College football preview: Ups, downs plentiful in Groh's UVa tenure
Analysis
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

This season will be Al Groh's 15th as an ACC head football coach, a standard for longevity surpassed by only five other men.

Whether Groh moves up the list or not could be determined by the Cavaliers' record.

UVa has been picked to finish fifth out of six teams in the ACC's Coastal Division and, if the Cavaliers do not improve on that forecast, it will be difficult to post a winning record.

The Cavaliers, who went 5-7 last year, have not suffered back-to-back losing seasons since 1981-82.

No one in authority has said that Groh is on the proverbial "hot seat," but the facts don't lie.

In a news release distributed Nov. 30, athletic director Craig Littlepage said that Groh's contract had not been extended for another year and that he had three years remaining on his contract.

Just over two months later, Littlepage wrote a letter to reassure boosters that he expected results from the football and men's basketball teams.

"Many of our fans have voiced their frustration and I am frustrated as well," Little-page said.

"Many of our programs have performed extremely well over the past several years, ... Improvements in football and men's basketball are a priority."

Six weeks later, Littlepage dismissed four-year men's basketball coach Dave Leitao after a 10-18 season.

Only two years earlier, Leitao had been honored as ACC coach of the year.

Groh is a two-time ACC football coach of the year, and many thought he was doing one of his best jobs in 2008, when the Cavaliers rallied from a 1-3 start to win four games in a row.

UVa subsequently lost its last four games, many of which were undecided late into the fourth quarter.

Littlepage said in his Nov. 30 statement that a review of the football season would commence within 48 hours, and there was considerable speculation that UVa would cut ties with Groh, who turned 65 last month.

The next word out of Virginia was a Dec. 8 statement from Groh, who said that assistant coaches Mike Groh, Steve Bernstein and Levern Belin would "step down" from their positions.

Many believed that Groh would sooner resign than fire his son Mike the Cavaliers' offensive coordinator. However, Groh said during a phone interview with The Roanoke Times that he and Mike had discussed the issue during the season.

"I said, 'It's not a question of performance,' " Groh said in January. "I think he is as bright and engaging as [any coaches] we've had in here, but I told him, 'For the sake of your career, you need to break away from me.' "

Mike Groh eventually wound up on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama as a graduate assistant. Al Groh made a series of staff changes that brought in former Bowling Green head coach Gregg Brandon as offensive coordinator, Latrell Scott as receivers coach, Chad Wilt as defensive line coach, Bob Trott as linebackers coach and Ron Prince as special teams coordinator.

Running backs coach Anthony Poindexter moved to the secondary and ex-receivers coach Wayne Lineburg took over the running backs. Bob Pruett retired after one season as defensive coordinator but no one took his title. Al Groh has been overseeing the defense since the 2005 Music City Bowl and that's not going to change.

Groh received his second ACC coach-of-the-year award following a 9-4 season in 2007, but that was followed almost immediately by a parade of offseason defections.

All-America offensive tackle Branden Albert announced that he would pass up his final season of eligibility to turn pro. Starting quarterback Jameel Sewell and top cornerback Chris Cook were declared academically ineligible. Promising defensive tackle Jeffrey Fitzgerald was found guilty of an academic infraction that required him to leave school. One-time SuperPrep All-American Mike Brown was arrested.

All of those players could have been on the 2008 Virginia team, but the topper may have come when sophomore quarterback Peter Lalich was dismissed from the team after starting the Cavaliers' first two games. Lalich, who eventually transferred to Oregon State, had violated terms of the probation he had received on a charge of underage alcohol possession.

Three days later, UVa visited Connecticut with unproven Marc Verica as its quarterback and lost 45-10, but the Cavaliers did not lose again until November.

"I'm not really going back to 2008 very much," Groh said, "but the 2008 team had to endure more things, probably, than any team I've been associated with. They remained strong, and I'm appreciate of what they did. But it's like boxing. The less amount of body punches you take ... the fresher you are in the end."

One-time UVa men's basketball coach Pete Gillen, when asked whether he was on the hot seat, said he always felt he was on the hot seat during good times and bad. Groh bristled when the subject was raised during the ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, N.C.

"It's not about me; it's about the team," he said of his 2009 focus.

Players are aware of the speculation over Groh's job status, but it's not as if they're taking a "win for Al" approach.

"Personally, I wouldn't look at it that way," quarterback Vic Hall said. "That has never come up in the locker room or nowhere."

Groh's predecessor at UVa, George Welsh, coached in the ACC for a record 19 seasons (1982-2000). Florida State's Bobby Bowden has been an ACC coach for 17 years, but the Seminoles were not in the ACC for much of his FSU tenure.

Just ahead of Groh is his former North Carolina boss, Bill Dooley, who coached at UNC for 11 years and at Wake Forest for five. Groh coached at Wake Forest for six years, went to the NFL for 14 years, and took over at UVa in 2001.

At this point, Groh's legacy has been established. He's a survivor. How many coaches have been a Division I-A head coach for 15 years and also served as an NFL head coach?

