In our Looking Ahead series thus far, we’ve taken a look at a number of questions that face UVa this year. As spring ball gets going on March 23rd, undoubtedly Bronco Mendenhall and his coaching staff will be looking to start trying to answer some of them.

Part of that process, of course, is replacing the production from a year ago.

Over the next two installments of this series we’re going to look at how the offense and then the defense replace three key contributors on that side of the ball (we’re going to break QB1 and how UVa replaces Bryce Perkins into its own piece soon).

Let’s look at three seniors on offense and discuss how we foresee the Wahoos making up for their departures.

The stats in and of themselves paint a pretty clear picture of how critical the New Jersey native was to UVa’s offense this past season. Dubois finished with 75 receptions for a team-high 1,062 yards and six TDs while averaging a team-high 75.86 yards per game. To put that in context, as a team Virginia passed for 3,740 yards, meaning Dubois accounted for 28.4 percent of the team’s receiving production.

Oh, and then there’s this:

Now, as good as Dontayvion Wicks might be and as much potential as he has, it’s likely going to take a bit of time before he’s ready to do anything like that with consistency. Still, Wicks, as we’ve said before, seems like the guy who best fits the role Dubois played for the Cavaliers.

Of course, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Louisiana native isn’t the only clear option. Though he caught 73 passes for 878 yards and three TDs a year ago, there’s no doubt that UVa would like even more from Terrell Jana. Though the staff seemed to like Jana inside doing much of his work in the middle of the field, there’s no reason to expect he won’t play outside more in 2020.

All told, if we had to guy how UVa looks to fill Dubois’ role, it’s some combination of these two.

Trying to replace the four-year standout is going to be as tough as replacing Dubois but in a different way. As a receiver, this past season Reed caught a team-high 77 passes for 679 yards and a team-high seven scores. From a production standpoint, clearly some of the load will have to fall to Jana but again, he was already in the 70s in terms of receptions. It’s very obvious then that somebody else (and likely multiple somebody’s) will have to rise.

A guy we have yet to hear much from on the field is Ugo Obasi, a 6-foot, 195 pounder from Baltimore. Having battled injuries during his first two years in the program, he got his redshirt back last fall and he appears poised to push for time this spring. The reality, too, though is that UVa could make some tweaks to its offense now that its advantage/depth shifts from the outside to the slot. That could mean a lot more looks for Billy Kemp and Tavares Kelly. Of course, Reed wasn’t just a receiver. He also had 24 kickoff returns on the year for 796 yards with two touchdowns and finished his career as the school’s all-time leading returner. We said before that we see Seneca Milledge being the heir apparent, though it makes sense if Kelly or even Kemp could make a push here.

And lastly, UVa will be without its steady tight end in 2020.

In terms of yield, Cowley caught 28 passes for 311 yards and a score as a senior. But bigger than just his stats and production was the impact he had within the scheme, both as a blocker and as a route runner that opened things up for others. After moving over from defense last year, one would expect that Grant Misch will get a lot of reps this spring as the staff looks to see just how well he fits. The 6-foot-4, 250 pounder certainly impressed the staff during his first fall at the position. Early enrollee Josh Rawlings certainly looks like someone who will factor in, too. Already listed at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, he’s got the kind of versatility that the Cavaliers haven’t recruited much of in recent classes at that position.

This is also a place where a scheme tweak could be in order, especially if the staff decides that its offensive line can carry the load without needing that extra blocker. If so, that could mean one more true receiver on the field more often, which in turn could really open things up. That would also put some pressure on the receiving corps, a group that as stated above will clearly be looking to replace two mainstays. For now, absent a grad transfer addition at this spot, we’re curious to see Misch and Rawlings this spring as that should help set the tone for how the rest of the year will go at tight end.

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