Out of the Shadows
After flying under the radar, UVa's Parham set to emerge
By Craig Kotarski / Daily Progress correspondent
August 27, 2005

When Kai Parham arrived at the University of Virginia three years ago, he had all the accolades and makings of an impact player. His awards included Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year, Parade All-American, Superprep All-American, amongst numerous others.

As part of Al Groh’s heralded top-five recruiting class that year, Parham arrived ready to work. However, a back injury sidelined the prep football star, forcing him to red-shirt his first year.

At the time, Parham relied on God to heal his injury and bring him back to full strength.

“There was nothing I could really do,” Parham said in the Cavalier Daily in 2003. “It was tough because I was really just waiting on God to do what he wanted to do.”

Once on the field, Parham was teamed with current Arizona Cardinals linebacker Darryl Blackstock and last year’s tackling leader Ahmad Brooks to form one of the best linebacking units in the country. With all the fanfare and hype surrounding Blackstock and Brooks, Parham flew off the radar, so to speak. With teams wanting to go opposite Brooks, Parham was able to showcase his own talents and abilities.

Now either way the defense goes, left or right, they will have one of the country’s most intimidating linebackers coming after them.

This season, Parham returns as the team’s second-leading tackler from the 2004 campaign. The duo of Parham and Brooks, pre-season

All-American at the inside linebacker positions should limit opponent’s running capabilities. Parham alone recorded 11 tackles for loss, including two sacks. However, for all the success that he has seen on the field, Parham explains that that is not all of who he is.

“Playing football is just a door [God] has opened for me to bring others into his kingdom that some might be saved. This [football] is just part of who I am, it isn’t the whole sum of who I am, it’s just a venue that God has opened for the time,” Parham explained. “God has definitely chosen and set me a part for his use and his glory. This is one place not many people can step into and let people know that Jesus is Lord, but I’m going to take the opportunity to let the world know about him.”

Throughout his career as a Cavalier, Parham has never shied away from expressing his thankfulness for God and the opportunities he has given him. Known throughout the ACC as a hard hitter, it is his humble and compassionate side that makes him the man that he is.

“I look around and see so many people out there struggling, so many people out there dying and not knowing that if they would call on the name of Jesus and walk with Him, that the Lord is able to pull you out of wherever you’re at and able to help you make it through whatever you are going through,” Parham explained with conviction.

His leadership on the team, although soft-spoken, is clearly heard. The “Hammer,” as Parham has been labeled for his incredible strength, believes that if he does his best then success will follow.

“I don’t try and live up to anyone else’s standard. I just go out there and play my best and pray and ask the Lord to grant me His success. Not too much more to it than that.”

Parham knows that his team does lack some of the experience that they had last year. However, he believes that the experienced guys along with the new guys’ talent will be enough.

“[In] certain areas, we’re less experienced, but we also have some guys who have been playing around here for a long time,” said Parham, who recorded 80 tackles last season. “All the new guys playing around us are talented guys and they’re learning the ropes. Honestly, we’re doing a great job together as a team. In terms of being a unit, I feel it’s the most tightly knit group we’ve had.”

In regards to the younger guys who will be seeing time at the linebacker positions, Parham believes all they are missing is the game experience.

“It’s been good thus far and they’re still learning, but I feel game experience is going to add that much more to them. Practice is good but it cannot simulate the game in its totality,” Parham said.

The younger guys will be in good hands, as they learn from one of the best linebacking tandems in the country.

When asked if he thought Brooks and himself made up the best duo in the country, Parham smiled as he spoke three words.

“Yeah, I do.”
 

Youth to prevail at corner
Hamilton may be most experienced at position
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 27, 2005

One of the hottest commodities in college football is a cover corner.

Few teams have one. Every team wants one. Those teams include Virginia.

For the past two decades, UVa has had only one true cover cornerback - Ronde Barber.

Without a cover corner, defenses are sometimes left using Cover Two, banjo coverage, zone blitz and other variations of the three.

In Cover Two, a cornerback plays close to the line of scrimmage and works backwards until a safety takes over in the deeper areas on the field. The banjo coverage scheme allows a corner and a safety to bracket a wideout - each defender is responsible for one side. When employing a zone blitz, a lineman or a linebacker drops back into short zone coverage, allowing a corner to play deeper.

