Welsh's legacy secure
Published August 11 2005
David Teel

George Welsh may not be the most influential figure in state sports history, but he's certainly on the short list.

OK, so he's a Yankee, Coaldale, Pa., born and raised, and never had the polished sheen of a Virginia gentleman. Doesn't matter.

During 19 seasons as the University of Virginia's head coach, Welsh made college football matter in these parts, forever altering our sports landscape. Saturday the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., enshrines him.

"Obviously, I'm very flattered," Welsh said, weary of feting that included an October halftime ceremony in Charlottesville and a swank December dinner in New York.

Same as it ever was with Welsh. In a business laden with stadium-sized egos, his remains minimal. But make no mistake, he's one of the best the game has seen.

In fact, Welsh showed hall of fame chops long before his December 1981 arrival at Virginia. As Navy's quarterback, he finished third in the 1955 Heisman Trophy voting, and as the Midshipmen's head coach he restored the program's national prominence amid the post-Vietnam, anti-military unrest of the 1970s.

In the nine seasons before Welsh, Navy won 28 games. In his nine seasons, 1973-81, the Mids won 54 and earned three bowl bids.

Entrenched at his alma mater and flush with four straight winning seasons, Welsh seemed an improbable candidate to assume command of a Virginia program saddled with 12 losing years in the previous 13. But then-athletic director Dick Schultz, the smoothest of pitchmen, sold Welsh on his vision for dragging the Cavaliers into the big time.

Soon thereafter, Welsh knew he'd been conned.

Facilities: shabbier than he feared. Apathy: off the charts. Recruiting: a tougher sell than Afghan timeshares.

"I was a little naïve," Welsh said.

Meanwhile Virginia Tech, the state's other Division I-A outfit, was feasting on a tasteless diet of William and Marys, VMIs and Appalachian States. Moreover, as we later discovered, coach Bill Dooley was skirting NCAA scholarship limits and neglecting the program's academics.

Welsh did neither, and until his retirement in 2000, he built a program steeped in consistency. Player felonies, administrative clashes and an undeniable plateauing scarred, but never spoiled, his tenure.

Welsh and his staff mined the gems of Virginia high school football, especially in Hampton Roads and the southwest. They taught the game well, mirroring techniques Welsh learned as an assistant under Wayne Hardin at Navy, and Rip Engle and Joe Paterno at Penn State.

In 29 ACC seasons before Welsh, Virginia won 33 conference games. In his 19 years, the Cavaliers won 85 ACC games.

Guided by Frank Beamer, whom Welsh considers a future hall of famer, Virginia Tech eyed Virginia's aces and went all-in. But it was Welsh who first made this a high-stakes affair.

Now look at us. Virginia and Virginia Tech perform in expanded, state-of-the-art stadiums and attract sellout crowds of more than 60,000. The Hokies have earned 12 consecutive bowl bids and played in a national-championship game; the Cavaliers have endured one losing season in the last 18 and for three surreal weeks in 1990 sat atop the national polls.

Translation: College football matters most in our commonwealth.

And you know what? Set to turn 72 later this month, Welsh misses it. Gone are the chest pains and sleepless nights of his final seasons; back are the energy and ambition of his prime. So if any Division I-A program or NFL team needs an assistant coach, Welsh is available.

"I guess you could say I'm flunking retirement," he said.

Future employment or not, Welsh's Virginia legacy is secure, and since he's not inclined to ponder such history, allow us.

Arthur Ashe brought quiet class and resolve to tennis, race relations and AIDS awareness; Sam Snead won a record 81 PGA Tour events; Lawrence Taylor redefined outside linebacker play; Secretariat became a four-legged icon; Nancy Lieberman and Marianne Stanley, and Ralph Sampson and Terry Holland took college basketball to championship levels.

Count George Welsh among them.

Mr. Anderson. Welcome Back
UVa receiver returns to field after one year away
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 11, 2005

“Mr. Anderson. Welcome back, we missed you.” - Agent Smith, The Matrix Revolutions, 2003

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
The seconds did not go by fast enough for Virginia receiver Ottowa Anderson.
Mr. Anderson was missing football. That includes training camp and even one of the dirty words to football players this time of year - two-a-days.
He missed the camaraderie. He missed catching passes. He missed blocking defenders. He even missed playing special teams.
Finally, after what felt like the longest year of his life, Anderson’s back. His one-year academic-related suspension from the University of Virginia is over. The long days of working in a La-Z-Boy factory in Virginia Beach are a thing of the past.
Mr. Anderson is back.
“You really don’t know how much you miss [football] until you are at home and you’re wishing you were in training camp instead of messing with some furniture in a hot warehouse,” Anderson said. “You wish you were out here with your buddies, aching and paining with them.”