"I would have considered myself lucky just to be able to do that for one year," Groh said.

"I think of myself as just an average guy who likes football, everything about it, and things have gone my way."

Aaron McFarling: UVa's spread offense equals fresh thinking
College football preview
By Aaron McFarling

College
Gregg Brandon looks like college. Sounds like college. Probably smells like college, too, if you stand close enough to him.

This is the best thing about Virginia's offensive coordinator: He is entirely collegiate. Never spent a day on an NFL coaching staff, and you get the sense that this is the way he wants it. His spread system, developed alongside Urban Meyer at Bowling Green, is built for college.

The NFL wouldn't touch a scheme this wacky. Somebody tries the Wildcat up there, like the Dolphins did last year, and people are floored. My goodness! Where's the fullback?

Forget throwing a pair of dual-threat quarterbacks in there at the same time -- like Brandon is proposing this year with Vic Hall and Jameel Sewell -- and stringing a bunch of receivers to the sidelines while going no-huddle. That's something only a college would do.

"This offense sucks," says UVa defensive lineman Nate Collins. That's a college word -- sucks. But in this case, Collins means it in a good way.

"It sucks playing against," said Collins, who's been practicing against it since the spring. "Fast-tempo. They're running up to the line and sometimes when we're looking for our signal and before we even get the signal, we can hear the cadence going already."

So a college program is adopting a college offense. So what, right?

Here's what: It represents a monumental shift in Al Groh's thinking. And it's positively refreshing.

The UVa head coach has never seemed comfortable with the whole "college" thing. Just listen to him. He mentions his NFL coaching ties -- Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Romeo Crennel, et al. -- every chance he gets. Ask him about a stud player he's got now, and he's liable to make a reference to Lawrence Taylor, the Hall of Fame linebacker Groh coached as an assistant with the New York Giants.

For years, he trumpeted the UVa staff's many seasons of combined NFL experience (Groh has 13 himself). At first, this seemed like no big deal. Maybe even a good thing. But after a while, Groh sounded like a guy who felt like he belonged at a higher place, that he was too good to be coaching his alma mater.

But that's changing. Hiring Brandon and signing off on Hall as a quarterback -- who at 5-foot-9 would never take a snap in the NFL -- shows progress.

It shows that he's trying to win at this level however he can.

You know, like the other college coaches do.

Granted, the NFL rhetoric hasn't disappeared entirely. At media day, when somebody asked Groh about defensive back Chris Cook returning to the team after a one-year absence, the coach made an analogy to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. And when somebody asked him about Brandon's system, Groh downplayed the drastic change by saying he used the spread offense as the head coach of the Jets in the "Monday Night Miracle" of 2000.

That was an emergency-only moment, though. What Brandon brings is full time.

If you heard Alabama coach Nick Saban talking about the spread earlier this month, you'll know that the system disgusts NFL personnel people.

Saban said he had a 13-page letter in his office from an NFL general manager complaining that they couldn't evaluate spread quarterbacks. Spread quarterbacks, the letter argued, don't perform the same tasks as signal-callers in the league.

The proper response to this is, "Buzz off, NFL general manager, and take your 13-page letter with you."

For obvious reasons, the NFL wants college football to be its minor league. Groh long has been a good soldier when it comes to that, moving guys to positions where they best project at the next level. But this is supposed to be about winning now, even at the occasional expense of a player's draft position.

Brandon gets this. And it appears Groh does now, too.

Imagine that. College football has finally come to Charlottesville.

 

College football preview: Opportunity knocks for UVa's Vic Hall
After four years at cornerback, Vic Hall returns to quarterback full time for the first time since his record-breaking prep career.
By Doug Doughty | The Roanoke Times

When his four-year wait had ended and Vic Hall finally had been given a shot to play quarterback for Virginia, he probably felt like shouting from the mountaintops.

Hall didn't tell a soul, not even his mother.

Five days remained until the Cavaliers' season finale at Virginia Tech and UVa head coach Al Groh wasn't eager to share his strategy with the Hokies.

"Clearly, we weren't going to broadcast the fact," said Groh, who had moved Hall from his cornerback, his home for nearly three years. "It was something that we felt would give us a little bit of an advantage ... Things do get out sometimes. But, if everybody on the team was talking or blogging or whatever, the only person who wouldn't have been talking was Vic."

If there's a company guy on the Cavaliers' roster, it's Hall.

Despite leading Virginia to the brink of an upset victory in Blacksburg, where he rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 17-14 loss, Hall never asked if he would play quarterback in 2009.

"I didn't know until we got back for the spring session," Hall said. "After that game, I was still disappointed that we didn't win the game. That was on my mind for a long time."

Hall admits he was curious, but pressing the issue is not his style.

"A lot of people asked me about it," Hall said. "I didn't know what [the coaches] were going to do. I was hoping I'd be playing there in the spring."

Hall broke virtually all of the state records for passing and total offense during a celebrated career at Gretna High School. He committed to the Cavaliers early in his junior year in 2003, but many questioned whether size would prevent Hall (5-foot-9, 185 pounds) from playing quarterback in college.

