The key to UVA football’s chance to break through in 2018 comes on the offensive line, where the roster was a bit thin in the 1-6 swoon to end the 2017 season.
I’m hearing good things about the guy responsible for getting the big uglies ready for the start of fall camp.
Shawn Griswold took over the strength and conditioning program in January, and AD Carla Williams upgraded his staff, more than doubling what the program had in terms of staff members before Williams’ arrival.
What I’m hearing is that the effort appears to already be paying off, with reports that several of the big guys making impressive upgrades in their measurables in the offseason.
Jake Fieler, a 6’6”, 315-pound senior offensive guard, might have made the most improvements over the spring and summer, and is being looked at as a possible All-ACC candidate and a 2019 NFL draft pick.
Dillon Reinkensmeyer, a 6’4”, 305-pound sophomore, made nine starts at center as a freshman, and is also being looked at internally as a possible All-ACC performer in 2018.
Junior guard R.J. Proctor, a 6’4”, 315-pounder, had five starts in 2017, and was graded out by Pro Football Focus as the second-best returning lineman (to Fieler).
Grad transfer Marcus Applefield, a 6’5”, 308-pounder, started 10 games at right guard at Rutgers in 2017, but he may end up making the move to tackle on the right side alongside Proctor on the inside, assuming Proctor steps up and earns that starting slot.
Also hearing good things on the other side of the ball about Mandy Alonso, a 6’2”, 290-pound defensive end who made four starts as a true freshman in 2017, and grad transfer Dylan Thompson, a 6’5”, 280-pound transfer from Ohio State who was a four-star recruit out of high school before struggling through injuries in his time with the Buckeyes, and is being described to me as an athletic freak who can be a difference-maker on the defensive end.
I’ll hold to my usual line about how we won’t know how the hard work of the offseason will translate until we see them knock heads in the season opener Sept. 1 against Richmond, but it is sounding like there is some room for optimism.
Column by Chris Graham
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