play the 3-3-5 we are all expecting to see on the field, but how things stack up will be especially interesting.
The names up front, as with the O-line, will be pretty standard on defense. Mandy Alonso is among the “super seniors” who truly appears to have hit another gear in his unexpected return. With Aaron Faumui also returning up front after sitting out the 2020 season, they—along with second-year DT Jahmeer Carter—help give the Wahoos a lot of nastiness and playmaking ability. But behind them is where the questions abound. That doesn’t even factor in fellow super senior Adeeb Atariwa or young bucks Ben Smiley and Su Agunloye.
If it’s a 3-3-5, then Noah Taylor at one outside spot and Nick Jackson inside seem like locks. But who gets that other OLB nod: Elliott Brown or Hunter Stewart or someone else? And either way that goes, the experienced depth at linebacker falls off a cliff pretty quickly. Whatever the Cavaliers cook up, the loss of guys from the 2020 team hits hardest here.
And then there’s the secondary, where an apparent injury to North Dakota State transfer Josh Hayes seems like it’ll leave a mark at corner. Without him, newcomer Anthony Johnson and Roanoke native Darrius Bratton appear to be battling it out in a bid to join super senior Nick Grant as the starters at CB. But what the rest of the secondary looks like really depends on how UVa plans things out. Joey Blount and De’Vante Cross are going to start at safety. Will there be a fifth DB? And if so, how does that depth truly project? Antonio Clary and Coen King seem to make the most sense but this is one where even the depth chart might not tell us too much until the games actually kick off.
In the big scheme of things, Mendenhall has probably never known a UVa team as well as he knows this one. What the Hoos are able to do with all of that experience on the depth chart will be the biggest question this fall.
We finally get our first big batch of data to go off of this Saturday.
Game week is here.
Finally.
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