Camp gets started in Hooville
Franklin back with Cavaliers on Day 1
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 5, 2006

Of the 105 players that reported to Virginia’s first football practice, few could match the emotions shared by Nate Lyles or Tony Franklin.
While separate issues had both safeties wondering if their collegiate careers were in jeopardy just months ago, both were back to their old tricks.
Franklin, who was dismissed from the squad prior to spring practice for violating team rules, admitted that the first practice with his teammates was indeed special.
“Personally, for me it is [special] after what I have been through,” said Franklin, who has started 28 games in his career. “I am just excited to be back out here with the guys.
“I love this university and I love this team. It was just something that was hard to walk away from.”
Lyles was just as excited. The junior had surgery in February following a freakish neck injury in a home game last year with Georgia Tech as he attempted to tackle running back P.J. Daniels.
Lyles admitted Friday after practice that he had no feeling from the neck down for about “two minutes” after Daniels’ knee hit Lyles in the chin.
Lyles even shared his first thoughts while he was sprawled out on the ground at a hushed Scott Stadium.
“Why can’t I feel my body?” Lyles asked.
After the injury, Lyles was held out for the final three games and all of spring practice.
It was only “two or three weeks ago,” in fact, that Lyles said he knew he was going to be able to play this season.
“I haven’t been out there since November so it is definitely a great feeling just to be out there and be on the field with the guys instead of watching from the sidelines,” Lyles said. “It was real familiar. It felt great.”
Lyles had another reason to be excited. He was one of 12 players to don an orange jersey, which symbolizes a starter on defense.
Twelve you ask? No, UVa is not playing by Canadian Football League rules, although assistant coach Bob Price spent part of his career chasing Grey Cups. The move was made to allow three safeties - Byron Glaspy, Jamaal Jackson and Lyles - to sport the attire.
Using the orange uniforms was not a well-thought out plan. Long before the team took the field for the session, Groh addressed members of the media in short press conference at the John Paul Jones Arena and said he had given little thought to the idea.
Groh had other things on his mind as the Cavaliers have just four weeks to prepare for their season opener at Pittsburgh.
“Like all teams at the start of training camp, there are answers to questions that we are pursuing,” Groh said. “That’s a pretty common thing with a football team. That happens with football teams on all levels. It is a very predictable thing with college football teams because the cycle of participation for college players is so short.”
Groh added that his coaching staff was in search of answers like how talented newcomers like running back Keith Payne would perform to how good a revamped kicking game can be.
“That’s part of what camp is for,” Groh said. “That’s what we are anxious to get started on. We look for the answers and hopefully the players provide them with our direction.”

SECOND CHANCE: Early in the press conference, Groh was asked about Franklin’s return to the program.
“As happens with lots of people - mature adults, young adults, adolescents, whatever - sometimes people get a little offtrack or a little bit out of whack,” Groh said. “Tony has had a very diligent and disciplined approach to making it very clear that the Tony that we know and respect and prize is the Tony that we have right now.”
While the players wanted Franklin back on the team, Groh said that did not play a part in his decision.
“That wouldn’t be fair to Tony. It was all about Tony. And Tony is the kind of person that kind of stood up and spoke for himself rather than having other people speaking for him,” Groh said. “And by speaking for himself, I mean speak for himself by his actions, which, as I say, he has been diligent and disciplined in doing that.”
Franklin could have a major impact, not only in the secondary, but also on special teams. The senior is currently penciled in on five special teams units, according to Groh.

IN THE TRENCHES: It looks like, at least at this point, that Virginia offensive line is set with Eugene Monroe, Branden Albert, Ian-Yates Cunningham, Marshall Ausberry and Eddie Pinigis (from left to right).
That group worked during most of the practice with first-string quarterback Christian Olsen.