Virginia later took a commitment for 2005 from a second quarterback, Jameel Sewell, but neither player got on the field until 2006.

By then, Hall already had agreed to move to cornerback after Chris Cook broke his leg at Boston College. That was during the 2005 season and, while UVa was able to preserve Hall's redshirt year, he stayed on defense.

Groh never totally ruled out the possibility of Hall returning to quarterback in a move that had worked previously with Marques Hagans.

Hagans, listed at 5-foot-10 and 211 pounds, moved from quarterback to wide receiver as a sophomore and had 28 receptions in 2003.

Hagans also returned punts, a chore that Hall has handled for the past two seasons.

"It always impressed me because we were the same height," Hall said. "We never measured back to back. Regardless, if you're not 6-5, people are always going to question whether you can do the job."

Obviously, Hall made a believer out of Groh in the game against Virginia Tech. Since then, the Cavaliers have hired a new offensive coordinator, Gregg Brandon, who previously was the head coach at Bowling Green.

Brandon is a devotee of the spread offense and is partial to quarterbacks, like Hall, who can run.

"He's good on the perimeter," Brandon said. "He stayed in the pocket [in a recent scrimmage] and made some nice throws. The big thing for me is, the team believes in the kid.

"Enough teams are winning with kids under 6 foot. It can be done and I'm going to give Vic every chance to do it."

Groh has turned over the offense to Brandon, but Brandon says Groh will have the final say on the starter for Virginia's opener Sept. 5 against William and Mary.

"Vic's done a great job," Brandon said. "I think, after the spring, he was the guy. And, he's continuing to progress. Sewell and [Marc] Verica are in there, too. I'd like to see Sewell and Vic out there together. That's another package to think through a little bit."

Groh said that players often can identify a starting quarterback before the coaches do.

"If I had to play against someone like [Hall] during the season, I'd be biting my nails," said UVa outside linebacker Aaron Clark, one of Hall's fellow co-captains.

Hall passed for more than 8,000 yards in his Gretna career but asked whether he prefers running the ball or throwing it and the response is immediate.

"Running," he said. "I trust the ball in my hands more than somebody else's."

That's about as cocky as Hall gets.

He was credited with one passing attempt against the Hokies on a ball that was dropped. He threw another pass that was nullified by penalty.

Brandon said that Hall's throws were "all over the place," to start the spring "but he's really worked on that. He was learning where to go with the ball, so a lot of his throws were errant because he didn't see things. He can make most of the throws that we're asking him to make."

All of the quarterbacks are learning a new system, so Hall isn't behind in that area.

"In Vic's case, he's a quick study," Brandon said, "and he really wants to do well. So, he's put the time in. He's watched film. I wish I had him for more than one football season because he is a consummate football player."

Hall harbors no malice at getting the chance to play quarterback so late in his career. Sewell was the choice of former offensive coordinator Mike Groh, the UVa assistant who recruited him, but Hall said he was saddened at the younger Groh's dismissal.

"It was hard seeing him leave," Hall said. "You never want to see anyone lose their job, let alone a coach you had a relationship with."

Groh was Hall's position coach for five days and Hall says they had a relationship. That's the way he is. Occasionally, people back in Gretna would voice their displeasure and Hall said he "missed" his old position, but nobody at UVa ever heard him griping. Hall remains true to his Gretna roots but what takes place in the McCue Center, which houses UVa's football operations, stays at the McCue Center. Unless Groh announces a starter before the opener, it will be the Virginia Tech game all over.

"It goes without saying that I'm not going to say anything," Hall said.

Hall's mom, Rochelle, understands that. She suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and decided to watch last year's Tech-UVa game on TV when she heard a forecast for cold weather in Blacksburg.

"I was home by myself, laying on the bed," she said. "The first time they came out of the huddle and took their positions, I noticed [Vic] was at quarterback and I nearly fell off the bed. I was like, 'He didn't even tell me.' I had tears in my eyes. I was just overwhelmed.

"He loves to surprise me, but he'd never surprised me like that."
 

Cavs still seeking pieces for offensive puzzle
By Michael Phillips
Published: August 29, 2009

Practice time is at a premium everywhere as coaches frantically prepare for college football's opening weekend, but at Virginia that time is getting divided a lot of ways.

The Cavaliers have three quarterbacks that are all getting work, an offensive line preparing for a new spread offense, and a freshman running back who could be seeing carries as soon as next Saturday.

It all starts with the signal caller, and at U.Va. the opening-day starter is likely to be senior Vic Hall.

Also in the mix are senior Jameel Sewell (Hermitage) and junior Marc Verica. All three are taking snaps in practice, and coach Al Groh said that all three could be involved in some way.

"Right now, we continue to anticipate the possibility of any or all of them playing in a game," he said. "It's a tricky proposition, obviously, but we think these three guys -- as a compilation -- give us a chance to play as well as we need to in any game."

During practices, the three are taking turns running the offense, but generally are declared off-limits to full contact.

After a rough season at the position last year, Groh said he is sensitive to the dangers that a team faces when it loses a quarterback or two, and doesn't want to see that happen in preseason.

