Interview with Jim Reid

Coach Reid hopes to oversee a major improvement on defense in 2011.

Reid Looking for Improvement from Defense

This is a great interview conducted by Jeff White (who I think was one of the greatest hires this athletic department has made -- White's coverage of UVA sports has been fantastic.)


Some of my thoughts from the Q&A:

• The D really missed Ras-I Dowling last year, especially given the situation where almost every week the they were faced with him being "questionable" for the game, and maybe able to play.  More than his ability in coverage, the team missed his tackling along the boundary.  I get the sense that Reid feels strongly that Ras-I would have helped to limit a lot of those big perimeter running plays we gave up last year.
• The coaching staff loves Will Hill.  Here's what Reid had to say:  "Will Hill is a highly intelligent guy, and he is going to play both nose and tackle for us. He understands everything that goes on. He had a great Boston College game towards the end of the year, and he's a guy that just keeps his mouth shut and works. He plays with great violence, great effort and great understanding. He's really terrific."
• I guess that explains why Hill is above Chris Brathwaite in the pecking order at d-tackle.  But Reid still had some glowing comments about Brath:  "The player that made tremendous improvement from Practice 1 to 15 is [redshirt freshman tackle] Chris Brathwaite. At first it was, 'Who is this? Oh, jeez, Brathwaite.' And then, 'Wait a minute, look at Chris.' And then at the end, 'Wow.' He went from 294 [pounds] to about 275 and then became a really fast player. We all like him, and Chris has done a nice job."
• With so many seniors on the roster and in the starting lineup, it's going to be key to see how the snaps shake out with the backups.  With Nick Jenkins and Matt Conrath both exhausting their eligibility after this season, it reads like Hill and Brathwaite could easily be our starting DT tandem heading into the 2012 season.
• We're set at RDE with Cam Johnson, but it sounds like Reid is slightly worried about a lack of pure pass rushers on the roster.  And remember, Johnson is another one of those seniors.  We need to find/develop/recruit elite pass rushers if we want this 4-3 defense to be worth a damn.
• It sounds like Reid has high hopes for Aaron Taliaferro at sam this season.
• The staff's love affair with Daquan Romero continues...  "Da-Da Romero was really good. Having a spring here is going to help him, because he was swimming [at first]. It's not going to be new to him at preseason camp, and I'm telling you he's a hard, hard, hard worker. He's going to get it, and he did some very good things athletically this spring, made some very good moves. Played tough and physical."
• We're thin in the secondary, and I thought Reid very obviously dodged the question that tried to dig deeper into that situation.  Hope (pray) that Tra Nicholson and Brandon Phelps are ready to play this fall.
• "Honestly, I think this group coming in is going to make us better. I really do."  Expect to see some true freshmen suiting up on defense this season.  Romero, Nicholson, and Phelps, obviously.  But who else might see some time?  I'm guessing we'll see Kevin Green in the mix at safety, and maybe a guy like Thompson Brown groomed as a situational pass rusher.  And of course, there are the redshirt freshmen.  Henry Coley will play, as will Chris Brathwaite.  Pablo Alvarez will be on the two-deep at safety.  Drequan Hoskey might make it onto the two-deep at corner.  Stephen Lawe might factor in on the d-line, though I get the feeling he is kind of lost in the shuffle right now.  No doubt, we'll be seeing some new faces on defense this season.
• Taking it one step further...  Here's my updated guess for the starting lineup on defense in 2012:  RDE) Bill Schautz, DT) Will Hill, DT) Chris Brathwaite, RDE) Jake Snyder/Brent Urban, OLB) LaRoy Reynolds, MLB) Steve Greer, OLB) Daquan Romero, S) Pablo Alvarez, S) Kevin Green, CB) Tra Nicholson, CB) Rijo Walker/Brandon Phelps
• We could really use some instant-impact recruits in the 2012 class at defensive end, outside linebacker, and safety.  Yikes.

Wow, sorry for riffing there.