Jack Witmer: A Career Defined by Change
- Ben Rekosh
- May 8
- 4 min read
By Ben Rekosh
RICHMOND, Va. – One of the only constants during Jack Witmer’s time at UVA has been change. He came to Charlottesville as a three-star tight end with the Bronco Mendenhall coaching regime; now he enters his graduate season as an offensive tackle under Tony Elliott’s leadership.
“I think in life you just have to realize the kind of situation you're in and that taking the uncomfortable step isn't always the bad thing,” Witmer said recently on the Unique Pathways podcast.
Position Change
In 2024 he played in all 12 games for Virginia, including starting 5 at left tackle.
If someone would’ve told Witmer that fact when he first visited Charlottesville with his parents in the summer of 2020, who was then a 6-foot-5-inch 225 pound high schooler from Texas, he would’ve immediately bashed the notion of that happening – as he did when Offensive Coordinator Des Kitchings first approached him with the idea of switching positions.
As Witmer got to know Kitchings and Offensive Line Coach Terry Heffernan, it quickly became his priority to do what was best for the success of the team. The transition has not always been easy, he said, both physically having to put up an extra 60 pounds in muscle and mentally having to learn a new dynamic of the offensive scheme, but he has felt proud of the work that he’s put in upon reflection and gained an eagerness to continue improving.
Whether it be on the offensive line as a tackle or guard or with the special teams unit, Witmer is ready to help the Cavaliers in all facets of football: “I’ll do whatever it takes for this team to win games. [I’m] really just looking to go [to a bowl game] this year with the team. That’s definitely the goal, especially with all the guys we brought in and how things are going, I think this will be a phenomenal year for us.”
Coaching Change
Like most people around the Virginia Football program, Witmer was in shock when Bronco Mendenhall announced that he was stepping down from his position as head coach in December of 2021.
“Whenever you come into college, you never think that your coach is going to leave,” Witmer said “Definitely glad I had chosen UVA, though, for the academics and stuff, as well as somewhere where I was going to be happy not just because of the coaching staff.”
The impact that Mendenhall had on Witmer through one season plus the entirety of his recruitment was profound, he said. Mendenhall instilled a mentality of everything in life being earned, not given; entitlement is not an option, and hard work comes with all aspects of life.
“No matter what it is in life, no matter what position it is, no matter what was promised to you, nothing in life is ever entitled to you. You have to work for everything that you've earned or been given at all in some way that you've done,” Witmer said of Mendenhall’s leadership.
First impressions were key for the team in their initial introduction to Coach Tony Elliott, according to Witmer. It was a short turnaround for the student-athletes to buy into his vision, even from the first time they met.
Now, entering Elliott’s fourth season at the helm in Charlottesville, momentum is on the Cavaliers’ side.
UVA went 5-7 in the 2024 season, but the team brings in 29 transfers for 2025 headlined by projected starting quarterback Chandler Morris. They look to reach the elusive mark of 6 wins to be eligible for a bowl game; the program has not participated in the postseason since losing to Florida in the 2019 Orange Bowl.
“I think this is some of the most excited I've been [when] looking forward to for a year in a long time,” Witmer said.
College Football Change
It is no secret that the sport of college football is fundamentally different in 2026, when Witmer will graduate with a master’s degree from the global commerce program and have played five seasons at the collegiate level, as compared to 2021 when he stepped foot in Charlottesville as a high schooler from Cypress, Texas.
Name, Image and Likeness deals are producing eye-popping storylines around the country and the transfer portal has seen its number of entrants increase seemingly every year since its inception. Being on the football team has given Witmer a first-hand view on how these changes impact teams and people – more than just the football players on Saturdays, but as a finance student he has gotten a unique perspective on how to analyze these changes in the short-term and long-term health of college athletics.
He mentioned the loss of the underdog story that was the traditional walk-on player, especially with teams solely composed of scholarship players in the revenue sharing era. It was one of the only true differentiators between college football and NFL, Witmer said.
“[I’m] really excited as an athlete to get paid for all the revenue that you bring into the school and just setting guys up for life. Guys that may not have an opportunity to go to the NFL, but they’ll end up having some life changing money right out of school,” Witmer, who mentioned he likely would not have gotten into UVA without the boost of being a football player, said.
To listen to the full conversation with Virginia Football Offensive Lineman Jack Witmer, subscribe to Unique Pathways presented by H3 Sports. Hosted by Ben Rekosh, it can be found on all major podcast platforms and Youtube. New episodes are available every Wednesday.
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