Lalich gets competition
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Visitors to Virginia's two open football practices this spring were struck by a quarterback rotation that did not necessarily favor the most experienced returnee, Peter Lalich.

Never mind that neither of his scholarship rivals, Scott Deke and Marc Verica, has attempted a pass in a college game.

"Put it this way," UVa head coach Groh said early in camp. "The [coaches are] probably the only people who haven't anointed the quarterback yet, that have decided what we'll do it on performance.

"So, therefore we're giving all three quarterbacks similar turns in terms of reps and similar turns with each particular unit."

Even if Lalich were the choice, it would make sense for Deke and Verica to spend time with the first unit. There were four times last year when Lalich was needed to replace an injured Jameel Sewell.

Sewell started 23 consecutive games over the past two seasons, but odds are that his successor will miss at least an occasional play due to injury.

Practice time is important, but there is little substitute for game action, Groh concedes. As a true freshman, Lalich played in eight of 13 games last season, completing 35 of 61 passes (57.4 percent) for 321 yards and two touchdowns, as opposed to one interception.

"We'd seen some of those throws in practice," Groh said, "but we also realized, it was happening so much faster in the game. That accounted for a lot of things.

"Clearly, Pete was in there well before his time, but there were a lot of circumstances that created that. One was the uncertainty over Jameel's [surgically repaired] wrist. Then, we had this other eligibility circumstance that has always been looming out there."

Sewell eventually was placed on academic suspension by the UVa dean's office and will miss the 2008 season.

"The prudent thing to do was to have somebody prepared to play in a game whenever that became necessary," Groh said. "In fact, we ended up winning a couple of games that we would have had difficulty winning without him. But it was still a little bit fast and a little bit much at that time."

How much will the 61 throws help?

"I can answer that question best by [repeating] the way Peter has answered it," Groh said. "He's said that he feels so much further ahead in his first spring practice than he would have felt had he not been involved in game preparation, as well as game participation.

"The most important thing to us last year was the season at hand. At the same time, that's a position that requires quite a bit of developmental time. It best served his developmental circumstances to be in the mix from the start."

Recruit in trouble

Harrisonburg High School athletic director Joe Carico said he has not been contacted by Virginia regarding its recruitment of Alex Owah, a junior running back who has been named in an affidavit concerning a robbery on or close to this past Halloween.

Owah told Sgt. Chris Rush of the Harrisonburg Police Department that he had taken part in the planning of the "robbery," but that it initially was intended as a prank. Owah also revealed to Rush that one of his Harrisonburg High teammates, Ronnell Brandon, had been distributing pain pills for more than two years and that Owah had been a user.

Owah, rated the No. 11 junior in Virginia by The Roanoke Times, made an oral commitment to the Cavaliers on Dec. 30. Carico said he hopes Virginia withholds judgment on Owah until additional information comes to light.

UVa has received five commitments for the class of 2009, but another of the committed players, all-purpose threat Caleb Porzel from Good Counsel in Olney, Md., has elected to re-open his recruiting.

Local update

Cave Spring graduate Danny Aiken has been working at center this spring after handling long-snapping duties this past fall as a true freshman. Sophomore Jack Shields and redshirt freshman Anthony Mihota are 1-2 at center, but the Cavaliers view Aiken as another option because of his size (6-4, 250) and athletic ability. He played quarterback, tight end and defensive end at Cave Spring.

Knights coach Tim Fulton confirmed Thursday that senior linebacker and 4.0 student Brady Stovall (6-2, 230) has made an oral commitment to Virginia, where he will be an invited walk-on. "He'll be an asset," said Fulton, who notes that Stovall has the kind of versatility that merits a look at various spots.

Spring game

Kickoff for the Cavaliers' spring game will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, with gates to open at noon for a variety of fan activities. At 6 p.m., the Cavaliers' third-ranked men's lacrosse team will entertain No. 2 Duke at Klockner Stadium. Attendance at Klockner has been capped at 8,000.
 

Winding path
It took several positions before Virginia's Shields found his spot at center
Friday, Apr 11, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- On his right arm is a colorful tattoo of his surname over an Irish flag. For a young man from the Boston area, where roots to Ireland run deep, that's not out of the ordinary.

More unusual is the path that Jack Shields took to the heart of the University of Virginia's offensive line.

On offense, he played wide receiver his freshman and sophomore seasons at Boston College High School. As a junior he played quarterback. As a senior, he moved to tight end, and that's the position at which he began his college career in 2006.