The adjustment process now will be for those three to adapt against William and Mary when the defense is allowed to come full speed, and the quarterback can't wear a no-contact jersey.

"They have to accommodate their game to the reality of how things are going in the pocket," Groh said. "Sometimes when the rusher pulls off and changes his course to not run into the quarterback, that gives them a false sense of how they can operate."

Whoever is quarterbacking will rely on the offensive line to keep Groh's concern from becoming a reality.

The line will play this season more spread out than last year to accommodate new offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon's schemes. Groh emphasized that at times last year the line did have to spread out, so it was ready for the challenge. He added that if anything, things should get easier for the big men.

"It's quite a bit less intricate than what they've been asked to do in the past," the coach said. "There are some different line calls to accommodate, but the number of techniques is less."

Offensively the final position that is in transition is at running back. Entering the season, senior Mikell Simpson was presumed to be the starter. But in the past week, he's been spotted on campus wearing a walking boot.

Groh had no comment about that -- saying only that the injury report would be released on Thursday -- but it could open up carries for redshirt freshman Torrey Mack.

Mack, highly regarded, has been drawing buzz for his fall performances so far. He redshirted last year, but only to learn the finer points of his position.

"What he needed were the parts that an elite tailback has," Groh said. "Pass protection, running routes -- those were new things he had to work on. If he just had to run the ball, his skills would have enabled him to be successful."

Regardless of how those position battles shake out, Groh is going to make sure that during practice, every player who might see some action gets prepared for next week's opener.
 

Will U.Va.'s Vic Hall return punts this season? Maybe so.

You won't normally find college football coaches entertaining thoughts of intentionally putting their (potential starting) quarterback in harm's way, but U.Va. coach Al Groh's possible plans for his punt return specialist could tell you all you need to know about how serious he is about improving his special teams.

Groh said Wednesday he's looking at four players as options at punt returner: Javaris Brown, Javanti Sparrow, Tim Smith...and Vic Hall. Groh added he's considering Mikell Simpson, Torrey Mack, Corey Mosley, Chris Cook and Sparrow for kickoff returns, but the mention of Hall as a possible punt returner caught a lot of attention.

With Hall and Jameel Sewell both representing mobile quarterback options in U.Va.'s no-huddle spread offense, Groh was asked if he might consider Hall for punt returns more at this point due to the presence of two dual-threat quarterbacks as opposed to just one. It turns out that's only part of the reason Groh is taking a look at Hall in the return specialist role.

"Certainly that would factor in to it, but the biggest thing is that...whoever is necessary to give us the best personnel special teams, that's what we're going to do," Groh said.

Hall is no stranger to punt returns. He returned 23 punts in 2007 for an average of 10 yards per return, and last season he returned 16 punts for an average of just 6.4 yards per return. Of course, he was also playing cornerback in '07 and '08 - not quarterback.

As far as Sparrow's potential on returns is concerned, Groh expressed optimism. Sparrow, a 6-foot, 185-pound freshman from Western Branch High in Chesapeake, is also lining up at backup cornerback on defense. He's already one of the fastest players on the teams.

"He's one of the players that when we said this class would, amongst other things, make the team faster and be one of the fastest classes that we've had here, he certainly was one of the players in mind," Groh said. "We knew that by numbers and by watching video, but to see it with our own eyes, he's legitimately fast."

Chase Minnifield, who returned 21 kickoffs last season for a solid average of 23.3 yards per return, isn't working as a return specialist anymore. He's working in other areas of special teams, according Groh.

Groh gave a quick rundown of how his other key special teams spots are shaping up, and there weren't any major surprises. Jimmy Howell will be the punter. Robert Randolph holds the lead for kicking duties. Randolph and Chris Hinkebein, who is also competing for the kicking job, are going head-to-head for kickoff responsibilities.

As of Friday, U.Va. will exit preseason mode and go in to game-week preparation. It'll be the first day the team will begin prepping specifically for the Sept. 5 opener against William & Mary.

Groh would neither confirm nor deny rumors that Simpson, who is the top candidate to be U.Va.'s starting running back, has been seen walking around Charlottesville while wearing a protective boot.

"I think our first injury report will come out by conference regulations the Thursday before the first game," Groh said.

Ooookk...sounds like that's code for "don't even try to ask about injuries cuz you'll get nowhere."

In keeping with the theme of that last response, Groh didn't sound too pleased with what he saw from a Tuesday scrimmage. He didn't elaborate on what bothered him the most regarding the scrimmage.

"I would say that I have a long list of concerns at this point," Groh said.
"I'd say that had everything gone beautifully, which is probably a pretty low odds circumstance for most teams...then, I'd feel swimmingly about things, but not everything went beautifully."

Posted by Norman Wood on August 26, 2009
 

August 30, 2009
College Football Preview 2009
Success of Spread Forces Fundamental Changes on Defense
By PETE THAMEL and THAYER EVANS

Texas Christian Coach Gary Patterson is more of a sideline savant than a “Top Chef” candidate. But Patterson, one of the foremost defensive minds in college football, resorted to a food analogy to describe the biggest problem facing defensive coaches in college football — stopping the multitude of spread offenses.

