A Quarterback in Waiting No More, Schaub Gets His Chance
By JUDY BATTISTA

HOUSTON, Aug. 8 — The legend of Matt Schaub may have had its genesis one Saturday in late summer in Charlottesville, Va., with an embarrassing benching in a college season opener. N.F.L. reputations are usually built from something more auspicious than a junior quarterback briefly losing his job to a freshman, but in Schaub’s case, Virginia Coach Al Groh’s quick hook in 2002 paved the way for a season that put Schaub on the N.F.L. radar screen.

Schaub has remained there, existing a little below the public’s consciousness, a starter-in-waiting as the mythology about him grew among football insiders. Until now. Schaub will start for the Houston Texans this season, the first time he has been anything more than a talked-about fill-in since college.

Schaub won back the Cavaliers’ starting job not long after the benching and finished the season with a completion percentage of nearly 70 percent, shockingly high even in the high-percentage West Coast offense that Virginia and many N.F.L. teams use.

There are few secrets in football scouting and almost none when the subject is a quarterback. So when a 6-foot-5 quarterback, playing for a former N.F.L. head coach in a popular offensive system, sparkles the way Schaub did that season, the luster does not wear off for a while, even after an injury-related dip in his senior season.

Schaub became a third-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in 2004 and since then has been the latest manifestation of an old football mantra: The most popular guy on the team is the backup quarterback.

“It’s similar to Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler,” New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said, referring to the Giants’ quarterback situation in the 1990s. “Sometimes you just have another quarterback who is a good quarterback, but for whatever reason he hasn’t had the opportunity.”

Gil Brandt, the former Dallas Cowboys personnel chief who analyzes the draft for nfl.com, had Schaub rated with the top group of quarterbacks in the 2004 draft — Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning. But when Atlanta grabbed him to be Michael Vick’s backup — and the object of Falcons fans’ ardor whenever Vick looked uneven — Schaub slipped in seamlessly to Atlanta’s West Coast style, which used almost the same playbook and language as Virginia. That gave Schaub a quick start and allowed him to play well in preseason games, which serve as public auditions for backups.

But during a game in his second season, when Vick was hurt, Schaub served notice to general managers that he might have been ready for more. It was only his second professional start (his first was a miserable performance in a loss to the New Orlean Saints in his rookie season). The opponent: the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots.

New England blitzed Schaub often, and Schaub threw deep. Schaub rallied the Falcons from a 14-point deficit in the first half and a 15-point deficit late in the second half before Tom Brady led the winning drive for the Patriots. Schaub finished with 298 yards passing, 3 touchdown passes and no turnovers in a 31-28 loss. “Those might have been the moments when people took notice and I made a name for myself,” Schaub said after a recent practice.

After that, when an N.F.L. team needed a quarterback, Schaub was at the top of the list. Chad Pennington got hurt, and the Jets wanted Schaub, who was strikingly like Pennington — without great arm strength, but with intelligence to make up for it. The Oakland Raiders were interested, too. In Denver, the offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak and the personnel chief Rick Smith were paying attention. Even other N.F.L. players, like Houston receiver Andre Johnson, heard about him.

Kubiak said, “If you step up on Sunday and you do it, nobody in this league forgets it.”

Schaub waited, hearing his name and then hearing nothing.

“When those times arose, I forced myself to not think about that,” Schaub said. “I just had to keep telling myself I’ll get an opportunity.”

Groh fielded calls from his friends in the league seeking information, and he told them all the same thing.

“He’s a terrific team guy at a position that on the N.F.L. level, with all the attention, can become very individualized,” Groh said. “He knows what he’s looking at, he’s smart, he’s well prepared, he recognizes it quickly, he’s fast to react to it. Good accuracy.”

The Falcons, also smitten with Schaub, clung to the security blanket he provided in the uneven Vick era — all based on that stellar college season, a few snippets of preseason film and the one inspiring start against New England, even though Schaub was 0-2 in his N.F.L. starts. It was an encouraging résumé with a gaping hole: experience.

The Falcons, faced with losing Schaub to free agency next year, finally traded him in March to the Texans, where Kubiak is the coach and Smith is the general manager. The trade came weeks before the Falcons and the rest of the N.F.L. learned of the investigation into Vick’s link to a dogfighting enterprise, a bit of bad timing that could shadow the Falcons for a few years.

In Houston, the Texans were aching for something more from their quarterback. David Carr was the first draft pick of the new franchise, but he proved to be a distant team member, inclined to go home to his family rather than spend extra time bonding with his teammates and studying film. For a young team desperate for leadership, Carr was a bad fit.

Schaub, who had gone through the adjustment pains of life in the N.F.L., was the right one. As soon as he was acquired, he began calling his teammates. He moved into a place five minutes from Reliant Stadium, and he routinely beats everyone else to work. Schaub said he had immersed himself so fully in the Texans that he had spent no time contemplating what might have been in Atlanta. “He solved a lot of problems for us,” Smith said.

Schaub is soft-spoken and modest, but he carries himself with a bit of swagger that has not gone unnoticed by his teammates. His command of the West Coast offense — the Texans run the same system he has played since college — means the ball is delivered even into tight spots at exactly the right time, allowing his teammates, like Johnson, to relax.

