By Jerry Ratcliffe
In past springs, even last spring when Virginia’s influx of portal talent led to a program-record 11 wins, Tony Elliott didn’t feel like his teams were maximizing every one of their 15 practices.
This year was different.
“In the past, there have been days where I’ve come off the practice field and be like, ‘Man I don’t know if we maximized that day.’ It was a lot more coaching the culture and core values than it was the fundamentals and scheme,” Elliott said after Saturday’s spring game.
The difference was measurable in Elliott’s mind. Same went for offensive coordinator Des Kitchings and defensive coordinator John Rudzinski. They all addressed the topic after the spring-ending event, won by the Blue team (defense), 59-40 over the White (offense). UVA’s defense was given points for stops, turnovers, etc., which piled up.
Elliott summed up the difference this way: “This group, it seemed like they just seamlessly transitioned very well.”
New guys bought in immediately. Elliott didn’t find himself having to run all around the practice field, yelling at guys to chase the ball or to break on the ball, or to hustle on and off the field. He likes where his program sits right now.
So does Rudzinski, who spent the spring breaking in new players and developing depth in the absence of those who sat out with injuries. This spring, Rud doesn’t have to go beating the bushes to bring in six defense backs like he did last May.
“We had a few linebackers playing safety in last year’s spring game,” Rud laughed.
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Kitchings noticed a difference as well. In the last third of spring practices, he sensed his offense starting to evolve with an identity. Certainly a big part of that is the power running game, which can dictate what defenses can or cannot do. A huge part of that is Virginia’s offensive line, perhaps the most experienced group in the country.
“There’s no secret, that group up front is the strength of our team,” Kitchings said.
He wants to see them take the next step, challenging themselves toward greatness.
“They should be challenging themselves to be the best in the country,” Kitchings said. “Honestly, if that’s the mindset across the board, we’ll put ourselves in positions to have some success.”
The offense played with six quarterbacks, a running clock most of the second half, hands off the QBs. Depending on what color jersey, there were highs and lows from Saturday’s exhibition. The defense came up with four turnovers, multiple sacks (kinda like two-hand touch). The offense still put up 50 points, splitting time with half a dozen QBs, mostly the understudies to Beau Pribula and Eli Holstein.
The program didn’t keep stats from the game, but there were noticeable plays.
Pribula, from Missouri, hooked up early with wideout Rico Flores (UCLA) for a 28-yard pass. Holstein threw a 49-yarder and a 20-yarder to Da’Shawn Martin (Kent State). He also completed a 29-yard pass to TyLyric Coleman.
Running back Peyton Lewis (Tennessee) broke a 51-yard run early, but was suffering from a stomach flu and was surprisingly caught from behind. Solomon Beebe (UAB) ran between the tackles for a 13-yard TD in the second quarter, then caught a Holstein pass in the red zone, shrugged off a tackler and scored another just before the half.
Jekail Middlebrook (Middle Tennessee State) spun out of a tackle and scored from 12 yards out in the first half. Zay Davis also made some nice runs in the game.
On the other side of the ball, Chase Morrison had four or five sacks, something UVA fans probably didn’t see coming. Morrison, a 6-foot-4, 248-pound junior from Roswell, Ga., who really hasn’t done much, has advanced his game in the offseason after moving from defensive end to tackle, and as Coach Rud said, “ate his way” into that position change due to changing his body.
Throughout the week, JerryRatcliffe.com will be featuring stories on several of the standouts in the game, including Pribula, Holstein, Middlebrook, Martin and more.
If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!
