No guarantees for UVa
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 30, 2006

It took just over three hours for Virginia’s offense to churn out 348 yards on the ground in its last visit to Duke in 2004.

Now, through four games of the current campaign, the Cavaliers have amassed only 204 yards and just two scores via a handoff.

Those were surely better days. Visions of bowl games in warm cities still danced in the heads of Virginia football players.

At this point, with Virginia (1-3, 0-1 ACC) off to its worst start since 1986, the program would settle for a victory over the hapless Blue Devils (0-3, 0-2). That chance comes today at noon at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Despite Duke’s current 11-game losing streak, Virginia coach Al Groh knows a win is not a guarantee, especially not with a rookie quarterback. Jameel Sewell, a redshirt freshman, will make his second start under center for the Cavaliers.

“We all know the value of defense to winning, but no matter how well you play on defense you have to get more points than the other team does,” Groh said. “To a large degree it comes down to offensive production and to the way the game is played these days, we have said this for six years, that it’s a quarterback-driven sport.

“Top play [at quarterback] usually produces enough points to win and when you don’t get enough points or enough playmaking there, then you are going to struggle for your points.”

Duke is facing a similar situation. The Blue Devils are slated to start true freshman Thaddeus Lewis at quarterback.

A quick start would work wonders for either signal-caller.

Virginia has been outscored 51-23 in the first half, while Duke’s opponents have scored 23 more thus far in the opening two quarters.

While both quarterbacks have tossed only one touchdown this season, they said they expect game experience and practice reps with their respective first-team offenses to pay off.

Sewell started the season third on the depth chart behind fifth-year senior Christian Olsen and junior Kevin McCabe. Lewis was the opening game backup to sophomore Marcus Jones and neither may have played had last year’s starter, Zack Asack, not been suspended from school for two semesters for plagiarism.

Both Groh and Duke coach Ted Roof have turned their offenses over to their rookies for better or worse.

“You spend a lot of time talking to them about [being confident] and preparing them for when they’re really on, and also for the days when they’re really off, because both of those things are going to happen,” Roof said. “You need to not lose your voice, not change your approach and not start pressing too hard when things aren’t going too well because confidence is such a powerful thing in almost everything we do.

“Whether it’s standing over a golf ball or a three-foot putt or standing behind the center, confidence is a powerful thing. You don’t want a guy losing his confidence because sometimes when young kids lose their confidence it’s tough to get it back. That hasn’t been a problem with Thaddeus so far.”

Sewell found his confidence in the second half against Georgia Tech after a lackluster start.

“I was extremely frustrated. I just couldn’t show it. You’re not supposed to show things like that,” Sewell said. “I just got in the locker room and took a knee and took everything in that everybody was saying.”

Senior tailback Michael Johnson told him it was time to show maturity.

“I was thinking in my head, ‘You’ve just got to play, Sewell, and stop worrying and stop trying to be so perfect,’” Sewell added.

Groh said the problems started with Sewell’s mechanics.

“The same thing occurs to any one who releases a ball. Baseball coaches say that to pitchers. Pitchers want to throw strikes and sometimes they get overly precise, they try to aim it in there,” Groh said. “There is a way to improve a pitcher’s accuracy but it is not by aiming the ball. It’s to improve things mechanically.

“Jameel’s always been pretty good about just letting that thing rip in practice. He saw the other day he was trying to be a little bit too careful and trying to aim it in there. Once he got over that and let it rip a little bit, his throws began to improve throughout the course of the game. We would hope that would be one of the lessons that came out of that first experience for him.”

Improvement for Sewell, as well as other Cavaliers on offense and defense, could not come at a better time.

Virginia must win five of its last eight games to finish .500 and be eligible to play in the postseason. A loss today would likely not only throw a wrench into those December plans but shift the focus to the 2007 season.

