Barker, Pinigis still buds despite changes
Will Barker's promotion to the starting right tackle spot caused Eddie Pinigis to leave.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In the days following Eddie Pinigis' departure from Virginia, one of the former teammates who called him was Will Barker.

It was Barker's elevation to the No. 1 spot at offensive tackle that set in motion the process that ended with Pinigis transferring to Division I-AA Liberty.

"Eddie's a good friend of mine," Barker said. "I think everyone on the team loves Eddie."

Pinigis, a product of Jefferson Forest High School, started three games for Virginia last season and was named offensive player of the week by the UVa coaches after a 28-17 loss at Boston College. One week later, he started in the Cavaliers' 26-21 victory over then-No. 4 Florida State.

"I felt like I had proved myself," Pinigis said. "I played against a first-round draft pick [Mathias Kiwanuka] at Boston College and I guess I did OK, and I started against some first-round draft picks [Kamerion Wimbley and Brodrick Bunkley] against Florida State. I thought I did pretty well."

It was only natural to project Pinigis as the replacement for 2005 senior Brad Butler at right tackle and Pinigis was listed No. 1 at that position in UVa's media guide.

That was until Aug. 18, when Pinigis walked into the UVa locker room and saw a revised depth chart that had him behind Barker, a redshirt freshman. Pinigis practiced that night but asked to meet with Groh the next day.

"It was definitely possible that I could have returned at that point," Pinigis said. "I was waiting to hear what he was going to tell me."

What he was looking for was a sign from Groh that he was still in the Cavaliers' plans. He said he could have been talked into staying.

"I really didn't get anything that I was going to be doing anything significant," Pinigis said. "It was either stay there and not really do much --I don't think I would have been able to handle that -- or go somewhere else.

"I knew I should have been the starter up there. I knew I didn't do anything to lose my job."

Pinigis didn't take many phone calls in the four-day period before he rejoined former Cavs assistant Danny Rocco at Liberty but said he received plenty of support from ex-UVa teammates.

"It's unfortunate that he had to leave," Barker said. "If anything, I used him as a tool for learning. He helped me progress, knowing what he knew and him telling me what he knew."

Barker made his debut Sept. 2 at Pittsburgh and it was not a pleasant experience. Eventually, he had to be replaced by third-year sophomore Zak Stair, who, with Pinigis' departure, has become the backup at both tackle spots.

Pinigis watched a telecast of the game from Lynchburg, where he had begun his Liberty career one night earlier in a starting role against Division II St. Paul's.

"I told [Barker] to hang in there," Pinigis said. "It's going to be tough the first couple of games. I know a lot of people will be watching him to see how he's doing. Eventually, he's going to be a really good player."

Barker showed improvement and gained confidence in Virginia's second game, a 13-12 overtime victory over Wyoming, but the Cavaliers continued to have trouble moving the football, gaining 32 yards on 22 carries. They rank 116th out of 119 Division I-A teams in rushing offense, with 42 yards per game.

"Maybe [the demotion] would have been temporary," Pinigis said. "People have said, 'You would have been back in there after a game or two.' But, as soon as [Barker] was ready, I think I would have been replaced."

When asked about Pinigis early this week, Groh said he didn't feel at the time of their Aug. 19 meeting that he could make any promises.

Pinigis doesn't blame Barker, and Barker knows that.

"When the depth chart came out, it wasn't final, but I felt pretty good about it," Barker said. "I had worked hard enough that I felt I deserved that spot, but I knew that it wasn't solid; it wasn't in concrete. It could change any day, any practice.

"It was kind of a surprise that he left. At the same time, it's given me a chance to get out there. I've been given an opportunity, almost on a silver platter, so I've got to take advantage of it."
 

ACC teams stuck with quick Thursday turnarounds

For the ACC football coaches who covet the exposure that comes with a televised Thursday night game, there will be a price to pay.

Of the nine Thursday night games involving two ACC teams, six will require the teams to return to action after having played the following Saturday, a five-day turnaround.

There was only one five-day turnaround involving an ACC team last year, when Florida State played host to Miami on Labor Day night and then entertained The Citadel the following Saturday.

The Seminoles had another five-day turnaround after visiting Miami this year and barely escaped with a 24-17 victory over Troy State, a 35-point underdog.

"I'm happy we won," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. "We could be sitting here right now with one of the worst losses I've ever had in my life."

Associate commissioner Mike Finn said the ACC has a contract with ESPN that calls for at least six Thursday night appearances, more than any other conference.

In only two cases, including an Oct. 12 match-up sending Virginia Tech to Boston College, will teams be open on the previous Saturday. That used to be the norm when ACC teams played on Thursday night.

The ACC couldn't be as generous with open dates this year because the Division I-A schedule went from 11 to 12 regular-season games without the addition of an extra weekend. Teams must schedule 12 games during a 13-week time frame, hence the five-day turnaround.

"I don't think anybody was thrilled about it," said Georgia Tech's Chan Gailey, whose Yellow Jackets entertain Virginia a week from today, "but you can't say it's an advantage or a disadvantage if it's all that way. I'd never want to be in a position of coming back in five days against a team with an open date."

Options would include opening the regular season one week earlier or going back to 11 games. Only the ACC and Conference USA presidents among Division I-A conferences were in favor of staying with 11, so the coaches know when that amendment will be passed.

"Never," said Tom O'Brien, the Boston College coach.