“It’s kind of like people cooking chili,” Patterson said. “Everybody’s got their own recipe. Everybody loves chili, but some like it hot, some like it meaty, some like it with more tomato sauce. There’s a hundred thousand million ways to cook chili. You’ve just got to figure what their recipe is and what you’re going to do to play against it.”

With offenses becoming significantly more productive in the past decade, it is clear that few defensive coaches have found the right ingredients to stop the spread. And although spread offenses come in a lot of flavors, from the pass-happy version favored by Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach to the style used by Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez, which relies heavily on a running quarterback, they all seem to leave defensive coaches with heartburn.

In the effort to catch up, stretching from the grease board to the recruiting trail, defensive coaches have tried everything from unconventional formations like Patterson’s 4-2-5 to recruiting smaller and faster players who can be used at multiple positions. For now, however, offenses are running — or passing — downhill.

Since Florida Coach Urban Meyer’s last team at Utah broke into the Bowl Championship Series in 2004 and transformed the spread’s image from gimmicky to mainstream, its proliferation has been profound. Last year, all of the top-10 offenses in scoring and total yards per game used elements of the spread. That included Oklahoma, which capitalized on a no-huddle spread formation led by the Heisman Trophy quarterback Sam Bradford to set an N.C.A.A. record with 716 points, an average of 51.14 per game.

“It’s really fast-break basketball on grass,” the L.S.U. defensive coordinator John Chavis said in a telephone interview.

To see what defenses are up against, take a peek at how the spread has contributed to an overhaul of the N.C.A.A. record book. In the past two seasons, 10 of the 14 major offensive categories that gauge overall production have had the highest nationwide averages in history.

That includes scoring average per team (28.4 in 2007), yards per play (5.49 in 2008) and passing yards per game (233.1 in 2007). In contrast, the 1999 season averages in scoring (25.6), yards per play (5.18) and passing yards per game (212.5) were significantly lower.

So what are defenses trying to do to adjust?

“That’s a good question,” Louisville Coach Steve Kragthorpe said with a smile.

The changes come in all shapes, sizes and alignments. But they are all predicated on one thing — speed. The point of the spread offense is to create space to take advantage of one-on-one matchups, with the notion that one missed tackle or deft move could lead to a big play.

And although defenses need smaller and quicker players to match up better in the open field, they also need to show enough different looks to disrupt the quarterback’s rhythm.

“If all things are equal or we have better guys than you and you sit in some base defense, it’s not a good day for you,” Meyer said. “If you have better players than we do, then you’ll be fine. If you sit and play vanilla, you have no chance.”

Patterson, considered one of the top defensive innovators in the country, would never add vanilla to his chili recipe. Numerous coaches pointed to him as a leader in shutting down the spread.

It certainly helps to have players like the consensus all-American defensive end Jerry Hughes, but Patterson also has a flair for improvisation. Patterson’s base defense consists of four down linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs. Many teams have gone away from four-man defensive lines and have added a linebacker for a 3-4 alignment, but Patterson chooses to keep the front stout and the back end of the defense flexible.

It is a simple concept for a complicated challenge.

“You’ve got to spread out with them,” he said. “We try to coach defense like coaches coach offense.”

Patterson’s theories on slowing down the spread quickly come back to speed.

“If the defensive end is fast enough to be able to play the running back or the quarterback instead of some other person on your defense, that frees up a guy,” he said. “If nine guys out of your 11 can run somebody down, it always helps.”

As the defensive coordinator at Miami from 1986 to 1988, Dave Wannstedt began to spread the gospel of speed over size in college football. When the Hurricanes emerged as one of the dominant teams of that era, that theory quickly spread.

So when Wannstedt returned to college football in 2005 at Pittsburgh after a decade and a half in the N.F.L., the Panthers’ rival, West Virginia, only reaffirmed the necessity of his philosophy. With the Mountaineers in the middle of Rodriguez’s successful tenure, Wannstedt said he built his defense around shutting down a mobile quarterback like West Virginia’s Pat White. Wannstedt joked that he hated to give West Virginia credit, but said the Mountaineers’ offense forced him “to recruit a different type of athlete to compete with them than if they were a two-back, run-it-up-in-there, bloody-nose-type team.”

That meant an overhaul of the traditional defensive paradigm.

“Most of our linebackers are converted strong safeties, most of our defensive ends are converted linebackers,” he said. “I’ve always been a speed-over-size defensive guy, anyway, but to defend the spread, it’s needed. The spread offense is basically getting better athletes than the other team, getting them in space and beating them one on one.”

For many programs, that has meant changing of what they look for in recruits. Monstrous defensive tackles are still a rare and valued commodity, but smaller and versatile defensive ends are becoming chic.

Numerous Big East coaches pointed to South Florida’s George Selvie as a prototype end against the spread because, at 6 feet 4 inches and 250 pounds, he is strong against the run and quick enough to both pressure the passer and pursue a tailback. Meyer pointed to his ends, Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham, as versatile and athletic enough to stuff the run and drop back into coverage.

