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CavsCorner Podcast: Episode 524 ("Boy Do I Regret That")

On Episode 524 of the CavsCorner Podcast (“Boy Do I Regret That”), Kyle Matous and Macon Gunter, co-host of the Green Light with Chris Long podcast, join the program to talk UVa football, other things we’re excited about, and heckling a future pro baseball player.

Site: https://virginia.rivals.com/news/cavscorner-podcast-episode-524

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Fall Camp Practice Notes 8/14

Good Afternoon-I'm on my intermission between open practice and our player/coach interviews at the top of the hour, so here are my notes from today's media availability:

  • The biggest news: Chico Bennett was in a knee brace and on crutches. I'm not diagnosing anything, and we'll hear from Tony Elliott at 6pm, but it seems like something that will keep him out a while. He was in street clothes
  • Other players in yellow jerseys today, some participating a bit and others not at all: McKale Boley, Jimmy Christ, Malik Washington, Kobe Pace, Cody Brown, Antonio Clary, TeKai Kirby, Will Simpkins, Davis Lane, Donte Hawthorne, Noah Josey, Hayden Rollison, Miles Greene
    • As always, this isn't a comprehensive list as guys will rotate in and out of yellow and we can't see everyone spread across three fields. It is also worth keeping in mind that a guy being in yellow isn't the end of the world. It happens all the time and is usually precautionary.
  • Antonio Clary had a boot on last week, and while he was still in yellow today, he had no boot and was moving around pretty good.
  • Tayvonn Kyle was in a green penny, but was running around and seemed okay. He was in yellow on Saturday.
  • It was a crowded practice today, with ACC Network in attendance, as well as a bunch of pro scouts and some other VIPs. NFL teams represented today included the Vikings, Jaguars, Lions, Steelers and Eagles. Hall-of-Fame DB Darrell Green was also in attendance, along with his son Jared who played at UVa.
  • In today's practice we saw more special teams focus, with some field goals from Bettridge, Bruout and Ganyard. All of the ones I saw went through the uprights and looked good. Holder Jared Rayman and Bettridge appear to have worked on a celebration for made field goals, as well.
  • There were also some gunner drills, and kick return work. I saw Mike Hollins, Suderian Harrison, Demick Starling, Jaden Gibson and others working on returns.
  • Also in the return group was Delaney Crawford, who was no longer in the orange QB jersey. Later, he was working with the receivers, so perhaps he has made the switch to WR. It wouldn't come as a huge surprise, as he seemed to be behind walk-on Grady Brosterhaus in the QB pecking order.
  • For the last few minutes of open practice, we got to see a drill we saw last fall camp, where a RB takes a handoff, and there are blocks between cones at three levels (OL vs DL, WR/TE/RB vs LB, WR vs DB). It's a fun drill, as you get to see multiple 1-on-1s and it's always very competitive. Perris Jones made his way through the drill unscathed the most of the RBs, but Mike Hollins and Jack Griese did as well, among others.
    • There were three reps that stood out. One one, Malachi Fields drove freshman DB Caleb Hardy completely out of the play, drawing cheers from his teammates on offense. WR Coach Adam Mims told Fields to "put his ass in the dirt" next time.
    • On another rep, freshman receiver Jaden Gibson did just that to Malcolm Greene, which led to a light scuffle between the two as they went to the ground around a bunch of teammates. Gibson and Greene did the rep again, and while it was competitive, it seemed like Gibson won again.
    • Ben Smiley dominated one rep, pushing aside his blocker (Blake Steen, I believe), and stood up the running back at the line of scrimmage.
That's it for today's notes. We have two more open practices left, this Thursday and the final one next Monday.

BILLY KEMP

I don't normally worry or talk about kids who have left the program, but I really liked Billy and was very sorry to see him go.
Anyways, he is making a lot of noise in Lincoln, and was voted by the coaches as the Hardest Working Player on the team. The media and fans in Lincoln are expecting to see a lot from him.
I for one, am rooting for him to have a big year!!

Fall Camp Notes August 12th

We got a little bit of access to UVa's first scrimmage of the fall, earlier today at Scott Stadium. I'll break down what I saw in the scrimmage below.

-There were a group of players that were either in yellow and not participating but in pads, and others not in pads, but also not participating. Most of those players ran steps in the stadium or did other workouts, so I think most of the holdouts are precautionary. The group included: Tayvonn Kyle, McKale Boley, Jason Hammond, Cody Brown, Kobe Pace, Donte Hawthorne, Davis Lane, TeKai Kirby, KJ Bratton, Andy Lutes, Hayden Rollison. There were others for sure, but it's hard to get numbers from 100 yards away when they're covered up by the yellow penny. I also believe I saw Jimmy Christ over there, but I'm not 100% sure.

