His message was clear: YAC. No, not your typical yakity-yak. This YAC stood for Yards After Catch, something that could make Virginia's receivers even more dangerous in a season that kicks off Thursday night against Colorado State.

"In a lot of the high-production passing games, a lot of times almost 50 percent of the passing yardage is run after the catch yardage," Groh said.

How many times can you remember watching Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Shannon Sharpe and other top NFL receivers turn short passes into huge gains? Groh's point, exactly.

"I've certainly tried to promote it

[YAC] with our players," said Groh. "And I've been fairly obnoxious about it."

How obnoxious?

"Let's just say he's been very persistent," chuckled junior wideout Michael McGrew, preferring not to go into details.

"I was loud and obnoxious," Groh admitted. "I yelled a lot. But there was probably some hilarity to me trying to demonstrate what run after catch looks like. If they try to emulate me, our receivers might be running backwards or slipping all over the place."

Another young receiver, sophomore Ottowa Anderson, estimates that UVa's pass catchers could add as many as two first downs to every drive with extra effort after making a reception. That means precious field position and perhaps more scoring opportunities.

The more that McGrew and Anderson and Ryan Sawyer succeed, the less pressure on big-time receiver Billy McMullen, who will most certainly draw special attention from the Rams' defense. With All-America credentials, McMullen is used to the heat but wouldn't mind being the recipient of some single coverage due to his teammates taking some of the flak away.

"They all got better as last season went along, caught more passes in the spring and in training camp, so that could help a lot because [defenses] can't just focus on me," McMullen said.

Anderson said the aim of the other receivers is to take attention away from Big Mac.

"Defenses can pick their poison," said Anderson. "They can let Billy beat them or the rest of us can beat them. The other receivers feel like we've progressed a lot since last year, so if teams want to double-team Billy, we're just going to make them pay."

According to Groh, all three of Virginia's other returning receivers have made big strides in their games.

Sawyers moved to wide receiver from safety last season and had a number of impressive catches before suffering a pulled hamstring and broken hand. He progressed during spring practice and has had a strong training camp.

McGrew came on strong against North Carolina last season and hasn't slowed since. He was UVa's most improved offensive player in the spring and has come on like gangbusters in camp.

"He and McMullen give us two of what we're aiming for ... they're the same guys every day," Groh said.

Anderson has gotten better and, McMullen? Forget about it.

"Billy can do things in all phases of the game at a higher level than what he did previously," said Groh.

Running after the catch has been one of McMullen's priorities in elevating his abilities. He has also concentrated on blocking harder, running better routes and as he called it, "the little things the average fan can't see."

The YAC?

"We have to get into the mindset that we're running backs after we catch the ball, make something happen after it's in our hands," said McMullen, who had 83 receptions for 1,060 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2001.

Anderson, who was just trying to figure out the whole freshman thing a year ago, said that Virginia plans on spreading the ball around with its passing game this year. While the Cavs chucked it an average of 37 times a game last year, the majority were aimed McMullen's way.

"We don't want a 40-reception gap [make that 50] like last year," said Anderson. "If teams don't want to respect the other receivers, then we will hurt them, too."

Last season, tight end Chris Luzar was the second-leading receiver on the team with 33 catches. McGrew had 31, Anderson 12.

With Colorado State bringing an inexperienced secondary that is short on depth, there could be plenty of big-play opportunities for Virginia's passing game. But not unless something else happens first.

"Whenever we talk about the passing game and what can be done with it, it's all based on how well we can protect our quarterback," said Groh on Tuesday. "For us, that's a bigger issue than exploiting anybody's secondary. If we can protect our quarterback, and that's a big 'if,' we might do some things.

"But when I hear all this business about Colorado State's inexperienced secondary, that will only show itself if we're able to get the ball in the air," Groh said.

Good point, Al.

It's kind of tough for a quarterback to see his receivers if he's lying flat on his back on the Scott Stadium turf, looking up at the starry night.

"Everything was going so fast, it was pretty much a blur," receiver Billy McMullen said.

"I was nervous. Real nervous," linebacker Angelo Crowell said.

