Cowherd gets Cavs motivated
Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
July 24, 2006

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.

OK Wahoo fans, put down your Zimas and brace yourself. If you haven’t caught wind of Colin Cowherd’s rant about Virginia football, this is probably going to upset you.

The ESPN radio talk show host has been unmercifully railing against UVa football for weeks. Don’t know exactly what prompted it, but it has been the fashionable thing among some national media to rip Virginia football this summer.

One publication wrote that UVa had the worst off-season of any Division I-A football program in the country after a series of misfortunes.

l Four assistant coaches, including two coordinators, left the program between the end of regular season and Virginia’s bowl game. Three of them left to become head coaches and the Cavaliers won the bowl game without their services.

l Coach Al Groh threw four guys off the team for violating team rules, one of those being potential All-American linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who was taken in the third round of the NFL’s Supplemental Draft.

l Three former players, including one who was deemed guilty of breaking team rules, transferred to Grambling. Two of those had missed last season after being declared academically ineligible and were not given their scholarships back.

l If that wasn’t enough, eight of 24 incoming recruits were denied admission because of academic issues.

Sports Illustrated.com listed Groh as one of the coaches considered for the bottom five coaches in the country. Two others were also ACC coaches: N.C. State’s Chuck Amato and Georgia Tech’s Chan Gailey.

While some of UVa’s players had not seen or heard of some of the criticisms, the two attending Sunday’s ACC Football Kickoff at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa just outside Jacksonville were both aware of Cowherd’s comments, which went like this:

“UVa football is the softest bunch of creampuff, bow tie wearing, Brie cheese eating, ascot wearing, wussies I’ve ever seen,” Cowherd said. “There’s not a softer bunch of cookie dough eating weenies than the UVa football program. Those guys wear makeup to games.”

He went on to say that the most popular drink at Virginia tailgating parties was Zima, and that the Cavaliers had never won a big game in the history of the program, which he later amended after being informed of the win over Florida State in 1995.

“My bad,” Cowherd said. “Mid-90s [UVa] beat Florida State. Eleven years ago. Congratulations.”

Sunday’s media interviews marked the first opportunity Virginia players had to respond as the opening of Cavalier training camp draws nearer.

“There’s one guy out there who thinks we suck,” said UVa senior cornerback Marcus Hamilton, who led the ACC in interceptions last season. “Some clown ... I don’t know who he is or if he ever played football in his life.

“I don’t know what [Cowherd] was basing all that on or where he got his facts from,” Hamilton said. “Maybe he woke up one morning and decided he needed to rip somebody and picked us. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but we have to win games and prove him wrong.”

Virginia fifth-year quarterback Christian Olsen said he can’t figure out why Cowherd decided to pick out the Cavaliers, but was more upset about the comments about Wahoo fans than about the players.

“It really made me mad, not so much because he said things about the football team, but some of the things he said about our fans just kind of ticked me off,” Olsen said. “I don’t really agree with him but I respect the right for his opinion. I just felt bad that he would go at our fans like that.”

Olsen said that just because lots of Virginia fans used their strong educational background from the school and have gone on to become CEOs of major corporations or successful in the world, they don’t deserve to be criticized because they drink wine or Zima or whatever.

While the quarterback really has no idea what goes on at UVa tailgates because he’s a little preoccupied at those moments, he’s not sure the Zima comment is any more accurate than the ones Cowherd made about Cavalier football in general.

“I’ve never heard of anybody drinking Zima [at tailgates] ... I didn’t even know that stuff was still out,” Olsen said. “I would guess that most people drink beer.”

Recent research revealed that over the past 20 years, Virginia had the second-winningest football record in the ACC in conference games only (behind only Florida State). If you throw in all games (ACC and nonconference won-lost records) over that span, UVa ranked third, behind only FSU and Clemson.

The Cavaliers have also produced a ton of NFL players over the past two decades. While former UVa coach George Welsh always wanted a marching band and urged previously stiff collar Cavalier fans to let their hair down and wear school colors rather than coat and ties, his successor, Groh, has helped change the culture to the “Sea of Orange,” complete with painted faces and all the trimmings of big-time football. There’s also a marching band that gets better by the year.

“We have a great atmosphere,” said Olsen. “I talk to my brother [Miami tight end Greg Olsen] and [Hurricanes quarterback] Kyle Wright and other players and they said, ‘We love coming to your stadium ... your stadium is great.’ So, I really don’t know how [Cowherd] got off on a tangent ... If he wants to say we’re a soft football team, which I totally disagree with, that’s his opinion. I think we’re a bunch of hard-nosed guys.

