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AUGUST 2021 15 2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW that football is a physical game and injuries can happen. In a secondary, wow, does that affect outcome." Virginia has five defensive backs on the field on most plays. To bolster a group that included such veterans as Blount, Cross, Grant, third-years Antonio Clary and Coen King, and fourth-year Darrius Bratton, the Cavaliers added two graduate transfers. Anthony Johnson, a cornerback from Lou- isville, enrolled at UVA midyear and went through spring practice. Josh Hayes, a cor- nerback who helped North Dakota State win three FCS titles, enrolled at Virginia in June. "We're looking to improve our play in the secondary, improve our play at corner and to improve our play, quite frankly, in managing points and yards through the air," Mendenhall said. The coach's policy regarding graduate transfers is straightforward. "If I don't think they can start, I won't bring them [in]," he said. Others pushing for playing time in the secondary will include redshirt first-years Elijah Gaines, Dave Herard and Donovan Johnson; second-years Fentrell Cypress II and Tenyeh Dixon; and fourth-year Joe Comer, another transfer from Louisville, plus several true first-years. On the first two levels of UVA's defense, there are fewer questions. The Hoos gener- ally play with three linemen, and that unit includes Alonso, Atariwa, Faumui and sec- ond-year Jahmeer Carter, who impressed as a rookie in 2020. Also in the mix will be such underclassmen as second-years Ben Smiley III and Nusi Malani, and redshirt first-year Olasunkonmi Agunloye. Linebacker should be one of Virginia's strengths. In the middle is third-year Nick Jackson, who led the Cavaliers with 105 tackles last season and ranks among the ACC's best at his position. Another candi- date for postseason honors is fourth-year Noah Taylor, an exceptional athlete who's made 19 career starts at outside linebacker. Taylor returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown against Louisville, and he finished last season with 8.5 tackles for loss, the second-most of anyone on the team. Candidates to start at the other outside spot include Brown, and second-years Hunter Stewart and D'Sean Perry. Of the Cavaliers' "super seniors" on de- fense, only Atariwa has not been in the pro- gram for several years. Cross and Grant have been enrolled at UVA since 2016, Menden- hall's first season in Charlottesville, while Brown, Alonso and Blount arrived a year later. The veterans, Blount said, are "trying to set up the next generation at UVA. Trying to leave this place better than we found it together." SPECIAL TEAMS This is the Cavaliers' most unsettled phase of the game. Gone are kicker Brian Delaney and punter Nash Griffin, each of whom started for multiple seasons. "We think we have depth [in the kicking game]; we think we have capability," Men- denhall said. "What we don't have is tremen- dous experience, and that does matter. So we'll try to catch that up as fast as possible." In 2020, second-year Justin Duenkel han- dled kickoffs for the Hoos, and his role may grow this season. During spring ball, Duen- kel competed against third-year Hunter Pearson on field goals and extra points, and emerged as the leader in those areas. "I'm comfortable right now with Justin Duenkel," Mendenhall said. "The way that he was kicking off, certainly, but also now his ability to kick field goals and PATs. "The competition will go on in the fall, but I was really impressed with Justin in the spring." Second-year Brendan Farrell did almost all of the punting in the spring, and he also impressed. "He was better than I expected, farther along than I thought he would have been," Mendenhall said. It's not a given, though, that Farrell will be the No. 1 punter. He'll have to beat out Jacob Finn for the starting job. A graduate transfer from Florida, where he punted 26 times last season, Finn joined the Cavaliers after the 2020-21 school year. With three veteran long snappers, in fourth-year Danny Caracciolo, third-year Tucker Finkelston and second-year Lee Dud- ley, UVA has a wealth of options at that spot. There's not as much certainty when the Cavaliers are the ones fielding the kicks. Among ACC teams, Virginia ranked fourth in kickoff returns last season, averaging 23.2 yards per runback, but that unit will look dif- ferent this fall, too. The Hoos must replace their top two return specialists from 2020: Tavares Kelly Jr. and Shane Simpson. Kemp, the Cavaliers' top punt returner, is an option on kickoffs as well. "Billy certainly could do both, and I would trust him to do both," Mendenhall said. "But it kind of remains to be seen." Candidates to return kickoffs could in- clude any of Virginia's running backs and wide receivers. Clary is another possibility, Mendenhall said. "So there might be some names that you haven't heard that you'll see out there," the head coach noted. "That's one of the spots to uncover." Kemp averaged 5.1 yards per punt return last season with a long of 19 yards. As a team, UVA ranked 10th in the ACC in punt returns. 2021 SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Date (ET) Sept. 4 William & Mary (RSN) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11 Illinois (ACCN) 11 a.m. Sept. 18 at N. Carolina (ACCN) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 Wake Forest (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Sept. 30 at Miami (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at Louisville TBA Oct. 16 Duke TBA Oct. 23 Georgia Tech TBA Oct. 30 at BYU TBA Nov. 13 Notre Dame TBA Nov. 20 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 27 Virginia Tech TBA RSN — ACC Regional Sports Network; ACCN — ACC Network Third-year linebacker Nick Jackson paced the Cavaliers with 105 tackles in 10 games last year. PHOTO BY PETE EMERSON/COURTESY UVA