Gentlemen, start your engines
As practice begins, several positions up for grabs with surplus of talent
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 21, 2007

The “Average Joe” approach is gone as Virginia opens spring football practice today at 4 p.m., but the ultimate goal remains the same for coach Al Groh.

Entering his seventh season at his alma mater, Groh has not been reluctant to remind his players that he wants an ACC title.

“If you are in a conference for any reason other than that,” Groh said, “you are in the conference for the wrong reason.”

Virginia could be closer to chasing what would be its first title since 1995.

While the Cavaliers are coming off a disappointing 5-7 season, only three starters were lost and a massive class of redshirted players join the fold, only adding to the expectations and the buzz around the McCue Center, Groh said.

“After four months of not being in a practice mode, we are real anxious to get out there on the field,” he said. “You can certainly feel the energy and the expectations of the players.

“With the large number of players that were redshirted last year - 17 of them - this an opportunity for us to really integrate those players into the fabric of the team and the rotation. There should be a lot of competition coming from those players for playing time.”

Questions, however, linger around two positions, as they have in recent history.

“A lot of the different areas of the team are much improved from where they were this day last year,” Groh added, “… but the guy who kicks it and throws it has a lot to do with what the outcome is.”

Rising sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell, who underwent surgery in December on his throwing hand, is expected to practice in some degree, but his performance and the training staff will determine how much.

“For all the upbeat feelings that we have about the team, obviously that is a big issue,” Groh said. “College football has become, to a degree, an offensive game and such a quarterback-driven game.

“At this point last year, we went into the spring with really no experience at quarterback, and now we have a player with a substantial amount of experience at the position but with another question mark hanging over his head.”

Sewell, who started the final nine games last year, passed for 1,342 yards and five touchdowns while throwing six interceptions.

“It’s not so much that he is inexperienced, but what his participation and progress will be, I think, each practice will determine how much of that he can take,” Groh added.

The concerns with the Cavaliers’ kicking game are justifiable.

Placekicker and punter Chris Gould, headed for his final year of eligibility, connected on his first three field goals last year but missed half of his final 16 attempts. Walk-on senior Noah Greenbaum, who may be auditioning for a chance to remain on the team, made one of his two field-goal attempts.

“Clearly, we need to change that,” Groh said.

The winner of the Gould-Greenbaum battle will compete with incoming freshman Chris Hinkebein, a two-star recruit from Charlotte, N.C., for the job in August.

“I don’t feel like we can get the team ready by having a rodeo out there in August, so we are going to have camp-long competition at that spot throughout the spring,” Groh added.

“And then whoever emerges from that competition will be then be in competition with Chris when he comes in.”

While Sewell, wide receiver Kevin Ogletree (wrist surgery) and linebacker Clint Sintim (shoulder surgery) will be monitored closely, the program should practice near full strength. None of Virginia’s players, the coach said, would be held out of the spring drills to focus on academics, which has not always been the case.

Given that positive circumstance, Groh said he plans on splitting into two teams for the annual spring game, which will take place at Scott Stadium on April 14 at 2 p.m.

A fond farewell

Ten players who finished the 2006 season with a year of eligibility are no longer listed on the Cavaliers’ roster.

Some, such as quarterback Kevin McCabe (California, Penn.) and offensive lineman Marshal Ausberry (Liberty), will play football elsewhere.

The destination for others remains uncertain, but Groh said the moves were necessary.

“It is about roster management … and team chemistry and team morale,” Groh said. “I think it is only fair to the player, and in the long term the benefit of the team, if look at what the circumstances are going to be in the upcoming year.

“And we always want to be able to put the player, if he is back for his fifth year … it should be with the expectation that it would be a very positive year.”

Other players no longer listed on the roster include the following: safeties Ryan Best and Ben Parziale, wide receivers Emmanuel Byers and Mike Robertson, quarterback/holder John Phillips and offensive lineman David Fairbrothers.

Extra points

Senior Chris Gorham has been moved from cornerback to wide receiver. Groh said Gorham was open to the move. … Five new names popped up on the media-issued roster on Tuesday - punter John Thornton (Richmond), cornerback Brandon Jarvis (Fairfield), cornerback Donald Hickman (Fredericksburg), linebacker Daniel Childress (Franklin) and tight end Anthony Konstant (Winnetka, Ill.) have joined the program. Konstant was listed on the preseason roster in ’05 as a quarterback.

… Rashawn Jackson, who had previously worked at linebacker, has been shifted to fullback. “He’s got ball skills,” Groh said. “He will be able to run the ball inside, which will add diversity.” … Groh asked the media members present on Tuesday to print that, despite assuming the job of holder, Vic Hall would not perform fakes on placement attempts. “No chance,” Groh chuckled. “Vic will do a real good job.” Speaking of Hall, he will compete with rising junior Mike Brown to replace Marcus Hamilton at cornerback.… Tyrus Gardner, who handled the long-snapping duties in stellar fashion last year, will not return. The same can be said for Jackson Andrews, also a long-snapper. Given that dilemma entering today’s practice, Groh said tight ends Jon Phillips, Crutcher Reiss and Joe Torchia would work out at the spot. The position is expected to be filled next season by incoming freshman Danny Aiken, who played last year at Fork Union.