In high school, Shields paid little-to-no attention to the guy snapping the football on each play.

"No chance," he recalled with a smile. "I mean, I knew what the center did, but I never thought I'd be playing there some day."

Not only does Shields play center these days, he could very well be starting there Aug. 30 when U.Va. opens against Southern California at Scott Stadium. He moved from tight end to center early in the 2006 season. In 2007, as a redshirt freshman, Shields backed up Jordy Lipsey, a two-year starter at center.

And now, with Lipsey gone, the 6-5, 289-pound Shields has been working with the first team this spring. U.Va. fans will get their first extended look at Shields in tomorrow's spring game at Scott Stadium.

Not long after joining a program that regards tight end as a marquee position, Shields looked hard at the depth chart. He saw a better opportunity for early playing time at center, and his coaches at Virginia encouraged the position change.

"Like in high school when I switched around a lot, it didn't matter to me," Shields said. "I just wanted to play and do whatever helped the team. At tight end, I'm not the most athletic kid in the world, and our tight ends here are real athletic. It was just something where when I came here and I saw the fit at center, I started playing there, and I liked it. I like it a lot."

Lipsey, who was generously listed as 6-3, 280, in last year's U.Va. media guide, had trouble keeping on weight. In terms of sheer size, Shields is a major upgrade. But there's more to the position than bulk, as Shields will attest.

"Jordy's very technical. His technique is so good and his speed is very deceptive," Shields said. "He's very quick. A lot of people might not have noticed how quick he was. He was my roommate for all the games, so he and I grew very close."

Shields appeared in only one game last season, Virginia's 44-14 rout of Pittsburgh on Sept. 29. That romp was something of an anomaly in a season when the Cavaliers set an NCAA record by winning five games by two points or fewer. Had the season unfolded differently, U.Va. coach Al Groh said this week, Shields would have played more.

"It was definitely a result of game situations," Groh said, "as it was at a number of other positions too. With those games going down to the final possession, we stayed pretty much with our core lineup during those games."

Shields, who grew up in Boston, moved with his family to Duxbury, Mass., about 30 miles south of the city, in his early teens. His father, Jack Shields, played linebacker for Notre Dame from 1979 to '82. The younger Shields chose U.Va. over Vanderbilt and, with three seasons of eligibility left, appears poised to take on a prominent role.

"Nothing's written in stone," Shields said Sunday afternoon. "Right now I'm doing first team, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be doing first team, too. You just go with it. I'm just trying to get better, and we're just trying to get better every day."

 

Ogletree ready for return to gridiron
By Jay Jenkins
Published: April 11, 2008

It has been a 17-month roller-coaster ride for Kevin Ogletree since the wideout last secured the chinstrap on his helmet and strolled out into Scott Stadium.
On Saturday, as part of Virginia’s spring festival, Ogletree will officially make his return to the venue after suffering a torn ACL that sidelined the program’s leading receiver during the 2007 season.
“It’s been a while,” Ogletree said. “The last couple of times I have been out there, I have been in street clothes. It will feel good to get suited up and get some snaps with my teammates.”
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Ogletree hauled in a team-best 52 passes two seasons ago for 582 yards, but tore the ligaments in his knee during a spring practice.
The injury, which felt awkward when it occurred, was not discovered until an MRI that followed two more practice sessions.
“I just tried to make a hard cut going in one direction,” he said, “and my knee kind of did something funny.”
Surgery and months rehab followed and while he hoped to return for the 2007 season, those wishes were eventually dashed as the games - and wins - piled up.
Taking a medical redshirt left Ogletree with two years of eligibility remaining, and while he sports a nice scar and a knee brace as a reminder, he has not played tentatively.
“I was just happy to be back out here with the guys, so I didn’t really worry about anything,” Ogletree said. “I just let my presence and me being able to join the team and participate let that be my boost and my happiness.”
Thus far in the 14 sessions of spring practice, Ogletree has resembled the old, reliable.
“He looks just like Kevin did before he went down,” said UVa head coach Al Groh.
With a new quarterback expected under center - likely sophomore Peter Lalich - Virginia will need contributions from the athletic Ogletree in conjunction with senior Maurice Covington and sophomore Dontrelle Inman. Ogletree certainly understands he is the most important in the bunch - and accepts that.
“We are going to need a lot of strengths,” he said. “We have a tough schedule and everybody is going to need to be at their best. I am going to make it my job to get this receiver corps strong.
“We certainly have guys working hard.”

