Virginia lacked an identity on both sides of the ball and had one of the most disappointing seasons in the ACC in 2012.
Virginia’s response to its identity crisis focused on improving the quality of the coaching staff under head coach Mike London. The Cavaliers hired three new assistant coaches with a cumulative 101 years of experience, including Tom O’Brien, who was fired from his position as head coach of N.C. State following the 2012 season.
This season Virginia has two quarterbacks in contention for the starting nod—sophomore David Watford and redshirt freshman Greyson Lambert—who could both end up seeing time as they develop their skill sets on the field The Cavaliers lost dual-threat running back Perry Jones, but return the entirety of their receiving corps.
On the defensive side of the ball, youth will be more of a hindrance, as inexperience in the secondary and linebacking corps will put pressure on the defensive line to harass opposing quarterbacks.
The most glaring weakness for the Cavaliers is in special teams, a unit whose only consistent feature is ranking in the bottom of the ACC.
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