UNDER CENTER: After a sluggish start, Olsen said the offense appeared to be clicking on all cylinders.
Of course in a practice that featured offense versus offense and defense versus defense, it was hard for the signal-caller to get a great idea.
“I thought it was a real good day considering we weren’t going against a real defense,” Olsen said of his first fall practice as the starter. “I thought our timing was on. I thought the receivers and running backs did well. It was a positive first day.”
Groh said that initially a rotation would be used to find the backup quarterback. Sophomore Scott Deke worked with the second team at the opening practice, only to be followed by junior Kevin McCabe and redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell.

EXTRA POINTS: Today’s practice is open to the public. The session starts at 5:15 p.m. and will be held at the team’s practice field next to the McCue Center … The squad will be practicing in helmets, but without pads per NCAA rules. The team can add shoulder pads for practices on Sunday and Monday, before going to full pads on Tuesday. …
D.J. Bell, who was out of school last year and working in Charlottesville, has rejoined the team and practiced with the offensive line. The senior will initially work at guard. … Groh said Ryan Best and Glaspy, both safeties, were awarded scholarships in the offseason. … Three players have transferred into the program and practiced under the lights Friday night. Junior tight end Arthur Singleton (Marist), defensive end Pete Bladel (Christopher Newport) and wideout Cary Koch (Tulane) will all sit out one year per NCAA transfer rules. Koch could be the biggest catch - the sophomore played in all 11 games as a true freshman and made 23 catches for 308 yards and two TDs.
… True freshmen Darnell Carter and John-Kevin Dolce will work at inside and outside linebacker, respectively, during training camp. Another player, John Bivens, will not. The rookie will start at safety, his position in high school.

 

Safety Franklin returns to Cavaliers' practice field
The former captain has been welcomed back to the UVa roster after being suspended prior to last year's bowl.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia opened preseason football practice Friday without any lingering questions.

That was a big change from 2005, when Ahmad Brooks' status was a topic of conversation until late September.

One of the first questions head coach Al Groh received Friday concerned safety Tony Franklin and, to some people's surprise, Groh was ready with an answer.

"Tony will be at practice today and fully participating," Groh said authoritatively.

Franklin, who in his fifth season, was suspended for one game in 2005 for an undisclosed violation of team rules and later was arrested Dec. 4 for misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Franklin did not play in the Music City Bowl and was dropped from the Cavaliers' roster prior to the start of spring practice.

Groh had hinted in earlier conversations that he might revisit Franklin's status at a later date.

"Tony, for three years, was one of our solid players," Groh said. "That's demonstrated by the fact that Tony was elected a co-captain after his third year, which is a pretty unusual thing on most teams. [He was] well-respected by teammates and coaches alike.

"Sometimes people get a little bit off track, a little out of whack. Tony's had a very diligent and disciplined approach, making it very clear that the Tony that we know and respect and pride is the Tony that we have right now."

There were no new casualties for a UVa program that lost eight of its 24 signees to academics. Groh also reported that Nate Lyles, who was lost for the season after suffering a head injury in the ninth game, will have no restrictions on his return.

Franklin and Lyles were the starting safeties for the first nine games.

Also returning is D.J. Bell, a fifth-year offensive lineman who missed the 2005 season while on academic probation.

Bell, who has never lettered, has been shuttled between offense and defense. But he adds a big body (6-3, 297) to a unit that lost three starters.

"The D.J. who's been through the offseason program and two or three sessions of summer school has been a different D.J.," Groh said.

In other personnel moves, Groh said that defensive backs Byron Glaspy and Ryan Best have been placed on scholarship. Glaspy, who walked onto UVa's team unannounced, started three games last year after Lyles was injured.

Best is a former starting goalie for the UVa soccer team and a winner of the ACC's Brian Piccolo Award after undergoing cancer treatments following the 2005 season.

A 96-player roster made available to the media at the ACC Football Kickoff swelled to 102 by Friday. Included in that group was Zach Mendez-Zfass, who caught 70 passes last year at The Collegiate School and was a first-team All-Richmond metro selection.

