We have reached the midpoint in the 2014-15 college football season, and Virginia sits at 4-2. As the team enjoys its bye week, let's take a look at how the various position groups have performed through the first six weeks of the year with our first-ever State of the Hoo-nion Address.
Offensive Line
I will begin with what was clearly Virginia’s biggest ambiguity coming into this season. Losing Morgan Moses and Luke Bowanko to the NFL Draft this past year was an enormous blow — especially considering a rookie quarterback would be behind center.
Though there has been some rotation at the left tackle position — three Cavaliers have had significant playing time here — the lineup has stayed fairly consistent since the UCLA game with sophomore Ryan Doull at left guard, sophomore Ross Burbank at center, senior Conner Davis at right guard and sophomore Eric Smith at right tackle.
It's also appropriate to include senior tight end Zach Swanson here, as he has not been much of a receiving threat thus far. Swanson and counterpart junior Rob Burns total just 54 yards through the first six games — they've proven killer blockers, though.
This young group averages nearly 300 pounds (excluding Swanson) and has performed quite admirably despite its bleak projections at the start of the year. They have allowed just five sacks — three of which came against a ranked Louisville team.
Even better than protecting their young quarterback, the line has helped make room for the stacked Cavalier backfield to churn away on the ground. All put together (including sweeps by receivers, because that’s still a rush) Virginia is averaging 177 yards per game running the football. That’ll get the job done, especially with Kevin Parks running like he did a week ago.
Running backs
This has far and away been the best part of Virginia’s offense in 2014. The Cavalier backfield boasts three competent runners, each adaptable players who come with their own specialty.
Senior Kevin Parks is the workhorse of the group. I wrote in depth about his career after his dominant performance against Pittsburgh. The senior can flat-out play and he proves that week-in and week-out. When this season is all said and done, he likely will be top-five in Virginia history in career rushing yards (he currently sits at No. 7 with 2901 yards).
Fellow senior Khalek Shepherd follows in Parks' mold, in that he can run between the tackles but also has the speed to hurt opponents outside. Shepherd is a talented return man as well and does a great job for Virginia. (See our feature to learn more about Shepherd.)
Finally, another player who has been in the spotlight this season: sophomore Smoke Mizzell. He is one of the most versatile athletes on the Virginia roster and can play almost anywhere on the field. He may be strongest in the slot for jet sweeps and quick routes down the field, but he had an immensely successful high school career as a tailback and has proven capable of taking carries when Parks needs a breather.
Virginia is a running team at heart — and has been a successful one so far. To all you Fairchild doubters, I apologize: the up-the-gut runs are here to stay. But if the Cavaliers keep winning, maybe he’s been right all along.
Receivers
This group has proven more surprising than any of the others. The Cavaliers aren’t exactly feared for their vertical, defense-spreading abilities. But this receiving corps has done the job well.
Seniors Miles Gooch and Darius Jennings and junior Canaan Severin have all been solid targets for sophomore quarterbacks Greyson Lambert and Matt Johns to find. Gooch in particular seems to make plays on every single third down, which is absolutely critical with a young quarterback.
These guys have also become increasingly more involved as the season has worn, which is a great sign. If they start to get the respect they deserve, the field will only open up more for Virginia’s bread-and-butter-and-jelly (Parks, Shepherd and Mizzell).
Quarterback(s)
This category is hard. For one, I’m not sure if anyone actually knows who Virginia’s quarterback is. This is exactly the kind of thing I said shouldn’t be happening in my first column of the season, “Stop the Ride.” (That was the self-promotional plug, I swear…mostly because I’m out of columns to reference.)
It's obvious the offense simply plays differently under Matt Johns, however. He takes more shots downfield, and the Cavaliers seem to move the ball more effectively with him under center.
Still, there is nothing really wrong with how Greyson Lambert has played thus far, and there is a distinct possibility London will reinsert him as the starter after the bye-week.
For the sake of this column though, I’m going to say Johns is who Virginia is sticking with, simply based on his performances in the fourth quarter against BYU and throughout the last two weeks. On the year, he’s thrown for 687 yards on a 58.8 percent completion percentage. The sophomore has seven touchdowns to five interceptions. Not great, but not bad — and he has gotten the job done with a 2-0 record as a starter.
Defensive line and linebackers
In a one-word summary: terrifying.
This front seven is the real deal, absolutely terrorizing every opponent Virginia has faced. Led by senior middle linebacker Henry Coley with six, the unit has 23 sacks. To put this in layman’s terms: you don’t have time to throw the ball against the Cavaliers.
Not only do they get after the passer, but they can stop the run as well. The most yards Virginia has given up to an opposing team on the ground this year is 145, and that was mostly because BYU’s quarterback, Taysom Hill, is annoyingly athletic. Hill and the Cougars were also responsible for two of the season-total five rushing touchdowns this unit has given up through SIX games.
Secondary
If I have to pick a weak spot on the defense, which I don’t particularly want to (see: terrifying), it has to be the secondary. They have given up nearly 1,500 yards passing, about 250 yards per game up to this point. But Virginia has only allowed seven touchdowns through the air, seemingly employing a bend-but-don’t-break strategy.
There is hope for this group, though — it could not ask for a better leader. Senior Anthony Harris is one of the nation’s best safeties. Harris is on too many Preseason Player of the Year watch lists to count, and I have no doubt he has taken freshman standout Quin Blanding and the rest of the DB’s under his wing. The Cavaliers are in good hands in this area, and seem fully capable of improving as the season progresses.
Special Teams
They’ve given up one touchdown on a kickoff coverage breakdown against BYU, which is…OK. Also, the Cavaliers have only allowed one punt to be sort-of blocked kick. The star of this group is obviously junior placekicker Ian Frye, who crushes the ball and is currently 12/13 on field goals for the year. So, yeah — keep it up specialists.
Closing Remarks
If the team works together and summons what is best in it, feet firmly planted in the first six games and eyes cast toward the next six, I believe a trip to the ACC Championship game is in its reach (NEWSFLASH: the Cavaliers are tied for first in the Coastal Division.)
May the college football gods bless the Virginia Cavaliers.
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