UVA News and Notes: The Rundown From Bronco Mendenhall’s Monday Press Conference

Posted on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, 10:24 pm

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By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia has had Nov. 23 circled on its football calendar for a long, long time. Bronco Mendenhall hasn’t exactly discouraged the Cavaliers from talking about ending the program’s long, frustrating losing streak to state rival Virginia Tech.

The Hokies will host UVa on Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. (ABC Sports). Tech has dominated the rivalry, have reeled off 14 consecutive victories. Virginia hasn’t won in Blacksburg since 1998, but has been established a 4-point favorite by the oddsmakers for this week’s post-Thanksgiving bash.

It’s not like the Cavaliers haven’t tried some positive reminders before. They once had a countdown clock to the game day, a gimmick that didn’t work. UVa has come close: a 10-0 home loss last season; 23-20 in 2015; 24-20 in 2014 (when the Cavaliers had Tech beaten and botched the game in the final minute); 16-6 in 2013; and 17-14 in 2012.

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, not in rivalries. Wahoo fans are beyond of having their noses rubbed into the losing streak, but they’re hopeful this is the year of the Cavalier.

Mendenhall has only been on the scene for three seasons but hasn’t shied away from the elephant in the room. He’s encouraged it, actually, and didn’t dodge the topic when brought up again at his weekly presser on Monday.

The Virginia coach knows that his program can’t move forward and reach the levels he expects if they can’t beat Tech. Simple as that.

“Whether [the talk] yields a different result or not, we will certainly find out over time, but I think I’m just stating the obvious,” Mendenhall said. “It’s an in-state rival game. It’s hard to take over a conference until you take over your own state, and certainly then your side of the division.

“To say it’s just another game, I think we all realize the implications aren’t just normal implications,” the coach said. “[Tech] is at a higher level, so my approach has always been just to state the brutal facts. This game is more important to Virginia in terms of our regrowth and development and recapturing an exceptional college football team than a normal game.”

So the Wahoos have talked the talk. Now, can they walk the talk?

There will be no more talk this week. UVa’s players were off limit to media this week, the first time this columnist can remember that happening in the 37 seasons of coverage I’ve been involved with. Certain players have been declared off limits before, but never a whole team.

I have a bunch of interviews squirreled away, so that won’t stop me from posting plenty of interesting Wahoo stories this week, but the general media attending Mendenhall’s presser were a bit perturbed about not having any players to talk to about the rivalry.

There was method to Mendenhall’s madness, though.

Focus.

“In my team meeting this morning there is urgency to advancing our program,” the coach told media. “There is urgency to this preparation. I certainly knew it wasn’t being widely _ or wouldn’t be everyone’s most popular decision. I did frame to [players] what we need to get done and what time frame and what urgency, and that normal isn’t enough.”

Because it’s already a short week with the game being played on the road on a Friday afternoon, and with a national holiday stuck in the middle of the week, Mendenhall didn’t want to do anything to distract his team’s preparation for its biggest game of the season.

“We needed every second, and so I told [players] I would be glad to speak, because it’s part of my job to represent the program,” the coach explained. “I basically said everything that they’re doing that’s not involved in going to class or winning this game is actually not going to help us. I did give them a choice (and the players respectfully declined to do media interviews this week).

“I think it gives our team the best chance to be focused, prepared and ready to play the way they’ll need to play in a very difficult environment against a good team,” Mendenhall concluded.

Virginia is 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the ACC. The Hokies are experiencing their worst season in decades. Tech is 4-6/ 3-4, and in the midst of a four-game losing streak and hasn’t won since Oct. 13 with a literally last-minute rally at North Carolina (22-19).

Injury Report

Mendenhall said that he had been informed free safety Joey Blount would be cleared to practice Monday night.

“I don’t know what that will look like, I don’t think anyone does,” the coach reported. “But he’ll give that a shot.”

Blount has missed the past two games against Liberty and Georgia Tech after being injured in the second half of the Pitt loss.

Quarterback Bryce Hall, who was injured at Georgia Tech, then reappeared with a heavily taped ankle and kept the Cavaliers in the game with a courageous performance, appeared to be OK for Virginia Tech.

“Bryce basically reported he felt better than he expected today,” Mendenhall said. “I don’t know what that means either, so you now know what I know.”

As we reported in my game column Saturday night, Mendenhall stood over Perkins in the end zone after being sacked for a safety, and at that point wasn’t encouraged about what he saw.

Asked about his reaction when he saw Perkins return to the game and how tough his quarterback is, Mendenhall didn’t hesitate.

“Oh, man, he’s fiercely resilient and he’s very tough,” Mendenhall said. “When he went down there was a combination of all kinds of things.

“Then to hear later that he might return, I was like, ‘How can that be?’” the coach revealed. “There is a fairly common practice sometimes once an x-ray is made, if it’s not a fracture, not a break and pain, and there is not a significant or more risk to injury being done, sometimes players have pain medicine that allows them to fight through it, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. To see Bryce play the way he continued to play when he came back, I certainly didn’t expect that.”

Redshirting Armstrong

Backup QB Brennan Armstrong has appeared in three games this season and Mendenhall is hoping he doesn’t have to play the freshman again this season with one regular season and one bowl game remaining.

College football’s new redshirt rule allows a player to appear in up to four games and still qualify for a redshirt season and maintaining four years of eligibility. In the past, appearing in only one game could cost a football player an entire year of eligibility.

Armstrong can play in only one more game, so Mendenhall is keeping his fingers crossed because he would like to have the product of Ohio to be around the next four years.

“He’s Bryce’s heir apparent, currently,” Mendenhall said. “One of the biggest takeaways from the season is we have a really good quarterback behind Bryce. I’m a fan because, again, I watch [Armstrong] every day against the defense. They have a hard time stopping him and he thinks he can make every play. His pulse might have got to like 42 in that game when he went in. I mean, he just threw it like it was practice.”

The coach joked that every time the Cavaliers put Armstrong in the game that he scores touchdowns.

Saturday in Atlanta was the latest example. When Perkins was injured, Armstrong came in and led UVa to a score, throwing a 56-yard TD pass to wide receiver Joe Reed.

Short yardage …

• Senior wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus has a 40-game reception streak.
• Zaccheaus already holds UVa’s single-season and career records for receptions. Now he’s climbing the ACC ladder. ‘O,’ as he’s called by teammates and coaches, ranks No. 10 on the ACC’s career receptions list (234). He’s also third among active FBS receivers, behind Fresno’s Keesean Johnson (260), and Duke’s T.J. Rahming (240).
• This will be the 100th meeting between UVa and Tech in football, the first coming on Oct. 5, 1895 in Charlottesville. Virginia won that game 38-0. Tech leads the series: 57-37-5.
• UVa corner Bryce Hall leads the country with 21 passes defended and has 19 pass breakups (PBUs) and two interceptions. He also leads the nation in PBUs.
• Teammate and strong safety Juan Thornhill ranks No. 4 in the country with five interceptions this season. He has 12 career picks, which puts him second among active FBS players. He’s tied for seventh on UVa’s career list.
• QB Bryce Perkins has been responsible for 170 points this season, his first at UVa. That’s at the top of the list for all players in the ACC and 17th nationally.
• Overheard in the press box in Atlanta last Saturday from an experienced ACC football observer: “If Virginia had a couple of more wins, Perkins would be the ACC Player of the Year.”