Scattershooting: Bronco expects to cash in on recruiting with Coastal title, Orange Bowl invite

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Scattershooting around Wahoo Nation, while wishing all our devoted readers a Merry Christmas…

Bronco Mendenhall had to chuckle the other day when he took a timeout from recruiting to participate in an Orange Bowl press conference in Miami. He was introduced as coach of the OB’s home team. Of course, Florida, located in the opposite end of the state, is the game’s visiting team.

Still, Mendenhall describes the invitation to the New Year’s Six event as “a giant opportunity for us. This game means the world to us in terms of growth and is the next step for our program. Our players have not stopped smiling since they learned about the invitation.”

The Virginia coach took advantage of the opportunity to visit Florida to schedule some quality recruiting time around the press conference, also attended by Gators head coach Dan Mullen, who has done a fantastic job in turning around the program. Mendenhall pointed out that UVA has 15 players from the state of Florida on the Cavaliers’ roster.

“We believe in ‘Who, first,’ and ‘Who’ is here,” Mendenhall cracked, referring to the fertile recruiting ground in the Sunshine State.

Mullen said that he was personally worn out from two weeks of recruiting since the end of the Gators’ regular season, and noted that he couldn’t imagine how tired Mendenhall must have been, having to cram all his recruiting into one week because UVA was tied up last weekend playing Clemson for the ACC Championship.

“I spent the morning recruiting,” Mendenhall said of the late-afternoon press conference, “and as soon as this is over, I’m doing it again.”

Making it to the ACC Championship, followed by an invitation to play in the Orange Bowl for the first time in program history, Mendenhall noted that the success has made a difference in recruiting.

“Once you say, ‘Orange Bowl,’ and the view is larger instantly, in addition to the credibility,” the UVA coach said.

Not until Mendenhall and Mullen shared the same stage in South Florida, did we know that the two have a history. Mendenhall was on the BYU staff back when Mullen was the offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer at Utah. Of course, BYU and Utah are bitter rivals.

Mendenhall noted that Meyer and Mullen put together some special offensive schemes when they were at Utah together, particularly with then-quarterback Alex Smith, who went on to glory with the 49ers and Chiefs.

“That’s one of the special rivalries in college football,” Mullen said.

“You hate to say ‘hate,’ but it’s used freely in that game,” Mendenhall noted.

Bonus Bronco

The Virginia head coach, like any FBS coach, will receive bonuses for the program’s success.

For winning at least six games to become bowl eligible (UVA won nine), and making it to a bowl, Mendenhall gets a $75,000 bonus.

For winning the ACC Coastal Division and playing in the ACC Championship, he receives at $50,000 bonus.

For beating Virginia Tech? Priceless.

Short yardage…

• What do UVA’s players get as Orange Bowl swag? The NCAA allows bowls to give each player an assortment of gifts that are valued up to a total of $550. The Orange will present each Wahoo and Gator with the coveted “gift suite,” along with a Tournau watch and a full-sized split helmet. The gift suite is something the players have loved since its inception with the bowl games. The gift suite normally gives players a much wider range of items to choose from, either set up on their college campus before they leave for the bowl, or at the bowl location once players arrive for their postseason game.
• Because our website and our radio show, now heard in Charlottesville, the Richmond Tri-Cities area, and the “seven cities” of the Tidewater, headquartered in Norfolk, depends on advertising, we would appreciate Wahoos reaching out to any fellow ‘Hoos that you know in those areas and encouraging them to reach out to us as potential sponsors. We just finished our first year with the show in Charlottesville and have only been in the Richmond and Norfolk markets for a few months, but need advertising to keep our presence there. Would appreciate any help you can give us.

Team of Destiny

We have restocked our supply of our book, “Team of Destiny, Virginia basketball’s run to the National Championship,” just for Christmas. We had three printings of the book, so this may be your last chance to grab one, and wouldn’t they look lovely under any Wahoos’ Christmas Tree?

You can order them on this site, via Amazon, or the following locations in Charlottesville: Mincer’s, UVA Book Store, New Dominion Book Shop on the Downtown Mall, or at County Line Mercantile on the Albemarle/Greene border on Rt. 29.

Once they’re gone, they’re gone, so act fast so that you or a Wahoo you love can relive the magic of the championship season.