Juan Thornhill comes up with an interception in last year’s 28-21 win over Duke Juan Thornhill appropriately named his Twitter account, “The_Juan_and_Only.” The senior free safety from Altavista, and admitted country boy, does not lack for confidence. Or athletic ability. That’s what Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall is banking on, moving Thornhill over from cornerback to free safety, where job demands are more physical. You want physical? Don’t mess with Thornhill. “Juan is a freak,” said Shawn Griswold, UVa’s strength and conditioning guru. There’s reason for Griz’s awe. In the final week of summer conditioning, when all the measurables are compiled, […]

Historic Lambeth Field is where the Wahoos held their 6th fall practice Thursday. More than 100 Virginia football players made the short trek from the McCue Center across the footbridge over Emmet Street, spilling into sacred ground at Lambeth Field on a toasty August afternoon Thursday. Lambeth’s history goes unnoticed by today’s players. They know Virginia once played there, but that’s about it. Even most media attending the first 30 minutes of the practice had never been to Lambeth and knew nothing of the place. UVa coach Bronco Mendenhall likes to conduct practice there once in awhile because it’s the […]

James Thomas “Monk” Bingler We knew him simply as “Monk,” the man at the door of Scott Stadium’s press box and various spots around John Paul Jones Arena. Year after year, Monk was always there with a handshake, a ready smile, a twinkle in his eyes, and usually a really corny joke. James Thomas “Monk” Bingler, a Charlottesville legend, a University of Virginia “ambassador,” left us this week at the age of 94. Most media that walked through the double doors to the press box each autumn had no idea of Monk’s background. He must have told me a jillion […]

With historic Lambeth Field as a backdrop, Virginia’s football team finished its sixth practice of fall camp on Thursday. It wasn’t the best. Coach Bronco Mendenhall said he had been pleased with the five previous practices but wasn’t happy with the lack of sharpness. He quickly recognized that the competitiveness in practices building up to Thursday had taken its toll. “The team showed signs of a lot of work,” Mendenhall said. “We have been increasing the work capacity, pushing the limits in every possible way, and it showed today.” The coach plans on having a “significant” scrimmage on Saturday, and […]

Scattershooting around Wahoos World, while wondering if a true freshman will be Virginia’s answer as a deep threat … One of Bronco Mendenhall’s chief concerns in training camp is finding a vertical threat to replace Andre Levrone and Doni Dowling. It was a concern in the spring and remains one in August. “We have first-years coming in, Wooby Theork-Youmans (Naples, Fla.), Ugo Obasi (Baltimore, Md.), Billy Kemp (Highland Springs), and Tavares Kelly (Fort Launderdale, Fla.), and possibly (senior) Olamide Zaccheaus [at wide receiver] with one of the other guys playing his position in the slot,” Mendenhall said. “It’s a need […]

As a lifelong sportswriter, I have really come to appreciate Bronco Mendenhall’s candor. Everyone huddled around the Virginia football coach after Friday night’s first practice, hoping to get some kind of scoop on the Cavaliers, got more than they bargained for. Bronco Mendenhall Talks To Reporters Yes, everyone who closely follows UVa’s football team already knew that transfer quarterback Bryce Perkins and speedy slot back Olamide Zaccheaus were going to be huge keys to the Cavaliers season. However, for a coach to come out and say it without hesitation on the first night of practice, well, that just doesn’t happen […]

With eight returning starters on offense and eight on defense, is the learning curve for Virginia’s football team less of a burden as Bronco Mendenhall opened his training camp Friday night? Well, yes, and no. “Defensively, especially with eight of the 11 back … and then there’s this pause,” Mendenhall said after the Cavaliers’ first practice. “Without Micah, without Quin, and without who Andrew Brown became, those are still big shoes to fill. “The identity, the chemistry … there’s confidence and experience, but there’s still some uncertainty in who now replaces that production,” Mendenhall explained. “I think it will be […]

Garett Tujague knows a little something about offensive lines. He started at left guard for LaVell Edwards at Brigham Young, and later became Bronco Mendenhall’s line coach at both BYU and Virginia. When he walked into the Cavaliers’ offensive linemen’s meeting room this week and saw 20 players greeting him, he was in football heaven. “I had to make sure I’m not in a dream,” Tujague (pronounced TOO-Jay) said after Friday night’s opening of UVa’s fall training camp. “It’s nice to have good numbers, good quality kids guys that are all about Bronco and his program, about hard work and […]

On a Virginia offensive line that is thirsting for experience, graduate transfer Marcus Applefield should provide a ton of veteran leadership. The former Rutgers standout, who moves from right guard to right tackle, is settling in nicely in his new role in Charlottesville, and is eager to show his younger teammates the ropes. Marcus Applefield “I’m a big guy, obviously, with experience,” Applefield told reporters Friday. “I can move well on my feet and I’m a strong guy.” It will all take some getting used to, but after Friday’s first fall practice, the 6-foot-5 lineman who started 10 games for […]

Bronco Mendenhall kicks off his third fall training camp Friday night, hoping to build off last year’s momentum that unexpectedly delivered a bowl trip. The Cavaliers return eight starters on both sides of the ball, in addition to several players who gained valuable playing experience last season when pressed into service due to injuries to starters. Ideally, Mendenhall would like to go bowling again this season and avoid a second half of the season slump that barely allowed his Wahoos to become bowl eligible. The back end of the schedule isn’t quite as loaded as it was last season when […]