Virginia among worst against run a year ago CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — When he arrived at Virginia, Mike London converted safeties to linebackers and linebackers to linemen. The goal was to inject the defense with athleticism. But it came with a cost as the Cavaliers sacrificed power for speed.
The result was a leaky front seven that surrendered yardage in chunks. Virginia allowed 203.7 yards rushing a game, 106th out of 120 teams in the nation, and 5.1 yards per rush, worst in the ACC.
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Opponents were so successful on the ground that Virginia faced only 304 passes, third fewest in the FBS. Even lowly Eastern Michigan (2-10) ripped off runs of 55, 53, 31, 28 and 26 yards at Scott Stadium.
“When we broke down, we broke down dramatically,” defensive coordinator Jim Reid said. “When you have a number of new players who are in positions they’ve never played before, your problems are duplicated.”
To drum home the point, Reid is showing a lowlight reel of all 67 running plays in which opponents gained 10 or more yards. As Virginia pursues a bowl berth after last year’s 4-8 season, stopping the run has become the top priority of a unit that returns nine starters, all juniors and seniors.
“We expect knowledge to be power and [to] transfer that into performance,” Reid said.
Virginia’s lack of success against the run came despite a shift from previous coach Al Groh’s 3-4 scheme to a 4-3. The new alignment should favor run defense. But the Cavaliers’ undersized line struggled with the conversion.
“It was a little bit of a learning curve,” London said. “Going into the second year of playing the scheme and a system that requires them to play one-gap, play fast and get going, we should be better. We need to be better.”
With senior Nick Jenkins (6-foot-3, 275 pounds) the heaviest returning starter, Virginia will field the second-smallest defense in the ACC, bigger only than perennial lightweight Duke. Senior Matt Conrath (6-7, 270), has prototype size for a tight end but hardly for the defensive tackle slot he fills opposite Jenkins.
The starting linebackers are small as well, none weighing more than 230. But after an offseason with strength coach Evan Marcus, who has returned to Charlottesville after four years with the Miami Dolphins, London is counting on more physicality.
“This is where the strength coach becomes the MVP,” London said. “[We] have guys who now look like college linebackers.”
One of those is LaRoy Reynolds, a safety in 2009 who showed a knack for playmaking but struggled against the run in his first season at linebacker. A shift from the strong side to the weak puts him in better position to succeed. So will 10 additional pounds to his current 230.
“I think we all understand what we need to do to turn it around and not give up so many yards and not let things go so sour like they did,” Reynolds said.