 

Duke to pose stern challenge for Virginia
Virginia looks to knock off top-ranked Duke after comeback win against North Carolina
Ben Gomez, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

The Virginia men's lacrosse team will try to follow its comeback victory against North Carolina last Saturday with a win against Duke tomorrow night at Klöckner Stadium.

The Cavaliers (10-1, 1-1 ACC) need to win to maintain pace with the Blue Devils (11-1, 2-0 ACC) in the ACC. Duke is currently ranked No. 1 in the country by the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Men's Division I Media Poll.

"I do think that Duke is the best team in the country," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "They have more experience than everybody else ... Most of the rest of us are trying to close that gap with Duke."

No one will need motivation come Saturday night. The Blue Devils are led by a strong group of poised fourth and fifth-year seniors who know how to win in a hostile environment. The Cavaliers will rely on their mix of young talent and gritty veterans to try to pull out a win. Senior midfielder Peter Lamade, a graduate Education student who graduated from Duke last year, will seek to play a role in helping the young Cavalier team prevail.

"I am playing with Shamel [Bratton], who is in his first year, and Brian [Carroll], who is only in his second," Lamade said. "They are great, but experience is a huge advantage that Duke has."

The Cavaliers are in unfamiliar territory because they are not usually the consensus underdog when playing at Klöckner. The team also has not played up to its potential recently, despite pulling out a victory against the Tar Heels.

"We didn't play badly against North Carolina, nor nearly as badly as we felt we did at the end of the Maryland game," Starsia said. "But we didn't play well enough. We were fortunate to win last week's game."

Starsia said the team's effort in the last five minutes against North Carolina demonstrates how the Cavaliers need to perform regularly as a team.

"If we can get to that level on a more consistent basis then we have a chance to be a dangerous team as we head towards the playoffs," Starsia said.

After the game Virginia will see where it stands after facing one of the best teams in the country and, if it wins a high-profile conference game at home, the team could regain its mental edge for the last stretch of the season. To help the Cavaliers prevail Saturday night, Starsia said he will stick with experience in goal by starting senior Bud Petit, who also started the North Carolina game.

"The coach wouldn't put me out there if he didn't have faith in me," Petit said, adding that he has faith in the team and is using the last three minutes of the North Carolina game as something to build on going into the Duke game.

"We have a lot of pride in this locker room," Petit said. "Regardless of what happens Saturday, we will be fighting until the end."

 

UVa ace draws a line in the sand
By Jay Jenkins
Published: April 11, 2008

With a hefty payday likely looming after the MLB draft in June, Virginia ace Jacob Thompson has had tons of things to think about over the first three months of the season.
The results, while acceptable for the average pitcher, have proven that the weight of the world was bearing down on the junior right-hander.
Apparently, Thompson has seen enough.
Entering his start at Maryland tonight, which is the opening contest in a three-game set for the Cavaliers (26-9, 8-7 ACC), the 2007 All-American has a number in his loss column for the first time in two years and new mentality.
“This is a turning point in the season,” said Thompson, who allowed a career-worst seven runs in a loss at Florida State last Friday. “I haven’t really been lighting it up, but I have drawn a line in the sand and this is my chance.
“I have five starts left in the ACC before the tournament. I just have to take them one at a time and whatever happens, happens.”
Thompson (4-1) enters the series with a 3.59 ERA, and opposing hitters are batting .256 - some 58 points better than they did against him during an undefeated season in ‘07.
UVa pitching coach Karl Kuhn said Thompson has adopted a new mentality: “I am pitching for me; I am pitching for my team.”
Thompson should benefit from the return of second baseman David Adams, who missed the final four innings Wednesday after being hit in the middle of his body with a bouncing relay throw.
Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said Adams was sore Thursday afternoon, but expected the junior to play tonight against the Terrapins (20-14, 5-10).

 

Cavaliers ride close win into Terps series
Team ekes out close 7-3 victory against Liberty to come into weekend series with momentum of two consecutive victories
Dan Stalcup, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

Having ended last week's four-game losing streak with two consecutive midweek wins, Virginia's No. 24 baseball team carries momentum heading to Maryland for this weekend's series.