“As a player, you never accept a rebuilding year,” said Virginia defensive end Chris Long. “Most teams have the tools to compete for their conference championship. It’s really just about execution. It’s on us at this point. In the end, if this is to be turned around, it’s a players’ thing to do. The players have to take it upon themselves to make the plays.

“When you’re 1-3, you want to win as bad as ever. This is a game that is necessary to win because a lot of guys would benefit not just from a win but also from a sound performance in execution and doing the things that we know we can do.”

EXTRA POINTS: Tickets are now available for Virginia’s home game on Oct. 14 against Maryland. A limited number became available to the public after Maryland returned part of its allotment. The tickets are $40. Tickets also remain on sale for the North Carolina game on Oct. 19 and can be purchased by calling or visiting the Virginia ticket office.
 

Sewell ready to take the next step
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress staff writer
September 30, 2006

At first glance, Jameel Sewell’s passing numbers aren’t all that impressive until we are reminded that he’s a work in progress.

Sewell, a redshirt freshman from Richmond’s Hermitage High School, has been given the keys to Virginia’s sophisticated West Coast offense. However, he’s still trying to read the driver’s manual.

It was somewhat disconcerting and yet also comforting what a teammate said to the Cavaliers’ rookie quarterback coming off the field at halftime during last week’s game Georgia Tech game in Atlanta.

“Mike Johnson said, ‘Just grow up man, you’ve got to grow up right now,’” related Sewell.

Well, in a way, that’s exactly what the quarterback did in the second half. He admittedly struggled in the first half, the first start of his collegiate career.

“I thought about [what Johnson said] and just took it all in,” said Sewell this week. “There’s no reason for me to do the things I was doing the first half [at Tech]. Just grow up in a hurry.”

Growing up quickly

When Sewell came out for the third quarter, he completed 6 of 11 passes for 60 yards, including five straight completions. In the fourth quarter, he again went 6 for 11 and threw his first touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree. For the game, the rookie was 15 of 31 for 115 yards.

It’s all part of the growing up process for a quarterback. He must experience the bad times before he can move on to the good ones. Coach Al Groh is hoping that most of the bad times are behind his starting quarterback but realizes that’s probably not the case with a rookie.

“Part of the process of becoming a real quarterback is they have to work themselves out of some difficult situations,” said Groh. “That’s part of competition and part of a guy being able to respond to what’s in front of him.”

Steady improvement

While Groh and son, Mike, the offensive coordinator, were chiefly concerned early in the Tech game about Sewell trying to aim the ball rather than just fling it, they both were impressed with some of the second-half throws.

“Not the little gimme throws, but on the balls that are required for a quarterback to stand out, Jameel threw a real good go-pattern, he threw a real good in-cut, he threw a real good 7-route, he threw a real good out-cut - big-time throws,” pointed out Al Groh. “If you look at the game as a whole, it wouldn’t be accurate to say, ‘OK, everything’s great, Jameel worked himself out of those circumstances.’ There’s still going to be a lot to work through.”

But you’ve got to start somewhere and at Georgia Tech was a good place. Sewell is not likely to see more fierce blitzing than he did in Atlanta. He probably won’t face a better defense for weeks to come. He won’t face as much speed in the near future, so it was good experience.

Sewell said his biggest technical problem in the first half was aiming his passes. Coaches told him to stop aiming.

“Just pick it up and throw it,” Groh said. “Jameel has always been pretty good about letting that thing rip in practice, but he saw the other day he was trying to be a little bit too careful and trying to aim it in there. Once he got over that and let it rip a little bit, his throws began to improve throughout the course of the game.”

That was the technical problem. The other stuff has been more about learning the intricate offense and instilling confidence in his teammates. In other words, it’s not too cool showing up in the huddle and having to keep staring at the plays on his wristband.

“It’s important because [not constantly looking at the wristband] will instill confidence into my linemen,” Sewell said. “You can look into a person’s eyes and see if they’re scared or if they’re not ready to play. So, me being able to read the plays, after I’ve glanced at the wristband, to get the play and feed it into the huddle and let them see if I’m ready will give them confidence.”

