East Carolina transfer Kurt Benkert will be the starting quarterback for the Virginia Cavaliers this season, coach Bronco Mendenhall announced Wednesday.
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“I’ve really been impressed with how he’s moved the team”, Mendenhall said of Benkert.
In looking at which quarterback was the best for the job, Mendenhall asked himself, “Do they move the team into the endzone, because points determine outcome”. “He is a good decision maker, has a very strong arm and natural leadership skills”.
Benkert got the nod over returning starter Matt Johns, who is now listed as the co-backup with Connor Brewer. Benkert replaces Johns, who started for the Cavaliers in 2015 and recorded 2,810 passing yards in the regular season, the third highest total in the ACC. Brewer held the back up position in 2015 behind Johns after graduating from Arizona and coming to Virginia. Brewer spent previous year as UVA’s backup, appearing in two games off the bench in relief of Johns. He will be more than a year removed from surgery when the Cavaliers open on September 3 against highly regarded Richmond of the Championship Subdivision.
After redshirting in the 2013 season, Benkert played in three games in 2014 at East Carolina.
“We’ve had a successful camp”.
Coach Ruffin McNeill was sacked by ECU after last season, and when McNeill joined Mendenhall’s staff, Benkert followed him to Virginia.
“I feel really lucky to be able to see him every day”.
“I wasn’t going to walk through the door and be like, ‘I’m the guy.'”, Benkert admitted this afternoon after the announcement. “I feel like that’s a big strength of mine”.
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“Kurt is a student of the game”, Mendenhall said.
