2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team

2017 Virginia Cavaliers football

Military Bowl, L 7–49 vs. Navy
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Record	6–7 (3–5 ACC)
Head coach	Bronco Mendenhall (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Robert Anae (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple^[1]
Defensive coordinator	Nick Howell (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Scott Stadium

2017 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 4 Clemson xy$^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 23 NC State	6	–	2	9	–	4
Wake Forest	4	–	4	8	–	5
Louisville	4	–	4	8	–	5
Boston College	4	–	4	7	–	6
Florida State	3	–	5	7	–	6
Syracuse	2	–	6	4	–	8
Coastal Division
No. 13 Miami (FL) xy	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 24 Virginia Tech	5	–	3	9	–	4
Georgia Tech	4	–	4	5	–	6
Virginia	3	–	5	6	–	7
Pittsburgh	3	–	5	5	–	7
Duke	3	–	5	7	–	6
North Carolina	1	–	7	3	–	9
Championship: Clemson 38, Miami 3
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by second-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at Scott Stadium. They competed as members of the Coastal Division in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they lost to Navy.

Roster

2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
C	`72`	Tyler Fannin	Fr
C	`77`	Jake Fieler	Jr
FB	`27`	Jamari Peacock	Fr
FB	`49`	Alec Shifflett	Sr
FB	`85`	Andrew Yavinsky	Fr
HB	`4`	Olamide Zaccheaus	Jr
G	`65`	Ben Knutson	RFr
G	`70`	Steven Moss	Jr
G	`71`	Jack McDonald	Sr
G	`74`	John Montelus	Sr
G	`78`	R.J. Proctor	So
OL		Ryan Swoboda	Fr
OL		Gerrik Vollmer	Fr
OT	`54`	Ryan Nelson	Fr
OT	`55`	Brandon Pertile	Sr
OT	`64`	Ben Trent	RFr
OT	`67`	Jack English	Sr
OT	`69`	Chris Glaser	Fr
OT	`75`	Osiris Crutchfield	RFr
OT	`79`	Dillon Reinkensmeyer	RFr
OT		Ryan Bischoff	So
QB	`6`	Kurt Benkert	Sr
QB, LS	`11`	Joe Spaziani	Jr
QB, WR	`15`	De'Vante Cross	RFr
QB	`36`	Lindell Stone	Fr
QB		Tristan Hillerich	Fr
QB		T.J. Kitts	Fr
QB		Matthew Merrick	So
RB	`88`	Justin Zollar	So
TB	`1`	Jordan Ellis	Jr
TB	`22`	Daniel Hamm	Sr
TB	`25`	Lamont Atkins	Fr
TB	`26`	PK Kier	Fr
TB	`31`	Chris Sharp	So
TE	`16`	Richard Burney	So
TE	`44`	Tanner Cowley	So
TE	`46`	Evan Butts	Jr
WR	`2`	Joe Reed	So
WR	`5`	Doni Dowling	Sr
WR	`8`	Hasise Dubois	So
WR	`14`	Andre Levrone	Sr
WR	`18`	Ben Hogg	Jr
WR	`19`	Chuck Davis	RFr
WR	`23`	Warren Craft	So
WR	`80`	Shawn Smith	Fr
WR	`82`	Braedon Urie	Jr
WR	`84`	Terrell Jana	Fr
WR	`86`	Ross Gardner	Jr
WR		Cole Blackman	So
WR		Ethan Blundin	RFr
WR		Shane Eilers	Fr
WR		Hayden Mitchell	Fr
WR		Darnell Pratt	Fr
WR		Davion Zeno	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`10`	Kirk Garner	Sr
CB	`20`	Nick Grant	RFr
CB	`34`	Bryce Hall	So
CB	`41`	Germane Crowell	Fr
CB		Riah Burton	Fr
CB		Darious Latimore	Jr
CB		Tim Harris	Sr
DB	`33`	Darrius Bratton	Fr
DB		Donovan Rolle	Fr
DE	`9`	Andrew Brown	Sr
DE	`90`	Steven Wright	So
DE	`93`	Christian Baumgardner	RFr
DE		Christian Brooks	RFr
DL	`91`	Mandy Alonso	Fr
DL		Isaac Buell	Fr
DL		Tommy Christ	Fr
DL		Colin Dixon	Fr
DL	`98`	John Kirven	Fr
DT	`57`	James Trucilla	So
DT	`58`	Eli Hanback	So
DT	`99`	Juwan Moye	So
FS	`3`	Quin Blanding	Sr
FS	`28`	Brenton Nelson	RFr
FS	`29`	Joey Blount	Fr
ILB	`30`	Dominic Sheppard	So
ILB	`37`	Jordan Mack	So
ILB	`40`	C.J. Stalker	Jr
ILB	`42`	Jahvoni Simmons	So
ILB	`45`	Reed Kellam	So
ILB	`53`	Micah Kiser	Sr
ILB		Mikey McDonald	Jr
ILB		Christian Pluchino	Fr
ILB		Robert Snyder	RFr
LB	`33`	Zane Zandier	Fr
LB	`38`	Charles Snowden	Fr
LB	`43`	Elliott Brown	Fr
LB	`56`	Matt Gahm	Fr
OLB	`13`	Chris Peace	Jr
OLB	`17`	Malcolm Cook	Jr
OLB, FS	`39`	Chris Moore	So
OLB		Dre Bryant	RFr
OLB		Gladimir Paul	So
OLB		Harrison Turlington	Fr
SS	`21`	Juan Thornhill	Jr
SS		CJ Epps	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`89`	Brian Delaney	Fr
K	`95`	A.J. Mejia	Fr
P	`47`	Lester Coleman	Jr
PK, P	`81`	Nash Griffin	RFr
PK	`87`	Andrew King	Jr

