Five years of hard work went into Perris Jones’s 100+-yard first career start

Perris Jones got on the field for 426 snaps in his first four seasons at Virginia, all but 20 on special teams.

That’s what you do when you walk on at a Power 5, basically, do whatever you can do, block on kick returns, make special-teams tackles, whatever they ask you to do.

His career in terms of offensive touches was three runs for 12 yards and two catches for 12 yards, all in blowout wins over Duke and Abilene Christian in 2020.

Jones outworked the guy expected to be the starter at tailback coming into this year, Mike Hollins, in spring practice, then held onto the top spot on the depth chart in training camp.

He showed why on Saturday.

In his first career start, Jones ran for 104 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, and caught two passes, one of them an 11-yard TD that put the game away, in Virginia’s 34-17 win over Richmond in Saturday’s season opener.

“I prayed for it, and I worked very hard for it. I was hopeful that when my opportunity came, I wanted to make sure that I was ready. So today, the work that I’ve put in over the years showed itself, and I’m very happy about that,” Jones told reporters afterward.

Quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who also ran for 100+ yards (109, including a 64-yard TD run in the second quarter), might finally be getting the help from the running game he has needed the past couple of years.

Armstrong said he was “super happy” for Jones, noting the redshirt senior’s work in the offseason to get to where he is.

“I’m just super proud of him though. I mean, that’s just bottom line. Usually you’re happy when you see someone like that work so hard to get an opportunity to play like that,” Armstrong said.

Hollins, a junior, gained 24 yards on eight carries, and scored a second-quarter touchdown, but that one came on good fortune – Hollins fumbled just before crossing the goal line, then beat a pile of Richmond defenders to the ball in the end zone.

Offensive coordinator Des Kitchings went with true freshman Xavier Brown for UVA’s final drive, and Brown, a three-star recruit, impressed, gaining 25 yards on four carries.

“One of the key things is competition, and in that room, there’s competition there, and there’s healthy competition with Mike and Perris and Xavier and other guys there. So, over time, over the course of the season, that should be very good for us, that those guys, when they’re out there, they’re ready to maximize the opportunities that they have,” Kitchings said.