Olsen knows he has some work to do
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
September 6, 2006

There’s probably a thousand other places Christian Olsen would rather have been Tuesday afternoon than fielding questions about his debut as Virginia’s starting quarterback and whether he will play this Saturday against Wyoming.

Message boards and radio call-in shows have fueled rumors that Olsen is injured and won’t play in the Cavaliers’ home opener. Rumors insist that backup Kevin McCabe will be the man.

While Olsen did show up for interviews with his right foot bandaged and he showed a noticeable limp when he left for team meetings, he insisted that he’s fine and ready to take on the Cowboys.

An injury?

So, Christian, what about the rumors, what about your right foot? Did you injure it in the game at Pittsburgh?

“No, this is just a bandage to keep something on my foot,” Olsen said. “There is no injury. I’ve just got some soreness. I’ll be fine. I practiced all day [Monday]. We really don’t discuss many injuries as a whole, but I think we’re very healthy.”

Certainly if he is injured, Virginia doesn’t want Wyoming to know. By now, everyone knows coach Al Groh’s policy and disdain for discussing injuries. So, unless there’s some update by Groh during the week, we’ll all have to wait and see who shows up in the huddle, Olsen or McCabe.

Blitzing inexperience

Even if Olsen is physically OK, as he insisted, his feelings are probably hurt after the 38-13 licking the Cavaliers took at Heinz Field. The offense stalled most of the night, partly because of Pitt’s aggressive defense and partly because of UVa’s inexperience on that side of the ball.

For the record, the fifth-year QB completed 50 percent of his passes, a very unacceptable number for the West Coast offense, which is predicated on completing a high percentage of safe, short passes and turning those into long gains. Olsen was 17 of 34 for 133 yards and had one interception returned for a score. His longest completion of the 17 was for 20 yards to Kevin Ogletree. Tight end Tom Santi caught seven passes, the longest of which gained eight yards.

The kitchen sink

To Olsen’s credit, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt was keenly aware that UVa fielded a new, somewhat inexperienced quarterback and an offensive line that had little game experience. Thusly, the Panthers threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at the Cavaliers in terms of blitzes and other junk.

Olsen was under the gun all night. He must have felt like Lucille Ball in the famous episode of “I Love Lucy,” where she was overwhelmed on a candy factory line, chocolates coming at her so fast and furious that she was stuffing some in her blouse, in her mouth, just trying to keep up.

Olsen must have wondered where all the pass rushers were coming from, even though he did find his “hot” receivers for much of the game.

“Obviously the quarterback is rated on wins and losses and we lost, so obviously I didn’t play good enough,” Olsen said. “It wasn’t what I expected. It could have been a lot worse than it was … but it wasn’t good enough to win.”

He understands that’s one of the pitfalls that goes along with being the quarterback and that’s why he took Saturday’s thumping a little more personally than perhaps most of his teammates.

“I think you have to because we’ve always been taught the quarterback is going to get all the blame for the loss and probably too much credit for the win,” Olsen said. “We understand that when we lose, it’s on our shoulders, that we have to play better. We knew that if we lose, they’re going to come down hardest on the starting quarterback. That’s how it always is. You just have to have a thick skin, not let whatever is said bother you and play hard the next week.”

Groh didn’t make excuses for his starter after the game, but did offer some defense during Tuesday’s meeting with state media while commenting that Olsen still needed to improve.

“I think it’s pretty obvious,” said Groh. “We just need a better overall performance [from the quarterback]. He’s not alone in that respect. We didn’t get much in terms of big plays. We didn’t sustain drives. He had a tough go of it because he didn’t have much running game to go with and he had a lot of squeeze on the pocket. He didn’t get the kind of help that any quarterback needs to have.”

Olsen said that even though Pitt blitzed like crazy he wasn’t totally unhappy with how he handled the situation. He threw the one pick and wasn’t sacked. Yet, the pressure was so heavy that he wasn’t able to focus on downfield throws. Rather, he went as instructed to his “hot” reads, open tight ends or running backs for short passes.

“Everybody’s asking why we threw so many short balls, well that’s the reason,” Olsen said. “Those tight ends are breaking off their routes when we get hot. That’s just the way the offense goes. I made a few bad passes, especially around the goal line. There are things I have to correct, but they are correctable.”