UVa also has three transfers, headed by Cary Koch, a 6-feet, 185-pound wide receiver who had 23 receptions last year at Tulane, where the availability of certain majors was curtailed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Koch was the offensive player of the year in Baton Rouge, La., as a senior in 2004 at The Dunham School, where he rushed for 1,922 yards and caught 49 passes.

Virginia also added to its 2007 recruiting class when it took a commitment from Anthony Mihota, a 6-5, 258-pound defensive lineman from Massaponax High School outside Fredericksburg. Mihota is rated the No. 21 prospect in Virginia by rivals.com.

UVa practices will be open to the public today at 5:15 p.m. and Sunday at 2:45 p.m. and then not again until Friday at 2:30 p.m.
 

Tech recruiting bonanza doesn't go unnoticed
Another hoops commitment for class of '08
Doug Doughty

Fork Union Military Academy coach John Shuman takes his football team to Virginia Tech each fall for a game with the Hokies’ junior varsity, at least partly for the exposure that causes many of his players to attend FUMA in the first place.

“I don’t know why we’re playing Virginia Tech’s JV [in 2006],” Shuman said earlier this week. “What have they got, 27 commitments now?”

Surely, Shuman looks forward to the opportunity to see his son, Ryan, scheduled to start at offensive line for Tech this year, but he wonders if the Hokies will have much reason to look at any of his players.

Tech already has received 23 oral commitments – two under the Division I-A limit for signees – after a July recruiting binge in which coach Frank Beamer and his staff took 21 commitments in less than a month’s time.

It’s easily the most commitments Tech has had at this point and Shuman doesn’t know what to think of it.

“If there was an early signing date and a kid locked himself in, I would be for it,” Shuman said. “With these kids now, they’ve got these camps, everybody gets stroked up and it’s like a feeding frenzy. Then, they commit.

“No one’s around. Then, they get the bee again. They get the itch to get back in the street again and get stroked. Then, it gets complicated. Then, the [colleges] go through what we go through, the kid’s been signed, he comes to school and he doesn’t play hard.

“These kids go through their season playing to protect themselves. That’s why, when people ask me who my favorites are, I say ‘[Darryl] Blackstock, Marques Hagans, Robert Armstrong.' They came and played. They had their stuff but they played hard.”

Another coach weighing in on the rush for early commitments was Highland Springs’ Scott Burton, whose top recruit, wide receiver Cris Hill, remains uncommitted. Hill recently took unofficial visits last week to Tech, Tennessee and West Virginia. He has been to Virginia unofficially and wants to go to Michigan and Ohio State on paid visits.

“I would anticipate a decision from him at the earliest at midseason and probably more likely in the postseason,” Burton said. “I know they’re [the Hokies] setting school records. They must be setting records, period.

“They’re awful early to have that many [commitments] but I know they feel good about the kids they have. I think a lot of kids have just realized the benefit of early commitments.

“Plus, obviously, many kids are riding the wave. They’ve seen where some good kids have committed and they’re jumping on board, too. I think it’s good publicity for Virginia Tech, so that obviously could not hurt them in the minds of our kids.

“Like we’ve said before, hopefully our kids have learned that everybody has their own timetable and their own priorities. You can’t let what people around the state are doing affect you. Their priorities and their futures and their needs don’t necessarily match up with yours.”

SHUMAN SAID HE is still working toward placing UVa signee Asa Chapman at Fork Union, but a recent visit from the NCAA has left Shuman a little slower to pull the trigger.

Chapman, a mammoth defensive lineman from neighboring Orange County, apparently has considerable ground to cover academically before he becomes an academic qualifier.

Shuman learned from Fork Union’s recent brush with the NCAA that nothing raises a red flag more quickly than a tremendous jump on the SAT.

REGARDING TECH and its commitments, the Hokies have heard from Sarasota, Fla., linebacker Hunter Ovens that he wants a couple of weeks to reconsider the commitment he made earlier this week. Ovens, a possible Major League Baseball draft pick, hopes to play football and baseball at Tech.

