Looking Ahead: Outside linebacker

Editor’s Note: With summer in full swing and offseason workouts drawing toward their end, the beginning of fall camp is set to begin on August 2nd. In this series, we’re going position by position to take a look at the current circumstances of each one, grade it, give the reasoning behind it, and outline what needs improving before the Wahoos open their season under the lights at Pittsburgh. Check out the initial installments in the series focusing on the offense (quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, offensive line, and tight ends) as well as the start of the defense (defensive tackles and defensive ends).

One of the reasons so many people are so high on UVa’s chances in 2019 is because there are few positions where the Wahoos have to do a lot of heavy lifting to replace a major contributor from last year. That’s especially true on the offensive side, where replacing Olamide Zaccheaus is by far the biggest challenge.

The bulk of those types of players are on D and one of them is most certainly at outside linebacker. Chris Peace was not only one of the team’s hardest workers—Bronco Mendenhall mentioned this often for a reason—but he was also one of its most reliable. But the All-ACC third teamer and former captain is now on his professional path with the Chargers, leaving the Hoos to try and figure out how to replace not only his production but fill his role. That’ll be especially true in terms of making plays in the backfield where Peace had 7.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss as a senior, both team highs.

It helps, of course, when you’re trying to replace a guy who started in 39 of his 50 games—including the last 38 in a row—if you’ve got someone like Charles Snowden on the other side. The 6-foot-7, 230 pounder heads into his junior season as one of the players many around the league expect to have a huge season. A bonafide physical freak, he’s now got 23 games under his belt and, after finishing seventh in tackles a year ago, he figures to be one of the team leaders. Among returning players, he tied with ILB Jordan Mack with a team-high 2.5 sacks last fall. Without Peace, UVa is going to have to figure out ways to get Snowden and his unique skillset free to rush the quarterback.

Snowden isn’t the only option Mendenhall and Co. have that brings a good amount of length and athleticism to the position. His classmate, the 6-foot-5 Elliott Brown, is likely to be among those who battle for Peace’s open spot. He and Noah Taylor, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound sophomore, are players who the Hoos are going to need to step up as part of the rotation. The unsung odds-on favorite of the potential starters may well be Matt Gahm, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound junior who had a fantastic spring and served as Peace’s primary understudy last year.

In addition to OLB/FS hybrid Chris Moore, who is healthy again and set to return for his junior season, the Wahoos also signed 6-foot-3, 230-pound Miami native D’Sean Perry. Of the 2019 recruits, he seems the most likely to contribute early at OLB. Given the nature of the linebacker position, it’s fair to expect that assistant coaches Kelly Poppinga and Shane Hunter will move some guys around, so how UVa slots Nick Jackson, Jairus Satui, and Hunter Stewart remains to be seen.

Grade: B+

A refrain you’re going to hear/see about not only the OLBs but other spots on defense as well is that the talent Virginia has added and developed has taken a step forward. Even without Peace, the outside backers are a deep, versatile group that blends playable depth with a bright future ahead. In Perry, Jackson, and Stewart, for example, the Hoos could have three of their four LBs of the future.

For this season Brown, Gahm, and Taylor are going to be especially critical. While Perry has been a revelation of sorts since his arrival on Grounds, there’s no doubt that UVa would like one of the aforementioned trio to cement themselves opposite Snowden. Taylor, who enrolled early and spent at least part of his first few months at safety, made huge gains in the weight room and had a truly next-level sort of spring. What that means for this season is TBD, obviously, but he’s surely on the right track and appears poised to make big contributions. He played in nine games a year ago with most of his reps coming on special teams but coming out of his second spring, it’s the perfect time for him to produce.

But Snowden is the secret sauce at OLB. Few players on the roster can impact an opposing team’s gameplan the way the Silver Spring (MD) native can. He led the nation’s linebackers last fall with nine PBUs and 11 passes defended, numbers that are likely to go up now that he has even more experience. Having started all 13 games in 2018, Snowden has to be better against the run this fall as he is going to be the guy UVa looks to for reliability as well as playmaking this fall and with good reason. It’s his time.

The group of of outside backers is especially solid and led by a first-team All-ACC type in Snowden. What the Cavaliers need, in addition to finding someone to replace Peace, is continued development and especially playmaking ability in the backfield.

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