Departure doesn't deter coach
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Some might say that new Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao got a rude awakening when it was announced in early September that likely starter Gary Forbes would transfer to another school.

Leitao chose not to view it that way.

"There are always things [you don't know] but what I've learned so far hasn't alarmed me at all," he said. "I don't think they put students in an unfair position to succeed."

Notified at the end of summer school that he would not be eligible this season, Forbes lodged an appeal and had begun classes at UVa when he learned his appeal had been rejected.

He subsequently transferred to Massachusetts, where he will have two years of eligibility starting with the 2006-07 season.

Theoretically, Forbes could have sat out the 2005-06 school year as a redshirt and returned to UVa -- a path chosen by football player Ottowa Anderson -- but, apparently, that was not discussed.

"I had no discussions, no," Leitao said.

On the day that Leitao was named coach, Forbes admitted that he had thought about transferring but said the selection of Leitao had convinced him to stay.

At that point, there was no indication that Forbes was on shaky academic footing, raising the question of whether he was a casualty of the transition.

"I don't know the correct answer to that question," Leitao said. "I don't know if there is a correct answer."

In some respects, Forbes' departure may step up the pace of Leitao's rebuilding efforts. He now has three scholarships available for the entering class of 2006.

Headed to Charlottesville for official visits this weekend are 6-foot-6 Jonathan Mitchell from Mount Vernon, N.Y., and 6-9, 215-pound Brad Sheehan from Latham, N.Y.

"We're not in an ideal position because of the lateness" of his appointment, Leitao said. "What I've found out is that we're playing catch-up with the 2007 class as well, but I think we'll still come out OK."

Still wearing orange

Joe Yevoli and Nathan Kenney, teammates and contributors on the UVa team that won the 2003 men's lacrosse national championship, will spend their final season of eligibility at Syracuse.

Yevoli and Kenney both graduated from UVa last spring, but neither played for the Cavaliers during the 2005 season, Kenney for personal reasons and Yevoli while he was rehabilitating a bad back.

Coach Dom Starsia did not know Yevoli would not be returning before receiving a voice mail to that effect on the eve of the 2005 NCAA quarterfinals. However, Starsia had anticipated that Yevoli would complete his eligibility last spring and had recruited accordingly, meaning there would have been less scholarship money for Yevoli in 2006.

Starsia received another piece of bad news later in the summer, when it was learned that talented defenseman Steve Holmes was academically ineligible for what would have been his final season.

Popular place

The end of the WNBA season allowed Washington Mystics assistant coach Jeff House to devote full attention to his new job at Virginia, where he took the place of Tim Taylor, who resigned after five seasons to spend more time with his family.

House, a former player at Nazareth College, coached under current Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, N.Y., and for Van Gundy's brother, Stan, at the University of Lowell.

House is one of several high-profile assistants hired this summer at Virginia, where new head coaches include Karen Johns (softball) and Mark Guilbeau (women's tennis).

Guilbeau, named national coach of the year while at Kentucky, will be assisted by Troy Porco, head women's tennis coach at Auburn for the past eight years. Johns' staff will include Carie Dever-Boaz, who started the softball program at Arkansas and was the Razorbacks' coach for eight years.

 

No picking off passing game
dslater@dailypress.com 247-4641
September 20, 2005

The Carrier Dome almost was empty on Friday afternoon as Virginia's football players and coaches walked around the field, scoping out this strange bubble of a building.

The Cavaliers threw passes to each other to adjust their eyes to the dome's white roof. Some U.Va. assistants who coached in the dome told head coach Al Groh that depth perception sometimes was a problem.

While the Cavs relied on fullback Jason Snelling's 5-yard run in the final minutes to give them a 27-24 win over Syracuse, passes figured prominently in the game.

U.Va. quarterback Marques Hagans threw three interceptions, though Groh said depth perception wasn't an issue. Wide receiver Deyon Williams continued to distinguish himself as the Cavs' No. 1 option. And U.Va.'s defense struggled in the second half to stop pass plays involving tight ends.

