White: A Day In The Coach's Life
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 08/20/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- For at least 12 Saturdays this season, starting Sept. 5, the University of Virginia's head football coach will be on the sideline, in full view of the fans.
The large majority of Al Groh's work, however, is done out of the public eye. Training camp opened for the Cavaliers on Aug. 7, and they've been practicing and meeting for hours every day since.
Groh oversees it all. And as a new season approaches, VirginiaSports.com wondered: What's his schedule like this time of year? How does he fill his waking hours, and with whom?
To try to answer those questions, Todd Goodale and I shadowed Groh on Aug. 12, the sixth day of the Cavaliers' training camp.
Goodale is UVa's associate athletics director for marketing and video services, and he did the heavy lifting, lugging around a video camera all day. (Look for his feature on VirginiaSportsTV.com). My load - a pen and a legal pad - was considerably lighter.
The day started early and ended late. Here's some of what we saw and heard:

5:45 a.m.
Headlights pierce the pre-dawn darkness in eastern Albemarle County. A white BMW idles in Al Groh's driveway, and UVa's ninth-year coach sits inside the car.
The sounds of Bon Jovi greet us when Groh lowers the window.
"I'm a little hoarse from a little football. It's time for some more football. Got a little wake-up music going here. See you in the office in a few minutes," Groh says before driving off.
About 10 miles away, the first day of two-a-days for his team awaits him.

6:09 a.m.
Groh pulls into the McCue Center parking lot. UVa's director of strength and conditioning for football, Brandon Hourigan, and his assistant, Emmanuel Ashamu, arrive around the same time. Linebackers coach Bob Trott is already upstairs in his office.
Inside the McCue Center, Rob Skinner, UVa's director of sports nutrition, stands outside the entrance of the locker room. Behind him, on tables, is breakfast for players and coaches who want it.
Lunch and dinner are mandatory for players, but breakfast is optional before the 8:45 a.m. practice.
"Some players eat, some players don't," Groh says.

6:15 a.m.
Inside his office, Groh leans back in his desk chair and watches video from training camp. It plays on a large flat-screen TV to his left.
"This is a good time to get something done without a lot of administrative interruptions," he says.
Above the TV is a striking photo of The Lawn. Groh's UVa diploma hangs on the wall behind his desk. On his desk is a large three-ring notebook, inside of which are the daily practice schedules.
Displayed around the room are family photos, footballs commemorating significant victories in Groh's coaching career, and autographed photos of some of the former UVa players who made it to the NFL.
Facing Groh on his desk is a locker nameplate that says: Just Coach the Team. It was a gift from his mentor, Bill Parcells.

6:45 a.m.
Groh, who's wearing blue shorts, a white Nike T-shirt and a fishing cap, spends much of his time reviewing videos from practices.
He'll watch a play eight or nine or a dozen times in rapid succession, focusing on different Cavaliers each time. He makes notes on a small white piece of paper, and he'll share his thoughts with players and his assistants throughout the day.

7:10 a.m.
Groh walks down the hall outside his office, stopping to talk to secondary coach Anthony Poindexter and other staff members.

7:32 a.m.
Back in his office, Groh works on Thursday's practice schedule. Prioritizing is essential, he says.
"There's a saying we have: Major in the major and minor in the minor," he says. "Not everything is of equal importance ... The coach of the team has to decide how he wants his team to look. You have to decide what the majors and the minors are, and the tradeoffs."
Groh cites the legendary basketball coach Pete Carril, who once said, "If you want to get good at dribbling, dribble."

7:38 a.m.
Offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon pops into Groh's office with a question about the hurry-up drill to be run in practice that night.
Planning takes up a significant chunk of Groh's time ahead of training camp. The first 11 practices are mapped out well in advance.
"Between plan it, install it, coach it, review it, meet on it with players to reinforce it or correct it, you can see where a day can be filled up from 6 [a.m.] to 11 [p.m.]," Groh says.
His secretary, Dot Kirby, screens Groh's e-mails. Other than calls to his wife, Anne, and their children, Groh has little contact this time of year with people not connected to his team.
On one side of his desk sit three piles of paper.
"This is my football pile, this is my recruiting pile, and this is my administrative pile," Groh says. His priorities: "Coach the team, recruit the players, try to get to the administrative things when possible."

8:01 a.m.
Brandon comes in again and updates Groh on injuries to offensive players. A few minutes later, Prince drops by to discuss the special-teams schedule for the next day's practice.

8:21 a.m.
Groh rises from his chair and heads toward the door.
"It's time for some football," he says. UVa's sixth practice of training camp is about to begin.

8:32 a.m.
Groh emerges from the staff locker room on the ground floor of the McCue Center, now wearing khaki shorts, a tattered gray sweatshirt and a blue UVa cap.
On the practice field, the first players he encounters are cornerback Chris Cook and safety Corey Mosley.
"Hey, Cookie," Groh says. "Corey, are you ready for some football today?"
As the team loosens up, Groh walks among the players. He likes few things better than football practice.
"It's like Christmas and Thanksgiving on the same day!" Groh shouts.

9:12 a.m.
Officials are brought in for every practice to help simulate game conditions for the players and coaches. On the edge of the field next to the McCue Center, Groh meets with the officiating crew to go over that day's schedule.
It's an unseasonably cool morning, with a light breeze.

