Keith Gaither Updates Virginia's Special Teams Unit After Fall Camp

Special teams coordinator Keith Gaither gave status updates on UVA's kicking, punting, and return units following fall camp

With Virginia football wrapping up fall camp on Monday, the media had a chance to speak with head coach Tony Elliott and each of his coordinators, including special teams coordinator Keith Gaither, who provided some insight on who we might expect to see lining up at various positions on special teams when UVA kicks off the season in less than two weeks. 

The only special teams position with a definite starter at this point is punter with senior Daniel Sparks leading the way as the team's lone selection to the 2023 Preseason All-ACC Football Team. Sparks led the ACC with an average of 45.9 yards per punt and was named a Second-Team All-ACC selection in 2022, but Gaither hopes Sparks can continue to find ways to improve and help make Virginia's all-around punt coverage more effective. 

"Sparks is just like a quarterback," Gaither said on Monday. "He's a weapon. I mean he can flip the field with his kick. He's done a great job for us with ball placement, hangtime. But we got to do a good job protecting him and allow him to be himself because he is a weapon for our team." 

Rising sophomore Will Bettridge, who appeared in six games as a true freshman, is reportedly in a "heated competition" with 34-year-old and former Marine helicopter pilot Matt Ganyard, who joined the program as a walk-on at the beginning of fall camp. 

"Matt has been a pleasant surprise," Gaither said of Ganyard, who is currently in his second year of an MBA program at UVA's Darden School of Business. "And if we were to start a game today, he might be our kickoff guy. He's gonna be right up in the running, so that tells you a little bit." 

Ganyard might end up being Virginia's starter for kickoffs, an appealing prospect to Gaither, who says it's good to have a different player fulfilling each kicking role. But Ganyard is also competing with Bettridge for placekicker and Gaither says that competition is expected to last "into next week."

"It's a heated competition in the placekicking as of right now between Will [Bettridge] and Matt [Ganyard] and we'll see the best man win," Gaither said. "They both were competing for kickoff and field goal, so that's been a heated competition. It should go into next week." 

It seems the most likely outcome is that Bettridge will kick field goals and extra points, while Ganyard will at least get a shot at handling kickoffs for the Cavaliers, but this is certainly an intriguing storyline to follow as the season approaches. 

Switching over to returners, Gaither is very pleased with the shear number of candidates he has to consider as potential kick and punt returners. Wide receivers Demick Starling, Malik Washington, and Suderian Harrison and running backs Kobe Pace, Mike Hollins, and Perris Jones are all in the running for kick returner, while Harrison, Washington, and Ethan Davies are contending for punt returner. 

"Think about Demick Starling. I mean he's a legit 10.4 guy. He's as fast as most college players in the country and so he's capable of scoring every time he touches the ball," Gaither said. "You got Malik Washington who was a really outstanding kick returner. Then you got Suderian [Harrison], then you still throw in Kobe Pace, Mike Hollins, Perris Jones. As a kick returner, we got a boatload of guys that are capable of getting the job done." 

"And then as punt returners, we got Ethan Davies, you still got Suderian, you got Malik Washington, so we got a large number of guys that are capable of going so that makes me feel good as the guy making the call. They just got to show and prove during the game."

That Suderian Harrison, a true freshman receiver who just arrived on Grounds earlier this summer, is making a push for both returner positions comes as no surprise to Gaither. 

"We knew he was gonna be athletic. We knew he can help us on special teams, so we're not surprised," Gaither said of Harrison. "He's been taking reps as the punt returner and as a kickoff returner. He's got room for improvement, but he's a guy that's gonna be thrown in the mix early." 

Gaither also noted that there are 15-20 players who aren't likely to be starters on offense or defense, but who he considers starters on special teams. 

"I think I tallied up anywhere from 15 to 20 guys that are truly core guys that I consider starters on special teams," Gaither said. "What's that mean? That means they can start on at least two or three units. I think they're guys that can play, should be starters on offense or defense that are just not. So, I feel really good about the depth of core guys." 

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