He noticed that in Monday night’s Florida State-Miami game (his brother Greg is starting tight end for Miami) that both quarterbacks were taking sacks.

“It didn’t look like they had many hot reads built in, and that’s something our offense has,” said Olsen. “Six yard passes on third-and-10. That’s how it’s got to be. If we don’t, we get sacked and it’s fourth-and-20.”

Olsen said UVa had a bunch of deep balls called but the blitzing didn’t allow him time to get the passes off, so he made the short dumps.

“If [teams] are going to keep on blitzing, we’re going to keep on going to our rules,” he said. “We’re not going to change the rules of our offense. This offense has been run like that since Bill Walsh created it. I like it when teams blitz us. I welcome that challenge.”

Olsen said he knew that Wyoming and Western Michigan will blitz Virginia and that certainly the aggressive defense of Jon Tenuta at Georgia Tech will blitz, but he believes that Cavalier receivers will start breaking those six-yard passes and turn them into 50-yard gains.

The fact that Wyoming features the 3-4 defense, which UVa uses, may be a blessing for Cavalier quarterbacks because they’re accustomed to facing it daily in practice.

Even with the loss, Olsen tried to stay positive about the season. He is convinced that opening against a tough opponent will help the team when ACC play begins.

“I’m happy we played a quality opponent. We didn’t play FAMU or Northeastern or some of the other schools the top teams are playing, ’cause they’re not getting any better,” said Olsen. “Even though we lost and we took a step backward from where we thought we could be, I think it’s going to be our advantage, knowing we played a good team on the road and hung in there for a half and played hard.”

So much for that short-lived Heisman campaign. Olsen took quite a teasing from his teammates throughout Saturday afternoon because of something they spotted during ESPN’s GameDay coverage in Atlanta prior to the Georgia Tech and Notre Dame game. A UVa student slipped into the crowd with a sign that made it to the TV cameras.

It read: “Olsen for the Heisman.”

Right now, he’d settle for a win … that is, if he plays.

 

Cowboys mirror Cavs
Wyoming operates in similar 3-4 defense
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 6, 2006

“Mirror, mirror on the wall.”

That might as well be the slogan for Virginia’s offense this week.

For the first time since coach Al Groh arrived in 2001, the Cavaliers’ offense will be matched up against a base 3-4 defense, the same alignment Virginia uses.

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn installed the defense, one that includes three defensive linemen and four linebackers, before the season started.

It marked the first time since 1989 that Glenn has used the formation.

At least for one week, it worked to perfection in the Cowboys’ (1-0) season-opening win over Utah State.

Wyoming held Utah State to 129 yards of total offense, marking the first time since 1998 that the Cowboys held an opponent under 200 yards.

Groh said that there are “a lot of similarities” in the Cowboys’ defense and what Virginia (0-1) employs, which should also help the development of players on the scout team.

“Lets say this, most weeks when we are attempting to run the opponents’ defense against our offense, it is quite a bit different scheme that the players are running than what they are used to,” Groh said. “We can call a lot of the defenses by the same names and the players will be able to run them.”

Virginia has played against another team that lists its base defense as the 3-4, but Groh said that is misleading.

“Maryland does,” Groh said, “but it is all based on 4-3 principles.”

Preparation for the Terps does not resemble what Virginia will go through this week.

“[Maryland’s defense] doesn’t really operate very much in any fashion that resembles how ours operates,” Groh added. “All the background that our players have in working against ourselves really doesn’t apply when we play that team, but it will against [Wyoming] this week.”

Moving on up

There were only a few changes to the depth chart this week.

As expected, Michael Johnson supplanted Andrew Pearman as one of the teams’ kick returners, while Emmanuel Byers passed Pearman as the top option to return punts.

Placekicker Chris Gould, the Game 1 starter, is listed ahead of Ryan Weigand at punter.

Weigand punted once late against Pitt - the unreturned kick went 37 yards - and Groh said the position remains open for competition.

“It’s either an ongoing competition,” Groh said, “or it’s an ongoing issue.”

Also, safety Tony Franklin is listed ahead of Byron Glaspy and safety Nate Lyles is in front of Jamaal Jackson. Franklin and Lyles started against Pitt.