9:17 a.m.
Nothing in practice fires up the team more than the Wahoo Drill, which matches five offensive players - quarterback, running back and three blockers - against three defenders.
In an area 10 yards long and about five yards wide, with players ringing the perimeter, the groups clash, as one running back after another gets three downs apiece to try to score.
The defense wins some battles, stopping Mikell Simpson and Dominique Wallace, among other backs, but Max Milien crosses the goal line, as does Perry Jones.
A true freshman who's listed, perhaps generously, at 5-8, Jones bedevils the defense twice. His second TD ends the drill, to the delight of the offense.
"You can't see the [young gentleman]!" screams receivers coach Latrell Scott.

9:32 a.m.
Groh, who's also the Cavaliers' defensive coordinator, works with secondary members during a drill in which they practice jamming receivers.
"To be a physical player, you gotta play physical," Groh says. "The purpose of the jam is to disrupt the receiver."

9:53 a.m.
In an offense vs. defense drill, safety Brandon Woods corrals Javaris Brown near the left sideline after a reception by the redshirt freshman wideout.
"Very nice," Groh tells Woods. "That's the best you've ever done it."
Situational work follows. The offense -- in blue jerseys except for the orange-clad quarterbacks -- starts drive on the minus-20, the minus-39 and the plus-48 yard lines. The defense wears white.

10:53 a.m.
With his players kneeling around him, Groh closes practice with several comments. He talks about the value of Chris Gould's punting, and how that contributed to an edge in field position, in UVa's come-from-behind win at Maryland in 2007. He singles out Brown for a leaping catch he'd made moments earlier.
Groh also stresses the need for every member of the organization, from the coaches on down, to become more relentless, more aggressive and better prepared heading into the season.
"Let's keep trying to find a new limit," Groh says. "It's not business as usual ... A lot of us, starting here, have got to find a new comfort zone."

11:25 a.m.
Groh carries his lunch back from the John Paul Jones Arena dining room to his office.
He woke up at 5 a.m., and his energy level has yet to flag. By the time he arrives home tonight, however, he'll be ready to rest.
During the season, he may occasionally toss and turn all night, but the "good news at this time of year," Groh says, "is that falling asleep is never a problem."

11:30 a.m.
Groh gets on a teleconference with reporters, as he does nearly every day during camp. He's asked, among other things, about how UVa lines its outside linebackers up, and he responds by talking about how in 2008 Clint Sintim played all over the field.
Later, Groh answers questions about safety Rodney McLeod, who's fast becoming one of the Cavaliers' top players, and Isaac Cain, a walk-on from Hampton who's competing for playing time at offensive guard.
"We have great respect for Isaac and how he got to this position," Groh says.

11:48 a.m.
The teleconference ends, and Groh opens the styrofoam container that holds his lunch. His assistants wait for him in a meeting room down the hall.
"You know the old saying about the player not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time?" Groh says. "We'll see if I can at least walk and chew ham at the same time."

11:51 a.m.
Waiting for Groh in a meeting room down the hall are his assistants. Seated around a long table are Brandon, Poindexter, Scott, Trott, Prince, Dave Borbely (offensive line), Wayne Lineburg (running backs), Bob Price (tight ends) and Chad Wilt (defensive line).
Graduate assistants Josh Zidenberg, Rich Bedesem, Devin Fitzsimmons and Thurston Childrey - sit along the wall to Groh's left.

12:03 p.m.
Video review begins. Groh has the remote, and plays are shown over and over and over and over again. Each assistant focuses on specific areas.
"We look at every play every day, every player on every play," Groh says later.

12:21 p.m.
After a rookie receiver struggles on a play, Scott says, "That's not a priority in high school."
"Blocking?" Brandon says.

12:33 p.m.
The coaches watch a play in which true freshman Quintin Hunter, who's been moved to wide receiver, at least for this season, makes an impressive catch.
"I think this is pretty good for a guy who's seven days removed from being a quarterback," Groh says to Scott.
About a second-year player, however, Groh says: "Every day is the first day for him, huh?"

1:23 p.m.
Back in his office, Groh looks at a printout of a newspaper article about the Patriots, whose coach, Bill Belichick, is a former colleague. Belichick and Groh are close friends whose coaching philosophies could not be much more similar.

1:28 p.m.
Not only are videos of UVa practices and games archived from previous years, Groh demonstrates to his guests, but he also has footage of the Steelers and Patriots defenses, courtesy of those NFL teams.

2:15 p.m.
The team gathers in the large conference room at the McCue Center. The offense sits on one side, the defense on the other.
At the start of this short meeting, the players are shown video clips of highlights from the special-team drills at that morning's practice.
Groh then addresses the team before it splits into separate meetings and details the schedule for the evening practice, about four hours away.
"Every day it's up to us to generate our own energy and enthusiasm," Groh says. "We all gotta find a new comfort zone. We gotta push the bar higher and the ceiling higher. Put more into it to get more out of it."

2:30 p.m.
A partition is pulled out to divide the meeting room down the middle. Groh stays on the left side with the defense. Clicker in hand, he shows plays from practice. This is Groh as teacher, and he talks patiently to his pupils, never raising his voice.
After watching a play in which quarterback Vic Hall pitches the ball to wideout Javaris Brown for a substantial gain, Groh reminds outside linebacker Billy Schautz to be conscious of pursuit angles.

2:52 p.m.
The defense watches sophomore end Zane Parr bottle up quarterback Jameel Sewell on a run.
"That's it, Zane," Groh says. "He tried to get your edge. He never got it."