Head coach

Bronco Mendenhall (Oregon State)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Robert Anae (BYU)
Offensive coordinator, inside receivers
Marques Hagans (Virginia)
Wide receivers
Mark Atuaia (BYU)
Running backs
Garett Tujague (BYU)
Offensive line
Jason Beck (BYU)
Quarterbacks
Vic So'oto (BYU)
Assistant head coach, defensive line
Nick Howell (Weber State)
Defensive coordinator, secondary
Kelly Poppinga (BYU)
Special teams coordinator, outside linebackers
Shane Hunter (BYU)
Inside linebackers
Patrick Hickman (BYU)
Director of football operations
Justin Anderson (BYU)
Director of player personnel
Frank Wintrich (BYU)
Director of football training & player development

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2017-09-09

Coaching changes

On June 21, 2017 Vic So'oto was hired as defensive line coach.^[2] So'oto replaces Ruffin McNeill who joined the University of Oklahoma coaching staff.

Depth chart

Defense

^[1]

FS
Quin Blanding
Joey Blount
⋅

WLB	BLB	MLB	SLB
Chris Peace	Jordan Mack	Micah Kiser	Chris Moore
Elliot Brown	C.J. Stalker	Zane Zandier	Malcolm Cook
⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅

SABRE
Brenton Nelson
Nick Grant
⋅

CB
Juan Thornhill
De'Vante Cross
⋅

DE	NT	DE
Juwan Moye	Eli Hanback	Andrew Brown
Steven Wright	James Trucilla	Christian Baumgardner
⋅	⋅	⋅

CB
Bryce Hall
Darrius Bratton
⋅

Offense

^[1]

WR (X)
Andrew Levrone
Terrell Jana
⋅

WR (Z)
Doni Dowling
De'Vante Cross
⋅

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Jack English	John Montelus	Dillon Reinkensmeyer	Jake Fieler	Brandon Pertile
Ryan Nelson	Ben Knutson	Jake Fieler	RJ Proctor	Chris Glaser
Osiris Crutchfield	⋅	Tyler Fannin	Jack McDonald	⋅