According to Groh, cornerback Chris Cook should see added playing time, likely in place of Chris Gorham. Cook was in for 14 plays against Pitt, while Gorham was on the field for 49.

First downs

If you thought Virginia’s struggles to move the chains against Pitt were bad, you need only to look at the Wyoming-Utah State boxscore to feel better.

Utah State managed only five first downs.

“Our defense took their hide off,” Wyoming’s coach told reporters after the game. “Oh my lord, they pitched a shutout.”

Utah State’s only score in the 38-7 rout came on a 47-yard interception return.

Virginia’s 13 first downs were the fewest produced by a Cavalier team since the South Carolina game in 2003. UVa moved the chains only seven times in the road loss to the Gamecocks. Of course, thanks to new rules in college football, the clock limits the total number of plays.

Player of the week

As he typically does, Groh selected the team’s Players of the Game. The coach, however, left the offensive honoree blank.

The winners were Johnson (special teams), John Bivens (scout team) and Jermaine Dias (defensive).

Johnson, a senior, returned four kickoffs for 74 yards, including a 26-yarder.

“[Johnson] did well on the kickoff return,” Groh said. “He went from one corner to the other [on one return] and actually turned the edge. He just ran out of space and ran by some guys doing that.”

Dias, a junior, made six tackles and was on the field for 47 plays. One of Dias’ stops went for a loss of yardage.

“Jermaine just played a real technically sound, smart game, and I think for most guys that’s how they play well,” fellow linebacker Jon Copper said on Tuesday. “I thought he had a great week of practice last week and it showed during the game.”

 

UVa to bolster crowd control
By Matt Deegan / Daily Progress staff writer
September 6, 2006

The University of Virginia will strengthen its post-game crowd control at Scott Stadium in response to a post-game celebration in October that sent 20 fans to the hospital, athletics director Craig Littlepage announced Tuesday.

“We feel that when a game ends, regardless of the circumstances - whether it’s a big win or a come-from-behind dramatic win, there’s the potential for these types of celebrations to spontaneously take place,” Littlepage said. “The fans need to understand that good things don’t happen when they come onto the field.”

The Atlantic Coast Conference prohibits fans from entering the playing field before, during or after games, and UVa intends to enforce this policy, Littlepage said.

Sixty police officers, 20 more than last year, will be on duty during and after games. The hill behind the north end zone, where fans were pressed against the fence and hedge that acted as dividers, will be monitored by video surveillance.

The university hired a security-consulting firm, Event Security Consulting and Operations Inc., to research and recommend safety upgrades after the incident.

Mike Gibson, the interim police chief for the university, said the hill will be a focal point for officers.

“That hillside area is one of particular concern because there’s very little physically between people on the hillside and the field,” he said. “That area seems to be a key for us to focus on.”

After the Oct. 15 victory last year against Florida State, which was ranked fourth in the country before the upset, fans on the hill rushed the field, trapping some who were close to the divider. Twenty fans were taken to the emergency room and treated for broken bones and puncture wounds. All were released shortly after the incident. Others not taken to the hospital suffered cuts and scrapes.

As a result of the incident, the fence and hedge at the bottom of the hill were severely damaged. They were removed in the week after the game, and no new barrier was installed for the remaining three home games of the 2005-06 season. Because these dividers contributed to the injuries, university officials decided not to put in a new barrier for this season, said Rich Murray, of the athletics office.

Littlepage recalled a post-game incident that left a student dead at the University of Minnesota-Morris last October.

The Division III school had won a double-overtime homecoming game and fans rushed the field, some climbing on one of the collapsible goal posts. Part of the goal post landed on top of the student, killing him.

“There are many other situations that take place on an annual basis,” Littlepage said. “We feel modifying and strengthening some of the things we have done historically will build a more safer, secure situation for our fans and those working on the field.”

The goal posts at Scott Stadium are not collapsible, and Gibson said there will be an increased focus to make sure they are secure.
 

Olsen's ESPN debut a bit odd
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE-- Virginia quarterback Christian Olsen was not watching ESPN when his unofficial Heisman Trophy campaign was launched Saturday in Atlanta.

Within minutes, he had been alerted to a "Christian Olsen for Heisman" poster that had appeared in the background of the ESPN Gameday set.

