Redshirts motivated to contribute
Emergence of new players on defensive line could be key to Cavs' success
By Drew Hansen / Daily Progress staff writer
August 24, 2006

The redshirt freshmen on Virginia’s defensive line don’t need Tony Robbins. No one needs to tell them what they’re capable of. No one needs to motivate them. They just know they need to perform.

On a line short on experience, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Jason Fuller and Kevin Crawford understand that their progress will be a big key to Virginia’s defense in 2006. With the departures of defensive end Brennan Schmidt and nose tackles Kwakou Robinson and Ron Darden, starting spots were up for grabs entering the offseason and, for the most part, the trio got to work.

“Those young guys are coming along,” defensive coordinator Mike London said of the trio. “All those guys have improved and they’re going to make us better up front and they’re going to allow us to do other things. I’m pleased with their progress and they’ve really bought into what we’re trying to get done.”

No one bought into the system more than Fitzgerald, who won the Rock Weir Award along with sophomore linebacker Jon Copper for being the Cavs’ most improved defensive players during spring practice. A two-way standout at Richmond’s Hermitage High School, Fitzgerald has great speed for his 6-foot-3, 281-pound frame and was awarded the starting spot on the left side of the line entering training camp.

“I really just tried to show my ability, learn from the coaches and really just show what they’ve [taught] me,” Fitzgerald said of offseason practices. “I guess they saw that I was learning, and they rewarded me with the starting job right now.”

Fitzgerald will have big shoes to fill, replacing Schmidt, who started more games than any player in school history. But Fitzgerald added more than 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason to get ready for a full-time spot in the trenches. He also keeps impressing his coaches on a near-daily basis.

“Jeffrey continues to get better, continues to show things that make him special,” London said. “I think his best football is way, way ahead of him. I’m looking for great things from him.”

Also vying for time at defensive end is Fuller, a 6-5, 247-pound native of Virginia Beach. Currently sitting behind junior Chris Long on the depth chart on the right side, Fuller has impressed London with his energy and should see some spot duty on the line.

Long has been something of a tutor for Fuller and is quick to lend advice and give examples.

“There have been numerous occasions where there are little things that I’m doing wrong or something I could do better or a different move I could do,” Fuller said. “[Long] will pull me aside and show me what to do. He really helps you a lot as far as learning the sport and how to get better.”

Long’s teachings have not been exclusive to Fuller as he has taken a leadership role on the line that has influenced everyone.

Crawford, a 6-3, 278-pound nose tackle, missed most of spring practice with a shoulder injury and entered training camp out of shape. Crawford had to bunk with Long for a short period of time at the beginning of camp, and, just by adapting to the team captain’s lifestyle, the redshirt got himself together.

“I got in shape really quick just because of the way he does things,” Crawford said. “He’s a really hard worker and he sets a good example.”

Crawford hasn’t been able to impress coaches as much as he would like and is currently sitting behind Allen Billyk and Keenan Carter on the depth chart.

But Crawford believes there’s still time for him to make an impact. He just has to keep working.

“There’s a lot of focus on who’s going to play, and basically everybody has to do their assignments,” Crawford said. “My biggest problem was doing assignments and [learning proper] technique. So I’ve been trying to really work on my technique and basically get stronger and everything.”

That hard-work mentality and focus on improvement has been infectious on the line. The redshirts know there’s pressure. They know there’s a need for them to play beyond their years. And they’re motivated to do just that.

“I worked hard last year, but it just wasn’t my time,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m just ready to go out there, show my ability and show what I can do … It’s definitely my time.”

 

Chris Long's effort never in doubt
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
August 24, 2006

Rewind to December’s Music City Bowl, where Chris Long wrecked Minnesota’s offensive game plan with his relentless pursuit of the Gophers’ backfield.

It didn’t matter that Minnesota chose to run away from Long. He chased them down from behind. He pressured the quarterback, he had one sack and made nine tackles.

“Hopefully that was a sign of things to come,” said Virginia’s assistant defensive line coach Levern Belin. “It’s amazing what a year can do for you, and Chris was 100 percent better at the end of the season than at the beginning.”

Perpetual growth

Last season was a breakout campaign for Long, who had played some the year before as a true freshman but was waiting to blossom. He stepped into the starting role at defensive end and improved week by week in his sophomore season, setting himself up for what could be a memorable junior year starting Sept. 2 when the Cavaliers open up at Pittsburgh.

Each season he has grown physically and mentally. Last year he was up 10 to 15 pounds at 265. Now, the 6-foot-4 end, who grew up in the shadows of the University, weighs in at 284. But he will be the first to point out that most of his growth last season was mental.

“Understanding the game and understanding the big picture and how you fit into your specific role in the defense was the big thing for me last year,” said Long, who attributed much of that progress to veteran players who helped him along the way.

Brick exercises

Certainly lining up every day in practice against

All-American and first-round draft choice D’Brickashaw Ferguson only accelerated Long’s development. Battling someone of the Brick’s stature on a daily basis does one of two things: it makes you better or it makes you quit.

There’s no quit in Chris Long.

“Chris possesses an attitude that being second is just not good enough,” said Belin. “He never wants to finish second. Everything he does for us in the weight room, the classroom, sprints, whatever, he wants to be the No. 1 guy. He won’t settle for anything less.”

It is that drive, that work ethic that caught the eye of UVa coach Al Groh and his staff a few years ago when they watched the St. Anne’s-Belfield product dominate as a high school player for coach John Blake. The fact that Chris is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long only enhanced the kid’s recruitment.