Around the ACC

Virginia coach Al Groh said Wednesday his current plans are to hold out linebacker Olu Hall in hopes of gaining Hall an extra season of eligibility. Hall, rated the No. 1 prospect in Virginia as a senior at Robinson High School in Fairfax, spent the 2004 season at Hargrave Military Academy but got on the field for only 94 plays last year at UVa.

n Wake Forest sophomore Sam Swank had an 86-yard punt in Saturday's 14-13 victory over Duke, setting a school record and barely missing the ACC record of 88 yards, booted by Maryland's John Fritsch in 1956. Swank and UVa's Chris Gould are two of the eight Division I-A kickers who handle placements, punts and kickoffs.

By the numbers

Virginia ranks 116th among 119 Division I-A teams in rushing offense, with 42 yards per game, but the Cavs aren't last in the ACC. Florida State, with 23 rushing yards per game, ranks 118th, ahead of only Hawaii.

"Who cares how you do it?" Bowden said. "This whole thing about having to establish the run to win -- we've already proven two dadgum weeks in a row that ain't right.

"Now, the odds might be better. But to think you've got to out-rush somebody or get 150 yards to win -- Steve Spurrier disproved that when he went to Florida about 15 years ago. When he had the game locked, he'd start running it so he'd come up with 120 yards rushing at the end of the game. And, everybody would say, 'Boy, he runs the ball good.' But they went out there and won it throwing the darn ball."

Recruiting

Virginia Tech is expected to receive its first football commitment from a junior when Bruce Taylor, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound linebacker from Myrtle Beach (S.C.) High School announces his college decision this afternoon. Taylor has narrowed his choices to Tech, North Carolina and Florida State. ... D.J. Thomas, a senior running back from Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, also has said he will enroll at Tech in 2008.

 

Is it that bad?
Two weeks into the college football season, is the ACC doomed for a down year? Norm Wood and Darryl Slater debate the question.
BY NORM WOOD AND DARRYL SLATER
247-4642
September 14, 2006

We are two games into the second season of the New ACC, John Swofford's 12-team super conference with an increased national profile and sexed-up title game. Swofford, the league's commissioner, has locked up a relationship with the Orange Bowl, and the once-laughable ACC seems ready to leave its mark on the college football landscape.

Seems ready. The conference is 1-7 in Bowl Championship Series games. But it has teams such as Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech, which could all perennially challenge for top-10 national finishes.

This season's first two weeks produced similarly mixed results. Virginia and North Carolina State suffered troubling losses, to Pittsburgh and Akron, respectively. But Georgia Tech stuck with No. 2 Notre Dame, losing 14-10.

So is the ACC doomed for a down year, or not? Let the debate begin.

DS: Yes, the league is doomed for a down year. The same day as N.C. State lost at home to Akron, Florida State almost lost at home to Troy. Virginia nearly fell at home to Wyoming, and Virginia Tech looked unimpressive in beating North Carolina. Even the ACC's marquee game, Florida State-Miami, was terrible. The ACC is 6-4 against non-conference Division I-A opponents. "Out of conference so far - which, to me, is how you measure a team - these teams haven't measured up," said Jerry Palm, who runs collegebcs.com, a Web site dedicated to BCS projections and college football number crunching.

NW: It's a little too soon to toss the ACC on the scrap heap. When it comes down to it, narrow victories by FSU and U.Va. against weaker non-conference opponents, and Boston College's squeaker against Central Michigan still go in the win column. Computers don't care about the score when it comes to factoring Bowl Championship Series standings. Miami can give the ACC a big non-conference boost Saturday with a win at No. 12 Louisville. In the long run, the ACC's fate will be determined by how they do in some of its tougher non-conference games the rest of the season, such as Miami-Louisville, Maryland-West Virginia tonight and South Carolina-Clemson, FSU-Florida and Georgia Tech-Georgia on Nov. 25. Wins in those games would do wonders for the ACC's strength of schedule.

DS: Rankings might not be accurate this early in the season, but the ACC seems to lack the depth it had last season. So far this year, four ACC teams rank in The Associated Press top 25: Florida State, Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College. Last year at this time, seven were in the top 25. Palm said he sees no national-title contenders in the ACC. "Right now, I'm not excited about anybody in the ACC," he said.

NW: Let's take it a step further. Rankings mean next to nothing at this point in the season. Take those seven ACC teams that were ranked in the AP top 25 in the third week of last season. By the end of the season, two of those teams wound up being frauds (U.Va. and Georgia Tech both finished 7-5). Plus, consider the ACC teams just on the outside of the AP top 25 right now. Clemson and Georgia Tech could make legitimate claims to be in the top 25 right now. Clemson is coming off a one-point overtime loss at Boston College. Georgia Tech lost to No. 2 Notre Dame by four points in the season opener. It's not where they're ranked now. Check back in early November.

DS: The bottom line is that good teams need good players. The ACC had its share of great players last year, but 51 guys were picked in April's NFL draft - including 12 in the first round and the No. 1 overall pick, N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams. Those 51 don't include Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick, who was runner-up in ACC player-of-the-year voting. Of the 25 first-team all-conference players from 2005, 21 are gone.

NW: The talent still is there. Seven ACC teams finished in the top 25 nationally in total defense last season. After the first two weeks this season (which, again, is too soon to be evaluating any conference), six teams are in the top 30 in total defense. That's not much of a drop-off. One prominent draft analyst has ACC seniors ranked in the top five in the nation at running back, fullback, wide receiver, offensive guard, center, defensive end, defensive tackle, inside linebacker, safety (two players) and punter (two players). He also has ACC juniors in the top five at wide receiver (two players), tight end, offensive tackle (two players), offensive guard, defensive end (two players), inside linebacker, outside linebacker (three players), cornerback and kicker. That's a lot of "wow factor" left in the conference.

