Bowl referee: Tech 'brutal'
Usecheck: Vick should have been ejected for action against Dumervil
By DAVID TEEL
247-4636
January 4, 2006

The referee of Monday's Gator Bowl says Virginia Tech's first-half behavior was "brutal" and that Hokies quarterback Marcus Vick should have been ejected for cheap-shotting a Louisville defender.

Steve Usecheck, a Big 12 Conference official for 22 seasons and a veteran of 14 bowls, said that no one on his crew saw Vick stomp the back of Elvis Dumervil's leg while Dumervil was down on the turf.

"We missed that, and I'm sorry we did," Usecheck told the Daily Press via phone from his Colorado home. "I wish we had the opportunity to talk to (Vick) because that was complete (expletive). … You bet I would have thrown his ass out."

Usecheck and his colleagues called four personal fouls against Virginia Tech's defense during the first half (another was offset by a Louisville personal foul). One resulted in the ejection of Jimmy Williams, the Hokies' All-America cornerback from Hampton, for swinging his arm at head linesman Al Green.

"I was really disappointed," Usecheck said. "We don't see football like that (in the Big 12). Those kids were just completely out of control. … Louisville wasn't as bad. Virginia Tech was brutal."

The Hokies' untoward behavior included late hits and profane taunting, according to Usecheck.

Usecheck ejected Hokies All-America cornerback Jimmy Williams in the first quarter for swinging his arm at head linesman Al Green. Williams was jawing with Louisville's Amobi Okoye, and Green grabbed Williams to separate the two.

"He never hit the official but he swung at him twice," Usecheck said of Williams, a senior from Bethel High.

During the standard meeting of team captains prior to the second half, Usecheck said he told the players, "I don't care if I'm out here until midnight calling penalties. This has got to stop."

The second half was incident-free aside from offsetting personal fouls early in the fourth quarter, and the Hokies rallied to win 35-24.

Tech coach Frank Beamer was traveling Wednesday and could not be reached. But immediately following the game, Beamer said: "I'm not happy with some things that went on in the first half. Let's leave it at that."

Weaver said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the Hokies' overall behavior because he viewed the game from the press-box level and not the field.

"That's more an issue for Frank," Weaver said of Usecheck's remarks.

But Weaver reaffirmed his promised to discipline Vick, first-team All-ACC this season as a junior.

"We've got to deal with it in a fair and firm manner, but you just can't go off half-cocked," Weaver said. "We'll get it done, I'll guarantee it."

Having Vick away from campus on semester break and Beamer on the road recruiting slows the process, according to Weaver, who estimated he's received 200 e-mails about the Vick incident.

"It's a discouraging time because we should be happy and celebratory of an 11-2 season and a great comeback in the fourth quarter," Weaver said. "People are concerned and think it was inappropriate behavior. They're embarrassed and we're embarrassed."

"The second half was a completely different ballgame," he said. "Virginia Tech started playing and won the game."

Usecheck's crew called no personal fouls on the Hokies during the second half as Tech rallied for a 35-24 victory.

Also today, Governor-elect Tim Kaine expressed disappointment in Vick's actions.

"I thought it was kind of heart-sickening when I saw the replay," Kaine said in response to a question. "I didn't see it live. They're role models, whether they embrace that or not. … It just really sends a bad signal. My 13-year-old son is a Tech fanatic, and he's watching that game and it takes something off the experience for him when he sees that. It really does."

Kaine said he would not presume to advise the Viriginia Tech administration about how to deal with it.

"I'm not going to tell the university what step they should take," he said. "I can tell from the comments in the paper that they take it seriously, and they need to."

U.Va., bowl have no qualms
'11th-hour' agreement affected marketing, but fans still traveled
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 5, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- About 25,000 fans showed up for last week's Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn. Nearly half of them were pulling for Virginia, which rallied to beat Minnesota 34-31.

Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage estimated that 10,000 to 12,000 U.Va. supporters were in the stands at The Coliseum last Friday. There was no official total, but based on the amount of orange he saw at the game, said Scott Ramsey, the Music City's executive director, he'd put the figure around 10,000.

"And I'm on the conversative side," Ramsey said yesterday. "We're pleased with [U.Va.'s turnout]. Sure we'd have liked to have had 15,000 or 20,000, and hopefully the next time [the Cavaliers] come they will, but some of that's logistics."

The Music City's official tie-in with the ACC wasn't scheduled to start until 2006, but the SEC didn't have enough bowl-eligible teams this season and couldn't fill its slot in Nashville. The ACC, meanwhile, had more bowl-eligible teams than bowl tie-ins, and so Virginia ended up in Nashville opposite Big Ten representative Minnesota.

"This was very much an 11th-hour arrangement that was struck between the ACC and the Music City Bowl," Littlepage said.

During the regular season, U.Va. sent its fans a mailing that listed the bowls to which the Cavaliers might be invited. The Music City wasn't among them. The announcement that Virginia was headed to Nashville didn't come until Dec. 4.