“Because our fans went to games in sport coats 30 years ago doesn’t mean that’s the way it still is,” Olsen said. “Our fans are turning into real die-hard fans. They’re there every game, rain or shine. We have sellouts for just about every game.”

So, while some national media take their pot shots at Virginia, there’s really only one way for the Cavaliers to silence their critics.

Win.

That may be a little more challenging this season, described by Groh last spring as a rebuilding year. The Cavaliers are expected to be picked fifth in the six-team Coastal Division in the ACC preseason media poll, which will be voted on later today.

If nothing else, though, it should make for good bulletin board material to help motivate the Cavs to turn a rebuilding year into a better-than-expected scenario. Only time will tell.

Until then, Cav fan, straighten up that bow tie and put down that Brie. Hey, by the way, are you going to finish that Zima?

 

Hamilton asks the tough questions
Jay Jenkins
Daily Progress staff writer
Monday, July 24, 2006

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -Marcus Hamilton is starting to get the hang of his newest job.
With reporters circling a conference room at the annual ACC Football Kickoff like sharks, Virginia’s senior cornerback took his turn at asking a few questions.
Hamilton, who has done some recent work as a station volunteer at WKTR (ESPN 840-AM), interviewed teammate and quarterback Christian Olsen.
The preseason All-American started Olsen off with an easy question - he asked the signal caller which question he had been asked the most during the one-hour interview period.
Olsen, obviously fighting back laughter, played along and asked a question of his own.
“Who wrote these questions?” Olsen asked.
Hamilton barked back. He wanted his answers.
The questions got tougher.
Hamilton asked Olsen what had given him the “most confidence” entering his first season leading Virginia’s offense.
“It makes it a lot easier that I am able to dominate our defense in pass drills everyday,” Olsen playfully answered. “So, that’s what has probably given me the most confidence of anything.”
Hamilton, smiling all the while, then asked: “Who will be your favorite receiver?”
Olsen, after a pause, blurted “Deyon,” referring to senior Deyon Williams, before giving a politically correct answer.
“I think we have three or four good receivers between Deyon, Fontel [Mines], Emmaunel [Byers], little AP [Andrew Pearman] and Kevin Ogleetree, but I am probably most comfortable right now throwing to Deyon and Fontel.”
A follow-up question about Williams got Hamilton’s attention.
In talking about the honorable mention All-ACC wideout, Olsen said Williams’ size and speed helped “if he is one-on-one against one of our corners. He is able to take it off the top of them, if I have to throw it up there.”
Hamilton wasted little time getting revenge for the comical jab at the position that he plays.
“Are you a model or a supermodel?” Hamilton asked Olsen, who is often ribbed by teammates for earning an undergraduate degree in drama from UVa.
“I’d say, I’m probably a supermodel when you make comparisons to the rest of our team,” Olsen answered.
As the laughter and crowd grew, Hamilton delivered another one-sided question: “Who is your favorite cornerback?”
Olsen put his drama degree to work with a quick improvisation.
“My favorite cornerback is probably Chris Gorham. He’s probably the toughest to go against when I need to,” Olsen said. “The other guy on the other side, like I said, we can put a cone out there and get more coverage on our receivers than that, so I’d probably say that I would go against Chris Gorham.”
Olsen could only take the joke so far.
“But in all seriousness, going against you, Marcus, it’s probably what has made me a better quarterback. You make Deyon better. You make Fontel better. You make me better. You are right there and I have to throw it into tight coverage and it is making me a lot more accurate.”
As Hamilton and Olsen prepared for television interviews, Hamilton delivered his final question: “What is the dumbest question you have been asked?”
Olsen didn’t have to think long. “Who my favorite corner was?”
Each of the 12 schools in the league had two player representatives (one from offense and one from defense) present at the event. Head coaches from the schools will meet with media outlets today. Also, the conference will announce the preseason polls for the Atlantic and Coastal Divsions.

WELCOME BACK: The Virginia football media guide was made available early in the day. Among the glaring discoveries? Davon Robb, an offensive tackle, is listed in the book. Robb, a senior, was not in school last year after serving an academic suspension.
Hamilton, who lives with Robb, said the words “academic suspension” should be used loosely in this particular case. Robb was enrolled in Virginia’s engineering school.
“The standards or the requirements for that particular major is different from some of the other majors,” Hamilton said. “I think whatever his grade needed to be for that major is different from some of the others. With his major … on top of football is tough, but we are happy to have him back.”
Robb, who is listed at 6-foot-8 and 298 pounds, was not listed on the depth chart, but Hamilton said the Richmond native adds depth to the offensive line.
“He is good in the locker room and he is going to contribute on the field,” Hamilton said. “He is a real good guy. He’s fun to be around and he works real hard.”
It is uncertain what number Robb will wear. He previously wore No. 74, but that has since been given to fellow offensive lineman Patrick Slebonick, a redshirt freshman.

