Around the Corner 9/28: UVA Football preparing for wet conditions vs Duke, couple players returning from injury, and basketball tip-off times released

Sep 28, 2022 - 11:02 AM

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Good morning all and thank you so very kindly for coming along for a ride through the world of Virginia Cavaliers sports on this fine Wednesday.

Notable news

Virginia DB Coen King is out against Duke, while two starters set to make return — Wahoos247

Safety Coen King is dealing with an MCL sprain which Elliott said should keep him out a couple weeks but that after that it’ll have to be a wait and see situation. But, on a positive note, the ‘Hoos have WR Billy Kemp IV returning to the lineup and S Antonio Clary coming back as well as the pair missed both the ODU and Syracuse games due to illness/injury.

Virginia football releases depth chart before Duke — Streaking the Lawn

On that note, UVA released its depth chart for the Duke game this weekend. For the quick notes, Jestus Johnson has replaced Ty Furnish at center, Will Bettridge has taken over place-kicking duties from Brendan Farrell, and Nick Jackson’s first half suspension to due his targeting penalty at Syracuse means D’Sean Perry will start at MIKE linebacker with Hunter Stewart and James Jackson as other guys who can fill in there.

Hoos Bracing for Wet Night in Durham — Virginia Sports

As Hurricane Ian hits the East Coast, Saturday night’s contest in Durham is set to be a wet one with a high likelihood of rain. With that, the ‘Hoos are taking adequate preparations and have been practicing with wet balls this week in order to simulate conditions they may have to deal with against the Blue Devils.

“Everyone says it’s football weather,” Brennan Armstrong said Tuesday, but it’s “not the greatest, I’ll tell you that, especially as a quarterback trying to throw the ball. But we’re doing some stuff out here with [wet] footballs, just kind of replicating that, what it could be like.

“The main thing is just securing that ball, all game long, this coming week, because that’s honestly going to be the tale of probably who wins: who can secure the ball, because it’s just going to be probably a mess out there, so we’ve just to make sure we do that.”

Tipoff Times Announced for 2022-2023 Virginia Men’s Basketball Season — Cavaliers Now

Turning to basketball, the tip-times were released for all but four of the UVA men’s basketball games this season. Of note, the first two games of the season start at 9:00 PM while UVA’s game at Michigan in the BIG10 challenge tips at 9:30. In contrast to those late starts, there should be seven Saturday home games with day-time tips — including Saturday, February 11th against Duke at 4:00 PM — which should be great opportunities to pack JPJ.

Social media dive

It is an odd thought to consider how UVA has the same record this year as it did this time last year. And there are some positives to consider for this team through four games. Take it with a grain of salt until the ‘Hoos win games against real competition, but at least this team isn’t a complete catastrophe.

Back to basketball, the men’s team released this quick video of the first day of practice on Monday with Associate Head Coach Jason Williford on the mic.

Student perspective

Treated myself to another three slice, Christian’s Pizza dinner last night which was a nice treat to end the day. Not a ton to report otherwise. As I mentioned yesterday, fall break is coming up this weekend and, as I don’t have classes on Fridays, I’m counting down the last two days of class until I’ve earned myself a pretty little five day vacation.

Figure I might as well start throwing a couple questions out to my esteemed audience on days like this. So, for anyone who’s spent time in or around Charlottesville, answer me this: What restaurant/food establishment is your go to place for dinner if you’ve only got one night in town? Let me know in the comments below!