Cavs in midst of difficult rebuild
COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS: NO. 92 VIRGINIA
Orlando Sentinel college insider Matt Murschel ranked all 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country entering the 2017 season. The Sentinel staff takes a closer look at a new team daily, counting backward from No. 130 to our projected No. 1 team.
5 Virginia
Bronco Mendenhall (2-10, entering second season; 2-10 overall)
2-10, 1-7 in Atlantic Coast Conference, finished seventh in Coastal Division
Bronco Mendenhall’s first season at Virginia was sobering. The Cavaliers were able to win back-to-back games early in 2016, but they finished on a seven-game losing streak and lost 10 games overall.
Mendenhall told ESPN.com “it was really a first year of discovery.”
The new coach applauded his team for buying into the new culture and identity he wants to establish, but a poorly constructed roster and inconsistency plagued the Cavaliers. By the sound of it, Virginia could be in for a tough stretch until Mendenhall can overhaul the roster and get players ready to compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“The reality is, this program was probably further down than what anyone thought and will take more work than anyone wanted, and probably the time frame is a little bit longer than what anyone anticipated,” Mendenhall said. “But there will come a time when there’s enough visibility to what we’re doing and it translating to wins that will coincide with the fan support, and I’ve just framed it realistically to myself and our team.”
The Cavaliers enter the 2017 season hoping to make a greater strides in their rebuilding effort while competing in the ACC’s Coastal Division. Reid, DB Kelvin Rainey.
LB Micah Kiser, S Quin Blanding, QB Kurt Benkert, DE Andrew Brown, WR Doni Dowling, OG Jack McDonald.
Returning defenders in linebacker Micah Kiser and safety Quin Blanding bring senior leadership and playmaking ability to the Cavaliers’ defense after finishing as the top two tacklers in the ACC last season.
Also, Kurt Benkert will be the first Virginia quarterback to start in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2006, according to ESPN. He hopes to improve on finishing 10th in the ACC with 232 passing yards per game and second with 11 interceptions after a knee and shoulder injuries hindered him last season.
The most pertinent deficiency Mendenhall is dealing with during his rebuild is lack of depth.
Mendenhall said his players lacked the size and physicality needed to compete in the ACC, while his roster overall had glaring holes at some positions where fifth-year seniors were supplemented by freshman with no other players in between.
Two positions in particular lacking talent are the offensive line, which will welcome eight new players, and the secondary, which hopes to reduce its average of 8.53 yards per pass allowed last season.
Mendenhall and the Cavaliers will surely continue to experience growing pains in the second season of a complete rebuild.
While Kiser and Blanding will lead the team, and Benkert may have locked up the starting quarterback job this spring, Virginia lacks playmakers on both sides of the football to contend for the ACC Coastal Division.
The Cavaliers, however, should be able to string together more victories than it did in 2016 with a favorable schedule to start the 2017 season.