Virginia defense will be challenged by elite quarterbacks this season

CHARLOTTESVILLE - His grin accompanied a simple message, because Virginia coach Tony Elliott knows the unique test that the Cavaliers’ schedule features this fall.
“Get ready, Coach Rud,” Elliott said Friday as he scanned the Welsh Indoor Facility for Hoos defensive coordinator John Rudzinski.
Rudzinski guided UVa to major improvements on defense a season ago in his first year with the program — notably helping the Cavaliers yield 7.8 less points per game and 108 fewer yards per contest than the previous fall. But if they’re going to continue on an upward trajectory on defense, the Hoos will have to slow and stop some of the top quarterbacks in the sport throughout the quickly-approaching campaign.
Three of the signal-callers slated to face UVa in 2023 — Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Duke’s Riley Leonard — each finished last season in the top 50 nationally for completion percentage, completions per game, passing efficiency and passing yards. The Cavaliers travel to Maryland on Sept. 15 and to North Carolina on Oct. 21, and they host Duke on Nov. 18.
“You’re trying to study and trying to look at the strengths of those guys,” Rudzinski said about how the list of accomplished quarterbacks on UVa’s schedule impacted the offseason for the defensive coaching staff.
“It’s seeing strengths, and again there’s not a lot of deficiencies in those quarterbacks,” he continued, “but you’re trying to find a few ways in which you can do a few things schematically to stress those guys.”
Tagovailoa is the Terrapins’ record-holder for career passing yards, single-season passing yards, career passing touchdowns and career 300-yard passing games. Maye, a projected top-five pick for the 2024 NFL Draft, was last year’s ACC Player of the Year and a freshman All-American.
And Leonard enters this fall as one of three returning quarterbacks in the FBS to rack up at least 2,900 passing yards and 695 rushing yards a season ago, joining Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Leonard is also one of two returning quarterbacks in the country who tallied at least 20 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing scores last season along with Oregon’s Bo Nix.
Those three are considered to be among college football’s best entering the year, but the tough task doesn’t end with that trio either.
In the Sept. 2 season-opening bout, Tennessee’s Joe Milton III, the MVP of last season’s Orange Bowl, will get a crack against the Cavaliers. They’ll match up with their own record-holder for seemingly every passing category, too, when N.C. State and former Hoos quarterback Brennan Armstrong visit Scott Stadium on Sept. 22.
Armstrong is seeking a return to his 2021 form, a year in which he earned All-ACC third-team honors. That season, Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke was the ACC Rookie of the Year and he is hoping for a similar bounce back this fall. UVa and Miami meet on Oct. 28.
“There are no weeks off, really. You know?” Cavaliers linebackers coach Clint Sintim said. “You try to understand zone coverages, man coverages and you try to be as efficient as you can because all those guys will try to thread the needle in tight holes.”
Each of the opposing quarterbacks have spent the offseason fine-tuning their skills as well. Last week at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, Leonard said he’s benefited from the mentorship of Peyton and Eli Manning from their time together at the Manning Passing Academy as well as his connection with former Duke star and current New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
“So, I’ll go back and watch tape and be like, ‘Damn, I’ve got a lot to work on,’” Leonard said with a smile. “But timing and arm strength, those are two things I’ve taken really seriously this offseason.”
Maye said he thought his stay at the Manning Passing Academy provided some valuable lessons, but also noted that his game has been bolstered by new offensive staffers at North Carolina.
Chip Lindsey was hired to replace Phil Longo as the Tar Heels’ offensive coordinator, and UNC hired longtime NFL quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen as an offensive analyst.
“[Christensen] has coached Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck and Tom Brady,” Maye said, “so just sitting there with some tape watching old drills of them, picking up little things. He has coached the best, so just trying to pick up whatever I can from him.”
To UVa’s credit, Rudzinski’s defense limited North Carolina and Maye to 31 points in a November tilt last season, and at the time it was the second fewest points the Tar Heels had scored in a 2022 game. Maye was sacked four times, but threw for two scores and rushed for another.
“And I thought [Maye] was the best kid we played,” Sintim said. “He ran the ball pretty efficiently. He could throw it efficiently.”
Said Rudzinski: “But they’re all great competitors and I do think they have great arm strength and they can stretch you not only with their arms, but with their feet. And I’ll tell you what, they make you pull your hair out and they may keep you here on a Sunday night.”
Elliott said he trusts that Rudzinski and company will be ready.
“Each week is going to present a challenge in itself,” Elliott said, “from quarterback play to every other aspect of the game and I think that once you dive into the game plan, you’ll figure out what the challenges are specific to each quarterback. And really, as a coach, that’s what you want and you want your guys to see that they’re going to be challenged every single day to keep that sense of urgency, keep them dialed in and motivated.”