Virginia Football: Five Players Who Impressed at the Blue-White Game

These five Cavaliers had standout performances at the UVA football spring game on Saturday

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Apr 24, 2022 9:27 AM EDT

Saturday's Virginia football spring game presented the first opportunity for UVA fans to get a live look at Tony Elliott and the new coaching staff in action. It was also the last opportunity for the coaches to see the development and (hopefully) the improvement of their players after spring ball. Here are five players who had impressive performances at the Virginia football Blue-White Game:

RB Perris Jones

Perris Jones, Virginia Cavaliers football — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Establishing an effective run game has perhaps been the most emphasized point by Tony Elliott and UVA offensive coordinator Des Kitchings this spring. An explosive Virginia passing game can be even more lethal and effective if opposing defenses have to respect the threat of the run game, something that has not been the case for the Virginia offense for several seasons. With Ronnie Walker Jr. suffering an injury during practice this spring, there was a significant opportunity for another running back on the roster to step up into the spotlight during the spring game alongside junior Mike Hollins.

It was difficult to run the ball during the spring game for a few reasons: (1) key pieces to the offensive line from the transfer portal have yet to arrive on Grounds, leaving just eight offensive linemen on the roster, meaning that multiple linemen had to play every offensive snap for both teams, (2) Brennan Armstrong, who normally poses a very dangerous threat as a runner, was neutralized because the plays were blown dead as soon as he kept the ball on any running plays to make sure he didn't get hit. With that in mind, it came as no surprise that even with both teams attempting to run the ball frequently, neither team found much success on the ground in the first half. No ball carrier had a rush of more than five yards in the first half. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Perris Jones found a hole in the right side and burst through it for a 75-yard touchdown and juking multiple defenders along the way.

Jones stole the show on Saturday, amassing 129 yards on nine carries and showing tremendous explosiveness out of the backfield. The 5'8", 180-pound senior back certainly turned some heads at the spring game and could play a key role as Virginia looks to establish the ground game in year 1 of the Tony Elliott era.

Sophomore Amaad Foston also had a nice afternoon out of the backfield, recording the game's first touchdown and totaling 37 yards on 14 carries for the Blue team.

S Chayce Chalmers

Chayce Chalmers, Virginia Cavaliers football — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Chayce Chalmers led all players with ten total tackles. The junior safety made several notable stops, many of which were tackles that prevented big plays, which has been the Achilles heel of the UVA defense in the last couple of seasons. Both defenses largely kept Brennan Armstrong away from the big plays throughout the entire first half, an impressive feat against a quarterback who led the nation in big-time throws last season. Chalmers will be a crucial factor in the Virginia secondary as the UVA defense tries to take a big step in the right direction this season under John Rudzinski.

TEs Grant Misch and Sackett Wood

Grant Misch, Virginia Cavaliers football — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

For all of the excitement surrounding the plethora of weapons Brennan Armstrong has returning in the passing game this season, that hype has specifically excluded the tight ends. In each of the last two seasons, Virginia brought in a talented tight end through the transfer portal who ended up being a difference-maker in the offense - Tony Poljan in 2020 and Jelani Woods in 2021. With Woods declaring for the NFL Draft, Tony Elliott tried to follow that trend and went after Lafayette tight end Steven Stilianos, one of the most sought-after targets in the transfer portal. Stilianos visited UVA, but ultimately chose to commit to Iowa.

That left senior Grant Misch, who has been the secondary tight end through most of his time in Charlottesville, as the primary tight end this spring. Overall, the UVA passing game was somewhat lacking in explosiveness and big plays between Armstrong and his top receivers during the Blue-White Game, with the distinct exception of the tight end group. Grant Misch caught three passes for 62 yards, including back-to-back first down strikes early in the game on routes that left him wide open. Sackett Wood Jr. also had an standout performance, recording four receptions for 42 yards. Both Misch and Wood ran great routes and found soft spots in the defense, showing that they could be more than capable of collectively filling the gigantic hole left by Jelani Woods in the Virginia passing game this fall.

CB Jaylon Baker

Jaylon Baker, Virginia Cavaliers football — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

On the 75-yard touchdown run by Perris Jones to start the second half, Jones did a great in-and-out move to get safety Jaylon Baker turned around so that Jones could blow by him. It was a fantastic move, but Baker still nearly recovered to chase down Jones, arriving just a moment too late to prevent the touchdown. That play was a single blemish on what was otherwise a fantastic spring game for the fifth-year cornerback. Baker recorded five tackles and showed great ball instincts, reaction time, and coordination to get his hands on a Brennan Armstrong pass that had been tipped by Antonio Clary just a few feet in front of Baker, who corralled the ball for the first and only turnover of the game.

Bonus: Brennan Armstrong and Nick Jackson

Brennan Armstrong, Virginia Cavaliers football — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Brennan Armstrong and Nick Jackson both delivered solid performances on Saturday. They are being mentioned in the bonus category because they simply did what we expected them to do as the veteran leaders of this team. As the quarterback for both teams in the first half, Armstrong went a combined 23/42 for 212 total yards and an interception. He did not have the explosive plays that UVA fans have grown accustomed to, but he did a good job of spreading the ball around, especially to the tight ends. Nick Jackson had eight total tackles, two sacks, one tackle for loss, and a pass defended. The senior linebacker seems ready for another excellent season leading the UVA defense.

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