2:54 p.m.
A player's phone interrupts Groh's lesson, and the musical ringtone causes defenders to cast nervous looks at each other. Their teacher is not amused.
"The next cell that goes off, I own," Groh says.

3:05 p.m.
Groh tells the players: "If we do things right and pay attention to detail, we got a chance to be a good team. If we beat ourselves with mental errors, we got no chance."
He talks about the principles on which UVa's defense is built and emphasizes the importance of "fast and violent hands," particularly on the line of scrimmage.
"It's a 'beat-blocks' defense," Groh says. "That's a simple thing to say. Now the next thing to do is learn how to beat blocks.
"We want to be the best hands team in the country. I don't know if we can be the fastest or the biggest team, but we can be the best hands team."

3:20 p.m.
Groh dismisses the defensive backs. Linemen and linebackers remain in the room, and they're shown a play in which 230-pound linebacker Darren Childs successfully takes on 320-pound offensive guard Austin Pasztor.
Later comes a play that prompts Groh to praise ends Nate Collins and Matt Conrath and nose tackle Nick Jenkins for their use of "fast and violent hands," grunt work that allows Childs to make the tackle.
On another play, reserve inside linebacker Darnell Carter executes his assignment flawlessly.
"Don't be satisfied with this, Darnell," Groh says. "It's an improvement. You moved out of one comfort zone. Move out of the next."

3:33 p.m.
The meeting over, Groh heads across the street to the JPJ to grab some dinner.
"I learned the hard way that if I don't eat now, I won't eat," he says.
Groh turned 65 last month, but his stamina amazes those who work with and for him.
"This time of year, I can probably do with less [sleep] than some other people," Groh says. "I feel pretty good. I like to sleep as much as the next person. I get my share at other times of the year."

4:15 p.m.
Time for another defensive meeting. At this one Groh discusses the different fronts UVa will use and its various pass-rushing schemes.
At a dizzying clip, Groh talks about Granite and Cheeseburger and Hot Dog and Laker and Brooklyn and Okie and Bobcat, terms that tell the players where to line up and what their assignments are.
The veterans comprehend. Many of the true freshmen look lost, and for good reason.
"It sounds like a foreign language," says Collins, a senior who played as a true freshman in 2006. "It's tough for some of these guys. That's one of the challenges of camp. My head used to spin all the time."

4:29 p.m.
"We doing OK so far?" Groh asks the players. No one answers. On the screen now are shown diagrams of the defenses UVa will use in various situations.

4:52 p.m.
The topic has shifted to red-zone defense. A cardinal rule, Groh says, is this: "Just don't let the quarterback run the ball in."

4:59 p.m.
To the players, Groh reads an excerpt from an article that appeared in Sporting News Today. It quotes an anonymous opponent who discusses the Steelers' defense. (Pittsburgh uses the 3-4 as its base defense, as does UVa).
Some of the comments:
"This team is so strong defensively, and one of the reasons they are is because they run to the ball better than any other defense. They get to spots where they are extremely hard to cut off. They're always staying ahead of you. Every year, when you look back at all their games and who ran best against them, you still have a tough time figuring it out.
"[Defensive coordinator] Dick LeBeau has them put together extremely well. They have developed a sense of pride. You have a lot of teams who have more individual interests in mind. But when you get it like the Steelers get it, when you have 11 guys gang-tackling and running to the ball, that's what's special about them."
Groh says to his players: "That's the model. That's within every player's reach and every player's capacity. Do this as a habit all the time."
He then shows some video clips of the Steelers' vaunted D, whose leaders include former UVa linebacker James Farrior. Groh asks his players, "Wouldn't it be fun to be that kind of team? Who wants to play against these guys?"
The players also see some highlights of the Patriots' defense, which also runs the 3-4.

5:17 p.m.
Before dismissing the players, Groh reads the quote about the Steelers' defense to them again.

5:21 p.m.
Back in his office, Groh proudly reports that his players had a combined 2.84 grade-point average in summer school.
Then, with the day's second practice little more than an hour away, he heads downstairs.
"Time to go work out," Groh says.

5:42 p.m.
After another change of clothes - he's now wearing an orange sweatshirt and blue shorts -- Groh climbs the StairMaster in a nearly empty weight room at the McCue Center.

6:34 p.m.
Time for practice. Groh enters the field through a side gate and greets the usher there. The gray sweatshirt is back.

6:45 p.m.
The day's second practice begins - this is No. 7 overall in training camp - and Groh starts installing the schemes that were introduced at the afternoon meetings.

7:30 p.m.
Groh spots his wife, Anne, sitting in the bleachers on the north side of the practice fields. He walks over for a quick chat.

8:25 p.m.
McLeod, who played in the storied program at DeMatha High in Hyattsville, Md., forces a fumble in a red-zone drill. Groh, on the sideline with the defense, nods his head slightly and allows himself a small smile.

8:47 p.m.
Sophomore linebacker Cameron Johnson ends the practice by reaching out and touching Sewell. Quarterbacks are not allowed to be tackled, so that qualifies as a sack.
Groh addresses the team and talks about the next day's schedule. He praises the defense in general and singles out such players as McLeod, John-Kevin Dolce, Trey Womack and Dom Joseph.
He's not as pleased with the offense, which had struggled in third-down situations. The guys in blue - and orange - run sprints.

9:20 p.m.
After showering, Groh is back in his office, where he reviews video of the first half of the evening practice. He'll look at the rest in the morning.

