Virginia football suffered from dual-personality disorder in 2014. The defense was one of the nation’s best while the offense lagged far, far behind. With the defense facing a possible regression and a daunting schedule ahead of them, the Cavaliers’ offense must show progress if the program is to avoid another losing season.
For Virginia, the picture at quarterback is clear. Junior Matt Johns is Virginia’s number one quarterback and has been so since the first depth chart emerged following spring practice, a breath of fresh air to Virginia supporters who have grimaced through two different quarterback rotations and a year of David Watford under center.
“Where it stands right now, Matt’s our starting quarterback,” offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild said. “He clearly won the job in the spring. He’s had a great summer.”
The largest question looming over the Cavaliers offense is whether Johns can perform well enough as the team’s signal caller to keep Virginia in games.
The numbers say maybe.
Johns appeared in all 12 of the Cavaliers’ contests in 2014, making three starts. The Chalfont, Pennsylvania native completed a lower percentage of passes than fellow quarterback Greyson Lambert (54.9% to 59%), but this was due in part to Johns’ willingness to throw the football down the field — something Lambert never seemed comfortable doing. Still, Fairchild would still like to see Johns improve his completion percentage this season.
“He’s worked hard,” Fairchild said. “He came out the first four practices and did very well. We anticipate him having a good year for us.”
Aiding Johns will be his talented corps of wide receivers. The graduation of Darius Jennings and Miles Gooch, who were second and third in receptions among wide receivers last year, respectively, does leave a hole to fill, but returning senior Canaan Severin appears poised for a breakout year.
Severin, now a team captain, reeled in 42 passes last season for 578 yards and became the second Cavalier to tally more than 500 receiving yards since Kris Burd’s 913 in 2011. In 2015, Severin’s receiving totals should only increase, given he can now play the X, Y and Z receiver positions after only playing in the slot during last year’s campaign.
“I think that’s going to do a lot for our offense — just putting me in different places,” Severin said. “I thinks that’s going to be huge for us coming down the stretch and when it’s time to have a big play.”
The transfer of senior wide receiver T.J. Thorpe from North Carolina appeared to provide Virginia with a dynamic threat in both the passing and return games. However, Thorpe fractured his right clavicle August 12 and is expected to miss 10 weeks. If the timetable holds true, the Durham, N.C. native will be out for the first six games of the season.
Thorpe’s injury provides a greater opportunity for sophomore Andre Levrone and junior Keeon Johnson. Levrone is coming off a 15 catch, 248-yard season, while Johnson totaled 138 yards on 13 catches in 2014.
“[Johnson] is a dude who really put a lot of time and effort into his craft this offseason,” Severin said. “He really just took that next step he had to do to get over that hump that he kind of got stuck on his first year. Now I think he’s going to take it and run with it. He’s having a really great preseason and playing awesome.”
Perhaps the greatest aid to the Cavaliers’ passing game will be Fairchild’s promise of a return to a power running game.
“I think we undersold ourselves and got a little finesse-y in the run game,” he said.
Last season Virginia rushed far too often from the pistol and shotgun. The Cavaliers simply did not have the personnel for that style of running, and the results showed. Virginia rushed 451 times for 1,653 yards — a 3.7 yards per carry average. Then-senior running back Kevin Parks, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2013, saw his output drop to only 745 yards.
“We went back this spring — [offensive line] coach [Dave] Borbely obviously brings a lot to the table in that — and we got back underneath center and started to try to pound some downhill runs,” Fairchild said. “When you run the football, everything else feeds off of that.”
A schematic change may benefit junior running back Taquan Mizzell. He earned the moniker “Smoke” as a freshman at Bayside High School due to his elusiveness, but the former five-star recruit has failed to live up to the hype.
In two seasons, Mizzell has rushed for 464 yards on 109 carries. Far too often, Mizzell has danced behind the line of scrimmage in an effort to break off a big gain, ultimately leading to runs of negative to marginal gain. Receiving the handoff in a more traditional running formation may discourage him from moving laterally.
Challenging Mizzell for the starting running back position is sophomore Daniel Hamm. Although only 5’10” and 200 pounds, Hamm, a former high school fullback, has demonstrated a willingness to run between the tackles and may lead the charge in this new power-rushing scheme and an improved Cavalier offense.
“Being a fullback, you don’t have much of a choice but to get downhill,” Hamm said. “Being a physical runner has always been a part of who I am.”
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