His biggest challenge has been getting all that down in learning a difficult system.

While he passed for 2,000 yards his senior season at Hermitage, Sewell basically came out of a run-oriented program. He sat out the 2005 season as a redshirt, but Groh intentionally began preparing Sewell for ’06 by letting him get some huddle time in practice last year.

The coaches knew that they were going to have to go with a somewhat inexperienced quarterback a year ago and Groh had become intrigued with the Cincinnati Bengals’ plan to slowly bring around Carson Palmer. Some NFL teams throw a rookie immediately into the fire, while some essentially redshirt them like the path Cincy had chosen for the former Southern Cal star.

“While they had decided not to play him [the first year], Palmer still took turns every day with the first offense,” Groh said. “That was to get him in the huddle with those players, to get him used to it, to get the players used to him being in the huddle, to make sure he really stayed up on the game plan.”

Virginia’s circumstances were obviously different, moving a high school quarterback into a college system as opposed to a Heisman Trophy winner moving into a pro system, but it was basically the same type of grooming.

“With Jameel, we started that last October and we got to that stage where we maybe thought he could go ahead and do it in the games here,” said Groh.

Along the way, Sewell admittedly struggled with his academics and that shaky standing prevented Groh and the staff from completely dedicating themselves to the rookie. After all, why put stock into a guy who might not be around in September?

Sewell completely understood his predicament, buckled down academically and got the job done. The fact that he missed some practice time in August after cutting his foot in a bicycle accident didn’t help either.

But now, it’s a matter of learning the system and clocking game time, getting that experience under his belt as Virginia takes on Duke today at high noon in historic Wallace Wade Stadium.

When he came to UVa and had this massive playbook thrown at him, it came as quite a surprise.

“Yeah, a complete shock,” Sewell said. “I knew teams threw the ball, but to come into such a complex offense, it’s like taking a calculus class. It’s extremely difficult to learn.”

But he’s getting there and with the Georgia Tech game behind him, Sewell is ready for the next step.

“I just feel my confidence level has gone up, knowing that I was able to somewhat bounce back from a bad first half of play against Georgia Tech and come back and complete some passes,” Sewell said.

Should he continue to progress against the Blue Devils today, a defense that will throw all sorts of things at the rookie, he could shake Virginia’s offense out of its doldrums and begin to move things along.

Groh and the rest of the Wahoo Nation are just hoping it’s not a case of one step forward and two steps back. Sewell can’t afford that kind of experience, nor can Virginia.

 

6 burning questions
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 30, 2006

1. Could Virginia really lose to Duke, a program that has lost 11 straight?
The fine folks in Las Vegas certainly think so. Virginia is only a 5-point favorite over Duke, a program that not only has that losing streak, but has also won only one Atlantic Coast Conference game since President Bush was re-elected.
Virginia coach Al Groh praised Duke this week for its ability to stop the run and said the extra week that the Blue Devils had off to rest could impact the game.
“[Duke has] been very sticky against the run,” Groh said. “Obviously they gave Wake Forest a very difficult time, particularly against the run. I would say right now at this stage, it looks very challenging.”
Some of that is coach speak. Some of it could be concern since Groh was on the sidelines for his team’s first four games. The Cavs’ offensive line is getting better, believe it or not, and could make a statement against Duke.

2. Will added practice time help quarterback Jameel Sewell and Virginia’s offense?
Sewell thinks so. His teammates think so. Al Groh hopes so.
“It’s too early to get any reading. I wouldn’t put it in the ‘expectation’ category, but I would put it in the ‘hopeful’ category,” Groh said earlier this week. “That’s certainly what we would hope to see.”
Sewell appeared to get on track last week against Georgia Tech, albeit in the fourth quarter, but the process has to start somewhere, right? The redshirt freshman said the touchdown pass to wideout Kevin Ogletree gave him confidence that it could be done.
He also credited fellow quarterbacks Christian Olsen and Kevin McCabe for helping him during his first career start.
“Every time I came off the field they were right there asking me ‘What did I see? Did you do this right? Why didn’t you do that?,’” Sewell said. “And actually I needed it. It was very helpful.”

