Grounded in his faith
UVa's Copper carried by strong beliefs on and off the field
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 8, 2006

As Pitt marched down the field methodically on its opening possession Saturday, Jon Copper had a bad feeling.

The inside linebacker, who was making his first start at Virginia, felt out of place on several plays, as evidenced by his stats - he failed to make a single tackle during the 14-play drive. It only made matters worse that UVa was quickly behind 7-0.

“I felt like on that first series that I didn’t play very well … comparatively to the other ones,” Copper said.

That’s when Copper looked for some divine intervention.

“I was definitely praying through some things after that first series that I felt like I needed to get better on throughout the game,” Copper said.

Copper made a tackle on the next Pitt possession and finished the contest with a team-high seven tackles, something the sophomore was not bragging about on Tuesday as he focused on an upcoming game with Wyoming on Saturday at Scott Stadium (3:30 p.m.).

“It really doesn’t matter a whole lot when you lose a game,” Copper said. “It’s never fun to lose and especially in that capacity. All the guys know that we have a lot to improve on, and I don’t doubt at all that we won’t improve on those things.

“Practice on Monday was really good. There was a good sense of purpose about the guys. There was good focus and intensity.”

Of course, Copper is a glass half-full kind of guy, and, thanks to his religious beliefs, he excels at separating football from life. Not every player can do that, Copper said.

“It’s difficult for some guys that have their identity in football to move on from things like a loss or bad plays or a bad season,” the former walk-on said. “I think the guys that are more rooted in their faith, they see the bigger picture.

“There are things after football and there are things greater than football.”

Copper has visions of being married with kids and running a business some day, but don’t think for a second that he does not love football.

Copper, in fact, reinforced that his views were “not too minimize a loss or things that need improvement, but it just keeps it all in the big picture.”

As Copper prepares for Saturday’s game, one that will be his first at Scott Stadium as starter, don’t expect nerves to play a role.

Prior to the season opener, Copper said he “only had jitters Friday night.”

He credits chapel services, Bible verses and ample time in prayer.

One of the chapel services occurs the evening before games at the team hotel.

Former Blue Ridge School football coach Mike Alley, now the Charlottesville-UVa representative for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, is in charge of getting speakers for the services. Although Alley has only been on the job since July, he was quickly impressed with Copper and how the student-athlete remains “humble” through the ups and downs of college football.

“With Jon, he’s very much a Godly man,” Alley said. “He is the picture of character. He might not know it, but Jon is such an inspiration to others.”

After chapel services, as other players flip through channels with the remote, Copper likes to reflect on a chapter in the Old Testament.

“There is a verse in [Psalms 91] that says, ‘The Lord is my strength,’ and that’s kind of the way I go about things,” Copper said. “I am going to do my best, but ultimately it is not in my hands.”

Once the game starts don’t expect the prayers to slow. Nothing in particular, Copper says, just simple one-way conversations with God.

“It is just kind of a habit,” Copper said. “The apostle Paul wrote, ‘Pray without ceasing.’ I take that fairly literally when I am playing.”

But what if there is only 10 seconds on the clock and Wyoming is setting up its final offensive play of the game?

“You can’t really pray between the whistles,” Copper laughed. “You don’t really have time even to think during the whistles.”

 

HIS BIG SHOT
Cavs' 6-7 freshman lineman plans to atone for debut at Pitt
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 8, 2006
WYOMING AT U.VA.
TOMORROW: 3:30 p.m. RADIO: WRVA (1140), 2:30 TICKETS: $30

CHARLOTTESVILLE As a towering defenseman, Will Barker stood out on the lacrosse field. Barker stood out on the football field last weekend, too, but not the way he'd hoped to.

In his first game for the University of Virginia, the 6-7, 306-pound redshirt freshman started at right offensive tackle against Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. The Cavaliers didn't play well -- Pitt romped 38-13 -- and neither did Barker, who split time at his position with sophomore Zak Stair.

Barker, from Bryn Mawr, Pa., said he's happy to have his first game behind him.

"I made a couple mental mistakes," he said, "but I'm definitely looking at that game as a learning experience and something to build off of."

His biggest mistake, Barker said, was "thinking too much." His mind tied up his feet when Pitt's defense shifted and his assignment changed.