"Fontel Mines called and said, 'There's something with Christian Olsen in it,'" said Olsen, who was at the team hotel in Pittsburgh. "I said, 'Oh, boy, I can only imagine what it is.'"

Olsen's worst fears that modeling pictures that he had taken facetiously -- or, so he claims -- had somehow made it from the Internet to television.

The ESPN team of Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit seemed oblivious to the sign as they analyzed the Georgia Tech-Notre Dame game scheduled later in the day.

Olsen had begun his college career at Notre Dame, where he was redshirted in 2002.

"When I first saw it, I thought somebody from Notre Dame was saying that I wasn't that good of a player and was trying to make fun of me," Olsen said.

"I got a lot of teasing from teammates during the whole day, but I really don't know what to make of it. Matt Groh says there's a Virginia fan down at Georgia Tech, so maybe that's what it was."

Groh, the younger of head coach Al Groh's two sons, is a former Princeton University quarterback who is enrolled in UVa's law school.

"It was funny," Olsen said. "It was something good to laugh at; other than that, I don't have a lot else to say. I don't know who it was. I had no idea."

n Nobody would confuse Olsen's footwork with that of his predecessor, Marques Hagans, but Pitt's only sack in a 38-13 victory over the Cavs came on backup quarterback Jameel Sewell.

"I thought that was a plus," said Olsen, who went 17-of-34 for 133 yards. "There were one or two plays where I had to throw the ball away because of heavy pressure, but the rest [dump-offs to tight ends and running backs] was built into our offense.

"I don't expect to get sacked more than five times this whole season. That's how comfortable we are. We like it when teams blitz us. If teams are going to keep coming after us, that's something we're going to take advantage of."

Hagans was sacked 33 times last season, but rushed for 504 yards before losses.

Personnel

Groh said sophomore cornerback Chris Cook is one player who will see increased time this week. Cook, who suffered a broken leg that ended his 2005 season after five games, played 14 plays at Pitt.

Odds 'n' ends

None of the three Virginia players who had planned to transfer to Division I-AA Grambling were eligible to play this season. One of them, defensive end Vince Redd, transferred to Liberty and will be eligible to play next season. The others, defensive end Chris Johnson and cornerback Philip Brown, have not made their plans known.

n Athletic director Craig Littlepage announced game-day policy changes, including the scanning of tickets. That will give UVa an accurate attendance instead of the estimates that Littlepage said were reasonably accurate.

UVa also has increased its security staff from 40 to 60 and says it will prosecute fans who rush the field after games, in accordance with ACC policy. Littlepage said 20 students were admitted to the UVa Medical Center after last year's 26-21 home victory over then-No. 4 Florida State.

By the numbers

Last year, Virginia's defense had 71 quarterback "hurries," an average of almost six per game, including 26 by Chris Long. Against Pittsburgh, the Cavaliers had one hurry (by nose tackle Allen Billyk) and one sack. The Cavs' Marcus Hamilton had one pass break-up. ... There were 114 plays in Saturday night's game, played under the NCAA's new speed-up rules. In 2005, an average UVa game contained slightly more than 139 plays.
 

U.Va. Report: Wyoming will bring rare defense to U.Va.: same 3-4 Cavs use
By ED MILLER , The Virginian-Pilot
© September 6, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Al Groh has coached 64 games since coming to Virginia in 2001. Never once has he faced a team that runs the same defense as the Cavaliers, a 3-4 alignment using a nose tackle, two defensive ends and four linebackers.

That'll change Saturday when Virginia hosts Wyoming at Scott Stadium.

The Cowboys, from the Mountain West Conference, run a pro-style 3-4, same as Virginia. The Cavaliers have faced other teams that use elements of a three-man front, but never the same defense they run. Exact numbers are hard to come by, but only a dozen or so Division I-A teams use a pure 3-4.

For a change, Virginia's scout team, whose job is to simulate the opponent, won't have to learn a new defense. The offense will face a defense it sees during training camp.

"It's not like we have to be introduced to it," quarterback Christian Olsen said. "We know they're going to run the same blitzes we run. They're going to do the exact same schemes that we run."

Of course, Wyoming can say the same thing about Virginia.

Persistence paid off for ex-Wyoming AD

How did Virginia come to sign a two-game series with Wyoming, which hasn't played an ACC team in 40 years?

