With Mack Injury, Snyder Knows He Has To “Step Up And Be That Guy”

Kelly Poppinga likes what he sees in new starting inside linebacker Rob Snyder, who replaced the injured Jordan Mack in the late stages of the Louisville game a couple of weeks ago.

Mack banged up his shoulder and the original prognosis was six weeks to recover, leaving Snyder, a sophomore from Lawrenceville, Ga., to fill the void.

“Unfortunately, J-Mack went down, meaning I have to step up and be that guy,” Snyder said. “When some of the injured [linebackers] come back, that means our defense will be even deeper and better.”

Snyder knows what it’s like to have to deal with an injury. He missed all of last season after a torn pectoral muscle during weight lifting, ended his year.

“I’ve been here three years, and I’ve put a lot of work in, bounced back and had a good spring,” Snyder said. “Now I finally get my opportunity.”

At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, Snyder was a three-star recruit for Collins Hill High in Georgia, where he was a 2015 first-team all-state honoree after recording a school-record 154 tackles, including 91 solo tackles.

Because he operated in a 3-4 defense at Collins, he knows the concepts of UVa’s defense. As far as the physicality, he brought that with him.

“I had an older brother, and we fought a lot, that’s where the physicality came from,” Snyder chuckled. “I don’t mind contact.”

That’s something Poppinga, UVa’s co-defensive coordinator, noticed quickly.

“Rob has a physical presence about him,” Poppinga said. “He’s an inside linebacker. He does what inside linebackers do. He likes to play the run, and he likes to hit. That gets you excited.”

While Snyder got in for only six plays against Louisville, all in nickel situations _ not his strength by the way _ he’s capable of being able to cover. He’s a big guy that can run and tackle, and that’s what Bronco Mendenhall is looking for in an inside backer.

With his on-the-job training, Snyder can benefit greatly from Virginia’s bye week before Miami comes to town Oct. 13. Mack, though injured, has been right there in practice telling Snyder what to do and what not to do.

“He’s been in my ear, and that helps,” Snyder said. “It’s exciting because I finally get an opportunity to make a name for myself. But there’s pressure too, because J-Mack was probably the leader of the defense.”

Snyder and fellow inside linebacker Zane Zandier make a majority of the calls on defense, lining up the players prior to snap. While he had not started before Saturday at N.C. State, he was accustomed to make calls while running with the second-team defense in practice.

He also watches a lot of film after practice with Zandier and with Nick Howell, UVa’s defensive coordinator.

He was on special teams, but with the Cavaliers becoming thin at the linebacker spot with Mack and Malcolm Cook both sidelined with injuries, that may change.

Meanwhile, he loves playing for UVa’s defensive coaches, and Howell, who is a very intense coach.

“[Howell] brings a lot of energy in the mornings,” Snyder said. “He definitely humbles us on Monday mornings. But he still makes you feel good. At the end of the day, though, that’s in the past. There are more games to play.”

More than likely, Snyder, who recorded seven tackles against the Wolfpack in his starting debut, will have a lot more games in front of him before Mack is ready to suit up again this season.

Now, that’s pressure.