Regardless of the formation, execution gets a lot easier with experience, speed and talent at cornerback.

Last season, Virginia had three different players start games at corner - Philip Brown, Tony Franklin and Marcus Hamilton - and all three received mixed reviews.

The Cavaliers finished 27th in the country in pass defense last year, allowing 194.8 yards per game, but they only made nine interceptions. Only 23 teams in the nation picked off fewer passes last year than Virginia did, and of those interceptions, the Cavaliers’ cornerbacks registered five (Hamilton had four, Franklin had one).

The position took a hit when Brown, who would have been a sophomore, was deemed academically ineligible for a season. Franklin, a team captain, has split time in training camp between corner and safety, and may start at the latter.

That could leave Hamilton as the lone corner with experience. The junior has played in 26 games, making nine starts.

If Franklin starts at safety, it would leave sophomore Chris Gorham, who played in four games last season, and true freshman Mike Brown as a candidate to start aside Hamilton.

Also in the mix is Chris Cook, another true freshman, who has split time at cornerback and safety in the preseason practice.

Hamilton said all three of the young players have made a positive impact.

“Gorham is really stepping up. We went out in the summertime and did some drills together and it is showing in his practices,” Hamilton said. “They all look good. They are all working hard and they have been competing. [Brown and Cook] look like they are going to be good and they have been working real hard. They have so much talent.”

Franklin agreed.

“The young guys have been amazing,” Franklin said. “Two freshmen that we have, Cook and Brown, they have been out there doing a real good job and Gorham, he has played like a starter this camp. We have a lot of depth back there in the secondary.”

Knowing that younger, inexperienced players could be lined up next to him at corner, Hamilton said he has tried to give them an idea of what to expect.

“I have to try to instill in them that bad things are going to happen. It happens at every position on the field,” Hamilton said. “Even though our position might get exploited a lot because we are the last line of defense, they still have to keep their heads up and stick together and they will be fine.”

Also, in an effort to jumpstart the cornerbacks and safeties, Virginia coach Al Groh reassigned his defensive coordinator, Al Golden, to coach the defensive backs, a post previously held by Bob Price. For the past three years, Golden coached the inside linebackers.

Golden’s arrival with the unit has been well received.

“Now with Coach Golden as the defensive backs coach, he gives us a lot more leeway and a lot more freedom to play our game, rather than just locking in and doing just one assignment,” Franklin said. “I like the way things are changing for this season.

“With us, [Coach Golden] is a real technical guy and he knows what he is talking about so I am happy to have him back there.”

 

UVa defense still striving for the top
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
August 27, 2005

Championship teams play championship-like defense and until Virginia reaches that level on the defensive side of the football, the Cavaliers are going to struggle to finish on top.

Each of the last four seasons, UVa’s defense has improved statistically under coordinator Al Golden. In fact, the Cavs jumped from No. 118 in total defense to 18th nationally last season.

The challenge heading into this season is to continue the process and finish in the nation’s top 10.

“We have improved statistically in the most important [defensive] areas,” coach Al Groh said. “The only area that counts for a great deal is points against [UVa finished 18th in the country in that category as well in 2004]. As long as you can do that, you’ve got a chance. You can go into games saying, ‘Hey, we don’t have to win this one 50-45.’”

Groh’s concerns

Groh admits he is concerned about the defensive line, which features two new starters, until it can prove itself. There are also a couple of new faces at outside linebacker.

But the chief worry for most every Wahoo fan is the secondary, which seems to have been a trouble spot for the last several seasons. Take just about each loss the Cavs have suffered, particularly in big games over the past couple of years and it’s easy to point toward a blown coverage or missed assignment by the secondary at critical times in those games.

After the Cavs had drawn to within a field goal of Miami last season in a potential upset that would have given UVa a share of the ACC title, Roscoe Parrish burned the secondary with a 25-yard scoring reception.

Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall lit up the Cavs for 200 yards and two TDs on a 16-for-22 passing performance in another game that Virginia desperately needed to win.