“They always say he hasn’t started that many games,” Johnson said. “When you see him, you’d think he has played in a lot more games.”

And it all goes back to one game Schaub played but did not finish.

“Schaub understood why Al pulled him,” said running back Wali Lundy, a teammate of Schaub’s at Virginia and at Houston. “He told Al if he ever got another chance, he was never coming out. From then on, his confidence skyrocketed. He was a totally different quarterback. It made him the player he is today.”


 

UVa family helping Belin cope with death
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
August 15, 2007

Even in the wake of tragedy, the glass remains half full for Virginia defensive line coach Levern Belin.

Last December, Belin’s father was killed in a car wreck.

Self-proclaimed the “baby boy” of the family, Belin is astonishingly at peace.

“A lot of people came up to [my family] and said, ‘Sorry for your loss.’ We don’t look at it as a loss,” Belin said Sunday afternoon. “A loss is something you can’t find. We know exactly where Dad is: he is in heaven. And if we live the life that he lived, we will be there, too, and we will be together again.”

Belin is entering his third season coaching in the trenches for Virginia, a role that has allowed him to witness the development of players such as Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald.

The time at UVa has also allowed Belin to gain a better understanding of how supportive things are within the Virginia football family, from players and coaches to fans.

After losing his father, Belin was flooded with condolences.

“Having that much support from friends and family really meant a lot and helped us to realize that, you know what, Dad is in a better place now than where we live,” Belin said. “Because of that we can celebrate and praise God, and we never have to worry about Dad hurting ever again.

“Even in hard times we just praise God and thank him for what he gives us.”

A native of Marshville, N.C., Belin has tried to use what his father taught him in his daily work - he wants to be a role model for Virginia’s players through his actions.

“I really respect him and what he is saying,” Long said. “I have learned a lot being around him, and he is a great person.”

As Belin would agree, drawing any sort of comparison to his father is truly the ultimate compliment.

“My dad was the type of man that God was his forefront,” Belin said. “Everything he did, he did to praise God. That was the way that he lived his life.

“Everybody that he met was his friend. Everybody loved him and looked at him like he was their father.”

Peerman and Pearman leading the charge

For now, Virginia coach Al Groh considers Cedric Peerman and converted wideout Andrew Pearman as his top two options at running back.

That, of course, could change.

Raynard Horne, a redshirt freshman, has shown “good straight-line speed, [but he is] certainly behind [Peerman and Pearman],” Groh said.

Keith Payne, another redshirt freshman, was slowed by his late arrival, one that was dictated by his team-imposed “academic suspension,” but he has since returned to practice and is set to don full pads for the first time today.

While Payne missed the first four practices, Groh said the bruising tailback “has time to catch up and a whole season’s worth to do it.”

Extra points …

… Reserve linebacker Aaron Clark returned to practice Tuesday morning after being slowed by what Groh called an “initial diagnosis of low-grade mono or mono-like symptoms.”

…. Scott Deke, Pete Lalich and Marc Verica continue to battle to become the back-up quarterback for Jameel Sewell, according to Groh. “A lot of it depends on each individual player’s development,” he said. Should Lalich, a true freshman, land in the second spot on the depth chart, it would not necessarily mean that he would or would not see minutes late in lopsided games.

Groh cited Chad Pennington as an example. At Marshall, Pennington played as a true freshman, redshirted his second season and started the final three years.

… Rumors swirled on message boards about an impending academic suspension for a player on Virginia’s two-deep, but that may be premature as Groh did not release anything on that front. “I don’t have the list [of grades] on my desk yet,” the coach said during Tuesday’s teleconference.

… Cornerback Donald Hickman, who played at Massaponax High in Fredericksburg, left the team. The walk-on cornerback was listed as a redshirt freshman. With his departure, Virginia currently has 103 players, two shy of the maximum allowed, in training camp. Backup defensive end Kevin Crawford was removed from the team roster on Friday.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007 - 12:06 AM

Lyles leaves his orange jersey behind him
Since Saturday, Nate Lyles has worn a blue jersey during Virginia's football practices. That doesn't mean the senior safety from Chicago has lost his starting job.

Lyles, unhappy with his play in training camp, left his orange jersey -- which designated him as a starter on defense -- in the locker room after Friday's practice.

"I didn't feel like I was playing up to the level that I needed to be out there with the guys with the orange jerseys," Lyles told reporters Sunday.

Once U.Va. coach Al Groh learned what led to the switch, he wasn't shocked.

"This is a very, very conscientious player," Groh said.

Lyles, who suffered a serious neck injury Nov. 12, 2005, against Georgia Tech, started the first nine games last season before losing his job to Tony Franklin.

In 2006, Groh said, Lyles' game "quickly came back to where he was when he was hurt, but it didn't move on to third-year performance. He was good at the same things and didn't necessarily get better at the other things."

The Cavaliers' projected starters at safety this season are Lyles and junior Byron Glaspy, with senior Jamaal Jackson and sophomore Brandon Woods behind them.

