With Jana’s Emergence, Virginia WRs Giving Defenses Fits

By Jerry Ratcliffe

With the emergence of Terrell Jana at wide receiver, Virginia’s offense has taken a leap forward in recent weeks and has become much more challenging to defend.

Jana, a junior from Vancouver, B.C. (via Woodberry Forest), has hauled in 28 receptions for 329 yards over the Cavaliers’ last three games, including many first-down grabs. During the first seven games of the season, Jana had only 25 catches for 257 yards.

What that has meant for UVA’s passing game is that quarterback Bryce Perkins has one more trustworthy receiver to go to, which should open up opportunities because a secondary can’t normally cover at least four solid receivers.

Consider that Virginia is the only team in the ACC with three receivers ranked in the league’s top 11 in receptions. Joe Reed is third in the conference with 61 catches, fellow senior Hasise Dubois is 11th with 49, while Jana has zoomed into the rankings and is tied for sixth with 53.

That’s not to mention tight end Tanner Cowley, who is fourth on the team with 19 catches for 225 yards, not good enough to be ranked in the ACC but good enough to pick up some important first downs.

Collectively, the corps is turning into one of the most effective in UVA history.

It didn’t hurt that in the Cavaliers’ last outing, two weeks ago against Georgia Tech, that both Tavares Kelly and Billy Kemp enjoyed solid games, only adding to a potent receiving unit.

 

“That’s really adding a depth and an urgency to practice with some competition and a next tier forming,” UVA coach Bronco Mendenhall said about Kelly and Jana stepping up. “When you consider Hasise and then Joe, as well as Terrell, and the productivity we’re getting from them, and then right behind them, but not far, you think about [Dejon] Brissett and Kelly and Kemp, and I would say Dontayvion Wicks, there’s a next tier right there.

“Who would have thought that position would be one of our deepest when we got to Week 11? I would have thought that would be the secondary we’d be talking about, but it’s flipped.”

Mendenhall, of course, started the season with a mostly healthy secondary (the Cavaliers lost Darrius Bratton during training camp), but have lost three starters and three backups over the course of the campaign.

“From a quarterback’s standpoint, the more guys that are out there in the right spots, doing the right thing, the quarterback doesn’t have to survey,” said UVA offensive coordinator Robert Anae. “If I’ve got only one dependable target out there, and if the coverage doesn’t dictate, then it’s hard to be a quarterback in that deal.

“Our measure is target-to-completion. Shoot, Jana, Hasise and Joe have very high target-to-completion ratio.”

 

In what could be a high-scoring game on Saturday afternoon with visiting Liberty University, the more targets Perkins has to work with, the better.

While teams have been focusing on attempting to shut down Dubois and Reed in recent games, Jana has become a force, 22 catches alone — for 254 yards, both team-highs — in victories over North Carolina and Georgia Tech.

Mendenhall said that after Virginia returned from its bowl victory over South Carolina last December that two players stepped up their conditioning and mindest, linebacker Noah Taylor, and Jana.

“Terrell Jana has actually been stronger and more consistent probably than anyone on our team,” Mendenhall said. “From that moment while he trailed Noah Taylor, Terrell through the summer and fall camp was elevating his game at a level that he would have probably been the player that everyone would have looked at and said, ‘Man, he’s had the best offseason.’”

In fact, because of Jana’s work ethic, stability, maturity and leadership, he has earned the trust of the coaching staff and Perkins.

“If there’s a critical time, a critical moment, or somewhere the ball has to go, yeah, that would probably be my first look,” Mendenhall said.

That has been the case in UVA’s last two games when the Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets chose to double-team Dubois, leaving Jana open or allowing him to gain separation from his defender and catching everything that has been thrown his way.

“Basically, now he’s getting his chance because teams are focusing on certain people and they’re underestimating Jana, and he’s stepped up and he’s snatched up everything,” said Dubois.

Now, opposing defenses have to choose their poison. Double Dubois or Reed, and get burned by Jana, or attempt to cover all three and give Perkins room to run.

Nice problem for Perkins to have.