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DECEMBER 2022 21 BY SCOTT FITZGERALD O ver the 133-year history of the Virginia football program, two household names are on the top of the program's career sack list, Chris Slade and Clint Sintim. Fortunately for the current Cavalier de- fensive lineman and linebackers, those two legends are on Fralin Family Head Football Coach Tony Elliott's staff, and no one is reaping the benefits more than fourth-year Chico Bennett Jr. A journeyman in all senses of the term, Bennett has logged the miles, put in the work and is finally seeing the fruits of his labor in 2022. Bennett lines up in the Bandit position on coordinator John Rudzinski's defense. The Bandit is a hybrid between a defensive end and an outside linebacker. Rudzinski was well known in the college football coaching circles after his decade- plus run at the Air Force Academy. His ten- ure with the Falcons culminated with a unit that was ranked fourth in the nation in total defense, allowing an average of 296.5 yards per game. The proven pedigree of Rudzinski com- bined with the unparalleled wisdom on rushing the quarterback that Slade and Sintim have been able to impart to Bennett and his teammates have enabled the Cava- liers to jump more than 90 spots in the na- tion's total defense rankings from last year. Through the first eight games, Bennett led the Atlantic Coast Conference in sacks with 7, tied for the fourth most among Power Five defenders. The Cavalier defense has reaped the rewards of the havoc Bennett and his fellow defensive linemen have created for opposing quarterbacks this season. Virginia did not allow an offensive touchdown in eight straight quarters beginning with the showdown against Georgia Tech Oct. 20. The Thursday night game in Atlanta may have been the UVA defense's signature per- formance of the 2022 season and a timely one for Bennett, who started his collegiate career at Georgia Tech. He had a huge day in his homecoming on the Flats and helped lead a stellar defensive effort that gave UVA its first win over the Yellow Jackets since 2008. Bennett had a career-high 7 tackles and recorded his second multi-sack effort of the season. The Cavaliers notched 8 sacks in the 16-9 victory, tied for the second most in a game in program history. "It's a great feeling," Bennett said after the win. "This one meant a little bit more to me and [Atlanta native] Nick [Jackson]. We just came together as a whole unit and especially as a team." The icing on top came on the Monday after the win when Bennett was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for the sec- ond time in 2022. He became the ninth UVA defensive lineman to win ACC weekly honors twice in the same season. One of the names on that list is Slade, who was named ACC Player of the Week twice in 1991. "He's a guy that's got ability, and he's a high character young man," Elliott said. "He's got great leadership qualities, and it's good to see him have some success." The 7 sacks through nine games were the most by a Cavalier linebacker since 2019 when Jordan Mack had 7.5 and Noah Taylor notched 7 in 2019. Bennett, a consensus three-star line- backer coming out of high school, was set to play for Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets in 2019. Johnson retired before Bennett got to campus, his first speed bump on his jour- ney to Charlottesville. The coaching change didn't deter his development as a true first-year. In 2019, Bennett led all Georgia Tech freshmen in tackles with 17 overall (12 solo) and 0.5 tackles for loss, before suffer- ing a season-ending shoulder injury. During the COVID-laden 2020 season, Bennett appeared in nine of the 10 Yellow Jacket games for a team that finished 3-7. Looking for a change of scenery and a place a little closer to his family's home in Ashland, Va., Bennett decided to make a move to better his collegiate career. He held no ill will towards Georgia Tech and was still friendly with many of his former Yellow Jacket teammates. * * * Bennett's parents were both accom- plished collegiate athletes. His father, Chico Sr. who served in the U.S. Army, played football at the University of Hawaii, and his mother played basketball at Texas State. Bennett grew up in a military family. He was born in Killeen, Texas, and lived in Pe- tersburg, Va., Germany, Leavenworth, Kan., Elizabethtown, Ky., and then finally landed back in the Commonwealth of Virginia, split- ting time between Fairfax and Petersburg. After planting roots in Virginia, Bennett began his prep career at Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn. With an athletic pedigree from his parents and an uncle, Leon Moore, who played in the NFL, he didn't need long to establish himself as a top-tier prospect. He finished his last two high school years at Battle Ground Academy, a prestigious col- lege preparatory school in Franklin, Tenn. At Battle Ground, he was able to put his name on the recruiting map, helping the school to a 12-3 record and an appear- ance in Tennessee Division II Class AA state championship game as a senior. The suc- cess on the football field led to a scholar- ship to play at Georgia Tech. * * * The road to success presented him with one final challenge after enrolling at UVA in THE LONG ROAD THE LONG ROAD TO SUCCESS TO SUCCESS Chico Bennett Jr. Persevered Through Multiple Life Changes And Injuries To Become A Very Productive Player For UVA Bennett grew up in a military family and lived in Germany, Kansas and Kentucky before his family settled in Virginia. (Photo courtesy UVA)