Expect to see Olsen under center
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
September 14, 2006

Scattershooting around the ACC while wondering why Al Groh is killing out all my e-mails ...

Just kidding.

After having asked who is going to start at QB for the Cavaliers this Saturday, Christian Olsen or Kevin McCabe, my guess is that it will be Olsen, even though McCabe deserved the start based on game performance.

However, unless McCabe was clearly better in practice this week, don’t expect the Cavaliers coaching staff to give up on its starter so easily. If there is little or no separation between the two, don’t be surprised if Olsen gets the nod.

It may not be a popular choice, but coaches don’t really give a rip what fans think (that’s not just at UVa, that’s everywhere). Should Olsen get the nod and struggle, though, look for a quick hook.

Hoos redshirting

Groh said Wednesday that he is trying to redshirt the entire freshman class with the exception of Nate Collins in order to build some depth down the road.

“I can see a number of them in the picture next year,” Groh said. “It would be advantageous if we can minimize [playing them]. There’s quite a few of them at the same level where some of their predecessors played as first-year players, but we’re trying to keep a leash on them and not play them indiscriminately and burn their year of eligibility.”

Fans will applaud that decision for a program that has suffered attrition for myriad reasons and needs to build depth for what looks like a very bright future.

Uniform change

In perhaps the worst kept secret in college football this season, we have learned that Florida State will break from tradition for its Oct. 21 game against Boston College and wear a different uniform.

The Seminoles will come out in an all-black uniform as a way to pay tribute to the Seminole Indian tribe. The uniform will feature a special patch and wording commemorating the tribe.

Nike came up with the idea.

Bad news for Tigers

If Clemson hadn’t had enough of it after losing two starting linebackers through the first week of the season, the Tigers learned coming back from their double-overtime loss at Boston College that sophomore safety Michael Hamlin, a budding star, is lost for at least four to six weeks with a broken foot.

Hamlin, who had started nine straight games, was

considered Clemson’s best defensive back.

That’s not the way to go into Florida State for Bowden Bowl VII this weekend.

The Tigers were our pick to win their division, but with the recent injuries it’s going to be very tough to reach that pinnacle.

Comcast is coming

Comcast SportsNet from Bethesda, Md., will have its own version of ESPN’s GameDay at Virginia’s Scott Stadium on Saturday, setting up its operation outside the entrance to the stadium prior to the Western Michigan game.

Fans are encouraged to stop by and give a yell. Former Cavaliers coach George Welsh and Virginia AD Craig Littlepage will be featured at the Comcast desk during the afternoon for what the network is calling “SportsNite on Campus.”

Comcast will have camera crews around campus all day and will feature special interviews taped during the week (which will air at 10 p.m. on SportsNite). The feature will also have live spots from the news desk outside of Scott Stadium and have bonus interviews with Tiki Barber and other UVa alumni.

SportsNite on Campus will also return to Scott Stadium for the Virginia vs. Maryland game on Oct. 14 and will be at the Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech game on Sept. 30.

Hoos in the NFL

Traditionally, we present a list in this column to inform readers where former Wahoos are in the pros. This information comes courtesy of UVa sports information assistant Michael Colley.

Here’s the list:

Ronde Barber (Tampa); Tiki Barber (N.Y. Giants); Darryl Blackstock (Arizona); Aaron Brooks (Oakland); Ahmad Brooks (Cincinnati); Elton Brown (Arizona); Brad Butler (Buffalo); Chris Canty (Dallas); Angelo Crowell (Buffalo); Almondo Curry (CFL/Saskatchewan); Isaiah Ekjiuba (Oakland); Patrick Estes (San Francisco); James Farrior (Pittsburgh); D’Brickashaw Ferguson (N.Y. Jets); Marques Hagans (St. Louis Rams); Dennis Haley (Baltimore); Andrew Hoffman (Cleveland); Thomas Jones (Chicago); Patrick Kerney (Atlanta); Ryan Kuehl (N.Y. Giants); Wali Lundy (Houston); Billy McMullen (Minnesota); Heath Miller (Pittsburgh); Alvin Pearman (Jacksonville); Wali Rainer (Houston); Matt Schaub (Atlanta); John St. Clair (Chicago); Marquis Weeks (Seattle); Terrence Wilkins (Indianapolis); Jamaine Winborne (Baltimore).

Note that the following are on practice squads: Hagans, Haley, Hoffman, Weeks and Winborne.

ACC stat of the week

Virginia ranks next to last in the league in rushing offense with an average of only 42 yards per game.

You might be surprised about who’s dead last: Florida State. The Seminoles are averaging only 23 yards rushing per game.

Quote of the Week I

When Maryland guard Andrew Crummey pulled a hamstring during pre-game stretching last Saturday, it left Coach Ralph Friedgen with this thought: “I’m losing guys in warmups, that’s not a good sign.”

Quote of the Week II

Also from College Park, Terps junior tailback Lance Ball said of playing at wild, wonderful West Virginia tonight:

“It’s pretty ugly down there. Throwing, spitting at you and everything. That’s what gets you geared up and ready.”

And that’s just getting off the bus.

Short yardage ...