The Cavaliers (26-9, 8-7 ACC) will face off against the Terrapins (20-14, 5-10 ACC) at College Park three times during the weekend series: Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Though the final score of the Cavaliers' Wednesday victory against Liberty was 7-3, it was not an easy win for Virginia. The Flames led 3-0 going into the bottom of the second inning before Virginia coach Brian O'Connor had a discussion with his players.

"The last couple weeks have been kind of rough," freshman rightfielder David Coleman said."Once [the dugout meeting] happened, Coach got in our face, and we decided we needed to wake it up a little bit."

O'Connor's pressure on the players worked: The Cavaliers rallied to score seven runs in three innings and didn't allow another run for the rest of the game.

"They're not paid professionals," O'Connor said. "There are going to be some nights they're not going to come ready to play. It's our job as coaches to remind them of their responsibility."

The Cavaliers will look to continue the improved performance of Wednesday's later innings against Maryland over the weekend.

O'Connor will rely on some of the team's veterans, including junior first baseman Jeremy Farrell, to keep the team focused against the Terrapins.

"What's made [Farrell] great this year is consistency," O'Connor said. "He hasn't [gone] through ups and downs this year; he's been very, very consistent offensively for this team all year long, and I think that's been a big boost for us."

While Farrell has been able to find individual consistency, the team still has yet to find a stable level of performance.

Sophomore pitcher Jeff Lorick stressed the importance of regularly winning weekend series.

"Taking weekend series on the road is what really differentiates the good from great," Lorick said. "We think if we can go and punk 'em this weekend, we'll really set the tone for the rest of the weekend series."

This weekend marks the second-to-last away series for the Cavaliers' season. The Cavaliers are scheduled to play a series April 25 to 27 against No. 1 Miami at Coral Gables, Fla., but conference series against Wake Forest, North Carolina and Georgia Tech will all be played at Davenport Field.

The Cavaliers have 20 remaining games until the ACC Tournament is played May 21 to 25 in Jacksonville, Fla.

 

Heels, Devils provide tough foes for finale
Pereira's final home matches offer opportunity to make team's case for postseason inclusion
Antonio Luis Perez, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

This weekend bears much importance for the Virginia women's tennis team for many reasons, but for the Cavalier's lone senior, Lindsey Pereira, it will carry a little extra weight. This weekend marks the last chance Pereira will have to play in front of her home crowd at the Snyder Tennis Center.

"People have brought it up all semester, and I haven't really been ready to face it," Pereira said. "But it's about time to face it, and I think I'm ready."

Pereira said she is playing well and feels mentally, physically and emotionally fit, though the crowd and her excitement will play a role in the match as well.

The weekend's matches against No. 13 North Carolina (14-7, 5-3 ACC) Saturday and No. 9 Duke (14-3, 7-2 ACC) Sunday have much more than sentimental value for the No. 48 Cavaliers (9-10, 5-4 ACC); they also have postseason implications. Virginia is currently tied for sixth in the ACC and the Tar Heels sit directly above them in fifth place. Virginia's final position and its seed in the ACC Tournament depend heavily on the weekend's outcome. The Cavaliers have an opportunity to carry positive momentum into the ACC Tournament.

"I think lastly and most importantly ... is to keep getting better through the weekend, heading into the ACC Tournament as well," Virginia coach Mark Guilbeau said. "So kind of a three-step process: a match Saturday, a match Sunday and then making sure we are ready to play our best next week."

Virginia would definitely bolster its resume for the NCAA Tournament with a strong showing this weekend. The Cavaliers are on the tournament bubble, and a victory in either of these last two matches ­-- against a highly ranked, tournament-bound team -- could very well put them over the top. Guilbeau said he believes a win this weekend would clinch an NCAA Tournament bid for Virginia.

"Obviously, without talking about it a whole lot, we're probably on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament," Guilbeau said, "A win in either of these matches would more than lock that up – we would be way inside the NCAA selection."

The Cavaliers have their work cut out for them, as both the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils have seven nationally ranked singles players between them, and neither has lost to a team outside the national top 25.

Virginia comes off two shutout losses at the hands of then-No. 2 Georgia Tech and then-No. 23 Clemson, two opponents of similar caliber to Duke and North Carolina. To have a better showing this weekend, the Cavaliers have to improve on their performance from last week, an effort in which their doubles play figures prominently. Guilbeau said the coaching staff placed a strong emphasis on doubles this week in practice and hopes reinforcement will produce positive results this weekend.

