Lots of changes came for Virginia football in the days and weeks that followed the end of the 2021 season. No individual position group saw more significant turnover than the offensive line.
UVa lost veteran starters Chris Glaser and Ryan Nelson to the NFL. Olu Oluwatimi transferred to Michigan. Bobby Haskins went out west to USC. Joe Bissinger headed closer to home at SMU. Ryan Swoboda did the same, transferring to UCF.
Tony Elliott ultimately retained Garett Tujague, but the offensive line coach was tasked with rebuilding his position group in a short time, trying to find a group that could keep a record-setting quarterback on his feet while also opening up room for the newly-emphasized run game.
Elliott and Tujague received signatures from a bunch of O-line prospects late in the 2022 cycle but the team still needed to find veterans to be able to play right away.
The staff went after a slew of offensive linemen in the portal and ultimately landed one, Dartmouth’s John Paul Flores. After being recruited by several schools the former Ivy League product was impressed with Tujague and the vision for how he would fit into the plan for UVa football.
“He did a good job, always called me,” he said of being recruited by Tujague. “He’s a good recruiter, Coach (Elliott) is a good recruiter.
“I think I picked this place because of Coach E, the offensive line opportunity to come in and contribute, and just the overall experience knowing that Coach E is going to make this place the model program and the place to come and play,” Flores added, on why UVa was the right fit for him. “When I visited with him I could kind of tell there’s something forced me towards UVa and I’m glad I made this decision.”
Flores is one of several Ivy League players to make the transition to UVa through the transfer portal. Former Harvard running back Devin Darrington was certainly a factor on offense for UVa last season and Flores joins Paul Akere, defensive lineman that comes to Charlottesville from Columbia, on this year’s roster.
When asked how UVa differs from what he saw at Dartmouth, Flores pointed to the resources available to him and his teammates.
“Obviously the money put into the program to get them to a certain level,” he explained. “This place has a lot more funding, a lot more alumni that at least care about the program. Not saying that at Dartmouth they don’t care about the program they fund it well, but just the resources and the TV rights and all the money flowing from those networks.
“You get better nutrition here,” Flores added, “obviously strength staff, you have more coaches, assistant coaches, offensive line GA’s stuff like that versus the Ivy League.”
And while there is certainly a talent gap from the Ivy League to the ACC, there have been several players from FCS-level football who have been impact transfers at the FBS level, even Power 5. Flores is hoping to be next.
“There’s actually a lot of guys from the Ivy League who have transferred thus far and are playing at the FBS level,” he said. “Some of the guys can play in the FBS. And some guys are good football players, but they’re FCS football players. It’s also about development, and some guys aren’t as polished, or they didn’t hit their growth spurt when they were 16 like some of the guys here.”
Nutrition has clearly been a big emphasis for him from the moment he stepped on Grounds earlier this summer. Despite arriving later than most of his teammates, Flores has made significant strides physically, which should help his versatility when the season starts.
“That’s one thing I’ve stressed this offseason,” he said of the nutrition program. “The strength staff has done a good job building my body up. I played at 290 or 295 last year, and through the help of them and the nutrition that Coach (Elliott) has brought in, I’ve got up to 310, 312. I’m happy with that transition to be able to play inside and have that beef to throw around.”
That added size could enable him to play guard at Virginia or he could still end up at one of the tackle spots. The offensive line has been in flux during fall camp, with players like Logan Taylor, Jonathan Leech, and Noah Josey—all expected to be key contributors this fall—in and out of practices. Virginia’s coaching staff is simply looking to find the best five players to start up front, and if that means playing guard, or sliding back outside, Flores is willing to do it.
“Whatever they need me to play, I’ll play,” he told media members last week. “I’ll get comfortable with it, I’ve been working right side and the left side. I’m fine pressing off both sides to run block, pass block, whatever it is. But kind of settling into one position and learning it as best as possible would be great too.”
Flores started his last 20 games at left tackle for Dartmouth, over the 2019 and 2021 seasons, with no Ivy League football in 2020 because of the pandemic. So, clearly, he would be comfortable playing there. But he’s using fall camp to get experience at several different positions. The techniques and assignments required therein differ based on where a lineman plays, so cross-training should be a big help for him and other linemen who do it.
“At left tackle, you’re going against smaller, quicker guys, with more finesse,” he said. “You’re out in space versus usually when you play inside, people like to call it playing in the phone booth, usually there’s less room. You get stepped on very often, and when you’re in a phone booth, you’ve got to be strong and move the guy in there, since there isn’t much space to maneuver.”
Flores was Dartmouth’s left tackle, protecting his quarterback’s blind side. But at UVa, he will be protecting a left-handed quarterback, meaning the right tackle is actually the blind-side blocker. When asked to explain the difference between protecting a lefty and a righty, the Texas native shrugged it off as a non-issue.
“Whether it’s a right-handed quarterback or a left-handed quarterback, you can’t let them get to the quarterback,” he said.
With the season opener against Richmond now less than three weeks away, and the first scrimmage in the books, UVa’s depth chart has to be coming into focus. No group has more competition for all spots than offensive line, and though we won’t know where he’ll line up, it seems like a relatively safe bet that Flores will be among the five starters against the Spiders.
So far, the transfer is simply trying to get better every day and has enjoyed the tutelage of Tujague.
“He brings great energy. He’s a veteran coach,” Flores said of his position coach. “He knows what he wants out of his players, how to get it out of his players and how to motivate his players. I’ve enjoyed it thus far.”