Here now, three passing-related questions - plus two others - as the Cavs prepare for what should be a blowout of Duke on Saturday. Then again, didn't we say that about the season opener against Western Michigan?

WILL HAGANS PASS LESS OFTEN AFTER THROWING FIVE INTERCEPTIONS IN THE FIRST TWO GAMES?

Probably not.

Groh expressed confidence in Hagans on Saturday, though he said Sunday that Hagans unwisely forced the ball into end-zone coverage on his first interception. Hagans' second interception probably wouldn't have happened if Williams hadn't tripped near the sideline while pursuing the ball. Hagans overthrew receivers on several deep passes, including his third interception.

HAGANS STRUGGLED PASSING IN THE SECOND HALF OF LAST SEASON, AND THE CAVS' OFFENSE BECAME PREDICTABLE WHILE RELYING ON RUNNING BACK ALVIN PEARMAN. GROH WANTS TO AVOID THAT THIS YEAR. PLUS, THERE'S NO TELLING WHETHER INJURED RUNNING BACK WALI LUNDY WILL BE DURABLE ENOUGH TO CARRY 25 TO 30 TIMES A GAME - LIKE PEARMAN SOMETIMES DID LAST YEAR - WHEN HIS SPRAINED LEFT FOOT HEALS. IS DEYON WILLIAMS U.VA.'S BEST RECEIVING TARGET?

He has been in the first two games.

Williams has 12 catches for 140 yards in two games. His totals last season: 19 for 261.

Groh attributed Williams' success to increased strength, though Williams' listed height (6-foot-3) and weight (188 pounds) are the same as last season.

"When he first came here, he was lean and he wasn't very strong," Groh said. "(Now), he's that wiry strong."

MUST THE CAVS IMPROVE ON DEFENDING PASSES TO TIGHT ENDS?

Groh thinks so.

SU quarterback Perry Patterson completed 11 second-half passes for 137 yards. Six went to tight ends for 94 yards, including Joe Kowalewski's 31-yard touchdown catch with 7:51 left in the third quarter.

Thankfully for U.Va., Duke isn't much good at anything - its tight end Nick Stefanow has three catches this season for 20 yards.

WHEN WILL NEW CENTER BRIAN BARTHELMES TRY SOME SHOTGUN SNAPS?

Barthelmes has indicated he's ready.

He never snapped a ball in his life before moving from left guard to center during training camp. But the Cavs don't really need shotgun snaps right now.

One reason teams use them is to give the quarterback more time in the pocket. Yet U.Va.'s offensive line allowed just one sack against SU after yielding four against Western Michigan.

HOW MANY GRAY HAIRS HAS DUKE COACH TED ROOF SPROUTED THIS SEASON?

At least 1,642.

Well, that's just a guess. But he surely grew none after the Blue Devils on Saturday beat Virginia Military Institute 40-14. Still, William and Mary beat VMI 41-7.

It's baby steps for Duke, which lost its first two games this season - one to lowly East Carolina - and is 5-14 under Roof.

Substitution controversy put to rest
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 20, 2005

Marques Hagans completed 16 passes against Syracuse. His Orange counterpart, Perry Patterson threw 17 completions. And Syracuse coach Greg Robinson, well, he threw his playbook.

With Virginia (2-0) driving for what proved to be the game-winning field goal, fullback Jason Snelling raced onto the field and into the Cavaliers' huddle prior to a 4th-and-1 play.

That put 12 players in the circle, but as Snelling, a would-be ball carrier, approached the circle of teammates he jerked tailback Cedric Peerman out and steered him towards the sidelines.

Peerman, a redshirt freshman, raced off the field just before the ball was snapped.

Robinson saw the action unfold and protested to the nearest official - to no avail. In disgust, the first-year coach of the Orange tossed his crumpled offensive and defensive cheat sheets into the air.

Virginia coach Al Groh said his team would have been in violation of an illegal substitution, a 5-yard penalty, if the team had 12 players in the huddle for at least three seconds. That would have been deceiving to an opponent, something he said his team did not try to do.