… Don’t be shocked if linebacker Aaron Clark redshirts next season. Groh would like to see how “Mother Nature” impacts Clark’s frame, which will ultimately determine if be becomes a lineman or remains an outside linebacker. … Denzel Burrell, who played in the first two games last year before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, has looked impressive in his rehab.

… Redshirt freshman Michael Parker, despite being listed at cornerback and safety, will mainly work at corner in practice. … Offensive lineman Jack Shields, who has added muscle in the offseason, is slated to take repetitions at center, providing depth behind starter Jordy Lipsey. … While linebacker Olu Hall has rejoined the team, Groh said there was “no update” on the return of wideout Andrew Pearman.

… Today’s practice, which starts at 4 p.m., is open to the public. Practices on Saturday (11:30 a.m.) and Sunday (2:45 p.m.) will be open as well.

 

A season for the scrapbook
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
March 21, 2007

Only a couple of days removed from his team’s ouster from the NCAA Tournament, Virginia coach Dave Leitao took a little time Tuesday to look toward the program’s future, but not before he reflected on what his team accomplished this past season.

In my book, Leitao deserved the ACC Coach of the Year plaudits not so much for taking a team predicted to finish eighth in the conference and tying for first, but rather something else he did a third of the way through the season.

Not to criticize my fellow scribes, but anyone who voted Virginia eighth in the preseason just didn’t do his homework or just didn’t know basketball. It was clear that the Cavaliers were much better.

Heck, they had finished higher than that the season before and had everyone back.

A long, strange trip

What sold me on his ability to push the right buttons and inspire his basketball team was three of the strangest days this columnist has ever spent with any basketball team.

Just before Christmas, we found ourselves basking in the warm and gentle breezes of the Caribbean at the San Juan Shootout. It was as if the Cavaliers never really showed up.

After watching the Cavs lose to Appalachian State, then get blown out by an, at best, mediocre Utah team, then struggle to beat the Division II Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Tarzans (yes, their women’s teams are named, you guessed it, the Janes), I was in disbelief. I was ready to walk up to the imposters wearing Virginia uniforms and say, “OK, who are you guys and what have you done with the Cavaliers?”

I wasn’t alone. Leitao was even more baffled because it wasn’t the same team he brought to the tropics.

Befuddled to no end

On Tuesday, Leitao said it wasn’t the toughest week of his coaching career but that it surely was the most challenging because he didn’t have any answers for what happened over those three days.

He was so distraught, he confessed, that, after the loss to Utah on the second day, he went back to the Condado Plaza Hotel and didn’t talk to anyone the rest of the day and night. He didn’t talk to his wife, his kids, other family members that had made the trip, his assistants, his team. Nobody.

Leitao didn’t even prepare a scouting report for the Tarzans, whom his Cavs would face the following morning, something he said was unprecedented for any coach and certainly for himself.

Somehow he managed to put the pieces back together once the team returned home and ended up sharing the ACC regular season championship with North Carolina and returning the program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. Winning a first-round game broke a 12-year drought in the tourney.

Leitao said Tuesday that had senior guard J.R. Reynolds not suffered a severely turned ankle late in the first half of the second round loss to Tennessee that he believed the Cavaliers would be packing their bags for San Antonio and a date with Ohio State this weekend in the Sweet 16.

Of course, if the Cavs were meeting the Buckeyes, they’d be doing it without Reynolds, whose foot was in a boot after it had swollen to nearly three times its normal size. The fact Reynolds played most of the second half with such an injury speaks volumes as to what kind of character he possesses, something we already knew.

Leitao knew when he took the Virginia job that it had a lot of potential, but he readily admitted that it had turned into his dream job.

“I can’t think of a situation in my lifetime where I’ve been more comfortable,” Leitao said.

Certainly there are challenges with all the academic restrictions that some opponents don’t have to deal with, but Leitao said the good far outweighed the difficult.

What he didn’t realize when he took the job, even though he knew that John Paul Jones Arena was under construction, was just how much of an impact the building would have on his program.

“I didn’t factor that in,” the UVa coach said. “I love to look at opponents’ faces when they come in here and look around for the first time.”

Virginia was 16-1 at home this past season and was the only ACC team not to lose a home conference game. Certainly that has and will continue to help Cavalier recruiting.

One of the things Leitao said last season about scheduling, he reiterated on Tuesday.

“We’d like to always have three or four challenging games with sex appeal on our schedule,” Leitao said, not counting the regular ACC games. This past season, it was Stanford, Gonzaga and Arizona.

Next season, UVa returns to Arizona for the end of that series, and the Gonzaga series ended this past season. The Cavs don’t return their game to Stanford until the 2008-09 season.

“We’d like to start a series with another marquee team (preferably at home) this coming season,” Leitao said.

Virginia will be playing in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament in Philadelphia as sort of a homecoming for Sean Singletary’s senior year. The Cavs will also play Duke and Georgia Tech twice in ’07-’08.

One of the things the Cavs coach will take from this joyous ride will be a huge intangible.

“It has made so many people in this community happy and proud,” Leitao said.

That, my friend, money can’t buy.

