But if there is anything Groh likes more than size and speed, it is attitude and production. And four games into the season, no Cavalier defensive lineman has been as productive as the redshirt freshman, who leads the young unit in tackles (20) and plays (230).
"He's scrappy, he's very competitive and he learns well," Groh said. "He takes advantage of his experiences. So four games into his career, he's learned something. Some players, come the fifth game, they're really just playing the first game the fifth time."
Schmidt says he had to be a fast learner while playing at three different high schools in the Washington area. He started at Gonzaga, then transferred to Episcopal before playing his senior season at DeMatha.
"Going to three different places and learning three different defenses, that kind of helped me keep my edge," he said. "To me, being in the same place two years feels like a long time."
Schmidt may have found a home on Virginia's defensive line. While redshirting last season, he gained strength and put on about 15 pounds. He earned a starting spot in the spring and has held onto it, partly because Canty has been injured but mainly due to his own performance.
Schmidt says Virginia's tough early schedule helped accelerate his acclimation to college football. His biggest learning experience came against Florida State, when he played 52 snaps against perhaps the nation's top offensive line.
"I didn't really know what to expect coming in to play this season. Playing all these great teams, it's helped us show what we're made of and, at the same time, show us what we need to improve," he said.
"I got a good understanding of what it's all about against FSU. They manhandled me with their size and toughness, but I also made a few plays against Brett Williams, who's probably the best tackle in the country. That was a huge challenge and it brought my game to another level."
As an indication of his learning curve, Schmidt has increased his number of tackles each game. He had three against Colorado State, four against Florida State, five against South Carolina, then eight in last Saturday's 48-29 victory over Akron. That was as many as Virginia's other five defensive linemen combined. Canty had five tackles, nose tackle Andrew Hoffman had two and Justin Walker one. Robinson and Braden Campbell had none.
One of UVa's few defensive bright spots against the Zips, Schmidt also had two quarterback hurries and batted down a pass.
"I thought he did a very good job in the game," said Groh, who describes Schmidt as "tenacious" and "competitively relentless."
Those attributes probably help when you are the seventh of eight children. Schmidt comes from a solid football background. His father, Robert, played for Notre Dame and Southern Cal, while his brother J.D. is a junior linebacker at Boston College.
Schmidt left Gonzaga, a private school in D.C., midway through his sophomore year to attend boarding school at Episcopal. Unhappy there, he transferred to DeMatha, where he thrived.
As a senior, he made 110 tackles, including 21 sacks, and led the Stags to an 11-1 record and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship. He picked Virginia over Boston College, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
Schmidt's frame probably won't allow him to get much bigger than he is now, Groh says. But as Schmidt gains experience and savvy, he should continue to improve.
"I think this is a player who will always be in the picture, even as the players coming in continue to get bigger and faster at that position and look more like the prototype," Groh said. "Which is one of the wonderful things about college football. You take a player like that, he's not in all those size-speed molds, but he's just got a toughness about him and got a desire about him to go along with a good amount of skill."