... Virginia’s redshirt freshman nickel back/linebacker Denzel Burrell underwent an MRI on Tuesday night, and there was no word Wednesday about his status. Coach Al Groh also said that sophomore linebacker Olu Hall is redshirting this season.

... Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said the philosophy behind the Hokies’ unbeaten regular season road record in the league is simple, in fact, one he shares with Groh: “It starts in the weight room and with physical toughness, then we, as coaches, talk every day that it shouldn’t make a difference what day of the week [the game is played], or where you are shouldn’t make a difference. We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had players who do make a difference,” Beamer said.

... Basketball recruiting: Ben Boggs, a 6-4 guard from Roanoke’s Hidden Valley High School visited Virginia last weekend as did 7-1 Nigerian Solomon Alabi. Boggs is being courted by Virginia Tech, Penn State and DePaul.

... Wake Forest punter Sam Swank boomed an 86-yard punt vs. Duke the other day, the kick stopped just two yards shy of the ACC record set by Maryland’s John Fritsch in 1956.

...When N.C. State lost on the final play of regulation to Akron last week it marked the first time since ’92 that the Pack had lost on the last play (not counting overtimes).

... Boston College coach Tom O’Brien has 68 wins in his 10 years with the Eagles and will try to become the school’s winningest coach on Saturday against BYU. O’Brien’s got the right quarterback in tough Matt Ryan, who is 7-1 as a starter.

... Yet another BC note: the school started a new tradition last weekend against Clemson when officials unveiled a new 37-inch-high cast bronze statue of an eagle with a 30-inch wingspan outside the BC locker room. The statue will serve as the Eagles’ new touchstone, just like Maryland’s turtle and Howard’s Rock at Clemson.

The picks

Last week: 7-2. To date: 15-5. Tonight: West Virginia 33, Maryland 17. This week: Boston College 27, BYU 24; Virginia Tech 38, Duke 10; Georgia Tech 23, Troy 17; Miami 30, Louisville 27; North Carolina 19, Furman 14; Wake Forest 24, UConn 21; Florida State 27, Clemson 21 (too many injuries); Virginia 17, Western Michigan 13.

 

Ogletree becoming Cavs' go-to guy
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 14, 2006

“We shall not forget.”

That was the theme adopted around Major League Baseball on Monday.

Like many New York natives, Kevin Ogletree will never stop thinking about 9/11.

It was supposed to be a special day.

“Sept. 11 was actually my first full day of high school, my first full day of classes in high school,” Ogletree said Tuesday. “That was just a sad day and a day that I will never forget.”

Fear. Shock. More fear. The emotions were a lot for a 14-year-old to endure.

“I took the bus home from school that day and people were panicking on the bus and worried about if somebody would do [something] on the bus,” he said.

Virginia’s leading receiver did not know anyone directly involved in the events at the World Trade Center.

His uncle, Mark Rossianno, lost a teammate from his softball team and others had similar stories.

“It seemed like everyone that I had talked to knew someone or had someone that died in there,” Ogletree recounted.

The days, the weeks and the months that followed saw New York City pull closer together. It was quite obvious to Ogletree.

“That was just great for everyone to get behind the town and use it as such an inspiration,” Ogletree said. “It was such a traumatizing day in our history and it was just good to see people make something good out of it, to try to use it as inspiration.”

Ogletree now has another day to remember forever and for different reasons - he caught his first career touchdown on Saturday against Wyoming on the first play of overtime.

The score could not have come at a better time. The Cavaliers had played six consecutive quarters without a touchdown, a span that dated back to a season-opening loss at Pitt.

“I was happy to see the hard work from practice pay off in a game,” said Ogletree, who finished the game with a career-best 10 catches for 95 yards. “It was just a translation from practice to the game, just being able to let that roll over.”

While he never predicted game-winning touchdowns, Virginia coach Al Groh has long raved about Ogletree.

Ogletree got Groh’s attention while he was playing basketball at Holy Cross High School in Flushing, N.Y.

“Every time I talk about Kevin, I think about how he was an excellent scorer in the Catholic High School basketball league in New York, which of course is one of the best high school basketball leagues in the country,” Groh said. “He was an excellent scorer. When we knew that about him, in combination with what we knew about him as a football player, we thought we had a very athletic player there.”

Ogletree, who also had offers from Syracuse, Boston College and Wisconsin, admitted that he once had aspirations of playing professional basketball for staggering paychecks.

“When I was younger, I hoped to go to the NBA,” Ogletree said. “I didn’t start playing football until I was about 12, 13. That came kind of late.”

Basketball, amazingly enough, took a back seat to another sport early on.

“I really loved baseball,” the avid New York Yankees fan said. “That was my first love.”

Ogletree actually credits his time playing center field for helping develop the skills needed to be “able to judge the ball while it is in the air.”

It is important, he added, “getting a good jump on it and seeing it in. I think that played a big part because I used to love going after fly balls when I used to play baseball.”

While Ogletree’s spot on the field on Saturday against Western Michigan is a certainty, who throws him the ball remains a mystery. It could be fifth-year senior Christian Olsen or Ogletree’s newest roommate, junior Kevin McCabe.

Despite sharing an apartment with the signal-caller that tossed his first career touchdown, Ogletree has no preference.

“We are just hoping the best guy plays,” Ogletree said. “I’ve got confidence in both of them. I don’t know what is going to happen Saturday, who is going to get the edge, but I have the utmost confidence in both of them.

“Both of them are capable of leading us to a win on Saturday.”

And so is Ogletree. He already proved that.

