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This time, U.Va.’s Schaub isn’t sharing the QB job
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 20, 2002

The name is Schaub, which rhymes with job, which is what the University of Virginia junior has this season, all to himself.

Matt Schaub is the Cavaliers’ starting quarterback. There is no 1A to his No.\u20091, no week-to-week or even quarter-to-quarter uncertainty over who’ll take the snaps.

That wasn’t the case last season, when Schaub and Bryson Spinner split the job nearly down the middle. Schaub was on the field for 273 plays, Spinner for 266. Each started six games, but the starter wasn’t always the finisher.

Just when it seemed one player had won the job, he’d falter and find himself on the sideline again. It was far from an ideal situation, and one that won’t be repeated this year.

Spinner transferred after the season, to the University of Richmond. Schaub is the only experienced quarterback on the roster.

“He knows he’s the starter now,” said receiver Ottowa Anderson, a Norview graduate. “He seems to be more in control, more confident, knowing that nobody’s right on his back.”

Schaub, 21, insists that splitting time last year didn’t bother him. If he’s more confident this season, it’s because he has a year’s experience, not because he’s no longer looking over his shoulder.

“Bryson and I never let it come between us,” Schaub said. “Because of that, I don’t think it was an issue with the team.”

Maybe not, but players say they’re glad to have a clear starter heading into the season.

“With two quarterbacks, you have to adjust to the way they throw, the way the play,” receiver Billy McMullen said.

Added Anderson: “Last year, when we kept switching guys, we never knew how the game was going to go.”

Virginia knows what to expect this season. The 6-foot-5 Schaub is a pocket passer who put up decent, if not spectacular, numbers last season. He completed 58 percent of his passes but threw almost as many interceptions (eight) as touchdown passes (10).

Improving his accuracy was Schaub’s primary goal during the offseason.

“The main thing is making quicker decisions and getting rid of the ball on time,” he said.

Schaub added eight pounds, to 235, and says he’s putting more zip on the ball.

“I definitely find myself throughout training camp making throws that I might have been able to make but I didn’t make because I was apprehensive about what might happen with the ball,” he said.

Schaub showed glimpses of what he’s capable of last season, throwing for 271 yards against Maryland and following that with a school-record 33 completions, for 334 yards, against North Carolina.

After losing the starting job, he came off the bench to throw for 243 yards against Virginia Tech and started the finale against Penn State.

And, for what it’s worth, he has completed 71 percent of his passes in Virginia’s scrimmages.

“He’s settled in real well,”

Groh said.

And unlike last year, he plans on staying a while.

 

 

NFL looms for another Crowell
Angelo Crowell could jump from UVa to the NFL, just like Lions receiver Germane Crowell did.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   CHARLOTTESVILLE - For all the references that have been made to his family's NFL connection, one topic has received surprisingly little attention over the years: Angelo Crowell's own professional future.

    Fortunately for Crowell, he hasn't been overlooked by NFL scouts.

    Last month, Crowell was rated 10th among NFL prospects by The Sporting News in its first 2003 "Draftwatch."

    "I saw it," said Crowell, who last year set a University of Virginia record for tackles in a season (144). "First round. Second round. Seventh-best linebacker in the nation. Different people say different stuff. I try not to pin my hopes on that."

    However, if there is anybody who should be aware of the NFL, it is Crowell, whose older brother, former UVa receiver Germane Crowell, is entering his sixth season with the Detroit Lions.

    "That's one thing Coach [Al] Groh has really talked to me about," said Crowell, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound senior from Winston-Salem, N.C. "He sat me down and said, 'Look, the hardest thing for you this year is not to focus on the NFL.'

    "I said, 'You're right, Coach.' When you've got a brother in the NFL and your parents are talking about the NFL, you've got to focus on not focusing on the NFL. I try not to even think about the NFL. That's all coming."

