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AUGUST 2021 17 BY SCOTT FITZGERALD T he mantra that the Virginia of- fensive line lives by is: "Low. Hard. Mean and Nasty." Ev- erything that a Virginia offen- sive lineman does is either low, hard, mean and/or nasty. Everything. A drill, an exercise, a play in practice, their approach to film study, there are no limits. On one occasion a line of tape went across the middle of the offensive line meet- ing room doorway, forcing all of the en- trants to the room to get low before entering. Upon offensive line coach Garett Tu- jague's arrival at Virginia six years ago, he spoke with former Cavalier first-round pick Ray Roberts who told him about the men- tality of the linemen during his era at UVA. That mentality included the now four her- alded words that the O-line corps lives by. "Guys are living it on a day-to-day basis so they'll challenge each other with it," Tu- jague said. "They'll call each other out on those four core principles, so it's fun. They govern it. In the beginning I had to, but now they do a really good job of governing it." The mantra has paid dividends. One of the strengths of Virginia's offense this fall is ex- pected to be the five guys pushing up front. Four of the five returning starters from the offensive line opened all 10 games in 2020. If you turn the page back one more year, fourth-years Ryan Nelson, Olusegun Olu- watimi and Chris Glaser combined to start in all but two games during Virginia's 9-5 season that resulted in the program's first Orange Bowl appearance. The starting offensive line — Nelson, Oluwatimi, Glaser, fourth-year Ryan Swo- boda and third-year Joe Bissinger (from the final three games of the 2020 season) — comes back in its entirety. That group totals 109 starts and 162 games played over the past three seasons. In 2020, the unit finished No. 1 in the ACC and No. 12 in the nation in tackles for loss al- lowed (4.2), while also ranking No. 2 in the ACC with 2.0 sacks allowed a game. Among Power Five schools, the UVA offensive line ranked third nationally for the most rushing yards before contact per rush attempt (2.70), trailing just Ohio State and Notre Dame. An underrated group on the national scene? Certainly. But not all have flown under the radar. In the middle of it all, Olu- watimi has drawn national attention after being placed on the Rimington Trophy watch list for two years running. The trophy is presented annually to the most outstand- ing center in NCAA Division I college foot- ball. Oluwatimi is one of 40 centers nation- ally and five from the ACC to be included on the watch list. Oluwatimi and Glaser have also garnered All-ACC accolades during their careers. THE OLD GUYS With age comes experience, and experi- ence is plentiful for the blocking Cavaliers. "We're old," Nelson said. But that plays to this offense's advantage. Four of the five starters from last season are fourth-years with Bissinger serving as the lone third-year. He appeared in all 10 games last season and started at left guard in the final three contests after a season-ending injury to Dillon Reinkensmeyer, who has since moved on. "This line's going to be really good," Nel- son predicted. "We're ready to play again and having a line that all knows each other rather than throwing in random kids and hoping they can play well together is a big key for us." Tujague (pronounced too-jay) has utilized the experience in his meeting room to every- one's benefit. He often tells his veteran play- ers that they are old enough to be in his head. "We're lucky because we've had Coach Tujague for five years," Swoboda said. "It's been the same coaching points and the same lessons and the same thing consistently for all those five years, so we know each other really, really well." Pro Football Focus ranked the UVA offensive line — from left to right: Ryan Swoboda, Olusegun Oluwatimi, Chris Glaser, Dillon Reinkensmeyer (who has moved on) and Ryan Nelson — 11th nationally in pass blocking last year. PHOTO BY DANNIE WALLS/ICON SPORTSWIRE