Mendenhall: Jay Woolfolk Bears Similarities to Brennan Armstrong

Bronco Mendenhall says Jay Woolfolk’s “similarity” to Brennan Armstrong was a factor in the true freshman winning the backup quarterback job

Matt Newton | Nov 11, 2021

As the clock ticks down on the countdown to kickoff of Virginia’s Saturday night showdown with Notre Dame, there is still much uncertainty over UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s status for the game. Armstrong suffered an injury to his ribs in the fourth quarter of Virginia’s 66-49 loss at BYU nearly two weeks ago, but Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall has yet to indicate the severity of the injury nor provide an update on Armstrong’s status for UVA’s game against Notre Dame.

What is clear is who will start in Armstrong’s place if he is unable to play. There are an astounding number of players on Virginia’s roster with some sort of quarterback experience, including Jay Woolfolk, Ira Armstead, Jacob Rodriguez, and even Keytaon Thompson and Jelani Woods, though we have been told that the last two are not actual options on UVA’s depth chart at quarterback.

True freshman Jay Woolfolk has emerged out of the pack as the backup quarterback behind Brennan Armstrong. Woolfolk, who hails from Chesterfield, Virginia, came in and replaced Armstrong after he exited the BYU game, but the Cavaliers had just one offensive possession with Woolfolk at quarterback before the game ended. He entered the game with the Hoos trailing by 17 points late in the fourth quarter on the road against a ranked opponent. In the small sample size of real game action, Woolfolk completed two of five passes for 35 yards and rushed twice for six yards. He led the Cavaliers into BYU territory on that drive, but UVA ended up turning the ball over on downs and the game came to an end on BYU’s ensuing possession.

Given the fact that Woolfolk has barely even thrown the ball in the game for Virginia this season, much of what we know about Woolfolk’s talent as a passer as well as his ability to lead the UVA offense comes from what we’ve heard from Bronco Mendenhall and the Virginia coaching staff.

When asked about how and why Jay Woolfolk won the backup quarterback job over the other candidates, namely Ira Armstead (who Mendenhall is also very high on), Mendenhall said, “Similarity to Brennan, so less change for the offense for [Jay] than for Ira. That allows us to train consistently or more consistently. So that doesn’t mean we don’t like Ira because I really do. He throws well and runs well and is active, dynamic. But less alterations for Jay, right, in relation to Brennan than for Ira.”

Keeping drastic changes to a minimum will be key for Virginia’s offense, which currently leads the country in total offense at 4,907 total yards. The Cavaliers have several playmakers surrounding the quarterback position. So, if Woolfolk can just get the ball to players like Dontayvion Wicks, Keytaon Thompson, and Jelani Woods, then UVA should be able to continue to operate at a high level offensively even without Armstrong.

Armstrong could potentially start the game, though some have suggested that it would be better that he sit out Virginia’s non-conference game against Notre Dame to make sure that he is healthy for UVA’s crucial pair of ACC Coastal games against Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech to end the regular season. But, Bronco Mendenhall has not really entertained that idea.

“Brennan has earned every opportunity to play, even if he just looks out over the field from the balcony,” said Mendenhall. “He trains so hard in mental reps, etc., so it literally is day-to-day and we’re going to give him every minute right until the ball is kicked off to be our quarterback. The team knows that. I know that. He knows that. He’s earned that chance.”

It is clear that Mendenhall wants to have his best players out on the field to give the Cavaliers their best shot at taking down Notre Dame. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, Virginia will have to put together a great performance on both sides of the ball in order to pull off the upset over No. 9 Notre Dame.

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