    Groh, who was a longtime NFL assistant before becoming head coach of the New York Jets, has an acute sense for the temptations Crowell might face.

    "There's a lot of distractions for players, whether they're self-manufactured or manufactured by other people," Groh said. "Stats to make an all-star team, the circling of agents, [questions like] 'Am I going to make this all-star game?' or 'How is my performance going to affect my draft potential?'

    "The reality is, these things are out there [and] can be on people's minds. I told him the best way to enhance his status is to walk in every day and say to himself, 'What can I do to help my team win?' If he can do that, ultimately that will help his performance rating and his career.

    "That's all coaches are looking for."

    In Crowell's case, his brother's experience has created some perspective.

    "He tells me, 'Don't really get caught up in what people say,'" said Crowell, whose brother played at UVa from 1994-97. "When he was coming out, he didn't even make All-ACC, but he was picked as one of the top receivers going into the draft. All he said was, 'Make plays and everything will fall into place.'"

    Germane's success has taken some of the pressure off his younger brother to provide financially for a family of five sons and a daughter now ranging in age from 16 to 31.

    "We got a new home," Crowell said. "Our lifestyle definitely changed. At times, we'll go back and look at our old house and see where we really came from. Just last [month], we were sitting back and reminiscing about all the hard times growing up.

    "Sharing clothes. Lights off. No water. It really brings you back down to earth. I wouldn't say we were poor, but our parents had six kids and had to work two or three jobs to help put the kids through college. Working two or three jobs and still they were there for every game."

    Having an older brother with a seven-figure contract enabled Angelo to get his own car.

    "He helped me out with some wheels," said Crowell, who drives a Nissan Ultima. "It's a nice car, better than nothing."

    It's not the sports utility vehicle, sports car or truck that many football players favor.

    "I don't think I need something like that," Crowell said.

    Crowell is a no-frills driver and he's a no-frills player who never comes out of a game, missing fewer than 10 defensive snaps in 12 games last season.

    "He's got energy, great stamina and he's a playmaker," Groh said. "He's got sacks, he's got interceptions, recovered fumbles, caused fumbles and he covers punts. There's other hyped linebackers in the country but none of them are covering every punt like he does."

    One morning point in fall practice, Crowell even took a turn with UVa's punt returners.

    "We tell the players, 'The more you can do ...'" Groh said. "Obviously, he's listening."

 

 

Top Gun
Cavaliers' Schaub gets passing shot
 
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER		 Aug 20, 2002
 
CHARLOTTESVILLE No one associated with the University of Virginia football team in 2001 grumbled about the time-sharing arrangement, at least not publicly. A year later, though, it's clear the Cavaliers don't miss having co-quarterbacks.

"Now you know what to expect from the quarterback," All-America wideout Billy McMullen said.

That man is Matt Schaub, and the soft-spoken redshirt junior from West Chester, Pa., exudes a sense of confidence that wasn't so apparent last year.

"It's definitely easier knowing it's my job and it's my team," Schaub said.

Wideout Ottowa Anderson said Schaub is a more forceful presence in the huddle and "reads the defense much better. I think that just came with experience. It was also a battle last year - nobody ever knew who the starting quarterback was going to be for that week - so I think he had a little pressure on him."

U.Va. played 12 games last season. Schaub started six, including the opener at Wisconsin. Classmate Bryson Spinner started the other six.

"Last year it was a little bit confusing," Anderson said. "They read different and go through their progressions different. So one quarterback is definitely easier to get used to, and better for the team."

The 6-5, 235-pound Schaub became the full-time starter when Spinner, now a student at the University of Richmond, left U.Va. after the fall semester in 2001. Had Spinner stayed - and been academically eligible - he might have won the starting job outright. Then again, Schaub might have prevailed.

Another possibility: Their stalemate might have continued through this season. That's not a prospect Virginia's players or coaches would have relished.