-Before the scrimmage, UVa went through the typical stretching stuff, and then did some field goal work. Most or all of the kicks went through from Bettridge, Bruout and Ganyard.

-UVa football alums were allowed to come by and watch practice, and I saw some player families as well. Notable folks I saw included Shawn Moore and Quin Blanding, but there were many others.

-There were rotations all over the place in the short scrimmage session we saw, so it's hard to extrapolate anything we saw into a two-deep.
-On the 1st team's second drive, the offensive line out there (left to right) was: Nnanna, Josey, Furnish, Stevens, Steen
-On defense, UVa had Elijah Gaines at one of the cornerback spots, and Sam Westfall on the other side. Sanker and Aidan Ryan were in at safety, and the linebackers were Ahern and James Jackson.
-Freshman Keandre Walker (now listed as Dre Walker on the roster), was one of the second-team CBs. He certainly looks the part. Dave Herard was out there for the 2nd team as well, and got after Colandrea on a play action pass.

Scrimmage Breakdown

First Series (#1 offense vs #1 defense)
-Handoff up the middle for no gain (believe it was Mike Hollins)
-Muskett's pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Jonas Sanker (It looked like a WR fell down or ran the wrong route or something, but it happened very fast.)

Second Series (#2 offense vs #2 defense)
-Jet sweep/Pop pass from Colandrea to Suderian Harrison for a gain of 10 or so.
-Play action dump off from Colandrea to Karson Gay for a short gain
-Long Jack Griese touchdown run, virtually untouched. Big hole created by the offensive line

Third Series (#1 offense vs #1 defense)
-Handoff to Hollins for a short gain.
-Comeback route to Fields who was open for what would have been a medium gain, but Fields slipped and fell and the pass fell incomplete
-Delay of Game/Timeout (Tony Elliott called out the play clock with about 6 seconds left, but they had to call timeout or took the delay, wasn't clear without an announcement.
-Muskett complete to Fields for about 10

That was all we got to see in the period open to the media. It's worth remembering that we can't take anything we see in these scrimmages and think it's going to translate to the season, good or bad. Last year Brad and I got to see four series, and all four resulted in touchdowns for the offense. As we know, that success didn't really translate to the season at all.

Vote if you like - Kate Douglass finalist for Sullivan Award...

Douglass advanced to the finalist pool from an original nomination list of around 30, I think.
The Sullivan Award is presented by the AAU to the top collegiate or Olympic athlete each year.
She is a finalist along with Caitlin Clark (Iowa hoops), Zach Edey (Purdue hoops), Dylan Crews (LSU baseball), and a couple others.

If you're interested, you can vote once every day...
Sullivan Award finalist voting

CavsCorner Podcast: Episode 523 ("No Offense to What You Said")

On Episode 523 of the CavsCorner Podcast (“No Offense to What You Said”), we discuss the ACC’s expansion plans and their maddening nature before we focus on what UVa and others will face in league play this fall.

Site: https://virginia.rivals.com/news/cavscorner-podcast-episode-523

: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cavscorner-podcast/id1072370337?i=1000624001775

Column: Realignment threatens to change the experience for so many

Column: Conference realignment threatens to fundamentally change the college sports experience for so many. We may not have the power to stop it but that doesn’t mean we’re powerless.

Quick Fall Camp Notes 8/7

Hey guys, we had a quick practice availability session today before the rain. Not a whole lot to report, as we saw the same type of stuff we saw last week; individual work with position groups.

As far as injury notes:
-Antonio Clary was in a yellow jersey and a boot. He was moving around okay, but clearly not participating today.
-Other players on the side, not participating: JR Wilson, Dak Twitty, Jaden Gibson, Titus Ivy, Davis Lane, Devon Sherwood. All of the guys were moving around find, particularly Wilson, who I paid close attention to as he's expected to play a lot this fall.

We'll be back at practice on Thursday, and on Saturday morning, we'll get to see a little bit of a scrimmage at Scott Stadium.

Virginia baseball adds five transfers

I have been able to find five transfers who will be coming to Virginia this fall, and they all fill positions of need. Owen Coady is a grad transfer from Penn; he is a LHP with a career 2.83 ERA and 12-4 record and was named to the Ivy League second team in 2023. Joe Savino and Hayden Snelshire are RHPs. Savino is a senior coming from Elon. He had a 5-1 record with a 3.94 ERA and was a CAA Honorable Mention in 2023. Snelshire is a grad transfer from Randolph-Macon. This past season he was 8-2 with a 2.89 ERA. He recorded 107 Ks and just 18 walks and was selected in in the 17th round by Tampa. Bobby Whalen is a redshirt senior outfielder from Indiana. He has a career .277 batting average. Last, but not least, is Jacob Ference, a senior transfer catcher from Salisbury. Last season he hit .364 with 14 Home runs.
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