 

Cavs squash Spiders
From staff reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
March 21, 2007

In Richmond, Virginia used a five-run fourth inning and a strong outing on the mound from Pat McAnaney to blast the University of Richmond, 11-1, on Tuesday at Pitt Field.

The Cavaliers (20-4) pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of nine Richmond walks to score in double digits for the 13th time this season.

That was exactly what Virginia coach Brian O’Connor wanted with the contest sandwiched between three-game sets with two national powerhouses, North Carolina and Miami.

“Anytime you play between two opponents such as that and you are on the road it gives you cause for concern, but I think our players have developed a professional attitude to where they have been ready to play pretty much every day,” O’Connor said. “That’s the sign of a team that understands the importance of every game.”

Brandon Guyer (4 for 6, 2 R, 4 RBI) led Virginia’s offensive attack and registered a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning when the Cavaliers led 4-1.

“He had a good offensive day,” O’Connor said. “He has really been swinging the bat well for us over the last 10 games. That’s really allowed us to have big offensive days.”

Mike Mitchell (3 for 5, R, RBI, 3 SB) and Beau Seabury (2 for 3, R, RBI) were the only other Cavaliers to register multiple hits in the well-balanced attack.

With an 8-1 lead after the top of the fourth, McAnaney had more than enough run support to earn his first win of the season in what was his first start.

The left-hander, who missed the first few weeks of the season with a broken hand, tossed five solid innings, allowing five hits and just one unearned run.

“He looked good and he pitched his best in the fourth and fifth inning,” O’Connor said. “The plan is to continue to start him in the middle of the week and hopefully he only gets better and better.

“He is going to need to continue to improve, but he gave us a chance to win.”

Michael Schwimer, who went three innings in relief, and Neal Davis combined to pitch four scoreless frames out of the bullpen.

O’Connor said the decision to extend Schwimer was determined well in advance.

“Schwimer hasn’t been as sharp as I wanted him to be,” O’Connor said, “and he only got to pitch a couple of outs at North Carolina.”

Virginia, now ranked fifth in the country, opens a three-game set at Davenport Field on Friday with Miami. The game is slated to start at 6 p.m.

 

All hands on deck for Virginia
QB Sewell among few on the mend as Cavs begin spring practice
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 21, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The University of Virginia football team will open spring practice this afternoon with a full complement of players.

Unlike a year ago, no players will have to miss spring drills to concentrate on academics, and none has been ruled out because of an injury. Several players are recovering from operations, however, and that group includes quarterback Jameel Sewell.

"Everybody will be a participant," U.Va. coach Al Groh told reporters yesterday. "In some cases that's going to be limited, in acknowledgement of their rehab. While this is an important time for us, quite clearly August camp and September 1 are the most important targets."

Sewell, a left-hander from Hermitage High who started nine games as a redshirt freshman in 2006, had surgery on his left wrist in December.

"For a while here, we certainly don't expect that he'll be a full-time participant," Groh said. "That won't be the case [today], it might not be till Friday, it might not be till August. We're just going into an area here that we really don't know."

Also on the mend are two returning starters - outside line backer Clint Sintim (shoulder) and wideout Kevin Ogletree (wrist) - as well as reserve Denzel Burrell, an outside linebacker whose redshirt freshman season was cut short by a knee injury in 2006.

The Wahoos went 5-7 in 2006, Groh's sixth season as coach at his alma mater. His seventh team should be significantly better.

Nine starters are back on offense. Ten return on defense, along with the kickers and punters from 2006. Veterans include all-ACC candidates Ogletree, Chris Long (defensive end), Jeffrey Fitzgerald (defensive end), Branden Albert (offensive guard), Tom Santi (tight end), Jonathan Stupar (tight end) and Chris Cook (cornerback).,

"I thought two years ago that the '07 team would be a better team than the '06 team," Groh said. "We're in better shape in a lot of situations. I think we still have some of the same question marks."

Chris Gould made only 11 of 19 field-goal attempts in 2006, and he'll battle Collegiate graduate Noah Greenbaum (1 of 2) this spring.

"The performance of our kickers has to improve," Groh said.

Sewell dazzled in several games last season. But he struggled in other games -- most notably against Florida State and Virginia Tech, both of which shut out U.Va. -- and would benefit from extensive work this spring. Because of Sewell's wrist, he's not likely to get it.

The snaps that Sewell can't take will go primarily to freshman Marc Verica, who redshirted last season, and rising junior Scott Deke, who has yet to appear in a college game. If they stumble, U.Va. might not have the luxury of redshirting Peter Lalich, an incoming recruit from West Springfield High.

Only one true freshman played for Virginia last season: nose tackle Nate Collins. Classmates who might break into the rotation this season include iinside linebackers John Bivens and Darnell Carter, outside linebacker John-Kevin Dolce, defensive end Sean Gottschalk, cornerbacks Trey Womack and Mike Parker, safety Rico Bell, wideout Chris Dalton and tailbacks Keith Payne and Raynard Horne.

Bivens, a graduate of Prince George High, was particularly impressive in practice last season.

"On every play, I watch every player at night on tape," Groh said. "There were some days when I'd go into the staff meeting and say, 'Fellas, did we ever block John Bivens? It looked like he just made every tackle.'

"The game makes sense to him. He understands where the ball is going."

