One-on-one with Virginia Cavaliers Kicker Will Bettridge

UVA On SI checked in with Will Bettridge to discuss the upcoming season and his Virginia career. Here is the June 18 interview, edited for length and clarity:

Xander Tilock: You are 16 points away from Virginia's all-time scoring record. What does that mean to you?

Will Bettridge: It means a lot. I think it's one of those things [where] it has come to fruition over years. It's not something I've been chasing, but it's been something that's been there, being able to play for a fifth consecutive season and being able to kick for five years in a row. Ultimately, it's bigger than that. I think that'll be a good record to have. I think that's something I could look back at my college career to be proud of, but we're going for some bigger things this year. As you said, 16 points [away]. I think hopefully that'll be a record that's in the rear view mirror, week two or three, and then I don't really have to kind of think about it past that.

XT: There's this quote from Ted Lasso, where he says that a good soccer player should be a goldfish, where if there's a mistake that happens, they quickly flush it out. Apparently, the goldfish has a short memory. Does that resonate with you in terms of kicking?

WB: Yeah, it has to. I think it's something that I kind of live by at goldfish [idea], same thing — I kind of just say ‘next kick mentality.’ [Regardless] if you make a kick or miss a kick, the next one is the most important one, so you can make a big kick, but as soon as you hit the sideline, it’s over and it doesn't really matter anymore.

I think early on in my career I would get down on a miss and I would get too high off a make, but that's something that you learn with experience, and now I'm at a good spot in my career where I understand that, yeah, misses suck, but you got to get over them quick, because the worst thing you want to do is let a miss hurt you twice…I kind of have to do what I do and just let each kick be a completely new one and not not have any kick go with other,[s]. So [do not let] a kick hurt you twice, have the next kick mentality, whether you make or miss, you got to move on.

XT: So I bring up the goldfish concept, because I just spoke with Matt Ganyard, and he used that to describe what makes you a great kicker. What was it like playing with him? How did you welcome him to the team? Do you still keep in touch? What's that relationship like?

WB: Matt was awesome. We still talk all the time, [I] shoot him a text here and there, just seeing how he's doing. He'll shoot me a bunch of texts asking about a bunch of stuff. It's great to have that relationship. He brought a lot of perspective on life in general towards me. I didn't really know much [at 19 years old], and he came in, really put it into real life how grateful you have to be to be in this position, and then how much you have to understand that kicking in college and playing college football is only a small part of your life, and you're much bigger than that, and obviously he had a very different experience in his life than everyone else has had but [I] was very grateful to have him kind of in my ear and in my corner as I grew as a man but also but also a player.

XT: Back to you — you're here for year five. How have you evolved as a leader, and how would you describe your leadership style?

WB: I think as a kicker you have a unique style of leadership, because people wouldn't really put yourself in a vocal role. You're not out there [getting hit] every single day, but you got to be vocal in terms of special teams — being able to be a leader and be a guy that people look up to as a guy who's been here for five years, and done things the right way. Especially now with the portal, a bunch of new guys have different experiences, and being one of the guys who has been here and has seen the [evolution] of UVA football through and through so far to this point [is valuable].

I think that just gives me just another leadership role that people can look up to, as a guy who's seen this turnaround and seen this process and understands what it takes and has been a part of the winningest team in history, but has also been on the side of not making a bowl game. I understand what it takes to be successful and doing things at a high level, but also just being a good, genuine person. I don't really care about your misses on the field, or good plays you make, or bad plays you make. [I want to be] a person that just can be trusted to be everyone's friend, and for people to understand where I'm coming from all the time.

XT: Someone who's been there with you for a good while now is Daniel Sparks. What's that relationship like?

WB: It’s great. I mean, he's a really good buddy of mine. It's been great to see him grow as well for the last five years. I came in as a first year thinking he was old, and now I'm here, and he's still here. It's wild — but no, he's awesome to have around. I mean, talk about experience. He's a guy that anyone on the team can go to, and he's vocal, and he's a leader. Being able to have that relationship with him has been really special. I was just at his wedding a few weeks ago, so to see him grow up and see his career through as well, right next to mine, that has been special.

XT: Virginia only lost three times last year. All three of those teams are on the schedule this year. Are you looking forward to any of those ACC games in particular?

WB: I think each game holds value to itself. Obviously, you can look at the schedule and point out Duke, we played last year, Virginia Tech as being a rival, but something that makes this team so special is we always keep the blinders on. Focusing on what's right in front of us made us successful this past season. Early on in my career here, I feel like we were looking ahead, and I feel like now, in the last year or so, we've been very dialed in. NC State is week one. I don't care that we're playing Duke, Florida State [or] Virginia Tech. We've got NC State now, and then we'll work from there. And I think that's a big thing that we've really grown on as a team — [having] those blinders on.

We say a lot, just focus on what's right in front of you and what you can control. You can't control a week eight game before the season starts right now in week one. Obviously looking forward to those games, but I think most important right now is just taking care of week one, and week one has a few goals for us — win the opener and win the win the conference opener, and I think that's two team goals that we can get right out of the way, right there, week one.

XT: l anything else you'd like to share with the readers, or bring up?

WB: Show out and show love, and just understand that we're all working, and everyone's got their thing that they're working on. We're moving in silence, and everyone's locked in and focused. [We] hope to see everyone at Scott [Stadium] in the fall. We got seven home games, so that'll be fun to get everyone out there. Just excited for the year, and excited to see what we can do.

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