“As you can see, we’ve had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Anderson.” - Agent Smith, The Matrix, 1999

Anderson played a big role for the Cavaliers prior to his suspension, drawing praise from fans and foes alike. In 2003, Anderson’s junior season, he started all
13 games and finished with 33 receptions for
407 yards and two touchdowns. With 62 career receptions, Anderson is the team’s leading returning wideout.
Anderson also proved that he could be a clutch player. He caught a pass in every game during the ’03 season and more than 75 percent of his receptions went for either a first down or a touchdown.
“He has proven that he can make big plays,” starting quarterback Marques Hagans said. “He gives us a great option out there. It is so good to have him back.”
Hagans admitted that Anderson’s impact off the field was often overlooked.
“I did take him for granted,” Hagans said.
“I missed him at times when leaders step up and say things or make sure things are right. We were kind of missing that [last] year.”
Earlier this summer during a 7-on-7 drill, Anderson noticed a teammate that was not running the correct route. Anderson let the player know about it.
“I had to. That is just how I am,” Anderson said. “I love this game and I love my teammates and I feel like we have a chance to do something special.”
Hagans said the tongue-lashing is
commonplace. The impact? Not so common.
“As soon as he got back and that incident occurred and he spoke right up about it, that is kind of when I realized that I had missed him and the team had missed him as well,” Hagans said.
Anderson has also caught the eye of Virginia coach Al Groh.
“We’re very upbeat about Ottowa’s return,
personality and attitude as much as anything,” Groh said. “He’s a high-motor player. He’s a very aggressive, intent player.”

“You have a problem with authority,
Mr. Anderson. You believe you are special, that somehow the rules do not apply to you. Obviously, you are mistaken.” - Rhineheart, The Matrix, 1999

When Anderson was suspended from school, he felt like he had “failed” his teammates. He was going to be a senior, an upperclassmen, a leader on a team that would be competing for an ACC title.
The situation got worse.
In July 2004, Anderson and ex-girlfriend Jessica Turner were charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after a domestic disturbance at Turner’s residence.After appearing in court, all of the charges were dismissed.
Anderson says the issue is a thing of the past and that it served as a learning experience.
“The whole time, the year off, it was just lingering over my head,” Anderson said. “Everything is fine now. Everything is behind me. It has been behind me for a while now. I just learned from the situation. If you are caught in a bad situation, just rid yourself of it quickly before it gets worse.”
Academically, Anderson knew he would be readmitted to school. He said is on track to get his degree after two more semesters.
He did, however, have to prove to Groh and the coaching staff that his life was back on track.
He did just that.
“His resolution toward his circumstances was very strong from the outset,” Groh said. “His accountability for it was very strong. He was very forthright.”
Groh said Anderson proved it by saying: “‘You’ve been trying to tell me this for a while of time. I just needed to listen better. I’ve learned my lesson. You can count on me. I’m going to be back. I’m going to be ready to go.’”
His new outlook on life has been noticeable to his teammates too.
“Football is important but the fact that he got his personal life and school and family back in order, that is way more important than football,” said cornerback Marcus Hamilton. “I am happy and very pleased that he got that in order. That’s what I feel is more important.”

“Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you’re fighting for something? … You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can’t win. It’s pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?” - Agent Smith, The Matrix Revolutions, 2003

It would have been easy for Anderson to give up on football. To walk away and never turn back.
That, however, was never an option.
Day after day, five times a week, Mr. Anderson went to work at 7 a.m. He lifted furniture all day long, which often left him too tired to work out.
Anderson’s suspension gave him a chance to spend more time with his 5-year-old son, Dejonte, who lives with his mother in the Tidewater area.
“I looked at my son every day and at my situation,” Anderson said. “That was my motivation.”
His thoughts remained in Charlottesville and on the receiver position that was suddenly getting crowded with talented players.
Virginia signed three wideouts in the 2005 recruiting class - Maurice Covington, Kevin Ogleetree and Brandon Woods. Add in Emmaunuel Byers, Thierrien Davis, Fontel Mines and Deyon Williams and it is obvious that Anderson knows he has his work cut out for him.
That’s just fine with him. He says he would have it no other way.
“We have a lot of depth at the receiver spot and I am not sure exactly right now how many reps
I am going to receive,” Anderson said. “I am just going to try to get on the field anyway that I can.”
In the past, Anderson got on the field thanks to his non-receiving ability. He could block defenders. Then, Mr. Anderson would get back up and block some more.
“I don’t have problem with blocking because
I love playing the game,” Anderson said. “I love every aspect of it, but I feel like I can be effective as a receiver too.
“I feel like I make the big catches. I can make the first downs and I can get the tough yards if
I need to,” he added. “I feel like having a year off, and we have a lot of young talent in here, that nobody is really thinking about me as a receiver. That’s fine with me. I am just going to keep working hard.”
Despite the successful numbers from his last competitive season with Virginia, it was on
special teams that Anderson made a lasting impact in 2003. That is somewhere he feels he can help the team immediately in his return - he is currently on four special teams’ units.
“If I don’t make my mark as a receiver, I am going to make my mark on special teams,” Anderson said. “I am going to be a big player, one way or the other.”
For now just being a player is enough. Welcome back Mr. Anderson.