Several Cavaliers have changed positions since the end of last season. Chris Gorham, a former starter at cornerback, has shifted to wideout, and Rashawn Jackson has moved from inside linebacker to fullback. Jack Shields, who came to U.Va. as a tight end last summer, is now a full-time center.


 

Leitao expects Singletary to return
U.Va. coach says star guard does not intend to declare for NBA draft
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 21, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- After meeting Monday afternoon with Sean Singletary, University of Virginia men's basketball Dave Leitao said yesterday that he expects his all-ACC point guard to return in 2007-08.

Singletary has said repeatedly over the past month that he's not leaving early for the NBA. The Daily Progress reported Monday, however, that Singletary had said he planned to work out for NBA teams before the draft.

To be eligible to do so -- even if he planned to withdraw from consideration later Singletary would have to declare for the draft, and that's "not his intention," Leitao told reporters yesterday at John Paul Jones Arena.

It's not clear if Singletary was familiar with the NBA's guidelines when the Charlottesville paper interviewed him Sunday after U.Va.'s loss to Tennessee in the NCAA tournament's second round. He never said he planned to put his name in the draft.

"I think there's a very significant level of naiveté, not only on his part, but a lot of kids' part, as to how this process works," Leitao said, "and he hasn't thought a whole lot about it, and that brings about even more naiveté."

Singletary, a junior from Philadelphia, led U.Va. in points, assists and steals this season and was second in rebounds. He had surgery on his shoulder in the spring of 2005 and a hip operation in the spring of 2006, but Singletary ended his junior season in good health.

In his hometown, Singletary has trained with such current and former NBA players as Jameer Nelson, Ronald Murray and Doug Overton.

"He's more excited right now about having a pain-free spring and summer to work out -- he's never had since he's come to college -- and as a result, we've talked . . . about the opportunity to work out with people that he knows that are professional basketball players or former pro players," Leitao said. "That kind of thing is what, I think, he was focused in on, as opposed to the NBA draft [Sunday]."

 

Reynolds' ankle too tender to play on
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- If there was a blessing in Virginia's second-round loss to Tennessee in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, it limped through Dave Leitao's door Monday.

Senior guard J.R. Reynolds, who had injured an ankle in the Cavaliers' 77-74 loss to Tennessee, already had undergone X-rays and was walking with his right foot immobilized in a boot.

"The bad news is that we lost Sunday," said Leitao at a Tuesday news conference. "The even worse news is, had we won, he wouldn't have been playing this weekend."

By Monday, Leitao said, Reynolds' ankle was three times its normal size.

"At the time of the game, I thought he had just turned an ankle a little bit and that we'd retape it, rub it a little bit, and he'd go back out on the floor," Leitao said. "It was a significant sprain. He showed a lot of heart and determination to finish the game."

Reynolds, reached Tuesday by cellphone, said a halftime injection was out of the question.

"I did that before the game," said Reynolds, who had taken a painkilling shot for his aching hip. "I couldn't do it again."

Reynolds confirmed that he would not have been able to play this week and has been obliged to decline to participate in an all-star game sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches at the Final Four.

"Now, I've finally been forced to take some time off," said Reynolds, who doesn't necessarily think that's a bad idea.

Leitao was asked if he felt an able-bodied Reynolds, who scored 22 points in the first 14 minutes, would have changed the outcome.

"The easy answer is, 'Yeah,'" Leitao said. "I think he was well on his way to scoring more than three or four points in the second half because the game was open. My concern was not his opportunity to keep scoring; it was getting Sean [Singletary] on track."

Clarification

Singletary, a two-time, first-team All-ACC selection, expects to be playing against past, present and would-be NBA players this summer. He's done that in the past. What he won't be doing is taking part in any of the NBA pre-draft camps.

In order to participate in the pre-draft camps, Singletary would have to make a formal application to the NBA, although he would have the option of removing his name from consideration.

"That's not his intention," Leitao said.

Singletary had responded affirmatively Sunday when asked about the pre-draft camps.

"I think there is a very significant level of naivete, not only on his part, but on a lot of kids' part," said Leitao, who discussed the quotes in a conversation with Singletary on Monday.

"He hadn't really thought a whole lot about it, which brings about even more naivete.

"He's more excited right now about having a pain-free summer to work out. He's never had that in college. We've talked about the opportunity to work out with professional players or former professional players. I think that's what he was focussing on, as opposed to the NBA Draft."

Spring football

Virginia football coach Al Groh met with the media today and said that a search for a No. 2 quarterback will be one of the main priorities when spring practice begins today at 4 p.m. with the first of four workouts that will be open to the public.

Both of UVa's practices this weekend will be open to the media, Saturday starting at 11:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Sunday. The last open practice will be April 7, followed by the spring game April 14 at 2 p.m.

Jameel Sewell, UVa's starting quarterback for the last nine games of the 2006 season, underwent offseason surgery to his left (throwing) wrist and will be monitored closely. The only other quarterbacks on the roster are junior Scott Deke and redshirt freshmen Marc Verica; their development could dictate 2007 plans for prize QB recruit Peter Lalich.

Family connection

Virginia's latest women's basketball recruit is 5-foot-1012 Kristen London, who averaged 13.3 points and 8.3 rebounds this season for Seminole (Okla.) State College.