Fresno State? Wahoo fans don’t even want to go there when they reminisce about last season. Bulldogs quarterback Paul Pinegar, not exactly known for his passing skills, lit up the Wahoos for 235 yards and five TD passes.

Drastic changes

Virginia has taken serious measures in the offseason to try and offset the damage.

Golden, who coached inside linebackers in the past, has moved over to the secondary. The Cavs recruited some true defensive backs the past two years, including Nate Lyles, Jamaal Jackson, Lance Evans, Mike Brown and Chris Cook, to go along with returning starters Tony Franklin (a converted running back) and Marcus Hamilton, who has developed slower than expected.

Perhaps the situation would never have deteriorated to the point of last season had the Cavs not been plagued with unusual problems in the secondary. Virginia lost three solid players when safety Willie Davis suffered a career-ending injury in a violent collision in the fourth quarter of a loss at South Carolina two years ago. They also lost prospect Randy Jones, who

was injured in an automobile accident before he ever played a down. And, there was the Ahmad Bradshaw case last season, when the true freshman suffered from an altercation with local law authorities and was subsequently booted from the program.

Both Davis and Bradshaw, who now plays at Marshall, were potential NFL players.

While the pass defense made overall strides last season, finishing 27th in the country, it seemed like they were dead last when it came to Crunch Time and certainly weren’t the same unit in big games as they were against other teams.

Golden poured himself into the new assignment in the offseason and told this columnist how valuable time spent with two NFL coaches were to him in “how I wanted to approach things, how I wanted to drill and things I wanted to accentuate.”

He spent a lot of time with Eric Mangini, defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, and with Kevin Coyle of the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I met with a lot of coaches and some of them were very generous in the aid they gave me,” Golden said.

It appears that one of the things that Golden wants to accentuate is a more aggressive nature, particularly with his secondary where none of the safeties had an interception last season and did little toward forcing fumbles.

“What we’re looking for is an attitude and an appetite to score more on defense,” Groh said Friday. “There comes a point on an awful lot of plays, that in a split second, a pass rusher has a chance to get a sack or recognize the opportunity for a strip. Same thing on a pass, when a defender must decide whether to knock it down or try for an interception.”

Coaches have been trying to instill an opportunistic mindset in their defensive players all through training camp.

That’s the way Virginia’s greatest defenses played, when one of Golden’s mentors, Rick Lantz, was defensive coordinator on some of George Welsh’s best teams. Golden was graduate assistant during some of that time, from 1994-96, back when Anthony Poindexter was among the best free safeties fans had ever seen and when Ronde Barber was the last shutdown corner to wear the Orange and Blue.

That’s the way Golden wants his defenses to play - aggressive, physical, stingy defense.

It’s the only sure way to the top.

 

Experience lacking for Cavalier safeties
By Chris Kelly / Daily Progress correspondent
August 27, 2005

About this time last year, the secondary, especially at the safety position, was a point of concern for the Virginia football team. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, not much has changed in a year.

Only Jermaine Hardy had a large amount of experience going into the 2004 season, so the Cavaliers turned to Marquis Weeks to fill the other starting safety spot. Weeks converted to safety from running back after seeing a logjam at the position and taking a suggestion from coach Al Groh.

Along with two young cornerbacks, Marcus Hamilton and Tony Franklin, the secondary in 2004 gained momentum and experience throughout the season, but still appeared shaky at times.

Going into the 2005 campaign, Virginia has the exact opposite situation. Both Hamilton and Franklin are now the experienced veterans of the secondary, even though they’re only juniors, while the safety position will be filled by several young talents. Both Hardy and Weeks have exhausted their eligibility.

“Me and Tony do have the most experience in the secondary. We’ve been here for awhile, so whatever we can try to give to the younger guys is going to be beneficial to them,” Hamilton said. “They’re taking our advice, learning what we have to do, so it’s been good.”

The “young guys” Hamilton speaks of are sophomores Nate Lyles and Jamaal Jackson and juniors Lance Evans and Marshall Tucker.

Lyles and Evans appear to be in the lead for the two starting spots, though Franklin may move over instead. Both Lyles and Evans have seen time at safety, but have gotten most of their actual game experience on special teams.

