Where will Virginia’s pass rush come from this season? How about from everywhere

By Jerry Ratcliffe

One of the major reasons Virginia won the ACC Coastal Division and played in the Orange Bowl in 2019 was its aggressive, take no prisoners, pass rush.

The Cavaliers set a new UVA record for most quarterback sacks in a season that year with 46, for 304 yards lost by opponents. Actually the sack record could have been even higher because Virginia’s defense had 65 quarterback hurries that season.

Following the pandemic-plagued 2020 season, Bronco Mendenhall’s defensive coaches placed a huge emphasis on the pass rush during spring drills and have continued that push into training camp.

There’s a good reason.

According to co-defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga, the Cavaliers’ won-loss record is greatly affected by their success in getting to opposing quarterbacks. In fact, throughout Mendenhall’s career at BYU and UVA, his teams win more than 92 percent of the time when they have at least one more sack than the opponent.

That’s a staggering number and a good explanation as to why it’s an important aspect of Virginia’s defensive philosophy.

With a defense with a lot to prove after getting the blame for last season’s shortcomings, a reliable pass rush is essential. Of the 32 sacks recorded in 2020, players responsible for a mere nine of those return.

So, how will UVA get to the quarterback this season? Who will Mendenhall depend on for the pressure?

“The mindset is that you have to bring [pressure] from multiple places,” Mendenhall said. “I think this will be a collective [effort] every year as we play the percentages.”

Mendenhall pointed out that the defensive line brings back lots of experience and so does a secondary that was riddled by injury a year ago. Then there’s linebackers Noah Taylor and Nick Jackson, who combined to post 5.5 sacks and 10 pressures last season. In 2019, Taylor had seven sacks and eight hurries.

There’s no question that the duo will be relied upon heavily on blitzes to get to the quarterback.

In the secondary, there’s “super seniors” Joey Blount and De’Vante Cross, who can come up and attack, along with some of the other defensive backs.

Defensive line coach Clint Sintim is eager to get his guys in the mix, particularly Mandy Alonso, another super senior, who had two sacks and six hurries last season, and is one of the best defenders in using his hands to shed blocks and penetrate the backfield.

Alonso, who was the top performer in summer conditioning and carried that through training camp to be awarded the number one slot for jersey number selection, is in store for a breakout season.

Then there’s Aaron Faumui, who after recording eight sacks and nine hurries in 2019, opted out last season due to the Covid threat. He’s back and ready to rock.

As Mendenhall said, the pressure will come from everywhere with the unpredictability keeping quarterbacks guessing.

Again, Sintim is anxious to turn his guys loose on opposing offenses.

“[Pass rush] is absolutely say is part of [his defensive linemen’s] responsibility,” Sintim said. “Not only do those big guys have to stop the run, but we want to get after the passer, and we want to do it at a high level.

“We’ve been working our tail off to get to the quarterback. We’re very aggressive. We do a lot of things so a lot of guys reap the benefits of the pressure, and I think this year we have some pieces. I think coach may give us an opportunity to do some things one-on-one to get to the quarterback. We just have to be ready when the opportunity presents itself.”

Other than Alonzo, both Adeeb Atariwa and Jahmeer Carter have shown an ability to shed blockers and pressure the quarterback in training camp.

Schematically, out of UVA’s 3-4, which can also convert to a 3-3-5 or a 5-2, defensive coordinator Nick Howell has a lot of options on who to send and from where. His linemen and linebackers don’t always have to line up in a certain spot. The defense can isolate a guy and give him an opportunity to go one-on-one because so many of UVA’s players are versatile.

However, if a defender’s number is called for the blitz, he best get there.

“It’s absolutely critical,” Sintim said. “You know there’s going to be a handful of plays in a game and we’re going to have an opportunity to make a big impact.

“A lot of the time blitzes are part of that, so we have to capitalize on that, not just the line, but as a defense. When your number is called it’s important that you show up, so Coach Howell can continue to call your number to give you an opportunity to make those big plays.”

While Sintim didn’t get the opportunity to coach Faumui (Sintim joined the program between the ‘19 and ‘20 seasons), he has studied him on film and is now working live with him in training camp. He’s liked what he’s seen.

“Aaron plays with a mindset and he plays with a hard edge,” Sintim said. “We’re still getting to know each other, but I can say confidently that I think Aaron Faumui loves football.”

Sintim said that Faumui and Alonso feed off each other’s success.

Elliott Brown, who moved into a starting spot at outside linebacker after Charles Snowden suffered a broken leg against Abilene Christian late in the season, can’t wait to get blitz calls this season.

“We’ve always had a ton of different blitzes and a ton of different ways to get to the quarterback,” Brown said. “That’s just part of our defense, getting to the quarterback and making it easier on our secondary.”

With so many players back with experience, particularly the super seniors, Virginia’s pressure is coming. If you’re an opposing quarterback, good luck on predicting where it’s coming from.

As Howell said this week, he can’t think of an ACC quarterback who isn’t capable of running and scrambling.

Against Virginia, they may be scrambling a lot more than planned.