Virginia football wide receiver Billy Kemp IV had 35 catches for 289 yards and a touchdown in 2019. Through two games in 2020, the junior has 17 receptions for 166 yards, including a 10-catch, 96-yard effort versus No. 1 Clemson. ~ Photo credit: Jim Daves, Virginia Athletics Media Relations

A major question heading into Virginia football’s 2020 season was who, outside of Terrell Jana, would step up to fill the production void left at wide receiver with the departures of Hasise Dubois and Joe Reed. True freshman Lavel Davis Jr. has received high praise for his performance and deservedly so, as the 6’7” wideout has hauled in six catches with two touchdowns and is UVA’s clear big-play threat. But Billy Kemp IV has emerged as sophomore quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s favorite target through the first two games of the season.

The 5’9”, 170-pound wideout has accumulated 17 catches and racked up 166 yards in the first two games of his junior campaign. Ten of those receptions and 96 yards came in Saturday night’s loss to No. 1 Clemson. Workmanlike is an adjective you could use to describe Kemp IV’s performance thus far. Judging from his comments post-Clemson, head coach Bronco Mendenhall would likely agree with that description.

“I think Billy’s one of the best practice players in our program,” Virginia football head coach Bronco Mendenhall said of Kemp IV, who was also hailed by the Cavalier coach for his consistency during fall camp. “Every single day, he hustles, he works, he catches, he competes, he hustles, he works, he catches, he competes, he hustles, he works, he catches and competes ... it looks just like practice. He’s really done a nice job.”

Kemp IV worked his way onto the field for eight games as a true freshman in 2018. In 2019 he took a significant step forward production-wise, totaling 35 catches for 289 yards and a touchdown. Kemp IV emerged mostly in the final three games of the regular season plus the ACC Championship game against Clemson last season, totaling 20 catches for 191 yards and a touchdown in that span.

Known by teammates as a fearless competitor, Kemp IV has become a dependable player regardless of opponent or stage. Against Duke and Clemson, Armstrong targeted Kemp IV 26 times. Davis Jr. and Jana come next in terms of targets, with each having been targeted by the lefty signal caller 15 times. Kemp IV has responded well to the increased role.

“I mean Billy is just a tough player,” Armstrong said following the Clemson game. “He never backs down from anybody and I knew I was going to be able to count on him in this big of a game. It is as simple as that. He has my respect, I trust him, and we are on the same page. I knew no matter what was going to go on in the game he was going to be there no matter what. Just, Billy is a great player. Plays hard all the time and I have complete trust in him.”

Olamide Zaccheaus, who played a similar H-back-type role, saw his reception total grow from 51 catches as a sophomore to a school single season record 85 his junior campaign. Zaccheaus set another record as a senior, hauling in 93 receptions. Kemp IV will be hard pressed to reach those numbers, especially in a shortened season, but he has certainly stepped up to fill a major need for the Hoos so far this season.

SWING PLAYS

Coach Mendenhall has noted many times previously that games are often decided by a handful of plays. While he could not say that following last year’s 62-17 loss to the Tigers in the ACC title game, he could do so following last night’s content.

“We were more prepared, as a coaching staff,” Mendenhall said when asked how this year’s matchup with Clemson compared to last year’s ACC Championship, when the Hoos lost 62-17. “Our players were certainly more prepared after seeing what Clemson looked like a year ago. We were anxious to play, eager to play and believed we could win. A handful of plays, a handful meaning five or six, were the difference in the game. To Clemson’s credit, they made those plays. [Travis] Etienne was difficult to tackle and probably the difference in the game, maybe a turnover by us and an interception in the end zone by them. Couple of things, we need to make those plays. It goes right to the end. I liked our conditioning, our toughness, our resiliency, I liked our execution, but a handful of plays was the difference. A significantly different story than a year ago, and that’s how I see it.”

Had these plays gone Virginia’s way, the fourth quarter in Death Valley could have been much more competitive.

First Quarter, Clemson ball, 3rd and 2 at the Virginia 16, Clemson leads 3-0

Star running back Travis Etienne, who had 187 total yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s win, takes the handoff and runs left. Joey Blount takes out a lead blocker, making linebacker Zane Zandier fall just short as he dives for Etienne for what would be a tackle for loss. Cornerback Nick Grant still has a great chance to tackle Etienne for a loss on the play, but the Clemson star fights through the tackle, sheds a subsequent tackle attempt by Brenton Nelson that would have still left him short of the first down, and sprints to the end zone for a touchdown. Clemson takes a 10-0 lead.

“We’re capable of tackling better with better angles and better concentration,” Mendenhall said postgame, addressing some of the missed tackles. He gave credit to Etienne, though, adding: “There’s nothing other than giving him credit. He did a really nice job.”