QUITE FRANKLIN: Another player who hopes to return to the team, safety Tony Franklin, was not listed in the guide, but Hamilton said he remains hopeful that when practice opens on August 3 that the senior will be in uniform.
Franklin was suspended from the team after he received probation following a guilty plea to a marijuana charge in February.
“I guess we will find out when practice starts if he is out there the first day,” Hamilton said.
Having been a former team captain, Franklin would have no problem in the locker room if he were to rejoin the team, according to Hamilton.
“I haven’t talked to him about re-proving himself,” Hamilton said. “We want him back. We want him back for his leadership, for what he brings to the locker room and of course for what he does on the field. We would love to have him back.”
Hamilton said he has remained in close contact with Franklin, who Hamilton said was enrolled in summer school and is in good shape.
“He wants to come back,’ Hamilton said. “I would like to think that anybody that has been in that type of situation, hopefully, would learn from their mistakes.”

EXTRA POINTS: A number of walk-on candidates are listed in UVa’s media guide. Offensive lineman Isaac Cain (6-4, 310 pounds), who played for Hampton coach Mike Smith, is among the additions. Staton Jobe, who played wide receiver for Westlake in Austin, Tex., is listed at 6-foot and 175 pounds and at wideout and cornerback. Last season, Jobe was a first-team selection on the All-Central 5A team at wide receiver by Texas Prep Xtra.com. Also, Lovettesville’s Nathan Rathjen is listed at linebacker. …
Hamilton said he does not know if safety Nate Lyles will be able to play this season. Lyles suffered a neck injury last season against Georgia Tech and did not return to practice. “I am prayerful that he is able to come back,” Hamilton said. “I don’t know, I guess that is up to the doctors and when they clear him or whatever. I’d like to see him be able to come back and play.” …
Cornerback Chris Cook has impressed Hamilton in summer workouts. Cook broke his leg in a game last season at Boston College. …
The incoming freshman class has been on campus for a few weeks, but Hamilton knew few of their names since they are not allowed to work in the seven-on-seven drills. Linebacker John Kevin-Dolce did get Hamilton’s attention in the weight room. “He is real strong,” Hamilton said. “He can bench a lot and he cleaned a lot too.” …
Hamilton and Olsen are scheduled to play golf today in a captain’s choice tournament. Olsen is teamed up in a foursome with Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and Hall of Famer and commentator Bob Griese. “I don’t know what my handicap is,” Olsen said, “but my short game is a handicap.” Hamilton’s round will be the first of his career.

 

Sports Focus: ACC Football
New season, new leaders Olsen hopes for chance to direct U.Va. offense, but he has challengers
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jul 24, 2006

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. He hasn't started a football game since 2001, when he was a senior at Wayne Hills High in New Jersey. He's never started a college football game.

Rest assured, there's nothing routine about Virginia's Sept. 2 opener at Pittsburgh for graduate student Christian Olsen.

"I've been waiting 23 years for this," Olsen told reporters yesterday at the ACC Football Kickoff.

Training camp at U.Va. begins in less than two weeks. Hermitage High graduate Jameel Sewell, a redshirt freshman, figures to press him for the starting job, but the 6-3, 234-pound Olsen will begin practice as Cavaliers coach Al Groh's No. 1 quarterback.

"Say I throw an interception. His exact words were, 'You're not going to get the quick hook,'" Olsen said. "So I have confidence going in there, but I'm not going to go out there and say, 'I'm the starter,' and just go about it lackadaisically. I'm going in there like I'm fighting for the job."

The media's preseason ACC poll will be released today. Virginia is likely to be picked to finish in the bottom half of the six-team Coastal Division. The Cavaliers must replace numerous standouts from a 7-5 team, including Marques Hagans, their starting quarterback the past two seasons. Not everyone is sold on Olsen, whose brother, Greg, is an All-America candidate at tight end for the Miami Hurricanes.

"I think it's motivation," said Olsen, one of U.Va.'s captains, "because everybody knows we're ranked low right now in the ACC, and the big question mark on the team is obviously myself."

He received a bachelor of arts in drama in May, but there's little on Olsen's football résumé at U.Va. He sat out the 2003 season after transferring from Notre Dame, where he'd redshirted as a freshman in 2002. In two seasons, Olsen has appeared in eight games; none with the outcome still in the balance.

