A Virginia native will recruit and lead the University of Virginia’s forthcoming marching band, school officials announced Wednesday.
William E. Pease, associate director of bands at Western Michigan University, will start work at UVa in November, 10 months before the 200-member marching band’s expected debut at the opening of the 2004 football season.
“I couldn’t be more excited about it,” Pease said in a phone interview from Kalamazoo, Mich. “Charlottesville’s a beautiful place.”
Officials in UVa’s athletics and music departments were involved in Pease’s selection from more than 30 applicants.
He is a Virginia Beach native and received his master’s of music degree in wind conducting from James Madison University. Pease became director of athletic bands at Western Michigan in 1997.
“He’s done an exceptional job,” said Craig Littlepage, UVa’s director of athletics. “There were no inherent weaknesses [in WMU’s band]. They were strong in presentation; they were strong in musical quality.”
Added UVa spokeswoman Carol Wood, “His enthusiasm for the job will be a tremendous asset as he begins to build a UVa marching band that will rival the best of them.”
Pease said he’s planning to visit UVa in September, possibly staying for the Sept. 27 home game against Wake Forest University. He will begin recruiting band members and student staffers then, in hopes of presenting a smaller band at this winter’s basketball games.
Pease said he met with members of the Pep Band, which was disinvited from playing at UVa football games this fall after a long string of controversial halftime skits.
“I found them to be nice folks,” he said. “I’d love for them to be in the marching band. They can be members of both.”
Pease added that the Pep Band members he spoke with during his interview visit seemed to show great pride in UVa, as well as determination to keep their band alive.
“I want to have a good working relationship with them, even though I’ll have no jurisdiction over them,” he said.
Plans for the marching band began to materialize in April, after a $23.5 million donation from local philanthropists Hunter and Carl W. Smith. They gave $22 million toward a new performing-arts center and the $1.5 million remainder for marching and concert bands, both of which Pease will oversee.
Soon after the donation announcement, the Pep Band, which was most recently scolded for its December bowl-game mockery of West Virginia University, was notified it would not play at any more football games.
Its leaders, however, have said the group will continue to exist as a student organization and may play before football games in the parking lots surrounding Scott Stadium.
Pease said he plans to have plenty of student involvement in UVa’s band, just as he has at Western Michigan, where he oversees a 350-member marching band and a 60-student staff.
He expects to hire about 30 students to be drum majors, costume designers, script writers and other employees.
The scripts, Pease hastened to add, will not feature skits, which were a frequent source of trouble for the Pep Band.
A faculty member or UVa sports enthusiast will announce the names of the songs over the public-address system, Pease said.
He noted, however, that UVa’s marching band will be unlike the renowned groups of JMU and Virginia Tech.
“I don’t want it to be a clone of any other band, just like UVa is not a clone of any other school in Virginia,” Pease said.
“We’re not going to be doing ‘The Hokie Pokie,’ I can tell you that.”