Credit former Wyoming athletic director Lee Moon, who was once a graduate assistant coach at Virginia. Groh said Moon called Gerry Capone, Virginia's director of football administration, with the suggestion that the teams play.

"He kept asking and kept asking and Gerry kept coming to me," Groh said. "Finally we needed a game in this time slot and I said sure."

Virginia has played three Mountain West teams since the conference was formed in 1999, beating Brigham Young in 1999, then losing to the Cougars the following year. Virginia also fell to Colorado State in 2002.

Wyoming, coming off a 4-7 season in 2005, opened with a 38-7 win over Utah State last Saturday.

U.Va. takes steps to keep fans off the field

With the home opener this Saturday, Virginia announced new crowd-control policies intended to prevent a recurrence of what happened last October, when 20 people were injured as fans rushed the field following an upset win over Florida State.

The number of police and security officers will be increased, athletic director Craig Littlepage said. Any fan entering the field will be subject to criminal trespass charges. There will also be "closer monitoring" of fan behavior on the hillside beyond the north end zone.

"Fans need to understand that good things don't happen when they come on the field," he said.

 

Virginia's QB Olsen eager to revise first impressions
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 6, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - In his first career start in 2001, Matt Schaub completed 3 of 10 passes for 24 yards. He threw two interceptions that led to Wisconsin touchdowns.

In his first start, in 2002, Marques Hagans completed 1 of 7 passes for 4 yards against Florida State.

By those standards, Virginia quarterback Christian Olsen's debut as a starter Saturday night looks pretty good. Olsen was 17 for 34 passing for 134 yards in the Cavaliers' 38-13 loss at Pittsburgh.

Schaub and Hagans, of course, overcame their shaky starts to become two of the most productive quarterbacks in school history. Does Olsen have what it takes to bounce back this Saturday, when Virginia hosts Wyoming at Scott Stadium?

"We'll see," coach Al Groh said Tuesday. "It's easy to say that about those other guys, because that's hindsight speaking."

Olsen's modest numbers don't tell the complete story of his performance. He had skittish feet and missed badly on several throws. He didn't complete a pass longer than 20 yards and made one ill-advised lob that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

"I think it's pretty obvious," Groh said. "We just need a better overall performance."

Olsen acknowledged that, too. He declined to grade his performance, saying simply: "The quarterback is rated on wins and losses, and we lost."

Olsen didn't get much help from his line, which failed to open holes for the running game. He was also under duress much of the night from a blitzing Pittsburgh defense.

The Panthers' blitzes kept Olsen from throwing downfield as much as he would have liked, he said. Virginia's offense calls for tight ends and running backs to make "hot reads" and break off their routes in blitz situations, providing bail-out options for the quarterback.

Olsen said that when he throws a 6-yard pass on third-and-10, there's a reason.

"If we don't break off like that, we're going to get sacked and it's going to be fourth-and-20," he said.

Olsen didn't take a sack, the one positive he said he pulled from the game. He said the experience gained against a blitzing team should make the offense better.

"I like when teams blitz us," he said. "We're going to be able to find open guys and the more we play the more those guys are going to be able to take 6-yard passes for 50-yard gains."

Virginia's offense takes time to jell, he said. It did for Schaub and Hagans. The difference is that their careers unfolded over several seasons. Schaub made his first start as a sophomore, Hagans as a redshirt freshman.

Olsen is a fifth-year senior who doesn't have the luxury of a long learning curve. Groh pulled him in the fourth quarter Saturday, but it shouldn't be interpreted as a benching, he said. With the game out of hand, the coach wanted to get a look at backups Kevin McCabe, a junior, and Jameel Sewell, a redshirt freshman.

Olsen remains the starter, though Groh said he wants to bring McCabe and Sewell along as well.

 

Wyoming-U.Va. a defensive match
Against Cowboys' 3-4, Cavaliers will take on a system they employ
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 6, 2006
WYOMING AT U.VA.
SATURDAY: 3:30 p.m., Radio - WRVA (1140), 2:30 TICKETS: $30 INSIDE: U.Va. notes. Page D2.

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Only a handful of teams in Division I-A football run the 3-4 as their base defense. Two of them will meet Saturday at Scott Stadium.

