2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team

The 2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by second-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at Scott Stadium. They competed as members of the Coastal Division in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they lost to Navy.

2017 Virginia Cavaliers football
Military Bowl, L 7–49 vs. Navy
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
2017 record	6–7 (3–5 ACC)
Head coach	Bronco Mendenhall (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Robert Anae (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple[1]
Defensive coordinator	Nick Howell (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Scott Stadium (Capacity: 61,500)

2017 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 4 Clemson xy$^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 23 NC State		6	–	2					9	–	4
Boston College		4	–	4					7	–	6
Louisville		4	–	4					8	–	5
Wake Forest		4	–	4					8	–	5
Florida State		3	–	5					7	–	6
Syracuse		2	–	6					4	–	8
Coastal Division
No. 13 Miami xy		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 24 Virginia Tech		5	–	3					9	–	4
Georgia Tech		4	–	4					5	–	6
Duke		3	–	5					7	–	6
Pittsburgh		3	–	5					5	–	7
Virginia		3	–	5					6	–	7
North Carolina		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Clemson 38, Miami 3
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 72 Tyler Fannin Fr C 77 Jake Fieler Jr FB 27 Jamari Peacock Fr FB 49 Alec Shifflett Sr FB 85 Andrew Yavinsky Fr HB 4 Olamide Zaccheaus Jr OG 65 Ben Knutson RFr OG 70 Steven Moss Jr OG 71 Jack McDonald Sr OG 74 John Montelus Sr OG 78 R.J. Proctor So OL Ryan Swoboda Fr OL Gerrik Vollmer Fr OT 54 Ryan Nelson Fr OT 55 Brandon Pertile Sr OT 64 Ben Trent RFr OT 67 Jack English Sr OT 69 Chris Glaser Fr OT 75 Osiris Crutchfield RFr OT 79 Dillon Reinkensmeyer RFr OT Ryan Bischoff So QB 6 Kurt Benkert Sr QB, LS 11 Joe Spaziani Jr QB, WR 15 De'Vante Cross RFr QB 36 Lindell Stone Fr QB Tristan Hillerich Fr QB T.J. Kitts Fr QB Matthew Merrick So RB 88 Justin Zollar So TB 1 Jordan Ellis Jr TB 22 Daniel Hamm Sr TB 25 Lamont Atkins Fr TB 26 PK Kier Fr TB 31 Chris Sharp So TE 16 Richard Burney So TE 44 Tanner Cowley So TE 46 Evan Butts Jr WR 2 Joe Reed So WR 5 Doni Dowling Sr WR 8 Hasise Dubois So WR 14 Andre Levrone Sr WR 18 Ben Hogg Jr WR 19 Chuck Davis RFr WR 23 Warren Craft So WR 80 Shawn Smith Fr WR 82 Braedon Urie Jr WR 84 Terrell Jana Fr WR 86 Ross Gardner Jr WR Cole Blackman So WR Ethan Blundin RFr WR Shane Eilers Fr WR Hayden Mitchell Fr WR Darnell Pratt Fr WR Davion Zeno Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 10 Kirk Garner Sr CB 20 Nick Grant RFr CB 34 Bryce Hall So CB 41 Germane Crowell Fr CB Riah Burton Fr CB Darious Latimore Jr CB Tim Harris  Sr DB 33 Darrius Bratton Fr DB Donovan Rolle Fr DE 9 Andrew Brown Sr DE 90 Steven Wright So DE 93 Christian Baumgardner RFr DE Christian Brooks RFr DL 91 Mandy Alonso Fr DL Isaac Buell Fr DL Tommy Christ Fr DL Colin Dixon Fr DL 98 John Kirven Fr DT 57 James Trucilla So DT 58 Eli Hanback So DT 99 Juwan Moye So FS 3 Quin Blanding Sr FS 28 Brenton Nelson RFr FS 29 Joey Blount Fr ILB 30 Dominic Sheppard So ILB 37 Jordan Mack So ILB 40 C.J. Stalker Jr ILB 42 Jahvoni Simmons So ILB 45 Reed Kellam So ILB 53 Micah Kiser Sr ILB Mikey McDonald Jr ILB Christian Pluchino Fr ILB Robert Snyder RFr LB 33 Zane Zandier Fr LB 38 Charles Snowden Fr LB 43 Elliott Brown Fr LB 56 Matt Gahm Fr OLB 13 Chris Peace Jr OLB 17 Malcolm Cook Jr OLB, FS 39 Chris Moore So OLB Dre Bryant RFr OLB Gladimir Paul So OLB Harrison Turlington Fr SS 21 Juan Thornhill Jr SS CJ Epps So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 89 Brian Delaney Fr K 95 A.J. Mejia Fr P 47 Lester Coleman Jr PK, P 81 Nash Griffin RFr PK 87 Andrew King Jr	Head coach Bronco Mendenhall (Oregon State) Coordinators/assistant coaches Robert Anae (BYU) Offensive Coordinator, Inside Receivers Marques Hagans (Virginia) Wide Receivers Mark Atuaia (BYU) Running Backs Garett Tujague (BYU) Offensive Line Jason Beck (BYU) Quarterbacks Vic So'oto (BYU) Assistant Head Coach, Defensive Line Nick Howell (Weber State) Defensive Coordinator, Secondary Kelly Poppinga (BYU) Special Teams Coordinator, Outside Linebackers Shane Hunter (BYU) Inside Linebackers Patrick Hickman (BYU) Director of Football Operations Justin Anderson (BYU) Director of Player Personnel Frank Wintrich (BYU) Director of Football Training & Player Development Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2017-09-09

