The Cavaliers not only have a new season opener—essentially their fifth of 2020—but they also know now that they are at least scheduled to head to Blacksburg on December 12th to face Virginia Tech.
So, as the Hoos get ready for their first game week (again) ahead of next Saturday afternoon’s matchup against Duke (4 p.m., ACC Network), we’ve tackled the depth chart for the offense and now look to the other side of the ball. Bronco Mendenhall and Co. boast one of the league’s best units but it’s taken a bit of a hit thanks to opt outs.
So, here’s what we’ve put together for our projected two-deep.
Three Takeaways
— First, let’s start with injuries on this side of the ball like we did on offense. Overall, the Wahoos have seemed solid on that front on D. Clary and Chalmers are working their way back and Snyder was expected to be cleared well before the opener. The place where UVa’s defense will take a hit, at least for now, is from the opt outs. Not having Aaron Faumui, as you can see when looking at the D-line above, makes things a little harder up front. Redmond’s offseason improvement per sources should help and the addition of Atariwa will as well. Though there’s another opt out on D, I don’t think Virginia’s secondary takes quite as big a hit losing Tenyeh Dixon, though he would’ve likely been a key special teams contributor.
— As we said on Wednesday, depth charts aren’t foolproof. It’s just a snapshot. But even here you can see some of the versatility. Technically, I don’t have Nelson—a former ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year—as a starter in his senior season. That’s in part because of Amos and his play during his short time on Grounds thus far. But that’s also because Nelson will be tasked with being the Nickel corner, a role that we saw late last year is vital for a team that wants to get after the passer as much as UVa does. Notice too that Cross, who started all 14 games last year, isn’t listed as a starter either. But he could end up being the most versatile piece of the puzzle given his Swiss Army knife skillset. Lastly on this front, as co-DC Nick Howell mentioned recently, UVa has a lot of crossover experience at linebacker. For all intents and purposes, the Hoos have three starters at ILB and three at OLB. That depth is great but so too is the experience of playing other roles.
— Lastly, you might notice a few new faces. Malani, for example, is a kid we expect will really benefit from the NCAA’s decision to grant eligibility relief which essentially gives kids a "free year." The same goes for Carter and Gaines, though I’m not sure how many reps they’ll get whereas I expect Malani to help provide nice depth. King earned a scholarship, so UVa is at least prepared to play him but he too helps provide depth. And to some extent Amos is a new name too, so putting him up with the 1s might raise some eyebrows. I don’t think there’s any doubt that his addition has the potential to be massive for Virginia.
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