10:47 p.m.
Groh leaves the McCue Center and heads home. Not everything he saw today delighted him, but that's not unusual during training camp.
"At this time of the year, the team kind of goes forwards in starts and spurts," Groh says. "When training camp starts, it's like there's fog covering everything. With each day the fog kind of lifts a little, not only for the players but the coaches."

11:05 p.m.
Night has long since fallen when Groh pulls into his driveway, and his neighborhood is quiet.
"Well, that's what a day of football looks like." Groh says. "Hope you enjoyed the life of Virginia Cavalier football. It was a good day. We got a lot of done ... But it's just one foot in front of the other here for another two weeks."
He heads inside. About six hours later, he'll emerge, ready to do it all again.


 

Poindexter makes smooth shift from coaching RBs to DBs
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Media General News Service
Published: August 21, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE — When Al Groh reshuffled his Virginia coaching staff, his decision to move running backs coach Anthony Poindexter to the other side of the football was hailed by the program’s faithful.

As a player, Poindexter (a Jefferson Forest graduate) was a two-time, first team All-American safety with the reputation as a fierce hitter.

His goal is to help current Cavalier defensive backs be all that they can be. He has some pretty good ones to start with — big, fast, corners like Chris Cook (Heritage) and Ras-I Dowling, both with experience behind them, and safeties like Rodney McLeod and Corey Mosley.

“Let’s put it this way, it was a good time to take over the defensive backfield,” Poindexter said during a lunch break between two-a-days on Thursday.

Because he has coached running backs since joining Groh’s staff in 2004, there were some reservations by critics who wondered if the assignment was too much for the young coach, who had been away from the secondary for so long. After all, Poindexter was replacing the retired Steve Bernstein and the retired Bob Pruett, who had nearly 80 years of coaching experience between them.

While Pruett was UVa’s defensive coordinator, his expertise on that side of the ball was the secondary, and Bernstein was the defensive backs coach.

Groh didn’t hesitate to make the move. He loved Poindexter’s fire, his passion.

“He’s doing a fine job with those guys,” Groh reported recently of his new secondary coach. “He’s got the right attitude and he certainly commands their attention. He works hard and Anthony is looking for more answers all the time.”

Groh, who officially took on the added responsibilities of defensive coordinator this season, has been working with Poindexter on the nuances of coaching defensive backs, while linebackers coach Bob Trott, who has a warehouse of knowledge on the secondary, is helping out as well.

The head coach likes the chemistry, and that’s usually a good indication that things are running smoothly.

“Defense just makes sense to me and I was excited about it when Coach Groh gave me the opportunity to move over there,” Poindexter said. “I eventually wanted to coach in the secondary and I’m thankful for the opportunity. Coach Groh, coach Trott, coach Pruett and coach Bernstein have all been helpful to me.”

A stronger emphasis has been placed on making game-changing plays in the secondary this season, and the players Poindexter inherited appear to have the capabilities of being difference-makers.

Cook and Dowling, both at 6-foot-2, are a bit unusual in that they are taller than the safeties. Usually the corners are shorter, faster guys, but this duo has good speed and good reach to match. McLeod seems to deliver eye-popping performances in practice on a daily basis and Mosley impressed everyone as a hitter last season.

If it’s aggression Groh wants, he chose the right candidate to teach it in Poindexter, who gained a reputation for delivering jolting hits with little regard for his own well being. He was also a highly charged, emotional player that kept his teammates juiced.

“Coach Dex is an intense guy,” Cook said. “He brings a lot of emotion and everyone feeds off of him. When he gets emotional, we all get emotional. It gets crazy.”

Poindexter doesn’t know any other way.

“It’s an exciting game and if I don’t have energy out there, how can I expect the kids to have energy?” he said. “If I don’t have the passion to coach it, how can I expect them to have the passion to play. That’s just my personality. Coach Groh always preaches positive energy and I’ve got plenty of that.”

A lot has been made of the notion that this secondary could be Virginia’s best since the days that names like Poindexter and Ronde Barber roamed the turf at Scott Stadium, but the coach isn’t going to get caught in that trap just yet.

“Only time will tell,” Poindexter said. “You hate to put that kind of pressure on a unit. I think we have really good talent back there, but the secondary is only as good as the defensive line and linebackers. If we’re good on the back end, that means we’re really good on the front end.”
 

Virginia's Al Groh seeks help from former head coaches
The Washington Post

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Ron Prince, Virginia's first-year special teams coordinator, had a good start on a beard as he talked to reporters earlier this week, the only week of the season when the Cavaliers' assistants are permitted to conduct interviews under Coach Al Groh's "one-voice" media policy. That's merely one of the changes Prince is facing — up until a few months ago, Prince was grilled on a near-daily basis as the head coach at Kansas State — but perhaps not the most visible.

"The biggest difference between being a head coach and an assistant coach," Prince said, "is when you're a head coach, you have to shave more."

A few feet away, Virginia offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon conducted the same drill. As he sat down, he remarked how this used to be a typical routine during his six seasons as head coach at Bowling Green. Reminded of Groh's one-voice policy, Brandon displayed a dry smile.

"I'm learning about that," Brandon said.

Trying to bounce back after two losing seasons in three years, Groh has emphasized an improved offense and more productive special teams. Enter Prince and Brandon, two men who started the 2008 season as relatively successful head coaches. Both were unemployed by season's end.

