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
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal Division
Record6–7 (3–5 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRobert Anae (2nd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple[1]
Defensive coordinatorNick Howell (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumScott Stadium
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
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 (FL) 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

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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
G 65 Ben Knutson RFr
G 70 Steven Moss Jr
G 71 Jack McDonald Sr
G 74 John Montelus Sr
G 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
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2017-09-09

Coaching changes

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Depth chart

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Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 23:30 p.m.William & Mary*ACCN ExtraW 28–1038,828
September 93:30 p.m.Indiana*
  • Scott Stadium
  • Charlottesville, VA
ESPNUL 17–3438,993
September 1612:00 p.m.UConn*
  • Scott Stadium
  • Charlottesville, VA
ESPN2W 38–1833,056
September 228:00 p.m.at Boise State*ESPN2W 42–2333,947
October 712:20 p.m.Duke
  • Scott Stadium
  • Charlottesville, VA
ACCNW 28–2138,638
October 143:30 p.m.at North CarolinaACCRSNW 20–1450,000
October 2112:30 p.m.Boston College 
  • Scott Stadium
  • Charlottesville, VA
ACCRSNL 10–4139,216
October 2812:30 p.m.at PittsburghACCRSNL 14–3130,889
November 43:00 p.m.Georgia Tech
  • Scott Stadium
  • Charlottesville, VA
ACCRSNW 40–3638,448
November 113:30 p.m.at LouisvilleESPNUL 21–3846,787
November 1812:00 p.m.at No. 2 Miami (FL)ABCL 28–4463,415
November 248:00 p.m.No. 24 Virginia Tech
ESPNL 0–1048,609
December 281:30 p.m.at Navy*ESPNL 7–4935,921
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Source:[3]

Game summaries

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William & Mary

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

Indiana

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

UConn

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

At Boise State

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

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

At North Carolina

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

Boston College

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

At Pittsburgh

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

Georgia Tech

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

At Louisville

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

At Miami (FL)

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

Virginia Tech

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

At Navy (Military Bowl)

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

2018 NFL Draft

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

References

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  1. ^ a b c "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.