Ovens’ father, Butch, said on the occasion of his son’s commitment that Clemson already had said that it would continue to recruit him. A decommitment would reduce Tech’s numbers, as would the proposed January enrollment by such recruits as Tyrod Taylor and Brandon Barden. In that case, they could count toward Tech’s 2006 quota.

BASKETBALL COMMITMENTS aren’t any less newsworthy than the follow-up to a handful of football commitments, but I’m just now getting up to speed with Virginia Tech’s latest basketball recruit, 6-foot-5 J.T. Thompson from Charlotte, N.C.

Thompson, a junior last year at Forest Hills High School in Charlotte, N.C., has transferred to Hope Christian in King’s Mountain, N.C., where he will be reclassified and essentially repeat his junior year.

Thompson, described as a powerful small forward (or 3-man), is one of two Tech recruits for the entering class of 2008. The other, 6-3 guard Shamarr Bowden from Greensboro, N.C., will be repeating his junior year at the Miller School outside Charlottesville.

FEEDBACK CONTINUES to trickle in response to a July column on my trip to Richlands for the 9-10 boys’ Little League baseball tournament and my three-day stay at the Lebanon Super 8.

The subject line for one of the e-mails read, “ZZZZZZZZZZZ.”

“I’m reading this week’s edition of Notebook Plus,” Lee Wrenn wrote. “Maybe for future article like that one you can offer a free cup of Starbucks (it might help a person stay awake).”

Another e-mail came from Tazewell attorney Thomas Walk in reference to my side trip to the Russell County hamlets of Cleveland and Carbo and the suggestion that Carbo had been named for a Boston Red Sox World Series hero (Bernie Carbo).

“Why no reference to Reggie Cleveland?” Walk asked.

In the same column, I had suggested that people would have been more impressed if I’d said I’d gone to Lebanon and Cleveland without mentioning they were in Virginia.

“You probably blinked and missed it,” Walk wrote, “but in traveling between Lebanon and Richlands on Rt. 19, you went through Belfast as well.”

 

Virginia lands 12th early commitment for 2007
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
August 5, 2006

When Anthony Mihota received a text message from lead recruiter Steve Bernstein on Thursday, the Massaponax lineman had his fingers crossed that a scholarship offer from his favorite school, Virginia, might be forthcoming.

Once Mihota returned the call to Bernstein, the UVa secondary coach handed the phone over to Cavaliers’ head coach Al Groh. Mihota’s wish was about to come true.

“Coach Groh asked me just how excited I would be if Virginia offered me a scholarship,” said Mihota. “When I told him that it would make my day, that’s when he made the official offer.”

It didn’t take the 6-foot-5, 260-pound, two-way lineman long to give Groh an answer. After talking it over with family, Mihota called Groh back on Thursday night and accepted the offer.

He became UVa’s 12th early commitment for the 2007 recruiting class, and while the Cavaliers are expecting him to become an offensive line prospect, they haven’t ruled out the defensive end position.

Groh typically signs players within a certain body frame and then allows Mother Nature to run its course. Some players fill out and are best physically suited for various positions.

Mihota, who is a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, is ranked the No. 21 preseason player in the state of Virginia by that recruiting service. He chose Virginia over Northwestern, Duke and Marshall, after receiving offers from all four schools.

After eight UVa signees from the 2006 class failed to gain admission because of academic deficiencies, there is no risk with Mihota, who scored more than 1,400 on his SAT and a 3.3 GPA.

 

Wallace preparing for big jump
Athletic Hargrave swingman improving his game for Virginia, beyond
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
August 5, 2006

Spectacular. Extraterrestrial. Off the charts.

These are the words that college basketball recruiting gurus have used to describe Eric Wallace’s athletic ability. Most agree that Wallace - if he develops his entire game - has the innate skills to someday play in the NBA.