"It was the same group of personnel. It wasn't like we were going from three wide receivers to three tight ends," said Groh, whose team won 27-24.

Robinson didn't see it that way.

"At the moment, as a coach, you want the game; you want it to be as you see it," Robinson told reporters. "Obviously, I thought I saw something at that time."

The officiating crew, which was from the Atlantic Coast Conference, had called Virginia for an illegal substitution earlier in the game. At that time, Groh pleaded his case, telling the officials that there was no intent to deceive Syracuse.

Perhaps Groh's message hit home, as the fourth-quarter play went without a flag and produced a 5-yard run by Snelling.

Regardless, Robinson has put the issue to rest.

"First of all, I never watched the TV copy, and second, on the film, it's not even ... you know, as they say, crying over spilled milk," Robinson said on Sunday. "And I really do believe, that you know what, we had our chances. How did it get to fourth-and-inches? In that same drive, we had third-and-6 on a big, big play. We make our play. That's really the fact.

"For me to go back and study it ? I've got enough to work on, really."

Getting honored. Virginia placekicker Connor Hughes and inside linebacker Kai Parham were named the ACC Player of the Week on special teams and defense, respectively.

Hughes, who has won the award four times now, made three extra points and two field goals, one of which was a 19-yarder as time expired.

Parham, a junior, led the Cavaliers with eight tackles (six solo) and had three sacks, a career-best mark. Virginia's defense held the Orange to 252 yards of offense.

It was the second time that Parham received the honor in his career.

Extra points. Virginia's game at Maryland on the first day of October will start at noon and be televised by Jefferson Pilot Sports. ? Saturday's game at Scott Stadium against Duke (1-2) will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. and will not be televised.
 

Dual-threat QB comes through in clutch
Senior Hagans makes up for errors in air with ability to create on ground, averages 7.9 yards per carry against Orange
Chris Marsh, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

No other player on the Virginia football team can change a game like senior quarterback Marques Hagans.

Hagans showcased his versatility Saturday against Syracuse. In addition to his 145 yards through the air, Hagans contributed 112 yards on the ground to lead the Cavaliers in both statistical categories on the way to Virginia's hard-fought 27-24 win.

With the heroics, though, came some rough patches. Hagans' three interceptions stalled several Virginia drives and helped contribute to the nail-biting finish.

"I'm disappointed by the three interceptions," Hagans said. But "my team fought hard and that's all that matters. They kept us in the game and we won a tough one on the road."

Hagans' early season throwing struggles are a far cry from the efficiency he displayed last year. The five interceptions he has thrown this year have already matched his total from the entire 2004 season.

Not all interceptions are created equal, however. Hagans' picks against Syracuse appeared to be bad throws, and not examples of poor decision making.

"They were all accuracy throws," Groh said. "A point that we've tried to emphasize with the whole team is for them to always remember that things aren't going to go perfectly. Things are going to happen. You gotta forget about it, trust yourself and trust the system."

Hagans' considerable arm strength, an asset most of the time, got him in trouble on a couple throws, causing him to put too much pace on the ball and overthrow his receivers. His receivers, though, said they believe it is something the team can overcome with more attention in practice.

Sophomore tight end Tom Santi was the intended receiver on one of Hagans' first-half interceptions. Hagans threw the ball slightly behind him, into the arms of Syracuse's Ryan LaCasse.

Hagans "definitely has great arm strength," Santi said. "Once we get our timing down and get the chemistry down, I don't mind it."

Even with his struggles in the passing game, Hagans' athleticism allows him a luxury few quarterbacks can claim -- the ability to take over a game with his feet. When he couldn't find receivers down the field, Hagans tucked the ball away and gashed the Syracuse defense with spectacular runs Virginia fans have come to expect.

"He's a quarterback that's very patient," junior wide receiver Deyon Williams said. "If the play is broken up, he'll run. But he's going to pass first and run second."

The Syracuse defense had no answer for Hagans' agility and shiftiness, allowing him to average nearly eight yards per carry.