No matter his last name, it was Chris who had to do the work, put in the blood, sweat and tears to make his dream come true. Howie couldn’t do that for him. If Chris didn’t want it, it wouldn’t happen.

All that work has paid dividends annually and has put No. 91 at the threshold of greatness. He had an amazing 26 quarterback pressures last season, a third of the entire defense’s total. Ten of those came against Georgia Tech when Long harassed Reggie Ball all day long.

“I wouldn’t put any limitations on what Chris is capable of accomplishing,” Groh said on Wednesday. “He has ambition and work habits. He has a clear picture of what he wants to be and will do whatever he needs to do to get there.”

Should the coaches turn him loose this season, a lot of those pressures will turn into sacks, which could also turn into turnovers and, thusly, into Wahoo points.

“Chris can make a huge difference as a pass rusher,” said Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London, who also coaches the line. “What you’ve got to do is try to create some matchups and situations that he can take advantage of because he has the skills, he’s fast enough, he’s slippery, but he’s strong enough to still play the point of contact.”

This observer believes that London, fresh into Charlottesville from the NFL’s Houston Texans, is going to bring a new aggresiveness to Virginia’s defense, one that will take advantage of Long’s and outside linebacker Clint Sintim’s pass rushing abilities.

Because the Cavs have an experienced secondary that can play more man-to-man defense and hold pass coverage longer, London can sic his pass rushers on opposing quarterbacks.

London, who was UVa’s defensive line coach before moving on to the NFL, has been impressed with what he has seen from Long in training camp.

“It was a joy to coach him when I was here before and it was great when I recruited him,” said London, who has been a solid recruiter for Virginia. “And now I have the chance to be here again and watch the leaps and bounds Chris has made in his play. I’m excited about this year for him and for our defense.”

Long, sporting a new-look shaggy hairstyle at last week’s Meet the Team Day, is the modest type. He would much rather pass credit to teammates or coaches for his success.

He also puts the team first. Talk about how he dominated the Gophers in the bowl game, about how he was practically unblockable and how he had Minnesota linemen talking to each other in frustration and all Long will talk about is how the game was a blur and that his best memory was standing with his teammates, holding the trophy.

It was former teammate Brennan Schmidt, who started more games at defensive end than anyone in Wahoo history, who made this prediction last year: that before Chris Long leaves Charlottesville, he will be an All-American.

Long has already made one football publication’s preseason All-America squad and he’s just entering his junior year.

With Chris Long it’s a matter of him becoming just as great as he wants to be.
 

Virginia's defensive line
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 24, 2006

Defensive ends

Chris Long

Junior l 6-foot-4 l 284 pounds

Ivy

The Numbers: Only two players were on the field defensively for more plays than Long. The

St. Anne’s-Belfield product played 752 plays and amassed 46 tackles. … Long finished with 10 tackles for a loss and made at least four tackles in six games. … Long had a career-best nine tackles in the Music City Bowl victory over Minnesota.

The Skinny: There is a great deal of hype attached to Long. Street & Smith’s named Long a first-team All-American and he was placed on the Hendrick Award watch list which is given to the nation’s top defensive end. … Long, who is a field leader and team co-captain, should expect his share of double teams, but he has said he is eager to turn quarterback pressures into quarterback sacks. “I feel the same pressure as I do every year,” Long told reporters. “You want to perform to 100 percent of your ability, and you want to help coach-up the young guys and help them get better.”

The Factoid: Long played basketball at STAB and actually won a YMCA Slam Dunk contest.

Jeffrey Fitzgerald

Redshirt freshman l 6-3 l 279

Richmond

The Numbers: Fitzgerald made the travel squad late in the year and dressed out for eight games but did not play.

The Skinny: Teammates have raved about Fitzgerald’s worth ethic and his improvement in understanding the defense. … Fitzgerald has not played in a game since his junior year of high school due to a knee injury suffered during his senior season at Hermitage High School.

The Factoid: Fitzgerald was a high school teammate of quarterback Jameel Sewell at Hermitage, a school that also produced wideout Fontel Mines.

Nose Tackle

Allen Billyk

Junior l 6-4 l 288

New Castle, Penn.

The Numbers: After missing the first two games last year, Billyk played in the final 10 games. … Billyk, who also played six games as a redshirt freshman in ’04, made eight tackles last year, including five in the Music City Bowl.

The Skinny: Billyk, who was moved to nose tackle in the spring, has not been pushed in training camp for his orange jersey, an honor that is given to a starter on defense. … Billyk has the versatility to play defensive end if injuries warrant a move or if Keenan Carter or Nate Collins emerges as a starter.

The Factoid: When Billyk starts against Pittsburgh next week it will be more than just his first start. It will be a homecoming of sorts. The 21-year-old grew up less than an hour from Pittsburgh.

The Best of the Rest

Keenan Carter

Junior l 6-2 l 308

Dumfries

The Skinny: Injuries slowed Carter last season, but after dropping almost 30 pounds the lineman hopes to show vast improvement. ... Carter made 25 tackles last year while playing in 10 games - he missed the games against Virginia Tech and Miami. … Coach Al Groh said Carter has shown progress in training camp. “So far it has been mostly ups,” Groh said.

Alex Field

Sophomore l 6-7 l 288

Ashburn

The Skinny: Field worked his way into the playing rotation late last season and should provide depth for Virginia at defensive end. … Field was listed as the pre-fall starter at defensive end but has been passed by Jeffrey Fitzgerald in training camp.

Jason Fuller

Redshirt freshman l 6-5 l 258

Virginia Beach

The Skinny: Fuller dressed for eight games last year but did not play. Fuller entered training camp behind Chris Long on the depth chart, and, thanks to some added work in the weight room, the Virginia Beach native is expected to provide valuable depth.