Coaching changes

• On June 21, 2017 Vic So'oto was hired as defensive line coach.[2] So'oto replaces Ruffin McNeill who joined the University of Oklahoma coaching staff.

Depth chart

Defense [1] FS Quin Blanding Joey Blount ⋅ WLB BLB MLB SLB Chris Peace Jordan Mack Micah Kiser Chris Moore Elliot Brown C.J. Stalker Zane Zandier Malcolm Cook ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ SABRE Brenton Nelson Nick Grant ⋅ CB Juan Thornhill De'Vante Cross ⋅ DE NT DE Juwan Moye Eli Hanback Andrew Brown Steven Wright James Trucilla Christian Baumgardner ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ CB Bryce Hall Darrious Bratton ⋅ Offense [1] WR (X) Andrew Levrone Terrell Jana ⋅ WR (Z) Doni Dowling De'Vante Cross ⋅ LT LG C RG RT Jack English John Montelus Dillon Reinkensmeyer Jake Fieler Brandon Pertile Ryan Nelson Ben Knutson Jake Fieler RJ Proctor Chris Glaser Osiris Crutchfield ⋅ Tyler Fannin Jack McDonald ⋅ TE Evan Butts Richard Burney Tanner Cowley WR (Y) Joe Reed Hasise Dubois ⋅ QB Kurt Benkert Lindell Stone ⋅ Key Reserves WR (H) Olamide Zaccheaus BB Jordan Ellis BB Jamari Peacock KO Brian Delaney KO Andrew King RB Daniel Hamm Jordan Ellis Chris Sharp Special Teams PK A.J. Mejia PK Andrew King P Lester Coleman KR Daniel Hamm KR Joe Reed PR Daniel Hamm PR Chuck Davis PR Juan Thornhill LS Joe Spaziani LS Richard Burney H Nash Griffin H Lester Coleman

