Veteran UVa duo more vocal at linebacker

Joey Blount was part of the 8 a.m. run group during workouts this summer at Virginia. When he’d get on the field, he always saw a group of linebackers already getting in some extra work.

They’d be doing a walkthrough, maybe running through some bag drills. But it was always senior outside linebacker Noah Taylor and junior inside linebacker Nick Jackson leading the group, offering critiques while running alongside their teammates.

“Noah and Nick have really tag-teamed the linebacker room together to really become the leaders of the group,” said Blount, a fifth-year safety.

Last year, both Jackson and Taylor were among UVa’s defensive leaders on the stat sheet. In his first season as a starter, Jackson finished second in the ACC and sixth in the country with 105 tackles. Taylor, meanwhile, led the defense with 8.5 tackles for loss, and his three sacks were most among players the Hoos have back this summer.

But entering this season, the goal for both players has been establishing themselves as more vocal leaders on the UVa defense.

The Cavaliers lost a quartet of senior linebackers—Charles Snowden and Matt Gahm on the outside, Zane Zanier and Rob Snyder on the inside—from last year’s team. Those departures created vacancies not just on the field but also in leadership roles.

Taylor and Jackson had always set strong examples with their work in practice. But coaches wanted to see both come out of their shells and become more outspoken in setting the standard for the rest of the linebackers.

It’s been a work in progress.

“I’m not really a talkative guy too much unless we’re on the field,” admitted Taylor. “But during the offseason, I’ve just been trying to be more of that guy because I see it’s what our team needs and what our team wants.”

“I feel like I’ve stepped into the role and just tried to help the guys out as much as I can,” said Jackson, “whether it’s extra film, on-the-field work, or just giving them advice from stuff I’ve seen in the games.”

Jackson enters his third year as Virginia's lone preseason All-ACC representative. His 10.5 tackles-per-game as a sophomore was the best average for a UVa player since Micah Kiser averaged 11.2 in each of his final two seasons in Charlottesville. After playing mostly as a reserve as a true freshman in 2019—but gaining valuable experience against Clemson and Florida after taking over for an injured Jordan Mack late that season—Jackson was named third-team all-conference in his first season as a full-time starter.

This offseason, he has tried to pass some knowledge gained from that experience down to the team's new linebackers. Assistant coach Kelly Poppinga joked last week Jackson has been putting in so much extra work with first-year West Weeks that the Hoos have started referring to the freshman as Jackson’s ‘little brother.’

Poppinga, the co-defensive coordinator and LBs coach, said it was a role that Jackson was initially hesitant about but “as the offseason has gone on and now as we get into camp here, I think everybody is seeing that he’s one of the main leaders on this team.”

“He understands what is needed from him to make our team good,” Blount said of Jackson. “Now he’s taking the next step to make others around him even better.”

Jackson says he’s tried to take a holistic approach to improving his game as he heads into his third college season. He has put more of an emphasis on taking command of the defense and also spent the offseason watching film and working with Poppinga and other UVa coaches to find ways to get better, whether that meant improving his pass coverage, his striking, or his run defense.

“I want to have no holes in my game,” he said. “There’s stuff in every game that I look at and say that I could have done this better.”

He also leaned on Taylor for advice with pass rush moves and coverage drops. Taylor has started 19 games for the Hoos the past two seasons, including all but one last year. His 22 tackles for loss and 10 sacks are the most for a UVa player since Kiser racked up 23 and 14 from 2013-16. Taylor also has three career picks: Two in the win against Virginia Tech in 2019 and one he returned 85 yards for a touchdown last year against Louisville.

Taylor has set a high bar for himself entering his senior season, saying after the first practice of camp that “I know I can be and will be the best defensive player in the country.” He played last year while dealing with a few injuries, from his neck to his back to a knee. He said at the outset of camp that he was healthy again, though some back tightness kept him out of last Friday’s light practice that was open to media.

Blount believes Taylor entered camp with a better understanding of not just his role at linebacker but of every position on the defense.

“Noah has tapped into another level this year, really,” Blount said. “He’s more serious than I’ve ever seen him. He’s always been obsessed with football but now his obsession has more passion behind it.”

That passion has also prompted Taylor to become more outspoken with teammates, holding them accountable for mistakes or sloppiness in practice. Poppinga says the senior has brought more intent and urgency to the linebacker corps this preseason.

“If they’re not doing it the right way, he is speaking up,” Poppinga said. “Making sure guys, their effort to the ball is correct, their assignments, their alignments are correct. And if they’re not, he’s letting them know. I like that.”

“He’s gonna tell you exactly what needs to be done, and he’s gonna tell you exactly what he sees,” said Jackson. “He’s gonna give you advice on the field.”

“I challenge guys every day,” said Taylor. “I tell them that right now the only guys that have had a significant amount of playing time is me and Nick Jackson. I remind guys every day that we need about six linebackers to play this year and those spots are wide open.”

Poppinga admits that while Taylor hasn’t always been the most talkative player off the field, he has always been communicative between the lines. He and Jackson have challenged each other in practice to see who can get the defense aligned faster.

“Every check, every call on the field, we’re both trying to race and see who can get it in first,” Jackson said. “We’re both trying to just compete. I think we push each other, so I think that having him right there is really good for me and really good for the team. We’re trying to command the whole defense.”

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