"We have got to do a better job in doubles," Guilbeau said. "I think the girls were inspired to play it a certain way for a period of time and now maybe they're less inspired to do that."

Guilbeau said the staff must ensure the doubles pairs figure out how they want to play the doubles No. 1 and then buy into that mind-set.

"And then it's up to [assistant coach] Troy [Porco] and I to make sure we're practicing some very specific doubles skills and strategies," Guilbeau said.

Pereira said she hopes to make her last weekend here at Virginia a memorable one, and in the process improve the Cavaliers' postseason outlook.

These are "my last home matches, so I really would love to have a great weekend," Pereira said. "And we do need momentum going into ACCs because I don't think we have a for-sure bid in NCAAs. To have momentum going into ACCs is really, really important."

 

Seniors take court for final home matches of season
Devvarman, Huey, Angelinos and Downing near perfect final season after major contributions to team's ascension into national spotlight
Sean Bielawski, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

The Virginia men's tennis team will take the courts at Snyder Tennis Center for its last home matches of the regular season this weekend as it hosts No. 49 North Carolina State today at 4 p.m. and No. 30 Wake Forest Sunday at 1 p.m.

The top-ranked Cavaliers (23-0, 9-0 ACC) extended their school-record winning streak last weekend with a pair of 5-2 victories at North Carolina and Duke. There is no reason to suspect a letdown is in store this weekend, which marks the end of an era for seniors Somdev Devvarman, Treat Huey, Teddy Angelinos and Andrew Downing.

"I know that the team is very much looking forward to these matches," coach Brian Boland said. "They are the last regular-season matches for our four seniors, so it should be exciting on one hand, but kind of sad to see these guys play their last regular-season matches at home."

This group has helped the Cavaliers compile an 89-10 record during the past four years and has had a big hand in making the program into a national power.

"They are arguably the best senior class that we've ever had in terms of the impact they have had on our program," Boland said. "What they have been able to accomplish in the last four years is remarkable and they deserve a lot of credit for Virginia tennis continuing to be one of the best programs in the country."

Devvarman continues to set the tone with his dominant play at the No. 1 singles position. Last weekend, he extended his winning streak to 25 consecutive matches and he has won 49 of his last 50 matches dating back to last season.

"I just feel like I learn a lot from my losses," Devvarman said. "I do as much as I can not to make the same mistakes. I guess the last few months I have been practicing really well and getting better. I just approach each match one at a time. If I keep playing well, good things will happen."

Going into last weekend's matches, Virginia still had some unanswered questions with its doubles play, particularly at the No. 3 position; however, Angelinos and sophomore Lee Singer seemed to have provided Boland with the solution for which he was looking. The No. 45 tandem registered two 8-5 victories, improving to 11-0 at the third position on the year.

"They just get better with each day of practice," Boland said. "I am really pleased with their progress. They have good chemistry together and understand where one another is going to move before the ball is even hit."

The Cavaliers got a bit of a surprise last weekend, though, when the top-ranked pair Devvarman and Huey were upset at Duke. They will have a chance to redeem themselves this weekend against No. 9 senior Nick Cavaday and junior Jay Weinacker of N.C. State and No. 11 junior Cory Parr and sophomore Steven Forman of Wake Forest.

"I feel like losses are going to happen, especially in doubles," Devvarman said. "We didn't play great last week but we are definitely looking to come back strong."

The Cavaliers expect to get a boost this weekend from their fans. Virginia currently ranks first in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Attendance Challenge; a total of 5,424 fans attended the first 10 home matches.

"The fan base has been awesome," Devvarman said. "We are hoping to get quite a few people out for Friday and Sunday for the last two regular-season matches."

 

