Countdown to Camp: A familiar youth story along UVa's O-line

With fall practice starting on Wednesday, our annual Countdown to Camp series is back with one of our final two features, this time looking at an offensive line group that once again has a slew of questions heading into the season.

Under new leadership, the line has a lot to prove this fall.

Virginia’s offensive line, along with its entire offense, went through a transition year in 2022 that was bumpy to say the least.

In the offseason, the line saw even more change, with a bunch of player departures and their position coach moving on. And now, new offensive line coach Terry Heffernan will be tasked with trying to turn the group around right away with a lot of new faces.

In the spring, he said that it had been made clear to his group of players that expectations for them, at least from the outside world, are low heading into this season. Perhaps another year in Adam Smotherman’s strength program and some additions to the room will put the group over the top this fall.

There were some positive reports from spring practice about the OL’s improvement in both technical and practical work, especially in run blocking.

UVa’s line will also have to excel at protecting Tony Muskett, with the quarterback room looking thin and vulnerable to injury heading into camp.

If Heffernan can identify a core group of players that at a minimum can deliver consistency and modest improvement, the offense should be better off.

Not only that, but UVa will be able to bring the entire position group back in 2024, so any gains this year could translate to an even better group next fall.

This group may only go as far as the transfers take it.

The program had a few transfers and graduation departures from last year’s team, meaning that many of the returning linemen have played little to no snaps in orange and blue. UVa returns Ty Furnish and Jestus Johnson at center, McKale Boley at tackle and Noah Josey at guard. Otherwise, this year’s group is totally unproven.

UVa was aggressive in the transfer portal, ultimately bringing in three players all of whom will have a chance to play right away.

Heffernan told us at Friday’s media luncheon that players like Ugonna Nnanna, Jimmy Christ and Brian Stevens didn’t come to UVa with the intention of sitting on the bench, and he figures all will factor into competition in camp for starting roles.

All three transfers come to UVa with different levels of experience and raw talent. Nnanna played a decent amount of games as a backup at Houston. Christ was in a similar position at Penn State, but was buried behind top talent. And Stevens comes to UVa from a lower level of football, but with a lot of snaps under his belt.

It might not be fair to totally write off what UVa brings back on the line but it’s clear that the Wahoos needed some veterans to get them through this year before their returning players are more seasoned heading into 2024 and beyond. And those transfers could all end up starting or at least getting into a rotation of players earning snaps, and UVa will need at least one or two of them to pan out.

There will be competition at all five spots in camp.

Given the coaching change, the transfers added, and the amount of experience lost from the 2022 team, it was already likely to expect a healthy competition across the line in August and that will certainly be the case.

At center, Furnish seems to have the upper hand to win that job and he has drawn quite a bit of praise since last season. Johnson will compete there too but could also slide over to guard if Furnish takes the job.

At those guard spots, Stevens and Nnnana will have a chance to play right away, but Josey should also be considered a threat to earn a starting role.

And at tackle, Christ enters the fray while Boley seems to have the inside track to a starting job, too. Still, there are several other less-experienced players that drew praise a year ago and could get back into the mix for a starting job in camp.

Logan Taylor: A regular starter at tackle, Taylor entered the transfer portal following the season and landed at Boston College. He’ll line up against the Hoos in late September.

Jonathan Leech: Leech, like Taylor, fought for playing time at tackle through his UVa career, and split time with Boley last fall. The senior tackle ended up starting the final eight games of the season after injuries kept him out early in the year.

Derek Devine: Devine finished his Cavalier career last season, playing a significant role at the guard spot. The Pittsburgh native started all 10 games for UVa last fall after playing sparingly in prior seasons.

John Paul Flores: Flores transferred in to UVa from Dartmouth and earned a starting job at guard. He moved on after the season though, transferring to Louisville for his final year of eligibility.

Zachary Teter: Teter played in four games as a reserve last year before transferring to East Tennessee State in the offseason.

Hugh Laughlin: Laughlin was a big get for UVa as a defensive line recruit, but ultimately switched to offense as the Cavaliers had depth issues on the o-line. Laughlin is no longer on the roster.

McKale Boley: A surprise contributor heading into the 2022 season, he earned the starting left tackle job to begin his true freshman season. Boley ended up playing in six games last season with two starts and enters fall camp this week with a chance to start at one of the two tackle spots.

Ty Furnish: Furnish was UVa’s primary center last season but had to fight through a competition at the position throughout the campaign. He ended up starting nine games last season and is the odds-on-favorite to start at center again this fall.

Jestus Johnson: Johnson competed with Furnish for the center spot through camp and into the season. The Maryland native ended up playing in eight games and starting in the loss to Duke. He also has the ability to slide over and play guard, but given UVa’s additions there center is probably Johnson’s best shot to earn playing time this year.

Noah Josey: Josey earned a role on the offensive line as the 2022 season moved forward and played in nine contests as a sophomore. He was unavailable for spring ball after having a surgery but should be full go for fall camp. Josey will compete for playing time at guard with a couple of transfers and returners.

Charlie Patterson: Patterson ran with the first-team offense throughout parts of fall camp, in part due to injuries and position shuffling. Ultimately he didn’t see the field in any games but should have a shot to earn a role this season given the attrition at the tackle spots.

Jack Witmer: Witmer officially moved from tight end to tackle in the spring, and will compete for playing time there in camp. Listed at 6-foot-7, 252 pounds on the current roster, he’d likely need to bulk up if he hasn’t already done so with the position change.

Houston Curry: Curry redshirted last season but seemed closer to playing time than the group listed below him. He was named several times by then O-line coach Garett Tujuage as a player competing for playing time at a tackle spot, but he ultimately never appeared in a game.

Dawson Alters, Blake Steen, Snoop Leota-Amaama, Noah DeMerritt: Part of UVa’s large crop of offensive linemen in the 2021 recruiting class, Alters, Steen, Leota-Amaama, and DeMerrit all redshirted in 2022. Alters should provide depth at center, while Leota-Amaama and DeMerrit will compete at guard with Steen at tackle in camp.

Brian Stevens: Virginia’s most-experienced transfer, he comes to UVa after a successful career at Dayton. Stevens was an all-conference performer for the Flyers, playing in one of the FCS non-scholarship leagues. He was one of the top guards in the nation at any level per PFF and could play at either guard or center for the Wahoos.

Jimmy Christ: UVa added Christ as a transfer from Penn State over the summer and the recruitment was likely swift in part because of his connections to the program. Once a UVa commit before flipping to the Nittany Lions, Christ’s older brother Tommy played both offensive and defensive line at UVa. At PSU, Christ played in 11 games as a backup.

Ugonna Nnanna: Virginia’s first transfer offensive lineman in this cycle, Nnanna came over from Houston and was enrolled in January for spring practice. With the Cougars, Nnanna played in eight career contests with no starts. Based on what we saw in the spring, he enters camp as a favorite to win one of the two guard spots.

Cole Surber: The first commit in Elliott’s first full recruiting class at Virginia, Surber was the only offensive line signee in the class. He comes to Virginia from Patriot High in Prince William County where he was an all-state selection as a senior.