He's 17 for 23 passing for 159 yards. He's thrown one interception. He's thrown no touchdown passes.

"I've played very little," Olsen acknowledged, but he says he's improved.

"It's been tough sitting around for three years," Olsen said, "but I think it's definitely been to my advantage to sit back and watch things from the sideline for a while."

He's not the runner Hagans is, but few quarterbacks are. Fortunately for Olsen, Virginia's roster is stocked with talented ball-catchers, from tailbacks Jason Snelling and Cedric Peerman to tight ends Jon Stupar and Tom Santi to wideouts Deyon Williams, Fontel Mines and Andrew Pearman.

Olsen said he'll try to "distribute the ball like a point guard would: Give them the ball and let them take a 6-yard pass and turn it into a 50-yard gain."


 

ACC NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Jul 24, 2006

FEELING FINE: Virginia Tech center Danny McGrath said surgery to repair his damaged right shoulder was a success. He'll be ready to go when the Hokies open preseason practice on Aug. 4.

"I was out at practice [in the spring], doing the footwork and all that I could," McGrath said. "All I lost was the contact.

"I'm fine now. July is the six-month mark and now I'm ready to go."

McGrath, a senior, was one of 24 players to meet with media members yesterday during the ACC Football Kickoff at the Sawgrass Resort in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. It's a sign his status on the team has changed. He's a veteran on an offensive line that lost three players who made either the first- or second-team all-ACC squad last season.

"I'm honored to be down here," McGrath said. "I expect a lot out of myself. There's no added pressure. I know we have a young offensive line, are going to have a young quarterback. We're going to need as much help as possible."

McGrath poked fun at his limited media exposure. Tech does weekly sessions during the season, and McGrath has been one time in his career.

"I guess," he said, "I just have a way with words when I'm around the football office."

COMING ATTRACTION: The ACC's presence in Jacksonville continues to grow. The city is already home to the ACC title game in football and the Gator Bowl, with which the conference has a tie-in. Yesterday, it was announced that Florida State and Alabama will meet at ALLTEL Stadium on Sept. 29, 2007.

PUBLIC HUMILIATION: A late-season loss to Georgia Tech at the Orange Bowl kept Miami from winning the Coastal Division and advancing to the ACC championship game. Things got worse for the Hurricanes in 2005. They ended the season with a 40-3 loss to LSU in the Peach Bowl, an effort that embarrassed one of the nation's most storied programs.

"I can't explain it," Miami quarterback Kyle Wright said. "I still can't put my finger on it. We weren't ready. Guys didn't show up to play."

HOT AIR: Christian Olsen has heard a tape of ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd's anti-U.Va. rant.

"That really made me mad," said Olsen, whose brother, Greg, plays for Miami. "Not so much because he said things about the football team, which is fine, but some of the things he said about fans kind of ticked me off."

Cowherd dismissed the Cavaliers as "soft" -- Olsen disagreed with that assessment, naturally -- and ripped the atmosphere at Scott Stadium. Cowherd claimed U.Va. fans' drink of choice is Zima.

"I've never seen that," Olsen said. "I would say most of the people drink, I don't know, beer, I guess. I've never been at a tailgate, but I don't think anybody drinks Zima. I didn't even know that was still out."

U.Va., incidentally, has won 21 of its past 24 games at home.

"We got a great atmosphere," Olsen said. "I talked to my brother and Kyle [Wright] and those guys and they're like, 'We love coming to your stadium. Your stadium's great.' So I don't really know how [Cowherd] got off on a tangent . . . I feel bad for our fans. Because they went to games in sportcoats 30 years ago doesn't mean that's the way it still is."

NOW OR NEVER? Steve Vallos, Wake Forest's senior offensive tackle, knows this is a key year for the senior-laden Demon Deacons. Wake has gone 5-7, 4-7 and 4-7 the past three seasons. It has earned a reputation as a good, well-coached program. But Wake would like to be more than that. The Deacons have 17 starters back, 10 of them on defense.

"We're ready to make some noise in the conference," Vallos said. "Move up from the doormat level we've been perceived at since I've been at the school. Wake has very little history in football. This is a very important year. Coach [Jim] Grobe's system is finally paying off and we can definitely move up to a different tier in the conference.

"To come in when I did and see us move up . . . I think we're so much more talented, so much better physically and mentally than we were when I was a freshman."