When Al Groh hired Danny Rocco as his assistant head coach, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator a few years ago, one of Rocco’s main missions was to build Virginia’s linebacking corps into a dynamic force.
Heading into next week’s season-opener against Duke, the Cavaliers boast perhaps the best collection of linebackers in the ACC, a group that someday could become as good as any in the nation.
“In due time, with experience and continued progress, it’s the kind of group you’re looking for,” Rocco said. “We have three or four guys who legitimately have the opportunity to excel at this level and play at the next level, in addition to some guys who are going to offer some quality depth.”
Groh brought the 3-4 defense to Virginia from the NFL, where he served as linebackers coach for the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots before he became head coach of the New York Jets. The defensive alignment features four linebackers — two inside, two outside — who make or break the defense.
If Virginia is to make a run for the ACC title this season as many observers have predicted, then the defense must make strides over last season and that begins with the linebacking corps. With veterans returning at all four starting spots and the addition of two of the hottest linebacker recruits in the country, Groh believes he has personnel in those spots who can greatly impact the entire way Virginia plays defense this season.
“Hopefully it will create less need to play eight in the box and still be strong against the run,” Groh said. “If we can do that with some physically powerful players inside, we should be able to stop the run, stop vertical entry amongst receivers with coverage, make it tougher for them to get the cheap completions and ultimately be able to get better play and better overall scoring defense even if the other team might end up with a half-yard more per rush.”
When you’re talking about linebackers at UVa, then it all begins with sophomore outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock. He arrived on campus with a goal of becoming the ACC’s all-time sack king and burst onto the national scene as a true freshman with 10 of ’em, which led all the nation’s rookies in that department.
At the other outside spot is senior Raymond Mann, who has started somewhere on defense since his freshman season. Residing inside is a pair of bulldogs in Rich Bedesem and Bryan White, both juniors. Nipping at their heels for their jobs are the aforementioned rising stars, Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham, two of the most highly sought-after backers in the country their senior years in high school two years ago.
“Those three young linebackers [Blackstock, Brooks and Parham] as a group are more imposing physically standing out there than a lot of NFL teams,” Groh said. “They’re not ready to play like that yet.”
Blackstock is 6-foot-4, 242 pounds, up from 215 last season and faster than ever. Brooks is 6-4, 249 and possesses mind-blowing speed and quickness. Parham is no speed demon at 6-3, 238 but he has other ways of making his point.
“The difference between Kai and Ahmad is that one’s a real hammer [Parham] and the other is a real speed player,” Groh said.
White, at 6-2, 227, believes the depth at all four linebacker spots is going to help Virginia’s entire defense because there will always be a fresh player available with little or no drop off in talent.
He believes the various backers bring a little of everything to the table and offers this sampler of the rotation:
“Mann is a powerhouse, a freak of nature,” said White. “You look at his body, he can do whatever you need him to do.
“Bedesem knows the defense backward and forward. He’s the smart guy out there.
“Me, I don’t feel like I have that much talent, I just try to play hard-nosed. I like hitting. That’s the only thing I’ve ever liked to do.
“Brooks, he’s the most athletic guy I’ve ever seen. He makes plays that you wouldn’t think anyone could make, just chasing down people.
“Parham is a powerhouse, too. He’s just a big dude that hurts people.
“Blackstock brings so much of a threat to the outside rush.”
While that threat is what brought Blackstock so much notoriety last season when he was named national defensive rookie of the year by one publication, he’s not happy with the tag of pass rusher.
“Everybody labeled me as a pass rusher but at the same time, I was trying to stop the run, defend the pass, play coverage. I wanted to be a complete linebacker. I didn’t want to be known just as a pass rusher,” Blackstock said recently.
But even he admitted last spring that he fell short of his own expectations as far as carving out a reputation as a big hitter in his initial season. Thus, the offseason weight gain (all muscle) and strength in order to make him a more lethal weapon.
Blackstock hopes to build on the sacks, the 14 tackles for loss and 107 overall tackles (second highest by a freshman in UVa history) this season.
“In having coached that particular position as a position coach [in the NFL] in this defense, I thought it was pretty remarkable what he did,” Groh said of Blackstock’s freshman campaign. “I think that position has more multiple roles than any other position on the defense. That’s why it takes a real talent to be there.”
One of the burning questions by Wahoo fans heading into the schedule is how long will it be before either Brooks or Parham break into the starting lineup. Parham practiced some with the team last year while recuperating from a back injury that caused him to redshirt. Brooks attended Hargrave Military Academy and transferred into UVa at the semester break so he could participate in spring drills.
“I want to start,” said Brooks, who hasn’t been second string since his freshman year at Hylton High School. “But mainly I just want to make my team better, help my team win. I’m not even worried about myself.”
Brooks was the USA Today National High School Defensive Player of the Year in 2001 and Parham was a Parade All-American.
Not eager to surrender their starting jobs are Bedesem and White.
Groh said that Bedesem knows how to make the most out of what he’s got and gets a little better every day. Bedesem made a career-high 58 tackles last season, while White made 36.
“I think we’ll be a Fab Four in the box no matter who is playing,” said Blackstock. “We can play with more poise and patience. It doesn’t have to be [graduated] Angelo Crowell making every play or me getting all the sacks. I think there will be a lot of sharing of stats.”
And a lot of sharing in dishing out misery to opposing offenses.

