Bryce Perkins is about to run more, and more, and then some more

Here’s a funny one for UVA Football fans: your quarterback, Bryce Perkins, was being held back as a runner with backup Brennan Armstrong out with an injury.

Now that Armstrong is back on the two-deep, though, Perkins is about to be cut loose.

“We’ve made and taken a lot of effort not to include our quarterback in the run game while our primary backup has been hurt. Knowing that would not only affect that game but possibly the rest of the season. So, we’ve done our best to work around or have offense without Bryce as a running threat,” coach Bronco Mendenhall said at his weekly presser on Monday.

To be clear, Mendenhall also said Armstrong, a redshirt freshman, was cleared medically late in the week last week, though the decision was made to keep him out for the Duke game as a precaution.

But his availability in general was factored into the game planning, and Perkins was utilized quite a bit as a runner, toting the ball 22 times for 62 yards, with three rushing touchdowns.

Armstrong had been out since the William & Mary game in Week 2. Perkins had double-digit touches as a runner in UVA’s next four games, though you have to take into account that sacks are counted as rushing attempts in the college game.

Factoring that in, he was still in double-digits in runs in every game but the loss at Notre Dame.

So, what Mendenhall is saying now is, Perkins wasn’t being used much with Armstrong out, but, boy, oh boy, now that Armstrong is back, the reins are off.

“I don’t have a certain number of plays but we do have yardage thresholds and point thresholds that we go after and we know kind of what yardage marks and what point marks that traditionally as I’ve been the head coach with this staff and what those take to win and we intend to use every player we have to get to those marks. And if that means running the quarterback more, we’ll do that,” Mendenhall said.

Story by Chris Graham