Cavs can be optimistic about ‘09
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By Jerry Ratcliffe

Published: July 31, 2009

Virginia coach Al Groh comes from a coaching tree that believes that while it takes more than three things to have a really good football team, there are three certain things a coach has to have above all else: good quarterback play; a good kicker; and a good defense.
That’s what gives the Cavaliers’ coach hope for the upcoming season as he readies for August’s training camp.
A closer examination of Groh’s past eight UVa teams produces significant evidence that his theory has proven correct over the long haul and with three experienced quarterbacks on his roster, the prospects of better place-kicking, and the potential for good defensive play, there’s room for optimism in Camp Wahoo.
The keys to success
Perhaps Groh’s best four teams over those eight years were led by strong quarterback performance, good defense and reliable kicking.
In 2002 and 2003, Matt Schaub was nothing short of spectacular, while Connor Hughes came on strong as a kicker, and the defense was there. Schaub-led offenses compiled more than 5,000 total yards both seasons and the Cavaliers won back-to-back bowl games over strong teams from West Virginia and Pittsburgh.
UVa signed highly-sought after in-state quarterback Anthony Martinez as the guy of the future, but he failed to pan out, leaving the Cavaliers to elevate Marques Hagans to quarterback after he had played various other positions. In his first season behind the wheel, Hagans struggled some, but still led Virginia to eight wins and a loss in the Micron Bowl to Fresno State.
However, Hagans got it going his final season and helped produce 4,509 total yards and a bowl win as Hughes put together a great year and the defense was again strong.
In ’06, Christian Olsen and Kevin McCabe faltered out of the blocks at quarterback as freshman Jameel Sewell was thrust into the picture earlier than he was prepared to do.
The transition from Hughes to Chris Gould was highly ineffective, so two of the three necessary factors to good football teams were missing. Virginia played good defense and still lost, going against the old adage about defense winning championships.
Sewell came on in ’07 and Gould had a terrific year as evidenced in a good win at Carolina where he made 5 of 5 field goals. Usually, 4 of 5 is a good day, but if Gould misses one kick that day, Virginia loses.
So, with decent quarterbacking, good kicking and a very strong defense, the Cavaliers won nine games and were on the brink of winning 10 for only the second time in school history before letting explosive Texas Tech off the hook in the Gator Bowl.
Last year was another rollercoaster ride with the quarterbacking and the kicking was way off the norm. The defense wasn’t as good as the year before, but was good enough to win.
Focusing in, it seems that how the quarterback goes, so goes Virginia’s team over the past eight seasons. That’s one reason why Groh is hopeful.
With Sewell, Vic Hall and Marc Verica all returning with some experience and well suited for a spread offense, there’s a strong belief that quarterback play should be more than solid.
Robert Randolph, who took over the starting kicking duties late last season, returns but could be challenged by preferred walk-on Drew Jarrett of First Colonial. Former UVa defensive coordinator Bob Pruett swore by Jarrett, so it will be interesting to see how the rookie, ranked the No. 12 kicker in the country by Rivals last season, fares.
The defense should be solid, boasting the best UVa secondary since the Ronde Barber days of the mid-’90s, and some experience up front to keep the blockers off of some new starting linebackers. Defensive end Matt Conrath and nose tackle Nick Jenkins were expected to see only 12 to 15 plays a game last season but ended up playing 45 to 50. Their experience should greatly aid the linebackers this time around.
Special teams haven’t been overlooked and that’s a place where Groh and his coaching staff believe they can change the scoreboard. Virginia Tech scored only one more offensive touchdown than did UVa last season, but the Hokies’ “Beamerball,” helped put Tech into the ACC championship game against Boston College. Tech has more of those since 1992 than any other team in the ACC.
Virginia is stressing more production from its special teams this season and with Ron Prince back to direct the effort, the Cavs hope to spring a few surprises on opponents.
What does all this mean?
It means there’s indicators that the Cavaliers could be in store for an improvement. Certainly none of this guarantees success, but as Groh and others in his coaching tree like to say: “the best predictor of future performance is past behavior.”
If that proves true, then Virginia’s got a chance.
 

White: Exam Time for Football Players
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 07/30/2009









Courtesy: Jim Daves/UVa Media Relations

Nick Jenkins
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By Jeff White
jeffwhite@virginia.edu

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Whoops and shouts of encouragement shattered the early-morning silence outside the McCue Center. Some groans were audible, too.

