When Coach Al Groh returned to the University as the head football coach last year, he brought with him the 3-4 defensive scheme he had used in the NFL. The results were encouraging at times and disappointing at others.
Now, after a year of experience with the new system, the Cavalier defense, led by captain Angelo Crowell, is confident it will be able to execute the 3-4 defense and make some plays that it missed last season.
Referring to the positioning of the front seven, the 3-4 defense run by Virginia is one-of-a-kind in the ACC.
With only three down linemen, Groh is depending on his four linebackers, including Crowell, to make or break big plays.
Comparing their current comfort with the system to last year, Crowell said, "That's not even close. I just feel like everyone has got on the same page and I think that's our biggest difference. Knowing that the players beside you know what you're doing, it just allows us to make plays."
Groh believes this year's team has improved in other ways as well.
"I think it's apparent we have some faster players than what we had available last year," he said.
One of the advantages of the 3-4 defense is the zone blitz, which Crowell said gets into the game plan from week to week.
"Any four of those linebackers can blitz at any time," Crowell said. "As far as the run, we have a two gap defense, so what [the linebackers] try to do is just build a complete wall without any seams or any holes so the running back will have to run everything from side to side."
As a junior last year, Crowell set a school record with 144 tackles, fourth in the nation among returning players.
Crowell will play alongside both experienced and inexperienced linebackers. Senior Merrill Robertson will play directly next to Crowell on the inside, and junior Raymond Mann, who started 11 games last year, will help add experience to the linebacker position. There will be some talented younger players who get playing time at linebacker, such as true freshman Darryl Blackstock, who recorded six tackles and a sack in last week's loss to Colorado State, including two tackles for a loss.
The only part of the defense to return completely intact this year is the secondary, where safeties Jerton Evans and Shernard Newby will team up with cornerbacks like Art Thomas to try to shut down opponents' passing games.
The success of the secondary, however, might rest more on the linebackers and inexperienced defensive line than the battle-tested secondary.
"When we blitz it's our job to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands as soon as possible," Crowell said. "The secondary is only as good as the defensive line or the blitz. Any quarterback that can hold on to the ball all day long can pick any secondary apart. It's really a team effort" to stop the pass.
The Cavaliers have had to completely revamp their defensive line this year, losing all three starters from last season.
What the Cavs lost in experience, they gained in size on their new defensive front three. Six-foot-4, 303-pound true freshman Kwakou Robinson, and 6-3, 255-pound redshirt freshman Brennan Schmidt figure as prominent bookends of the defensive line, although their inexperience is bound to lead to some mistakes.
"They're definitely listening to the older players," Crowell said of the rookies. "Coach Groh says they have a lot of talent and from what I saw it was evident that they have a lot of talent, but they're young and they make some mistakes."
Groh has shown much confidence in his younger players, giving them plenty of playing time so far.
"There could be a lot of developing players," Groh said. "Whether it is a player who red-shirted last year and is still moving up, or it's a player who just arrived here this year who is making significant progress -- if that player is ready to push for a position, then he'll be given the opportunity."
As the younger players learn to play with their teammates in Groh's system, the Cavalier defense hopes to make the 3-4 defense a fearsome facet of Virginia football.
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