Nate Collins

Freshman l 6-2 l 281

Port Chester, N.Y.

The Skinny: Collins might be the first true freshman to appear in a game for the Cavaliers. Coach Al Groh raved about Collins’ athletic ability earlier this week. “[Collins] just finds a way to get off blocks and get to the ball,” Groh said. … Collins might see playing time at defensive end or nose tackle.

Kevin Crawford

Redshirt freshman l 6-3 l 284

Woodbridge

The Skinny: Crawford did not play in a game last year and missed most of the contact drills during the spring practice period. Crawford, who had shoulder surgery, has struggled in training camp but has the frame to play nose tackle in a 3-4 defense.

Sean Gottschalk

Freshman l 6-4 l 262

Richmond

The Skinny: The four-star recruit could turn out to the gem of the 2006 recruiting class, but coach Al Groh is not rushing the project. “It would appear, at the present moment, that there’s not an immediate need to rush him forward,” Groh said hinting at a redshirt season for Gottschalk.

John Roberts

Sophomore l 6-4 l 263

Richmond

The Skinny: Roberts played in one game last year as a redshirt freshman. The former high school wrestler did not make a tackle against Temple.

Pete Bladel

Junior l 6-4 l 232

Ashburn

The Skinny: Bladel, a transfer from Christopher Newport, must sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules. … He is listed as a defensive end.

Arthur Singleton

Junior l 6-3 l 250

Bronx, N.Y.

The Skinny: Singleton, a transfer, played tight end at Marist but has been listed as a defensive end. The native New Yorker must sit out this season.

 

Lipsey likely to start at center
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

With just over a week remaining until Virginia's season-opening football game, head coach Al Groh said he could not think of a starting job that hasn't been decided.

Based on his comments earlier in the week, that must mean that fourth-year junior Jordy Lipsey will start at center.

Lipsey hasn't played enough in his first three seasons to earn a letter, although he did start games last season at Maryland and Boston College.

Lipsey has been competing with classmate Ian-Yates Cunningham, who is listed as the No. 1 center in UVa's media guide.

"One of the real bright pieces of news out of training camp has been that probably nobody on the team has had a better training camp than Jordy Lipsey has," Groh said earlier this week.

"He has really hit his stride as far as getting his game together and looking like a college center."

Lipsey was rated the No. 1 center prospect in the country when he came out of Lake Brantley (Fla.) High School in 2003 but he has had trouble keeping his weight up and also had some snapping issues, Groh conceded earlier this month.

Lipsey was measured at 6 feet 3 and 280 pounds at the start of preseason workouts -- up nearly 20 pounds in two years.

If Lipsey gets the nod at center, that would free Cunningham (6-3, 290) to move to guard, where he started five games as a freshman in 2003. Cunningham could supplant Marshal Ausberry at right guard or serve as a floating offensive line sub in the mold of 2005 senior Brian Barthelmes.

Pinigis fallout

Groh indicated that Eddie Pinigis may have been the Cavaliers' fourth tackle by the time he quit the team Saturday and transferred to Division I-AA Liberty, where he will have instant eligibility.

That may not have been a subtle dig at Pinigis as much of an endorsement of 6-6, 298-pound sophomore Zak Stair, whose penchant for penalties had prompted Groh to commission a new uniform with the numeral "1," as in "1-a-day,"

Earlier this week, Stair was on the verge of having his old No. 76 restored.

"Although he says he kind of likes the No. 1, he'd just like to shed the 'a-day' part of it," Groh said. "We told him, 'That's kind of a product name. One goes with the other.'

"Outside of that, that [penalty] situation really has resolved itself, at least during the short term. He'd been doing a good job with that. In that circumstance we had with Eddie Pinigis, Zak had actually moved into that third spot. As his career has evolved, things have started to click and he's grown into a mature, different guy."

Before he started wearing jersey No. 1, Stair was best-known for having missed Virginia's flight home after the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl.

"I don't think anybody else aspires to wearing that jersey," Groh said, "but we might keep it in Zak's locker as a reminder."

3-4 guy

Spectators at Virginia's open practices this preseason may have noted that Groh frequently was positioned behind the defense and frequently interacted with the linebackers, similar to last December, when he served as defensive coordinator and coached linebackers when four assistants took other jobs before the Music City Bowl.

Newcomer Bobby Diaco nominally is responsible for the inside and outside linebackers, but Diaco "has far-ranging special-teams duties and a great passion for that," Groh said. "We do not want to put any limitation on his time or his efforts in that respect.

"We had to give him a back-up [and] 3-4 linebacker play is different than in other systems and I'm the one here who has the most experience in it. Rather than trying to give a lesson every day, I thought it would be easier to do it directly and have Bobby pick it up as we go along.

"Plus, I'm responding a little bit to the feedback of some of the players who said, 'Hey, keep on doing this.'"
 

A kink in the rebuilding plans?
Joey Mancini, Cavalier Daily Columnist

Note: Even though Jameel Sewell is currently injured after mauling his foot in the first-ever documented stationary bicycle accident, I still think this is a discussion we should be having. I wanted to make sure I said that, to cover myself from being perceived as an idiot because Sewell currently has 20 stitches in his foot and I think he should be the starting quarterback. Thanks for your attention.

"To rebuild, or not rebuild, that is the question."

During his pre-spring press conference, Virginia football coach Al Groh stated three times that 2006 will be a rebuilding year.

"We have a significant rebuilding year in front of us," Groh said early in his comments.

But are the Cavaliers really committed to rebuilding?