3. Does Virginia need wide receiver Deyon Williams back on the field to boost the offense?
Williams might play today against Duke. He might not. Williams has been jogging for weeks now and he even dressed for Virginia’s road game at Georgia Tech, but did not play.
Message boards have been buzzing with the possibility. Virginia coach Al Groh has said that he is not focused on Williams until he is told that the senior wideout is healthy enough to return to practice from the surgery on a stress fracture in his right foot.
Getting Williams back would give quarterback Jameel Sewell another sure-handed option on the field, but a bigger addition might come from releasing the tight ends upfield more. That can only happen if they are not needed to buy time for Sewell in the pocket.

4. Will there be some lonesome kickers today in Durham?
Shake the magic 8-ball and it will tell you “All signs point to yes.” Virginia’s duo of Chris Gould and Noah Greenbaum has struggled. Gould was 5 for 8 before giving way to Greenbaum, and the former walk-on promptly missed his first attempt, a 47-yarder at Georgia Tech.
Duke has struggled just as much. The Blue Devils, in fact, would have at least one win if not for a blocked field goal with 9 seconds left against Wake Forest.
For the season, sophomore Joe Surgan has made just 2 of his 6 field-goal attempts and coach Ted Roof has to worry about keeping the placekicker confident.
“I guess it’s like a golfer. Sometimes you don’t feel like you have a chance of hitting it straight, and a 3-foot putt seems like it might as well be a 300-foot putt, but the only way to do it is to keep going to the practice range,” Roof said. “Hopefully we’ll get it cured in the practice range before it’s teed up and it counts [today].”

5. Can Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis shake the cobwebs from the vicious hit he took against Virginia Tech?
Nobody could blame Lewis from being a little gunshy this week. The signal-caller was clocked by Virginia Tech rover Aaron Rouse two weeks ago and the blow to the head gave Lewis a mild concussion.
“I didn’t really see it coming,” Lewis said. “I was focusing on my teammate; I saw him catch the ball and then I got hit. It’s out of my hands. I can’t do anything about it, but I guess it’s all just a part of football.”
X-rays were even taken on Lewis’ jaw to make sure there wasn’t a break. Luckily, they came back negative. Will the on-field results turn out the same way? Virginia cornerback Marcus Hamilton hopes so and likes the fact that Lewis has started only two games in his career.
“We would like to give him things he might not have seen in practice just because he doesn’t have as much game experience,” Hamilton said.

6. Will anyone even notice if Virginia actually gets things turned around?
If a tree falls in the woods … you get the point. People will surely notice if Virginia doesn’t get the job done. Clemson coach Tommy Bowden would love to be off the hot seat (he was the last ACC coach to lose to Duke).
For Virginia, a loss could mean panic mode has begun. This team is in dire need of a win. Perhaps more so than at any other point during the Al Groh era.
Could it be a good thing that the game is being played at Wallace Wade Stadium in front of a sparse crowd? The empty seats and the environment should mean very little, Groh said, when the players reach the field. It is still just a 100-yard field with white lines, but the pressure is on.
“You have to play every game like it’s the Super Bowl when you’re 1-3,” UVa defensive end Chris Long said.

 

Yarbrough back at home with UVa
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 30, 2006

About an hour before Virginia tangled with Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Zac Yarbrough was back in a familiar place.

The music was blaring. The fans were spilling in. The Yellow Jacket student section was jeering Virginia football players.

After a year away, Yarbrough is back around the sport that he loves with a passion and with the same program that gave him a chance to make the most with his life.