London is the daughter of Mike London, defensive coordinator of the Cavaliers' football team.

Kristen London was born in Virginia but lived with her mother in Decatur, Ga., where she attended Chamblee High School. One of her other scholarship offers was from Old Dominion, which also had pursued her father in its search for a football coach.

Mike London, once the football recruiting coordinator, found himself in a role reversal this past weekend as parent of a recruit.
 

Status of Virginia's QB Sewell uncertain after arm surgery
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 21, 2007 | Last updated 8:26 PM Mar. 20

Virginia opens spring football practice today with most of last year's 5-7 team returning, but without the full-time services of quarterback Jameel Sewell.

Sewell is recovering from wrist surgery on his throwing arm. He'll be in uniform but is expected to take fewer snaps than he would if fully healed, coach Al Groh said Tuesday. Exactly how much action the redshirt sophomore will see is unclear.

"Each practice will determine how much he can take," Groh said.

Sewell won the starting job after Christian Olsen and Kevin McCabe both faltered early last season, and Sewell showed signs of developing into an elite quarterback, throwing for 1,342 yards and five touchdowns. But he struggled at times with his decision-making, and Groh said he needs practice repetitions to improve in that area.

Still, he's Virginia's most experienced quarterback. Olsen graduated, and McCabe left the team after the season. Scott Deke and Marc Verica, the team's other scholarship quarterbacks, have not played in a game.

"For all the upbeat feelings we have about the team, obviously that's a big issue," Groh said.

Virginia returns 18 starters, including the entire offensive line and the defensive front seven, which is led by defensive end Chris Long, a likely preseason All-American.

Groh redshirted all but one member of last year's freshman class and will use the spring to blend those players into the team, he said. Twenty-four freshmen will arrive in August, including touted quarterback Peter Lalich of Springfield.

The progress of Sewell's wrist, as well as the development of Deke and Verica, will determine where Lalich fits in, Groh said.


Notes: Groh said cornerback Chris Gorham, a backup most of last year, has switched to receiver.... Linebacker Clint Sintim, coming off shoulder surgery, will practice "moderately," Groh said.... Receiver Kevin Ogletree, who had wrist surgery, will be "more of a full-time participant."
 

Cavaliers' Groh rearranging pieces
Virginia opens spring practices with rising quarterback Jameel Sewell still on the mend.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
March 21, 2007

College football teams sometimes operate like the party game Jenga, in which players remove wooden blocks from a tower and re-arrange them so the whole thing doesn't crumble. Except in college football, the repercussions are a lot more significant than having your Diet Coke can spill into the bowl of Sun Chips.

Two years ago, Virginia coach Al Groh examined how his team would stack up for the future, forecasting the way he'd rearrange his pieces. "I thought two years ago that the '07 team would be a better team than the '06 team," he said.

Now it's time for him to see how high his tower can reach.

The Cavaliers - coming off a 5-7 season, their first without a bowl since 2001 - begin spring practices today, with the spring game set for 2 p.m. April 14.

This is Groh's seventh season. One of the nation's highest-paid coaches, he will receive a salary of about $1.87 million and, for the second consecutive season, a roster full of his own recruits.

His quarterback, a first-time starter last season, is a year older, and the Cavaliers return nine offensive starters. His defense, stout while stretched thin last fall, returns 10.

How much better, then, will the Cavaliers perform?

That question won't be answered until the fall, but here are 10 more than we can answer now.

WHAT'S THE LATEST ON JAMEEL SEWELL?

The rising sophomore quarterback underwent surgery on his left (throwing) wrist during the offseason. Groh is taking a wait-and-see approach this spring. "For a while here, we certainly don't expect that he'll be a full-time participant," he said.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER INJURED CAVALIERS?

Rising junior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree had less-serious wrist surgery than Sewell, so he'll participate more. Rising junior outside linebacker Clint Sintim (shoulder surgery) also will participate while coaches monitor him. Rising sophomore linebacker Denzel Burrell missed most of last season with an injured left knee. His participation will increase throughout the spring.

HOW MUCH OF A HEADACHE IS THE KICKING GAME GIVING GROH?

Don't be surprised if he's stocking up on Tylenol. His two biggest questions during last spring's practices were quarterbacks and kickers. That hasn't changed.

Rising seniors Chris Gould and Noah Greenbaum combined to go 12-of-21 last season. "The performance of our kickers has to improve," Groh said.

Gould and Greenbaum will compete this spring, and the winner will compete in preseason practices against incoming freshman Chris Hinkebein.

WHO HAS CHANGED POSITIONS?

Rising senior Chris Gorham moved from cornerback to wide receiver. Rising sophomore Rashawn Jackson moved from linebacker to fullback. Virginia recruited him as a fullback. Rising redshirt freshman Jack Shields, listed last year as a tight end and linebacker, is listed as a center.

WHERE ARE ALL THE LOCALS?

They're coming. Right now, rising senior fullback and special-teams menace Josh Zidenberg, a Poquoson High graduate, is the only local on the roster. In August, Virginia will welcome linebackers Jared Detrick (Woodside High) and Aaron Taliaferro (Gloucester High), and safety J'Courtney Williams (Christchurch School).

