Vic So'oto draped his arm around Eli Hanback's shoulders as the two headed to the Virginia football team's locker room on Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

Hanback had been the constant in the room for So'oto, the Cavaliers' defensive line coach, over the past four seasons.  The fifth-year senior is the only player to appear in all 54 games for UVA in that stretch, covering Bronco Mendenhall's entire tenure as head coach. 

That streak will come to an end on Labor Day, when the Wahoos kick off the 2020 season in Atlanta against Georgia.

“It’s very sad.  I came in the locker room, had some tears.  I’ll probably have more later," Hanback told reporters following the Wahoos' 36-28 loss to Florida in the Orange Bowl.  "But it’s been an honor and a blessing to have an opportunity to play here.  And I hope I left it better than I found it.  But I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life for the opportunity I had to come play football here.”

Hanback was coming off a redshirt year under Mike London when Mendenhall and his staff took over following the 2015 season.  The Ashland native spent the next four years as a productive part of the Cavaliers' defensive line.

 

 

Hanback led UVA defensive linemen in tackles in each of the past three seasons, and in both sacks and tackles for loss the past two years.  As a senior, he earned All-ACC honorable mention, finishing the year with new career highs in both sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (8.5).

A lifelong UVA football fan, Hanback also secured a place for himself in program history when he recovered a Virginia Tech fumble in the end zone, scoring the touchdown that clinched the Cavaliers' 39-30 win against the Hokies.  That victory ended the program's 15-game losing streak against Tech, and clinched UVA's first-ever ACC Coastal Division championship.

“I was here with Coach London, but when Coach Mendenhall came in here, we won two games.  It was pretty bad.  A lot of guys left.  And now we’re in the Orange Bowl," Hanback said following Monday's loss, which ended UVA's season with a 9-5 record.

“I’d say for myself, my class, and the guys behind me who are leaving, we did leave a lasting legacy that shows if you buy in and trust the process, it’ll pay off.”