Five Breakout Performers: Offense

With spring football now in the rear view and fall camp just a couple of months away, the 2022 Virginia football team—its personnel, its needs, and its potential—is starting to come into focus. And although the Hoos bring back plenty of talent from last year’s team, Tony Elliott and his new staff will have plenty of roster spots to dole out.

This week, we’ll take a look at several breakout candidates on both sides of the ball, starting today with the offense.

1. RB Amaad Foston: The offense seems destined to emphasize the ground game quite a bit more under this new coaching staff. In the spring game last month, UVa ran the ball plenty, and split carries between a few backs. One of those was the second-year Foston, who scored a touchdown in the first half of the Blue-White game.

Virginia lost starting running back Wayne Taulapapa to the transfer portal and between that and a new staff/system, opportunities should be there for a running back (or two) to break out.

Foston enrolled early last year, and although he didn’t really contribute as a freshman, the Georgia native has the skill and opportunity to become a breakout performer for Virginia’s offense.

Foston rushed for nearly 2,800 yards and 46 touchdowns in his prep career, surpassing the likes of Herschel Walker and Nick Chubb in the Georgia rushing record books. There are certainly parallels between Foston and former UVa back Jordan Ellis, the last Cavalier rusher to surpass 1,000 yards in a season. Both Peach State natives thrive between the tackles and began their Cavalier careers buried a bit on the depth chart. Foston will be in competition with Mike Hollins and Miami transfer Cody Brown for playing time, but don’t be surprised if he ends up contributing in a major way, or is at least part of the rotation at the position.

2. OL Jonathan Leech: The line is going to be a new-look unit in 2022 after losing the bulk of their experienced players from last year’s team. Now, players like Leech have gone from one of the least experienced players in that position room to one of the veterans. Still, that does provide an opportunity for him and a few of his teammates to become breakout performers this season.

Virginia’s offensive line could barely field a two-deep in the spring, including walk-ons, between departures and injuries. Leech, now heading into his fourth season, took advantage of the available playing time and drew praise from his coaches leading up to the spring game. Leech started a pair of games last season, one at left tackle and one at right tackle. Heading into this season, it seems fair to say that most or all of the spots up front are up for grabs.

If he remains healthy, Leech seems like a near lock to be a relied-upon starter this season, at one of the tackle spots. In order for Virginia’s offense to take off in Elliott’s first season, the line will need to keep Brennan Armstrong upright and create some lanes in the ground game. As one of the most-experienced lineman on the team, UVa will need Leech to be one of their breakout performers this fall.

3. WR Malachi Fields: There were obvious flashes of ability from the true freshman last fall and it seems that the Charlottesville native has built on those efforts this spring. Fields, who played quarterback at Monticello High School before transitioning to wide receiver at UVa, caught 11 passes for 172 yards last season, seeing time in 11 contests. Those numbers are impressive for a true freshman that changed positions while getting acclimated to college life. But they’re even more remarkable when looking at UVa’s depth at receiver. The Hoos didn’t need Fields to play, given the quality and depth they had at wideout, but he earned his playing time anyway.

In the spring Fields drew praise and seemed to become a bonafide starter, as fellow big receiver Lavel Davis works back from a knee injury. Fields seemingly flashed during practices, and followed that up with a touchdown in the spring game, hauling in a deep ball from backup quarterback Jared Rayman.

Fields seems primed to take on a bigger role in the passing game in the fall. While most of Virginia’s receivers return, they do lose Ra’Shaun Henry, now with the Panthers, who played on the outside a lot and caught 34 passes last season. Fields (along with a hopefully healthy Davis) should take up Henry’s playing time, as UVa transitions to a new offense. As long as Fields continues to work hard and perform in practice, it seems he has the attention of the coaches and his teammates, and should continue to thrive at Virginia.

4. OG Noah Josey: We already highlighted one offensive lineman who could make a leap this season with roster turnover, and here is another. While Leech should be slotted to take one of the tackle spots, Josey seems like a logical choice to grab one of the starting guard positions. The Tennessee native, who signed with Virginia in the 2021 class, chose the Hoos over a bunch of impressive offers, including Alabama. Josey sat last season behind a veteran group but will need to be ready to go at summer’s end.

Having worked at one of the guard spots during the spring, Josey was one of few healthy offensive linemen available. He drew solid reviews from the previous coaching staff for his work in fall camp, and although he wasn’t needed as a freshman, Josey will need to draw rave reviews again this season.

UVa has some competition for the guard spots heading into fall camp but Josey is probably one of the most talented linemen on the team, and despite being just a true sophomore it feels like he’ll be one of the groups’ most-experienced players somehow.

5. TE Sackett Wood: Here is an off-the-radar choice for a potential breakout contributor on offense, though Cavalier fans that watched the spring game may not be shocked. Two years ago, the Lynchburg product tried out for the UVa football team and earned his spot. Wood played in a pair of games as a freshman, in wins over Abilene Christian and Boston College. In 2021, he was named one of UVa’s “Dirty Dozen,” given to the 12 Cavaliers that perform best in their offseason workouts. That honor is no easy feat, and is based heavily on athletic profile. Wood would later be put on scholarship and then earned his number in November.

In last month’s spring game, Wood flashed on a couple of big gains on throws from Armstrong. Virginia has a vacancy at the tight end position with Jelani Woods now in the NFL. Veteran Grant Misch seems like a safe bet to play but if the spring game is any indication Wood could certainly see the field this fall. And if he does, given what he’s already accomplished just to get to this point, it might be a bad idea to count him out.