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Offensive line: anchoring Virginia football

Burbank, offensive line teammates quietly guide Cavalier offense in resurgence

Driving back to Charlottesville after a tough defeat at Duke last Saturday night, Ross Burbank watched pieces of North Carolina’s 48-43 comeback win against Georgia Tech.

The junior center’s attention was divided. The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets were scoring in bunches, and the game was exciting, to be sure — but he was also watching “Gladiator.”

Burbank, whose team is in the thick of the ACC’s Coastal Division race with five games left in the regular season, is one of several cogs in Virginia’s surprisingly efficient blocking machine. His taste in movies reflects the offensive line’s performance as a whole.

All season, Virginia’s front five has battled in the trenches, not only to protect sophomore quarterbacks Matt Johns and Grayson Lambert but also to create holes for running backs Kevin Parks, Taquan Mizzell and Khalek Shepherd.

The offensive line scrapped for gains on the field as the gladiators once did in crowded arenas — but while the Roman warriors held the public’s adoration, Virginia’s front five go about their business amid relative popular anonymity.

“We have guys that are hard workers and who don’t care who receives the credit,” coach Mike London said. “They just want guys like Kevin Parks or Shepherd or Smoke to get the credit. They want to protect the quarterbacks and not give up sacks. That's the group as a whole.”

Entering the season, the group was not exactly celebrated by those outside the Virginia locker room. But the departure of left tackle Morgan Moses and center Luke Bowanko to the NFL — plus injuries to junior right guard Jay Whitmire and since-recovered sophomore tackle Sadiq Olanrewaju — thrust sophomores Mike Mooney and Ryan Doull into more prominent roles.

The current batch of blockers has performed admirably. Entering Saturday’s Homecomings game against North Carolina, Virginia has yielded a grand total of five sacks in seven games — the fifth-best mark in Division I FBS — despite playing a schedule USA Today’s Jeff Sagarin ranks No. 29 in strength.

Last year, the Cavaliers surrendered 24 sacks in 12 games.

“Football is a game of injuries, and things happen — but it's also a game of the next man up, and collectively as a group [the offensive linemen] have responded, they have performed,” London said. “[And] they have been a pleasant surprise in that they've played a lot of good teams.”

Virginia is also running the ball well, averaging 171.7 rushing yards per game this season — a figure that stands 56th in the nation. After Virginia racked up 192 rushing yards at altitude against Brigham Young, Shepherd highlighted the play of the offensive line.

“It all starts with the five guys up front,” Shepherd said. “They’ve been busting their tails all week, all season [and] all summer to make sure that they could be the best O-line they could be.”

Burbank, who started four games in 2013, has thrived in his junior season, starting six of the Cavaliers’ seven games at Bowanko’s old center spot. He was named ACC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week after playing every snap and grading out at 93 percent in Virginia’s 24-19 win against Pittsburgh.

“Ross has done a fantastic job of carrying the mantle of being the emotional guy on the offensive line that's the spokesman, the character in his own right,” London said. “He likes wearing short, short pants. It's just crazy some of the things that he does. But he's an offensive lineman, and he's very prideful of the unit.”

Burbank, who also plays guard, is keeping a level head in the midst of his best collegiate season.

“[I] definitely have not arrived,” he said. “The idea is you never really arrive — you just keep working — so that’s the plan.”

Though Burbank is both personable and talented — as was Bowanko, who now watches Virginia’s games and posts commentary on Twitter — London said his current center is not Luke 2.0.

“He's got a mold of his own,” London said. “You know, like I said, he's a very charismatic type of guy. He loves his teammates. He loves his team, this program, and he's done a phenomenal job of just kind of keeping everybody's spirits up. But Luke had his own way, and Ross definitely has his own unique way.”

The Virginia offensive line is not about one, two or even five men. Though senior right guard Conner Davis and sophomore right tackle Eric Smith have started every game this year — Mooney and Burbank came on as reserves against Louisville, and Doull did not play against Duke — London said the game-day rotation includes “seven, eight, maybe nine guys.”

Olanrewaju, senior guard Cody Wallace and sophomore center Jackson Matteo have all started a game this year. Burbank said Wallace, who has started four games at Virginia, is a talent in his own right.

“Cody hasn’t started a lot of games, but he’s probably played more snaps than pretty much everyone on our line with the exception of Connor,” Burbank said. “He’s a guy who’s taken a whole lot of reps. He’s played every position on the line when needed to. Cody’s a heck of a player, so wherever we put him, he’s going to get it done for us.”

Wallace’s career embodies the offensive line’s selfless approach to football. He has performed when needed, even if he hasn’t garnered national recognition in the process.

“We’re not really worried about the accolades — whether we get them or not,” Burbank said.

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