Who’s best player on UVA defense? You might be surprised

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Daniel Rickert arrived at UVA in May, well after spring football practice was completed. He arrived with little fanfare out of the transfer portal from unheralded Tennessee Tech.

While many Cavalier fans still may not be familiar with No. 52, one of Virginia’s “Bandit” position players, opposing offenses certainly know about him.

“He’s our best football player right now,” declared UVA defensive coordinator John Rudzinski this week. “It’s that simple. He’s the most productive guy that we’ve had.”

Most Wahoo fans would have guessed linebacker Kam Robinson or perhaps tackle Jahmeer Carter if asked to name the team’s best defensive player. Not Rickert.

But the 6-foot-2, 247-pound Tennessean is making a difference and will play a key role in attempting to contain Florida State’s versatile and mobile quarterback Thomas Castellanos on Friday night (7 p.m., Scott Stadium, ESPN).

Because he showed up post-spring football, Rickert had to quickly learn Virginia’s system and now he’s thriving in it with 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks thus far, a pair of those sacks coming against Stanford last Saturday night.

Basically an edge rusher, Rickert lines up all along the line of scrimmage, making it a must for opposing QBs to know where he’s positioned. He’s been known to play the “spy” role on defense, assigned to shadow an elusive quarterback such as Florida State’s Thomas Castellanos, who hasn’t been sacked in three games this season (38 dropbacks).

“As an engineering major, the X’s and O’s aren’t too much for him,” said Rudzinski. “What he did was, come in here, took advantage of it. He’s naturally gifted as far as his ability to accelerate.

“He plays fast and tough and violent, and frankly, he finds a way to be around the ball. So the characteristics he has, along with a great football IQ, has allowed him to make a lot of plays.”

It didn’t really matter to Virginia’s coaches that Rickert hailed from a FCS program. Tennessee Tech (located in Cookeville) is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference/Big South. He had some impressive numbers and accolades, including 7 sacks and 11 tackles for loss last season, his second straight as a first-team All-Big South/Ohio Valley Conference player.

Certainly his brains and brawn appealed to Virginia, which was searching for players who could pressure opposing quarterbacks. Experience was an added bonus. He has now played in 47 college football games, started 36.

The fact that he practiced hard all the way through training camp pushed everyone around him to accelerate their game as well.

When Tony Elliott learned that Rickert was an engineering major, it piqued his interest because Elliott had a similar academic path.

“He’s an outstanding young man,” Elliott said. “[NFL] scouts come in and ask about certain players, like, ‘Okay, how much does he love it? Is he a leader?’ And I shared that information with him and said, ‘Hey, look, if you want to play at the next level, then leadership brings consistency.’”

Elliott said Rickert knows only one speed.

“He’s one of those guys that you’ve got to take his helmet from him to slow him down,” the coach said. “He’s done a great job of understanding who he is, what his strengths are, areas to improve and he tries to play to his strength.”

Elliott believes Virginia is going to need Rickert to exactly play to those strengths on Friday night to try to find a way to get close and pressure Castellanos.