Brandon and Prince had opportunities with other major college programs and NFL teams, according to agent Neil Cornrich, who represents both Virginia assistants. Both chose Virginia. The reason was simple: They wanted to coach with Groh.

"A man asked me once, 'If you could send your sons to play anywhere for anyone, where would they go?' " Prince said. "I said, 'That's easy: to Virginia, to play for Al Groh.' That's how strongly I feel about him and this university."

In turn, any success comes with incentive for the assistants. Both are proven head coaches whose dismissals were abrupt. Boosting unproductive units at Virginia will undoubtedly improve their stock for future openings.

Brandon has introduced his no-huddle, spread offense to a unit that ranked No. 113 nationally in total offense in 2006, No. 101 in 2007 and No. 105 in 2008. Although Groh maintains that the Cavaliers have been transitioning toward the spread offense for the past few seasons, the commitment to Brandon — and a promise that he has autonomy over the unit — means the offense will fully have Brandon's imprint.

"Al brought me into run the system," Brandon said, "and he's allowing me to do that."

Prince wants to learn ways that he could have improved Kansas State's downfall — defense — while providing expertise needed to improve Virginia's special teams. Kansas State allowed 35.8 points per game in 2008. The Wildcats also were among the nation's best in special teams in each of Prince's three seasons.

"I think we did a lot of positive things. We had the highest graduation rate in the Big 12. We did some really significant things on the field, beat Texas," said Prince, who previously was a Virginia assistant from 2001 to 2005. "But there was an aspect missing, and we just didn't play good enough defense. That was the bottom line. Not that I have designs on anything in the future, but just because that's an element, if it ever happens again — when I'm 60, if I coach at a junior high or high school — I don't want to have a defense that gives up points. From a personal-satisfaction standpoint, I want to fill in the blanks."

Those defensive numbers surrendered by Kansas State were in part the byproduct of playing against high-powered Big 12 offenses. While Prince sits in on Virginia's defensive meetings, he said he provides insight on the spread offenses in the Big 12 that have proliferated in college football — including in Charlottesville.

Brandon said his biggest adjustment has been dealing with the "nuts and bolts" instead of overseeing every aspect of the operations. Prince's focus is almost entirely on the football's underappreciated third unit. But their roles are integral to any Cavaliers improvement — even if their titles are different.

"It's a different job," Prince said, with his lone day in front of the cameras and his facial hair as evidence.
 

Cabbell sees much improvement on Cavs’ O-line
JAY JENKINS MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
Published: August 21, 2009

For the second straight year, B.J. Cabbell is working on the first team's offensive line. Weeks ago, Virginia right guard B.J. Cabbell threw in a video from last season's opening game against Southern Cal.

He cringed.

Sure, the miserable outcome was painful, but it was individual play that created the biggest regret.

"It was awful to watch," he recounted. "It was rough to watch. I am so much better now than I was then at everything."

That realization, according to offensive-line coach Dave Borbely, is critical in a player's development.

"B.J. said the same thing to me and I said, 'Well, I'm glad it only took a year for you to believe me when I told you that,'" Borbely said. "I think self-discovery is really important for the players. Will Barker has said the same thing to me in the past."

It was the time off from football that created the discovery for Cabbell, a former standout at Nelson County High who is working for a second straight year with the first-team line.

"When guys get away from it for a little bit, they realize how much improvement they can make in their game," Borbely said. "When your play is as important to you as it is to your coach, then you are going to start to make some progress.

"Then you realize that I wasn't as good as I thought I was, especially if they are really honest with themselves and it is really important to them."

Cabbell will need to be better. Virginia lost left tackle Eugene Monroe to the NFL, and a new scheme is in place that will spread the offensive linemen apart further than in years past, something Cabbell first learned while prepping for Texas Tech on the scout team two years ago.

"It was scary at first because we are on an island you really don't have anybody next to you when you are in a tight situation, but mainly it is all about confidence," Cabbell said. "If you are confident in your ability, you shouldn't have a problem.

"For myself, despite it being like I am on an island, I know that we are athletic enough as a line to really split ourselves out like that."

Cabbell's progression has not gone unnoticed among his fellow starters on the line.

"B.J. was a great athlete coming in, but obviously he had to pick up the whole offensive mentality, that mindset," said right tackle Will Barker. "It took some time, but he has come a long, long way. I have complete confidence lining up next to him."

Cabbell has tried to simplify things in practice thus far, focusing on one drill and one session at a time.

"Every day in practice we just drill ourselves to be better than we were the previous day," he said. "Each day we are trying to get five percent better.

"There is no room to regress with what we do if we want to be better than what we were last year."
 

Gotta have the hands
While there aren't many people who will question Virginia running back Mikell Simpson's receiving ability, the pass-catching skills of Torrey Mack, Simpson's primary company at tailback, aren't quite as well-known.

That's mainly because Mack, a redshirt freshman, never was really asked to catch the ball in high school. As a highly recruited player at Stratford High in Stratford, Conn., Mack ran for 1,177 yards and 20 touchdowns on just 86 carries in his senior year. He had 153 carries for 1,689 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior.

"When we recruited him, what they did mostly (in high school) was give him the ball and let him run a long ways," U.Va. coach Al Groh said regarding Mack.

Simpson is an established threat catching the ball out of the backfield. In 2007, he ran 113 times for 570 yards and eight touchdowns, but he also had 43 catches for 402 yards and two touchdowns. In his junior year last season, he added another 87 carries for 262 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 15 catches for 66 yards.

