"LET'S GO"

"LET'S GO" THE RUNNING BACKS

THE HIGHLIGHTS

RALLY CRY

“He likes to say ‘Let’s Go’ but he does it in a way you know it is Coach Atuaia. You can hear it from a mile away and everyone knows it's him.” - Running back Wayne Taulapapa

“My main goal this spring was to find who would take the production from JE (Jordan Ellis). Seeing Lamont, PK, Sharp, Jamari and Wayne and what they can do, they showed me a few things and I think the competition is going to carry over into fall camp. Seeing what each of them can do now, without JE around, has been telling. I think we’re in good hands.” – Running backs coach Mark Atuaia

ATTACKING THE SPRING

“We wanted to protect the ball. We wanted to block well and we wanted to score touchdowns. And I think we did a great job. Every day before practice we work on ball security and we practice our placement on blocks. I think we did really good at that this spring.” – Lamont Atkins

“We didn’t start off as fast as we wanted to, but we came back and we came back hard. That’s good, especially with some of the new guys stepping up to fill some of the spots we need to without Jordan (Ellis) here. We stepped up being able to find everybody new roles.” - Jamari Peacock

THE APPROACH

“He’s all heart. You can tell he really cares for us as individuals and as a position group. You can tell he cares for the game. He is able to communicate well with us on a personal level. That feels great. With coaches, it is either going to be like a business or be like a family. Coach Atuaia makes us feel like one of his own. That translate well onto the field.” – Chris Sharp

“As a teacher, Coach Atuaia can find a way to make you learn information. Whether it’s raising his voice or telling you plain and simple how to do it. We know that all of intentions come from the heart and that’s what makes it easier to learn from him.” – Jamari Peacock

“As a running backs group, we need to protect the ball and block well. We had Jordan Ellis last year who was a big part of our offense. He’s gone, so we have big shoes to fill. That was our main goal and main objective. We want to maintain that level of production and eventually surpass it. I think we did a good job with that this spring.” - Chris Sharp

“I was trained to be an attorney and all roads pointed that way, but my passion was to coach football and develop young men. That to me trumped everything else. I was going to be happy doing that at either a place like this or a high school or somewhere. Coaching is my passion. Every day I get to do what I want to do, so that makes me happy.” - Mark Atuaia

“He’s basically one of us. I look at him as a coach but he’s part of our family. Our family is his family and his family is our family. This past Sunday for Easter we all went to his house for dinner and spent a really good time together.” – Lamont Atkins

THE OBSERVATION

THE REST OF THE STORY

THE TRIBUTE

Saturday UVA athletics will host a tribute to former head coach George Welsh, who passed away in January. The event begins at 10 a.m. at John Paul Jones Arena. Welsh served as the head football coach at Virginia from 1982 to 2000. During that 19-year period, he compiled a record of 134-86-3 and retired as the winningest coach in ACC history.

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