WHERE IS VIC HALL?

The rising sophomore, a record-breaking high school quarterback, will compete with rising junior Mike Brown for the cornerback spot vacated by Marcus Hamilton. Hall is Virginia's holder, meaning it has the potential for more fake kicks.

WHAT'S THE LATEST ON ANDREW PEARMAN?

HE IS NOT ON THE ROSTER FOR THE SPRING. A SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER LAST SEASON, HE WITHDREW FROM SCHOOL IN THE MIDDLE OF LAST SEASON BECAUSE OF A NON-FOOTBALL MEDICAL ISSUE. IS ANYONE SITTING OUT THE SPRING TO FOCUS ON ACADEMICS?

No, but rising junior outside linebacker Olu Hall, the state of Virginia's former No. 1 recruit, is back with the Cavaliers. He sat out last spring and fall to concentrate on academics as did fullback Kevin Bradley, a junior last year, who is not on the spring roster.

WHICH PLAYERS DID NOT RETURN FOR THEIR FIFTH YEARS?

Quarterback Kevin McCabe, quarterback/holder John Phillips, wide receiver Emmanuel Byers, safety Ben Parziale, safety Ryan Best, long snapper Tyrus Gardner, linebacker Marvin Richardson, guard David Fairbrothers, guard Marshal Ausberry, wide receiver Mike Robertson and nose tackle Keenan Carter.

WHAT DOES GROH EXPECT OUT OF CHRIS LONG?

A lot. The rising senior defensive end was second-team all-ACC last season and had 12 tackles for losses and four sacks. "At the end of the season last year, there was nobody in the conference that was harder to block," Groh said. "He certainly will be one of the premier defensive players in the country next year."

COMEUPPANCE: Some are reveling in ACC's fall
By Lenox Rawlings
JOURNAL COLUMNIST

CHAPEL HILL - In the fading warmth of late October, before the Cardinals won the World Series and the Deacons turned ACC football on its head, college basketball rated a mere fleeting thought.

Around the ACC, the first thought seemed easy enough: North Carolina's No. 1, by a landslide. The next thoughts: Duke is always good; Boston College is good and quite mature. Beyond that, roll the dice.

Five months later, from the hideously simple perspective of documented hindsight, the Tar Heels have earned their stature. Despite several bobbles down the stretch, they tied Virginia for first place and won the ACC Tournament.

Carolina then escaped the first two NCAA rounds in Winston-Salem. By the time everyone tuned in 60 Minutes on Sunday night, all the other conference teams had exhausted their 15 minutes of NCAA flame.

Some were proud. Some were aghast. Most were out of gas. The six defeated teams shared common themes. They shot abysmally, and they were gone, gone, gone. The mass exodus amused people who question the ACC's professed superiority or just dislike chest-beating arrogance generally.

The finger-pointers have a point, and they're making it on cable, on the web, in the newspapers: The ACC has one candidate left in the round of 16. That's the lowest total since everyone struck out in 1979, year of the infamous Black Sunday when decorated Duke and Carolina imploded against Eastern underdogs.

The ACC's rapid transit from seven-team behemoth to one-team butterfly follows a pattern. Last season, no ACC team qualified for a regional final, only the second time that had occurred since 1979. The other: 2003. Both years, the ACC howled because only four teams received bids. Both years, the results suggested that quiet exasperation might be less embarrassing.

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski led the ACC lobbying campaign this season. He talks sharply, with a cutting tone that sounds like a Midwestern nasal knife. He carries a big stick. Maybe committee members heard his message, or maybe they just reflexively grabbed their noses and voted seven ACC teams in.

Florida State again pleaded its case to a deaf basketball jury. That happens when you lose five straight in February and win just one ACC Tournament game - and that one an absolute gift from a referee who saw things no one else saw, including Al Thornton, beneficiary of the phantom foul.

Other leagues revel in the ACC's comeuppance, some lumping the ACC with the Big Ten. The charge: suspicion of fraud. That's an exaggeration. The ACC had a better season than the NCAA results suggest. The ACC almost always has a better season than the Big Ten, winning the challenge series eight straight times.

Roy Williams seems a bit surprised by his role as the only ACC coach left standing. "We had a quality, quality year," he said yesterday. "We beat a lot of good teams - when I say we, I mean the ACC - but unfortunately we didn't beat enough of them last weekend. That's what people end up remembering more, how you finish in the tournament, but I still think we have a great, great league. Anybody that doesn't think it's that good, try to get a job and come coach in it."

What happened? An epidemic of late-season blues engulfed the ACC. The Duke blue fade was the most dramatic, four losses to close a season that once shimmered as a testament to a coach's will and his players' resilience.

Josh McRoberts reached down for more from time to time, especially at Boston College, but he never emerged as an offensive anchor or tough inside guy. In the end, Duke's offense didn't score enough to protect leads and its defense unraveled against quick guards.

BC sustained the fight after Coach Al Skinner kicked defensive backstop Sean Williams off the team, but the Eagles couldn't fly right without an interior force. Georgetown drove home that point, with 7-2 Roy Hibbert serving as the hammer.