"I think it's always better to have the position as definitive as possible," second-year coach Al Groh said. "In years back, it was easier [to platoon quarterbacks]. Now that type of circumstance becomes such a media subject and the spotlight of the team that, even if the players are comfortable with it, it gets brought up so much that it becomes" a distraction.

With Spinner gone, Groh no longer has a "quarterback controversy" about which to field questions. Schaub gets more snaps with the first team.

"I'm hoping it'll help Matt to get the majority of the plays in practice, rather than 50 percent," offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said.

Schaub added about 10 pounds in the offseason. The biggest change in him, however, might be this: "He knows he's the starter, and we know he's the starter," fullback Kase Luzar said. "We're looking for him to be our leader, and he's embraced that."

After attempting only eight passes as a redshirt freshman, Schaub played in every game last season and threw for a team-high 1,524 yards. He completed 58.3 percent of his attempts (140 of 240) and threw 10 touchdown passes. Against North Carolina, he passed for 334 yards and set school records for most attempts (54) and completions (33) in a game.

For all his impressive statistics, though, Schaub was 1-5 as a starter, and it was Spinner who led the Cavaliers to their three biggest victories.

"Matt Schaub went through a real growth period last year," Groh said.

Against Wisconsin, Schaub threw two first-half interceptions in Virginia territory. The Badgers turned those turnovers into 10 points and went on to win 26-17.

Against both North Carolina and Florida State, Schaub had a pass picked off and returned for a touchdown. There were extenuating circumstances at Chapel Hill. Schaub's pass bounced off Luzar's hands and went straight to defensive back Dexter Reid.

When he studied video of his sophomore season, Schaub said, he saw one particular area in which he could improve. "The main thing was making quick decisions and getting rid of the ball on time and faster."

How far has he come? Tune in Thursday night, when U.Va. opens the season against Colorado State at Scott Stadium. In practice, though, Schaub has sparkled.

"I think the biggest difference is the decisions are coming much faster," Groh said.

Schaub also has become more vocal in the huddle, though he's not as fiery as some quarterbacks Groh has been around. That doesn't seem to concern the Cavaliers' second-year coach.

"His demeanor and his style are more similar to [Vinny] Testaverde than to [Phil] Simms," Groh said, "but their competitive nature, more than their personality, is what's important. I think he's got a good competitive nature."

 

 

Rams return to work after day off
By Coloradoan staff and news services
 
Coach Sonny Lubick gave his Colorado State University football team Saturday off, but the Rams got back to work Sunday, practicing for two hours in preparation for the earliest opener in NCAA Division I-A history.

The Rams open the season Thursday night at Virginia in the Jim Thorpe Classic, a game that will be played a day earlier than any previous NCAA Division I-A games. Northwestern beat Oklahoma on Aug. 23, 1997, and Louisville defeated New Mexico on Aug 23, 2001, in the earliest previous openers.

The Rams will practice again today and Tuesday on the fields south of Moby Arena before traveling Wednesday to Charlottesville, Va.

The day off Saturday was the team's first since fall practices began Aug. 1, sports information director Gary Ozzello said. As a result, Lubick said the Rams were "sluggish" at the start of Sunday afternoon's workout.

"It took them an hour to get going,'' said Lubick, who is entering his 10th season as the Rams' coach.

Once they did get going, the Rams began focusing in earnest on preparing for Virginia's offensive and defensive schemes. The Cavaliers, who open their Atlantic Coast Conference schedule Aug. 31 against perennial national powerhouse Florida State, went 5-7 last season.

"The ACC is a good football conference," Lubick said. "We can play with them, but we have to be keyed up and ready to go. They have good teams in that conference, but we like to think that we have good teams in the Mountain West Conference, too."

CSU, which went 7-5 and won the New Orleans Bowl last season, was picked to win the MWC title in a preseason media poll. The Rams have won five conference titles and played in six bowl games in the past seven seasons under Lubick, the winningest coach in CSU history with a 74-34 record in nine seasons.