A graduate of The Haverford School outside Philadelphia, where he was a three-year starter in lacrosse, Barker said he was "trying not to mess up" against Pitt.

But as his new offensive-line coach Dave Borbely reminded him, "no one's perfect," Barker said. "You're going to mess up, especially going out there the first time. . . . You just got to go out there and go hard."

After the game, Borbely delivered this message to Barker: The first game is history, and it's time to move on.

"And that's kind of how I think of it, and I think that's how a lot of my teammates are thinking of it," Barker said. "Saturday's over with. We've got a new game coming up, and we're going to prepare for that."

U.Va. (0-1) plays its home opener tomorrow at Scott Stadium against Wyoming (1-0).

"I feel extremely confident," Barker said. "I'm going in there more prepared, more experienced, knowing what to expect, knowing how fast the game is."

To Cavaliers coach Al Groh, Barker's opening-night experience wasn't unprecedented. During his years on NFL coaching staffs, Groh saw the challenges that rookie offensive linemen faced, and he saw D'Brickashaw Ferguson stumble periodically as a true freshman at U.Va. in 2002.

Pitt, however, isn't the only team on the Wahoos' schedule that has talented defenders. Virginia needs its inexperienced offensive line to grow up quickly.

"They're going to be coming every Saturday, and some Saturdays there's going to be more coming than what you just saw," Groh told his linemen after the Pitt game. "So there's no place to hide."

Barker, 19, didn't always expect to be a football player. He liked having a stick in his hands, and lacrosse "was definitely a pretty big part of my life, all through middle school and maybe even freshman and sophomore year," Barker recalled.

U.Va. lacrosse coach Dom Starsia has two Haverford graduates on his team senior Foster Gilbert and freshman Jon Borror -- and remembers seeing Barker play in high school.

"I couldn't believe how big he was on a lacrosse field," Starsia said. Barker wasn't especially physical, Starsia said, but he had "great feet, great agility for a big guy."

That athleticism impressed Virginia's football coaches, too, and they rave about Barker's long-term potential. At 265 pounds, Barker was lean for a Division I-A offensive tackle when he enrolled at U.Va., but a regimen of eating and lifting -- and then eating some more -- has produced extra bulk.

"It's definitely helped me a lot on the field," Barker said.

He began training camp behind junior Eddie Pinigis at right tackle. Late last month, however, Groh awarded the starting job to Barker. Pinigis promptly quit the team and transferred to Division I-AA Liberty University.

"Eddie was a great person and a great player," Barker said. "With him being more experienced than I was, obviously, I definitely looked to him for a little guidance. And then when he left, I just kind of saw it as a bigger opportunity. My chance to play was right in front of me, so I wanted to make the most of it."

 

Cavs shouldn't forget about Vic Hall
Olsen not lost for the season
Doug Doughty

Upon returning to the downtown Pittsburgh Hilton after Virginia’s opening-game loss to Pittsburgh, I noticed UVa fan Tim Quick and a bunch of his Waynesboro and Staunton buddies sitting in the lobby.

It was a lot of the same guys who always congregated at the portal leading to the press table at University Hall and, to me, they’ve always been a good gauge as to what’s on the mind of the UVa fans.

Remarkably, the same thing was on their mind that was on mine:

Vic Hall.

Let me start out by saying that Christian Olsen, starting for the first time in his fifth year, deserves more than a one-game look.

Let me say also that junior Kevin McCabe and redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell should not be evaluated on the basis of their performance in a 38-13 loss to the Panthers, when both played for one only series.

But, as a whole, the quarterbacking was in stark contrast to what the Cavaliers had come to expect in the two seasons that Marques Hagans was behind center. Hagans, now on the St. Louis Rams’ practice squad as a wide receiver and return specialist, is listed at 5 foot 10 and 205 pounds.

UVa head coach Al Groh has let it be known that his picture of the ideal Cavaliers’ quarterback would be former ACC player of the year Matt Schaub (6-5, 237) or 2007 recruit Peter Lalich (6-5, 225), but Groh was more than happy to “settle” for Hagans the past two seasons.

Hagans had a strong and underrated right arm but what scared opponents the most was his scrambling ability. At 5-9 and 184 pounds, Hall clearly mirrors Hagans in stature, but his passing pedigree is just as impressive.