Groh said Mack, who was considered one of the nation's top 25 athlete recruits in his senior season of high school by most analysts, has been very good catching the ball in practice. Groh's biggest issue with Mack right now is a concern that's common with young running backs.

"I wouldn't call it a weakness, but probably the area that's developing the most is in pass protection, because, as I mentioned, the smart thing to do in high school was give it to him all the time," Groh said. "So, he really didn't have much background in (pass protection), which is the case with lots of backs. ... He's willing to do it. He's got more than enough toughness to do it. It's just continuing to give him enough looks at the different schemes that might occur."
 

ACC altering bowl lineup
The ACC's decade-plus absence from the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas is about to end.

The El Paso Times reported this morning and the DP confirmed that the conference and bowl have agreed to a four-year partnership from 2010-13. The Sun Bowl will have the fifth ACC selection and will pair that team against the No. 4 squad from the Pacific 10.

North Carolina in 1994 and Maryland in 1984 are the only ACC teams in the last 25 years to play in the Sun Bowl. The ACC replaces a Big 12-Big East combination that has sent a team to the bowl since 2006.

Contested first on New Year's Day of 1936, the Sun is college football's fourth-oldest bowl behind the Rose, Sugar and Orange.

Most bowl-conference contracts run in a four-year cycle that expires after this season. The ACC has nine bowl affiliations for 2009 and with negotiations pending, it's uncertain which will be dropped in favor of the Sun.

Geographically, the most logical would be the San Francisco-based Emerald Bowl. Georgia Tech, Florida State, Maryland and Miami have represented the ACC there since 2005, and none took more than a smattering of fans.

Here's a link to the El Paso Times story, which includes comments from bowl officials.

Posted by David Teel
 

NY Giants Rookie Clint Sintim made quite an impression in his first pro game
by Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger
Thursday August 20, 2009, 12:00 AM

Rookie linebacker/defensive end Clint Sintim had a sack and a forced fumble in Monday's preseason game against Carolina, in his professional debut.ALBANY, N.Y. -- The only clips Clint Sintim has seen of the Giants' preseason victory over the Carolina Panthers have been the wide-angle shots from the coaches' tape. He has yet to see the close-ups of his pass-rushes that had ESPN analysts Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden drooling over Sintim's ability during the "Monday Night Football" broadcast.

All Sintim has gotten are second-hand reports from friends and family members.

"The TV loves you," they've told the Giants' rookie linebacker.

Much as he's trying to be humble, Sintim feels the love.

"That's pretty cool," he said with a smile in between practices at training camp Wednesday.

Another "cool" thing for Sintim was his ability to get to the quarterback for a sack and forced fumble in his professional debut. Sintim also registered three additional hits on the passer, according to the official stat sheet. He also drew a holding penalty when he beat Panthers tackle Gerald Cadogan to the outside.

Not a bad night, considering the second-round pick did most of his damage while lined up at defensive end after practicing mostly as a linebacker during the first two weeks of camp. Just like in college at Virginia, Sintim is a two-down linebacker who converts to defensive end in obvious passing situations.

"Solid," Sintim said when asked to describe his first game. "I had more mental errors than a lot of people know. You wouldn't know unless I told you. I had some good plays, I had some plays I'd like to have back. It's kind of a steppingstone. I just want to improve on that game and continue to get better."

If you think he's being hard on himself, wait until you hear what Justin Tuck told him.

"He should've had two sacks," Tuck said. "I'm that guy that always tells him stuff like that."

Tuck wasn't kidding. The holding penalty was declined because Carolina failed to convert a third down. But anytime a lineman draws a holding call, it's a good play.

On this team, with this many pass-rushers, it's apparently not good enough.

"I told him, 'If you slap their hands down, they can't hold you, right?'" Tuck said.

That's the key for Sintim as he gets adjusted to life in the NFL. In just a few snaps on Monday night, he showed he has the athletic ability to be a good pass-rusher. But he merely used his speed and a basic "slap-rip kind of move" to get around a pair of backups in Cadogan and tight end Dante Rosario, whom he beat for his sack.

"I'm going to find a guy who's going to stab me in my chest and it won't be that easy," Sintim said. "Until then, I'm going to do what works. It worked for me that game."

Tuck said Sintim reminds him of a recent Giants third-round pick who relied on "raw athleticism" to get to the quarterback in college. That player is Tuck, Notre Dame's all-time leader in sacks, whose preseason debut in 2005 wasn't nearly as successful as Sintim's. In heavy duty against Browns starting tackles L.J. Shelton and Ryan Tucker, as well as backup Lewis Dawson, Tuck didn't even register a tackle.

"Lucky for me, I had guys like Osi (Umenyiora) and 'Stray' (Michael Strahan) who told me it's about more than just athletic ability," Tuck said. "Hard-headed like I was, I didn't find that out until that first preseason game when guys started hitting me in my chest."

Eventually, Sintim will learn that lesson. And here's the intriguing part for the Giants: He was a pass-rushing force the other night without one day working with defensive line coach Mike Waufle. Sintim has spent the majority of every practice with linebackers coach Jim Herrmann and has only been schooled by Waufle for a few seconds before the occasional snap at end. The Giants believe Sintim has natural pass-rush ability and uses his hands well.

"He's going to be a good football player," Umenyiora said. "He's got all the physical tools in the world. His game could use some fine-tuning, but right now he's still trying to learn how to play linebacker."