Cavs hope to sew up perfect season
By Whitey Reid
Published: April 10, 2008

In 1906, the Virginia men’s tennis team went 1-0. A year later, the squad finished 1-0 again. Fast forward to 1920 and UVa went 3-0.
These are the only undefeated teams in the history of the program.
That is, until now.
This weekend, Virginia’s 2008 outfit will have a chance to leave an indelible mark in the record books when it closes out its regular season with home matches against N.C. State and Wake Forest. The Wahoos have a chance to finish with a perfect 25-0 record.
“We’ve put a lot of hard work into this program, so to be considered the best ever would definitely be a special thing,” said Virginia senior Somdev Devvarman. “Hopefully we can keep having this type of program, and I’m sure the way our coaches work, we always will.”
With apologies to those juggernaut teams from the beginning of last century, this year’s UVa squad has already established itself as the school’s most dominant ever.
Devvarman and Huey have been the rocks. Virginia’s No. 1 and No. 2 singles players have combined for a 39-4 record in their matches this season.
As a doubles team, they’ve posted a 17-3 mark.
No. 1 Virginia (23-0, 9-0 ACC) cruised to easy wins over North Carolina and Duke last weekend, winning by identical 5-2 scores.
While Devvarman and Huey were their dominant selves in singles, they did drop their doubles match against the Blue Devils. They’ll be looking to bounce back this afternoon against a struggling N.C. State squad (11-11, 4-5) that has lost three in a row.
“This will be our last regular season match in front of our friends and fans, so we’ll be really fired up,” Devvarman said. “We’ll come with a lot of energy and try and pump everyone up.”
With a win over the Wolfpack, Virginia would clinch the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament that starts next week in Florida.
When UVa takes on Wake Forest (15-8, 6-3) on Sunday, the school will pay homage to Devvarman and Huey, along with fellow seniors Ted Angelinos and Andrew Downing.
“All my friends who’ve supported me and the program for the last four years will be there,” said Devvarman when asked about Senior Day, “so I think it will be emotional.”
Virginia, which leads the nation in attendance (545 per game), is expecting its usual homecourt advantage at the Snyder Tennis Center.
“We have the best fans in college tennis,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland, “and we need them to come out and support us in what should be some great matches this weekend.
“I know it could be a little difficult on a Friday afternoon, but for those who can sneak away from work - please come out and watch us play.”
Devvarman says it’s a good time to jump on the bandwagon.
“In our mind, the season’s just getting started,” he said. “The NCAA [Tournament] is what we prepare for all year. I think we’re going to be ready for that.”

 

Dolphins should go Chris Long at No. 1
By Vinnie Iyer - SportingNews
Apr 9, 5:46 pm EDT

When it comes to projecting the first pick of the 2008 NFL draft, it’s a mock consensus down to a tale of the same last name: Virginia defensive end Chris Long vs. Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long.

The debate is heightened because the team picking at No. 1, the Miami Dolphins, has dire needs on both lines, and Chris and Jake are elite prospects who play opposite positions. In addition, Dolphins boss Bill Parcells has a pre-draft poker face that’s hard to read.

Looking at the two options, however, the decision should be easy: If the team isn’t able to trade down, going with Chris Long is the best pick for the Dolphins. And it comes with good reasons.

Defensive end is the NFL’s hot position. You might have noticed the New York Giants won the Super Bowl on the strength of the league’s most prolific pass rush, thanks in large part to their talent and depth at defensive end. It’s difficult enough to find two good ones to start; those fortunate teams that have three or four capable edge pass rushers have an advantage in how they come after quarterbacks.

It’s uncertain how much longer Jason Taylor will remain a Dolphin or in the NFL, but when he’s not trying to outdance Kristi Yamaguchi he still is one of the game’s elite ends, even though he turns 34 in September.

As Long develops into an impact player—and regardless of whether the defense is more 3-4 or 4-3—he can learn from Taylor and Joey Porter and join some young, developing pass rushers in the Dolphins’ mix, including Matt Roth and Quentin Moses.

Chris Long can’t come in and suddenly help the Dolphins shoot up from 30 sacks into the Giants’ stratosphere (a league-high 53 in the ‘07 regular season). But, like Osi Umenyiora or DeMarcus Ware, a player Parcells knows well from his days in Dallas, Long can be established as the near-future foundation of everything the Dolphins do to attack opponents up front.

Chris Long has an unquestioned pedigree for NFL success. Unless you’ve been in remote Uzbekistan the past year, you know Chris is the son of Hall of Famer Howie Long. The elder Long, before he started hanging out with Teri Hatcher and Terry Bradshaw, was a devastating pass rusher, first for Villanova and then for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, excelling at both defensive end and defensive tackle.

Chris has been blessed with his father’s pass-rush skills and is an amazing athlete in his own right. A sleek yet powerful defender at 6-4 and 256 pounds, Chris’ abilities are reminiscent of another Virginia defensive end who has recently made a mark in the NFL: Patrick Kerney, who had a career-high 14 1/2 sacks in ‘07, his first season with the Seattle Seahawks.