The occasion was the conditioning test for UVa football players, who have been training this summer under the direction of Brandon Hourigan and his staff. The Cavaliers gathered before dawn today on the practice field – NCAA rules prohibited Al Groh and his assistants from watching – for an exam that began at 6.

As the sun rose, the players ran, and ran, and then ran once more. And when the session ended, around 6:35 a.m., the players quickly dispersed.

“Going back to bed!” one Cavalier yelled to his teammates as he sprinted off the field.

The test consisted of a series of three shuttle runs, with each run covering 300 yards. Players had two minutes of rest between runs. The team was split into four groups: offensive linemen, defensive linemen, big skill (linebackers, tight ends, fullbacks and quarterbacks) and skill (tailbacks, defensive backs and wide receivers).

Each group had a standard to meet, with the offensive linemen given the most time to finish. Those who passed the test – save the true freshmen -- are through with organized workouts until Aug. 7, when training camp opens.

The few players who failed have another date next Thursday with Hourigan, director of the team’s strength-and-conditioning program.

“This is basically the ticket into camp,” fifth-year senior Chris Cook said. “You have to pass this test before you can even start training camp.”

Cook, an all-ACC candidate at cornerback, passed. So did redshirt sophomore Nick Jenkins, the returning starter at nose tackle.

“The summer was great,” Jenkins said. “I feel like I’m in 10 times better shape than I was last summer. Coach Hourigan’s done a great job getting us ready to go for the season. This is the best shape I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

That’s good news for Virginia, of course, but the summer program is designed to do more than get the players ready for the grind of training camp.

At the start of the program, Groh said this afternoon, the coaching staff “emphasized to the players that the two primary goals were to develop the type of mental strength, individually and collectively, that we’ll need to face all the challenges that any season presents, and to develop the type of unity that creates a team rather than just a collection of individuals.”

Grueling workouts foster that sense of togetherness among the players.

“You have some people straggling,” Jenkins said, “and you have some people that are having a tough time making it, but everybody’s out there pushing each other and trying to get them to make it.”

Hourigan, who came to U.Va. in January from the University of Richmond, has seen the team’s personality begin to take shape in recent weeks, a process that will accelerate during training camp.

“You start to see other guys kind of get on other guys,” Hourigan said. “At the finish of that [300-yard] run, for instance, you start hearing guys say, ‘Hey, stand up. Get up. Don’t sit down.’

“For the first part of the summer, that was me saying that on a continuous basis. Now I’ve left my role to them. And what I tell them is, ‘Guys, I’m not playing. You are. This is your team. I’m just giving you the program. It’s up to you to decide what you want to do as a team.’
“So they’re the ones that have to be the generals of the thing, and they’re starting to come together in that fashion."

This time last summer, Cook was out of school and out of the football program while serving an academic suspension.

“I missed it all,” Cook said, even the grueling pre-dawn workouts.

Of the summer workout regimens he’s followed since enrolling at U.Va. in 2005, “this might be my favorite one of all, because we concentrated on keeping our bodies together more,” Cook said. “We’re really not as beat up as we usually are around this time. I feel like everybody feels good about their body and everything going into camp.”

Hourigan wasn’t thrilled with the condition in which some of the incoming freshmen reported, but the class “did pretty well” this morning, he said. “I was happy with the shape that they’ve gotten themselves in since we’ve started.”

The first-year players, who have been training together since early this month, will continue to meet for 6 a.m. workouts with Hourigan until the start of training camp.

“Our principal objective with the rookies,” Groh said, “is to get their legs and their cardiovascular conditioning such that they have a chance to keep up in training camp. That is, we’re not going to get them to a college strength level in three-and-a-half weeks, but we want to narrow the gap” between the newcomers and the returning players.

One of those true freshmen, wideout Quintin Hunter, was heading back to bed as he left the locker room this morning. Bed is where the veterans will be tomorrow morning when Hunter and his classmates report for more conditioning.

“I’m looking forward to getting a chance to sleep in a little bit,” Jenkins said, smiling.

That’s fine with Hourigan, who liked most of what he saw from the players this morning.

“I thought they did great,” he said. “All in all, I think the guys wanted to get this thing done so they can just start prepping for football."