MAKING THE GRADE? The four Virginia players who sat out spring practice to concentrate on their schoolwork -- offensive guard Branden Albert, wideout Emmanuel Byers, linebacker Olu Hall and fullback Kevin Bradley -- are listed in the U.Va. media guide distributed yesterday. That doesn't mean each is a lock to be eligible this season, but there's at least a realistic change of that happening. -- Mike Harris and Jeff White
 

Sports Focus: U.Va. Basketball
Long layoff serves purpose Point guard Singletary has used rehabilitation to make patience and tolerance part of his game
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jul 23, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE For a gym rat like Sean Singletary, it was torture.

Six weeks on crutches meant six weeks off the basketball court for the University of Virginia's all-ACC point guard, who had surgery March 30 in Nashville, Tenn., to repair a problem with his right hip. A year earlier, he'd undergone another operation - that one on his left shoulder - and so he became frustrated at not being able to join his teammates in offseason workouts.

"Definitely," said Singletary, but the rising junior from Philadelphia has tried to turn a negative into a positive.

He's watched hours of videotape, studying NBA point guards such as Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, and worked to improve his mental approach to the game.

The layoff, Singletary said, "has allowed me to develop some patience and tolerance. Maybe I can use that on the court and not rush things as much as I used to do my first two years."

Impatient or not, Singletary generally has played brilliantly as a Cavalier. In 2004-05, Pete Gillen's final season as Virginia's coach, Singletary ranked first among ACC freshmen in assists and steals and third in scoring, despite playing most of the year with a bad shoulder.

In 2005-06, under first-year coach Dave Leitao, Singletary averaged 17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.9 steals and became the first U.Va. player since Bryant Stith in 1992 to be named to the all-ACC first team. He did all that playing with a hip injury he suffered Dec.4 at Georgia Tech.

The injury kept him out of only one game, but by late in the season Singletary "really shouldn't have been on the court," Leitao said.

His rehabilitation is on schedule, and Singletary expects to start playing competitively again soon. He's pain-free, thanks to a training regimen that includes yoga, and his workouts have intensified.

"I've been shooting," he said. "I can run. I can do everything except pickup."

Leitao said his respect for Singletary - already immense - has grown this summer. He's seen how Singletary, a team captain, adopted U.Va.'s new players, including freshmen Will Harris, Jamil Tucker, Jerome Meyinsse and Solomon Tat, when they arrived in Charlottesville for summer school.

"He's always been a leader by example," Leitao said, "but he's really, really done a good job of going against what is his natural personality. He's more of an introvert."

Singletary said: "I do a lot of stuff with [the newcomers], on and off the court. I work out with them, then take them to the movies or something, just to see where they're coming from and let them know where I'm coming from, so they can have an understanding of what's going on as soon as they come in.

"Speaking for myself, I didn't really have anyone to really usher me into the program. I really learned everything for myself, from like a trial-and-error type of thing, and didn't have much guidance. But I know that for us to get to where we want to be this year, the guys are going to have to know immediately what's expected of them."

It's been a productive summer for Singletary, who's gained 12 pounds under strength coach Shaun Brown's tutelage and now weighs 184.

"They used to list me at 180, but I was only 165 my first year and 175 last year," he said with a smile. "But now I'm a legit 184 and almost 6-1 without my shoes on. So I think I did some growing."

Singletary doesn't expect the Cavaliers, who move into John Paul Jones Arena this season, to stay the same either. From a team that finished 15-15 in 2005-06, every scholarship player is back. Singletary and rising senior J.R. Reynolds form one of the nation's premier backcourts, and newcomers such as Harris and Tat and 6-9 junior Ryan Pettinella should contribute immediately.

"The table is set for us," Singletary said. "We hold our own destiny."

 

Singletary takes note of the new guys
Richmond Times-Dispatch Jul 23, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - NCAA rules prohibit U.Va. basketball coach Dave Leitao and his assistants from working with their players during the summer. The Cavaliers' coaching staff can't even watch the players' pickup games at University Hall.

Sean Singletary can, however, and the all-ACC point guard has done plenty of watching this summer. Singletary, a rising junior, is recovering from hip surgery and has yet to be cleared for contact. But he's there every time his teammates play at U-Hall and follows the action with a critical eye.

Virginia's 2006-07 roster includes five new scholarship players: junior Ryan Pettinella (6-9, 230), who began his career at Penn, and freshmen Will Harris (6-6, 230), Jamil Tucker (6-9, 210), Jerome Meyinsse (6-9, 220) and Solomon Tat (6-5, 220). Also new to the team is 6-2 guard Calvin Baker, a transfer from William and Mary who'll sit out this season.