When Al Groh took over as head man at the University of Virginia after the 2000 season, he immediately installed the 3-4, to which he'd become devoted during more than a decade on NFL coaching staffs. U.Va.'s opponent this weekend, Wyoming, switched from the 4-3 to the 3-4 after last season.

"We play a lot against our defense in practice, so that'll be good," Virginia wide receiver Kevin Ogletree said yesterday. "That ought to provide us with a little jumpstart on Wyoming."

Not since 1989, when he was at Northern Colorado, has Wyoming coach Joe Glenn had a team that primarily used the 3-4.

"It's been a long time," Glenn told reporters last month, "but you know what? We've got 17 linebackers on our roster. Some of our better athletes are linebackers."

Wyoming's 3-4 fared better on opening weekend than Virginia's did. The Cowboys crushed Utah State 38-7 on Saturday. The Cavaliers lost 38-13 at Pittsburgh that night.

Groh said this will mark the first time in his tenure that the Cavaliers' opponent will use the 3-4 as its core defense.

"The only novelty in the defensive scheme is that it's novel for us to face it," he said.

One of U.Va.'s ACC rivals, Maryland, plays a version of the 3-4, "but it's all based on 4-3 principles," Groh said, "and it doesn't really operate very much in any fashion that resembles how ours operates."

Senior quarterback Christian Olsen said: "We don't ever see it, except for practice. But we went against it for all those spring practices and all those fall practices, so I'm kind of excited to go against the 3-4. I think there are some nice things we can do against it."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Sep 6, 2006

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: Matt Schaub didn't play well in the first game he started at quarterback for Virginia, against Wisconsin in 2001. Marques Hagans also struggled in his first start at QB, against Florida State in 2002.

Both went on to have outstanding college careers. Will the same be true for U.Va. senior Christian Olsen, who didn't distinguish himself in his first college start Saturday at Pittsburgh?

"We'll see," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said yesterday. "It's easy to say that about those other guys, because that's hindsight speaking. I couldn't tell you before they rebounded that that was going to happen. I could just tell you that they wanted it to happen. Everybody would."

In U.Va.'s 38-13 loss to Pitt, Olsen was 17 of 34 passing for 133 yards and no touchdowns. He threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

Virginia (0-1) plays host to Wyoming (1-0) on Saturday at Scott Stadium. On the depth chart distributed yesterday, Olsen remained No. 1 at quarterback, and Groh said he expects him to play better against the Cowboys. But Olsen's backups -- junior Kevin McCabe and redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell -- each played a series against Pitt, and they're likely to get more work.

Groh said that "whenever the opportunity presents itself, we'd like to get one or both of them in the game."

NO WORRIES: Olsen showed up for U.Va.'s weekly interview session wearing flip-flops. Unlike his left foot, his right wasn't bare.

"This is just a bandage to keep something on my foot," said Olsen, whose ankle wasn't wrapped. "There's no injury. I practiced all day [Monday]. We really don't discuss many injuries, but as a whole I think we're very healthy."

CHANGE COMING? Junior cornerback Chris Gorham's grip on his starting job might not be as tight as it was a week ago.

"We're planning on seeing a lot more of Chris Cook, for one," Groh said when asked which players were challenging for larger roles.

Cook started one game as a true freshman last season before suffering a season-ending injury. He's listed No. 2 behind Gorham on the latest depth.

WAIT AND SEE: Star wide receiver Deyon Williams, who had surgery Aug. 11 to repair a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, seemed to be moving well in street clothes Saturday night at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

If there's a target date for Williams' return, however, Groh isn't letting on. On his radio show Monday night, Groh said doctors have told him the healing time for such an injury can range from five weeks to one year.

"We don't really have any prognosis," Groh said. "It'll be a while yet, and it's really up to Mother Nature and Deyon on this one."

BIG MAN ON CAMPUS: U.Va.'s basketball team is one of three finalists for 7-1, 230-pound center Solomon Alabi, whom Rivals.com ranks No. 24 in the nation's Class of 2007.

Alabi, who's from Nigeria, is a senior at Montverde Academy in Florida. He's scheduled to take an official visit to U.Va. this weekend. Visits to Arizona and Florida State, his other finalists, will follow this month.

Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao already has two Nigerians on his team -- junior Tunji Soroye and freshman Solomon Tat -- and that won't hurt with Alabi. Another Nigerian, junior Aisha Mohammed, plays for the U.Va. women's basketball team.