Sintim caught Umenyiora's eye, though the two-time Pro Bowl selection said he was "more impressed with his dance" after the sack. Sintim called the bobbing movement "The Diddy Bop" and admitted he stole it from his college teammate, Cavaliers defensive tackle Nate Collins.

"He left me a message and said, 'Don't you ever,' " Sintim said. "I actually hated it when he did it, but I took it and rolled with it. I like it now."

What he'd really like would be playing time in the regular season. On a crowded line with three excellent pass-rushing ends ahead of him, there's no guarantee that'll happen this year. Perhaps his best shot at seeing the field will be at linebacker, where coach Tom Coughlin said he has shown good ability to play the run.

"At this stage in my career, I have no real say-so as far as what I do or where I go," Sintim said. "Wherever they want me to be is how I'm going to be. However they want me to play is how I'm going to play."
 

Rating ACC basketball schedules
BY J.P. GIGLIO - Staff writer
Published: Wed, Aug. 19, 2009 02:00AMModified Wed, Aug. 19, 2009 05:33AM

The ACC will release the full basketball schedule for the 2009-10 season this week, likely on Thursday, but we already know the nuts and bolts of the conference schedule.

On the three-year rotation, the slate of ACC opponents will be just like the 2006-07 season. That's good news for Virginia and bad news for Georgia Tech.

The prediction game is always tricky, but everyone can agree the fewer times a team faces North Carolina and/or Duke, the better. And conversely -- and teams have been known to exceed expectations -- you would like to see N.C. State and/or Miami as many times as possible.

The breakdownBoston College
Twice: Miami, VT, Clemson, Duke, FSU
Home only: UNC, UVa, Maryland
Away only: N.C. State, Wake, GT
Clemson
Twice: FSU, GT, BC, Duke, Maryland
Home only: UVa, UNC, Miami
Away only: N.C. State, Wake, VT
Duke
Twice: Maryland, UNC, BC, Clemson, GT
Home only: VT, Wake, FSU
Away only: N.C. State, UVa, Miami
Florida State
Twice: Clemson, Miami, BC, Maryland, GT
Home only: N.C. State, Wake, VT
Away only: UVa, Duke, UNC
Georgia Tech
Twice: Clemson, Wake, Duke, FSU, UNC
Home only: N.C. State, BC, VT
Away only: UVa, Maryland, Miami
Maryland
Twice: Duke, UVa, Clemson, FSU, N.C. State
Home only: GT, Miami, UNC
Away only: BC, VT, Wake
Miami
Twice: BC, FSU, UVa, VT, Wake
Home only: Duke, GT, N.C. State
Away only: Clemson, Maryland, UNC
UNC
Twice: Duke, N.C. State, GT, VT, Wake
Home only: FSU, Miami, UVa
Away only: Clemson, BC, Maryland
N.C. State
Twice: UNC, Wake, Maryland, UVa, VT
Home only: Clemson, Duke, BC
Away only: FSU, GT, Miami
Virginia
Twice: Maryland, VT, Miami, N.C. State, Wake
Home only: Duke, FSU, GT
Away only: UNC, BC, Clemson
Virginia Tech
Twice: BC, UVa, Miami, UNC, N.C. State
Home only: Clemson, Maryland, Wake
Away only: Duke, FSU, GT
Wake Forest
Twice: GT, N.C. State, Miami, UNC, UVa
Home only: BC, Clemson, Maryland
Away only: Duke, FSU, VT

There's going to be a large middle class in the ACC next season, with maybe as many as nine teams vying for an NCAA Tournament bid, so ocation, as always, matters. The chances of beating an experienced tournament team like Clemson or Maryland, are obviously better at home than on the road.

With that in mind, the in-conference schedule winners and losers:

Winners

Virginia: No one's trying to take away Virginia's share of the 2006-07 regular-season title or the fact that it won 11 ACC games, but in the two seasons since, the Cavaliers have won a total of nine conference games.

Now, that's not all a function of scheduling, but even Dave Leitao's mom would have to agree it played a part in UVa's success.

Just like 2006-07, new coach Tony Bennett will have the benefit playing UNC and Duke once each, and the Cavaliers don't have to go to Duke.

Virginia also gets four total games with N.C. State and Miami.

The schedule is there for Bennett to double last season's 4-12 mark.

Florida State: The Noles don't have to play UNC or Duke twice. That's good. They also have three winnable home-only games in N.C. State, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.

Even if they lose all three road-only games (UNC, Duke, UVa), the schedule is there to win at least nine games and make back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips for the first time since 1992 and '93.

Virginia Tech: A home-and-home with UNC is offset by four total games with N.C. State and Miami. Plus the Hokies don't have to go to Clemson, Maryland or Wake Forest -- three of the tougher home courts in the conference.

It should be noted the Hokies' best mark (10-6) since joining the ACC, came against the same schedule in 2006-07.

Losers

Georgia Tech: Oddly, this was a plus and a minus for Tech in 2006-07. As the only team in the ACC with four games against UNC and Duke, Tech made the NCAA Tournament with an 8-8 ACC record, in part because of the strength of schedule.

The strength of schedule will help the Jackets again, as they attempt to improve from 2-14, but it also puts a ceiling on how far they can bounce back.

With Virginia's schedule, the Jackets would have a fair shot at winning the ACC. With theirs -- they also play Clemson and FSU twice -- they will be lucky to win 10 games.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons do have four games against N.C. State and Miami, but they get UNC twice and three challenging road-only games in Duke, FSU and Virginia Tech.