TE
Evan Butts
Richard Burney
Tanner Cowley

WR (Y)
Joe Reed
Hasise Dubois
⋅

QB
Kurt Benkert
Lindell Stone
⋅

Key reserves
WR (H) Olamide Zaccheaus
BB Jordan Ellis
BB Jamari Peacock
KO Brian Delaney
KO Andrew King

RB
Daniel Hamm
Jordan Ellis
Chris Sharp

Special teams
PK A.J. Mejia
PK Andrew King
P Lester Coleman
KR Daniel Hamm KR Joe Reed
PR Daniel Hamm PR Chuck Davis PR Juan Thornhill
LS Joe Spaziani LS Richard Burney
H Nash Griffin H Lester Coleman

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	3:30 p.m.	William & Mary*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCN Extra	W 28–10	38,828
September 9	3:30 p.m.	Indiana*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPNU	L 17–34	38,993
September 16	12:00 p.m.	UConn*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN2	W 38–18	33,056
September 22	8:00 p.m.	at Boise State*	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 42–23	33,947
October 7	12:20 p.m.	Duke	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCN	W 28–21	38,638
October 14	3:30 p.m.	at North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 20–14	50,000
October 21	12:30 p.m.	Boston College	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCRSN	L 10–41	39,216
October 28	12:30 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCRSN	L 14–31	30,889
November 4	3:00 p.m.	Georgia Tech	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCRSN	W 40–36	38,448
November 11	3:30 p.m.	at Louisville	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	ESPNU	L 21–38	46,787
November 18	12:00 p.m.	at No. 2 Miami (FL)	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ABC	L 28–44	63,415
November 24	8:00 p.m.	No. 24 Virginia Tech	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ESPN	L 0–10	48,609
December 28	1:30 p.m.	at Navy*	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Military Bowl)	ESPN	L 7–49	35,921
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Source:^[3]

Game summaries

William & Mary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tribe	0	0	3	7	10
Cavaliers	7	7	7	7	28

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hoosiers	0	17	10	7	34
Cavaliers	0	3	7	7	17

UConn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	0	6	12	18
Cavaliers	7	17	7	7	38

At Boise State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	7	14	14	7	42
Broncos	7	7	0	9	23

The Cavaliers came in as thirteen point underdogs against the Broncos and quickly went down 7–0 within the first three minutes. After this shaky start, the Cavaliers took a 21–14 lead into halftime led by success in the passing game on offense. To start the second half, the Cavaliers took just 3 plays to score, stretching the lead to 28–14. Virginia pressed its advantage to 42–14 before Boise State made it 42–23 on a late safety and touchdown. The win has been hailed as Virginia's "most impressive win" so far under Coach Mendenhall.^[4]

Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Devils	7	7	0	7	21
Cavaliers	7	7	7	7	28

At North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	0	10	7	3	20
Tar Heels	0	0	14	0	14

Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	17	7	10	7	41
Cavaliers	0	7	0	3	10

At Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	0	7	0	7	14
Panthers	7	14	7	3	31

Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Yellow Jackets	7	7	14	8	36
Cavaliers	3	10	15	12	40

At Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	7	7	0	7	21
Cardinals	7	10	14	7	38

At Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	14	7	7	0	28
No. 2 Hurricanes	7	7	17	13	44

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Hokies	0	3	7	0	10
Cavaliers	0	0	0	0	0

At Navy (Military Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	7	0	0	0	7
Midshipmen	14	14	14	7	49

2018 NFL draft

Player	Team	Round	Pick #	Position
Micah Kiser	Los Angeles Rams	5th	147	LB
Andrew Brown	Cincinnati Bengals	5th	158	DE

References

"DEPTH CHART - NORTH CAROLINA GAME" (PDF) (Press release). Virginia Cavaliers. October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
"Mendenhall Elevates Vic So'oto to Defensive Line Coach". Virginia Cavaliers. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
2017 Virginia Cavaliers football schedule. FBSchedules.com. Accessed April 15, 2017.
Kragthorpe, Kurt (September 24, 2017). "Ex-BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall's Boise breakthrough is a sign of how far Virginia has come in his second season". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 25, 2017.