IN THE CREASE: The practice fields for football aren't the only ones at U.Va. now covered by FieldTurf.

"It's been a real bonus," men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia said of the new artificial surface on his practice field. "We practiced in all the rain last week, and we didn't miss anything. We would have been a mess without it."

The defending NCAA champion Cavaliers recently opened fall practice. Especially impressive has been sophomore attackman Gavin Gill, whose older brothers, Conor and Brendan, preceded him on the team at Virginia.

Gill, listed at 6-0, 179 pounds last season, was a heralded recruit coming out of high school but had a limited role as a freshman at U.Va., scoring 12 points (two goals, 10 assists). Diligent work in the weight room has helped him add some much-needed muscle.

"Looks to me like he's put on 10 to 12 pounds," Starsia said. -- Jeff White
 

UVA Notebook: Cavs find a kicker, still searching for a punter
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 5, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Chris Gould locked down the place-kicking job after drilling two 40-plus-yard field goals at Pittsburgh last week. The punting job appears to still be open.
Gould, who handled all of Virginia's kicking in its season opener, averaged just 39.1 yards on seven punts Saturday, with a long of 41. As strictly a punter last season, he averaged 40 yards.

"Chris' punting I would say was not altogether different from what it was when that was all he was doing," Virginia head coach Al Groh said. "What it was different from was what he was doing in the 10 days previous to the game. But the only grade that counts is the one you get in the game, which is why I'm taking hard notice of that situation."

Gould is the first UVa player since Russ Henderson in 1977 to handle kickoffs, field goals and punting. In all, he had 14 kicks Saturday night (seven punts, two field goals, one extra point and four kickoffs), which Groh called "too small a sample" to know if it took a toll on Gould.

Junior Ryan Weigand, who battled Gould during training camp for the punting job, got off one punt for 37 yards Saturday.

Asked if the punting job was open for competition, Groh said, "It's either an ongoing competition or it's an ongoing unsolved issue."

Eye on the future

Knowing full well that his starting quarterback is a fifth-year senior, Groh got both of Christian Olsen's backups, junior Kevin McCabe and redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell, into the game in the fourth quarter at Pittsburgh. Groh said he couldn't take much out of either's performance because they were in for only one series apiece.

"It really wasn't that we thought we could get a reading out of that game," he said. "It was that whenever the opportunity presents itself, we'd like to try to get one or both of them in the game."

McCabe was 2-for-3 for 26 yards but threw and interception that was returned 78 yards for a touchdown. Sewell threw one incomplete pass and was sacked once.

Quick learning curve

One of the bright spots on an otherwise bleak night was outside linebacker Jermaine Dias, who Groh said played his best game since he's been at UVa.

The 6-foot-1, 237-pound junior made six tackles to earn team defensive player of the week honors.

"If something happened to him in practice, we'd explain it to him, show it to him on tape (and say), 'This is how we need to do this the next time it comes up,'" Groh said. "The next time it would come up, he'd get it. And he did a lot of that in the game. ? That's a talent or a trait in terms of being a good player."

Including last year's Music City Bowl, Dias has 13 tackles in his last two games.

Not a rush

UVa will implement several changes to aid its post-game crowd control at Scott Stadium on Saturday after 20 people were taken to the emergency room when fans rushed the field following the Cavaliers' upset win over Florida State last October.

In addition to the removal of the fence and hedges than lined the bottom of the hill at the North end of the field (an impediment that factored in to the number of injuries), the school will up its in-uniform police force in the stadium from 40 to 60 and monitor fan behavior on the hill more closely. In strict adherence to ACC policy, fans who do go on the field will be subject to criminal trespass charges.

"Fans need to understand that good things don't happen when they come on the field," Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage said.

"The fact that a disaster was averted (last year), I think we are very fortunate."

Extra points

Groh said he expects to see more of sophomore cornerback Chris Cook (Heritage) on the field this week. Cook, who worked his way into the staring lineup last year before breaking his foot in the fifth game, played sparingly in the fourth quarter at Pittsburgh. ? Groh did not list an offensive player of the week from Saturday. ? UVa received its 14th commitment for 2007 over the weekend from Romale Tucker, a 6-foot-3, 204-pound outside linebacker from Ballou High in Washington, D.C.


