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Every time Brown or one of the Cavaliers鈥� other ballcarriers ran, they were met with little resistance and able to dash free through the opposing defense.

The Hoos piled up 384 rushing yards 鈥� the most in a single game for UVa since 1998 鈥� and Brown led the way with 171 yards on the ground. In the third quarter, he broke one tackle at the line of scrimmage and raced through the secondary on a career-long 75-yard run. Brown averaged an astounding 19 yards per carry to help the Cavaliers knock off the Chanticleers.

鈥淵ou knew he was a good player,鈥� Coastal Carolina coach Tim Beck recalled this week about Brown, 鈥渂ut facing him in person was much more like, 鈥榃hoa. This guy is better than he looked on film.鈥欌��

Coastal Carolina visits UVa on Saturday to open the new campaign, and the Cavaliers are hoping this season that their retooled personnel at running back and on the offensive line leads to success similar to what they experienced against the Chanticleers last year.

Because in the back half of 2024, the Hoos鈥� running game slowed. They averaged only 89 rushing yards per game over their final six contests, regressing to the struggles on the ground that they had during their first two seasons under coach Tony Elliott.

And that was disappointing for UVa, considering it averaged 174.8 rushing yards per game in the first half of last season and had the breakout effort against Coastal Carolina.

鈥淭he key is consistency,鈥� said Elliott, now in his fourth year. 鈥淚 think if we can have all of our guys available up front and in the backfield, then we can become more consistent. And I think the more consistent you are with the availability of guys, the more cohesion and chemistry they create, which will allow the [running] backs to understand and feel kind of how double teams are going to go based off of who is in there. Then, they develop more confidence to press the line and really trust the scheme.鈥�

Brown is back and second in the pecking order for carries behind North Carolina Central transfer J鈥橫ari Taylor, who is gearing up for his sixth year in the sport after rushing for 1,146 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall in his final go-around in the FCS.

There is more behind Brown, too, on the depth chart than in years past with Wyoming transfer Harrison Waylee. He鈥檚 rushed for at least 100 yards in 11 games in his career.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be a run-first team,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 developed over time through training camp.鈥�

Left guard Noah Josey was the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week last year on the heels of UVa鈥檚 win at Coastal Carolina. He鈥檒l play next to left tackle McKale Boley for the third straight season, a pairing the coaching staff has maintained confidence in.

The big difference this fall is the right side is expected to be stronger than it was the last three seasons. Guard Drake Metcalf is back from injury, and former New Mexico right tackle Wallace Unamba emerged to win that job.

Brady Wilson, a transfer from UAB, was graded as the fourth-highest center in all of the FBS last year by Pro Football Focus.

鈥淚 think in a run game, even with consistency up front,鈥� Elliott said, 鈥測ou need a [running] back that can be an eraser. And I think I鈥檝e seen each of those [running backs] kind of develop in that area because there is more consistency up front.鈥�

The challenge on Saturday is different, though, against Coastal Carolina than it was a season ago.

Beck hired former Louisiana Tech defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson.

Last year, the Bulldogs experienced an 89-spot jump in run defense from 132nd nationally in the category in 2023 without Johnson to 43rd in 2024 with him.

Johnson鈥檚 base defense is a 4-3.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a different defense entirely,鈥� Josey said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of different players. There are a few guys from last year, but mostly new players on that side of the ball with a new coordinator, so we really don鈥檛 know what we鈥檙e going to see out there. So, it鈥檚 focusing on us. It鈥檚 focusing on UVa and what we can do to get better in our scheme and technique.鈥�

Josey said this Saturday is when the experience on UVa鈥檚 offensive line and at running back needs to show up, so the Cavaliers can adequately run the ball again against the Chanticleers.

鈥淚f you know your base rules, it doesn鈥檛 matter what [defense] they come out in. You should be able to fit it up,鈥� he said.

Said Taylor: 鈥淲e have to stick to our rules and we鈥檒l be just fine.鈥