Lyles, a star recruit from Chicago, was rated as high as the No. 11 cornerback prospect in the country by TheInsiders.com and the No. 25 safety prospect in the nation by Tom Lemming. The 6-foot, 195-pound safety finished 2004 with seven tackles.

For Lyles, this has been his first chance at working with the Virginia team in the offseason, which has given him a chance to prove himself on defense. He’s hoping 2005 is a breakout year.

“It’s been new. I haven’t been in the off-season program until just this year. It’s my first time,” Lyles said. “It’s been hard, but it’s been good. I feel like I’ve improved and that everybody’s improved.”

Evans, on the other hand, has an extra year of experience under his belt, which will definitely be an advantage for the 6-4, 198-pound defender from New Jersey. Evans finished 2004 with five tackles and also had his first career interception against Akron last season.

While Lyles and Evans may appear to be in the lead for the starting job, both Jackson and Tucker could see a decent amount of playing time at safety this season, and just like Lyles and Evans, both have experience on special teams.

Both Hamilton and Franklin understand the lack of experience at such a key position could be a problem, but know that they will have to step up and lead the way. Senior wide receiver Ottowa Anderson has been practicing against Lyles and Evans this summer, and as he sees it, the secondary will be better this year.

“Nate and T. Frank and Marcus have really been solid back there,” Anderson said. “They say the safeties are not experienced, but everybody has to start for the first time sometime. Everybody gets replaced.”

Lyles shares a similar sentiment.

“I think we’ve definitely come together, we’ve gotten a lot better, you’ll see a difference,” Lyles said. “You’ll see a difference.”
 

5th-year senior may start at center
Virginia coach Al Groh says Brian Barthelmes has the qualities needed to move from left guard.
Doug Doughty
The Roanoke Times

On a day when he tapped Christian Olsen as his No. 2 quarterback, Virginia head coach Al Groh had some more significant information to pass along.

Fifth-year senior Brian Barthelmes, who started all 12 games last year at left guard, could start at center in the Cavaliers' opener next Saturday against visiting Western Michigan.

Sophomore Ian-Yates Cunningham, who missed the 2004 season while recovering from disc surgery, was listed as the No. 1 center prior to preseason workouts but has been practicing at guard.

Cunningham started the final five games of the 2003 season at left guard.

"We're working Brian quite a bit at center right now and I'd say there's a good possibility he could open the season there," Groh said in a teleconference.

Groh had said earlier in camp that Barthelmes (6-foot-6, 288 pounds) is the most vocal of the Cavaliers' offensive linemen.

"A lot of the calls that control the blocking scheme are made by the center upon the assessment of the defense," Groh said. "So, he's got to know what he's looking for, be definitive in that assessment and confident to step up and make the call.

"Brian is all of those things."

Barthelmes' move has increased the likelihood that 6-7, 310-pound Brandon Albert, a true freshman, will receive early playing time at left guard. Another recruit, 6-6, 330-pound Eugene Monroe, is competing with sophomore Marshall Ausberry for playing time at right offensive guard.

Olsen, a junior, and sophomore Kevin McCabe were listed as co-No. 2 behind starting quarterback Marques Hagans prior to preseason drills, but McCabe had a slight edge, Groh conceded Friday.

McCabe also entered the 2004 season as Hagans' backup but lost that spot to Olsen, a transfer from Notre Dame who completed 10 of 12 passes in limited action last year.

When the ACC football coaches convened in July at The Homestead resort, Groh said he was more concerned with his No. 1 quarterback in 2006, when Hagans will have completed his eligibility. That, however, wasn't a factor in his decision.

"I haven't thought about it in that context," Groh said. "With the two freshman players [quarterbacks Vic Hall and Jameel Sewell], we'll have more entrants in the derby this time.

"Obviously, somebody will be ahead to start with, based on fall performance and so forth, but it probably will be an open horse race here in the spring."

 

Yankee recruits surface
Many N.J., N.Y. athletes looking at Tech, UVa
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

For a recruiting fanatic, it was like cashing a lottery ticket this week when preseason editions of SuperPrep magazine and the G&W Report arrived in the mail.

