It was just a few minutes into his first team meeting as Virginia Cavaliers head coach that Bronco Mendenhall realized the scope of his job.

Mendenhall loves reading, and he’s recently finished a book on body language, the way people communicate their feelings through how they carry themselves. What he saw in front of him spoke volumes.

"The entire message was dejection and despair," Mendenhall said. "They were desperate to have answers to win, and they certainly weren’t confident."

Perhaps that shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Virginia is just 15-33 in the past four seasons, the sixth-worst record in the Power 5 during that stretch. The Cavaliers had endured three straight years of questions about former coach Mike London’s job security. They’d watched potential signature victories against UCLA and Notre Dame slip from their grasp over the past two seasons.

Building his team's confidence has been a top priority for coach Bronco Mendenhall. Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress via AP

The body language was bad because, after so much failure, what was there to be excited about?

"Every game, it felt like we were playing for our coaches’ jobs," linebacker Micah Kiser said. "Having a fresh start, it’s been great. It’s new, positive energy."

That’s what so much of the offseason was about for Mendenhall. He was less concerned with implementing a new playbook than he was with changing attitudes.

The process was twofold. First, Mendenhall needed his team to understand that it had to work much harder than it had in the past. Second, he wanted the Cavaliers to experience small successes. The point was simple: Winning is really difficult, but there are lots of benchmarks along the way by which his team can derive confidence.

The implementation of the plan was unique by big-time college football standards. Players had to earn their lockers by keeping them clean and precisely organized. If they wanted to practice, they had to perfectly execute conditioning drills. If they wanted gear with a Virginia logo or a uniform number on it, they had to earn those perks in practice.

"When you transition from one state to another, there’s usually something symbolic to indicate that change," Mendenhall said. "It’s like in the military with uniforms or karate with a new belt. That’s what we’ve chosen to do."

It’s not been easy for players, who’ve undergone a massive culture change from the previous regime. But that’s the point. Mendenhall wants his team to understand that nothing comes easy.

But perhaps more importantly, he wants his players to see that, with work, comes success -- not just in terms of wins on the field, but small steps off it. And while the coaching staff -- the bulk of which followed Mendenhall from BYU this year -- pushes players to work harder, it’s also a constant message of positivity.

"They’re incredibly positive and upbeat," Kizer said, "but they challenge us."

Slowly but surely, things have changed at Virginia. Winning isn’t the first goal anymore. It’s simple things, like having a locker or a numbered jersey. That’s success.

"Things that were normally taken for granted," Mendenhall said, "are foundational things now."

And the body language has followed. There are fewer slouched shoulders and heads hung in disappointment. Even on the field, that’s been a primary talking point during fall camp. A year ago, if the defense gave up a big play, the world had ended. Now, Mendenhall is preaching to his team to move past a mistake and build from it.

It’s a fresh start this program desperately needed, Kiser said. And while there are no guarantees of what it will ultimately mean for Virginia’s win total, that’s beside the point. Step 1 was much simpler -- and maybe much tougher.

"Our team, they believe they’re capable," Mendenhall said. “They carry themselves with confidence, optimism and hope. That in itself is a huge accomplishment. The execution will catch up, but that itself is a huge accomplishment."