In college football, a "rebuilding year" means that a team expects to lose a few more games than the fans are used to, will focus on the development of younger players and will judge success by progress instead of victories.

So why is Christian Olsen, a fifth-year senior, slated to be Virginia's starting quarterback this fall?

Currently, Olsen will be, according to Groh, the "first guy to go into the huddle," followed by redshirt junior Kevin McCabe or redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell and then Scott Deke (pronounced Day-key). The Cavaliers are, therefore, aligned roughly from oldest to youngest on the quarterback depth chart.

McCabe, formerly a highly-touted four-star quarterback, is entering his fourth year in the program and is rumored to have made little progress since he signed his commitment letter. A royal bust? Not yet, but maybe.

Sewell, on the other hand, was red-shirted last season as a freshman, and reminds many observers of a left-handed Aaron Brooks -- active in the pocket and mobile outside of it, with an extremely live arm.

With all the facts on the table, riddle me this: In a rebuilding year focused on development, why is a 23-year old graduate student months away from leaving the University set to start at quarterback?

By naming Christian Olsen as the starting quarterback for 2006, the Virginia coaching staff is exhibiting to anyone who follows the program that they are not committed to rebuilding. Olsen is the safe candidate -- he'll win a few more games than a more inexperienced player and keep the fans off of you on the Sabre message boards Monday morning.

If the goal of the coaching staff is rebuilding, Jameel Sewell should be under-center twice as often as any other quarterback on the roster. Sewell's upside is tremendous. Even if he costs you a few wins this season, Sewell must command the ship in a rebuilding season -- if he is in fact the quarterback-of-the-future. Let him get to know the system, even if he implodes and throws a few interceptions against Pittsburgh. Let him work through the kinks of a down year together with his young teammates.

Furthermore, it isn't even as if Olsen is a tenured signal-caller -- he has never started a game at Virginia. There are questions about his arm strength. He has thrown exactly 23 more in-game passes than Jameel Sewell during his time here. In fact, Olsen has been in the program just one more year than Sewell, having transferred from Notre Dame two seasons ago.

This fall will mark the sixth year of the Al Groh-era in Charlottesville. There have been ups, and there have been downs. Until last year, the program appeared to be on its way toward contending for an ACC championship.

Now, days from the season's kickoff, Virginia is faced with a quarterback situation that it should have expected. Just like Matt Schaub wasn't here forever, neither was Marques Hagans.

If, in two years, Virginia wants to be back on track for an ACC title, then Jameel Sewell must be the first-string quarterback now.

But what about top quarterback recruit Peter Lalich, you ask, who committed to be a Cavalier this year as part of the class of 2007?

Sewell and Lalich are just far enough apart that Sewell could start for three years, lining up Lalich to be a starter as a red-shirt junior. We finally might have a little bit of a Florida State-type line-up at quarterback in Charlottesville. Then, Virginia would be utilizing the talent they have on the roster by maximizing development time.

If Al Groh does not give Sewell the job, you will be reading the exact same article next spring, this time with Kevin McCabe as the "experienced" senior, Sewell as the younger talent and Lalich as the next Sewell. And maybe even the next spring as well. And if Christian Olsen starts this year, then you could expect that none of those quarterbacks had thrown more than a handful of passes as a Cavalier.

Naming Sewell as quarterback, and committing to his development, exhibits that the Virginia coaching staff is fully committed to rebuilding.

Sticking with Christian Olsen shows that the staff is afraid of what will happen if they truly rebuild. It means that they are afraid that the fans will not put up with a program that loses, even if those losses could mean big wins later, as the future is given the opportunity to grow.

For Virginia, this could be the decision of a coach's career. And it must be made very, very carefully, with an eye on the future, not on a collective frown from the boosters.

 

With several new parts, offense looks to roll early
Virginia hopes fresh faces on offense will mesh early against Pittsburgh
Barney Breen-Portnoy, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

With a new coordinator and at least six new starters, one might expect that it will take a few games before Virginia's offense fully clicks. Senior quarterback Christian Olsen, however, is confident that it will not take that long.

"People are probably expecting it to take a lot more time than it has," Olsen said. "We had 15 good practices in the spring, all summer working together and now 25 practices before we go in and play Pittsburgh. I don't really think that we're going to need two or three games to get rolling."

Olsen has a tough act to follow under center. With star signal-callers like Matt Schaub and Marques Hagans running the show the past several years, Virginia's offense has come to rely upon quarterback-driven play. Last season, Hagans accounted for 2,802 of Virginia's 4,395 yards gained on offense, 63.8 percent. Olsen lacks Hagans's ability to make plays with his feet and will thrive more by staying within the system rather than by improvisation.

The quarterback position is only one of many on the offensive side of the ball to see change during the off-season.

To help fill the void left by Wali Lundy's departure, senior Jason Snelling has been shifted from fullback to tailback. Snelling rushed for 325 yards and two touchdowns as a fullback last season.

Also receiving a significant number of touches in the backfield should be senior Michael Johnson and sophomore Cedric Peerman, who combined for 504 yards and five TDs last year. Freshman Mikell Simpson will also see some time in the backfield rotation.

Juniors Josh Zidenberg and Kevin Bradley will split time at the fullback position.

A key to the success of Virginia's running game will be the speed at which the offensive line gels. The Cavaliers lost three starters to graduation -- center Brian Barthelmes, right tackle Brad Butler and left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. This talented trio combined for 124 career starts at Virginia.