No, Yarbrough was not in uniform. Graduation took that from him. Instead, the former Cavalier center and long snapper was sporting a program-issued polo shirt over his lighter frame, doing anything he could to help get Virginia players ready.

While the life of a graduate assistant is far from glorious, Yarbrough is just thankful for the opportunity that UVa coach Al Groh gave him.

“The reason I got into coaching was because I always knew I was never the biggest, strongest or the most gifted athlete on the field as a player and I couldn’t control that, but I always took pride in trying to be the smartest out there on the field,” Yarbrough said during the preseason. “It’s something I always thought about doing and I’m glad that I had an opportunity to come back to UVa and to work for Coach Groh.”

The second team All-ACC center in 2004 looks at every meeting, every practice, every minute as a chance to make an impression on his bosses.

“I love being back with the program, and I’m trying to prove to the coaching staff that I belong here in Charlottesville,” Yarbrough said, “and I’m trying to make myself valuable to the program any way I can.”

Need a cup of coffee? Need some copies? Need a ride? Yarbrough is quick to volunteer. That’s how much Virginia football means to him.

Having been in the trenches and seen the battles up close and personal, Yarbrough lends advice and tries to motivate Virginia’s offensive linemen when his schedule allows it. That process is easier, right tackle Ian-Yates Cunningham said, since many of the current lineman witnessed Yarbrough in action.

“I had the pleasure of playing with Zac, so I kind of knew how he was as a player and I could easily see him as a coach,” Cunningham said. “He works with us and we are able to talk during individual work, and he is on the sidelines during team periods and you get to pick his brain a little bit and ask him a couple of questions like ‘Did I do this right? What do I need to do on this?’ It is beneficial to have him there.”

Knowing just how busy Yarbrough and Virginia’s three other grad assistants are, Cunningham said you have to take advantage of every chance you get.

“You have to realize that Zac is a G.A. and he has things to do, so he is pretty busy. So when you get a chance to sit down and talk with him, you had better take him up on it.”

Yarbrough has no idea where coaching will take him in life. That’s a question for another day. But that hasn’t stopped the former All-ACC academic selection from having a vision.

“It’s my dream to one day be here on the full-time staff,” Yarbrough said, “and to help anyway I can to make Virginia football a powerhouse year in and year out.”

 

Wahoo Memories
By Drew Hansen / Daily Progress staff writer
September 30, 2006

Ron Mattes

AGE: 43

HOMETOWN: Ringtown, Pa.

PLAYING WEIGHT: 308 pounds in 1984.

CURRENT WEIGHT: “Tell ’em 250,” Mattes said with a laugh.

HEIGHT: 6-foot-6

PERSONAL: Married to wife Susan with three kids - Nicole, 18; R.J., 16; and Amber Jo, 13. The family lives in Concord, N.C.

PRESENT OCCUPATION: Mattes is an assistant apparel salesman in suburban Charlotte, N.C.

WHILE AT VIRGINIA: Initially recruited as a tight end out of North Schuylkill (Pa.) High School, Mattes was moved to the defensive line and went on to become a first-team All-ACC selection at defensive tackle his senior year.

Mattes recorded 220 tackles in 44 games, including 25 TFLs and 18 sacks over his four-year career.

In 1984, Mattes recorded 38 tackles and nine sacks, recovered three fumbles and blocked a kick.

SINCE LEAVING VIRGINIA: A seventh-round selection by the Seattle Seahawks in the 1985 NFL Draft, Mattes was converted to offensive tackle and played in 95 games during an eight-year career with the Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers.

FAVORITE CAVALIER MEMORY: “Winning the Peach Bowl (over Purdue in 1984) is my favorite moment.

“We were down (24-14) going into halftime and in the locker room we were all really excited. We knew then that we would come back out and win. It was just really electric.”

WORST CAVALIER MEMORY: “A drubbing by Clemson (in 1982 at Scott Stadium). We lost 48-0.”

FAVORITE HANGOUT: “The library, of course.”

