Though we don’t know for sure yet what day the Cavaliers will open spring ball, we do know that there are 244 days between now and when UVa opens the season against Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

And coming off a 9-5 season, there’s a lot of reason to like what Bronco Mendenhall and Co. will have in the fall even if the Hoos will be moving forward without a number of key pieces.

With winter workouts set to begin soon, we thought we’d break down three key questions on either side of the ball, starting today with the offense.

Look, there’s just no way to avoid the reality that this is the question that will define Virginia’s 2020 campaign. Perkins exits Charlottesville as the school’s all-time leader in total offense, managing to do what most would’ve thought impossible in just two years. Breaking Shawn Moore’s previous mark is one thing but doing it at a time when the program needed Perkins to gain every single yard and make all of the plays he made underscores just what No. 3 has meant.

“I continue to be amazed and impressed by Bryce Perkins,” Mendenhall said after UVa lost to Florida in the Orange Bowl.

But how exactly do the Wahoos look beyond a guy who gained 7,910 yards in just 27 games?

For starters, the expectation remains that Brennan Armstrong will be QB1 going forward. There’s no denying that he isn’t Perkins in terms of style or skillet but just because the offense will be different doesn’t mean it can’t also be successful. But it’s going to look and feel different, likely much more in line with what OC Robert Anae ran at BYU with Taysom Hill. Otherwise, Mendenhall has said that the plan is for RJ Harvey, who redshirted this year, to stay at quarterback so that the staff can adequately evaluate him this spring. In addition, 2020 signee Ira Armstead also figures to be a factor in the conversation, even if he spends the first few months getting acclimated before really being able to see meaningful reps come fall camp. Lastly, there’s a chance UVa could go shopping on the transfer wire, though at this point the likelihood of the Cavaliers bringing in someone seem relatively small.

All told, this question is the most important on for the program but certainly not one that is without answers. Simply put, UVa will have to look to a lot more than just Armstrong to make up for the lost production of Perkins. Speaking of which…

There’s no denying that Virginia has to replace Perkins but part of that process is likely to (and should) require generating more offense on the ground from outside of the quarterback position. It’s great that Perkins ran for 769 yards and 11 TDs this year. And it’s also great that despite gaining less than 500 yards on the ground, Wayne Taulapapa was able to score 12 times.

But when your running backs accounted for 49.2 percent of your total rushing yards and you finished 117th out of 130 nationally in rushing offense, that’s problematic.

Armstrong is a different type of quarterback than Perkins and it’s safe to assume he’ll be tasked with doing some different things, including the way he contributes on the ground. But there’s no way around the reality that developing a ground game has to be a massive focus for the offense going into the spring and summer.

The Cavaliers return all of the integral pieces at running back in Taulapapa, PK Kier, Mike Hollins, and Lamont Atkins. They also will have various other pieces that could play a role, including Seneca Milledge and Billy Kemp. But given the experience the offensive line got in 2019 and the imperative nature of what losing Perkins will likely mean, QB might be the biggest question but how UVa fares on the ground will likely define just how good this offense will be in 2020.

Hasise Dubois caught 75 passes as a senior for a team-high 1,062 yards to go with his six touchdowns. Joe Reed, meanwhile, added a team-high 77 receptions for 679 yards and a team-high seven scores. The emergence of Terrell Jana (73 catches, 878 yards, three TDs) is huge but somebody—if not multiple somebodys—will have to step up. Wicks, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound rookie, looks to have the kind of skillset that best fits such a leap. He played in 10 games as a rookie, catching three passes for 61 yards and a score. Clearly, production-wise he’d have to take a massive step forward in order to come close to Dubois or Reed but he certainly seems to have the potential.

After all, few would have expected Jana to put up the numbers he did this season and give UVa three players with 70+ receptions in addition to Dubois’ 1,000-yard year (the second in a row for a Hoo after Olamide Zaccheaus did it in 2018).

As the team heads deeper into the winter the QB, RB, and OL situations are all fairly clear. Outside of Jana and the return of Kemp, things at receiver are much less settled. Dorien Goddard was able to retain his redshirt and Ugo Obasi should go into the spring fully healthy for the first time in a while. Tavares Kelly spent the last two games of the season suspended, so it’s understandable to wonder how he fits into things.

The Hoos signed just one receiver last month, 6-foot-7 Lavel Davis and Mendenhall has indicated it’s a position the staff will look to add a grad transfer again this year, though neither Terrell Chatman or Dejon Brissett were able to make much of an impact in 2019.

Bottom line: Much will be riding on Wicks and others when it comes to not only preparing to become a meaningful factor in the passing game but to help the Cavaliers as they break in a new full-time starter at quarterback.

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