 

Willie Davis puts his life back together after injury
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 14, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE It was the football equivalent of two cars crashing head-on, a collision so violent that the sound of the impact still haunts those who witnessed it on Sept. 6, 2003. Late in a game whose outcome had long since been decided, University of Virginia safety Willie Davis lowered his left shoulder and took on South Carolina ballcarrier Cory Boyd.

Their helmets met with a sickening clash. Both players fell to the turf at the Gamecocks' Williams-Brice Stadium.

Boyd rose to his feet. Davis stayed down, flat on his back, his legs twitching. U.Va.'s athletic trainer, Ethan Saliba, rushed onto the field as teammates Marcus Hamilton and Dennis Haley implored Davis not to try to get up.

"I saw him shaking, and I got a sick feeling," Hamilton, a senior cornerback, recalled this week. "That's not supposed to happen unless something's wrong."

From a booth in the press box, offensive coordinator Ron Prince, the man who'd recruited Davis for U.Va., watched in horror.

"I never even thought about him playing again," Prince, now the head coach at Kansas State, said this month. "I just wanted him to be well."

Prince's prayers, and those of countless other people, were answered. Davis, 22, is well, and he hasn't lost the brilliant smile that his friends and family and coaches associate with him.

He's working toward his degree in sociology at U.Va. and, in his first interview since suffering the spinal cord injury that ended his football career, told The Times-Dispatch that he's found peace and happiness.

"As you get older, you realize that there's a lot of things outside those 100 yards," Davis said.

. . .

The 6-2, 190-pound Davis was a two-way star at Laney High in Wilmington, N.C. -- Michael Jordan's old school. Still, he was one of the less-heralded members of the acclaimed recruiting class that enrolled at Virginia in 2002.

His classmates at U.Va. included three Parade All-Americans, as well as tailback Wali Lundy, linebacker Darryl Blackstock and offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Yet Davis quickly distinguished himself.

"Obviously, the last few years have produced a number of good players here," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said this week, "and at that stage, it was very reasonable to think that he could be equal to or better than anybody who was here.

"He was big, fast, smart and tough."

As a true freshman in 2002, Davis started five games for a team that finished 9-5. He also sparkled on special teams, averaging 23.4 yards on eight kickoff returns.

Senior safety Jerton Evans was asked that season about Davis.

"By the time he leaves here, he'll be a first-round draft pick," Evans said matter-of-factly.

"I didn't realize Jerton had joined the personnel department," said Groh, then in his second season at U.Va., "but he's not far off on that one."

Entering his second year, No.40 clearly was on the fast track to an NFL career. Groh, who'd spent more than a decade on NFL coaching staffs, believed that, and so did Davis.

"I had no reason not to," he said. "Looking back now, it was kind of naive for me to think that way, but the route I was going, I thought I was going to step into fame and fortune. What 19-year-old wouldn't think that way?"

The Cavaliers opened the 2003 season with a 27-0 rout of Duke at Scott Stadium. Then came the trip to Columbia, S.C., that would change Davis' life.

. . .

As Davis lay on the field, with medical personnel around him, football became secondary. For about 30 seconds, Davis said, he felt nothing from the neck down.

Jarring tackles were a Davis trademark, and he'd experienced numbing "stingers" before.

"But this collision was just so enormous," Davis recalled. "Something told me it was more severe than anything I'd had happen to me."

Slowly, the feeling returned in Davis' extremities -- except in his left arm and shoulder. Back in Charlottesville, doctors were alarmed that he didn't regain motion in those areas. More tests followed, and the diagnosis rocked Davis. He had seriously damaged his C6 and C7 nerve roots, he was told, and his football career was, in all likelihood, over.

In October 2003, he traveled to the Mayo Clinic for an operation that restored some motor functions to his left arm and shoulder. Davis can't raise his left arm over his head he can no longer dunk a basketball with two hands, for example -- but otherwise lives a normal life. He's started running again and is down to a solid 203 pounds.

"It could have been worse," Davis said. "As unfortunate as the situation was, I consider myself extremely lucky to come out without being paralyzed."

. . .

Davis withdrew from classes at U.Va. after his operation but returned to school in January 2004. He lasted one semester before heading home to Wilmington.

"By his own admission," Groh said, "it took him quite a long time to get over, not the fact that he wasn't going to make a million dollars [in the NFL], but the fact that 'I'm not a football player any more.'

"That comes to everybody at a certain point, but usually a player has sufficient time in which to establish an identity of himself beyond just being a football player. They see it coming, they go through school and they develop the confidence in themselves. But -- bam! -- it was here today, gone today for him, just like that."

Davis worked as a bartender on Bald Head Island near Wilmington for about eight months and gathered strength from his mother, Rosa, and other family members. He says he always knew, however, that he'd return to U.Va., where his scholarship was waiting for him.

After taking classes last fall at a community college in Wilmington, he finally made it back to U.Va. in January. Many of the students with whom he entered the university four years ago have graduated, but that doesn't deter Davis. He hopes to complete work on his degree by December 2007.

He drops by the McCue Center periodically to see his former coaches and still has friends on the football team. He attends games at Scott Stadium, but football has long since stopped being his focus.

Once he graduates, Davis hopes to make his living making music with former U.Va. teammate Lance Evans. They record and, occasionally, perform together as a hip-hop duo called Darkness Falls.

Evans, who lives in Voorhees, N.J., marvels at his friend's resilience.