ON SON, R.J., BEING RECRUITED BY VIRGINIA: “We got a letter from UVa on the first day he could receive stuff from colleges. It was really exciting that the first letter was from UVa.

“He’s done well enough in camps [as an offensive lineman] for him to get some offers …

“It’s his decision, but hopefully he’ll be a legacy.”

 

UVa, Duke desperate for a victory
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

In its effort to end an 11-game losing streak dating back to the first month of the 2005 football season, host Duke will have a partner in desperation today.

"I can only speak specifically for myself," Virginia coach Al Groh said Thursday, "but I would find it difficult to think anybody could be much hungrier than we are."

The Cavaliers have lost two games in a row and their four-game record (1-3, 0-1 ACC) is the worst since 1986. A 1-4 start would be Virginia's worst since 1982, when it was 0-5 in George Welsh's first season as head coach.

"We're in the same boat that [the Blue Devils] are," said UVa cornerback and co-captain Marcus Hamilton. "We've only got one more victory than they do."

Virginia is favored by five points heading into today's noon kickoff at Wallace Wade Stadium. That's a good sign for the Cavaliers, who have lost 16 straight games as a road underdog, including a 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech on Sept. 21.

The Blue Devils have been off since Sept. 16, when they absorbed a 36-0 beating at Virginia Tech, their second shutout loss in three games. In its opener, Duke lost to Division I-AA Richmond 14-0.

"We're certainly better than what we were three weeks ago," said Duke coach Ted Roof, whose Blue Devils subsequently lost at Wake Forest 14-13 when the Deacons blocked a field-goal attempt on the final play.

In two of its three games, Duke has held the opposition to fewer than 300 yards and is 28th in Division I-A in rushing defense.

Virginia has scored exactly one TD in its each of its four games and all signs point to a defensive struggle that will feature two of the nation's most accomplished cornerbacks.

Duke senior John Talley ranks second among all active Division I-A players behind Utah's Eric Weddle, who has 14 career interceptions. Talley is tied for second with 12, while Hamilton is tied for fifth with 11.

"We've spoken but we haven't spoken about that," said Hamilton, who met Talley when they represented their respective teams at the ACC Football Kickoff in Jacksonville, Fla.

Hamilton's first "pick" of the year was in UVa's second game of the season, when he also had a goal-line fumble recovery in the Cavaliers' 13-12 overtime victory over Wyoming.

He hurt his shoulder in practice the following Wednesday and the Cavs missed his ball-hawking ways in a 17-10 home loss to Western Michigan.

"That's key," Hamilton said. "Any time you go into a game and don't create any turnovers, it's tough to win. That's been our focus in practice this week, trying to get as many turnovers as we can, and hopefully that will translate into the game."

Duke freshman quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, returning from a head injury that knocked hime out of the game at Virginia Tech, has not been intercepted in 62 attempts.

UVa quarterbacks have been intercepted seven times, including twice at Georgia Tech, but redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell "really seemed to gain confidence as the game went on and gave them a spark in the second half," Roof said.

Virginia has won 16 of the last 19 games in the Duke-UVa series, only once scoring as few as 13 points.

If the Cavaliers scored as many as 13 points today, it would match their highest output of the season.

UVa could add some firepower if 2005 leading receiver Deyon Williams makes his season's debut. Williams suffered a broken foot in the preseason and had surgery Aug. 11.

"We have to go down there and win," Hamilton said. "We need to right this ship that we're on."

Note

UVa and Comcast SportsNet have agreed to a three-year contract to keep UVa programming on the cable channel. CSN will continue to air "Cavalier Sports Weekly," UVa's weekly football and basketball coaches' show, at 10 a.m. Sundays.

CSN will also continue to air "Cavalier Playback," taped broadcasts of certain UVa football games that have already been televised. The UVa-Duke rerun will air at 7 p.m. Tuesday. It will be the second rerun of a UVa game this season.
 