Most importantly, Hagans simply has done his job as quarterback, leading the Cavaliers to a 2-0 start, including last weekend's win in the raucous Carrier Dome against a tough, physical defense. With the game on the line, there was no question who the team looked to for leadership.

"When things were down, [Hagans] was the guy that held us together," senior tackle Brad Butler said. "Leaders are going to make mistakes. It doesn't matter how great of a player you are. How you come back from those mistakes is going to determine whether you win the game or not."

 

Ghosts give guidance on Gillen, Groh
Chad Gallagher, Columnist

After the Virginia football team beat another inferior opponent by a slim margin this weekend, I had a vision of the Charles Dickens Christmas Carol and the three ghosts of Virginia Sports Past, Present and Future.

Now I know this has the making of a hippy column that causes students in the back of the Chemistry auditorium to whisper, "Who is the crazy columnist that wrote this nonsense?" But stay with me through my vision, and the dim comparisons between the Gillen and Groh empires will become evident.

As the Ghost of Wahoo Past, I take you to 2002. Pete Gillen has the hearts of the Virginia basketball fan base beating as one pulse. The team just made its first NCAA tournament in 10 years and a University of Virginia player recently has been selected in the NBA draft. Things are looking good, real good.

We upset Dick Vitale's diaper dandy team, Duke, and the basketball bandwagon is full. Students camp out for games for a week in a tent to get to see the mastermind behind this team. In fact, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage is so convinced that Ol' Petey is the man that he decided to give him a huge, 10-year contract. The press supports the contract because it will help Gillen build a powerhouse by utilizing his recruiting skills. Students start booking trips to the Final Four. Look out Wake, UNC and Kentucky; Virginia basketball is on the rise.

Let's take our magic carpet ride forward four years to the Virginia football program. The Orange Crush defense has been united. The Polo shirts and ties are replaced with an Orange spirit not seen since FSU was stopped at the one-yard line (sorry Minerich, he did not score).

Virginia Tech comes to town and suffers a tough defeat. NFL agents find Charlottesville as players are drafted, including starting quarterback Matt Schaub. Optimism is so high that a lengthy contract is signed to ensure the coach of the program would not go anywhere. Bring on Miami, FSU and USC.

The ghost of Virginia Sports Past, however, takes us back a few years to a time when the armor began to chip in the red-haired giant's basketball program.

A few naysayers at the time point to a non-conference schedule that includes powerhouses such as East Tennessee State, Wagner and the mighty Bisons of Howard University. Discipline and team defense start to lack within the walls of U-Hall. The team has yet to win any type of postseason game (NCAA tourney, ACC tourney), but the Gillen supporters are still there. The tents may be lacking before games, but Team Cavalier still has Pete's back.

It does not take a ghost to point out that the football program is in the midst of a similar point. Call it the proverbial crossroads of college sports.

The fact that Groh's Wahoos never have won a meaningful game has started to take a toll on recruiting. The early games sugarcoat Virginia's record until the titans of the ACC prove their dominance. The football spirit has started to simmer as students grow weary of the continual let-down from a promising season turning into a Continental Tire Bowl bid.

As the ghost of Virginia Sports Future, it seems I must point to the eventual demise and firing of Pete Gillen's Virginia tenure. The cogs started falling off slowly before eventually leading to a full scale collapse.

Promise and optimism led to mediocrity and transfers. U-Hall could not be filled as Virginia was not even capable of receiving a bid to the NIT tournament. Critics look back at Pete Gillen's Virginia legacy and point to his inability to ever win a meaningful game. When the opposing team came ready to play ball, Virginia meekly crawled out of the gym unable to put up a fight.

Just as Charles Dickens allowed Ebenezer Scrooge to change his fate through a change of heart, Al Groh and company still can change the end of their story as well. Yet satisfaction with the play of a team that barely squeaked by two weak teams will lead to a fate similar to that of another Wahoo coach. Charles Dickens visions of ghosts show what will happen if things do not change -- the fate of the team is up to you, Al Groh.