Some of Singletary's observations:

On Pettinella: "He's an energy guy. He boxes out well, he rebounds well. Just does a lot of dirty work out there."
On Harris: "He's mature on offense and really can score. He's going to be exciting. But he has a lot to learn, just like all of them have a lot to learn."
On Tucker: "He can shoot real well, handle the ball. He's more of a perimeter player, but he can go to the basket, and he can jump."
On Tat: "I think he's the most advanced so far. He's really quick to the ball. Moves without the ball real well, plays good defense, rebounds the ball real well, just does everything real well." - Jeff White
 

Fifth-year cornerback helping Cavs’ younger defensemen take wing
Marcus Hamilton
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 24, 2006

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — After fielding questions for nearly 90 minutes, Virginia’s Marcus Hamilton, who is working as an intern for a Charlottesville-area radio station, switched roles Sunday at the 2006 ACC Football Kickoff.

Hamilton grabbed a tape recorder and approached Virginia quarterback Christian Olsen, holding a list of questions scribbled on a notepad.

Olsen smelled an ambush.

“Are these your questions?” he asked. “That doesn’t look like your handwriting.”

Among Hamilton’s hard-hitting queries was this one, directed at his fellow team captain:

“Who’s your favorite cornerback?”

Olsen, didn’t hesitate, naming junior Chris Gorham. As for “the guy on the other side” Olsen said, “We could put a cone out there and get coverage just as good.”

The guy on the other side is, of course, Hamilton, a fifth-year senior who is the most decorated, and by far the most experienced member of the Cavaliers defense, facts that Olsen owned up to a few minutes later.

“He’s probably the best cornerback in the ACC in my opinion,” Olsen said. “He’s a guy that makes us better in practice, because you can’t get anything by him.”

Hamilton, a second-team All-ACC pick last year, is on the cover of Virginia’s newly released media guide. He’s made some pre-season All-American teams. He’s on the watch list for several national awards. His 10 career interceptions place him third among active players. He’s one of just four players left from the touted recruiting class of 2002, and the only one on defense.

“I feel like I’ve been around for a while,” he said. “So now I’m able to tell some of the younger guys, 'Do it this way.’ ”

Hamilton is leading summer film sessions for the team’s other cornerbacks, like Gorham, sophomore Mike Brown and redshirt freshman Vic Hall.

“I don’t know everything it takes to succeed,” Hamilton said. “But I do know you’ve got to watch film and study your opponent.”

As Hamilton spoke Sunday, one of those opponents, Georgia Tech All-American Calvin Johnson, sat at a nearby table. It was a game against Johnson and the Yellow Jackets two years ago that marked a turning point in Hamilton’s season, and career.

Hamilton had started the first seven games of the 2004 season before losing his job to Philip Brown. Coming off the bench at Georgia Tech, Hamilton intercepted two passes, both in the end zone, deflected a third and did a good job blanketing Johnson. The performance gave Hamilton the confidence boost he needed, he said.

Hamilton, 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, has been a fixture in the lineup since, as well as something of a thorn in Johnson’s side. He helped hold the Georgia Tech receiver to four catches for 41 yards last season.

“He’s got nice quickness,” Johnson said. “He’s a good corner. I know he’s getting a lot of recognition.”

Even from his own quarterback.

 

Fresh faces grace Hokies, Cavaliers
David Teel
July 24 2006

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA. -- Two dozen ACC football players gabbed with reporters Sunday at the conference's annual preseason schmoozefest. Only one lacked a college start. Only two donned shirt and tie.

Trifling as those distinctions may seem, they speak directly to the challenges confronting Virginia and Virginia Tech in 2006.

The 24 players, two from each team, have combined to start 429 college games. Christian Olsen contributed nothing to that total.

But Olsen, a fifth-year senior and transfer from Notre Dame, is Virginia's quarterback-in-waiting, the designated replacement for Marques Hagans. He has thrown for 159 yards as a collegian, 199 fewer than Hagans piled up in one game last season: the Music City Bowl victory over Minnesota.

Yet there Olsen was Sunday, sounding every bit like a veteran starter. Confident yet humble, upbeat yet realistic.

"I'm looking at it now as, 'It's my job,' " he said.

Indeed, Olsen emerged from spring practice clearly ahead of Kevin McCabe and Jameel Sewell. Cementing his status, teammates elected Olsen a captain, while coach Al Groh assured him he won't get the hook after his first blunder.

Olsen likened his job to a basketball point guard and said, "I know I don't have to go out and win the game like Matt had to do."

Matt is Matt Schaub, who in 2002 and '03 broke school passing records at every turn in an often-vain attempt to overcome a poor defense. But while Olsen is unlikely to approach Schaub's numbers (5,928 passing yards and 46 touchdown passes combined his last two years), he doesn't have the luxury of becoming a mere caretaker.