Admit it. When Matt Schaub went from demoted starter to ACC player of the year, from an erratic thrower to one of the nation’s most precise passers, from an object of fans’ derision to their favorite son, all in just one season, you were surprised, right?
Hey, wasn’t everybody?
Not quite.
“I wasn’t,” said Joe Carroll, his coach at West Chester (Pa.) High School from 1995-98. “I’ve known Matt a long time and I know how hard he’s worked. What he did last year was great, but it’s the result of working so hard to achieve his goals.”
Those who know Schaub best — his parents, his close friends, his Virginia coaches and teammates — say the same thing: His magical junior season didn’t come out of nowhere, as it may have seemed to more casual observers.
Instead, his record-smashing exploits were preceded by many years of goal-setting, hard work and diligence. Physically and mentally, he prepared himself for success. So when it arrived last year, Schaub wasn’t shocked. Nor were those around him.
“You should see everything he’s done to better himself, every day,” said senior receiver Ryan Sawyer, Schaub’s teammate, roommate and friend for the past five years. “He brings home game tape and watches it all the time. He reads books about football and leadership. He’s pretty much a perfectionist. He’s always had high expectations for himself.”
Just ask his parents, who remember Schaub waking up at 5 a.m. every morning after his sophomore season of high school football and going to the gym before class. That began the process of turning his tall but gangly frame into the sturdy 6-foot-6, 240-pound body he now carries.
“I think he’s always been that type of kid ever since he was very young,” said his father, Dale, who works in service design and transportation planning for Norfolk Southern railroad. “He’s always been really driven and focused in whatever he’s doing, sports or academics or whatever.”
“I admire him so much for his mindset and determination,” said his mother, Debbie. “I’m not sure where he got it from.”
Schaub said those qualities are “something my parents taught me and my coaches have instilled in me. If you want to achieve something, you have to work hard for it. And you can’t get discouraged. That’s instilled in my fabric.”
Schaub’s persistence has paid off. He barely played his first two seasons at Virginia, then split time with Bryson Spinner as a redshirt sophomore in 2001. The Cavaliers lost his first five starts while he turned in uneven performances.
But he never stopped working.
“He’s a coach’s dream,” said UVa quarterbacks coach Mike Groh, who held several of the school records that Schaub broke last season. “For as long as he’s been here, he’s always been upstairs, watching film of himself or opponents. He’d watch two, three, four games at a time, all by himself.
“He works on his throwing mechanics all the time, his footwork, everything. He’s prepared himself so well, we never doubted he would be successful.”
Groh says Schaub was like most young quarterbacks, trying too hard to be perfect. “He’d do great in practice, then get tight and freeze up in games. Once he relaxed, he showed everyone what we had already seen in practice.”
Junior center Zac Yarbrough, one of Schaub’s roommates last year, jokingly takes credit for Schaub’s success.
“He was uptight. I got him to loosen up,” Yarbrough said. “He used to listen to Metallica before games. I was like, ‘Matt, you’re a quarterback. You’re not trying to kill anybody out there.’ He became a lot more laid-back hanging out with me.”
The biggest test of Schaub’s resilience may have come early last year. After playing poorly in the opener and getting booed by the home fans, he lost his starting job to freshman Marques Hagans. But when Hagans struggled the next week at Florida State, Schaub came off the bench to throw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
“We lost that game by a lot, but I think Matt really showed his leadership,” said receiver Ottowa Anderson. “He ran the offense like we were still in the game. He got himself going and got us going. After that we were rolling and rolling and rolling.”

Schaub started the rest of the season and directed a young Virginia team to nine victories in its final 12 games. In the process, he put up brilliant numbers, leading the ACC in completion percentage (68.9), TD passes (28) and completions (288).

Schaub did it while operating a West Coast-style offense full of short passes and timing patterns. That has caused some to question his ability to throw downfield, but Groh says Schaub has plenty of arm strength to go deep. Besides, he said, “Arm strength is overrated. Vision and anticipation are underrated.”

Schaub is able to envision open receivers before they actually get open. Likewise, he was able to envision success before it arrived.

He owns a dog-eared copy of “What it Takes to Be No. 1,” a motivational book written by Vince Lombardi Jr., son of the legendary Green Bay Packers coach. Schaub says he has read it several times.

