Will This Be The Season The Fans Return To Scott Stadium?

The official capacity for David A. Harrison, III Field at Scott Stadium is listed as 61,500. Ten years ago today, the largest crowd in stadium history (64,947) saw Virginia get trounced by Southern Cal, 52-7.

Only three times since Bronco Mendenhall has walked the sidelines has the home attendance reached the 40,000 mark, and not once over the 50,000-fan plateau.

Mendenhall, along with first-year Athletics Director Carla Williams, would like nothing more than to see that number continue to rise, but they both realize that the team must continue to improve in order to fill the seats consistently.

“We know that in order to get people in the stands, the product on the field has to be attractive,” Williams said in a recent interview. “How do you do that? You have to have better players. You’ve got to be able to attract better players. I think it’s remarkable that Bronco and his staff and team were able to win six games last year considering a lot of the challenges.

“I think that is very promising for the future because you’re talking about a coaching staff that has made the most out of what they have in front of them.”

As Bronco put it, the stadium will be full when his team is playing “in a manner that allows it to be full.”

It all falls in line with the coach’s “earned, not given” mantra, and he said the attendance numbers will be taken as feedback in terms of the progress being made and how the UVa community embraces that progress.

“We know exactly what needs to happen — we need to win, and we need to win the right way at UVa,” said Mendenhall. “Luckily that aligns exactly with my philosophy. I want exceptional people, exceptional students that play great football.

“When that happens, it’s hard not to come. It changes, it invigorates a community. It’s a vibrant place to be on a Saturday, and there is a sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with being a UVa alum, someone that lives in the state that, man, there is something cool happening in Charlottesville.”

Despite winning six games in 2017, four more than Mendenhall’s first season in 2016, the average home attendance at Scott Stadium dipped slightly from 39,929 to 39,398.

Huesman Talks ‘Hoos

Second-year Richmond football coach Russ Huesman took to the podium Wednesday for his first weekly press conference of the new season, and as one might expect, he doesn’t think the Spiders’ 2016 win will provide any extra confidence on Saturday.

“I’m down to about four or five guys, or six guys that played in that game,” said Huesman, “so they’re two completely different teams. Virginia’s different than at that point in time, University of Richmond’s a completely different team, so this is a new year, different team, different faces. So I don’t know what kind of help they could give [those who didn’t play in 2016].”

When asked about the challenge of preparing for a new quarterback in Bryce Perkins who has a much different style than his predecessor Kurt Benkert, Huesman admits it hasn’t been easy.

“It’s a different type of quarterback and it’s a different type of offense…,” the coach said. “When it’s the first game, you probably break down a lot more games, but for this one we’ve had to do a lot, our defense has. Not only researching their new quarterback, but what we think they may do or may not do. How they’ll be different, how they’ll be the same. So it’s a difficult task for our defense to kind of figure out exactly what they’re going to do.

“I know they’ll use their quarterback differently this year, so we’ve kind of figured that one out, but the rest of it will be — it’ll be kind of on the fly, and hopefully we’re prepared. Our offense is a quarterback run-based offense, so we see a lot of the things that we anticipate seeing.”

Zaccheaus Approaching Elite Receiving Territory

Virginia senior Olamide Zaccheaus enters the 2018 season with a chance to become one of the top pass-catchers in program history.

After setting the Cavalier single-season record last year with 85 receptions, Zaccheaus, who is also ninth on the career receiving yards list with 1,695 yards, now sits in fourth place on the school’s career catch list with 157.

He would need six receptions to pass Kris Burd (2008-11) for third all-time; 39 to pass Smoke Mizzell for second; and 54 to break Billy McMullen’s program record of 210.

In addition, Zaccheaus has caught at least one pass in 29 consecutive games, a streak that began in November of 2015 against Miami and is tied for the third-longest active spurt in the country. He is also the only Wahoo with more than one career 80-yard reception (82-yarder against Central Michigan as a sophomore, 81-yarder last year at UNC).

Non-Conference Matchups

Virginia’s other three non-ACC opponents will each kick off their respective seasons this weekend. The ‘Hoos will travel to Bloomington next weekend to face Indiana, which will open the season without sophomore running back Morgan Ellison Saturday evening at Florida International. The Hoosiers announced last week that Ellison, the team’s leading rusher, is suspended indefinitely without offering an explanation.

Virginia’s September 15th opponent, Ohio, will go up against former Virginia coach Mike London and Howard University Saturday at 2 p.m.

Liberty, which UVa will host on Senior Day November 10, will entertain future in-state Cavalier opponent Old Dominion on Saturday night. The ‘Hoos and Monarchs are scheduled to square off against each other in three of the next four seasons (2019, ‘20 and ‘22).

Breaking Rocks

The Virginia football program will continue a new tradition throughout the season, “breaking the rock.” As some may recall, it all started on the last day of summer conditioning when Zaccheaus took a sledgehammer and shattered a rock to a chorus of excitement from his surrounding teammates.

The postgame ceremony will feature a player with a standout performance doing the smashing, as explained by Jordan Ellis. The plan is to break a new rock after each game this season, with one important caveat.

“You’ve gotta win,” said Ellis. “If you win you break the rock. If you lose, you don’t, so we’re focused on winning and breaking the rock. It’s like a game ball, so whoever we feel like is the most valuable player for that game gets to break the rock, that’s how it works.”

Last Chance For A Few Alums

Thursday marks the last day of the NFL preseason, which means it’ll be the last opportunity for those fighting for roster spots to make their case and avoid the final cuts down to 53 on Saturday afternoon. All 32 teams will be in action.

A handful of former Cavalier veterans — such as Chris Long, Morgan Moses and Anthony Harris — should be considered locks to make their respective teams. There are several others who have had impressive training camps and preseason performances, but there is no guarantee that they’ll suit up when the regular season begins next week.

Along with Mizzell hoping to stay on in Chicago, Eagles linebacker LaRoy Reynolds, Falcons quarterback Kurt Benkert and Rams linebacker Micah Kiser have each made a strong push for a roster spot. The final rosters will be revealed Saturday afternoon.