 

Offensive line slowly finding its rhythm
With four first-time starters on the field against Pitt, Virginia struggled to create holes, give QB time in pocket
Barney Breen-Portnoy, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

The youth of the Virginia offensive line showed against Pitt as Christian Olsen frequently had limited time to find receivers downfield. The Cavaliers lost three starters -- D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Brian Barthelmes and Brad Butler -- as well as backup Eddie Pinigis this summer.
Jason Watson | Cavalier Daily
Heading into this weekend's contest against Wyoming, one of Virginia's primary concerns is the play of its offensive line. With four first-time starters, the unit struggled during the season-opener, both in protecting senior quarterback Christian Olsen from Pittsburgh's pass rush and in creating running lanes for senior tailback Jason Snelling.

Youth and a lack of depth are the two main issues facing the offensive line, led by position coach Dave Borbely. Of the starters Saturday night, only sophomore left guard Branden Albert started last year. Sophomore left tackle Eugene Monroe, junior center Jordy Lipsey, junior right guard Ian-Yates Cunningham and freshman right tackle Will Barker filled in the rest of the starting positions.

The surprising decision made by junior right tackle Eddie Pinigis to quit the team and transfer to Liberty near the end of training camp hurt Virginia's depth. Pinigis was concerned about playing time after he saw Barker pass him on the depth chart.

"[Pinigis] leaving obviously created a problem with depth," Barker, a Pennsylvania native, said. "But we're moving people around, some people playing other positions, other sides of the line, and we're going to build off that and get what works."

Barker said that he has stayed in contact with Pinigis and that the two remain friends. He also recognizes that he faces increased pressure to perform now that he is the unquestionable starter at right tackle.

"I've been given an opportunity almost on a silver platter, so I have to take advantage of it and go out there and prove myself," Barker said.

Barker is confident that he, along with the other inexperienced linemen, will learn quickly as the season progresses.

"The more I play, obviously, the better I am going to get and the more experience I will have," he said. "Some of the problems I had were footwork, and maybe I was thinking a little bit too much."

The offensive line is tasked with protecting Olsen, who was sacked only once against the Panthers. The signal-caller, who is also stepping into a starting role, has given nothing but encouragement.

"You always want to encourage them, but there is really not much you can say," Olsen said. "I don't think they played bad, and I don't think at all that they were the reason we lost the ballgame. For as many first-time starters as we have, I thought they did a heck of a job."

Virginia coach Al Groh understands the importance of a cohesive offensive line and also recognizes that it takes more time for the group to mesh together than their defensive counterparts.

"They are so close-quartered in there, and they're so many quick changes that occur," Groh said. "The defensive lineman slides from one shade to the other, and you've made the line call, and you have to stay in it, but it's happened enough times before where you and I are working together and I just know that when this guy shades inside you're going to take him and I can move on to the next guy. We've just done it together often enough. There may not be enough time for me to say, `You take him, you take him,' -- I know that you're going to, and you know that I'm going to."

 

Sampson agrees to settlement
Will serve two months in jail, pay $300,000 in support
Posted: Tuesday September 5, 2006 1:49PM; Updated: Tuesday September 5, 2006 2:04PM
By Lester Munson, SI.com

Former NBA star Ralph Sampson has agreed to serve two months in jail and pay more than $300,000 in past and future child support, SI.com has learned.

The agreement comes two days before Sampson is scheduled to go on trial to face federal charges of mail fraud, perjury and nonsupport. It concludes a legal saga that began in 2003 when federal authorities charged Sampson with failing to support two of the eight children he has with five women.

Sampson, who was college player of the year for three consecutive seasons at the University of Virginia, is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Richmond on Thursday morning to finalize the settlement.

Sampson's attorney, James Roberts, will ask U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer to delay Sampson's incarceration until the spring of 2007. A portion of the child support money is already on deposit with Roberts's law firm, and Roberts expects Sampson to have the remainder in time for the hearing on Thursday.

Terry Holland, the former Virginia coach who guided Sampson and the Cavaliers to three ACC titles and an appearance in the Final Four, is expected to testify for Sampson.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Flannery confirmed the settlement. Without it, Sampson faced two years in jail and substantial fines.