The Cavaliers aren't good enough elsewhere to afford pedestrian quarterback play. They lack proven inside linebackers, safeties, nose tackles, tailbacks and offensive linemen.

But when you haven't started a game since your senior season in high school (2001), challenges are welcome no matter how daunting. Even today's ACC golf outing - Olsen is paired with Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. Even the Sept. 2 opener at Pittsburgh - the Panthers will be marking the 30th anniversary of their national championship.

"I've been waiting 23 years for this," Olsen said.

The wait at Virginia Tech is measured in months. The months since December's sloppy defeat to Florida State in the inaugural ACC championship game, the months since a New Year's Day Gator Bowl victory over Louisville was tarnished by the Hokies' oafish on-the-field behavior.

"Last year some things got out of hand," rover Aaron Rouse said Sunday. "This year we'll correct them."

While their colleagues from other teams dressed casually in golf shirts and shorts, Rouse and center Danny McGrath sported starched dress shirts and stylish ties. Rouse especially looked straight out of "Project Runway."

"It's not really my style at all," McGrath conceded.

But Rouse insisted. He's a fifth-year senior and returning starter, and he's bent on erasing last season's image issues.

"Being a mature leader, you have to keep it professional," Rouse said, "show everybody how to conduct themselves."

Rouse wants to lead by example. So while home in Virginia Beach this offseason, he dragged himself out of bed five times a week for 6 a.m. workouts at Mount Trashmore, otherwise known to Rouse as "the Green Monster." And he offered counsel to teammates such as promising tailback Branden Ore, who withdrew from school last semester and returned to his Chesapeake home to address injury and personal concerns.

Rouse's message?

"Let's cut all the nonsense out and focus on football and life," he said.

Tech did just that for much of last season. But then came the 17 penalties against Florida State, and the stomping and preening against Louisville.

Rouse does not expect a repeat.

"I see a lot of down-to-earth, humble guys," he said of his teammates.

Down-to-earth doesn't assure the Hokies another top-10 season, not with questions at quarterback, tailback and both lines. But it's a good start.
 

Swofford reflects on ACC's success
Swofford says league's expansion is working.
Robbi Pickeral, Staff Writer

GREENSBORO - Eight football teams in bowl games. Four baseball squads in the College World Series. Three schools in the Women's Final Four.
Those are just a few examples of why the ACC's first year with 12 member schools exceeded expectations and "set a very high standard for the future," commissioner John Swofford said earlier this week.

The league set a high mark financially, too.

Although the league has not released its figures for the 2005-06 academic year, N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said his school already has been paid $10.5 million by the league. With one payment left in September, that's already more than the $10.2 million the Wolfpack received from the ACC for the 2004-05 school year, when the league only had expanded to 11.

Each year, the league divides revenues from things such as TV contracts, NCAA sponsorships and its new ACC championship football game among its member schools. (For their first two years, new members Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College receive a smaller cut than the other schools.)

For the 2004-05 school year, according to tax returns, the league allocated more than $114 million among its schools. Thanks in part to its football title game, that went up in 2005-06, Swofford said.

"It has exceeded our expectations and our analysis," Swofford said of the payouts. "... And that's an important part of whether this [expansion] works or not.

"So, it's working."

Heading into today's beginning of the annual ACC football kickoff in Jacksonville, Fla., staff writer Robbi Pickeral sat down with Swofford to reflect on last year and anticipate the next:

Q: You have said that one of the league's challenges is to keep up with changing technology. Anything new in the works?

A: The Big Ten is establishing, for the first time, as part of their television exposure, the Big Ten channel. That's something we've talked about for several years, looking ahead. ... It will be interesting from our perspective to watch that, talk with my friend [Big Ten commissioner] Jim Delany, see how that evolves and weigh whether or not that's something that may work well for us in the future. It won't happen before next television contract [the current contracts run through 2010-11], but it could be a part of our means of television distribution the next time around.

We are looking at an expanded video streaming opportunity that could come as early as next fall, in terms of expanding that part of our distribution. ... If we can find the right avenue to expand our video streaming at the institutional and conference level, it would be a combination of the two, then we can do that within the context of our current contract.

Q: Would increased video streaming be a new source of revenue for the league?

A: I think ultimately, it could be. Initially ... you would do it more for exposure and to get it started. And then you hope it would develop into a significant revenue strength at some point.

Q: Were you happy with the league's first year of football instant replay?

