Georgia Tech and Virginia will meet Saturday at Bobby Dodd for the first 41 time, including annually since 1982. The Cavaliers are 7-3, their most wins since the 2011 season. They’ve lost four in a row at Grant Field, however.
For an insider's perspective, UVA beat writer Mike Barber offers his knowledge for AJC readers. Barber covers the Cavaliers (and Virginia Tech) for the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch. His coverage can be found here and he can be followed on Twitter here.
Q: What sort of player is Bryce Perkins and how much has he meant to Virginia?
A: Bryce Perkins has been the difference for U.Va. this season. That's not an overstatement. The Cavaliers have completely reworked their offense around his dual-threat skill set. It's the offense that Bronco Mendenhall, (offensive coordinator) Robert Anae and company ran at BYU and what they envisioned having at Virginia – but they needed a player like Perkins.
So much of the team’s confidence, especially early on, came from Perkins’s attitude and his playmaking ability. He’s gotten in trouble sometimes being overconfident about who he can run away from and has been caught for some deep sacks, but I’m nitpicking him here. He’s the engine that makes the offense go, a capable passer and dynamic runner whose best quality is his ability to extend plays without crossing the line of scrimmage, keeping opposing secondaries working in coverage for long periods of time.
He’s still most effective when Virginia can run between the tackles with Jordan Ellis. When the Cavaliers can stress defenses with traditional runs and downfield passes, it becomes much harder to spy Perkins – and that’s when he’s most dangerous.
Q: I know he's a junior-college guy, but what's the backstory on how he got to Charlottesville? Virginia doesn't seem the sort of school to be taking on juco guys much.
A: With Kurt Benkert a senior last season, U.Va. quarterback coach Jason Beck was looking for a junior college or grad transfer at quarterback. The coaches at Western Arizona Community College, where Perkins played after Arizona State, recommended him.
Beck actually showed Perkins video of Taysom Hill running their offense at BYU to sell Perkins on what kind of player he could become in their system.
A lot of people assume that strength coach Shawn Griswold, who was Perkins’s strength coach at Arizona State was the connection, but Griswold actually took the U.Va. job after Perkins had committed.
Virginia has taken more junior college transfers and grad transfers under Mendenhall, though there’s still a very high academic bar for them to clear.
Q: Micah Kiser gave Georgia Tech trouble in his time with the Cavaliers. Who does Georgia Tech needs to be mindful of in the linebacker group?
A: Kiser was a leader and a tackling machine for U.Va. Coming into the season, Jordan Mack was the guy the Cavaliers were looking to to fill that role. But a shoulder injury cost Mack a chunk of games in the middle of the season. He's back and knocked off most of the rust, so he's the most talented player in the group.
But a big key to Virginia’s success this season has been the emergence of sophomore linebackers Rob Snyder and Zane Zandier. Senior Malcolm Cook had to retire from football after his latest injury and we mentioned Mack’s shoulder injury. Snyder and Zandier came in and played well – and physically. Both are tough, rugged linebackers. They’re guys whose personalities fit the position.
Of course, those guys are all inside linebackers. Perhaps the most dynamic players at linebacker are the outside guys, senior Chris Peace and sophomore Charles Snowden. Peace is an excellent pass rusher and Snowden’s length and athleticism make him a playmaker rushing or defending out in space.
Q: What has been the feeling this season around this team in outperforming expectations by so much?
A: Virginia has far exceeded most outside expectations this season, especially mine. I thought this was a four win team that would need to pull rabbits out of hats and other more intimate orifices to have a chance to find two more victories and get bowl eligible.
But Mendenhall and his veterans use the slogan “the new standard,” as the program’s motto. That new standard is going to, and winning, bowl games every year. So the reaction from the players and coaches has been almost ho-hum. They believe in the new standard so they knew this was possible, even expected.
On the one hand, that’s the cultural shift the program needed. Virginia really expects to win even when others don’t see that coming.
On the other hand, it kind of robs them of the chance to bask in the glory of being the darkhorse success story they really are this year.
Q: How has Bronco Mendenhall recruited thus far? Can he keep this season's success going?
A: That's the most impressive part of this turnaround. Bronco and his staff are really just starting to see the benefit of their early success on the field on the recruiting trail. They took the team from two wins to six to seven and counting without a huge spike in talent.
Certainly, they’ve made some key additions on the offensive line with graduate transfers and – as we discussed – Perkins has been a difference maker this year.
They’ve played some freshmen in key spots this year, especially the defensive line. And quarterback Brennan Armstrong figures to be the first recruited quarterback to start for this staff after Perkins is out of eligibility after the 2019 season.
But for the most part, Virginia is just beginning to attract better recruits. With the facility improvements coming to the program, that will help, too.
Bronco has said he’s had a harder time landing in-state prospects than out-of-state recruits, because Virginia’s reputation in the commonwealth is based on years of losing. They’re just starting to turn that around.
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