Minter Making Himself at Home in Secondary

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The skill with which University of Virginia safety Ethan Minter brings down ballcarriers in the open field suggests he’s been making tackles since he first laced up his cleats.

Not so. In Minter’s four years on the varsity football team at Thomas Dale High School in Chester, he “might have played five plays on defense,” head coach Kevin Tucker said.

Minter was a four-year starter at quarterback for Dale, a perennial power in the Richmond area, and he graduated with several school records. When Minter was a senior, the Knights’ coaches planned to use him more in the secondary, but he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a freak collision in practice early in the 2023 season, and that ended his high school career prematurely.

In March of his junior year, Minter had committed to play for head coach Tony Elliott at Virginia, knowing he’d probably be slotted at safety. He had opportunities to play quarterback “at quite a few Group of 5 schools, and some FCS schools,” Minter said. “But I really just wanted to play for Coach E and his staff, regardless of which position.”

Never mind that there was little videotape of Minter on defense in high school. “He was a football player,” Elliott said. “That was really the confirmation.

And generally at the high school level, your best athletes play quarterback for you. And I had a chance to go observe him both football-wise and then playing basketball, and you saw from a basketball perspective that he was a physical kid. He would get up there and wasn’t afraid to use his body to play defense.”

After hurting his knee, Minter had reconstructive surgery to repair his ACL. About four months later, in January 2024, he enrolled at UVA, where he continued to recover in almost record time.

“He attacked rehab and just worked his ass off,” Tucker said.

Minter’s injury didn’t scare off Virginia, but “what we didn’t know was how quick of a healer he was going to be,” Elliott said. “Really, you have an idea, but you don’t know until you get [players] in your environment … what’s their work ethic, what’s their work habits. And his are amongst the best that I’ve seen.”

Minter had extra motivation in his rehab. “Coming in and learning a new position, it was really important for me to be able to get those reps,” he said. “So I was definitely pretty determined to get back for spring ball.”

UVA’s medical staff cleared Minter around the start of spring practice last year, after which he immediately impressed in the secondary. He never doubted he could do so.

“I think I just have belief in my ability,” Minter said, “but also the belief that Coach Elliott had in me, and the man that he is and that the men that these coaches are, really made me want to come here and play regardless of which position I was playing. So it’s really more about the people than the position switch.”

Tucker, a former standout at Dale himself, believed Minter could have thrived as an FBS quarterback. But he was equally confident that Minter would excel in the secondary.

“His athletic ability was freakish,” Tucker said. “You saw the things he could do out there on the basketball court. And basically the colleges were like, ‘What do you see him as?’ And I said, ‘Well, to be honest with you, if he doesn’t play quarterback for you, I think you play him at safety. The kid’s one of the smartest kids I’ve ever had.’

“Could he play wide receiver? Yes, definitely. But the kid was just so far above everybody else, as far as an athlete on the field. You kind of cheat sometimes with those guys at quarterback, because you can’t play them on defense like you want to.”

Tucker referenced a former Dinwiddie High School quarterback who’s now a tailback at Southern California. “You could have probably played Harry Dalton at outside linebacker, and he would have had 150 tackles,” Tucker said. “Some kids just have that uncanny ability to play and do those things, and Ethan was one of them.”

Minter played on defense some in youth leagues, but he’s honed his skills at UVA under secondary coach Curome Cox, and defensive coordinator John Rudzinski. Minter credited “Coach Cox and Coach Rud the coaching they’ve given me. They’ve done a really great job of teaching us the techniques of how to tackle. But I’ve also just relied on natural ability as well.”

As an 11^th-grader, Minter placed fifth in the long jump at the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 state outdoor track & field championships. He started at power forward for Dale’s basketball team.

Elliott said the Cavaliers’ coaches were confident Minter could become a proficient tackler, because they saw “that he loves the game. He was a great teammate, he was a leader, a really, really good athlete, and he was willing to make the transition. As long as there’s a willingness there, generally the guys that are willing to make that transition are able to successfully make that transition.”

In 2024, Minter was the only true freshman to play in all 12 games for the Hoos, and he finished the season with 18 tackles and one interception. He won a starting job this year and recorded four tackles, including one for loss, and intercepted a pass in UVA’s season-opening rout of Coastal Carolina last weekend at Scott Stadium.

The appeal of defense to Minter? “I like the freedom of being able to just be an athlete and play ball,” he said. “You have a chance to impact the play in every single snap, so that’s definitely exciting. Really, just being able to be out there with the guys that we have has really, really been special.”

Next up for Virginia is the first of its five road trips this season. In a game to air on ESPN2, UVA (1-0) meets NC State (1-0) at noon Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.

After the win over Coastal, Minter said, the Cavaliers “kind of reset. It’s our mindset to go 1-0 each week. We’re going against a great team. They have a really, really talented offense. So we’re definitely looking forward to the challenge.”

He’s also looking forward to playing again with safety Antonio Clary, who mentored Minter last year. Clary is recovering from a knee injury.

“He’s like a big brother to me,” Minter said. “He kind of showed me the ropes last year, and now it’s more of a collaboration between both of us. We’re talking about what we see, what’s going on on the field, off the field, kind of just talking about everything, football, non-football. So we have a really great relationship.”

It’s unclear when Clary, who’s in his seventh season at UVA, will be cleared to play this fall, but “his knowledge of the game and his skill level are definitely something that’ll really bring a spark to this defense,” Minter said. “But also just his presence is really huge for us.”

Against Coastal, Minter and Devin Neal started at safety for the Cavaliers. Neal, a transfer from Louisville, is one of the many UVA defensive backs who were at other schools in 2024. The members of the secondary have had a lot to learn about each other, but they’ve meshed well.

“I think the guys that they’ve brought in and also the guys returning, we all kind of are like-minded in the sense that we just want to win,” Minter said. “We want each other to succeed. We understand what it takes to get to where we want to go and we’ve all kind of just bonded over working hard.”

Minter, who lives with teammates Keke Adams, Myles Brown, and Billy Koudelka, plans to major in economics. His UVA experience “has been wonderful,” Minter said. “Really, it has just been football and class. I’ve been pretty focused on those two things.”

To receive Jeff White’s articles by email, click the appropriate box in this link to subscribe.