Replacing Barthelemes at center will be either junior Ian-Yates Cunningham or junior Jordy Lipsey. Cunningham came into training camp the favorite for the starting position, but Lipsey's stellar play has made it a competition. If Lipsey becomes the starting center, Cunningham will likely compete for time at either of the guard spots. At right tackle, freshman Will Barker will likely start, especially after junior Eddie Pinigis decided to quit the team over the weekend due to concerns about playing time. Sophomore Eugene Monroe looks to be ensconced at left tackle, with sophomore Zak Stair backing up both tackle positions.

Virginia's two returning starters on the offensive line are sophomore left guard Branden Albert and junior right guard Marshal Ausberry. Senior Gordie Sammis will back up Albert while freshman Patrick Slebonick will back up Ausberry. Ausberry's hold on the starting job could be in jeopardy if Cunningham is moved to guard.

"The toughest part about the transition from last year is everybody understanding what their role is," Cunningham said.

Virginia's corps of wide receivers took a major hit earlier this month when senior Deyon Williams went down with a stress fracture in his right foot. While much of the pressure to step up will fall on the shoulders of senior Fontel Mines, Virginia also has a stable of younger receivers who will need to rise to the occasion if the Cavaliers hope to match or improve upon their 223.7 receiving yards per game in 2005, fifth in the ACC. This younger set of receivers includes junior Emmanuel Byers and sophomores Maurice Covington, Kevin Olgetree and Andrew Pearman.

At tight end, Virginia has experienced minimal turnover and has extensive depth. Virginia has led the ACC in offensive output from the tight end spot since coach Al Groh arrived in 2001. Last year, juniors Jonathan Stupar and Tom Santi, along with sophomore John Phillips, maintained the standard of excellence set by former Virginia tight end Heath Miller, who posted some of the best offensive numbers nationally for a tight end between 2002 and 2004.

"I think we all have a great, healthy competition with each other," Santi said of his fellow tight ends. "We watch each other on film and try to learn from everybody's good points and everybody's mistakes."

 

Johnson's last season at U.Va. in doubt
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
August 24, 2006

This is tailback Michael Johnson's final year at Virginia, and he wants to carry the ball often. "Something might happen if I don't," he said. "I will be ticked."

Virginia coach Al Groh has said he likely will use multiple tailbacks this season. But unless the Cavaliers equally split playing time between three players, Johnson appears to be out of the mix.

Groh said Wednesday that senior Jason Snelling and sophomore Cedric Peerman are still first and second on the depth chart - which were their positions heading into preseason practices. Their status probably won't change.

Johnson, a senior from Heritage High, surely figured he'd see more action in his fifth year at Virginia. A former Parade All-American, Johnson rushed for 4,394 yards and 99 touchdowns in three prep seasons.

Snelling also arrived at Virginia in 2002 as a tailback. Then he switched to fullback. Near the end of last season, Virginia coaches moved him back to tailback. The 5-foot-11 Snelling - who had 325 rushing yards and 140 receiving yards last season - lost 15 pounds in the offseason to prepare for the new role and now weighs 232 pounds.

"Dropping 15 pounds, especially when you're out there playing football, it's a big difference," he said. "I definitely feel lighter."

Another advantage for Snelling: He proved he can catch passes, which is important because first-year starting quarterback Christian Olsen is more a passer than Marques Hagans was. Snelling has 55 catches in his career for 493 yards and four touchdowns.

He appears to be free of the undisclosed medical condition that had long limited his playing time. Johnson, also consistently plagued by injuries, said he's 100 percent healthy. He had arthroscopic surgery after spring practices to remove bone spurs from his right ankle.

"I could get out and run a 100-meter dash if I needed to right now," he said. "I promise you: Nobody on this team and nobody probably in the ACC would beat me."

One running back who has raised eyebrows during preseason practices is true freshman Keith Payne. He rushed for 250 yards and scored four touchdowns in last year's Group AAA Division 6 state championship game, helping Oakton derail the Landstown dynasty.

Though he probably will redshirt, Payne checked in this preseason at 6-feet-3 and 243 pounds. "I'm sure he's gonna grow into being more of a big man," Groh said. "We're not gonna try to turn him into a small back.

STARTING JOBS

Groh has determined most of his starters, but a few jobs remain up for grabs - including the placekicker battle between Chris Gould and Noah Greenbaum and the punter competition between Gould and Ryan Weigand. Olsen's backup also is undetermined.

Groh expects to rotate four safeties - Tony Franklin, Nate Lyles, Byron Glaspy and Ryan Best - but he hasn't decided the starters. Groh hoped to finalize most positions after a Wednesday night scrimmage.

Junior cornerback Chris Gorham will start opposite senior Marcus Hamilton. Gorham lost his job last season to true freshman Chris Cook but regained it after Cook broke his right leg.

Juniors Josh Zidenberg, a Poquoson High graduate, and Kevin Bradley will split time at fullback.

Redshirt freshman junior Jeffrey Fitzgerald will start opposite junior Chris Long. Fitzgerald (6-feet-3, 279 pounds) added about 35 pounds since last season and was voted the most improved defensive player after the spring. Sophomore Alex Field also will play at Fitzgerald's spot.

Sophomore inside linebacker Jon Copper, a former recruited walk-on, is at Ahmad Brooks' old position. Sophomore Antonio Appleby started in Brooks' spot for last season's final two games. But Appleby has moved to the other inside linebacker position, vacated when Kai Parham left a year early for the NFL. The differences in the positions are minimal, Groh said.

ROAD TO RECOVERY

Groh said sophomore left tackle Eugene Monroe's health has improved since earlier this month. Monroe dislocated his left knee and had surgery during the spring.

"I think I'm pretty close to getting where I was," Monroe said. "It sucks to have to go through, but you just keep working through it."