As a SuperPrep correspondent for the past 15 years, I generally have a good idea what the Virginia wrap-up is going to look like, but, as we’ve come to learn, Virginia and Virginia Tech recruiting is not limited to the Old Dominion.

None of the 11 in-state players named to SuperPrep’s preseason All-America team has made an oral commitment, although Tech and UVa each has a commitment from a player on SuperPrep’s 269-member preseason All-America team.

Virginia’s preseason SuperPrep All-American is Joe Torchia, a 6-foot-5, 230-pounder from Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, N.J., who was rated 15th among 17 tight ends on the list.

Headed to Tech is Mike Gee, a 6-2, 240-pounder from Morrow High School in Englewood, N.J., who was rated 22nd among 48 defensive lineman on SuperPrep’s preseason All-America team. It will be the third high school in three years for Gee, who played last year at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J.

Following are other items of interest in the preseason publications:

Drew Gloster, a 6-2, 217-pound wide receiver from Good Counsel High School and Germantown, Md., says that Virginia Tech is his leader. Gloster, who is expected to play tight end or H-back in college, received his All-America recognition as the No. 9 wideout in the country (unless otherwise noted, all of these rankings are from SuperPrep).

(Gloster also is rated No. 8 among 15 “skill athletes,” possibly in error because SuperPrep does not usually rate its All-Americans at more than one position.)

Virginia is not listed with Gloster but apparently would not be opposed to adding a second tight end. The Cavaliers are said to be in the top four (along with Miami, Penn State and Notre Dame) for 6-4, 225 preseason All-American Andrew Quarless from Uniondale, N.Y. Quarless is rated 10th among tight ends by SuperPrep.

SuperPrep’s top three wide receivers in the country are from Virginia – Percy Harvin from Virginia Beach Landstown, Chris Bell from Norfolk Granby and Vidal Hazelton from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham. Harvin and Hazelton are the wide receivers on G&W’s preseason All-America team.

Virginia is among the schools being considered by the nation’s No. 1 running back, 5-11, 205-pound LeSean McCoy from Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg. The Hokies are listed with the No. 1-rated fullback, Brandon Minor from Varina in Richmond, although my impression is that Minor wants to play tailback and is being recruited as a fullback.

Uncommitted preseason SuperPrep All-Americans said to be considering Tech and UVa are Chantilly Westfield running back Evan Royster, who indicates he is likely to leave the state; Virginia Beach Landstown wide receiver Damon McDaniel; Lebanon, Pa., offensive lineman Jared Odrick; Ocean City, N.J., offensive lineman Lou Eliades;

Clinton, Md., Gwynn Park defensive lineman Phillip Taylor; Carteret, N.J., defensive lineman Jason Adjepong; Ellicott City, Md., defensive lineman Aaron Maybin; Bishop McDevitt (see above) defensive lineman Jason Kates; Shelby, N.C., linebacker Brandon Spikes; Highland Springs linebacker Jarrell Miller; Mocksville, N.C., defensive back Raeshon McNeil and Richmond Huegenot “jumbo athlete” Dedrick Epps

Other preseason All-Americans with whom Tech is listed are undergraduate Fork Union wide receiver Brandon Caleb; Cincinnati Moeller offensive lineman Aaron Brown;

Oklahoma City Southeast defensive lineman Gerald McCoy; Wendell, N.C., East Wake defensive lineman Aleric Mullins; Chesapeake Oscar Smith defensive lineman Brian Whitmore; Stone Mountain, Ga., linebacker Marcus Ball;

Preseason All-Americans considering Virginia are Bell; Brooklyn Poly Prep offensive lineman Eric Olsen; Fort Campbell, Ky., defensive lineman Micah Johnson; Middle Village, N.Y., Christ the King defensive lineman Maurice Evans, and Woodbridge, N.J., jumbo athlete Shamar Graves.

Some of the prospects listed here as uncommitted may have announced decisions in August. Of the players listed as uncommitted by SuperPrep, 12 are listed with Tech and Virginia, six with Tech but not UVa and five with the Cavalies but not the Hokies.