He also frequently flips through “101 Ways to Lead Your Team,” a collection of leadership tips put together by Bill Musgrave, Virginia’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the last two years, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“I’d consider myself a student of the game. To be good at anything, I think you have to study it,” Schaub said. “As a quarterback, that involves being a leader, too.
“I’m not the most vocal guy, but I think I try to be a good leader. There are times I get excited and fiery and all that, but a football game is a roller-coaster ride. It’s good to stay on an even keel. You want to let your teammates know that no matter what happens, whatever their defense throws at you, you’re in control and you know what you’re doing.”
Schaub’s parents say he is shy by nature. He made friends through sports while moving with his family from Pittsburgh to Albany, N.Y., to Chicago to Detroit to Philadelphia before the third grade.
Still, his teammates say they find his quiet confidence and poise reassuring, along with his toughness.
“Schaub’s a cool guy,” said sophomore linebacker Darryl Blackstock. “He’ll come to you with the calm approach, like he’s a gangster from the 1950s.”
“I try to get everyone intense and energetic. He leads more by example,” said senior cornerback Almondo Curry, UVa’s co-captain along with Schaub. “On the field, he’ll just say, ‘Hey, let’s get it together.’ When he talks, everyone listens to him. From what he did last year, he has everyone’s respect.”
Schaub may not command national respect quite yet. Despite his achievements last year, he is on few short lists for the Heisman Trophy. Because of that, with head coach Al Groh’s blessing, the school is pushing him for the award with a fittingly low-key campaign.
Still, he has handled the increased media demands and accompanying pressure with aplomb.

“Me personally, I haven’t changed. What’s changed is the attention for me and our program, which is a good thing all around,” said Schaub, who was featured in USA Today’s sports section earlier this week. “I want Virginia football to be nationally known. If this helps, that’s great.”
Through it all, those closest to Schaub say he has remained as modest and unaffected as ever, with no trace of arrogance.

“That’s something about Matt – he doesn’t let things get to his head, good or bad,” Sawyer said. “He always stays the same.”

That is, he keeps working. In fact, in the wake of his breakthrough season, he has worked harder than ever. Al Groh says Schaub may have been the team’s most improved player in the spring. Schaub says he has gotten stronger and improved his footwork.

That bodes well for the Cavaliers, who return 19 players who started in last year’s Continental Tire Bowl rout of West Virginia. They are ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press preseason poll.

If Schaub and the Cavs were “the surprise of the ACC” last year, as one preseason publication called them, they won’t be surprising many people if they achieve similar success this season.
The secret’s out.

“I’m not worried about any pressure. As a team, we have to prove ourselves every week,” said Schaub, who is adept at turning questions about himself into answers about the team. “We aren’t dwelling on what we did last year. We have to remain the same team and remember what got us here. And that means keep working and keep getting better every day.”

Last season, Virginia played Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan State as three of its first five opponents.
At the time, Virginia coach Pete Gillen referenced the stretch as something akin to going up against Moby Dick.
The Cavaliers will be fishing in a lot shallower waters this season.
Virginia’s schedule, which was released Wednesday by the ACC, includes an opening game against Mount Saint Mary’s at University Hall on Nov. 23. That will be followed by home games against Virginia Tech (Nov. 28), High Point (Nov. 30) and then Minnesota (Dec. 3). The game with the Golden Gophers is part of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Virginia then travels to VMI (Dec. 5) and hosts James Madison (Dec. 16) in what will be the first game between the two in-state schools in nearly 20 years.
The Cavaliers do not leave the Commonwealth until Dec. 19 when they’ll travel to Los Angeles for a contest against Loyola Marymount.
The remainder of Virginia’s non-conference slate includes home dates with Coastal Carolina (Dec. 21), Florida A&M (Dec. 31) and Providence (Jan. 3).
At the moment, the Cavaliers have an “open date” on Jan. 7. At one point, it appeared the Cavaliers would travel to Memphis on that date but now those plans are uncertain.
The current slate of non-conference opponents includes none that received bids to the NCAA tournament last season with Providence and Minnesota both NIT entrants, as were the Cavaliers.
According to collegerpi.com, five of those opponents had RPIs of 235 or lower last season.
Virginia begins its ACC schedule with a contest at N.C. State on Dec. 28. The Cavaliers will host Duke on Jan. 11 in their first home ACC contest.
In total, 20 of Virginia’s games will appear on regional or national TV outlets.
The ACC in general will receive a new level of TV exposure this season. A record-tying 231 television appearances involving ACC teams headline the league’s schedule. The schedule also boasts 152 televised games involving ACC teams and marks the ninth-straight year that the league has had more than 200 television appearances.
ACC teams will make 133 appearances on national television networks, including 41 appearances on ESPN2, 40 on ESPN, 33 on Fox Sports Net, 10 on ABC and nine on CBS.