Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia Football News: Draft Scout Player News

10/28/22 - WR Dontayvion Wicks, rJr/2023, Virginia

He was disappointed, but not deterred. Still, Dontayvion Wicks said he needed a pause on the heels of his underwhelming first half of the fall. "There was a lot of reflection and I knew I had to hold myself accountable," the standout Virginia wide receiver said Tuesday. The subdued feeling Wicks had earlier this month during the Cavaliers' bye week and at the midway point of their season was unfamiliar to him, especially considering he spent the previous year as one of the nation's premier pass-catchers while setting the school record for receiving yards in a campaign and having his 21.1 yards per reception top the Atlantic Coast Conference. He logged six 100-yard games, and was a key cog in the Hoos' then pass-happy offense. All he knew was success, so his struggles through transition into UVa's new balanced attack, which requires more attention to detail from its wide receivers, challenged Wicks.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder, who was an All-ACC first-team selection in 2021, labored to adapt, but didn't find the same level of production or impact as he experienced the year before, and uncharacteristically, he had trouble catching the ball. "At that point we had 39 drops," Cavaliers offensive coordinator Des Kitchings said, "and I think he had a large number of those, so there [was] some self-reflection and trying to eliminate that." Said Wicks: "It was just clearing my mind, like letting everything go and putting everything behind me to just focus on what's next and having to get better. I had to not worry about what happened and what was going on. I just had to play." - Charlottesville Daily Progress

rJr/2023