FINISHING STRONG & PAYING TRIBUTE

SPRING GAME HIGHLIGHTS

DEFENSIVE DAY

“The defense played stronger and with more intent, culture and passion than our offense. They were more physical. Offensively, we responded late, but too late, and not enough.” – Head coach Bronco Mendenhall

“That’s how we measure our defense, the number of turnovers we can get. The more the merrier.” – Inside linebacker Jordan Mack, who had a pick-six during the game.

“It was a physical day and that was our intent.” – Bronco Mendenhall

THE THIEF

“It is all about the ball. It’s everything we talk about. We set goals to go plus two – have two more takeaways than our opponents – because that’s going to give us a high percentage of winning every game. So, it’s the main focus.” – All-America cornerback Bryce Hall

“We started a little slow and were up and down. We have a lot to improve on, especially me, but we showed spurts of great competiveness and aggression. It’s definitely not how we should have come out, but it’s great because we have a whole offseason to get better.” – Quarterback Bryce Perkins

SHARPER IMAGE

Tailback Chris Sharp rips off a long run ... AND ...

UVA running backs coach Mark Atuaia reacts to the big play.

“We have to do better than last year. We have to build. We can’t stay the same. Last year was last year’s team. This year is this year’s team. There is a sense of urgency to find an identity for it.” – Bryce Perkins

“Urgent is the bottom line if you are asking where we are now. We’re racing against the clock to be ready for our opener.” – Bronco Mendenhall

THE OBSERVATION

THE CELEBRATION

The Virginia athletics department celebrated the life of former football coach George Welsh in a tribute ceremony Saturday morning that included representatives from his career coaching stops at Penn State, Navy and UVA.

"I think we can all agree that George was the embodiment of a leader." – Rondé Barber

"I thought I knew football. I knew no football compared to George Welsh, and we learned that in spades when we played Virginia." – Former college football coach Bill Curry.

"It's worth remembering, George was Roger Staubach before Roger Staubach."– John Feinstein

"YOU CAN DO BOTH"

Appreciate