"When he got hurt, he went through a lot of things, but he's really strong mentally," Evans said. "Things happen for a reason, and I don't think he'll ever be down about it . . . Willie is a dynamic dude."

Davis said: "It puts a lot of things in perspective for you when it happens at a young age, and I think it's going to help me in the real world."


 

Holland has bold vision for Pirates
ECU AD sees future resurgence
Jaymes Powell Jr., Staff Writer

RALEIGH - Sounding like a cross between a newly elected politician and a visiting pastor, East Carolina athletics director Terry Holland laid out a bold vision for returning ECU to prominence Wednesday, saying the school will need revolutionary ideas to succeed.
Holland voiced strong support for ECU coaches and added that his plan for East Carolina athletics will take time but ultimately will help the university and eastern North Carolina.

Holland repeatedly said ECU needs to forget the "conventional wisdom" of college athletics that dictates a rebuilding program should face weaker competition in order to get some immediate victories. He also challenged the assumption that a successful program needs to be in a large television market.

"We need to go against conventional thinking," said Holland, who spoke before the Raleigh Sports Club. "Stop having other people tell you what to think."

Holland said ECU's current and future schedules against high-level opponents such as West Virginia and Navy will be difficult in the short term but will make ECU's program stronger and more attractive the next time major conferences realign.

"We want to build for the long term. If we start to think in the short term, we'll make some decisions that may win some games for us," Holland said, noting that ECU is scheduled to play ACC team Virginia Tech annually from 2007 through 2013.

"We want to know what it takes ... so we can be prepared the next time [conferences] reshuffle," Holland said.

He added that schools such as Utah and Texas Christian have shown that non-Bowl Championship Series teams can develop strong programs and take a shot at the BCS.

"So, the BCS won't invite us to their bowl party? We'll schedule our own," Holland said.

Holland said he's standing behind his coaches.

"It's going to take [ECU football coach] Skip Holtz a long time to build a record to attract some of the big boys," Holland said.

Holland said the East Carolina community needs to be patient.

"Our task is to figure out the way to win enough games and be successful enough," Holland said. "We're never going to be happy losing games."

ECU missed out on the ACC's expansion and college sports' last reshuffling, keeping the Pirates in Conference USA -- which has schools all over the country.

But he said ECU was not trying to take the Pirates out of C-USA.

"There's no reason to even think in those terms at this point. There's no better conference for us right now," Holland said. "The only negative to Conference USA ... is the distance."

Holland said it bothered him that N.C. State would travel to play C-USA team Southern Miss this weekend while "depressed" eastern North Carolina would benefit emotionally and financially from a Greenville visit from a major program. But Holland praised N.C. State and UNC for scheduling trips to Greenville beginning next season.

"They've been good to us, and we realize this," Holland said. "We have to make it win-win. It can't be asking State to play us to do us a favor. They need to do what's best for them. It's on our shoulders."

 

Parkhill’s Scores Again Posted 2006-09-14
This time, it’s raising the money to build Virginia’s new basketball arena.
By Dustin Dopirak

HARRISONBURG ­ Barry Parkhill put his coaching whistle away for good in 1992, but he’s still recruiting.

Now, however, the former University of Virginia basketball star and William & Mary coach isn’t looking for athletic 18-year-olds with 40-inch vertical leaps and buttery jump shots. He’s searching for rich alumni with the fiscal ability and willingness to write six-, seven- and eight-figure checks to the athletic department of U.Va.

Parkhill, who spoke at the Shenandoah Valley Athletic Club meeting this week, is Virginia’s associate athletic director for development. What that really means, he said, is he’s a major-gift fundraiser. In even more layman’s terms, he’s the guy who convinces well-heeled graduates to donate the money for athletic projects that require private funding, such as the construction of John Paul Jones Arena.

"It didn’t take a lot of training to be able to do that," Parkhill said. "I think basketball prepared me for that, especially recruiting. A lot of things you do in recruiting I was able to transfer into my development job. Except for the fact that in recruiting you’re dealing with 17- and 18-year-old kids. Here, I’m dealing with grown-up adults, which is a little bit different."

Different because of the age factor, and because the people he’s trying to attract now know more about what he’s trying to sell.

"The people I’m dealing with either went to Virginia or had kids that went to Virginia, or are in Virginia, or they’re just fans," Parkhill said. "Versus 17- or 18-year-old kids, they don’t know anything about Virginia, they’re looking at 10 or 20 or 30 other schools. I’ve got a built-in constituency that cares about the university."

One member of Parkhill’s constituency is Paul Tudor Jones II, the man whose donations are the biggest reason the Cavaliers will play in a new $130 million basketball arena this year.

Jones, a 1976 U.Va. graduate, has donated $42.6 million to the building of the arena, which bears his father’s name. The figure reported on Virginia’s Web site is $35 million, but Parkhill said Jones spent another $7.6 million to get a state-of-the art audio-visual system in the arena that is not included in the fund-raising figure.

The whole project began, Parkhill told the SVAC, with a phone call he got from Jones in January 2000, the night after the Cavaliers had lost in overtime to then-No. 7 Duke.

"He said, ‘When are we replacing that dump?’" Parkhill said. "Meaning University Hall. I took a tad bit of offense, but I said, ‘Paul, we’re right in the middle of expanding Scott Stadium,’ which we were and that’s a huge undertaking in itself. And he was great. He said, ‘I’d like to donate $250,000 for seed money for when the time is right to put a basketball project on the table.’ He said, ‘Do you mind if I write President [John T.] Casteen a letter?’ I said, ‘Paul, I’ll hand deliver that for you.’"