“He runs and jumps like a fifth-year NBA pro,” said Five Star Camp founder Howard Garfinkel recently.

Wallace, part of Virginia’s 2007 recruiting class, admits the NBA has more than crossed his mind.

“I think about it every day,” said Wallace, during a telephone interview on Friday.

It’s kind of hard not to.

The 6-foot-7 swingman, who will be attending Hargrave Military Academy for his senior year, is currently in Miami working out with his cousin, Stromile Swift, a power forward for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Wallace called Swift an inspiration.

“You see the stuff that you want, and you’re close to somebody who has it,” Wallace said. “It creates a hunger in you that’s undeniable.”

What’s undeniable is Wallace’s freakish athleticism. Playing at the Virginia Elite Camp in June, the Kernersville, N.C., native put on a show - but it wasn’t just his repertoire of dunks that impressed onlookers.

“He’s certainly athletic,” said Hargrave coach Kevin Keatts, “but he has a lot of areas in his game that people don’t recognize. People don’t give him enough credit for the way he’s able to shoot the ball, and he also has the ability to put the ball on the deck.

“I’ll tell you the one thing he does that kind of gets lost in today’s game - when he takes a jump shot, he actually gets off the floor. A lot of times, today’s kids shoot more of a set shot. This kid really elevates.”

Swift, who is Wallace’s second cousin, was recently traded back to Memphis from Houston (along with the draft rights to Rudy Gay) in a deal for Shane Battier. The former LSU star was originally drafted with the second overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft by the then-Vancouver Grizzlies.

Although they play different positions, Wallace said Swift has been giving him invaluable advice.

“He said you have to develop a killer mentality,” Wallace said. “You could be the nicest guy off the court, but on the court is a whole different ballgame. You have to have that hunger inside of you that nobody can stop. He’s trying to help me develop that so that I can get to the ultimate level.”

In addition to having Swift in his ear, Wallace also has cousins Vernel Singleton and Sean Gibson as sounding boards. The former LSU players, who played professionally overseas, have been monitoring Wallace’s career from its outset. They’ve also been working out with him in Miami.

While Wallace, like most young players, has his NBA dreams, he seems just as excited about being a part of the up-and-coming Virginia program. He said he is looking forward to teaming with fellow recruit Sam Zeglinski, whom he played on the same team with at Elite Camp.

Wallace is hopeful that Virginia can land another high-caliber recruit with its remaining scholarship. He mentioned the much-sought-after Patrick Patterson, a 6-foot-8 post player from West Virginia, as a possibility. Patterson played on Wallace and Zeglinski’s team at Elite Camp.

“He’d be a very good candidate,” Wallace said. “He’s an Amare Stoudemire look-a-like. I enjoy watching him play.”

Wallace was recruited by a bevy of big-time programs, including several in the ACC, before he committed to Virginia. Watching what UVa coach Dave Leitao was able to do last year with a pretty bare cupboard impressed Wallace.

“They only had eight scholarship players and they were better than Wake Forest, my hometown team,” Wallace said. “I love the way they use their guards and wings. Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds are the core of that team, and [the coaching staff] does a good job of allowing them to be themselves and also play under their system.”

One of the most impressive things about Wallace is his performance in the classroom where he has a 4.0 GPA. One of the reasons Wallace chose Virginia was because of its strong architecture department.

As part of a class he took last year at Glenn High, Wallace designed his future dream home. “I like to create things,” he said. “That’s fun to me.”

With a future NBA paycheck, things could get really fun. Wallace, who is currently staying in Swift’s house, laughed when asked if the MTV show “Cribs” had been by to film an episode.

“I’m seeing the good life that he’s living and how much fun he’s having,” Wallace said. “It’s definitely something you would want to do.”

Wallace believes his decision to attend Hargrave is a sign of how committed he is to his basketball dreams.

“I could be at [Glenn High] or somewhere else having a year off,” Wallace said, “but I decided to go to a highly known, prestigious place where I could develop parts of my game that I’m lacking in, so that I could go into college as the best player instead of just a good player.”