As the protector of Olsen's blind side, Monroe will play an important role on a line whose starters include two juniors, two sophomores and a redshirt freshman.

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Aug 24, 2006

JOINT EFFORT: With Mike Groh and John Garrett sharing the duties of offensive coordinator, Virginia piled up 468 yards and scored 34 points in its Dec. 30 victory over Minnesota in the Music City Bowl.

Groh still is coaching quarterbacks and Garrett receivers, but each has a new title this season. Groh is offensive coordinator, and Garrett is assistant head coach for the offense. Some things, however, haven't changed at U.Va.

"It's Al Groh's offense," said Mike Groh, the older of the head coach's two sons. "It's his organization, and just because I have a title under my name I didn't have last year doesn't mean the offense isn't going to change. There may be a wrinkle or two that we didn't have last year, but they're not all my ideas, either. They're coming from some of the new members on the staff and suggestions by old members.

"That's my job: to listen to everybody, take their suggestions, figure out how it fits into what we want to do, and go from there. I try to really listen to what everybody has to say. I try to get 'em talking and ask a lot of questions to find out what they have on their minds and really use that."

STILL STANDING: Chris Gorham began training camp as a starter at cornerback, along with senior Marcus Hamilton, an all-ACC candidate, and the 6-0, 193-pound junior appears likely to end it that way. Gorham, who started eight games in 2005, had successfully fought off the challenges of sophomores Chris Cook and Mike Brown and redshirt freshman Vic Hall heading into the Cavaliers' final scrimmage last night.

"But the other three players there have made notable improvement, as they should," Al Groh said yesterday.

Groh said he's not likely to rotate five cornerbacks in the team's base defense, but additional playing time for the reserves could come when Virginia uses five or six defensive backs.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO: Sophomore Scott Deke is lagging behind redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell (Hermitage High) and junior Kevin McCabe, Al Groh said, in the competition to determine the Cavaliers' No. 2 quarterback in the Sept. 2 opener at Pittsburgh.

Groh said yesterday that he wasn't ready to choose between Sewell and McCabe, but he expected to be closer to a decision after last night's scrimmage.

Christian Olsen, a graduate student, will start at quarterback against Pitt.

DELAYED: With classes under way at U.Va., basketball player Laurynas Mikalauskas is back home in his native Lithuania, where a family member is ill. The U.Va. coaching staff has cleared Mikalauskas' absence with university officials, and the 6-8, 250-pound sophomore is scheduled to return to school early next week. Classes began yesterday at Virginia.

As a freshman last season, Mikalauskas started 12 games and averaged 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds.

IN THE CREASE: Matt Ward, who capped a brilliant college career by leading U.Va. to the NCAA men's lacrosse title in May, didn't cool off this summer. Ward, an attackman with the Baltimore Bayhawks, last week was named Major League Lacrosse's rookie of the year.

Ward, the most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament, also received the 2006 Tewaaraton Award as the nation's finest college player. His classmates at U.Va. included defenseman Michael Culver, who now plays for the Chicago Machine and last week was honored as the MLL's sportsman of the year.

After Chicago lost to the Los Angeles Riptide in a game that Culver had "guaranteed" the Machine would win, as promised he donated about $3,600 - half of his season's paycheck - to the Children's Heart Foundation. The Riptide matched his donation, and others contributed to the foundation, too.

The MLL's most improved player for 2006 is another former U.Va. star: John Christmas, a second-year attackman for the Boston Cannons. He is the team's second-leading scorer, behind yet another former Cavalier: attackman Conor Gill. - Jeff White
 

Groh acting as backup coach for linebackers
Richmond Times-Dispatch Aug 24, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- At the University of Virginia, Bob Diaco has two titles: linebackers coach and special-teams coordinator. When Diaco turns his focus to special teams, he turns the Cavaliers' linebackers over to a man well-qualified for the job.

Head coach Al Groh.

Diaco, who's in his first year at U.Va., needed a backup, Groh noted, and "I'm the one with the most experience" with linebackers in the 3-4 defense.

"So I thought rather than trying to be giving a lesson [to another coach] every day, it'd be easier to do it directly."

Before returning to his alma mater after the 2000 season, Groh spent more than a decade on NFL coaching staffs. He earned a Super Bowl ring as the New York Giants' linebackers coach in 1990 and later held that position with the Cleveland Browns (1992) and the New York Jets (1997-99).

Groh never has coached from a tower during practice, and he's known as a hands-on leader. Still, this is the most he has worked with one position during his tenure at U.Va.

His new routine dates to December, when several of his assistants accepted positions at other schools. Groh took over as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach as U.Va. began preparations for the Music City Bowl. Virginia rallied to beat Minnesota in that game, and Groh clearly enjoyed the time spent as a position coach. The Cavaliers' defenders said they benefited from the experience, too.

"I'm responding a little bit to the feedback of the players from December, when a number of them said, 'Hey, keep on doing this,'" Groh said yesterday. -- Jeff White
 

Peerman continues to impress
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
August 23, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Alvin Pearman emerged as the No. 1 tailback two years ago. Once Wali Lundy got past some nagging injuries, he was the No. 1 back last year.

Who is it this year? That’s a good question.

Senior fullback-turned-tailback Jason Snelling entered pre-fall practice at the top of the depth chart, but expect sophomore Cedric Peerman to get his fair share of carries.

“I’m sure that there’s not going to be a solitary ballcarrier for this team,” Virginia head coach Al Groh said.

Peerman, a William Campbell graduate, rose to the occasion when Lundy was hurt last year in the opener against Western Michigan, rushing for 69 yards on 16 carries and scoring a touchdown.

