CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Landon Danley said the key to tackling Virginia running back Jekail Middlebrook is as basic as it is challenging.

“Wrap up and hold on tight,” Danley told Cville Right Now after practice Monday. “He’s a hard runner.”

Danley said all of Virginia’s running backs – and that is one of the Cavaliers’ deepest positions this preseason – present defenders with unique challenges. The one thing they all have in common?

“We’ve got a lot of guys with great balance,” Danley said. “It’s hard to get them down.”

Middlebrook, the Middle Tennessee State transfer, has commanded much of the attention in camp. Tennessee transfer Peyton Lewis and UAB transfer Solomon Beebe have also impressed.

They’re all competing for playing time with a pair of veteran returners – graduate student Xavier Brown and senior Noah Vaughn, the latter of whom has had a breakout camp.

“I feel like all of us want to be that guy,” Vaughn told Cville Right Now on Monday. “Everybody wants to be the 1A guy. But we’re in a 1A, 1B, 1C-type era. And all of us embrace that.”

So does UVA coach Tony Elliott, who said the days of a team riding a featured back for 30 carries a game may be a thing of the past.

“I think it’s harder now to have one just bell cow,” said Elliott, whose team opens its season with an ACC home game against North Carolina State on Aug. 29. “I think you need to have a committee of guys. In this new era of college football, I think it would be hard to just play one. You’ve got to play multiple guys.”

Last season, North Carolina Central transfer J’Mari Taylor emerged as the Cavaliers’ star running back, rushing for 1,062 yards and 14 touchdowns. But Taylor only averaged 17.1 carries per game.

Harrison Waylee, a Wyoming transfer, averaged 8.4 carries per game and Brown averaged 7.3.

“I think as a coach you have a comfort level if you know you have a bell cow,” Elliott said. “However, you don’t sleep well at night because you know, if the bell cow goes down, it’s a different level.”

Middlebrook and Beebe were the primary ball carriers at their previous stops. Brown has always been part of a platoon at UVA, and Lewis and Vaughn have been backups.

Elliott noted that, in the NFL, some of the most successful running backs are actually part of a 1-2 punch tandem that helps keep both backs fresh.

He also pointed out that the once-popular role of a third-down back – a running back who would enter the game in passing situations – has been diminished by the analytics-driven trend of going for more fourth-down conversions.

UVA went for it on fourth-down 32 times last season, an average of 2.3 attempts per game.

“That changes some of your philosophy,” Elliott said. “You’re not as focused on third down as you would have been in the past. I think you need guys who have more versatility.”

That’s what Vaughn said he emphasized in the offseason, concentrating on improving as a pass blocker, both in terms of the physical blocking and recognizing defensive schemes and blitz packages.

“My play without the ball in my hands has improved,” Vaughn said. “Not just running the ball, being one-dimensional type player. Pass protection, going outside of the backfield, I feel like that’s something I’ve really tried to place an emphasis on this offseason. Just being an all-around running back who can have an effect in multiple dimensions.”

Vaughn, who has battled injuries during his three previous seasons at UVA, said none of the Cavaliers’ returning running backs were offended or upset when the team added a trio of transfers at the position this offseason.

“You know what it is. It’s college football,” Vaughn said. “And it’s a long season, especially what we want to do. We want to play 16 games. You can’t run from competition. You just have to embrace it.”

NOTES: Elliott said star linebacker Kam Robinson is “on track” to be back and play in the season opener, though it’s no guaranteed. … Elliott said offensive guard Kevin Wigenton had his waiver request denied by the NCAA, ending his college career. … Elliott said sophomore linebacker Isaiah Reese is out with a Lisfranc (foot) injury.