Williams growing into new role with Cavaliers
It didn't take long for J'Courtney Williams, the most celebrated recruit in Virginia's freshman class, to grow into a linebacker.

When he signed with U.Va. in February, Williams was listed at 6-3, 218. He said Sunday that he's now "at 238, 240 and gaining weight."

On signing day, Groh discussed the possibility of using Williams at safety in college, but the Christchurch School graduate has been slotted at inside linebacker. He's working behind starters Jon Copper and Antonio Appleby, who are both juniors, and second-teamers John Bivens and Darnell Carter, both redshirt freshmen.

After training this summer with U.Va. strength coach Matt Balis, Williams said, "I feel like right now I'm in the greatest shape I've been in. Some people say it's hard to gain weight and stay fast. That's when you're gaining fat."

No decision has been made on whether Williams will redshirt this season. He said he doesn't have a clear preference.

Groh still waiting on full grading reports
Groh said yesterday that he had yet to receive full reports on how his players fared in summer school, which ended last week. In the past decade, U.Va. periodically has lost football players for academic reasons -- fullback Kevin Bradley and linebacker Olu Hall were casualties on the eve of last season -- and this year may not be an exception.

Jackson adds depth to Cavs' fullback spot
Offensive coordinator Mike Groh is delighted to have Rashawn Jackson at fullback. Jackson, a 6-1 254-pound sophomore, was a reserve inside linebacker at U.Va. last season, but he starred at running back in high school.

"He gives us a big old body in there to carry the ball and also as a lead blocker, something that we haven't really had in two years," Groh said. "We certainly didn't have that last year."

Bradley wasn't the runner or a receiver that Jackson is, but his suspension last year meant that "in terms of having a true fullback as a lead blocker, all of a sudden we have none," Groh said.

"We went from Kevin, who was going to be that guy, to having none. Things had to change on the run quite a bit as we went along last season."

U.Va. to host two more open practices for fans
Fans can watch the Cavaliers practice twice more before the season starts. Open practices are scheduled for Friday (2:20 p.m.) and Saturday (8:35 a.m.). U.Va. practices on the fields behind University Hall and the McCue Center.

-- Jeff White

 

Decision day looming
MLB teams have until midnight to sign draftees
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
August 15, 2007

Despite feeling positive about his current situation, nobody could blame Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor for cringing every time his phone rings today.

Thanks to a deal in the most recent collective bargaining agreement, Major League Baseball teams will have until midnight tonight to sign players from the 2007 draft class.

If players are not signed, they will re-enter the draft pool at the corresponding time - college juniors will be eligible in 2008 and high school players headed to Virginia will have to wait until 2010.

The Cavaliers have at least one player in each situation.

Left-handed pitcher Pat McAnaney, who has a year of eligibility remaining, was drafted in the 38th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Negotiations started this past weekend and McAnaney has reached a decision but is waiting to announce it.

“The last couple of days have been really crazy,” he said. “It went from looking really good to not looking so good in about 24 hours.

“I know what I am going to do, but I want to [talk to Virginia’s coaching staff].”

Five high-schoolers that signed National Letters of Intent with UVa were also drafted. Catcher Devin Mesaraco, a first-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds, agreed to terms, as expected, shortly after the draft.

The others - RHP Jake Cowan (Boston, 14th round), RHP Robert Morey (Tampa Bay, 29th), LHP Sean Tierney (Boston, 35th) and RHP Kevin Arico (Minnesota, 45th) - appear committed to play college baseball. In fact, Cowan and Tierney took part in the final session of summer school at UVa.

McAnaney’s situation remains the biggest concern.

Knowing that the southpaw would pitch in the Cape Cod League this summer, the Pirates drafted McAnaney with a wait-and-see approach.

Pittsburgh’s scouts had to be impressed - McAnaney went 2-3 with a 3.23 ERA in 40.2 innings for Orleans. He fanned 40 batters and walked only 14.

“I was happy with the way [the summer] went,” McAnaney said. “I felt pretty good. I was working on a change-up, and in a couple of outings I had my good off-speed stuff going.

“Sometimes it is almost better for me to get ground outs or fly-ball outs and save my pitch count, but I was happy to see that I was getting a lot of swing-and-misses on that change-up. I was pretty happy to see that I kept [my strikeout-per-inning ratio] to about one per inning. We will see how that translates and continues.”

UVa certainly has at least one rotation spot that could be filled by McAnaney - former starter Sean Doolittle left a vacancy when he signed with the Oakland Athletics in June.

Competition for the two weekend spots alongside junior Jacob Thompson could be intense. Another potential starter, senior Michael Schwimer, pitched in the rotation with McAnaney in the Cape Cod League.

Schwimer, a two-year reliever at Virginia, made seven starts, finishing 2-2 with a 3.51 ERA in 33.1 innings this summer.

“I think Schwimer liked doing that a lot,” McAnaney said. “He looked pretty good doing that. He went through one little spurt where he had a couple of bad starts, but I thought he pitched pretty well.

“He said with being a starter that he wanted to get a change-up or work on his split-finger more because, being a reliever, he threw his fastball and slider.”