At Gretna High School, Hall not only passed for a state-record 8,731 yards and 104 touchdowns, but he also ran for more than 5,000 yards.

When injuries left Virginia strapped at cornerback early in the 2005 season, Hall was given a crash course at cornerback. He remained at corner in the spring and, from all indications, was pressing for playing time in the preseason.

As opposed to 2005, when UVa had little depth in the secondary, the Cavaliers currently have at least five cornerbacks that they consider game-worthy. Hall got on the field for 12 plays at Pittsburgh, most – if not all – of it on special teams. He is also the back-up holder.

Five years is a long time and it’s worth noting that Hagans didn’t become a full-time starter until his fourth year, although he started once as a sophomore. He also started once as a sophomore but only after Anthony Martinez bombed at South Carolina. That was after he had been moved to wide receiver in the preseason.

The Cavaliers never said “never” with Hagans and ought to take the same approach with Hall. Of course, Lalich and/or Sewell project as the quarterbacks of the future but, if the play of the offensive line last Saturday is any omen, UVa might need a quarterback with some wheels.

“If you know Vic Hall, Vic Hall is a competitor, man,” said Robert Prunty, who coached Hall for one year at Gretna and then watched him from fairly close proximity at Hargrave Military Academy. “If given a chance, Vic Hall will succeed.”

Those were comments from Prunty in response to reports that Hall was bidding for playing time at corner. Then, at Hargrave’s media day in late September, Prunty was asked about Hall as a quarterback.

“You want to know my real opinion on it?” Prunty asked. “If Marques Hagans can play quarterback for UVa, then I don’t see why Vic Hall can’t. I think Vic Hall was a better passer than Marques Hagans.

“After four years of weights, you’ve seen the way Vic Hall looks right now. I don’t see a huge falloff from Marques Hagans to Vic Hall but that’s coach Groh’s team and he does what he wants to do with coach Groh’s team.

“But, of course, that’s [Hall] my guy and I’m going to be biased for my guy.”

The last thing Virginia needs is a quarterback controversy and I’m not trying to start one. But, if the Cavaliers get to Week 9 or 10 and nothing is working, they should remember Marques Hagans. And Vic Hall.

THE RUMORS ABOUT Christian Olsen’s phantom ankle injury had subsided long before Thursday, but it was worth resurrecting them during a teleconference in order to get a rise out of Groh.

Not having spent much time on Internet boards early in the week, I confessed to Groh that I had been “behind the curve” on a possible season-threatening injury.

“You’re not behind any curve,” Groh said. “There was no injury. There is no injury.; There is no threat. I just laugh because it’s just another indication of how stories get started.

“I just want to clarify here. Even though I seem to have a penchant for not talking about injuries [and] I may not bring them up, I don’t lie about them.”

 

Former U.Va. coach will help ODU in football
Old Dominion hires former coaches George Welsh and Dick Sheridan as consultants.
BY DAVE FAIRBANK
247-4637
September 8, 2006

Former college coaches George Welsh and Dick Sheridan will serve as advisors to Old Dominion in the Monarchs' football start-up.

Welsh, who led Virginia and the U.S. Naval Academy to national prominence, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

He coached at U.Va. from 1982-2000, and his teams went 134-86-3 with 10 bowl appearances and ACC co-championships in 1989 and '95.

Welsh was named ACC Coach of the Year five times, and he was the first coach in ACC history to win 100 games. Only Florida State's Bobby Bowden has more conference victories (103) and overall victories (155) while an ACC member than Welsh.

Last month, Welsh, 73, was named to lead the U.S. national team that will compete in the World Championship of American Football next year in Japan.

Sheridan, who coached at N.C. State from 1986-92, was 52-29-3 with six bowl appearances before retiring. He coached at I-AA Furman before N.C. State, compiling a 69-33-2 record with six Southern Conference championships in eight seasons.

He presently has a successful real estate business in South Carolina and also advised Coastal Carolina during its football start-up campaign four years ago. Coastal Carolina is a I-AA member of the Big South Conference.

ODU is moving forward with plans to start a I-AA program, with its first game in 2009.

