Virginia's four-way quarterback competition dominated preseason press, but perhaps more important than the arm throwing the ball are the hands which will catch it.
"I think the better our receivers are in running their routes, the better it's going to make it for those young quarterbacks to throw where they're supposed to throw," coach Mike London said. "I think we have a handful of veteran receivers that can do that."
During the past four years at Virginia, those veteran receivers have played under two head coaches, three wide receiver coaches and four different starting quarterbacks. The Cavaliers have auditioned four more potential quarterbacks this season and have undergone more offensive overhauls than their current coach can remember. Throughout the incessant changes, however, one offensive weapon has remained constant - senior wide receiver Kris Burd.
"I don't know how many systems he's been in now, he's been around for a while," London said. "He's seen the coverages, all the things you could throw at a wide receiver, [and] his experience has been such that he's put himself in a position to be a better player this year."
Last year, Burd caught a team-high 58 passes for 799 yards and five touchdowns - and then underwent major surgery on his ailing right ankle. Burd tore ligaments on the ankle during the team's bye week in September, had reconstructive surgery Feb. 16 and only received clearance to play a month ago.
"The doctors [just] released me to play, and it just feels good to be back out there with my teammates, to be running, sweating, working," Burd said. "It's kind of like you left your family for a while and now you're back. I'm just excited to be out there."
Burd said the pain was sharpest last season while cutting laterally and changing direction, but he never considered missing time and instead assumed the role of a silent sufferer.
"Kris is a guy that doesn't like to talk about injuries," London said. "He plays through pain. He wants to be the go-to guy - he never begged out of a practice, [and] I've never seen him say anything about him not being able to continue on in a game."
Opposing defensive backs have begun to pace nervously now that Burd has said he "has a good wheel again," but the senior is not the only Virginia receiver returning from ailments. Redshirt sophomore Tim Smith also suffered an ankle injury last year and consequently missed the majority of the 2010 season. Senior captain Matt Snyder snagged 30 receptions during 2010, but hobbled around most of spring practice on crutches after spraining his knee.
"The spring was tough; nobody wants to be hurt," Snyder said. "We had a lot of guys go down and had a lot of young guys who had a lot of opportunities."
While the team's more experienced receiving corps rehabilitated injuries and coped with the void left by departed star wideout Dontrelle Inman, freshmen Dominique Terrell and Darius Jennings drew extra attention and earned their coach's admiration.
"They're dynamic with the ball in their hands and we'll be really excited to have them on the field, and it'll be something we haven't really had in a long time," wide receivers coach Shawn Moore said. "We knew when we recruited those guys that they were going to have an opportunity to play if they were as dynamic as they appeared in high school ... They really transitioned into college receivers because both were quarterbacks, and they're something to watch when they get the ball in their hands."
Now that Snyder and Burd have both declared themselves fully healthy, Terrell and Jennings are slotted at No. 2 on the depth chart. London also said Jennings will complement junior running back Perry Jones in kick returning duty, while Terrell will at least temporarily take senior Chase Minnifield's spot as punt returner.
"We'll see what happens with Dominique [Terrell]," London said. "Everybody will hold their breath on that first punt - 'Please catch it, please catch it.' If he catches it and he runs with it and does a good job, it's a great move. If he doesn't, then everybody's upset."
As Terrell and Jennings develop into premier athletes and clamor for playing time, Virginia will face the dilemma of fitting too much talent into too few spots. However, with questions already abounding at quarterback, an excess of receivers could be a good problem to have.
"The competition is great [and] having depth at the position is great, because we can run a lot of personnel groups and keep people fresh," Snyder said. "When [coach is] looking at us at halftime, he's not looking at a bunch of guys that look like they just ran a marathon, [he's] looking at guys who look like they're ready to start another game. I think we have some great guys that are going to be able to contribute and some older guys that are going to be able to do well as well"
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