Welsh looking for next coaching stop
George Welsh joins the College Football Hall of Fame this weekend.
By Doug Doughty
981-3126
The Roanoke Times

There have been so many functions associated with George Welsh's selection to the College Football Hall of Fame that, when the actual induction is held this weekend in South Bend, Ind., only his daughter and older son will accompany him.

"It's been almost a year and a half since I was notified, so it's sort of worn off in a lot of ways," said Welsh, who was his usual, self-effacing self in a Wednesday teleconference. "We've already had a big dinner in New York. I think it's been a bit much, don't you?"

Welsh, who was the head coach at Virginia from 1982-2000, is ready to move on.

At 71, he refuses to describe himself as retired.

"The last couple of years, I've looked into a couple [of opportunities] that seemed like a good fit for me," he said, "but it didn't work out. I think I'm going to give it a try again this year, whether it's NFL or I-A coaching in college. I would give it another shot."

Welsh had a discussion this past winter with former UVa athletic director Terry Holland when Holland was looking for a head football coach at his new school, East Carolina, but Welsh wouldn't be opposed to a return to coaching as an assistant.

"I don't think I would get a head coaching job in I-A football," Welsh said. "I would return as an assistant if it was the right situation and I knew the people. I wouldn't want to go to a program that's starting all over."

For most of his first decade as Virginia coach, Welsh called plays and did not have an offensive coordinator.

"I can coach probably any position on offense," he said. "I really think I can. I haven't been as involved with the defensive line, for instance, but I think I could handle a linebacker spot somewhere or the defensive backs."

Holland's idea was to bring in Welsh as either a mentor for former ECU head coach John Thompson, whom he eventually dismissed, or as an advisor to Thompson's successor, especially if Holland had gone after a young assistant.

Holland eventually went in a different direction, hiring one-time Connecticut head coach Skip Holtz, "but I've always felt that those positions, like director of football operations, can be a tremendous benefit to a young coach," Holland said Wednesday.

"He told me, if we couldn't find [a head coach] who we wanted, that he might be interested. I said, 'Are you sure?' Then, we started talking about this other thing and he said, 'Actually, that sounds more like what I'd be interested in.' "

It was a surprise when Welsh announced Dec. 11, 2000, that he would not return for his 20th season. At the time, he said he lacked the energy to maintain a hectic pace.

"I think every one of us, unless your health is failing, has second thoughts," he said. "I just didn't think I could do it for another year like that. I needed a year off.

"You can't sleep and you have chest pains and tightness in your chest and, when the season was over, it didn't go away either. It did go away, but it took a couple of months.

"I've talked to other coaches who have felt the same way. It would be nice if guys like me, who have been at the same school for 10 years or 12 years or 15 years, could possibly take nine months off. It could help a lot."

On the day of his "retirement," the word that was used at the time, Welsh cited the cases of other coaches who had experienced burnout -- Joe Gibbs, Dick Vermeil and Bobby Ross.

Remarkably, all three have returned to coaching.

"Look at Joe Gibbs, the way he felt, and he was on top of the world [with the Washington Redskins] in the NFL," Welsh said. "He had the same sort of symptoms that I did, as I remember."

Welsh continues to live in Charlottesville and has an office in the UVa athletic department. He scouted for the New York Giants for a time and said he probably has attended an average of five Cavalier football games a year during the past three seasons.

"I guess you could say I'm flunking retirement," he says of his ongoing restlessness.

Welsh noted that he has signed a contract with a group out of Atlanta that is bidding to use former head coaches in connection with a new college football poll.

"I was one of the first to get in," Welsh said. "I think it's a hell of an idea. What we're all going to do is look at the tapes. They're going to send us DVDs and it's probably going to take two days of work, scouting the teams.

"I still know what to look for. I can tell who's good and who isn't good."

Who's going to argue with a Hall of Famer?

Classified information: Welsh is ready to work
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Aug 11, 2005

George Welsh turns 72 this month, but who's counting? The former University of Virginia football coach is in good health and good spirits. He feels so good, in fact, that he wants to coach again.

