McKale Boley Building Confidence Entering Sophomore Season

After getting valuable playing experience as a freshman, UVA offensive tackle McKale Boley is playing with greater confidence in fall camp

It's not often that freshmen get significant playing time on the offensive line in college football. It's an even rarer thing to see an offensive lineman start in a season opener as a true freshman. For McKale Boley, his experience in his first year with the Virginia football program last fall proved to be the exception to those trends. 

During fall camp last year, further injuries to the UVA offensive line unit, which was already by far the team's most unstable and beleaguered position group, resulted in a freshman McKale Boley being pressed into service for Virginia's season opener against Richmond, becoming just the second player in program history to start a season opener at offensive tackle as a true freshman, the other being three-time NFL Pro Bowler D'Brickashaw Ferguson. 

At 331 pounds, Boley had the size to serve as a big body standing between the quarterback and opposing defensive linemen, but didn't have much else going for him and certainly none of the tools and knowledge possessed by experienced offensive linemen. Boley ended up starting UVA's first two games of the season and appeared in six total games over the course of the 2022 campaign. It was an overwhelming experience, but one that has laid the foundation for Boley to take a big leap in his sophomore year. 

Through the first few practices of fall camp, Boley has already displayed something of a transformation in terms of his on-field demeanor, playing with a level of confidence that was nowhere to be found during his freshman season. 

"He's one of the guys that- his personality has come out," Virginia offensive coordinator Des Kitchings said of Boley this week. "Last year, as a first year kid, probably uncertain of himself, he got thrust into action probably before he was ready even though physically he handled it. And now, he's more confident, cause now he's actually smiling, he's talking, he's jovial. And before, he was just very unsure of himself. So, to see that come out brings a lot of confidence." 

Boley credits his confidence boost to the valuable real-game reps he got last fall, experience not typically earned by freshmen offensive linemen who usually end up redshirting their first collegiate seasons. 

"I think it's definitely helped me because I've been able to prepare myself this year based off how it went last year," Boley said. "Getting thrown into the fire, I wasn't really ready for the physicality and stuff, but now I feel like I know what to expect in the games. I know where I need to be at to be able to compete at a Power Five level. So, that's kind of how I've attacked the summer workouts, spring ball, and now starting fall camp." 

Boley's confidence is also fueled by his comfortability in UVA's offensive system. He has a better understanding of the offense Kitchings and Tony Elliott want to run and has also developed a good relationship with Virginia's new offensive line coach Terry Heffernan. 

"I've gotten to the point to where I'm a little more confident with my ability," said Boley. "Being here for a year, I know the ins and outs. It's a new system and I'm more comfortable in the system so I feel like I can play at a greater speed." 

Boley being able to play faster can also be attributed to the physical changes he has made to his body. This offseason, Boley improved his nutrition, spent some time training with his father Michael Boley, who played nine years in the NFL as a linebacker and won Super Bowl XLVI with the New York Giants, and attacked the offseason strength and conditioning workouts with renewed vigor. The result was a new-look McKale Boley who shredded fat and added muscle and is now listed at a strong 302 pounds on UVA's official roster. 

"His body has changed from the weight room and his conditioning is better," Kitchings said of Boley. "So you see him playing with a lot more power out there at practice. A lot of it is because he's got more athletic confidence about himself." 

Boley's progress has been noticed by his teammates as well. Houston transfer Ugonna Nnanna says that he has developed solid chemistry with Boley, who also possesses a high football IQ. 

"It's been great watching McKale progress," Nnanna said. "Our chemistry has been getting better every practice. Sometimes we don't even speak to each other when we get on the line - we know exactly what we have to do. Watching him grow as a player - his IQ is through the roof. So he knows so much ball and it's been amazing, picking each other's brains and knowing exactly what way we can get better." 

Virginia's offensive line returns just one player who started more than five games last season - junior center Ty Furnish. The additions of transfers Ugonna Nnanna (Houston), Brian Stevens (Dayton), and Jimmy Christ (Penn State) have given the unit a much-needed lift in terms of experience and depth, but having so many new faces can pose a serious challenge for a group where it's essential that five individuals are on the same page moving as one unit. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, building connections and chemistry is a specialty of offensive line coach Terry Heffernan. 

"[Coach Heffernan] brings a great mentality to our group. He's very connection-orientated," Boley said. "He wants us all to have a great connection, not just in football, but outside of football. The stronger your connection is outside of football, the stronger it is in football, so we'll be able to trust your teammates more."

There are many question marks surrounding the offensive side of the ball for the Virginia football program this season, but none bigger than the offensive line. If the Cavaliers are going to have a successful season, it will require impactful play from the transfers and significant contributions from returners like McKale Boley, who has confidence not only in himself, but in his teammates on the offensive line. 

"Our guys believe that we are good," Boley said of the offensive line unit. "We know what we can do, so we'll just put it on display when it comes to the season."

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