One more thing: As a Cavalier, Chris was coached by another former Virginia defensive end, Al Groh. Groh just happens to be one of Parcells’ most trusted defensive minds from his coaching stops, ranking not too far down on the list after Bill Belichick. Groh’s 3-4 knowledge and NFL coaching experience can’t be forgotten in assessing Long’s potential value to the Dolphins.

Jake Long isn’t Joe Thomas-good. Based just on the facts—Jake played the most important pass-protecting position of left tackle in Michigan’s pro-style offense, helping stars such as Chad Henne and Mike Hart shine over the past three years—it’s easy to see why he is seen as the “safe pick” at No. 1.

But as someone who watches tons of Big Ten games every season, there was no evidence of Long ever being as strong as Thomas, the former Wisconsin standout who had a dazzling rookie year as the left tackle for the Cleveland Browns’ prolific offense in ‘07.

Don’t get me wrong: Jake Long looks set to have a solid NFL career and is a worthy high-first-round prospect. It’s just that Chris Long offers a lot more pop, and that’s what you want from the No. 1 overall pick.

I also keep thinking back to the biggest regular-season game for Jake Long and Michigan in 2007—against hated Ohio State. In that game, Long gave up his first and only sack as a senior, to another elite draft prospect, Buckeyes defensive end Vernon Gholston. Long kept the rest of the Big Ten from sacking either Henne or Ryan Mallett, but the conference lacked big-time pass rushers in ‘07. Gholston was a key test. Really, it was more the Wolverines’ line as a whole that couldn’t handle Gholston, but still, the game didn’t make Long look all that good.

If I felt Long was as good as Thomas, he would be the unquestioned No. 1 player on my draft board. That just isn’t the case, and Chris Long, a safer end prospect than Gholston, seems more like the true “safe pick.” With Mario Williams proving worthy of going No. 1 over Reggie Bush in ‘06 based on what Williams did in his second NFL season, it has helped the draft stock of elite defensive ends this year.

There are more later-round values to be had at offensive tackle. While there is a big dropoff from Chris Long and Gholston in terms of immediate-impact pass-rush potential at defensive end, teams still have time to find multiple great values on the offensive line beyond Round 1. That’s especially true for Miami, considering Parcells will have nine total draft picks with which to work.

It’s probable that one of the following four offensive tackles—Vanderbilt’s Chris Williams, Pitt’s Jeff Otah, Boston College’s Gosder Cherilus or Virginia Tech’s Duane Brown—will slide to No. 32 overall, when the Dolphins pick at the top of the second round. In years when the New England Patriots don’t cheat, that’s the equivalent of having two first-round picks.

Despite another set of facts—new Dolphins coach Tony Sparano came to Miami after watching over the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line and Miami finished better defensively (23rd) than offensively (28th) last season—something tells me Parcells will land his Ware-like potential stud first on draft day. He won’t go wrong with Chris Long.

 

More musings on Gus Gerard
Parkhill can't remember 'greatest win'
By Doug Doughty

Something occurred to me Wednesday night as I was about to hand over a story on Gus Gerard to my editors.

How many people remember Gus Gerard? How many readers actually saw him play?

In my case, Roanoke Times sports editor Jeff Gilbert had heard of Gerard. That made it a little easier to pitch the story. So had my fellow assistant sports editor, Steve Hemphill, who grew up in Colorado and vaguely remembered Gerard from his brief stint with the Denver Nuggets.

Gerard won’t be remembered as one of the great players in UVa history. You could make the case that he was one of the great talents, but, as former teammate Dan Bonner pointed out, Gerard plied his trade for two of the most nondescript UVa teams of his era.

With Gerard as a sophomore in his first season of varsity eligibility, the Cavaliers finished 13-12 in 1972-1973. That team did have one shining moment, an 84-78 victory at North Carolina when the Tar Heels were ranked No. 3.

Believe it or not, I was at the game and remembered that Virginia had three players who scored 20 points or more – senior Barry Parkhill, Gerard and freshman Wally Walker.

“Not me,” said Gerard before addressing a ‘Hoos in Recovery assembly Monday night. “I was in foul trouble.”

Gerard went on to mumble something about having to play center as an alternative to Lanny Stahurski. But, when I went back and checked the game story, he was correct. The third 20-point scorer was Parkhill’s fellow captain and current UVa radio analyst Jim “Hobbo” Hobgood.