"All I kept telling myself was, 'Don't end up on ESPN,'" safety Jerton Evans said. Now seniors, McMullen, Crowell and Evans are among the best players in the ACC, though you wouldn't have predicted it after their first game. McMullen ended up with zero receptions, something that has happened only one other time in his career. Crowell had two tackles. Evans, playing a "deep, deep safety" so he wouldn't get beat and become a SportsCenter highlight, had no tackles or interceptions.

Much of the excitement surrounding the 2002 season opener against Colorado State on Thursday is due to the debut of Virginia's freshman class, arguably the most talented in school history. About 10 of the true freshmen are likely to see action, according to UVa coach Al Groh.

But the Cavalier veterans, who know from experience, caution fans not to expect too much of the rookies right off the bat. Even with the advantage of a postgraduate year at Fork Union Military Academy, McMullen said it took him six full games to get comfortable with the speed and intensity of college football.

"It's not realistic" to expect the freshmen to make a major impact, McMullen said. "Don't get me wrong - they have a lot of talent. They can definitely play. But it's not realistic to think they'll have a 150-yard rushing game or a 150-yard receiving game.

"It's a big transition, not just with football but getting used to school life, academics and everything."

Still, the freshmen will be thrown into the fire. Five of them - punter Tom Hagan, left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, linebacker Darryl Blackstock, and defensive linemen Kwakou Robinson and Braden Campbell - are listed on the team's two-deep chart.

Others who probably will play Thursday are tailbacks Michael Johnson and Wali Lundy, offensive lineman Brad Butler and defensive linemen D.J. Bell and Ron Darden.

Some will assume prominent roles immediately. Hagan will punt and Johnson will be the punt returner. Robinson will start in place of injured defensive end Chris Canty. Others will see limited action, but their overall contributions must be considerable.

"I'd say they better have a big impact," Groh said, "or we're going to be non-competitive."

Relying on freshmen, as Groh knows, is an iffy proposition. Unlike basketball, a sport in which precocious rookies have little trouble competing with older players, the physical differences between true freshmen and redshirt seniors can be considerable in football, especially among linemen.

In 49 years, only nine true freshmen have made the All-ACC first team. (Georgia Tech tackle Nat Dorsey did it last year.) Florida State used many freshmen and sophomores last season and finished with its worst record in 15 years.

As Groh puts it, many of the freshmen were "riding a yellow bus to school" three months ago. Darden, who won't turn 18 until December 17, is among the youngest players in the nation. But he will be asked to provide depth on an extraordinarily young defensive line.

"I'm trying to approach it like a high school game," Darden said. "I don't want to get over-excited, so I'll do my best to stay relaxed out there."

Johnson, the punt returner and backup tailback, said the opening game "is like your first date. You're going to be nervous and you don't want to mess up. I definitely don't want to drop that first punt. I'm sure I'll have butterflies but I'm not going to let it affect my game."

As a group, Virginia's freshmen seem to be as prepared as possible for the season ahead. The skill-position players, including Johnson and receiver Ron Morton, have speed and moves that can't be taught. Many of the linemen have ample size and strength, including the 322-pound Robinson and 313-pound Darden.

"They have men's bodies," Crowell said, shaking his head. "They don't look like boys."

They also came mentally prepared. Knowing many of them would play this season, Groh sent the freshmen playbooks to study over the spring and summer. Morton said that "gave us a real good jump on everything. It helped us learn a lot before we got here, so the transition wasn't as tough."

"They're in good shape and they're sharp," offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. "I've been impressed with how quickly they've brought themselves up to speed."

Still, there is no substitute for game experience - the nerves and excitement of playing in front of 50,000 fans in a televised contest, knowing your mistakes might wind up on SportsCenter.

Groh knows his freshmen will be jittery. He tried to lighten the mood during a team meeting Tuesday by giving Huggies diapers to many of the freshmen to put in their game-day bags.

The coach expects his rookies to make their share of mistakes as well as plenty of positive plays. Ideally, he would prefer not to depend on them, especially with a tough early schedule. But he has no choice. After all, 42 of the team's 91 players are true and redshirt freshmen.

"A lot of our future is in the development of these players," Groh said. "It doesn't mean they're going to play 75 plays in the first game. But the sooner the process starts, the better. … They have to be exposed to what real college football is all about."