Dabo: UVA’s Armstrong looks like a young Steve Young

By Jerry Ratcliffe

While Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is certainly aware of the 2020 version of Virginia football, he can’t help but think back to last year’s ACC Championship game against the Cavaliers in Charlotte.

Even though it was a blowout win by his Tigers, Swinney still remembers some things about the Cavaliers that he didn’t like.

One of those things was how well UVA’s offensive line operated against Clemson’s stout defense. Swinney is aware that Virginia’s entire offensive line returned, something that’s on his mind as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team prepares for its Saturday night home game against the Cavaliers.

“They’re big, strong and experienced,” Swinney said about UVA’s O-Line. “That’s a key matchup. I think we’re much improved in the defensive line and hopefully that’ll show.

“We only had one sack on them last year (actually two). Virginia was 10 of 18 on third downs and I thought they dominated us in short yardage. We’re going to have to play better up front.”

That has to be music to the ears of UVA offensive line coach Garett Tujague, who has served in that role under Bronco Mendenhall since 2013 at BYU. 

Swinney, whose Tigers have won 42 of their last 43 home games in Death Valley (only loss was to Syracuse), has been impressed with Mendenhall’s culture and program development at Virginia.

“Bronco has done an amazing job,” Swinney said. “Obviously, this is a rematch of the ACC Championship game last year, and they were there for a reason. They’re probably one of the more experienced teams out there.”

Virginia is particularly experienced on defense, where eight starters return and nine more players are back with at least one start under their belt.

“They do some creative things defensively in their schemes and how they play, mixing up their zone coverages and picking their spots with techniques,” the Clemson boss said. “They’re an Okie front so they seem to always have an edge guy.

“They like to box everything. They got us (two sacks) a couple of times last year. You can see they’re a little thicker than they were last year. They move the front seven all over the place, but No. 11 (outside linebacker Charles Snowden) is a 6-foot-7 guy that gets his hands on balls and does a really good job of creating pressure.

“They do a nice job with their blitz packages and do a good job with their twist game. But the length is a problem on the edge with the way they box everything, so we’ve got to do a great job of identifying and being aware of where those guards are.”

Swinney really likes what he sees in new Virginia starting quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who he didn’t know much about until last week’s UVA win over Duke.

“[Armstrong] is a challenge, he’s a problem,” Swinney said. “He’s a really good player. He looks like a young Steve Young (former BYU/San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback), running around out there. Lefty (like Young), crafty, creative and extends plays, tough runner, really good size.

“[Armstrong] is an accurate thrower and has no fear in putting the ball up, trusts his guys to make competitive plays for him.”

He also likes UVA tailback Wayne Taulapapa.

“21, he’s a big-boy pad runner, so you better be ready for that guy. They’ve also got length at tight end (6-7 Tony Poljan), and they’ve got a couple of long guys at receiver and a heck of a little slot with little number 4 (Billy Kemp, 5-9, 170). He’s a really good football player.”

Swinney didn’t really know that much about UVA’s newest sensation, 6-7 freshman wide receiver Lavel Davis, Jr., who is from Dorchester, S.C. Davis was the ACC Receiver and ACC Rookie of the week after making a huge splash in his collegiate debut against Duke last week (4 receptions, 104 yards, two TDs).

The Clemson coach said he believes his program was already locked in on some other receiver prospects, so they didn’t recruit Davis. He did notice him in his film study of Virginia, though.

“He’s a long guy and made some big plays against Duke. He was, I think, the difference in the game. He had kind of a circus catch down the sideline on a tipped ball and then had a great play in the end zone.

“So this quarterback is savvy, he’s tough. He’s not afraid to run it, he creates and he can escape,” Swinney said, quickly returning to Armstrong. “They had a lot of 50-50 balls in the game but [Davis] did a heck of a job. Good start for him as a freshman in his first game. He’s just gonna get better as he gets stronger and developes. He’ll be a problem as he matures.”