Welsh, who'll be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame at South Bend, Ind., this weekend, said yesterday that he hopes to land a job as an NFL or Division I-A assistant in 2006. He retired as U.Va.'s coach after the 2000 season.

"I guess you could say I'm flunking retirement," Welsh told reporters on a teleconference. "For a year, maybe two years, I enjoyed it. But I don't play golf, or very little, and I'm not a card player. . . . I'm looking for something to do for three or four years."

Welsh, who still lives in Charlottesville, said he'd "return [to football] as an assistant if it was the right situation and I knew the people there. I wouldn't want to go to a program that was starting all over again."

He wouldn't want to be a coordinator, Welsh said, but he believes he could coach any position on offense and the linebackers or the secondary on defense.

Welsh left his alma mater, Navy, after the 1981 season to take the job at U.Va., then one of the nation's worst programs. In 19 seasons at Virginia, Welsh compiled a 134-86-3 record, and he retired as the winningest coach in ACC history.

Asked if he's questioned his decision to step down at U.Va., Welsh said second thoughts are natural but added, "I needed a year off. I felt much better physically after a year off."

-- Jeff White

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Aug 11, 2005

RESIDENT LEGEND: Former Virginia football coach George Welsh has an office in University Hall, and he stops by the McCue Center periodically to visit with his successor.

"Whenever George has something to say, we're very interested in it," Al Groh said, "because he's the only coach around here who's going to be in the Hall of Fame. So why wouldn't we listen to him?"

Welsh, who retired after the 2000 season, will be enshrined this weekend in the College Football Hall of Fame at South Bend, Ind. Groh's elder son, Mike, played for Welsh, and the Grohs have a special appreciation for Welsh's accomplishments at U.Va.

"Obviously, this whole program wouldn't be what it is if he hadn't done what he did while he was here," Al Groh said.

MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT: Welsh's selection to the College Football Hall of Fame was announced in April 2004. Eight months later, in New York City, Welsh was among those honored at an induction ceremony.

Now come this weekend's festivities in South Bend.

"I think it's actually a little much, don't you?" Welsh asked reporters on a teleconference yesterday.

Of his feelings about being chosen for the Hall of Fame, Welsh said, "It's tough to put into words. Obviously, I'm very flattered. It's almost been a year and a half since I was notified, so it's kind of worn off a lot."

CAUTIOUS APPROACH: Leading candidates to start at wide receiver for U.Va. include juniors Deyon Williams and Fontel Mines, a Hermitage High graduate. Each suffered a minor injury in practice Sunday, and Groh decided to keep them on the sidelines Monday and Tuesday.

They have "some muscle pulls, which would certainly inhibit them here in the short term," Groh said. "It seemed like a wise investment to not have a long-term injury [by rushing them back]."

The Cavaliers return to practice today after having yesterday off.

HARD TO MISS: Virginia's freshman class includes three receivers, the biggest of whom is 6-4, 215-pound Maurice Covington.

"He's obviously a substantial target," Groh said, "and that's something that the quarterbacks sure like to see -- those substantial targets.

INTO THE FIRE: Rookie Patrick Estes, a Benedictine High graduate who played tight end at U.Va., is expected to start at left offensive tackle in the San Francisco 49ers' first exhibition Saturday night against Oakland.

A rash of injuries has struck the 49ers' offensive line in training camp, forcing the 6-7, 290-pound Estes into a leading role. Even though he's not 100 percent. Estes will play with a cast over his broken left hand.

In April, the 49ers drafted Estes in the seventh round. About a month later, they moved him to tackle.

DOUBLEHEADER: U.Va. will have two more open football practices this summer, both Saturday. The Cavaliers' first practice that day is scheduled to start at 8:45 a.m. Their second is at 6:45 p.m. The team practices on the fields behind University Hall.

IN THE GYM: U.Va. basketball player Tunji Soroye, a 6-11 sophomore, is playing for Nigeria in the under-21 World Championships, which are under way in Argentina.

Soroye has recovered from an early-summer bout with malaria, but the illness weakened him, and he has played sparingly in the tournament. In Nigeria's first four games, Soroye's longest appearance (12 minutes) came in a 113-78 loss to the United States.

As a freshman, Soroye started two games, both in the ACC tournament. Against Miami, he had three rebounds and two blocked shots in 11 minutes. The next night, Soroye totaled six boards and five blocks in 21 minutes against Duke. He attempted only one field goal in each game.

Before Soroye, who was listed at 210 pounds last season, left this summer for Nigeria, his workout partners at U.Va. included sophomore point guard Sean Singletary.

"He's become more explosive," Singletary said in late June. "I think definitely he's going to be one of the top five defensive players in the league." -- Jeff White