That summer, Parkhill met with Jones – a commodities trader -- in the latter’s New York office. That was when Jones made the donation that became the cornerstone for the project.

"I said to Paul, ‘Beyond your commitment that you’ve already made, if we can get this project on the table, do you see yourself being a player?’" Parkhill said. "And he said, and I’ll never forget it, ‘As long as my business does well, I can see myself doing $20 million.’ And it’s like my heart’s going like this [motioning as though it was beating out of his chest]. And I’m trying to act as smooth and cool as I can. But something like that doesn’t happen very often in any business."

Eventually, Jones upped his commitment to $35 million. Then, during a Virginia football game, he found Parkhill in a skybox suite and told him about his hopes for the audio-visual system and his willingness to pay for it.

Parkhill and his assistants in development have raised enough money beyond Jones’ commitment to put them close to the $130 million figure, though he said the Virginia Athletic Foundation will probably need to raise a total of about $170-180 million to pay for all of the costs and interest.

But what’s another $50 million among friends? Parkhill said U.Va. expects to raise the extra bucks and that the facility will be entirely privately funded.

Virginia officials hope John Paul Jones Arena becomes the catalyst for a resurgence in the Cavaliers’ basketball program, a program that Parkhill helped take to national respectability.

The 1970-71 team, on which he was a sophomore, was the first in 17 years to finish with a winning record. In 1971-72, U.Va. won 20 games for the first time since 1928. Parkhill led the Cavaliers in scoring all three of those years, averaging an ACC-best 21.6 points per game in 1971-72. He was twice named an All-American and played in the American Basketball Association for four years before coaching at William & Mary from 1984-87 and St. Michael’s College from 1989-90.

Parkhill’s efforts in securing the new arena should help current U.Va. coach Dave Leitao recruit, but the State College, Pa., native said he can’t pat himself on the back for his contributions to his alma mater until all the bills are actually paid.

"You keep doing it until you get something done and you move to the next," he said. "When the arena is funded, there will be a sense of accomplishment, but we’re not there yet."
 

Kevin Ogletree ready for prominent role
After debuting in game against Florida State, sophomore has risen to challenges, come through for Cavaliers in key situations
Sharon Crews, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

The injuring of one of this season's captains, senior wide receiver Deyon Williams, left a crucial void to be filled on the Virginia football team. Sophomore Kevin Ogletree took the lead in filling that void.

"He's got excellent athletic ability and very good hand-eye coordination," said Virginia coach Al Groh. "He's kind of got that slithery style that a lot of non-power receivers have, in terms of the ability to cut and get into openings."

Ogletree, ranked as the seventh best player in New York by Rivals.com and eighth by Scout.com coming out of high school, was brought up slowly as a true freshman. He made his college debut in last season's Florida State game and appeared in every game thereafter. His first reception was a five-yard catch against North Carolina, and he then caught five passes for 20 yards against Temple.

Ogletree received a 25-yard touchdown pass fired from Kevin McCabe in Saturday's showdown with Wyoming to give the Cavaliers a six-point lead.

"The other thing that he has to be aware of is that all the players that he will play against now will see him in a different way," Groh said. "He's very definitely on their scouting report."

The rising talent and ever developing skill of Ogletree brings new excitement not only to Cavalier fans, but to the squad itself.

"Anytime a sophomore has that type of awareness and makes those types of plays, you feel a lot more comfortable," McCabe said. "As a quarterback -- to throw it out there -- he'll make a play for you."

Groh expressed his future high expectations of Ogletree with the conclusion of Saturday's Wyoming game. "All the practice work can only amount to so much until they actually see performance in a game," Groh said. "Now he's seen that, and that ought to give him a significant boost. For a young player like that to have done it in a game, that sometimes is what one needs to break through, have the confidence level and have seen it happen."

 

Mr. Brightside
Kevin Zdancewicz, Cavalier Daily Columnist

All is not well in HooVille, but I don't get it. We won. We evened up the record. We've righted the ship. It's smooth sailing from here to bowl season.

As I take off the sarcasm hat, let's face it: Our football team is not very good. We got crushed by Pitt and then beat a very mediocre Mountain West team at home 13-12 on a missed extra point in overtime.

That's nothing against the Mountain West. The conference has some good teams and doesn't get much respect on the national level. But Wyoming, picked to finish dead last in the preseason MWC media poll, is not one of its better teams. Virginia made the Cowboy defense look like the Steel Curtain and QB Jacob Doss look like a Heisman candidate. Obviously, it was not the kind of game you hope for in a home opener.

Recently, Virginia has been a middle of the pack ACC team that shows flashes of a championship squad but never makes that jump to elite status. That trend has gone the way of Pogs, at least for now, as it looks like it will be a struggle even to finish in the middle of the ACC this year.

But why is everyone getting all worked up about it? Isn't this what we expected after losing so many key players from last year? Maybe it is too early to call them a bad team, but Virginia has given me little reason not to do so. However, there is definitely a bright side to this situation.

The first point to keep in mind about having a mediocre-to-bad team this year is that the fans will still get into the games. Are you going to honestly tell me that there will not be 60,000 people at Scott Stadium even if this team continues to struggle? Fall Saturdays are what people live for around here. Students dig into game day like free food at the Ampitheatre. Alumni come back and tailgate all day then look out of place in the student section just to live up the good old college days. The atmosphere is great and will remain that way even though the product on the field may be down for the year.