“I think he is one of the best players in college football,” Joey Blount said of Etienne. “He showed that today and I have a lot of respect for him and what he does. There were a lot of plays left on the field that we had him in the position we wanted but he didn’t wait. With his athleticism and his game, he made it for himself and got out of the situations we had him in. We need to be better at tackling, pursuits of the ball and really just wrapping up. There were a lot of mis-tackles as a team where it looked like we had him, and he made a play out of nothing. Etienne is a really good player, high caliber player, and he had a really good game today.”

Second Quarter, UVA ball, 3rd and 2 at the Clemson 10, Clemson leads 10-0

Wayne Taulapapa takes an Armstrong handoff for an up-the-middle run. The holes close quickly and Clemson’s defense holds the junior to a short gain, setting up 4th and 1. The Hoos settle for a Brian Delaney field goal to cut the lead to 10-3. Good to get on the board, but when you’re playing the No. 1 team in the country, touchdowns inside the red zone are a must.

Second Quarter, Clemson ball following UVA’s field goal, 3rd and 9 from the Clemson 44, Clemson leads 10-3

This is the ensuing drive following UVA’s score. Bronco Mendenhall said Clemson consistently out-executed Virginia on 3rd downs, which was evident on this drive especially. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence hits Etienne for a simple swing pass on this play. No Cavalier defenders were in range of making a quick tackle, so the speedy back easily gets a first down. He is not touched by a UVA defender until he crosses the line to gain. The 16-yard gain gives the Tigers the ball at the Cavalier 40.

Clemson would convert two more third downs on this drive. Lawrence scrambles for 14 yards on 3rd and 6 at the Virginia 36 before connecting with wide receiver Amari Rodgers on a 27-yard touchdown on 3rd and 15 to boost the lead to 17-3. Two consecutive drives that end with touchdowns on third down.

Second Quarter, Virginia ball, 2nd and 10 at the Virginia 25, Clemson leads 17-3

Armstrong’s pass is intercepted by Nolan Turner at the UVA 36. Clemson has a rollout pass play well covered. Armstrong tries to force it in to Keytaon Thompson, but Turner jumps the pass and makes the play. The Tigers convert the turnover into a 9-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to Rodgers to go up 24-3. The UVA defense, which had just surrendered an 11-play drive that lasted over four minutes, seemed late getting out to a quick hitch to Rodgers, who basically was untouched until the goal line.

Third Quarter, Virginia ball, 1st and 10 at the Clemson 19 on the opening drive of the half, Clemson leads 24-10

Armstrong, who guided UVA to a touchdown just before halftime to cut the lead to 14, lobs a pass to the end zone, but cornerback Andrew Booth makes a spectacular one-handed interception while fending off Cavalier freshman Lavel Davis Jr. Outstanding play by Booth, but the ball was underthrown by Armstrong. Clemson converts the turnover into three points to take a 27-10 lead. Virginia was thinking touchdown to pull within one score.

“It didn’t take the air out of our sails, it just was, we kept trying to close within a two-score margin,” Mendenhall said. “Great teams have great players that make plays at the right time and the one-handed interception in the corner of the end zone was a great play by a Clemson player. Those are the kind of plays that help you get into the playoffs and help you win championships and help you become a really good program so really nice play by that corner.”

“Just looking back, the main thing was we were marching down the field in the second half and that was gonna be a big score for us, you know, get some momentum starting the second half,” said Armstrong. The pick in the end zone, that would have really swung it honestly. That’s the one thing I look back, the pick in the end zone, that kind of hurt us. I think we would have scored there, would have had good momentum and the outcome of the game, just the score of the game could have looked a lot different.”

Virginia would close to within 10 at 27-17. However, a poor kickoff gave Clemson the ball at their own 35, and UVA surrendered 25 and 21-yard pass plays as Clemson marched to another touchdown to take a 34-17 lead. Virginia had a chance to get within two scores again in the fourth quarter, but on 4th and 7 at the Clemson 26, the Hoos decided against kicking a field goal. Clemson safety Lannden Zanders knocked the ball away from tight end Tony Poljan near the goal line to thwart the Cavalier drive. The Hoos could have kicked a field goal to get within two touchdowns, but they decided to go for it and fell short. Clemson scored a touchdown on the next drive to go up 41-17.

NOTABLES: POLJAN, THOMPSON SCORE FIRST TOUCHDOWNS AS HOOS

- Kemp IV is the clear leader in targets this season, followed by Jana and Davis Jr. Tony Poljan also has double digit targets with 12, hauling in catches on seven of those passes. The 6’7”, 260-pound senior grad-transfer scored his first touchdown in a Virginia uniform on the Hoos’ final drive.

Poljan and Keytaon Thompson each had touchdown receptions against Clemson. For Thompson, who is playing wide receiver but is also Armstrong’s backup at quarterback, this was the first touchdown reception – his second reception overall - of his collegiate career. The 6’4”, 225-pound junior, a graduate transfer from Mississippi State, had 10 rushing touchdowns and eight passing touchdowns with the Bulldogs before heading to UVA.

Thompson’s 3-yard touchdown catch got UVA to within 10 of Clemson, 27-17.