More than two decades have passed since Virginia last ran the ball as consistently as it has over the last four games.
The No. 24 Hoos (4-1, 2-0 ACC) head into Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. conference clash at Louisville (4-0, 1-0 ACC) having rushed for at least 200 yards in each of their last four contests.
That hasn’t been done at UVa since 2004 when the Cavaliers eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark in five consecutive games.
They’re using three different running backs — J’Mari Taylor, Xavier Brown and Harrison Waylee — effectively, too.
“Any of them can go out and produce for us,” fourth-year offensive coordinator Des Kitchings said.
Taylor, a transfer from FCS North Carolina Central, is the workhorse starter and has more carries than Brown and Waylee combined. Taylor’s seven rushing touchdowns are tied for the fifth most in the country and for the most in the ACC with Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King.
Waylee, a Wyoming transfer, is the nation’s active leader in career rushing yards, and Brown averaged 6.7 yards per run in a strong showing off the bench against Florida State.
Kitchings said going into the Cavaliers’ game last Friday against FSU, the Hoos believed they held an edge that would enable them to run the ball well even though the Seminoles hadn’t previously given up a rushing touchdown and were only surrendering 78.3 rushing yards per game through their first three contests.
“Some of it was just our conditioning, and we talked about that,” as an offense, Kitchings said. “We felt like we would have an advantage in regard to that. If you looked at their four-week stretch, they had a tough [opponent] in their opener [against Alabama] and then they played another game, had bye week and then played a game whereas we had played in some competitive contests. So, we felt like from a game-speed and game-stamina perspective, we might’ve been a little better conditioned than them and that’s what we sold to our guys.
“They took it,” Kitchings continued, “and had some success early on, and then our O-Line’s confidence built throughout the game and we were able to change the line of scrimmage.”
The result was 211 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground against the Seminoles.
That was with backup interior offensive lineman Kevin Wigenton II, an Illinois transfer, inserted as a starter for the first time as a member of the Hoos at right guard and moving right guard Drake Metcalf to center.
“That’s the next-man up mentality,” Brown said. “That’s what those guys have done since [training] camp started with the injury-riddled offensive line that we’ve had, but it’s just been guys stepping up and doing their jobs.”
Throughout the campaign, Metcalf and other offensive linemen like left tackle McKale Boley and left guard Noah Josey said it doesn’t matter to them which running back is carrying the ball. That’s because the O-Line blocks similarly for whoever is in at running back even though the three ball-carriers have different skill sets.
This season, Taylor has flashed a few times how he’s capable of bouncing off defenders and then bursting ahead for a long gain like he did on Friday night late in the first half when he broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and then jetted forward for a 26-yard touchdown against Florida State.
“You’re really starting to see J’Mari emerge as an eraser-type back,” Cavaliers coach Tony Elliott said. “He’s showing his elusive ability, and then also he can run with power and he just has a knack for the big play.”
Brown has fit well in UVa’s wide-zone schemes ever since he got to Charlottesville in 2022, and Waylee has proven quickly that he is difficult to bring down when running between the tackles.
Elliott said the Cavaliers are hopeful that reserve running back Noah Vaughn (ankle) returns to action this week also.
“They’re tough,” Louisville defensive coordinator Ron English said about the Cavaliers’ attack, which is 12th in the FBS for rushing (243.4 yards per game).
“I think they’re physically tough,” English said. “I think they’re mentally tough. When you look at the roster, they’ve got a lot of experience. The [running] backs run downhill and you’ve got to scrap it up. … You’ve got to strap it up and strike somebody because they’re going to run right over top of you if you don’t.”
Kitchings said English is one of the best defensive coordinators in the ACC, and that English has used more multiple looks this fall compared to the last two years when the Cavaliers have matched up against the Cardinals.
UVa’s offensive line will have to identify those varying fronts, and make sure it is accounting for outstanding Louisville defensive end Clev Lubin and linebacker T.J. Quinn. They’ve combined for 43 tackles this season.
English said Louisville must factor in the threat of UVa quarterback Chandler Morris taking off to run as well.
Morris had three rushing touchdowns to help the Cavaliers beat the Seminoles, and the last of those three touchdowns was the game-winner in the second overtime.
In the two meetings in 2023 and 2024 between UVa and Louisville, too, while the Cardinals largely stymied UVa running backs, they allowed former Hoos quarterback Anthony Colandrea to combine for 173 rushing yards over the two games. So, Morris could be in for a productive performance as a rusher.
Josey said Morris has a great feel for how to execute designed quarterback runs and for when to take off if receivers are covered or pressure is apparent in the pocket in the passing game.
“It gives you a lot of confidence as an offensive lineman that you can go out there,” Josey said, “and throw your punch and that he can take care of himself.”
A win for the Hoos would give them their first four-game winning streak under Elliott, and send them to their first 5-1 start since 2017.
Greg Madia
gmadia@dailyprogress.com
@GregMadia on X
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Greg Madia
UVa Sports Reporter
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