(We stop for an aside from Hobgood, who said, “I can believe Gus came back. But, if ‘Ski [Stahurski] ever returns to Charlottesville, that’s what I want to see.”).

Walker hit 12 of 13 shots from the field and finished with 25 points, followed by Parkhill with 23 and Hobgood with 22. The leading scorer in the game was current Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, who had 31.

“This has to be the greatest win I’ve ever been associated with,” Parkhill was quoted by then-Roanoke Times sportswriter Bill Cate. “Nothing else is close.”

(I sent Parkhill a copy of that quote and asked him to identify the game. He got back to me via BlackBerry and said he had no idea but that he expected to enjoy himself this weekend at the Masters).

Hobgood told me Wednesday that, before 1973, Virginia hadn’t won in Chapel Hill, N.C., since around 1917 and was right on top of that. Actually, Virginia won the first game ever played in the series, an 18-15 affair in Chapel Hill in 1911, and the Cavaliers’ only other road wins in the series were in 1981, 2000 and 2002.

“Pete [Gillen] won there twice,” Hobgood pointed out.

It was also Hobgood who recently stunned me with the revelation that, in his 12 years as the commentator for Virginia men’s basketball, he has never seen the Cavaliers play on Saturday of the ACC Tournament.

BUT, BACK TO Gerard.

In his second season of varsity competition, the Cavaliers finished 11-16 in 1973-74. That team lost 12 of 13 games in the middle of the season but played respectably down the stretch, winning five of its last eight games and six of 10.

Coach Bill “Hoot” Gibson had survived a “Boot the Hoot” campaign in the late 1960s and could have returned in 1974-75, but he jumped at a chance to move to Florida and take over the fledgling University of South Florida program.

I had a few minutes with Gerard before and after his speech Monday night at Virginia, when he addressed his decision to turn pro. If Gerard had a legacy, that was it. He was the first UVa athlete to turn pro before the end of his college eligibility.

What I would have liked to ask Gerard was whether he would have returned for his fourth year if Gibson had stayed. He did make reference to the situation during his speech.

“There was a new coach coming in,” Gerard said. “Maybe he was going to play the new guys. Who knew? I didn’t know much about coach [Terry] Holland except that his teams played defense, and I knew I didn’t want to play defense.”

The first offer he received from the pros was for $300,000, “and, while we’d probably had more than $20,000 to our family name,” Gerard said. “I told them, ‘No. That wasn’t enough.”

There was a bidding war between the National Basketball Association and the American Basketball Association at the time and the contract subsequently escalated from $300,000 to $900,000.

Gerard can remember being in New York, where teammate Andrew Boninti had a summer job, and watching Boninti communicating with Holland on the phone as negotiations were taking place. When the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis said they would give him a $75,000 signing bonus and write him a check on the spot, Gerard jumped.

“We got ready to leave and we realized that neither one of us had gas money to drive back to Charlottesville,” Gerard said. “So we asked the agent if he could pay for our gas and he gave us three $100 bills.”

THIS WAS ABOUT the time of Gerard’s 21st birthday and you have to wonder, if Gerard had finished his college career and delayed his exposure to the pro-basketball lifestyle, if that might have prevented his later addiction to drugs and alcohol.

“I don’t think so,” said Gerard, who said of his personality. “I was addicted to anything that made me feel good. I was addicted to basketball before I was addicted to anything else.”

At 54, Gerard looks like he could take the floor tomorrow and, if not for a traffic accident in which he was rear-ended and required neck surgery, he still might be playing. He made reference to a brief appearance in a Mexican pro league and he apparently was the scourge of over-40 leagues until his accident.

In Holland’s first season, 1974-75, the Cavaliers were 12-13. Then, one year later, UVa won its first and only ACC championship. Gerard would have gone by then, but imagine a 1974-75 frontcourt of future pros Gerard, Walker and Marc Iavaroni, who was a freshman that year?

That’s not intended as a knock against Dan Bonner, who averaged 8.3 points in his only season as a starter. Besides, Bonner has to be feeling pretty good after publication of this week’s Sports Illustrated.

In a letter to the editor, subscriber Sam Clarke from North Garden said one of the joys of the NCAA Tournament is “we get the chance to hear Dan Bonner, one of the best color commentators, instead of Dick Vitale.”

Better yet, Bonner said Thursday, he doesn’t even know Sam Clarke.

Wonder if Sam Clarke knows Gus Gerard.