Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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BY BRAD FRANKLIN A S THE OLD ADAGE GOES, "Hope springs eternal." And that is certainly the feeling in Charlottesville with the start of the 2016 football season rapidly approaching. There will be a lot of "new" on display for the Wahoos and their fans this season. While many of the players will be the same, they'll be coached by a new staff and take the field in different formations and run new schemes, possibly even while wearing new uniforms. And it couldn't have come at a better time for the Cavalier faithful. Following a 4‑8 finish in 2015, the school parted ways with Mike London and sur‑ prised the college football world when it announced that Bronco Mendenhall would be the team's 40th head coach. A veteran with an old‑school mentality combined with a new‑school approach, Mendenhall took BYU to a bowl game in each of his 11 seasons in Provo, Utah. Over the course of his career with the Cougars, he amassed 99 victories and averaged nine wins per season — something UVA has done just six times in the past 50 years. He brings along seven members of his former coaching staff: Robert Anae (of‑ fensive coordinator/inside receivers), Jason Beck (quarterbacks), Mark Atuaia (running backs), Garett Tujague (offensive line), Nick Howell (defensive backs/defensive coordinator) and Kelly Poppinga (special teams coordinator/outside linebackers), as well as former BYU graduate assistant Shane Hunter (inside linebackers). Mendenhall kept former Cavalier great Marques Hagans on staff to coach the team's wide receivers and then, in a stroke of good fortune, was able to bring on former East Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill to 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW An Overview Of What To Watch For With The Wahoos This Fall