Cook vying for starting time at UVa
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 8, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - It was last March when Virginia head coach Al Groh saw cornerback Chris Cook still walking with a pronounced limp. Cook broke his right leg in October and it was taking longer than anticipated to heal.
"I kind of told him one day, you're not limping and you're going to practice," Groh said. "And he practiced, but he did practice with a little bit of a hindrance during the spring."

The biggest hurdle - the mental one - was cleared, though. Cook (Heritage) returned to preseason practice in August fully recovered and showed flashes of the being the kind of player who had worked his way into the starting lineup as a true freshman.

"In training camp is where he had his full stride back and the same kind of quickness and lateral movement that he had last year," Groh said.

Now completely healthy, Cook, who played sparingly at Pittsburgh, is challenging Chris Gorham for one of the starting cornerback spots.

Groh said Tuesday that the Cavaliers plan to see much more of Cook this week. He said he would decide after Thursday's practice who would start at cornerback against Wyoming.

Familiar look

Groh is a firm backer of the 3-4 defense, which employs three down linemen and four linebackers. Up until now, though, he hasn't had to face it at the college ranks.

That changes this weekend against Wyoming, which switched to the 3-4 setup this offseason.

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

During practice, Virginia's offense regularly faces its base 3-4 defense. It's when the Cavaliers are scouting their opponent that they go up against a 4-3, the defensive alignment almost every football program in the country uses.

"It changes a lot of the reads that we're doing," quarterback Christian Olsen said. "But we've played against it so much, I don't think it's going to be much of a (difference)."

Clock mismanagement

Count Groh as one of those not pleased with the NCAA's new rules meant to speed up the game.

Unlike past years, the clock starts on kickoffs rather than when the receiving team catches the ball. It also restarts as soon as the ball is marked ready for play after a change of possession.

According to USA Today, the average length of games in the opening weekend dropped by 17 minutes from last year, down to three hours and three minutes. Teams combined to run 13 fewer plays for 101 fewer yards and scored an average of 4.5 fewer points per game.

"I don't think it was put together real well," Groh said. "There's an excellent model (the NFL's) that's worked for a long time that we could have adhered to, but for whatever reason college football tried to put it together on their own. And probably there's been more glitches in that than a simple procedure like this would warrant."

Virginia's game at Pittsburgh lasted three hours and three minutes, exactly at the nationwide average.

Rampant rumor

Rumors that Olsen had injured his foot in the Pittsburgh game took off early in the week, aided by the fact that the fifth-year senior wore a bandage on his right foot to the team's Tuesday press conference. Groh laughed at the thought.

"There was no injury, there is no injury, there is no threat," he said. "I just laugh because it's another indication of how stories get started.

"I just want to clarify here, even though I seem to be noted for having a certain penchant for not talking about injuries, I may not bring them up, but I don't lie about them."

- Andy Bitter

 

Lions Assistant Coach Arrested in the Nude

DEARBORN, Mich. — A Detroit Lions assistant coach was arrested twice in the past two weeks — once while police say he was driving nude and a week later on suspicion of drunken driving.

Police in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn said Joe Cullen, who coaches the team's defensive line, was pulled over Aug. 24 and ticketed on suspicion of indecent and obscene conduct.

The ticket does not provide any other information why Cullen allegedly was nude. The Lions said alcohol was involved.

Then, on Sept. 1, police stopped his 2006 Ford Explorer and determined he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.12 percent, court records show. The legal limit for drivers in Michigan in 0.08 percent.

Cullen, who lives in Dearborn, posted bond in both misdemeanor cases and was coaching at Wednesday's practice.

The 38-year-old, who was hired from the University of Illinois, issued a statement Wednesday to apologize.

"I would like to apologize to the Detroit Lions organization, our fans, my family and friends for any embarrassment these incidents have caused," he said. "These incidents represent a mistake in judgment on my part. I deeply regret them and have learned a valuable lesson. It won't happen again."

Lions president Matt Millen said in a statement that Cullen has requested treatment.

"We are obviously very disappointed," the statement said. "These are very serious matters that will be handled sternly and appropriately by our organization."

Cullen was scheduled to appear next week in 19th District Court for both cases.

Cullen was fired from the University of Mississippi in 2005 after an alcohol-related arrest at a restaurant.