Pro Football Focus provides comprehensive analysis grades for NCAA Division 1 football teams. Virginia football’s 34-33 nailbiter of a road win over Louisville brings us to the halfway point of the 2021 season, and with that in mind, here are UVA's offensive and defensive leaders six games in according to Pro Football Focus.

(Note: A Pro Football Focus grade of around 65 is average. The higher the better. A grade in the 70s is above average, while a grade in the 80s and above is very good.)

Virginia redshirt junior quarterback ranks among the nation's best in Pro Football Focus' overall offense and passing categories. ~ Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Media Relations[/caption]

OFFENSE

Redshirt junior quarterback Brennan Armstrong has played some outstanding football in 2021.

- Among quarterbacks with 100 or more drop-backs, Armstrong is tied for third in the nation in PFF Passing Grade. The Virginia standout has a 91, behind only Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh (92.8) and Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall (91.9). He is tied with Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.

- Armstrong is third in the nation in overall offense grade with a 91.7. Liberty’s Malik Willis (93.7) and Pitt’s Kenny Pickett (92.6) are ahead of Armstrong. Matt Corral of Ole Miss and C.J. Stroud of Ohio State round out the top five in the nation in this category. Ten quarterbacks have overall offense grades in the 90s.

- Virginia’s signal caller leads the nation in “big-time throws,” defined by Pro Football Focus as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.”

Armstrong has thrown 20 BTTs, edging out Malik Willis, who has 19.

More Offense Notables

Top five overall offense: Armstrong, Keytaon Thompson (78), center Olusegun Oluwatimi (75.2), wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (74), and tight end Jelani Woods (71.7). Running back Wayne Taulapapa is close on the heels of Woods, coming in with a 71.5 grade. These six players are the only players with an overall offense grade in the 70s.

UVA’s Football Player: Senior Keytaon Thompson has performed well across the board according to Pro Football Focus, living up to his “football player” label. Thompson has an overall offense grade of 78, a receiving grade of 74.2, a pass blocking grade of 77.8, a run blocking grade of 77.2, and a rushing grade of 82. Thompson has the best rushing grade on the team, followed by Taulapapa, who has a 78.2 mark.

Wide Receivers: Dontayvion Wicks (77.3) leads UVA receivers in receiving grade. He is followed by Jelani Woods (75.1), Keytaon Thompson (74.2), Ra’Shaun Henry (69.2) and Billy Kemp IV (68.6).

Kemp IV leads the Hoos in targets (56), catches that resulted in first downs (23), yards after catch (201), and drops (6). Wicks is second in catches for first downs with 22. Thompson is second in yard after catch with 177 and third in catches for first downs with 177.

Jelani Woods leads all UVA receivers with an 83.3% contested catch rate. Armstrong has thrown six contested passes his way according to PFF. The 6’7”, 260-pound junior has come down with five.

Shifting towards the offensive line, right guard Chris Glaser gets the Iron Man Award, having played a team-high 484 snaps. Center Olusegun Oluwatimi has had the best season according to Pro Football Focus, leading all UVA offensive linemen in run-blocking grade (78) and pass-blocking grade (78). Here are the RBLK and PBLK grades for the top seven UVA offensive linemen (in terms of total snaps).

Run Block – Oluwatimi (78), right tackle Ryan Swoboda (69.6), tackle Bobby Haskins (65.4), tackle/guard Ryan Nelson (64.5), Chris Glaser (63.2), and tackle Jonathan Leech (57.7).

Pass Block - Oluwatimi (78), Nelson (72.4), Haskins (72), Bissinger (69.8), Swoboda (64.2), Glaser (62.9), Leech (62.5)

[caption id="attachment_2733255" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nick Jackson leads UVA in total defensive snaps and stops. ~ Photo by Kris Wright/TheSabre.com

DEFENSE

Preseason All-ACC inside linebacker Nick Jackson has logged the most defensive snaps for UVA, coming in a 383. Linebacker Noah Taylor (379), cornerback Anthony Johnson (356), defensive end Mandy Alonso (339) and defensive back De’Vante Cross (313) have also played 300 or more snaps. Cross missed the Miami game due to personal reasons.

Transitioning from cornerback to safety, Nick Grant leads UVA with an overall defense grade of 75.3. He is the only Cavalier to grade out in the 70s in overall defense. Safety Joey Blount has scored a 69 and Anthony Johnson has a 68.2.

Here are some other defensive notables:

- Run Defense Grade: Grant (89.5) and Blount (80) are the only Cavaliers grading out above 70.

- Tackling Grade: Noah Taylor (90.3) and Louisville game hero Darrius Bratton (83.9). Taylor’s mark is tied for No. 5 in the nation in this category. Of the Hoos who have played 100 or more snaps, six have graded out at 70 or above in tackling.

- Coverage: Anthony Johnson is the only Cavalier with a 70 or more grade in this category, coming in with a 71.8.

- Pass Rush: In terms of the front seven (linebackers, linemen), Virginia has not graded well in this category. Taylor has the highest pass rushing grade (64) among front seven players.

- STOPS: Stops are defined by Pro Football Focus as “tackles that constitute a failure for the offense.” Nick Jackson leads the Hoos in this category with 23, following closely by Taylor with 22. Jackson is tied for 23rd in the nation, while Taylor is tied for 33 in the nation.