Players like that are known as hybrids, a word becoming as common in recruiting vernacular as it is among environmentalists.

“For us, that’s a guy like Jeremy Beal, an outside linebacker and defensive end,” the Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “You can get in a four-man front, a three-man front, all with the same personnel. Having the ability to do that creates an advantage for you defensively as long as you’ve got the type of players and athletes that can do that.”

Another way that Meyer has found teams combating the spread is with high-risk, high-reward defensive fronts. He said Florida saw a lot of “bizarre blitzes” that may not be fundamentally sound.

“It’s risky, though, that’s the thing,” Meyer said. “If you hit them, those are the big plays.”

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow threw two interceptions against Oklahoma in last season’s B.C.S. championship game, as many as he had thrown the rest of the year.

One of the interceptions was snared by the athletic defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, whom Tebow did not see after the Sooners dropped him and another lineman into coverage.

“They guessed right,” Meyer said. “It’s hard to prepare for that.”

Venables said the defensive alignment was designed to tempt Tebow to throw to an area that briefly appeared to be open.

“In actuality, you’ve got extra zone defenders with man-to-man concepts behind,” Venables said. “You’re baiting the quarterback into an area where it’s like shark-infested waters, so to speak.”

The real sharks in college football now, as Florida ultimately showed in the title game, are still on offense. And as the spread offense era in college football continues to flourish, defensive coordinators will continue to get heartburn trying to cook up new ways to stop it.

 

5 storylines
August 30, 2009

Five storylines for the season
Hoos' faith lies with the spread
With all the pressure on coach Al Groh, new offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon has the chance to be a savior, or he could represent one of the final lines in Groh's nine-year tenure. Last season, U.Va. was 115th in the nation in scoring (16.1 ppg). Even with Cedric Peerman on board, U.Va.'s running game started the season slowly (no team from a Bowl Championship Series conference ran for fewer yards per game — 66 — in August and September) and didn't finish the season much better (109th in rushing offense — 97 ypg). Something has to change if Groh and his staff hope to be around in 2010.

Hall and Sewell must pass
While quarterbacks Vic Hall and Jameel Sewell have shown a penchant in practice for being able to create something out of nothing when the pocket breaks down, they need to get it done in the passing game, too. Jared Green, who had just 12 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown last season, is the leading returner at the wide receiver spots. No other returning receiver had double digits in receptions. To instill confidence in the young receivers, Hall (who is a gifted athlete, but will have to overcome his 5-foot-9 stature at quarterback) or Sewell (who has to prove he still can be sharp after a year away) must deliver catchable balls.

Slight drop-off at linebacker
It'd be hard to expect the same kind of production from a linebacker corps that lost Jon Copper, Antonio Appleby and Clint Sintim — the top three tacklers on the team last season. Yet, returning starter Denzel Burrell (48 tackles last season), Aaron Clark, Steve Greer and Darren Childs will need to be consistently productive for U.Va.'s 3-4 defense to remain effective. At least there are several other options to explore at linebacker, including Cam Johnson, Billy Schautz, Terence Fells-Danzer, Darnell Carter, Woodside High graduate Jared Detrick and Gloucester High graduate Aaron Taliaferro.

Dowling an All-American?
Ras-I Dowling should anchor what could be a very strong secondary, including cornerback Chris Cook (back after not being enrolled at U.Va. last year, like Sewell) and safeties Corey Mosley and Rodney McLeod (a rising star). After logging a total of 20 pass breakups in the last two seasons, it would be difficult to find a cornerback more effective in the Atlantic Coast Conference than Dowling. Now, he'll get to work directly under assistant coach Anthony Poindexter, a former great U.Va. safety who moved from coaching running backs to defensive backs in the off-season. Another season like the first two from Dowling, and the NFL will come calling before his senior year.

Simpson or Mack?
After a breakout 2007 season, Mikell Simpson didn't look nearly as effective last season. Of course, he missed the last three games because of a shoulder injury, but he didn't seem to be a primary option even when he was in games. There's no denying Simpson remains one of U.Va.'s best receiving threats (43 catches in '07 and 15 catches last season). Torrey Mack, a redshirt freshman, will get plenty of looks in the spread. If he shows anything remotely close to the explosiveness he displayed in his senior year at Stratford High in Stratford, Conn. (13.7 yards per carry), he could find himself getting the bulk of the carries in U.Va.'s backfield.
 

Devvarman, Shabaz to Compete at US Open
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 08/30/2009

FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Virginia men’s tennis program will be well represented this week as the US Open begins at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Junior Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) will compete in doubles while former Cavalier Somdev Devvarman will compete in singles.

Shabaz, who won the NCAA Doubles Championship last season with Dominic Inglot was given a wild card into the Open by the USTA. He will team with Wayne Odesnik, currently ranked No. 86 in the world in singles, in the doubles draw. They will play rising American stars Sam Querrey and John Isner in the first round.