Out-of-state players who have committed to Tech and where they are rated in their states: Gee, the No. 6 prospect in New Jersey.

Out-of-state players who have committed to UVa and where they are rated in their states: outside linebacker John Kevin Dolce, the No. 6 prospect in New York; quarterback O.C. Wardlow, the No. 10 prospect in North Carolina; Torchia, the No. 11 prospect in New Jersey; linebacker Mark Herzlich, the No. 15 prospect in Pennsylvania; running back Kordell Young, the No. 15 prospect in New Jersey; wide receiver Cedric Jeffries, the No. 18 prospect in New Jersey; Chris Dalton, the No. 23 prospect in North Carolina; outside linebacker George Johnson, the No. 26 prospect in New Jersey; and linebacker Almondo Sewell, the No. 28 prospect in New Jersey.

In-state prospects and where they are committed are No. 13, Richmond Deep Run defensive lineman Sean Gottschalk (Virginia); No. 17, Bedford Liberty defensive lineman Darryl Robertson (Virginia Tech); No. 19, Lovingston Nelson County offensive lineman B.J. Cabell (UVa); No. 20, Orange County defensive lineman Asa Champman (UVa); No. 23, Clifton Centreville offensive lineman Beau Warren (VT), and No. 27, Liberton Bealeton nose guard Aaron Hull (Temple).

 

Cavs' Lundy Ready to Return to Stage
Pearman's Work Left Him With Reduced Role in 2004
By Mark Schlabach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 27, 2005; Page E03

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Tailback Wali Lundy is one of only three University of Virginia players to run for 800 yards or more in three seasons. He has scored 41 touchdowns during his career, third-most among active college football players and ninth in ACC history. He scored nine times in the Cavaliers' first three games last season and was being mentioned as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate during his team's fast start.

So when Lundy was seemingly cast aside during the latter part of the 2004 season, when Alvin Pearman was getting the majority of carries and becoming one of the best running backs in the country, Cavaliers fans collectively asked, "Where's Wali?" With Pearman averaging 27 carries during Virginia's last five regular season games, Lundy was more difficult to find than the children's book character that wears black-rimmed glasses, a funny hat and red-and-white striped sweater.

Was Coach Al Groh upset with Lundy because he fumbled at critical times against Clemson and Virginia Tech? Was Lundy's pass blocking not up to snuff? Was he not taking care of business off the field? Groh insists he had no problems with Lundy last season and has gone out of his way to defend the player during the preseason this year.

"It's like, 'Hey, Wali Lundy is back,' " Groh said. "So everybody likes Wali Lundy. Wali Lundy never went anyplace. There was never any problem with Wali, other than some games he missed because of injury. We happened to have a guy who got very hot for us last year and did a real good job for us."

Pearman, who was picked in the fourth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars in April's NFL draft, averaged nearly 150 rushing yards during the Cavaliers' last five regular season games in 2004. In a 37-16 victory at Duke, Pearman ran 38 times for 223 yards, one yard shy of the school record set by John Papit against Washington & Lee in 1948. Pearman had 31 carries against Maryland, 21 against Miami and 28 against Virginia Tech.

Lundy, 5 feet 10 and 214 pounds, ran 10 times or fewer in games against Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. He gained only nine yards on four carries in a 24-10 loss to the Hokies, his lowest rushing total since the ninth game of his freshman season in 2002.

Groh said Lundy's lack of opportunity wasn't as much about what he wasn't doing as what Pearman was doing.

"If it was a basketball team and Wali was the starting four, and we told the other guy he was going to go in at the seven-minute mark and he suddenly hit four straight three-pointers and kept hitting them all year long, you'd have to be fairly foolish to say we're going to the way things were," Groh said. "That's the only situation that occurred there."

Lundy, who turns 22 next month, is used to overcoming obstacles. He grew up in a housing project in the outskirts of Philadelphia. His father, Brian Lundy, was in and out of jail and died of a stroke when Wali was 3. His mother, Joann Lundy, died of breast cancer three years later. After his mother died, Lundy's grandparents, Etta and Frank Davis, sold their retirement home in Florida and moved back to Philadelphia to raise their four grandsons, none of whom had even started high school yet.

