Virginia football wide receiver Terrell Jana broke out in a big way against North Carolina, hauling in 13 receptions in a must-win game for the Hoos in 2019. ~ Photo courtesy Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Media Relations

Wide receiver Terrell Jana earned high praise from Virginia football head coach Bronco Mendenhall and quarterback Bryce Perkins during spring practice 2019.

“Terrell Jana has been really valued by his peers in terms of leadership, some of our voting for leadership, what we call task unit leaders,” Mendenhall said in this report by Kris Wright. “He’s probably been one of the bright spots of the spring from an offense perspective and we needed that at receiver. I’m excited about that.”

Perkins echoed Mendenhall’s sentiments, saying, “He’s probably one of the biggest emergers on the offense. Just his leadership role has drastically increased. He’s kind of the leader of the receivers. He’s smart. He’s easy to work with. He has great speed. He knows coverages so we’re pretty much on the same page most of the time.”

A tremendous offseason, coupled with two years of experience under his belt, helped Jana emerge as a valuable contributor for Virginia football in 2019. The 6’0”, 190-pound senior appears primed to take his game further in 2020 as UVA’s top returning wideout.

Jana was one of many Cavaliers who raised their level of play last season, which helped UVA achieve its first ever Coastal Division championship, an Orange Bowl berth, and a 9-5 record that included a win over Virginia Tech. Those players could become stars of the team in 2020.

EMERGING STARS: OFFENSE

Terrell Jana, Wide Receiver, Senior

Jana had a respectable 24 catches for 249 yards in the first seven games of last season, highlighted by a 7-catch, 85-yard performance in a thrilling home victory over Florida State. He reached another level in the second half of the year, racking up 49 catches for 629 yards and three touchdowns over UVA’s final seven games. This is included big-time outings versus North Carolina (13 catches, 146 yards), Georgia Tech (9 catches, 108 yards), and Florida (7 catches, 126 yards, 1 touchdown).

The production speaks for itself, but you can also see Jana’s improvement when looking at Pro Football Focus. Jana totaled 692 offensive snaps last season, over 200 more than he received in the previous two seasons combined (151 snaps as a redshirt freshman, 277 as a sophomore). He improved his offense grade from 63 as a sophomore to 75.3 as a junior and his overall receiving grade from 59.5 as a sophomore to 75.8 as a junior. Jana had only one drop in 102 targets according to PFF.

Virginia must replace Perkins, who accounted for almost 80% of the team’s offense, and with Hasise Dubois and Joe Reed gone Jana will be the primary focus of defenses next season. Those are legitimate questions to consider when evaluating Jana’s 2020 prospects. Assuming Brennan Armstrong and/or Keytaon Thompson handle the quarterback duties well, I look for the standout senior receiver to pick up where he left off toward the end of last season and be one of the stars of this team.

Olusegun Oluwatimi, Center, Junior

The success of the Virginia offensive line may well dictate just how successful the Cavaliers are next season. The offensive line is clearly important on any team, but when you consider the amount of production Virginia has to replace with Perkins’ departure, it will take a team effort. A high-quality offensive line is paramount in giving the new quarterback(s), the passing game and the running game the best chance to succeed.

Oluwatimi lines up against Florida State. ~ Photo by Kris Wright

Center Olusegun Oluwatimi started 13 of 14 games and earned Honorable Mention All-ACC honors in his Cavalier debut. Pretty impressive considering the redshirt junior had not played in an actual game since 2016, his senior season at DeMatha Catholic. Oluwatimi attended Air Force but did not play in 2017. He transferred to UVA and sat out 2018 due to NCAA transfer rules.

Pro Football Focus graded the 6’3”, 305-pound redshirt sophomore as the best Virginia offensive lineman in 2019, followed by starting right guard Chris Glaser (66.4) and starting left guard Ryan Nelson (63.1). Oluwatimi finished with the second-highest grade (69.2) of any center in the Atlantic Coast Conference, trailing only Pittsburgh’s Jimmy Morrissey (71.4), who earned All-ACC First Team honors. He had the fourth-best pass-blocking grade at 76.2, a number that ranked 42nd among all Division 1 centers. (Note: All of the offensive line comparisons are of players who played at least 400 snaps last season. Oluwatimi played 933 offensive snaps per PFF.)

Among all offensive linemen in the ACC regardless of position, Oluwatimi’s overall offense grade ranked 16th. For comparison, Louisville tackle and New York Jets 2020 first round draft pick Mekhi Becton graded out the best of any ACC lineman with an overall score of 83.

Oluwatimi achieved pass-blocking grades of over 80 twice (UNC, Georgia Tech) and posted 70.4 or higher in eight games. Run-blocking was his biggest weakness. His grade of 66.0 was seventh among ACC centers.

Overall, 2019 was a good season for Oluwatimi, who I see building off the experience and becoming a top contributor for the Hoos. If the rest of the offensive line follows suit, UVA will be in a very good position up front for the next two seasons.

Billy Kemp IV, Wide Receiver, Junior

I don’t see Kemp IV emerging to star status, but I see him being an important player. Behind Jana, he is the most proven of the returning receivers, and he also provides Virginia with a consistent punt returner.

The former Highland Springs (VA) star played as a true freshman in 2018. Pro Football Focus credited him with 27 offensive snaps and assigned him a 51.8 offense grade and 52.2 receiving grade in 2018. Kemp IV made a tremendous leap forward his sophomore campaign. He played 271 offensive snaps in 2019, finishing with 35 catches for 289 yards and a touchdown you may remember.

Pro Football Focus assigned the 5’9”, 170-pound H-back a 70.4 offense grade and a 71.5 receiving grade. Among all ACC receivers, Kemp IV’s receiving grade was good for 19th in the conference. Twenty ACC receivers achieved a grade of 70 or better last year.