Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff Wednesday, July 21, 2021 Charlotte, North Carolina, USA Coach Bronco Mendenhall

Press Conference Q. Virginia gave up 304 yards a game last year. That's not characteristic of your defenses at all. How did it happen? Maybe COVID had something to do with it. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Mendenhall. What is the off-season tale to fix that problem?

Q. Where does your team stand with vaccinations, BRONCO MENDENHALL: The biggest determinant on percentages, how that helps you move forward with a outcomes of games in the COVID year was our potentially normal fall? secondary's play, yards led to points in the secondary. A little bit of carryover from the year before. I would say the BRONCO MENDENHALL: The has a last year and a half. unique policy. I'm not sure how widespread it is. All students are required to be vaccinated before they come The Orange Bowl year and our Coastal Championship, the back to Charlottesville. There are possibly two end of that year injuries started to happen. There was a exemptions. Medical exemption is possibly one of them, significant dropoff in our defensive performance. Some of religious exemption is the other. We don't make those those same issues occurred in the COVID year as well. decisions, the university does. Health, depth, then possibly implementation of I would say the best players at the best time, keeping them healthy, will Every player on my team has 100% been vaccinated or have a lot to do with our success defensively. been granted the exemption at this point. So a characteristic, about a year and a half's worth of a Q. Five years and change now as you head into year similar result, starting with injury, then possibly not number six. What can you say about assessing these innovating far enough to address the injuries is how I would last five years and what you've seen out of yourself as assess it. well as from what your plan was when you came in? Q. I'm a big fan. BRONCO MENDENHALL: Assessment and development would be growth and progress. In terms of the timing, I BRONCO MENDENHALL: Me, too (smiling). expected our year two to be year one. So year one in Charlottesville was year two post-season, year three was a Q. I predict much improvement from New Mexico this bowl game victory, year four was the Coastal year with the defense. I want to know his influence on Championship then to the Orange Bowl, which is a pretty you and his overall impact as a great defensive mind aggressive ascent in four years. I'm not sure where to put and how it's impacted you in your career. the COVID year right now other than in its own category. BRONCO MENDENHALL: Thanks for the question. The Really I would view it as if we were going to a play where coach that's had the most influence on me as head coach, we've seen act one, four years, with the COVID not but also maybe more importantly as a defensive necessarily being intermission, but some different coordinator, which I held both roles for a long time. Most of category, now act two is coming, which is the next four what I learned that was positive and effective about years. defensive football came from Rocky.

I think aggressive success, incremental improvement, and He thrives on an effort-based system, blitzing and unique now to apply the learnings from the COVID year will really looks that really are unidentifiable prior to the snap. But determine the next four years, including the one coming really the mindset is what sets his defenses apart besides up. the innovation.

