By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — As impressive as Will Bettridge’s statistics for the season are—he’s 7-for-8 on field goals and 15-on-15 on extra points—they could easily look better.
With about 90 seconds left in Virginia’s Oct. 7 game against William & Mary, Bettridge trotted onto the field at Scott Stadium to attempt a 37-yard field goal. He made the kick, stretching the Cavaliers’ lead to 30-13. But W&M was penalized for roughing Bettridge, an automatic first down for Virginia, whose coaching staff chose to take the points off the board and extend a drive that used up the rest of the clock and left the final score 27-13.
His stats suffered as a result, but Bettridge didn’t mind. “In that situation, I understand the call,” he said.
A sophomore from Miami, Bettridge started the season on a shaky note, missing a 28-yard attempt on UVA’s second possession in the opener against Tennessee. He later connected from 30 and 40 yards in that game, though, and he’s 5-for-5 on field goals since then. Not every kick has been aesthetically pleasing, but they’ve all been worth three points.
“He’s really stepped up in the right direction and really helped this team,” said Drew Meyer, the Wahoos’ analyst for special teams.
“He’s made a commitment to improve. He’s felt some pressure from the staff to make sure that he continues to improve with his ball height, operation time, things of that nature, things that make a kicker great and propel him to the next level, and he’s taken on that challenge.”
The win over W&M was the first of the season for UVA, which was off last weekend. Virginia (1-5 overall, 0-2 ACC) visits No. 10 North Carolina (6-0, 3-0) on Saturday night. The season has not unfolded as hoped for the Hoos, but it’s “good to see everyone on the team still working hard, no matter the outcome of the games,” Bettridge said.
“I think that pushes everyone on the team to just do our jobs. For me, personally, we’re in a battle to win every game, no matter who we play, and points are points, so I just know I gotta do my job. When we’re fighting for wins, every point matters.”
Bettridge graduated from Gulliver Prep in Miami, where he played for head coach Earl Sims, a former UVA linebacker. Such Gulliver graduates as Mandy Alonso, D’Sean Perry and Sean Moore preceded Bettridge in the Cavaliers’ football program, and Bettridge felt at home when he visited the University.
“I could see how the way Coach Sims ran our program at Gulliver was kind of aligned exactly with how the coaches here ran it,” Bettridge said. “Academics come first, and at Gulliver there were consequences if you didn’t go to class. That kind of [matched] what we do here at UVA. So, obviously, that was great to see. And then at the time, coming out of high school, I knew there was a great opportunity to potentially play early.”
Bettridge had built a strong relationship with Meyer, a former All-Big Ten punter at Wisconsin, and that added to UVA’s appeal. So did the presence in Northern Virginia of several relatives, including Bettridge’s grandmother.
“It’s kind of close by for them to come to a lot of games,” Bettridge said, “which is cool, because I like it when my family’s there. It gives me a good sense of being home still.”
As a true freshman in 2022, Bettridge made his debut in the Cavaliers’ fourth game and handled field goals and extra points for the rest of the year. He finished the season 7-for-10 on field goals and 12-for-14 on extra points.
He came into this year as Virginia’s top kicker, but Bettridge’s miss against the Volunteers raised concerns about his ability to handle the job. Those doubts fade with every make.
His miss against Tennessee was frustrating, Bettridge said, “but the big thing I’ve been trying to preach to myself is just no matter what happens, make or miss, you’ve got to prepare for the next kick. So if you have a make, don’t get too high, stay level-headed. Make or miss, [react] for a second, but come the next drive you need to prepare the same way. And I think that was pretty good in my eyes, being able to bounce back after that one against Tennessee.
“There was a lot going on: first game of the year, first kick, a bunch of stuff going through my head. And I had to brush it all off. Next kick’s a new kick. Just kind of like a next-kick mentality. Just always focus on the next one. The past is the past.”
The first of the two field goals he made against William & Mary, a 45-yarder, was the second-longest of Bettridge’s college career. But the biggest kick he’s made this season came Sept. 30 in UVA’s 27-24 loss to Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
With Virginia trailing 24-21 midway through the fourth quarter, quarterback Tony Muskett appeared to pick up eight yards on a third-and-10 scramble from the BC 26. A video review, however, showed that Muskett’s knee had touched the ground at the 27, and what might have been a 35-yard field-goal attempt became a 44-yarder.
Bettridge didn’t flinch. His kick sailed through the uprights and tied the game at 24-24.
“I was really proud of him for that,” Meyer said. “Will went out there and executed at a high level, and I think that built confidence for himself too. He’s obviously putting it through the pipes, but I think the more that he feels confident in his ability to hit his A ball or his B-plus ball 100% of the time, the more he’s able to do that. It’s all about consistency with kicking. It’s hard to hit an A ball every time, and so you’ve got to hit that B-plus ball 95% of the time and really strive to hit that ball consistently.”