His carries dwindled as the season went on and UVa’s backs got healthy, however. He finished with 256 rushing yards and three touchdowns but made a big impact returning kicks,

“I knew my situation,” said Peerman, whose 25.8-yard kick return average was second in the ACC. “I knew I had to step in for the team at the time. And I knew when Wali came back that he was going to be the go-to man, because he’s been there for four years. I knew my place.”

After two years in the program, Groh had a good idea of what he’ll get from Peerman.

“He is a very dependable person in everything,” Groh said. “Cedric has got Cedric’s business taken care of as thoroughly and proficiently as you can imagine. He’s got it all taken care of by himself, whether it’s class registration, the offseason program, knowing who to block. He manages his business extremely well and as a result he gets the maximum production from what he’s putting in.

“It shows in his grades, it shows in the weight room and it’s certainly showing at the tailback position.”

Triple threat

Last spring, after Connor Hughes and Kurt Smith went to the NFL and punter Chris Gould switched to kicking off the ground, UVa faced the prospect of having to replace its top place-kicker, punter and kickoff specialist.

Gould might fill all three roles this year.

A junior who has been the Cavaliers’ punter for the last 15 games, Gould already knows he will do kickoffs. The other two races are too close to call right now.

Gould and senior Noah Greenbaum are battling for the place-kicking job. Gould and junior transfer Ryan Weigand are competing for the punting job.

“He seems to be no ill-effects from it,” Groh said of Gould. “Our only concern would be over the course of four months if all of these kicks would just add up to too much work.”

Middle man

Antonio Appleby has started all of two games. That’s enough to make the sophomore the most tenured middle linebacker on the roster.

Appleby will start alongside sophomore Jon Copper in the middle, with redshirt freshmen Rashawn Jackson looking to get in on the rotation. Most of Copper’s playing time has been on kickoff coverage.

While the 6-foot-4, 248-pound Appleby was able to allow Kai Parham to make most of the defensive calls in the games he played near the end of last season, he’ll have to take charge of the defense this year.

“When I first got here, it was extremely hard,” said Appleby, who made 27 tackles last season, 16 of which came in his starts at Miami and in the bowl game against Minnesota. “I wasn’t ready to go out there and make the calls or know the reads or anything.

‘I’m at the point now where I am ready to make all the calls and reads properly.”

UVa’s entire linebacking corps is young. On the outside, Clint Sintim is a sophomore and Jermaine Dias is a junior, meaning this group could be together for a few years.

“Just knowing that I have guys around me who are only sophomore and juniors, just knowing that we have so much further to go and grow,” Appleby said, “it really makes you get excited for the future.”

Extra points

Groh said of the true freshmen on the roster, the most likely to play this year is 6-foot-2, 281-pound nose tackle/defensive end Nate Collins of Port Chester, N.Y. “He’s got real good athletic ability and he just finds a way to get off blocks and get to the ball,” Groh said. … Competition has brought out the best of a lot of players this summer, especially junior Jordy Lipsey, who is battling Ian-Yates Cunningham for the starting center job. “Probably nobody on the team has had a better training camp than Jordy Lipsey has,” Groh said. “He’s really hit his stride and is starting to look like a real good college center.”

 

Assistants find home at Virginia
London, Mike Groh bring experience
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
August 23, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - When Virginia lost both of its coordinators in a matter of days last December, Al Groh began the search for their replacements with a very specific set of criteria.

“These coordinator positions … are at least as much about leadership as they are about X’s and O’s,” he said.

What Mike London and Mike Groh may lack in the latter, they more than make up for in the former.

Neither has been a coordinator before. London, who rejoined the Cavaliers’ staff after a year coaching the defensive line with the NFL’s Houston Texans, has 17 years of coaching experience, all as a defensive line or linebackers coach. Mike Groh’s six years of experience have all been under his dad coaching the wide receivers or quarterbacks.

But so far they have the players’ confidence. Sometimes that is more important.

“If the players believe in what you’re doing and the standards that you have,” Al Groh said, “then what you have is going to be executed to a higher degree.”

For London, coming back to Charlottesville seemed like a natural choice. He was a member of Al Groh’s original staff at UVa in 2001, coaching the defensive line and did that for four years before the Texans and Dom Capers came calling last year.

London took his experience in the 3-4 scheme to the NFL before Al Golden left to coach Temple last December. London could have stayed with the Texans with new coach Gary Kubiak, but the possibility of being a coordinator for a team with which he was already familiar was too enticing to pass up.

“He wouldn’t have wanted to come back here if there wasn’t a pretty good compatibility of thought,” Al Groh said, “and certainly we wouldn’t have prized him as much as we do if there hadn’t been such.”

The root of London’s passion and energy doesn’t come from any football field, though. It comes from his 10-year-old daughter, Ticynn. Five years ago, she was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder that required a bone-marrow transfer. Her father obliged.

It saved her life and changed his.

“You realize that life is short and you live it with energy and passion, because you never know when you’re not going to be here,” London said. “If there’s anything I bring to this group here, it’s that passion and energy.”

Sometimes he gets more excited on the sidelines than the players. He’ll hoot and holler after an impressive tackle, jump on an occasional pile and throw in a head butt every now and then.

“Whatever it takes,” London said. “As long as they see that you have their best interest at heart and you’re invested in them, then the return that you get from those guys is that they will try to knock a wall down for you.”

For Mike Groh, coaching seemed like the only logical choice. After his playing career fizzled out, he spent 2½ years as a stock broker in Richmond. Sitting in front of a computer looking at numbers on a screen wasn’t his kind of job.

“I can remember when he called me up,” Al Groh said, “and said, ‘Dad, everything I’ve been able to accomplish has been because of competition and leadership. I need to get back to where I’m using those things more often.’”