Virginia counted on guards Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds for 49 percent of its points. When Singletary hit 4 of 14 against Tennessee and the big men failed to hit a single basket, the Cavaliers fell 77-74. They shot 36 percent at Wake Forest and blew the outright regular-season title. They shot 40 percent while losing their ACC Tournament opener to N.C. State. They shot themselves right out of a decent finish to a substantial season.

Virginia Tech beat Carolina twice and finally returned to the show after a 10-year snooze. The Hokies promptly took a nap, scoring a season-low 54 points against woeful loser Illinois and topping that with 48 in the exit round against Southern Illinois.

Maryland's defensive revival created hope, but the Terps peaked during the final two weeks of the regular season and couldn't get it back. They scored 59 in a three-point loss to Butler. Georgia Tech couldn't score against Nevada-Las Vegas, which won despite shooting 32 percent.

The season lasts so long that it allows metamorphosis. N.C. State's offense, erratic during point guard Engin Atsur's hiatus for hamstring healing, evolved into a meticulously balanced marvel at the ACC Tournament. The symphony continued in the first two NIT rounds, inviting the conclusion that State tied for 10th but wound up better than everyone except Carolina.

ACC promoters have only one horse running in the NCAA derby. The Tar Heels now run into Southern Cal, which plays in a league that actually plays aggressive defense everywhere. Williams issued a mild warning yesterday.

"We're not dominating," he said. "We're not a Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton kind of team. You don't have that in college basketball any more."

You have 16 teams chasing the same prize, half of them genuine contenders. The dissing started early. The credible bragging won't start until someone owns something worth bragging about.

 

UNC's Davis taking chemo
Growth removed in coach's mouth
Robbi Pickeral, Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina football coach Butch Davis was the picture of health as he conducted his first spring practices in Chapel Hill this week. He plans to stay that way by undergoing chemotherapy following removal of a cancerous growth in his mouth.
"I know people are going to be concerned and everything, but it's going to be OK,'' Davis, 55, said Tuesday afternoon.

"We're going to get through this, and we're going to have a great season next fall. Don't worry about it."

The growth on Davis' gum was found when Davis visited his dentist in Cleveland for a routine cleaning in late February. The growth was removed, and a biopsy revealed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Adult non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a disease in which cancer cells form in the lymph system, which is part of the immune system, according to the National Cancer Institute. It can occur most places in the body.

Davis, who invited nine reporters to his office Tuesday afternoon to explain his situation, said he is undergoing chemotherapy as a precaution.

He had his first two-hour session in Cleveland on Friday, and will have three to five more treatments, once every two weeks, at UNC Hospitals.

Subsequent tests found no evidence that the cancer has spread -- and there was no evidence of cancer in the spot where the growth had been removed.

"We can't find anything,'' said Dr. Thomas Shea, Davis' Chapel Hill-based doctor and a UNC professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology. "We have every reason to believe that he will be cured of his lymphoma."

Shea said there are about 30 different kinds of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and the more limited the stage of the disease the better, which is good for Davis.

"I expect that he's going to be working on a full-time basis,'' Shea said. "He may get a little bit fatigued and may lose his hair, but otherwise he should live life pretty normally over the next couple of months."

Davis, whose wife and son are in the process of moving from Ohio to North Carolina, said he has never smoked or chewed tobacco, and that he has been watching his diet the past few years.

His mother died of lung cancer when she was 39, but Davis said it was unrelated to non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Davis informed Athletic Director Dick Baddour, then Chancellor James Moeser, of his medical situation Sunday. He told his staff and players Tuesday.

"I feel fortunate that it was caught this early, for him and his family," Baddour said. "I feel good about the treatment plan, and the way it is going.

"His health is our primary concern, and based on what he's told me, I don't expect this will affect his coaching a bit."

Davis, who previously coached the Miami Hurricanes and later the Cleveland Browns, was hired in November to replace John Bunting, who was fired after posting only one winning season in Chapel Hill.

Davis said Tuesday that he feels "as healthy as I've ever been," and plans to put 100 percent of his focus into his new football team.

"I have every intention of being a coach here for a long time,'' Davis said. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow's practice."

Davis isn't the only Triangle college coach fighting cancer. N.C. State University women's basketball coach Kay Yow has been waging a long campaign against her breast cancer, even as her team plays in the NCAA tournament.
 

UVa basketball wrap: Now comes the hard part, getting back to the tourney
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
March 21, 2007

Virginia's return to relevance in the college basketball world is well ahead of schedule.
Nobody could have imagined that the Cavaliers would earn a share of the ACC regular season title (certainly not the media, which picked them eighth), few thought they could win 20 games and even fewer thought they were capable of winning their first NCAA tournament game in 12 years.

Yet UVa accomplished all of those things with what was essentially the same team that bowed out of the first round of the NIT last season.

Now for the hard part.

"The general statement I made at the end was: it's hard to get there; it's harder to stay," said Virginia's Dave Leitao, the ACC coach of the year.

The Cavaliers have a new burden next season: expectation. This season's rosy run from ACC also-ran to regular season co-champion had the usual shine of all resurrection stories. Namely, any speed bumps along the way were deemed necessary to the learning process and quickly dismissed.

Virginia won't be able to fall back on that in 2007-08.

