When UVa opens against William & Mary in a few weeks, the offense will be led by senior starting quarterback, Kurt Benkert, who is the first Virginia signal caller since Michael Rocco to start back-to-back season openers (Rocco did it in 2011 and 2012). That in and of itself speaks about the chaos and turnover the Cavaliers have had at that spot over the past decade.
The coaching staff is looking for more stability and appears to have things moving in the right direction in that regard. Benkert started 10 games in 2016, appearing in 11, and had a better season statistically than any recent Virginia quarterback. Under the direction of offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck, he threw for 2,552 yards and 21 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in his first season as a collegiate starting quarterback, completing 56.2 percent of his passes.
Heading into 2017, Benkert has dropped weight (currently down to 215 pounds) and is healthier than he’s been since he arrived in Charlottesville. Those changes should allow him to move around the pocket and escape pressure, which could be important with questions along the offensive line.
“He’ll still play his game as he’s done," Beck said recently, "which is as a thrower. But with the way that he’s changed his body, and getting healthier and feeling good, when he needs to escape and get out of the pocket when things break down he’ll go from there. And we’ll keep pushing the envelope with sliding and getting out of bounds, and doing those things to avoid hits and playing smart.
"He has some of that experience from a year ago, so we’re just building on that and keeping that going," the second-year UVa assistant added. "We’re not really going to change the way he plays but when those situations come up, hopefully he’s just a little more elusive and a little quicker to get out of there to avoid getting sacked or getting hit when he’s on the edge.”
Another way UVa’s offense can protect Benkert’s health this season is to increase the number of short passes. Throwing the ball horizontally could work well if the bigger Wahoo receivers can hold blocks on the edge and allow ball carriers to move down the field after the catch.
“He’s an accurate thrower, with good arm strength to get the ball out and completed fast,” Beck said of Benkert and his ability to get the ball out quickly on pop passes and screens. “The big thing is, we want to protect him, take hits off of him. If he’s healthy and if he’s confident in the pocket then he plays well. The more we can get the ball out of his hand to keep him from taking those hits, then it’s going to be the best for our offense.”
Another reason Benkert’s health will be a top priority is the lack of experience and depth at the quarterback position behind him. With transfer Marvin Zanders having been denied admission, UVa was left with redshirt freshman De’Vante Cross, who had already started the transition to wide receiver, and incoming first-year Lindell Stone as the backup options to Benkert.
UVa planned to Benkert the lion’s share of the reps during fall camp with an eye toward developing a contingency plan if the starting QB does go down.
“We’ve been in that boat before," Beck explained, "and unfortunately before it happened in the first game. We’ll get those other guys ready and up to speed as needed."
Beck was referring to when he and Bronco Mendenhall were in Provo during their final season at BYU in 2015. Incumbent starting quarterback Taysom Hill was lost for the season in the opener against Nebraska, forcing the program to turn to freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum. Despite having no in-game experience and a very different skillset than Hill, the transition actually worked out pretty well for the Cougars. Mangum led them to a win in that game, throwing a Hail Mary touchdown on the final play, and he went on to complete 59.9 percent of his passes on the season with 23 touchdowns and 3,377 yards.
UVa hopes it doesn’t happen, obviously, but Beck and the rest of the offensive coaches will have a plan ready if the worst happens.
“It’s just managing, giving Kurt the work he needs to be sharp, and then giving the other guys the work they need to develop and be ready,” Beck said. "And a big part with those other guys is identifying what they do best, so when they’re in that situation, we can go to what they’re able to execute and perform the best at, and not ask them to just pick up where Kurt left off because their skillset might not fit his. These first few weeks is really just identifying what those other guys can do, and a couple weeks before our first game, having those plans ready for them when their number is called.
“Between the film, the virtual reality and keeping them engaged when they’re not out on the field to be getting all those reps, watching from the side with live bullets, we have to maximize every minute for those guys to be learning and developing,” he added.
Cross would have been the logical backup to Benkert and he still could see a fair number of reps at quarterback this season depending on how the games play out. But the staff believes Cross can impact the game better at receiver so for now, he’ll be doing double duty of sorts.
“He’s going to help our team at receiver," Beck said. "Our [position] rooms are right next to each other, so he’ll pop in there, he’ll pop in ours, kind of go back and forth. The great part is Coach (Marques) Hagans has played quarterback so when he’s in that receiver room he still gets great coaching at QB points. That’s a great asset, having Coach Hagans’ experience.”
As for Stone, Mendenhall has referred to the former Woodberry Forest standout as the backup. Cross may end up staying primarily at wide receiver, so Stone could be thrust into game action a lot earlier than many expected. The Texas native has been on Grounds since the early part of the summer and appears to be absorbing the offense quickly.
“He’s an intelligent kid that picks things up really fast," Beck said of Stone, "but he’s also really dedicated and passionate about football. So he’s always here, he’s always working, he’s always studying. He got in here earlier than most of the first-years just to get to work. Between his approach and he’s a gifted, smart kid, that bodes well for him to pick up as much of the offense as possible.”
Going into his senior season, Kurt Benkert is really going into Year 2 at UVa and with that comes a lot of familiarity and comfort. In this video interview, he talks about how this camp feels, how he feels coming off his junior campaign, what things he feels like he's worked on, and much more.
After moving to receiver, De'Vante Cross still hasn't given up being a quarterback completely and part of that is driven by his coaches having carved out a role for him there. As he continues the transition to wideout, though, the redshirt freshman is looking to help his team however possible.
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