"We started weeks behind in the overall marketing effort," Littlepage said, "and that certainly has an impact."

Each school received 10,000 tickets from the bowl. Of that allotment, U.Va. bought 1,500 for internal use and sold about 5,200 to the public. But Virginia fans also purchased thousands of tickets from outlets in Nashville, Littlepage said. An ACC official said Tuesday that the conference will cover most of the cost of the approximately 3,300 tickets that U.Va. didn't sell.

Starting next season, the Music City will match teams from the ACC and the SEC. Expect Littlepage to praise the Nashville experience when he talks with his counterparts in the ACC.

Music City officials "did everything possible to make the experience a great one for the players and the fans," Littlepage said.

U.Va. football coach Al Groh agreed.

"This has been a tremendously organized and well-conducted bowl game," he said last Friday. "I know it's only the eighth [Music City Bowl], but these people put this show on like it was the 58th."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Jan 5, 2006

DECISIONS LOOMING: Jan. 15 is the deadline for college football players with eligibility remaining to declare for this year's NFL draft.

Two Cavaliers left early for the NFL last year: linebacker Darryl Blackstock and tight end Heath Miller. Inside linebackers Kai Parham and Ahmad Brooks, each of whom has a season of eligibility left, could follow suit this year.

Parham, a first-team all-ACC selection in 2005, has completed work on his bachelor's degree and is expected to enter the draft, a source at U.Va. said, even though the 6-3 250-pounder could fall to the fourth or fifth round.

Brooks, a Butkus Award finalist in 2004, probably would have been a first-round pick had he entered last year's NFL draft. Knee, ankle and back injuries slowed him this season, and Brooks played in only six games.

For months, Brooks has been considered a virtual lock to leave early for the NFL, but he's weighing the possibility of returning to U.Va. and trying to raise his draft stock in 2006, the source said. Brooks' academic standing may influence his decision.

TEMPTING: Al Golden's departure after the regular season left U.Va. without a defensive coordinator for the Music City Bowl, so coach Al Groh filled that role.

Groh could continue running the defense in 2006, but he said yesterday that he'll probably hire a coordinator.

"It was good for me to do," Groh said. "I got something out of doing it. One was the response from the players, both from what I could sense and what they actually said to me. They enjoyed the fact I was able to have that much involvement with them on a drill-to-drill basis."

Candidates for the coordinator's job include Mike London, Groh's defensive-line coach at U.Va. for four seasons (2001-04). London recently completed his first season as defensive line coach with the NFL's Houston Texans, who fired coach Dom Capers last weekend.

"Mike is one of the very best coaches that we've had here, and a great guy, and he's one of my favorite guys," Groh said yesterday. "Obviously, he's a person who would be very attractive."

IN THE MARKET: Groh also is looking for an offensive coordinator. A coach who said he'd be "extremely interested" in for that position is Brian White, whose 11-year tenure at Wisconsin ended this week.

White was the team's co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach this season. He's not being retained by Barry Alvarez's successor.

As of Tuesday night, he hadn't heard from Groh, White told The Times-Dispatch, "but I certainly would love to be considered."

Quarterbacks coach Mike Groh and wide receivers coach John Garrett handled the playcalling for U.Va. in Nashville.

CORNERED: At Gretna High, he put up numbers unsurpassed by any quarterback in Virginia High School League history, and he'd love to play that position in college. But Vic Hall was moved to cornerback during the regular season, and "I think right now we're probably going to leave him where he is, because it's such a short path to playing time for him," Groh said.

"I want to see him in the games, and I get the impression from him that he wants to be in games."

The 5-9 Hall, who redshirted this season, said in Nashville that he'd do "what's best for the team. If I can help the team better at cornerback, that's fine with me."

ROLL OF THE DICE: To be academically eligible to play in the Music City Bowl, senior nose tackle Kwakou Robinson needed to finish his work for a class in which he'd received an incomplete.

"I thought it was a 50-50 shot," Groh said yesterday, so he allowed Robinson to travel with the team to Nashville. "We'd have certainly felt foolish if we'd done the opposite" and learned that Robinson was eligible.

Robinson had until 5 p.m. last Thursday to get the matter resolved satisfactorily. He couldn't do so, though, and was sent home from Nashville later that night.

HAPPY ENDING: Mark D'Onofrio, who coached Virginia's inside linebackers and coordinated its special teams during the regular season, is the new defensive coordinator at Temple. But he rejoined the Cavaliers for their pre-bowl practices and coached in Nashville.

"It really was a great experience, really, really fulfilling for me," D'Onofrio said yesterday. "A lot of people thanked me for coming back and doing that, but in my mind it was probably more rewarding for me."

U.Va., which trailed 21-10 at halftime, rallied to beat Minnesota 34-31.

"It was special, and it was a really good feeling on the field and in the locker room," said D'Onofrio, who followed his best friend, former U.Va. defensive coordinator Al Golden, to Temple. "It was one of the better victories I'd been involved with." -- Jeff White