True freshman McKale Boley is getting a chance at earning a starting job on the offensive line at Virginia.
The three-star recruit will get the start in Saturday’s season opener with Richmond at left tackle, making him the first offensive lineman to start as a true freshman at Virginia since D’Brickashaw Ferguson in 2002.
“Someone let him know that today. One of the guys said, yeah, the last freshman to start at tackle was also the fourth pick in the draft, so hopefully that didn’t scare him,” head coach Tony Elliott said in his Tuesday press conference.
The 6’4”, 331-pound three-star recruit earned a spot on the two-deep in the summer, on an O line that had basically every job open, after everybody from last year’s two-deep left, either for the NFL or the transfer portal.
Boley’s father, Michael, was a three-time All-Conference USA linebacker at Southern Miss and a nine-year NFL veteran who was part of the New York Giants Super Bowl XLVI-winning team, “so he comes from a pedigree,” Elliott said.
The coach indicated that Boley would be behind senior Jonathan Leech, who is out with an arm injury, on the depth chart if Leech were available.
Leech got on the field for 183 snaps last season after getting limited time in his first two years at UVA.
Elliott said last week that Leech would miss the Richmond game, but he hoped to have him available for Illinois in Week 2.
In the here and now, Boley needs to do what he can to earn more snaps.
“He came in with good size. Still can improve from a strength standpoint, but he has the functional strength, and he’s big, he’s athletic, and it didn’t seem to overwhelm him, which allowed him to be able to perform to give us the confidence to say, you know what, if Leech is down for the game and he’s going to be the first guy to run out there. So, I’m excited for him and his opportunity,” Elliott said.
Ty Furnish gets first career start on Saturday
Another player making his first career start on Saturday is sophomore Ty Furnish, who is atop the depth chart at center.
Furnish, a three-star prep recruit, was on the field for 11 snaps last season, in mop-up duty in big wins over William & Mary and Duke.
Elliott said Furnish “made a move during camp” after sophomore Jestus Johnson came out of the spring as the favorite to be the #1 center.
“Just being transparent, we were pushing Jestus to be the guy. In fairness to Jestus, he had been a guard, and we’re trying to make him a center. So, it didn’t happen as fast,” Elliott said.
The two battled in camp until “Ty finally said, I want to win the job, and not that Jestus didn’t do what he was supposed to do, but Jestus feels a little bit more comfortable at guard, than be a guy that rolls in at center,” Elliott said.
“It actually worked out better for us that Ty took that step because now we have more versatility, we have more flexibility if, let’s say Ty doesn’t make that step, you’re pushing Jestus in at center, then you lose a little bit of depth. But now with where Ty is, we’ve got some flexibility. We’re also training up John Paul (Flores) at center, as well, so give us some more flexibility,” Elliott said.
Where is the O-line, to Elliott?
Elliott has a record-setting QB in Brennan Armstrong and a loaded wide receiver corps, but none of it works if the guys up front can’t do their jobs.
So, where does the coach think things are as Virginia prepares for its opener?
“Truthfully, offensive line-wise, it’s ahead of where I thought offensive line-wise,” Elliott said. “I’ve talked about the guys that have been in the program that may not have the game experience but they’re veteran guys. You look at (Derek) Devine is a guy that’s been here, (Jonathan) Leech is a guy that’s been here, Jestus (Johnson) has been here for a couple years, (Ty) Furnish is a younger guy, but they’ve really started to gel.
“I’m excited to see those guys because the progress that I’ve seen them make over the last couple of weeks has been impressive. That’s a positive for us because I believe with their progression, we’re also going to get more leadership out of that group.”
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Chris Graham
