It’s customary that the second week of fall camp is when you get some news. Players have moved ahead at various positions, guys are hurt, or in the case of the craziness that is 2020, you get some scheduling tidbits.

Such was the case when UVa’s Bronco Mendenhall spoke with media members Friday morning for the second time since practices began.

As the Wahoos now head into Week 3, here’s our 3-2-1 on what we know, what still needs answering, and what we think might be coming soon.

1. There was plenty of tough news to share last week.

From the jump, Mendenhall had a lot of things that many Wahoo fans didn’t want to hear, starting with the fact that the latest he’d heard was that it was “likely” that UVa would be unable to replace VMI on its schedule. “Again, it’s not definitive yet,” he explained, but it certainly seemed like an eventuality that he was preparing folks to hear soon. From there, he said that Virginia had appealed the initial rejection of the waiver request submitted by RB Ronnie Walker to play right away. “The first attempt was denied and we’ve sent in the appeal,” he said, adding that the expectation was that UVa would hear back soon. Though he declined to give specifics when asked earlier in the call, he later confirmed that RB Mike Hollins is among the opt outs that he previously mentioned as not being in camp. And making matters worse on offense, Mendenhall said that sophomore wideout Dontayvion Wicks had been injured in practice the previous week and would be out for the season. Lastly, when asked about fan attendance for games this fall, Mendenhall said that he expected UVa would follow Governor Northam’s Phase 3 guideline for events. That would place a capacity of 1,000 on Scott Stadium, he said, meaning that there would be just enough seats for the family of both teams to attend.

2. There was some good news, though.

While that previous section is chock full of realities that were hard to swallow, there were a few bright spots worth keeping in mind. First off, Mendenhall explained that despite losing Wicks—a player from whom the Cavaliers expected a lot this season—there were other receivers who were stepping up. “The rest of the receiver position is performing really well,” he said. “Ra’Shaun Henry has been really a bright spot for us, so that’s been a real positive as well as our two first-years, Lavel Davis, who’s done a really nice job so far and is more capable of playing earlier than what I had imagined, as well as Demick Starling. So, both of our first-years, wow they were needed.” The play of Henry, Davis, and Starling has been a “lifesaver” he said. Later, in discussing other WRs, Mendenhall also mentioned that he was impressed with what he’s seen from Billy Kemp and Tavares Kelly. “They are the most consistent, durable, and productive players at the receiver group so far,” he said. “They've taken a really, really nice step forward that I'm so, so thankful for, in addition to the other first-years…It’s clearly noticeable that they are a stage further than where they were a year ago, which is needed.”

3. Brennan Armstrong is in the lead to be QB1, as expected.

This technically could go into the second item in this section since it’s very good news but the quarterback battle continues with the redshirt sophomore in the lead ahead of Mississippi State transfer Keytaon Thompson. “So, it started with reps close to being even, [with] as many team situations as we could get in as fast as we could get in,” Mendenhall said. “Our practice structure has been a lot more team-oriented with the quarterback decision being the main driver of that. So, again, we've constructed things really different not only COVID-wise but because of our quarterback position. As of today, Brennan Armstrong would have the lead at this point. Keytaon is an amazing athlete and can do a lot of things really well. A few other surprises I would say is how well Lindell Stone is managing the team and how quickly Ira Armstead is coming along. So I like our depth at quarterback and I like the possibilities of that position being the healthiest that it's been since I've been the coach at UVa.”

1. What does the secondary look like?