Sean Singletary's return instantly makes Virginia an NCAA tournament team. The point guard has said repeatedly he will return for his senior season, but he might still test the NBA waters by attending pre-draft camps without hiring an agent (a process that requires a player to declare for the draft, even if he has no intention of staying in).

Singletary was one half of the equation that helped the Cavaliers improve from 15-15 to 21-11. The other half, J.R. Reynolds, is gone, and though his all-ACC production (18.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.7 apg) was significant, that won't be what UVa misses most.

"It will be more difficult to replace J.R. the person than the scorer because he brought a lot to the table," Leitao said. "And when you're a four-year player who evolved like he evolved, then it becomes very hard to replace him with one person."

It will likely take a group. Other than Singletary, no other player averaged more than 10 points a game.

Mamadi Diane and Adrian Joseph are more suited to the wing, which means UVa might have to rely a pair of freshmen - Jeff Jones and Mustapha Farrakhan - to score points immediately.

The Cavaliers return everybody up front except for Jason Cain (and possibly Lars Mikalauskas, who could choose to play professionally in his native Lithuania next season), but they will require more production.

Nobody up front is a potential low-post force. Tunji Soroye does not appear to be developing an offensive game. Mikalauskas, if he returns, will have to stay out of foul trouble. Ryan Pettinella's energy is his greatest attribute. And Jamil Tucker, though 6-foot-8, is more effective at stretching a defense with his range (he shot over 45 percent on 3-pointers last season).

All those questions lead to the biggest one: can the Cavaliers remain in the spotlight of what is year-in, year-out one of the toughest conferences in the country?

It's something Leitao has already pondered.

"I don't want Virginia to be a one-hit wonder," he said.


 

With 15 redshirts, spring practice excites UVa's coaches
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
March 21, 2007

Al Groh had an eye on this year. As the 2006 season continued down a mediocre path and a 5-7 finish, Virginia's coach chose not to burn the redshirt year on the majority of his freshman class.
The Cavaliers hope to reap the benefits this spring.

Virginia will have a stable of rested, red-shirted and ready players primed for competition when it opens spring practice this afternoon. UVa red-shirted 15 of the 16 members of its 2006 class, a departure from previous years when a handful of freshmen were asked to contribute right away.

The Cavaliers have few starting spots up for grabs, so the real competition will be if the red-shirted players can take away playing time from an incumbent or set themselves up to be the next ones in the game. Either way, their chance begins today.

"You can tell those players are very anxious for their opportunity to compete for playing time," Groh said.

"And the staff is very anxious to see those guys in the mix."

Here are some other storylines to watch this spring:

Familiar faces: The Cavaliers return 19 starters, having lost only cornerback Marcus Hamilton, tailback Jason Snelling and wideout Fontel Mines (Deyon Williams is gone, too, but he was a reserve by the end of last year). Virginia hasn't had this little turnover since the late 1960s.

Position changes: With a crowded defensive backfield, senior Chris Gorham makes the move to receiver, a position he hasn't played since high school. Sophomore Rashawn Jackson, a backup inside linebacker who got goal line snaps at fullback, will move to fullback full-time this year. He was originally recruited to UVa as a running back.

Injury watch: Outside linebacker Clint Sintim will be limited this spring after offseason shoulder surgery. Groh isn't sure how much quarterback Jameel Sewell will participate after having surgery on his throwing wrist following the season. Receiver Kevin Ogletree, who underwent a similar procedure, is expected to be more involved.

Crowded backfield: Though Snelling's departure leaves the running back position up for grabs, there are plenty of suitors. Junior Cedric Peerman (William Campbell) and Mikell Simpson are the leading candidates among those who have played in games, but they'll be pushed by Keith Payne and Raynard Horne, a pair of red-shirt freshmen who have drawn rave reviews from players and coaches.

Cornered market: The only vacant position on the defensive side of the ball is the cornerback spot Hamilton occupied for 3? years. Rising junior Mike Brown and sophomore Vic Hall (Gretna) will enter the spring as co-No. 1's for that position. Groh said he'll have each work with the first-team defense on alternating days to get a better idea of their progress.

Just for kicks: Virginia never found a suitable replacement for place-kicker Connor Hughes last season. Groh has had even more trouble finding a punter since he returned to Charlottesville. Chris Gould is back and will compete for both positions. Ryan Weigand will battle him for the punting job, but the real battle will be with consistency.

Backup plan: The line behind Sewell is littered with question marks. UVa's backup quarterbacks - Scott Deke, Marc Verica and Patch Duda - have not played in a college game. Spring will be an important time for them to prove capable of being a viable option as a backup, especially before super frosh Peter Lalich arrives in the fall.

Catching on: After Ogletree, the wideouts are a mystery. Gone are Williams, Mines, Andrew Pearman and Emmanuel Byers, who chose not to return for his senior season. Maurice Covington, Chris Dalton and Cary Koch will look to fill the void.

Line 'em up: Last spring, guard Branden Albert sat out to focus on academics, tackle Eugene Monroe hurt his knee, Jordy Lipsey and Ian-Yates Cunningham weren't sure what position they would play and Will Barker was still Eddie Pinigis' backup. This year, everyone's back and the Cavaliers hope all the lumps they took up front last season will pay dividends.