Devvarman won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw of a grand slam tournament for the first time in his career. He topped Alex Bogomolev, Igor Sijsling and Jerzy Janowicz to advance to the field of 128. On Monday, Devvarman makes his US Open debut when he plays No. 106 ranked Frederico Gil of Portugal.

Devvarman is the first Virginia player to play in the US Open main draw since Brian Vahaly played the tournament in 2002 and 2003. Shabaz is the first Cavalier to play in the US Open doubles tournament since Geoff Macdonald in 1982. Shabaz is also believed to be the first current Virginia player to compete in the main draw of the US Open.

In other news involving former Cavalier players, Teddy Angelinos made the quarterfinals of the Futures event in Romania last week. In the opening round, he defeated No. 2 seed Gabriel Moraru, ranked No. 346 in the world.
 

Devvarman, Shabaz to make U.S. Open debuts
By Whitey Reid
Published: August 31, 2009

When the U.S. Open kicks off today in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., it will have a little Wahoo flavor.
Former Virginia star Somdev Devvarman and current standout Michael “Showbiz” Shabaz will both be competing. Devvarman and Shabaz are the first players to make it into the main draw of a Grand Slam event during the tenure of Virginia coach Brian Boland.
Devvarman is the first Virginia player to play in the U.S. Open main draw since Brian Vahaly played the tournament in 2002 and 2003. Shabaz is the first Cavalier to play in the US Open doubles tournament since Geoff Macdonald in 1982. Shabaz is also believed to be the first current Virginia player to compete in the main draw of the U.S. Open.
“It’s a tremendous honor for Michael and is certainly something that Somdev has expected, but has worked extremely hard to achieve,” Boland said. “He’s put so much time and effort into it and I think he’s playing the best tennis of his life at this point and could make a good run.”
As NCAA doubles champion this past season, Shabaz was granted a wild card into the event. He’ll be playing with Wayne Odesnik, a tour player whom he has known from his days on the junior circuit. Odesnik, a left-hander, is ranked No. 86 in singles.
“It’s definitely exciting,” Shabaz said. “You don’t get to play in a Grand Slam event every day. It’s a great opportunity for me and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Devvarman earned his way into the singles by winning three qualifying matches. Currently ranked No. 162, the Chennai, India native got a fairly favorable draw. He’ll take on Portugal’s Frederico Gil, who is ranked 110th. If he gets past Gil, he could face 24th-ranked Phillip Kohlschreiber, a German.
After that, things could potentially get tougher with a third-round match against Serbian stud Novak Djokovic, the No. 4 player in the world who was runner-up at the Open in 2007 and a semifinalist in ‘08.
The Devvarman-Gil match is the second of the day on Court No. 15 at the tennis center and will start at approximately 1 p.m.
Devvarman has climbed over 600 spots in the rankings in the 14 months he has been a pro. At the Legg Mason Classic in Washington last month, Devvarman upset then-No. 15 Marin Cilic in making it to the third round.
Shabaz and Odesnik will be playing Jon Isner and Sam Querrey, the day and time have yet to be announced. Isner and Querrey are two of the best young American players on tour.
Ironically, Devvarman defeated Isner, the 6-foot-9 former Georgia star, to win the 2007 NCAA singles championship in Atlanta.
“I’ve grown up playing those guys in juniors and know both of them pretty well,” Shabaz said. “It’s going to be fun. They’re big servers. It’s going to be a great opportunity to see the differences in levels — from college to pro.
“John’s been playing well and Sam’s been tearing it up…it’s going to be interesting.”
Boland, who returns a stacked team that will have a chance to win an NCAA title next spring, will be making the trip to New York to watch his pupils.
“I think this says a lot about our program and how much progress we’ve made,” Boland said. “[Devvarman and Shabaz] both have developed here and improved their tennis through a lot of hard work. I’m really proud of both of them.”
 

Cavaliers crush Liberty, Hofstra
Miller notches three assists against Flames; Virginia takes 30 more shots than Liberty
Jack Bird, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor
Published: Monday, August 31 2009

Freshman forward Caroline Miller scored one of Virginia’s five goals against Liberty, contributing to the Cavaliers’s impressive offensive attack over the weekend. The Virginia women’s soccer team garnered its 149th and 150th wins this weekend by defeating Liberty and Hofstra at Klöckner Stadium. With the two victories, Virginia improved to 2-1 on the season and 150-37-14 all-time.

“I think there are so many people that claim their stadium is the best in the country but I think the crowd here, the atmosphere that’s here, the community and the kind of soccer town it is, it’s a real asset to us,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “We owe a lot to our fans.”

With the Cavaliers outscoring their opponents by a combined total of 12-0, Virginia’s offensive prowess was on display.

Sophomore forward Lauren Alwine, who led the ACC in assists last season, found junior Meghan Lenczyk for the first Virginia goal of the season. Thirty-three shots later, the Cavaliers found themselves up 5-0 on the Flames, thanks especially to the efforts of senior forward Jess Rostedt and freshman forward Caroline Miller.