A: Yes, I was really happy with replay. I said before the fact I had some concerns about it going in, and those concerns related to a) would it be too intrusive into the game, and b) would it extend the game to any significant degree?

I no longer have those concerns.

Q: A coach's challenge for each team will be added to the replay system this season. What do you think of that change?

A: They're not going to throw a flag like they do in the NFL. They're going to simply tell the official, ask the official. It's actually going to be a verbal challenge. And I think that's fine.

I think the majority of coaches wanted that opportunity; it's one per game. ... I don't think it will be problematic.

Q: What are your hopes for the league as it moves into its second year with 12 schools?

A: We want to build on that football championship game. We want to continue to develop it into something that's considered very special. The inaugural game always is, and we want to build its history and tradition from there. ...

Men's basketball, we've stayed at 16 league games, and we're on a three-year rotation with that, and I think we'll continue to see that through. We continue to talk some about, 'Is 16 the right number?' The Big Ten and Big East are considering going to 18, and we'll be watching that to see how it works for them, and see how our 16 works for us the next two years. ...

With the Olympic sports, we'll continue to evaluate scheduling issues, championship issues, to see if we need to make alterations once we've experienced the realty of what being 12 means to those sports.

I think at this point, it's all fine-tuning, understanding what the new "normal" is.

 

2002 a bittersweet class for Virginia
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
July 24, 2006



PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Virginia's 2002 recruiting class is nearly gone. Heralded by analysts and stocked with four- and five-star recruits, it was supposed to be the group that put Al Groh's program on the map. Instead, it petered out with a tinge of disappointment.
For every success story - Kai Parham, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Wali Lundy, Darryl Blackstock, Brad Butler - there is a more painful tale of shortcoming.

Ahmad Brooks' introduction was delayed by a year in prep school and ended with a whimper last offseason after repeated team violations. Willie Davis' career ended with a neck injury. Tony Franklin was kicked off the team over the winter. Tom Hagan and Anthony Martinez opted for baseball. And Kwakou Robinson never panned out.

Only four players remain from that class: Michael Johnson, Jason Snelling, Davon Robb and the one seated at the ACC Kickoff at the Sawgrass Resort, comfortably hamming it up with reporters, throwing barbs in teammate Christian Olsen's direction and generally taking it all in - cornerback Marcus Hamilton.

The question of the 2002 class comes up. Overrated or not?

"I don't think it was overrated at all," Hamilton said. "I think some guys didn't stay in school, some guys got hurt, some guys opted to play baseball. It was just different things that accounted for why things didn't work out the way people thought they should have."

Expectations are a funny thing. Hamilton, a preseason All-American, knows all about it.

His career can be clearly defined into two distinct eras - pre-Georgia Tech 2004 and post-Georgia Tech 2004. After getting a medical hardship in 2002 and contributing as a reserve in 2003, Hamilton started the first seven games in 2004 with the expectation that he was ingrained at the position.

But he was inconsistent, so much so that Philip Brown earned the starting nod over him at Georgia Tech in late November. It was a turning point for both.

Brown got torched by Calvin Johnson for 108 yards. Hamilton came off the bench and picked off two passes in the end zone. Their careers were never the same.

"I was frustrated, sure," Hamilton said of being relegated to backup. "But I also understand that it is going to be a process. You're going to have some success. You're going to have some trials and tribulations.

"So I guess it was a challenge for me to get the job back and keep it. I guess wake-up call would be good words to use."

By the time the Cavaliers went to Boise for the bowl game that December, Brown was not in good standing with the team and Hamilton was back in the starting lineup. Hamilton continued to progress last year, picking off six passes, none more important than when he ripped the ball out of a Minnesota receiver's hands in the end zone for the game-clinching interception during the final minute of Virginia's 34-31 win in the Music City Bowl.

That was the same game in which he was burned for a long touchdown after anxiously jumping at a pump fake in the first half. The Hamilton of 2003 would not have been able to bounce back from that mistake.

"Confidence is a big thing," Hamilton said. "If you doubt yourself at all - 'you might not be able to make this play' or 'you can't do this' or 'don't take a chance here because you might get beat' - if you doubt yourself at all, then that's going to affect you a great deal."

It's especially important this season in the ACC, which, with Johnson still at Georgia Tech, Chansi Stuckey at Clemson and the dangerous receivers at Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State, is a minefield for any cornerback.

Hamilton isn't fazed, mostly because he's seen it all. Heck, he's had three different position coaches in his five years.

As the only senior starting on Virginia's defense, you could call him an old-timer.

"Wise," Hamilton corrected, displaying the moxie of a veteran. "Not old."