DUNKS: Sources have told The Daily Progress that Jeff Jones, a rising high school senior from the Philadelphia area, could be on the verge of giving his verbal commitment to Virginia. Jones, a 6-4, 185-pound shooting guard in the mold of J.R. Reynolds, is rated as the No. 34 prospect in the country and a 4-out-of-5 star prospect by Rivals.com. He would be the highest-rated recruit Leitao has landed in his brief tenure. If Jones commits, Virginia - with Wallace and Zeglinski already in the fold - will have used all of its scholarships for the 2007 class.

 

Franklin reinstated to U.Va. team
Safety was dismissed before spring practice; return greeted by fans
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Aug 5, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- One of the youngest defenses in Division I-A football has received a much-needed shot of experience. University of Virginia coach Al Groh confirmed yesterday that he's reinstated safety Tony Franklin, who was dismissed from the team before the start of spring practice.

Franklin, who's also played cornerback, is the Cavaliers' most experienced defender, with 28 career starts. He'll compete as a graduate student this season, as will cornerback Marcus Hamilton. No one else on the Virginia defense is in his final season of eligibility.

The Cavaliers last night opened training camp -- their sixth under Groh -- and the sight of Franklin back on the field delighted fans in attendance.

"Tony, for three years, was one of our really solid players," Groh said, "as demonstrated by the fact that Tony was elected co-captain after his third year, which is a pretty unusual thing on most teams."

The 2005-06 school year is one Franklin doesn't want to repeat. He began his junior season as a starter and a co-captain, but in November he was one of four U.Va. players suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules. As punishment, Franklin missed one game.

He played in Virginia's final two regular-season games. In early December, however, Franklin was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and Groh didn't let him play in the Music City Bowl later that month. In February, Franklin received pre-conviction probation in Albemarle County General District and was put in a drug-treatment course.

His troubles didn't end there. After another undisclosed violation of team rules, Groh dismissed Franklin from the team. But Franklin, who's also been a special-teams standout, convinced Virginia's coaches that he deserved another chance and then met the conditions set for him.

Franklin, who's from Cleveland, received a bachelor's in sociology in May.

"As happens with lots of people -- mature adults, young adults, adolescents, whatever -- sometimes people get a little bit off-track or a little bit out of whack," Groh said. "Tony's had a very diligent and disciplined approach to making it very clear that the Tony that we know and respect and prize is the Tony that we have right now."

Like Franklin's coaches, his teammates hold him in high regard, Groh said.

"For the players," Groh said, "it was apparent shortly after he began to participate in the summer offseason program that he was there with the same work ethic, with the same energy, kind of with the same humility, and the players began in a short period of time to respond to him in the same fashion as they have in the past."

Also back on the team is D.J. Bell, who missed the 2005-06 school year after U.Va. placed him on academic suspension. The 6-3, 297-pound Bell, who has never lettered at Virginia, will provide depth at offensive guard. He has one season of eligibility left.

"D.J. has done a real good job," Groh said. "In fact, the D.J. that's been through the offseason program and through sessions 2 and 3 in summer school has been a different D.J."

Bell is a "year away from graduating," Groh said, "and came in and expressed that he got a sense of how important that was, and we wanted to try to accommodate that. And if it helps us in games, great, but if we can help somebody, who seems to be wanting to be a success story, get his degree, then we'd like to do that also."

NOTES: Linebacker Jon Copper, fullback Josh Zidenberg and safeties Ryan Best and Byron Glaspy, all of whom came to U.Va. as walk-ons, have been placed on scholarship since the end of last season. . . . Virginia's 16 scholarship freshmen include two former Central Region stars: John Bivens (Prince George High) and Sean Gottschalk (Mills Godwin High). In February, Groh said Bivens would probably play linebacker at Virginia. Yesterday, however, Groh said Bivens will line up initially at safety, though he could grow out of the position.