When your team is not very good, expectations are never too high. With low expectations, every win is a party. We are already well trained in over-celebrating wins: Just check out pictures of the players and crowd after the missed extra point Saturday. You shouldn't be jumping up and down or high-fiving friends and strangers when you survive a game you were supposed to win because of a missed extra point. That said, I was doing it and so was most everyone in the stadium.

Now recall what it was like after big wins (for example, Virginia Tech in 2003 or Florida State last year) in the past few years. Things got pretty crazy; people had a lot of fun, right? With everyone aware that wins will be hard to come by this season, imagine what Saturday nights following wins will be like in C-ville.

Something you lose when you are a ranked team is the opportunity to rush the field after games, because you are almost always favored to win them. When you are not very good, virtually every win is an upset! Plus they cleared out the obstructions at the bottom of the hill, so they are pretty much asking us to rush the field at some point. The stage is set for one of those magical nights where we "shock the world" and can celebrate on the big V at midfield.

I have a feeling the U.Va Athletic Department is not too happy about the football season so far (or the fact that I just advocated rushing the football field). However, I think that they can definitely take a positive away from the start: Maybe with a lackluster football team, students and fans will give other fall sports a chance. I'm not saying that we should stop caring about the football team, but many of the non-revenue sports have legitimate championship chances and do not get the recognition that they deserve. Men's and women's soccer, cross country and field hockey are all nationally ranked but receive only a tiny fraction of the support students show the football team.

The most important positive spin on this season is the fact that when a team that has been having good years suddenly has a bad one, it usually means they will not be down long. After Kevin McCabe revamped the quarterback controversy with his play Saturday, his case looks good for a possible starting job or at least increased playing time for the rest of the season. U.Va could make the most of this rebuilding year by keeping McCabe in at quarterback and getting Jameel Sewell into the mix as well to prepare them for their futures in the program.

Hey, you never know, maybe U.Va. got the "bad road loss" and "the shaky early home win" out of its system and it really is smooth sailing. Or maybe that nine-point spread over Western Michigan this weekend is a little bit generous. Either way, where's the party at if we win?

 

Quarterback controversy brewing at Virginia
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 13, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Al Groh's e-mail inbox has been full lately. When a coach has a decision to make at quarterback - as Groh does now between Christian Olsen and Kevin McCabe - it seems everyone has an opinion.
Don't pity Groh, though. It's his secretary that screens the e-mails. Most of the "suggestions" are thrown away. A few she passes on.

"Sometimes she'll give me some and she'll say, 'You'll find this amusing,'" Groh said. "Actually, she wrote on two of them, 'This guy's back again.'"

It's a situation Virginia fans haven't seen since 2001 when Bryson Spinner and Matt Schaub split time at quarterback in Groh's first year in Charlottesville. Schaub started in 2002 and '03 with little controversy. Marques Hagans did the same in 2004 and '05.

But in the years Schaub and Hagans were the quarterback, the Cavaliers' offense didn't struggle as bad as it has this year.

Virginia ranks 110th out of 119 Division I teams in total offense after two weeks and is averaging 13 points per game, 99th nationally.

In two games, Olsen, a fifth-year senior who was named the starter last spring, is 29 of 55 (52.7 percent) for 222 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. With Olsen under center, Virginia scored a total of 19 points on 20 possessions.

The last straw was Olsen's last drive against Wyoming. Josh Zidenberg's blocked punt gave UVa possession at the Wyoming 14-yard line. Three plays and negative three yards later, the Cavaliers kicked a field goal. McCabe got the call to come in the next series.

"The quarterback's job is to get the ball in the end zone," Olsen said. "I feel like they probably just needed to make a change to jumpstart our offense."

McCabe was much more efficient, completing 8 of 13 passes for 85 yards. Most importantly, he led Virginia to its only touchdown in overtime on a 25-yard strike to Kevin Ogletree.

"I can't lie about that one, it was fun to go out there and play," said McCabe, who is in his fourth year in the program. "Anytime you just sit in the wings and cheer a team on, you always want the best success for the team no matter who's playing, but when you're able to be a part of it and you're able to contribute to a win, it's a different feeling."

Next year might also factor into Groh's decision. Just a junior, McCabe has another season at Virginia after this one. Olsen does not.

Granted, there were some operational problems with McCabe, who had thrown just 14 career passes prior to Saturday. On a key fourth-and-one situation with just over four minutes remaining, he called the wrong play for the formation the Cavaliers were in. Cedric Peerman got stuffed on a run and UVa turned the ball over on downs.

"That's just Pee Wee football, calling the play right," McCabe said. "That should be second nature. I was just caught up in the moment."

Groh is content on letting the situation work itself out in practice this week. Both quarterbacks split snaps with the first-team offense on Monday and figure to do so all week.

Groh likely will not release the name of the starter to the public prior to kickoff on Saturday. He's made it clear that once a decision is made, the quarterbacks will know first, the team second and the public third, if at all.

"There are the feelings of the individuals involved, which are an important consideration for the coach," Groh said. "I've been a player before. I've dealt with players. I understand how the type of moves up or down effect them."

That's not going to stop the opinions from pouring in from the stands, over the radio waves or, as Groh's secretary well knows, through e-mail.

"I'm now getting some suggestions and some insight from some of the same people who thought that Schaub wasn't fast enough and that Hagans was too short," Groh said with a chuckle.

"So clearly I'm taking those under strong advisement."