Taulapapa braces for challenge of running against Clemson’s stingy defense

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Wayne Taulapapa and Virginia’s offensive line will have their greatest challenge of the season Saturday night when they face No. 1-ranked Clemson in Death Valley.

If the Cavaliers are to give the Tigers a better game than last December’s ACC Championship debacle (62-17 Clemson win), then UVA will have to put together a successful ground game.

In its first two games of the season, Clemson held The Citadel to 1.1 yards per rush and Wake Forest to 1.8. The Tigers picked up where they left off last season when they became the first major college defense since at least 1996 to hold their first 12 opponents to less than 300 yards total offense. Virginia broke that streak in the championship by posting 387 yards.

Still, it will be a challenge to put up significant yardage on the ground, which will take some pressure off UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong, making only his second start. Clemson has given up a mere 123 yards rushing in the first two games combined (1.5 per rush, 61.5 yards rushing per game). The Tigers have surrendered only eight rushing first downs.

Taulapapa, coming off an impressive rushing performance in Virginia’s 30-28, season-opening win over Duke last week, understands what lies ahead.

“Most importantly it’s understanding and respecting that [the Tigers] are a great football team, understanding their schemes and being able to say that we once ran against them and to do it again,” Taulapapa said. “We know how great of a team they are and so I’m just looking to prepare.”

Taulapapa had a career-high 95 of the Cavaliers’ 188 yards rushing against Duke and averaged 5.9 yards per attempt. He was given a boost on the ground by transfer Shane Simpson, who had 36 yards and averaged 4.5 per carry, while Armstrong rushed for 47 yards (4.7). Perris Jones pitched in two carries for 11 yards in mop-up duty (5.5 per).

“Shane is very talented and it was nice to see him open up gaps,” Taulapapa said. “When we get to the sidelines and talk to each other, we share what things we see so we can do better. We’re always interchanging ideas and insight.”

While Bronco Mendenhall prefers to give one back the bulk of running responsibilities, the opener was different, perhaps because the coach said earlier last week that there really wasn’t that much difference between the three running backs, other than different running styles.

Taulapapa was deemed the most consistent and thusly had 16 carries compared to eight by Simpson, and 10 rushes by Armstrong.

“I think it just depends on the game,” Taulapapa said. “Obviously the player that produces will continue to work for us. It’s nice to have all three of us in the [running back] room.”

While a good passing game will help open up the running game and vice versa, the fact that Armstrong is a quarterback with running skills also takes some pressure off the running backs, in a similar fashion to Bryce Perkins last season.

“Brennan was very poised (against Duke),” said Taulapapa. “You know he’s not afraid to lower his shoulder. Every time we see that, it definitely brings confidence to the offensive lines and receivers to continue to block, and especially myself, trying to keep up with him.”

It doesn’t hurt that Virginia returned its entire offensive line from last season. Taulapapa said that having that relationship and chemistry has definitely helped the running game.

“Last year was tough on us,” Taulapapa said. “This year, we’re definitely connecting more, so it’s nice to have that relationship with them. Hopefully we can continue to develop it throughout the season.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney noticed Taulapapa while reviewing the Cavaliers’ win over Duke.

“21 (Taulapapa) is a big-boy pad runner,” Swinney said. “You better be ready for that guy.”

Swinney remembered back to last December and commented that his Tigers struggled against Virginia in short yardage.

“They were incredibly efficient against us on first and second down … they were 10 of 18 on third down, so we had a hard time getting off the field,” Swinney said. “We didn’t do a good job in short yardage against them. We’ve got a lot of improvement to do from that game and from less than a year ago, so we’re excited about the challenge.”

One of the ways that Taulapapa built strength over the offseason was something he has been accustomed to doing most of his life back on the beaches of Hawaii.

“Just took it back to the basics of when I first started playing football as a young kid,” Taulapapa said. “Growing up with my family, always being on the beaches, running drills in the sand and working through hard terrain. So when it comes to [running on a flat, grass field], it’s a little easier.”

UVA offensive coordinator Robert Anae, who also grew up in Hawaii, remembered running in the sand as well while growing up.

“Those sand dunes about 40 years ago were just trails then,” Anae laughed. “Now they’ve got roads to get to them. We would run from the high school, we’d run to the sand dunes and do our work at the sand dunes and run back.

“But, yeah, I’m pretty sure Wayne took his car to the sand dunes,” the coach chuckled again. “There’s a lot of good work there, no doubt.”