"It was tough, but I was really young when it happened," Lundy said. "It's part of life. It's something that made me stronger and made me the person I am today."

Lundy's grandparents bought a house in nearby Burlington Township, N.J., which had safer streets and fewer temptations for their grandsons. They had three rules in their home: Their grandsons went to school, attended church every Sunday and played sports to keep them out of trouble. Lundy's oldest brother, Shaheed, graduated from Rutgers. His other brothers, Jamaal and Mikal, played college football and graduated from Connecticut and Towson, respectively.

Lundy, who nearly died of an intestinal disorder when he was in eighth grade, credits his grandmother, now 76, for raising him and his brothers the right way. His grandfather died of complications from heart surgery in 1989.
"She's a strong woman," Lundy said. "She made our family what it is. Without her, I don't know where we'd all be."

Lundy said he never moped or complained about his reduced playing time last season because his grandmother, whom he affectionately calls "Bis Mama," and his older brothers wouldn't have approved.

"I was playing well," Lundy said. "I wasn't going to be frustrated when we were winning games. It was a coach's decision, and Alvin was playing really well. That's how it was explained to me. I'm going to be the same person whether I'm in the game or not."

Groh said he never lost confidence in Lundy, despite two flagrant gaffes last season. Against Clemson on Oct. 7, the Cavaliers led 13-10 early in the third quarter and seemed to be driving for another touchdown. Lundy appeared to pick up a first down at the Tigers 6-yard line, but then he fumbled and Clemson recovered. Pearman took over on Virginia's next possession and Lundy never went back into the game as the Cavaliers won easily, 30-10.

Lundy's fumble against Virginia Tech in the regular season finale is still a play that haunts him and his coach. Late in the first quarter, after Pearman's 78-yard run, the Cavaliers seemed to be driving for the game's first score. Pearman was winded, so Lundy went into the game to relieve him. Lundy gained six yards on each of his first two carries to move inside the Hokies 10. But on first and goal, Lundy didn't take a handoff from quarterback Marques Hagans cleanly, and Hokies defensive tackle Jonathan Lewis recovered the fumble. Virginia Tech hammered the Cavaliers and won the ACC championship by beating Miami the following week.

"There were a lot of big games I fumbled in and people noticed, so I was considered a fumbler," Lundy said. "I'm not a fumbler."

Actually, Lundy has fumbled only three times in 598 carries during his three-year career. The last two fumbles just came at bad times.

"I want to clear up a couple of misconceptions about Wali -- one, that he has a fumbling problem and two, that he was in the doghouse, which we don't have," Groh said. "He lost two fumbles in three years, so he obviously doesn't have a fumbling problem."

With Pearman playing in the NFL, Lundy figures to get the majority of carries for the Cavaliers this season. He is close to earning his degree in sociology and recently received an academic scholarship from the Virginia Athletics Foundation.

"We've been very pleased with everything Wali Lundy has done since he's been here," Groh said. "He's a non-maintenance player. He's ready for class, he's ready for the weight room, he's ready for practice and he's ready for the games. He's very purposeful. He's a very versatile player. He's a reliable receiver. He's one of our most knowledgeable and effective backs in pass protection. Most guys who have been in as many games as Wali has are graduated now. He has a lot of experience."
 

Virginia's Barthelmes working his way to center
Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
August 27, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The traveling Brian Barthelmes offensive line show just might make its next stop at center.

Barthelmes, who has played both guard and tackle positions in his four years at UVa, has recently been working at center.

“I would say there is a pretty good possibility that he could open the season there,” Virginia head coach Al Groh said.

The 6-foot-6, 288-pound Barthelmes vaulted into the starting left guard position last year before the season opener against Temple when projected starter Ron Darden began having headaches and started all 12 games there. He played mostly left guard in 2003, spending minimal time at right guard and right tackle. In 2002, he was D’Brickashaw Ferguson’s backup at left tackle.

One of the more outlandish personalities on the team, Barthelmes’ vocal style would fit the position.

