New Faces Step Up for Virginia in Encouraging Showing Against UNC
When the news broke less than an hour before kickoff that Virginia would be without not just one, but four of its starters at the offensive skill positions for Saturday's game against North Carolina, the collective reaction from those who follow UVA football was this: how could a Cavalier offense that has struggled all season possibly hope to keep up with the ACC's No. 1 offense without four of their top playmakers?
It had been reported earlier in the week that starting running back Perris Jones would miss the game with an injury. But it wasn't until the Cavaliers took the field for warm-ups - with the noticeable absences of Keytaon Thompson, Dontayvion Wicks, and Lavel Davis Jr. - that the rumors began to circulate that UVA would be without its three most explosive receiving targets.
Indeed, Thompson, Wicks, and Davis were all inactive on Saturday with various, but not long-term injuries according to head coach Tony Elliott. As is the case with many teams that are faced with injury challenges, Elliott preached a "next man up" mentality to his team coming into the UNC game.
Those "next" guys stepped up and in a big way as the Cavaliers delivered perhaps their best offensive performance of the season.
Virginia amassed 418 yards of total offense, the team's most offensive yardage output since week 3 against Old Dominion. UVA rushed for 186 yards, which was also the most since the ODU game. But most importantly, the Cavaliers punctuated those drives with points, scoring touchdowns on all four of their trips to the red zone to total 28 points, UVA's first time scoring over 20 points against an FBS opponent this season.
Without his two tallest receiving targets in Lavel Davis Jr. and Keytaon Thompson, Brennan Armstrong looked to little-used tight end Sackett Wood Jr. for some big plays in the passing game. Coming into Saturday, Wood had caught only five passes all season long. Against North Carolina, Armstrong targeted Wood eight times and Wood caught six of those passes for 94 yards. That included a 33-yard catch-and-run and a key 3rd down reception to move the chains in the red zone. Both of those catches set up UVA touchdowns one play later.
“When we're missing our three biggest playmakers, we know we’ve got to come together as a group and really work to score," Wood said after the game. "We haven't been doing that well in the past. So, it was good to see that today by this group. Once we get those guys back, we’ll be able to get better.”
True freshman Sean Wilson was also targeted by Armstrong eight times. Wilson made his first-career catch in the game and finished with five receptions for 61 yards.
Junior Demick Starling had the toughest draw as he was guarded by UNC's best lockdown corner Storm Duck for most of the game. Armstrong targeted Starling six times but they connected on only one completion. That one play was a big one, though, as Armstrong hit Starling in stride down the right sideline for a 40-yard pickup. That play led to Virginia's late touchdown to close the gap to three points and kept them in the game.
With Perris Jones out, Mike Hollins moved up and got most of the carries, rushing 16 times for 75 yards. But the feel-good story of the day was fifth-year Ronnie Walker Jr., who has been slowly working back from a foot fracture he suffered back in the spring that held him out of offseason workouts, fall camp, and most of the first half of the season. He had been cleared and getting some reps on special teams over the past couple of weeks, but finally got a chance to have the ball in his hands on Saturday and he made the most of it. Walker rushed six times for 30 yards and scored a touchdown for the first time since October 16th, 2021.
"It felt great to be back out there," Walker said after the game. "We had that mentality to do this as a team. And you can see in the first half we connected with one another in the running game and in the passing game. It was a reciprocal relationship.”
Despite the loss, Tony Elliott was pleased with the way his team responded to the challenge of missing a few key players.
"We found out on Thursday that we were going to be down the ‘Big Three’, and that they’re not going to be able to play... So we knew we weren't going to be at full strength, but they didn't flinch," Elliott said. "They came out with the mindset that they were going to play to win and in the first half, that's what you saw. That's a positive that you could show them what they're capable of when you know, you just show up and quit worrying and just play free, play for each other."
Elliott and the Cavaliers expect to have Keytaon Thompson back this week and hope to see the return of Lavel Davis Jr. and Dontayvion Wicks before long as well. But in the meantime, Virginia can have confidence in the capabilities of the next men up.
See more Virginia football news and content: Virginia Football on Sports Illustrated
See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated
To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:
Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN
