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DECEMBER 2017 19 and to see them finally having that success and that chance to get to a bowl game, it's been huge." Aside from having the chance to start fresh and earn starting spots, Pertile and Montelus were able to help the 2‑10 Vir‑ ginia team they joined go back to the post‑ season for the first time since 2011. "That's something I'll always remember," Montelus said. "That's the start of some‑ thing special." "Nobody on the roster really has been to one yet," Pertile added. "I'm just really ex‑ cited for them to have that and to see some rewards for how hard they've worked. "Now they'll get to see what it's like to play in the postseason and to have that ex‑ perience." "Those are great guys — not just great football players, but great guys," redshirt third‑year tight end Evan Butts said. "They really came into the program and fit right in from the jump. They're amazing people and, playing alongside Pertile, I feel like I have definitely picked up on a few things. "With his arrival, I think he sort of helped me learn that communication between tight ends and tackles is an important thing. De‑ veloping that lingo with him has been cru‑ cial and it's helped my development, but to the team, those guys have done a great job so far. Their value to us has been great." Of course, a lot of hard work on both their parts went into making this season a reality. They each arrived in the summer prior to the start of class and had to get up to speed quickly on what UVA wanted from its linemen. "The good thing is that we got here a couple weeks early and we talked a lot with Coach [Garett] Tujague, and he did a great job of setting things up for us and really everyone made us feel comfortable, both on and off the field," Montelus recalled. "So by the time things got started with practice, we were adjusted and we felt confident about what we were getting ourselves into." "It's been really great getting to know him," he said of Pertile. "We didn't know anybody really and so we learned together. We are similar guys and we clicked right from the start. We bonded from the begin‑ ning and it was easy for us to do so." The graduate transfers made a point to not just engage with the other linemen and try to help them be better players, but they also wanted them to be better overall. "I feel like I did my best to get the guys together early when we were just sitting around the locker room," Montelus said. "That was a big thing I think we were miss‑ ing. As an offensive line as a whole, that's one of the things I have noticed the most. "We're all closer now than we were. We all communicate a lot outside of football and the communication has really gotten better I feel like." Of course, with the end of their college careers now in sight, the future looms. And as with most other things, they each have a plan. "I'm in the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and there are a couple of options, couple of paths I could take," Per‑ tile said. "Obviously, I want to try and get a shot in the NFL. "… After that, I plan on going to law school and working as a criminal defense attorney, and then working my way to state government, national government and maybe find myself one day with a spot in state government or in Congress. "I'm really excited about getting a chance to give back." For Montelus, he's hoping to stay a little closer to the field. "I'm in the Curry School, in the Social Foundations program," he said. "Hopefully in the future, I'd like to be an athletic direc‑ tor at the high school level and coach. I want to start in education and stay in that system. "I want to both teach and be an athletic director or anything related to that." Montelus opened nine of the 12 regular-season contests at left guard. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA "It's nice to have players come to your program that are needed, which they both were, and immediately started, which was great. That means they picked the right school and we selected the right young men." HEAD COACH BRONCO MENDENHALL