In 130 days, Virginia will opens its 2023 season in against Tennessee in Nashville. And a product of the Volunteer State could be playing a significant role on UVa’s defense when that game comes around.

Linebacker Trey McDonald was one of several standout performers in this month’s Spring Game and appears to be in the mix for a significant uptick in playing time this season.

As a freshman in 2022, he saw action down the stretch, playing in three games before UVa’s season came to a premature end.

McDonald cross trained at different linebacker spots during the spring for a Virginia defense that has huge shoes to fill, with Nick Jackson, who recorded 326 tackles over the past three seasons, off to Iowa via the transfer portal. While Jackson’s loss is a big one for UVa’s young linebackers, his departure also means that playing time is even more available for guys like McDonald.

“I do a little because he was a mentor. I really liked learning underneath him,” McDonald said of Jackson and whether he saw his departure as an opportunity to play more. “He taught me a lot of what I know and how I play. But it felt great to know that it’s next man up here. There’s always opportunity and it’s great that we have such a deep room. We’re young, but we’re deep.”

While the offense was more closely monitored through spring by most observers, it’s worth remembering that the defense is still only in their second year with their coaching staff as well. After an encouraging 2022 campaign, McDonald thinks that the group is really starting to grasp John Rudzinski’s scheme heading into Year 2.

“We got really comfortable in the scheme,” he explained. “We just took that extra step forward. Year two under Coach Rud and we really like his scheme. We’re talking a lot more, we’re communicating. And I think that’s really helped us bond as a team.

“And I think that’s something we can also improve upon,” McDonald added. “There’s no limit for that, we can always become closer, always communicate more, always run the defense better.”

The 6-foot-3, 217 pounder credits his increased knowledge of the scheme, at least in part, to the fact that he has now played at two different linebacker spots. McDonald took advantage of the switch during spring ball and used it to further master Rudzinski’s defense.

“I was at Will last year,” he said. “Coming into spring I played a little bit of Will, but then got switched to Mike. So being able to know both positions this spring that has really helped me with my knowledge of the defense as a whole.”

Linebackers, of course, are crucial to stopping the run but in the modern game their pass coverage is also a vital part of the position. In Rudzinski’s scheme, the linebackers have to be able to fly around, getting up field to stop the ground game and moving horizontally to prevent the short passing game from creating chunk plays.

“As a linebacker we have to be in both the run and the pass game,” McDonald said of his duties at the Mike. “As long as we get back into our drops or we cover our man as best as we can, while still being involved in the run game, that’s all we’re asked to do. So we have to kind of do both.”

Like any young player, development doesn’t only happen between the lines on the practice field. McDonald appears headed for a larger role in 2023, and according to him, a big part of his on-field development comes from his gains in the weight room.

“I thought I came in a little light, I really wanted to put on some weight,” he said. “Coach (Adam Smotherman) and the strength staff really harped on me to get in the weight room, eat right, control your nutrition. I just took it from there and saw some weight gain and saw some strength gain and I really feel it in my game. Taking on blocks, tackling, I like it.

“I feel faster than ever,” McDonald added. “I love the feeling that I’m getting, I feel comfortable in my body, and I’m excited for this year.”

Following UVa’s Spring Game, the Chattanooga native also mentioned that he likes taking on blocks and tackling backs, and he’ll have a chance to do both at linebacker. But a linebacker’s best friend in the run game is a strong defensive line that can eat up blocks. That starts in the middle, with nose tackle Jahmeer Carter, whose physicality demands attention from opposing blockers. McDonald really enjoys playing behind Carter and allowing him to do the dirty work.

“It’s amazing. You see that big butt in front of you and you’re like ‘I am not getting touched this play,’ and I love that,” McDonald said of Carter. “Jahmeer is always harping on me, trying to take off the double teams from him. He likes to get that single block so that he can get that tackle. But I always like when he keeps those double teams on so that I don’t get blocked.”

One of a few young linebackers looking to step up and take on a larger role this season, especially with Jackson’s departure, McDonald has come up alongside fellow sophomore Stevie Bracey, another potential breakout candidate in the heart of the D. Bracey, who enrolled early last year, has been a big asset to his teammate.

“I love Stevie. Everything with us, it’s a competition but it’s a healthy competition. Without Stevie I don’t know that I’d be where I am today,” McDonald said. “It just each other pushing each other, and that’s really what we’re all about here. It’s helped us grow in strides; we’re tight as a group and that’s the best thing we can do.”

While McDonald had a few flash plays of his own, the best play of the game for the blue team was when running back Mike Hollins found the end zone. McDonald was on the sideline for that play, but it was clear after the game that Hollins’ TD was the highlight for McDonald and his teammates.

“We were through the roof,” he said of the team’s reaction to Hollins scoring. “We were super excited and it’s just a testimony to how much he’s worked this spring. Every day he’s brought a smile and hard-working attitude to the day and that is just all we can ask from him. To see him score was amazing.”

McDonald has the chance to have a big 2023 season after a productive spring. But he also echoed the sentiments of his teammates, that they’ll all be playing for something far greater than their own ambitions this fall.

“It was really tough when we went through that,” he said of the tragic events of last November. “But the greatest thing about it was we came together as a team. A lot of us were sad, a lot of us were down, but we rallied together. And it felt great to have your brothers next to you the whole time. I really just think it brought us closer as a team, and we’re more focused on playing for Lavel, Devin and D’Sean.”