Virginia Football: Looking to Get Special Teams Back on Track in 2024

Matt Newton | Aug 29, 2024

Will Bettridge converted on 18 of his 21 field goal attempts in 2023. / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

When a new season of college football arrives, it brings with it opportunities for players, coaches, and teams to improve in areas where they might have not had as much success in the previous year. If you're looking for a unit that desperately wants to put 2023 behind it and turn the page to a new season, look no further than the Virginia special teams unit, which has been utterly disastrous in the first two years under Tony Elliott and his special teams coordinator Keith Gaither.

After ranking 90th in all of college football in special teams in 2022, things got even worse last season, as the Cavaliers had two punts blocked for touchdowns in games that were ultimately decided by one score, had only 20 of 58 kickoffs go for touchbacks (second-fewest in the ACC), and ranked 11th in the ACC in average net kickoff yards and 13th in the league in average net punt yards.

"We weren't very good on special teams. Obviously, our job as coaches is to self-scout and analyze every aspect of our performance, and special teams, we were last in the league, and rightfully so because we put some bad stuff on tape," said Tony Elliott during fall camp.

Virginia needs to flip the script on special teams and it starts by cleaning up the miscues. The Cavaliers don't need to hit home runs every time the special teams unit takes the field, but simply avoid the disastrous plays that nearly singlehandedly lost them multiple games last season.

Fortunately for Virginia, its roster in 2024 is filled with players who have an abundance of experience, which should ideally translate to fewer missed assignments, fewer mistakes, and better execution overall. The Cavaliers should also feel fairly optimistic about the names they have filling the key roles on special teams. Let's take a look at the special teams section of UVA's week 1 depth chart, which was released on Tuesday, and some key takeaways from it:

Virginia Football - Week 1 Depth Chart - Richmond / Virginia Athletics

Daniel Sparks - Triple Duty
Sparks is the only Cavalier listed on the depth chart as the starter at three different positions. The former Second-Team All-ACC selection will be UVA's starting punter for the third season in a row and will also handle kickoffs and serve as the holder on field goals. For Sparks, the questions will be whether he can regain the three yards per punt he lost on his average from 2022 to 2023, avoid having any of his punts blocked (which is only partially his responsibility), and then put more kickoffs out of the back of the end zone for touchbacks than Matt Ganyard did last season.

Chris Tyree - Double Duty
Virginia is obviously trying to put the ball in Chris Tyree's hands as often as possible, as the Notre Dame transfer is listed as the starter at both punter returner and kick returner. It's a sensible choice, given that Tyree is a dynamic athlete with elite speed. A former running back who converted to wide receiver in his final season in South Bend, Tyree became the first Fighting Irish football player in two decades to score a punt return, kick return, rushing, and receiving touchdown in his career.

Other Returner Candidates
Many of the names behind Tyree at the two returner positions on the depth chart are unsurprising. Kent State transfer Trell Harris had a great camp and locked up a starting wide receiver spot to begin the season. Ethan Davies has spent much of his UVA career working out as a returner on special teams, returning 12 punts and two kickoffs over the last two seasons. Similarly, Suderian Harrison attempted eight punt returns as a freshman in 2023, so he makes a lot of sense as an option at punt returner.

The name that stands out from the rest is Antonio Clary, who is listed as the backup to Tyree at punt returner. Clary is back after missing all of 2023 with injuries and, according to the depth chart, could be looking to make an impact with the ball in his hands in addition to patrolling Virginia's defensive backfield from the safety spot. The sixth-year has returned one punt in his career, a one-yard return back in the 2021 season. We're not sure how often it'll actually happen, but we'd love to see Clary get a couple chances to return a punt this fall.

Possible big year for Will Bettridge
Bettridge has a lot of experience under his belt as he enters his third season. In 2023, he made 18 of his 21 field goal attempts, or 85.7%, one of only five kickers returning to college football this season who converted field goals at that rate last year. Bettridge is 8/11 on attempts of at least 40 yards in his career. Look for Bettridge to stretch his range and, more importantly, continue to kick with consistency.

True freshmen appearance
Just as Bettridge had a significant role in the UVA kicking game as a freshman, true freshman Max Prozny now slots in as Bettridge's backup at placekicker and as the backup to Sparks on kickoffs. Meanwhile, Elijah Slibeck, who redshirted the 2023 season, is listed as the backup to Sparks at both punter and holder.

Long-Snapper
Payton Bunch comes in as a transfer from Coastal Carolina to serve as Virginia's starting long-snapper. He played in 29 total games over four seasons for the Chanticleers, playing every game in each of the last two seasons. Linebacker Stevie Bracey was in consideration to play long-snapper before his season-ending injury, but now the backup job will go to sophomore tight end Hayden Rollison, who beat out Luke Byrne for that position.

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