110524-2-1001 2021-07-22 22:01:00 GMT Page 1 of 3 That served me so well. His system, the 3-3-5, has been BRONCO MENDENHALL: I think framing how we replicated and is having and has had a lot of success. It's consider a possible graduate transfer, and I love the idea what I chose to run at when I of a grad transfer knowing that they have completed their first arrived there. The roots of that still have led to I would eligibility but also have graduated, which is the primary say my success as a head football coach. So I would reason to go to college anyway. So I love acknowledging attribute it directly to his influence. and looking there because they've already shown, they've grasped the idea of doing both things that are really No question at New Mexico they'll have more success, so important. Danny Gonzales, who is the head coach, was my graduate assistant when I was at New Mexico. I coached him as But then it comes to, I think any one of us in any capacity well as being a GA for me. Rocky taught me basically, I wants to be needed and wanted. I won't consider a coached and taught Danny. It's really fun to see the next graduate transfer that we don't really need, but then I better generation kind of emerging. like him as a person, otherwise what is a grind that is to be with someone you don't like every day. Those two criteria I love the idea of succession planning grown from within. have to be met. Almost all of my coaches played for me or were GA, so I love that model. Really so much of it came through In Jelani's case at tight end, really a good fit and really a expectations. Rocky just would not tolerate you not trying good player. We've already seen that in the fall. In the hard. He could tolerate a lot of other things, but if you did secondary, back to one of the first questions we had, we not try hard, that was not okay. learned that injuries matter and that secondary controls points. We haven't been quite deep enough. I've loved and embraced that philosophy ever since. So we look to the grad transfer market to add some depth Q. The team really struggled away last year despite and stability, knowing that football is a physical game and the lack of fans. What do you think about the impact of injuries can happen. In a secondary, wow, does that affect fans coming back not only to Scott Stadium but to outcome. So we needed more depth there, which we got. opposing stadiums as well? Each of the choices have been specific, intentional, but BRONCO MENDENHALL: Our current program goes also the players know they could be valued and have a more than the pandemic year. 17-2 is what our record has chance to upgrade a role than maybe what they had been at home, we're second to last in the ACC in my elsewhere. tenure on the road. It's not just a pandemic-specific thing. Our program has been built very intentionally to become It really ends up being a win-win. Then a chance for a dominant at home, then we have to expand and be graduate degree at UVA, that's rocket fuel for their future. exceptional own the road. Besides football, it's a great thing.

The year we won the Coastal Division, again we were Q. We've seen a lot of quarterbacks today, wide dominant at home, beat not only Pitt but UNC on the road. receivers, running backs, safeties, linebackers. Leads That's about what the model has called for on the Coastal me to ask the question, how do you feel about your Division where you have to be excellent at home and at special teams this year? least 50% on the road. BRONCO MENDENHALL: To be determined. So the We are currently not doing that. That's the next level of reason you're asking is we're losing our place kicker and expansion, to have consistency in our program, to maintain we're losing our punter. To be determined. Really like what we're already doing at home, which is very strong, Justin Duenkel. He was our kickoff player last year, but he then that has to travel, and that hasn't yet. That's one of earned the job in the spring, which isn't the fall yet, in the areas of growth. And it wasn't pandemic-specific. handling our PATs and field goals as well. Justin Duenkel could be handling all place kicking responsibilities. Q. You've added some faces through the transfer portal, obviously some new faces coming in. In the Then our punter, Brendan Farrell, I really liked what I saw secondary you have a couple new guys, potentially from him in the spring, but we did add a grad transfer. you could classify Ronnie Walker Jr. as a new transfer. How far you kick the ball in field position does matter. A How do some of these players fit into the system and graduate transfer from Florida has arrived. There will be what do you expect from them this season? competition there.

110524-2-1001 2021-07-22 22:01:00 GMT Page 2 of 3 What I've learned over time is competition usually drives performance. It doesn't allow complacency. Especially in positions of vital impact, yeah, we need that when we punt the football.

We haven't named a punter yet. We'll find out. Justin has the spot through spring. He has to carry it through the fall.

The return game is a whole other issue. Yeah, don't know yet on the returner other than Billy Kemp is our punt returner. Don't have a kickoff returner yet.

Q. You spoke about your grad transfers. One of those guys in the secondary is Josh Hayes from North Dakota State. Speak on his role for the team, what he brings to your locker room.

BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, a pretty simple principle as well I use when considering grad transfers. If I don't think they can start, I won't bring them. When you've played and been successful in a current institution, which he has, three FCS championship games, being a starter, doing really well, doesn't make sense to consider a player like that as a backup, really, or any grad transfer.

Again, we're looking to improve our play in the secondary, improve our play at corner and to improve our play, quite frankly, in managing points and yards through the air. We think, from what we've seen, he could do all of those things, will add a lot of value to us.

But then leadership skills and work ethic, all those intangibles -- kind of back to if I don't like a player, I don't want to be around him every day, I won't bring him -- instantly liked Josh and who he is. He's been a seamless fit to our program. So really excited about him.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you.

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