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	3:30 p.m.	William & Mary*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCN Extra	W 28–10	38,828
September 9	3:30 p.m.	Indiana*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPNU	L 17–34	38,993
September 16	12:00 p.m.	UConn*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN2	W 38–18	33,056
September 22	8:00 p.m.	at Boise State*	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 42–23	33,947
October 7	12:20 p.m.	Duke	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCN	W 28–21	38,638
October 14	3:30 p.m.	at North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 20–14	50,000
October 21	12:30 p.m.	Boston College	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCRSN	L 10–41	39,216
October 28	12:30 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCRSN	L 14–31	30,889
November 4	3:00 p.m.	Georgia Tech	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCRSN	W 40–36	38,448
November 11	3:30 p.m.	at Louisville	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	ESPNU	L 21–38	46,787
November 18	12:00 p.m.	at No. 2 Miami (FL)	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ABC	L 28–44	63,415
November 24	8:00 p.m.	No. 24 Virginia Tech	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ESPN	L 0–10	48,609
December 28	1:30 p.m.	at Navy*	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Military Bowl)	ESPN	L 7–49	35,921
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Source:[3]

Game summaries

William & Mary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tribe	0	0	3	7	10
Cavaliers	7	7	7	7	28

See also: 2017 William & Mary Tribe football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
28–6–1	2015	W 35–29

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hoosiers	0	17	10	7	34
Cavaliers	0	3	7	7	17

See also: 2017 Indiana Hoosiers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–0	2011	W 34–31

UConn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	0	6	12	18
Cavaliers	7	17	7	7	38

See also: 2017 UConn Huskies football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–2	2016	L 10–13

at Boise State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	7	14	14	7	42
Broncos	7	7	0	9	23

See also: 2017 Boise State Broncos football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–1	2015	W 42–23

The Cavaliers came in as thirteen point underdogs against the Broncos and quickly went down 7–0 within the first three minutes. After this shaky start, the Cavaliers took a 21–14 lead into halftime led by success in the passing game on offense. To start the second half, the Cavaliers took just 3 plays to score, stretching the lead to 28–14. Virginia pressed its advantage to 42–14 before Boise State made it 42–23 on a late safety and touchdown. The win has been hailed as Virginia's "most impressive win" so far under Coach Mendenhall.[4]

Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Devils	7	7	0	7	21
Cavaliers	7	7	7	7	28

See also: 2017 Duke Blue Devils football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
35–33	2016	W 34–20

at North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	0	10	7	3	20
Tar Heels	0	0	14	0	14

See also: 2017 North Carolina Tar Heels football team and South's Oldest Rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
54–63	2016	L 14–35

Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	17	7	10	7	41
Cavaliers	0	7	0	3	10

See also: 2017 Boston College Eagles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–5	2010	L 13–17

at Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	0	7	0	7	14
Panthers	7	14	7	3	31

See also: 2017 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–6	2016	L 31–45

Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Yellow Jackets	7	7	14	8	36
Cavaliers	3	10	15	12	40

See also: 2017 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
18–20–1	2016	L 17–31

at Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	7	7	0	7	21
Cardinals	7	10	14	7	38

See also: 2017 Louisville Cardinals football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–3	2016	L 25–32

at Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	14	7	7	0	28
No. 2 Hurricanes	7	7	17	13	44

See also: 2017 Miami Hurricanes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
6–8	2016	L 14–34

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Hokies	0	3	7	0	10
Cavaliers	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2017 Virginia Tech Hokies football team and Virginia–Virginia Tech football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
37–56–5	2016	L 10–52

at Navy (Military Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	7	0	0	0	7
Midshipmen	14	14	14	7	49

See also: 2017 Navy Midshipmen football team and 2017 Military Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–28	1994	W 47–10

2018 NFL Draft

Main article: 2018 NFL Draft

Player	Team	Round	Pick #	Position
Micah Kiser	Los Angeles Rams	5th	147	LB
Andrew Brown	Cincinnati Bengals	5th	158	DE

References

1. "DEPTH CHART - NORTH CAROLINA GAME" (PDF) (Press release). Virginia Cavaliers. October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
2. "Mendenhall Elevates Vic So'oto to Defensive Line Coach". Virginia Cavaliers. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
3. 2017 Virginia Cavaliers football schedule. FBSchedules.com. Accessed April 15, 2017.
4. Kragthorpe, Kurt (September 24, 2017). "Ex-BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall's Boise breakthrough is a sign of how far Virginia has come in his second season". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 25, 2017.