 

Vick's status questionable
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/19/05

Flowery Branch — The hamstring injury that caused Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick to come out during the final two drives of Sunday's 21-18 loss to Seattle could keep him out of this weekend's game at Buffalo.

Vick was examined by team trainer Ron Medlin Monday morning and later underwent a battery of tests, including an MRI exam, to determine the severity of the problem. Results of the exams were not released and Vick's playing status is questionable, coach Jim Mora said.

"My gut feeling is that he'll be OK," said Mora, adding Vick walked with no limp after the game or when he saw him at team headquarters Monday. "Mike doesn't like to not practice. He doesn't like to not be part of the plan. If he's not [ready], we go on."

Vick was held out of conditioning drills Monday and players have Tuesday off. The Falcons should have a good idea whether Vick could play against the Bills by Wednesday's practice, Mora said. Vick does not need to practice much to be ready for the game, so if he needs a few extra days of rest, that would not be much of a handicap, Mora said.

Second-year quarterback Matt Schaub, who took Vick's place for three plays against the Seahawks in the final two series with the game in the balance, would replace the Pro Bowl quarterback in a potentially pivotal game between teams trying to get back on the winning track.

"It changes the mentality of the mindset a little bit knowing you have to be ready from the get-go, but I'm going to prepare the same, as if I was the backup or if I have to play a lot," Schaub said. "That's my role. That's what I have to do each week."

Schaub was sent by coaches into Sunday's loss with 4 minutes, 41 seconds remaining, five plays after Vick grabbed his left hamstring after a 32-yard run. Schaub, from the 5-yard line, threw an incomplete pass to wide receiver Brian Finneran in the end zone, but a pass interference penalty was called against Seahawks cornerback Andre Dyson, which moved the ball to the 1. T.J. Duckett scored on a run on the next play.

Schaub then hit tight end Alge Crumpler on a play action pass for the two-point conversion that brought the Falcons to 21-18. Vick went through some minor stress tests on the sideline while Atlanta's defense was on the field and returned to play when the Falcons took their final possession at Seattle's 23, with 3:58 left.

On third and 13, he bypassed the chance to run, despite a wide lane that opened, and slipped, where he was downed for a 1-yard loss. Coaches thought his leg was adversely affecting him and pulled him in favor of Schaub again. Vick did not argue with the decision, a sign he knew his hamstring was problematic. Schaub threw an incompletion to Roddy White, ending Atlanta's chances of rallying from a 21-0, first-half deficit.

Schaub played in seven games last season and started in a loss to the New Orleans Saints. He also took most of the preseason snaps the past two seasons, showing enough promise that a handful of teams inquired about trading for him — something the Falcons said they would not do.
 

Replacement's part not small for U.Va.
Filling in for Brooks, Miller made seven tackles against Orange
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 20, 2005
DUKE AT VIRGINIA
SATURDAY: 3:30 p.m. RADIO: WRVA (1140), 3

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The player whom inside linebacker Mark Miller replaced in the University of Virginia's starting lineup, All-American Ahmad Brooks, made 117 tackles in 2003 and 90 in '04.

No one expected that kind of production from Miller, but in his first start, Sept. 3 against Western Michigan, the 6-0, 225-pound senior was credited with only two stops.

Had the Broncos, who attempted 50 passes, run the ball more, Miller's total no doubt would have been higher. Still, he entered the Cavaliers' second game, Saturday at the Carrier Dome, determined to contribute more.

Syracuse is "a running team, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could get in there and stop the run with the rest of this defense," Miller said.

Miller and Co. succeeded, and U.Va. won 27-24. The Orange's top tailback, Damien Rhodes, averaged a mere 2.9 yards on 27 carries. Twenty-two of Rhodes' 79 yards came on one first-quarter run.

A Birmingham, Ala., native, Miller finished with a career-best seven tackles, including one for loss. On that crucial play, Miller's open-field tackle of Rhodes on third down forced Syracuse to settle for a field goal with 6:25 remaining.

"There's a kid who hasn't played much from scrimmage up to this point in his career," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said of Miller, a former walk-on. "He's played a lot of plays, but he's certainly never been in a game at that moment as he was today. Yet the play had to be made, and he stepped up and made it."