Mike needed something to fuel his competitive side. When he was Virginia’s quarterback in the early ’90s, Al remembers the coaches at UVa telling him that his son performed better in games than practice.

The competitive world of coaching was a good fit. Mike joined Al as an offensive assistant and quality control coach for the New York Jets in 2000. He followed him to UVa in 2001 and slowly moved up the coaching ranks.

When Ron Prince left for Kansas State last December, Mike, then the quarterbacks coach, helped call plays for the Cavaliers when they racked up 468 yards and 34 points in a win against Minnesota in the Music City Bowl. He got the coordinator job that spring.

Don’t think Al or Mike haven’t thought of the repercussions of such a promotion. Fans are quick to blame nepotism for their team’s offensive struggles. Take a trip to Tallahassee sometime and see how Jeff Bowden’s play-calling is received.

Neither seems to care.

“It’s a lightning rod position in any program,” Al said. “That’s the nature of it.”

Said Mike: “From Day 1, I’ve tried to approach this as he’s the boss, which is exactly what he is. He’s the head coach. I’m just like everybody else in that hallway. It’s equal opportunity ass-chewing. Trust me. I get mine as much as anybody else.”

 

CATCHING UP WITH . . . Louis Collins
Richmond Times-Dispatch Aug 24, 2006

Born: Louis Allen Collins III, on Sept. 7, 1958, in Richmond

Resides: Dinwiddie County

Family: Collins and his wife, Tammie, have a 5-year-old son, Caleb and are expecting another child in March. Collins has two daughters - Kristian, 15, and Joi, 12 - from a previous marriage, and they "worship with me on Sundays," he said. "We're very much together." Collins, who lost his brother, Malcolm, to leukemia in September 1999, has several siblings in the Richmond area. His parents, Louis Jr. and Delores, still live in Central Gardens in Henrico County.

Now: Collins is in his seventh year as pastor of Garden of Gethsemane Ministries, which meets at George Wythe High in South Richmond. He owns Collins Delivery Service. He also teaches in a parish-nurse ministry and works with the Kairos prison ministry at the Greensville Correctional Center. "We minister to inmates and try to make them see they still matter," Collins said, "and help them so that when they come out, they don't want to go back in." He previously served as pastor at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Richmond and Pleasant Plain Baptist Church in Southampton County, and he's a former girls basketball coach at Varina High.

Then: Collins starred in football, basketball and track at Highland Springs High School, from which he graduated in 1976. His football coach was the legendary Al Rinaldi. Collins played defensive end, tight end and wideout for the Springers. In his three seasons on the varsity, Highland Springs won two Central Region titles and lost only four games. "I was never fast, but I was quick from side to side," said Collins, who stands 6-5. He was inducted into the school's "Wall of Fame" in 1999.

College days: Collins said he had scores of scholarship offers in football. He chose to play for Dick Bestwick, the new coach at the University of Virginia, which had had one winning football season in the previous 20 years. Collins said he picked U.Va. for two main reasons: its proximity to his family in the Richmond area and because he wanted to help turn around a losing program. After going 2-9 in '76, 1-9-1 in '77 and 2-9 in '78, the Wahoos broke through in Collins' senior season, finishing 6-5. Their victories that season included a 31-0 rout of Georgia - in Athens, no less -and a 20-18 squeaker over Virginia Tech. "That was the joy of my college career: to watch a program develop and to say I was part of it," said Collins, who weighed as much as 230 pounds at U.Va. A fan favorite, Collins was a four-year letterman at Virginia, where Bestwick used him at several positions, including wideout, nose guard and linebacker. In 1979, Collins caught 10 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown.

Impeccable timing: After graduating from U.Va. in 1980, Collins returned home, where he got a phone call one day from Terry Holland. Collins, a good friend of Ralph Sampson, had played JV basketball for two years at Virginia and worked with the varsity as a practice player. Collins had a season of varsity eligiblity left, and Holland, Virginia's basketball coach, invited him to join the team. So Collins returned to Charlottesville, enrolled in graduate school at U.Va. and became a reserve on perhaps the greatest team in school history. The Cavaliers finished 29-4 after beating LSU in the third-place game at the Final Four. "It was a great experience," Collins said of the 1980-81 season. Collins, who played in 18 games and averaged 1.7 points, described himself as the Wahoos' "spiritual leader." Holland recalled: "Louis was a very good basketball player, just a little off-size, so it was difficult to find playing time for him in games at the ACC level. But he was always a contributor due to his enthusiasm and love of the game." Collins was among the former U.Va. players who attended the final men's basketball game at University Hall in March.

Fondest memory: From his days as a U.Va. football player, Collins remembers the 10-yard TD catch he had against Navy on Oct. 20, 1979, and the "fact that The Times-Dispatch put it on the front page of the sports section" the next day.

Career path: After leaving U.Va. in 1981, Collins, who tried out for the New Orleans Saints, worked in New York City before returning to Richmond, where he took a job with BlueCross BlueShield. From 1985-88, Collins said, he worked for Capital Lincoln Mercury in Richmond, first in sales and then as a finance and insurance manager. He'd always been religious, Collins said, but one day in 1988 he "had an epiphany of sorts. I saw I had to do more to help people find a better way to live. It was just a spiritual awakening." He became the youth minister at Pleasant Plain Baptist Church. Collins' father later followed him into the ministry.

Spreading the word: "I try to gear everything I do in some form or fashion toward my ministry," Collins said. "It all fits together for me. I'm happy with what's happened in my life, and my objective is to pass it on." - Jeff White