“Whatever his off-the-field style is, it’s definitely advantageous if your center is ready to be a take-charge guy on the field,” Groh said. “A lot of the calls that control the blocking schemes are made by the center based on an assessment of the defense. So he’s got to know what he’s looking for, be definitive in that assessment and then have the confidence to make the call, and Brian is all of those things.”

Ian-Yates Cunningham, the starting center on the pre-fall depth chart, has been working at both center and left guard during training camp.

Groh also said that freshmen Branden Albert and Eugene Monroe are still challenging for starting spots at left and right guard, respectively. Sophomore Marshal Ausberry started training camp as the No. 1 right guard.

Olsen named No. 2 QB

Just like last season, the battle to be Marques Hagans’ backup came down to the end of the camp. Unlike last season, Christian Olsen will be No. 2.

Olsen, a junior, beat out the sophomore Kevin McCabe, who, Groh conceded, entered training camp slightly ahead as the No. 2 quarterback. The two were listed as co-backups on the pre-fall depth chart.

McCabe was named Hagans’ backup prior to last year’s season opener against Temple and played in the fourth quarter.

Asked if the decision meant Olsen showed dramatic improvement during practice or that McCabe had fallen back, Groh said: “Probably a little bit of a combination of each.”

Groh also said the choice has little bearing on the competition for the starting job next year, when Olsen, McCabe and freshmen Jamaal Sewell and former Gretna standout Vic Hall will be in the mix.

“It’ll probably be an open horse race here in the spring,” Groh said.

 

Cavs' snap answer may be Barthelmes
Versatile lineman brings take-charge style to center role
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Aug 27, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE Brian Barthelmes' experience as an offensive lineman at the University of Virginia wouldn't be complete if he never played center, would it? Not to worry. That may well be where Barthelmes lines up this season.

Sophomores Ian-Yates Cunningham and Jordy Lipsey were the leading candidates to start at center when training camp opened Aug. 5. Neither, however, has won over a U.Va. coaching staff searching for Zac Yarbrough's successor. Yarbrough, a three-year starter at center, was second-team all-ACC as a senior in 2004.

Enter Barthelmes, who's started 27 games at left guard over the past three seasons while also working some at tackle.

The 6-6, 288-pound graduate student recently was moved to center, and "there's a good possibility that he could open the season there," Al Groh said yesterday.

Virginia's first game is next Saturday against Western Michigan at Scott Stadium.

As a true freshman in 2003, Cunningham started five games at left guard. He redshirted last season because of a back injury but saw some time at center during practice late in the year. That became his full-time position during spring drills, but he's now working at guard, too.

If Barthelmes stays at center, the starting guards will come from this group: Cunningham, sophomore Marshal Ausberry and mammoth true freshmen Eugene Monroe and Branden Albert. Monroe plays right guard, and Albert is on the left side. Each is about 6-6, 325.

"These are two very impressive players," Groh said.

The Cavaliers' coach is a big fan of No. 62, too. Asked about Barthelmes two weeks ago, Groh said, "He's very outgoing, he's very enthusiastic, he's a very bright kid. He really sizes things up well and gets the picture. He's one of those important kind of guys that you need on the team and, especially, on the offensive line. He's by far the most verbal of what's a pretty quiet group."

Barthelmes' personality should help him at center.

"Whatever his off-the-field style is, it's definitely advantageous if your center is ready to be take-charge guy on the field," Groh said. "A lot of the calls . . . that control the blocking schemes are made by the center upon assessment of the defense. So he's got to know what he's looking for, be definitive in that assessment and then be confident enough to step up and make the call, and Brian is all of those things."

Last summer, Barthelmes spent much of Virginia's training camp backing up Brad Butler at right tackle. About two weeks before the opener, however, the Parkman, Ohio, resident was moved back to left guard.

"If I can just learn center, I'll be good to go, I guess," Barthelmes said with a smile last August.

NOTE: Also yesterday, Groh said he's settled on junior Christian Olsen as the team's No. 2 quarterback, behind starter Marques Hagans. Olsen sat out the 2003 season after transferring from Notre Dame. In 2004, he appeared in five games, completing 10 of 12 passes for 88 yards. He wasn't intercepted.