Miller played primarily on special teams as a freshman in 2002. In '03 and '04, he played more from scrimmage, but almost always on U.Va.'s nickel defense in passing situations. With Brooks, who's recovering from knee surgery, likely to return soon, Miller's playing time may get cut dramatically. But he can look back with pride on his performance against the 'Cuse.

"It wasn't just me, it was a whole defensive effort," Miller said. "But I was very pleased with being able to join the defense in stopping the run."
 

Win over VMI gives Duke new attitude after frustrating losses
By Bill Cole
JOURNAL REPORTER
DURHAM

Chris Davis stopped by the Bryan Center on Duke's campus Saturday night for dinner, but his meal was first delayed and then interrupted several times.

People working in the center shook his hand and asked for autographs. So did some of the patrons. Duke had won its first game of the season only hours early at Wallace Wade Stadium, defeating VMI 40-14, and joy reigned on campus.

Later, friends called Davis, a defensive back, to offer congratulations. He slept well that night, more soundly than the previous two Saturday nights after miserable losses.

"We were supposed to beat those guys and we did," Davis said. "We just needed a win to go ahead and get this thing rolling. We got a win and we needed it."

Across Durham, at the home of Coach Ted Roof, elation built throughout the night. Roof felt a burden lift for himself, his coaches and his players. VMI is an NCAA Division I-AA program, a step down from Duke's level, but taking the victory was harder to Roof than many on the outside would have thought.

"It was great to get a win for our kids," Roof said. "I certainly understand that there will be some people who will say because it was a I-AA (opponent) that it was this, that and the other, but I want our players to be proud of their effort and what they accomplished. They did what they were supposed to do: they came out and played well early."

The win was the salve that Duke needed. Frustration was building in the program a week earlier after a 45-0 loss to Virginia Tech and some players were upset. Duke had the boost of morale necessary to return to ACC play and prepare for a game at unbeaten Virginia on Saturday.

"From a team standpoint, there's a lot of pressure when you lose," Davis said. "You've got to get up the next day and do your workouts and go to class the next week. We can walk around with our heads up this week and feel great about our work over the weekend."

Duke will be near full strength for the trip to Charlottesville and Scott Stadium, where it has won only once in its last 11 visits. Curt Dukes, the backup quarterback, should be back after sitting out the VMI game to rest an aching knee. Roof expects to have back also Ben Patrick, a tight end; Codey Lowe, a linebacker, and Deon Adams, a receiver, after they recovered from injuries. Lowe has missed consecutive games.

Three freshmen suspended for the VMI game for what Roof described as an internal situation - Joe Surgan, Gene Delle Donne and Eron Riley - have been reinstated. Surgan is Duke's kicker, but Randy DeSmyter handled almost all of the placements against VMI and made all four of his extra-point kicks and one of two field-goal attempts.

Justin Boyle firmed up Duke's running game and his job as the No. 2 tailback by rushing for 113 yards against VMI - the first 100-yard game of his college career. Roof is less confident about the passing attack and it will be worked on in this week's practice for use at Virginia.

Mike Schneider, the starter, completed only eight of 17 passes against VMI for 69 yards. He is completing only 45.8 percent of his passes and is still looking for his first touchdown pass. Dukes' absence enabled Roof to play Zack Asack, a freshman, against VMI and he completed all four of his passes for 38 yards and a touchdown.

"We're not as far along (in passing) as we wanted to be, obviously," Roof said. "Some of it you can attribute statistically to Virginia Tech's defense. They had something to do with it. We tried to go back to the basics last week and focus on the basic fundamentals of football and the basic premises of our offense. We threw it for a higher percentage last week but it's got to get better."

Roof is not contemplating a quarterback change, although Schneider has struggled in the first three games and Duke is averaging only 92.3 yards passing.

"Mike's our quarterback," Roof said. "It's his ball. I think for our future we certainly need to bring along those (younger) guys, and at the same time not forget about Curt Dukes and what he brings to our offense."