Bronco shows riverboat gambler side as he depends on multi-talented Thompson

By Jerry Ratcliffe

With the game on the line, perhaps the entire season on the line late Saturday night, Bronco Mendenhall had to make a decision that would likely win or lose the game against quick-striking North Carolina.

Facing a fourth down and his own 42 yard line and two minutes to play, Mendenhall had to decide whether to punt and give the ball back to the Tar Heels. He had just seen them go 75 yards in 76 seconds to draw within three points.

He couldn’t put the decision off on one of his assistants. It was his call and his call only.

We’ve seen Mendenhall’s riverboat gambler side many times during his time at Virginia, including this year. Most figured the smart thing to do would punt the ball and hopefully pin Carolina deep in its own territory and make Mack Brown’s Tar Heels beat the clock.

Mighty risky.

Sam Howell had murdered UVA’s secondary all night to the tune of more than 400 yards and four touchdowns.

Everybody was thinking punt except one person: Bronco. Would he really risk faking a punt with so much on the line and giving Carolina the ball on his own side of the field?

Damn right, he would. And he did.

Mendenhall had faith in the guy who would make the play with everything on the line: Keytaon Thompson.

The coach had seen it work in practice, so he believed Thompson could pull it off and pull off the upset over 15th-ranked Carolina.

Virginia went into punt formation, but caught the Tar Heels by surprise when the Cavaliers’ snapped the ball to the “up man” in the punt formation, Thompson. The Mississippi State transfer took the ball, ran straight ahead, then saw an opening to the left and gutted out five yards for a first down with 85 seconds left to play.

All UVA had to do was have backup quarterback Lindell Stone take a knee in victory formation twice, and the deed was done. Stone was in because starter Brennan Armstrong was injured on the first play of the previous possession and was done for the evening (his status was unclear after the game).

“I trust the fake,” Mendenhall said after watching his team end a four-game losing streak. “I’ve seen it work in practice and I loved who was doing it (Thompson). It didn’t even go the way we thought it would. I thought if gave our team the best chance after all that battle.

“I wasn’t going to go out passively, and, so, yeah, I chose to go for it.”

Mendenhall knew the call would likely win or lose the game and so he went against the book and won.

That’s how much faith he had in Thompson, who came here as a quarterback worthy of fighting for a starting job. He battled Armstrong deep into camp before hurting his shoulder, which all but eliminated his ability to throw the ball effectively. Wanting to play and not waste his talent, he switched to wide receiver.

His status changed when Armstrong suffered a concussion against NC State. He and freshman backup quarterback Iraken Armstead became part of the offensive game plan for Wake Forest as they alternated in and out with Stone to run the football or even play receiver to help keep defenses guessing.

Against Carolina, Thompson gained 43 yards in various situations, lining up and going in motion to either get the ball or play decoy. Twice, while in motion, he quickly darted underneath center, took the snap for a quarterback sneak and gained yardage.

None of those 43 yards were more precious than the last five that iced the upset.

Mendenhall was elated with what Thompson pulled off all night against the Tar Heels.

“He’s becoming one of the cultural examples that we can present when a player comes into our program,” Mendenhall said of Thompson. “(New England Patriots coach) Bill Belichick has the saying, ‘the more you can do, the more you can do.’

“I added my own sentence to that, the more you can do, the more valuable you are,” Mendenhall said. “So Keytaon does everything.”

Mendenhall said he was listening to a commercial about one of his former players at BYU, former dual-threat quarterback Taysom Hill, who now plays multiple roles for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, and was struck by the analysis.

“Someone was asking [Hill] what position he plays and he said, ‘football,’” Mendenhall said. “That’s what we’re saying for Keytaon. So when you list the position (Thompson plays) it would be smart to put ‘football’ underneath.

“He might be setting a record for the most different positions played in a game each and every week. We’re so thankful he’s here because we need him.”

Thompson’s role will likely continue to expand as will his importance in helping move this offense forward and giving the Cavaliers a rebirth in the second half of the season as they aim for a fourth consecutive bowl game.

He’s not a quarterback. He’s not a receiver. He’s not a running back. He’s all of those and more.

He’s “football.”