With the Virginia soccer season just some days away, we proceed our preview collection with a breakdown of the UVA particular groups unit. 

Try our breakdown of the Virginia offense right here: Virginia Soccer 2022 Season Preview: Offense

Tony Elliott and the brand new teaching employees have emphasised that they contemplate particular groups to be equally as necessary as offense and protection. With that in thoughts, it seems that Elliott and particular groups coordinator Keith Gaither will likely be placing their greatest gamers on the sector throughout kickoffs, punts, and discipline objectives. On the staff’s remaining open observe of preseason final week, the staff was working towards onside kick restoration and Virginia’s tandem of huge receivers – Keytaon Thompson, Dontayvion Wicks, Billy Kemp IV, and Lavel Davis Jr. – have been all on the sector as a part of UVA’s “arms staff” to safe the ball on the onside kick. The chance, as all the time, will likely be accidents, however the Cavaliers are keen to take that probability as a way to put their greatest foot ahead on performs that might very effectively decide the end result of a sport. 

Virginia launched its week 1 depth chart for the Richmond sport on Tuesday, which gave us a take a look at who is anticipated to begin at every of the positions on the particular groups unit. 

As anticipated, junior Brendan Farrell will deal with each placekicking and kickoffs this season. Farrell took over as Virginia’s kicker a number of video games into the 2021 season after Justin Duenkel went down with an harm. To his credit score, Farrell didn’t skip a beat, changing on 11 of his 13 discipline objective makes an attempt and making all 34 of his PATs. Throughout fall camp, Tony Elliott introduced that Farrell has been positioned on scholarship, an superior second for a deserving athlete. 

Behind Farrell on the depth chart is first 12 months Will Bettridge, who was ranked the No. 1 kicker within the 2022 recruiting class by Kornblue Kicking and the No. 3 kicker within the nation by 247Sports. 

Holding for Brendan Farrell on discipline objectives will likely be junior quarterback Jared Rayman, who was additionally positioned on scholarship this month. 

Brendan Farrell was additionally being thought of as a punter, as he’s able to dealing with each kicking and punting, however that concept poses an affordable concern that it could be an excessive amount of for his leg. As a substitute, punting duties will go to Minnesota switch Daniel Sparks. A 6’6″, 200-pound sophomore from Gadsden, Alabama, Sparks performed his freshman season in 2020 at Louisiana-Monroe, the place he began all ten video games, punting 33 instances and averaging 44.6 yards per punt, the second-best mark within the Solar Belt Convention. Sparks parlayed his stable freshman marketing campaign at Louisiana-Monroe right into a scholarship supply at a Huge Ten soccer program, transferring to Minnesota in January 2021. The Golden Gophers opted to go together with Mark Crawford as their beginning punter, so Sparks didn’t see any sport motion within the 2021 season. Now, Sparks involves Virginia, the place he hopes to be the following profitable switch punter for the Cavaliers, following Jacob Finn, who was stable in his lone season at UVA in 2021 after transferring from Florida. 

One other switch will occupy the place of lengthy snapper, as Boston Faculty grad switch Aidan Livingston beat out Lee Dudley for the beginning job. Though he didn’t seem in any video games final fall, Livingston was BC’s main snapper on punts in 2020 and dealt with snapping for discipline objectives and punts as a real freshman in 2019. 

Virginia has some acquainted faces occupying the 2 return positions. As he has for the previous couple of seasons, fifth-year receiver Billy Kemp IV will deal with UVA’s punt-returning duties. Kemp first began returning punts as a real freshman throughout Virginia’s victory over South Carolina within the Belk Bowl and he has been UVA’s main choice at that place ever since. 

Junior operating again Mike Hollins has been named the beginning kick-returner. Hollins returned 4 kickoffs for 71 yards in a single sport towards Wake Forest final season. Look out for Wisconsin switch Devin Chandler to have some probabilities on the return positions this season as effectively. 

Keep tuned to CavaliersNow for extra Virginia soccer preseason protection. 

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See extra Virginia soccer information and content material: Virginia Soccer on Sports activities Illustrated

See extra Virginia sports activities information and content material: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports activities Illustrated

Extra Virginia soccer information and content material

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Virginia Soccer 2022 Season Preview: Offense