“Caroline [Miller] is a special player,” Swanson said. “She has some unique qualities — skill wise and just her mentality ... When Caroline gets faced up one-on-one, she’s hard to stop.”

In 38 minutes, Miller managed three assists and five shots, one of which found the back of the net.

Coach Swanson “talks about us being seamless,” Miller said. “When he puts you in off the bench, you have got to be ready to go. [I was] just following directions, I guess.”

Rostedt also saw limited minutes — only 39 — but scored once and put three shots on goal.

“Our team’s on the same page, so we are finding each other,” Rostedt said about her opportunities on goal. “The more that we play with each other the more we understand the run someone is going to make.”

The Liberty game finished as a carbon copy of last year’s contest during which Virginia also shut out the Flames 5-0 and outshot them 39-1.

“The good thing for us is we were getting chances,” Swanson said. “For me to see that right now at this stage is a good sign. We are penetrating, we are getting it in behind, we are getting good chances ... Obviously we have to do a little better in terms of finishing.”

The 80-degree heat Sunday did nothing to stifle the team’s powerful attack started Friday night. Virginia’s offensive charge, even more efficient with a 0.280 shooting percentage Sunday, was led by Miller. The freshman once again stood out among the powerhouse trio comprised of her, Alwine and Lenczyk.

“I love playing with Meghan [Lenczyk] and Lauren [Alwine],” Miller said. “It’s so much fun — they are so good. Lately we’ve been playing a 4-3-3, so it’s all three of us up top.”

Coming off the bench and only playing 39 minutes, Miller managed an assist and two goals. Lenczyk notched two goals and an assist, and Alwine contributed a goal and three assists.

“We’ve got some depth this year and we’ve got some options,” Swanson said. “The difficulty is us trying to get a rhythm with the depth that we have.”

Virginia also continued to test its unproven backline, which stepped up to hold Liberty and Hofstra to only nine shots combined.

The Cavaliers will next play Arizona at the Sun Devil Desert Classic this weekend.
 

Cavs manage narrow win against Penn State despite inconsistent playVirginia redeems itself after 2008 loss to Nittany Lions; Stöckel scores game’s lone goal
Virginia redeems itself after 2008 loss to Nittany Lions; Stöckel scores game’s lone goal
Ben Gomez, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Published: Monday, August 31 2009

Junior goalkeeper Kim Kastuk played half of the game against Miami (OH) and the entire game against Penn State. The No. 6 Virginia women’s field hockey team began its season in impressive fashion this weekend with wins against Miami (OH) and No. 11 Penn State. The Cavaliers avenged last season’s 0-1 loss to Penn State, defeating the Nittany Lions 1-0 Sunday at the University Hall Turf Field.

“This is a big game for us because it was a big upset last year when we lost,” sophomore midfielder Paige Selenski. “We were looking to come out and play a hard game against them and put it all out on the field.”

The Cavaliers (2-0) started tentatively but eventually settled into an aggressive style of play. Although Virginia won, the offensive performance was disappointing for a team ranked No. 6. At times, the Cavaliers seemed erratic and out of control in their pursuit of the goal. The lone goal of the game was scored by sophomore midfielder Inga Stöckel off of a short corner from freshman back Charlotte van den Broek with 10 minutes left in the first half. Despite inconsistent play, the Cavaliers managed to outshoot the Nittany Lions 17-5.

“There were some moments where we could have slowed down, taken our time and assessed the situation,” senior back Lauren Elstein said. “When it is such a close game like that, we really want to possess and don’t want turnovers.”

Though Sunday was only a mixed success on offense, the Cavaliers’ victory Friday was resounding. Virginia topped Miami (OH) 7-0 in a clean, well-rounded effort. Six different Cavaliers notched goals in the win, with sophomore back Floor Vogels leading the way with two. Sophomore midfielder Alex Jahnle and freshman forward Britt Knouse each scored the first goals of their collegiate careers. Adding to the balanced effort were five different Cavaliers recording assists. Virginia dominated the RedHawks from the beginning of Friday’s game to the final whistle, outshooting them 18-2 and tallying an 8-1 advantage on penalty corners.

The Cavalier defense was a high point of the weekend, as Virginia recorded shutouts in both games. Goalkeepers sophomore Adrienne Ostroff and junior Kim Kastuk split time in the cage against Miami (OH), with each playing a half. Against Penn State, Kastuk got the nod and played the full game, recording three saves. The rest of the defense — including van de Broek, who is filling the hole that graduate Lucy Meyers left — also stepped up, suffocating both opponents whenever they entered the circle.

“She gives us more speed in the back and is able to handle the ball,” Virginia coach Michelle Madison said of van der Broek. “She makes good decisions and is able to hang with the speedy forwards.”

Vogels and van den Broek played together in the Netherlands and look to be anchors of the Cavalier defense this season.

With the two wins this weekend, Virginia coach Michelle Madison is now only one victory away from 250 career wins. Many people in the field hockey community consider Madison one of the most successful coaches in the sport’s history, as she is the only Division I coach to take three different schools to the NCAA Tournament. She will attempt to reach the 250-win milestone Sept. 4 at Providence.