Good News: UVA Hopeful About Having Ellis At Full Strength For UNC

The good news coming out of Bronco Mendenhall’s weekly press conference on Monday afternoon was about the health of starting running back Jordan Ellis.

Ellis apparently suffered an injury to his left ankle late in the second quarter and did not return. The senior had picked up 56 yards on 12 carries (4.6 ypc) to that point.

From there on, P.K. Kier (12 carries, 36 yards) and Lamont Atkins (1 carry, 12 yards) took over the running back duties, and quarterback Bryce Perkins led all UVa rushers in the game with 61 yards on 15 attempts (4.1 ypc) and two touchdowns.

Mendenhall said Monday that even though he didn’t have the exact update on Ellis in terms of him playing this Saturday against North Carolina, that “right now we’re hopeful.”

“[The injury] wasn’t as severe as they thought,” Mendenhall said. “They’re hopeful that we’ll have him at full strength Saturday.”

Ellis is the ACC’s third-leading rusher behind only Clemson’s Travis Etienne (800 yards, 14 TD) and Pitt’s Qadree Ollison (646 yards, 6 TD). Ellis has 114 carries, the most by any running back in the league, for 619 yards (88.4 ypg) and 7 touchdowns. He’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry.

If Ellis can’t answer the bell, then Kier and friends will make it running back by committee.

“P.K. is Jordan Ellis, just kind of in a different body,” Mendenhall said of the 6-foot, 230-pound sophomore. “He runs for power. He runs for first downs and he’s tough and durable

“Lamont Atkins is versatile, meaning he can run and catch the ball out of the backfield, a little more dynamic than Jordan or P.K. in terms of the way he’s built and probably for speed,” Mendenhall said. “And Chris Sharp we’ve kind of used his versatility throughout the course of the year. He’s a physical blocker. He catches the ball out of the backfield (two TDs receiving) and he’s good on the perimeter.”

Mendenhall said that Atkins (5-10, 215, soph) is emerging and would be a more traditional tailback in most program’s systems. Atkins is more of an every-down back.

Clearly, Ellis is a player Virginia would like in its backfield against the Tar Heels on Saturday. UNC ranks 12th in the conference in rushing defense, allowing 188.5 yards per game on the ground and 13 rushing touchdowns.

Ellis isn’t one of those backs who gets better as the game on, but rather is consistent throughout the entire game.

“He’s just the same,” Mendenhall said. “He’s so fiercely trained condition-wise that he doesn’t get tired. I don’t see the yield or burst of aggression or the competency diminish over the game.

“If that’s the case, then he just stays in. That’s different than sometimes where a player is tapping his helmet, and after a long run can’t sustain it,” the coach said. “Jordan is not like that, so there really hasn’t been a huge reason to substitute mostly because of his preparation and his conditioning.”

Sophomore free safety Joey Blount was sidelined with an unspecified injury and was replaced by sophomore De’Vante Cross, who moved over from wide receiver during the by week.

“I don’t know the status of Joey at this point and probably won’t until Tuesday or Wednesday,” Mendenhall said. “I did not hear specifically on him this morning, otherwise I would pass that on.”

Emerging Freshmen

Two freshmen players are starting to catch the eye of UVa’s offensive staff, halfback Billy Kemp (5-9, 175, Highland Springs) and wide receiver Ugo Obasi (6-0, 190, Baltimore).

QB Bryce Perkins targeted Obasi early in the second quarter vs Duke, but there was a penalty and no play.

“I’ll mention two players at the same time,” Mendenhall said when asked about Obasi being integrated into future offensive plans. “Both Obasi and Kemp are emerging as players showing up on the scripts more and within the plan more.

“How they handle that will really determine what their role becomes as the season goes.”

Mendenhall said their athleticism, ability and/or work ethic will influence their use, particularly now that sophomore De’Vante Cross has switched from wide receiver to the secondary, providing more opportunity for the two rookies to contribute.

“Whether they do or not now is up to them.”

Brumfield Makes A Difference

When the NCAA allowed FBS teams to add a 10th full-time assistant coach in the offseason, Mendenhall didn’t hesitate to bring in Rick Brumfield as his special teams coordinator.

Brumfield had coached mostly at smaller schools, Union College, Fairmont State, Nicholls State, then Western Kentucky, before a two-year stint at University of Texas San Antonio.

The fact that Brumfield could take over the special teams duties, helped free up Kelly Poppinga to help handle the defense, which in turn took more pressure off Mendenhall as the program’s CEO.

“[Duke] was the first game this year where I thought all phases of special teams performed in a manner that I think I have both hoped for and expected,” Mendenhall said Monday.

“What that has allowed, having Ricky here, I couldn’t be in the current role I am without Ricky, because that would mean either Kelly or Nick [Howell] or someone else would be doing special teams as well as position coaching, and that workload is too much,” Mendenhall said. “The ability to add a 10th coach really allowed me to change roles, allowed the defensive staff to function as a higher level because Ricky is here.”

Mendenhall admitted that he pushes hard because he loves numbers and wants success from his special teams, something that he emphasized during the bye week. Those points of emphasis showed up big time in Durham, but it’s something that the head coach wants to continue down the home stretch of the season.

“I’m encouraged by some of the changes we made and what the results were,” Mendenhall said.

Virginia had 99 yards in punt returns against Duke, including a 72 by freshman Tavares Kelly (longest was 43), and 27 by Chuck Davis. Also, Joe Reed had a return of 37 yards on the opening kickoff, which put Virginia in good field position and helped lead to a touchdown on the Cavaliers’ first possession of the game.

Cavaliers Honored

Junior cornerback Bryce Hall was selected as the ACC Defensive Back of the Week for his performance in the Cavaliers’ 28-14 win at Duke.

Hall intercepted Devils’ QB Daniel Jones, and finished the contest with three passes defended. He was targeted nine times and allowed only two catches. He also had five tackles. Hall was also named to Pro Football Focus’ national team of the week after posting an overall grade of 86.9.

Hall’s honor came as no surprise to Mendenhall and the coaching staff because they observe him and his work ethic on a daily basis.

“He’s in our office every day,” the coach said. “The best players that I’ve coached have been in our office every day.

“He doesn’t walk through to be seen,” Mendenhall added. “He goes in the back way and I usually hear that he’s there because someone else tells me he’s there. He’s not there for the sake of appearance or praise. It’s more like he’s going to work.”

Hall slips into the video room and studies current players, NFL players, opponents film, past BYU film of guys Mendenhall and Howell have coached, and studies the upcoming game.

“He’s very methodical,” Mendenhall said. “His preparation has led to his consistency, which has led to his production, and he does it every single week. I think his influence will have a lot to do with the development of our program, especially in the secondary. As the next generation of guys want to know how to be a good football player or how to play early or how to be consistent, all I have to do is just say, ‘Follow him.’”

Hall has two interceptions this season and a team-leading 14 PBUs.

UVa quarterback Bryce Perkins said Monday that while he’s not scared of throwing the ball into Hall’s area in practice, he is always paying a lot of attention to where the corner is lurking.

Other ACC opponents should take note.

Meanwhile, Perkins was also honored as the Athlon QB of the week after completing 20 of 32 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown (no interceptions), and rushing for 61 yards and two more scores.

Pitt Game Time

The ACC announced Monday that Pittsburgh’s game at Virginia on Friday, Nov. 2, will kick off at 7:30 p.m., and will be televised by ESPN2.