CHARLOTTESVILLE – Andrew Devlin’s decision to transfer to Pittsburgh leaves Virginia with little experience at defensive end, a pivotal position in Al Groh’s 3-4 scheme.
The projected starters are sophomore Matt Conrath and senior Nate Collins, who spent virtually all of his time at nose tackle in 2006, ’07 and ’08.
Backups are likely to include sophomore Zane Parr and some or all of these true freshmen: Will Hill, Justin Renfrow, Jake Snyder and Brent Urban.
Hill graduated from Williamsburg’s Lafayette High in December and began classes at U.Va. in January. That allowed him to go through spring practice with the football team, and Hill figures to be well ahead of Renfrow, Snyder and Urban when training camp opens in August.
Another possibility at end might be Kevin Crawford, but his status remains unclear. Crawford, who wasn’t at U.Va. in 2007-08, returned to school in 2008-09. But he missed spring practice for academic reasons this year and might not rejoin the team.
Devlin, who’s from Pittsburgh, played in all 12 games for U.Va. as a redshirt freshman in 2008, catching three passes for 22 yards as a tight end. He moved to defensive end after the season, in part because the Cavaliers’ new spread attack won’t feature tight ends as prominently as did their former offense.
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