Being A Deep Threat Will Be De’Vante’s Cross To Bear This Year

Heading into fall training camp, one of Bronco Mendenhall’s priorities was to identify at least one legitimate deep receiving threat.

With Andre Levrone and Doni Dowling graduated, the search was on to find speedy receivers that can stretch opposing defenses and help open up other avenues for an offense that appears to be blessed with numerous skilled players. Two weeks from the season opener against Richmond, the Cavaliers are making strides.

On Friday, Mendenhall rattled off a few players that have made strong impressions since camp opened. One of those names will be familiar to UVa fans, but for a number of reasons.

De’Vante Cross.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore from Allentown, Pa., is listed as a wide receiver/cornerback. Thus far, he has shone brightly as a potential deep threat for quarterback Bryce Perkins’ strong arm.

Wahoo fans will recall Cross for a variety of reasons from his freshman season. He lined up at receiver, ran the football in some “wildcat” scenarios, and showed up in the secondary for some snaps.

If nothing else, Cross proved that he’s athletic. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry on only five attempts, had one reception for eight yards, and played a little defense.

Cross has speed and could provide one of the answers at wide receiver.

“De’Vante Cross is developing nicely,” Mendenhall said when the topic of deep threat arose.

The sophomore wasn’t the only one. Mendenhall also mentioned true freshman speedster Tavares Kelly from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., true freshman Ugo Obasi from Baltimore, and junior Joe Reed from Charlotte Court House. Reed, of course, delivered some eye-popping performances last season, including a 75-yard catch at Miami, the longest reception allowed by the Hurricanes all season.

Thus far through camp it appears Virginia is going to be top heavy at the skilled positions on both sides of the ball, but the offensive and defensive lines could sabotage all that talent. There’s a lack of proven quality on both lines and razor-thin depth issues.

No matter how good the Wahoos are at receiver, running back, quarterback, linebacker, and the secondary, will all that be negated if the two lines can’t control the line of scrimmage?

That’s a huge question and it’s obvious those problems weigh heavily on Mendenhall’s mind.

Defensively, both ends, sophomore Mandy Alonso (who started last season), and junior Richard Burney (who moved over from tight end late in ‘17), are both missing practice due to injuries. Burney suffered from a concussion.

Meanwhile, true freshman Jordan Redmond, another product of Florida’s rich high school football system, has been doing a good job filling in. The staff has also moved freshman linebacker Grant Misch (Sterling, Va.) to defensive end for the meantime.

On the offensive line, Virginia is still missing two starters due to injury, Jake Fieler and R.J. Proctor.

“We’ve been practicing a significant amount of time without all [four],” Mendenhall reported.

While the two beaten up lines are thin, some of the other spots have grown stronger, including inside linebacker where sophomore Zane Zandier (Pittsburgh), and junior Dominic Sheppard (Miami) have both impressed.

Mendenhall said that each have benefited greatly from Shane Griswold’s strength and conditioning program in the offseason.

“They’re stronger, faster, leaner, more self-assured, and more productive,” Mendenhall said. “That has allowed us to be deeper at that spot. We have four inside linebackers doing a really nice job.”

Once Rob Snyder, who has been missing for a long time with a hamstring issue, returns, UVa will have five inside backers to work with.

The cornerback competition between sophomore Darrius Bratton and senior Tim Harris has heated up, with Bratton moving to the forefront over the experienced but injury-plagued Harris.

Bratton is starting, while Harris continues his comeback effort after suffering injuries the past two seasons.

“Darrius, through this fall camp and two weeks from the first game, has been more durable and productive,” Mendenhall said.

Also redshirt freshman Shawn Smith, from Brunswick, Ga., has been surprising in camp. Smith moved to corner from wide receiver in the spring, which means that UVa is building depth at corner to match its depth at safety, arguably the deepest position on the team.

Safety Juan Thornhill said last week that because Virginia has so much experience in the secondary that it should be able to do more things this season that will keep opposing quarterbacks guessing.

Mendenhall hinted at that, but wouldn’t go that far.

“We are able to executive what we’ve already installed two years at a higher level,” the coach said. “With eight starters back on defense the points of reference are more established.”

Still, he cautioned that without the big three that all moved on to the NFL, Micah Kiser, Quin Blanding, and Andrew Brown, that there could be a significant production dropoff that has to be filled.

Other points Mendenhall made were:

• He liked the skill development in camp, especially on defense.
• Sophomore placekicker A.J. Mejia has improved and has a stronger leg and performing well.
• He believes UVa will be strong at returning kicks, noting that Kelly and another true freshman, Billy Kemp, from Highland Springs have both figured into that equation along with some veterans. Both Kelly and Kemp are 5-foot-9 speedsters.