With 2020 now in the rear view, our annual Season in Review series continues to roll on with a look at UVa’s defense through the lens of PFF College.
You can check out the first two installments where we looked at how preseason expectations compared to the end result and what the four key takeaways were from the offense’s grades.
Below you will find the top 15 contributors on D this season, using a cutoff of 150 total snaps.
Looking at the data above, here are are four key takeaways from the grades on defense and how UVa fared in 2020.
1. Gahm’s play far outpaced most people’s expectations.
Before the season started, most observers expected that Virginia’s experience on defense would give the Wahoos one of the better groups in the ACC on that side of the ball. With injuries and other personnel situations certainly impacting things, that didn’t turn out to be the case and the big "story" of these grades mirrors UVa's season-long struggle on D.
It’s interesting in hindsight to see Gahm, one of the few seniors on defense who is not planning to return next year, put up the highest overall grade.
Granted, he didn’t play the number of snaps that Taylor or Jackson or (with two fewer games) even Snowden but No. 56 was solid. He ended up being one of just eight Cavaliers to grade out north of 70.0 in run defense and was fourth in tackling at 79.5. But what is by far the most surprising number on the board is that Gahm had easily the team’s best coverage grade, a 78.3 over 78 snaps. No other play graded out above 67.5.
Speaking of….
2. UVa’s coverage grades were just not good enough.
It’s one thing for a backup outside linebacker to lead the team in coverage. But it’s another thing when nobody else is even close. Beyond Gahm, Taylor had the next-highest grade (among those who qualified) at 67.1. Blount was the highest-rated DB at 65.4. Beyond them, Zandier had a 63.8 and Grant was at 63 as the last player to grade out above 61.
The Cavaliers had a lot of issues, as these numbers illustrate. But no area was a bigger disappointment than coverage. It’s fairly obvious from watching the team all season that the Hoos struggled mightily to slow down the pass, a reality that has been at the forefront of their issues since the middle of the 2019 season. Despite returning a host of DBs—several of whom will now return again in 2021—the coverage issues persisted.
What’s particularly concerning is that UVa’s starters in the secondary—Grant, Cross, Blount, and Nelson—averaged just a 59.55 grade in coverage.
The younger guys certainly took their lumps as well and only having Nelson for four games certainly hurt, too. But there’s no doubt that the Cavaliers have to improve substantially against the pass, especially with the ball in the air, if they want to get back on track.
3. The loss of Briggs will be significant.
It’s a tough beat when a guy with eligibility remaining who was among the top 10 on this list is no longer in the program, especially since that player was top three in tackling at 81.3 and had a team-high 76.7 grade in pressure, a category which saw UVa struggle in despite the presence of Taylor (70.7) and Snowden (69.4).
The Wahoos will get both Alonso and Atariwa back this fall as they take advantage of the NCAA’s year of added eligibility. With the expected return of DL Aaron Faumui, who opted out in 2020, that bolsters the returning group as well. And yet, the loss of Briggs coming off a very solid sophomore season will leave some meaningful ripples.
Lastly, one thing that his transfer highlights is how UVa’s “stars” weren’t among the team leaders in a variety of categories that some would have expected.
4. A good nucleus of tacklers will return.
The one place this year’s defense can point to and say the grading looked solid if not very good was in tackling, where UVa had four total grades north of 80 and another 12 total grade out above 70. Among those, Jackson’s team-high 86.6 was very good especially since he played just 11 fewer snaps than the team leader (Zandier). That's consistent production that bodes well for the future. Briggs was second among qualifiers at 81.3 followed by Clary at 81.1. Gahm’s 79.5 was next followed by Carter at 78.0.
Though they didn’t get enough snaps total to qualify for this piece, it’s worth pointing out that Darrius Bratton, Hunter Stewart, Chayce Chalmers, Fentrell Cypress, Su Agunloye, Nusi Malani, Jordan Redmond and Tommy Christ all had nice tackling grades.
What does that mean for the future? One would think that it's a good sign. Given the concerns UVa will have this fall, every little bit helps.
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