The home-only schedule (BC, Clemson, Maryland) is no picnic either. Even if they sweep State and Miami, the Deacs are going to struggle to find four more wins.

N.C. State: The bonus for the Wolfpack is two games against Virginia Tech, which it has beaten in six of seven games. The bad news is four games against UNC and Maryland and only one game against Miami (and it's at Miami).
 

Cavs plan to rely on offense
By Whitey Reid
Published: August 21, 2009

Hopefully, for the sake of the Virginia women’s soccer team, the old axiom of “defense wins championships” isn’t true. If it is, UVa coach Steve Swanson could have some rough sailing ahead.

Swanson, whose 11th-ranked squad opens its regular season tonight at sixth-ranked Penn State, has an entirely new back line. Gone are mainstays Sarah Senty, Nikki Krzysik, Alex Singer and Alli Fries. In their place are … well, that’s still up in the air.

In the exhibition win over Georgetown last Sunday, sophomores Katie Carr and Maggie Kistner started in the middle, while sophomore Amanda Fancher and junior Kika Toulouse played on the outside. But freshmen Morgan Stith, Emily Carrollo and Kiley Naylor, along with fifth-year senior Blair Weymouth, are also in the mix for playing time.

“It’s very difficult when you lose the kind of experience we had in the back,” Swanson said. “To think that you can get it all back before the first game is unrealistic.

“But a real positive sign for us is that we’ve gotten better every single day. Just from the [Notre Dame exhibition game to the Georgetown exhibition] there was a lot of progress.”

The good news for Swanson is that sophomore goalie Chantel Jones, who took last season off to play for the United States under-20 team, is back in the fold. Jones, one of the top goalies in the country, should be a nice anchor for the young unit in front of her.

“Defense is definitely our challenge this year,” Jones said. “The group that just graduated carried our team for four years. To have them leave is a big void.

“But this whole preseason we’ve been working on defense and I’m pretty confident in it. The first-years are incredible. They’re fast, they’re fit and they’re willing to listen — and that’s all you need.”

If all else fails, Virginia can just outgun the opposition. This year’s group of forwards and midfielders could be one of the deepest and most potent of Swanson’s tenure.

Up front, Virginia returns sophomores Meghan Lenczyk and Lauren Alwine. Last season, Lenczyk had a team-leading 11 goals, while Alwine had a team-leading 14 assists. In addition, UVa added freshman Caroline Miller, one of the most heralded recruits in the country. Miller looked extremely sharp in the win over Georgetown, tallying two goals.

“The thing about Caroline is that she has, like [many of her teammates], the ability to really create some problems on her own,” Swanson said.

The midfield is just as talented. Senior Jess Rostedt, who has battled injuries the last couple of years, appears to be close to top form. The unit also features senior Caitlin Miskel, juniors Sinead Farrelly and Colleen Flanagan, and freshman Julia Roberts.

“I’m really, really excited,” said Farrelly, who was named to the preseason Hermann Trophy watch list, putting her in the company of the top 45 players in the nation. “It’s awesome. We have girls who can play anywhere. We have center-mids who can play outside and also up front.

“It’s definitely our most offensive-minded group since I’ve been here. I think that’s what we need, especially when our defense is taking a while [to jell]. At least we can get good offense.”

Virginia will be looking to break through in the postseason. Last season, the Cavaliers were in upset in the NCAA Sweet 16 by Duke.

However, a tough early-season schedule, starting with tonight’s contest against the Nittany Lions, won’t be any walk in the park.

“This will be a good test for us — away from home, against a top 10 team at their place,” Swanson said. “But I think we have to understand that we’re still evolving as a team, and as a defensive team.”
 

White transfers to UVa
The former Northside standout wants to be closer to her family.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Even when she picked Arkansas over Virginia more than two years ago, distance-running phenom Catherine White did not lack for UVa connections.

White has an older brother and a cousin at UVa and now she won't have to travel across time zones to see them, or have her family see her.

White, the Southeastern Conference women's cross-country champion this past season, has been released from her scholarship at Arkansas and will run for UVa this fall. She needed a release in order to have immediate eligibility.

"I really wanted to come back closer to home and be closer to family," White said. "I just kind of felt called to come to the University of Virginia."

Paperwork was completed Tuesday and White's father, John, was in Charlottesville on Thursday to move his daughter into her apartment.

White is a graduate of Northside High School, for whom she won 15 state championships in cross country and indoor and outdoor track. She was the Timesland girls athlete of the year as a senior in 2007, when she was also the Timesland girls cross country and track athlete of the year.

After winning an SEC championship in women's cross country this past fall, White claimed conference titles in the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the spring.

Prior to signing with Arkansas in November 2006, White was recruited by then-Cavaliers' cross country coach Jason Dunn. However, Dunn resigned prior to the start of the 2007 season and was succeeded by ex-Texas assistant Jason Vigilante.

Vigilante was named ACC cross country coach of the year in 2008 after the UVa men won their second straight conference championship and the women were tied for fourth. The UVa women were 26th in the NCAA championships.

Arkansas took 14th in the same meet and White was 65th, which would have put her first on a UVa team that had one senior.

"I'm really excited about the team here," she said. "I really haven't been here that long but everything's going great."

White was sixth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA women's outdoor track and field championships. She was named to the Arkansas athletic director's list for athletes with grade-point averages between 3.50 and 3.99 and was on the SEC's spring honor roll.