Wallace or no Wallace, expect Leitao at Hargrave
Hargrave guard to visit Tech this week
Doug Doughty

Wasn’t it just the other week that Virginia Tech men’s basketball coach Seth Greenberg was talking about his philosophy on recruiting and said, “Stuff happens”?

Actually, he did say “stuff.”

The reference was to the way college coaches continue to make scholarship offers when they already have reached or exceeded the 13-scholarship NCAA limit.

Players flunk out of school, players get in trouble with the law, players become unhappy and transfer, players are derailed by injury or illness.

As Virginia learned this week, there is another reason to continue to recruit when the cupboard is stocked: decommitments.

Eric Wallace, a 6-foot-7 forward from Kernersville, N.C., and Hargrave Military Academy, told Virginia this week that he is reopening his recruiting.

Wallace had committed to the Cavaliers at the Five-Star Basketball Camp in June.

I don’t have any incriminating photos of Hargrave postgraduate basketball coach Kevin Keatts, but Keatts has seen the photos of Hargrave football coach Robert Prunty that accompanied a recent edition of Notebook Plus.

“Why do you think I called you back?” Keatts said Friday after the last of several threatening voice-mails.

The photo of Prunty showed him devouring a plate of barbecued wings at the 2004 preseason Hargrave football media day.

“I laughed at that for two days,” Keatts said.

Since he attended the same media buffet, Keatts has to know that my 8-year-old son just as easily could have shot his picture.

TO SEE IF I COULD get a rise out of Keatts on Friday, I wondered whether Hargrave had worn out its welcome with second-year UVa coach Dave Leitao because of its inability to shepherd Wallace to Charlottesville.

That’s no pun on one-time Hargrave coach Scott Shepherd, who later coached on Pete Gillen’s staff at UVa.

“We’re not going to be cut off when they’ve still got other players they want to recruit here,” Keatts said. “It’s unfortunate; no, it’s not unfortunate. The kid just wants to make sure, 100 percent, that this is what he wants to do.”

Leitao and UVa assistant Rob Lanier were at Hargrave on Wednesday and Keatts “thought it was a very positive meeting,” he said. “They expressed to him how they felt about it and the kid told them that everything is good. He still plans on visiting and everything.”

Keatts said his first impulse was to think that Wallace would end up going somewhere else, but then he got to thinking about Alex Legion, a 6-foot-4 wing player from Michigan who transferred to Oak Hill Academy after his junior year.

“He had committed to Michigan,” Keatts said, “but then, when he got down to Oak Hill, he reopened his recruiting. Then, a couple weeks later, I heard that he had committed to Michigan. So, right there, that shows it can happen.”

According to one version of the story, Wallace began to second-guess his decision to play for Virginia after an “advisor” said his NBA prospects would improve if he went to another school, possibly LSU, where one of his relatives, Memphis Grizzlies forward Stromile Swift, played.

“I don’t buy that,” Keatts said. “That’s something that some people said, but I honestly think that him and his family want to look at different situations that might be better for him.”

Virginia has not played in the NCAA Tournament since 2001, but Keatts thinks the program “is in great shape,” he said. “I’ve been able to see some of the recruits they’ve got coming in and I think those guys are very good players.

“I think coach Leitao’s got the program headed in the right direction. I think they’re going to make some noise. They’ve got a heckuva backcourt. Between them and Tech, I would say they’ve got the best two backcourts in the whole league.”

AN INTERESTING TWIST to the Wallace decommitment is that it would open a spot for Mike Scott, a 6-8, 215-pound forward who originally was headed to Temple but came to Hargrave to improve his test scores.

Scott was a first-team All-Tidewater selection last year at Deep Creek in Chesapeake, where he averaged 23 points and 15 rebounds per game.

“Mike Scott is very talented,” Keatts said. “He’s a face-up four-man that’s got plenty of skills; he’s a run-and-jump athlete. He’s got a chance to be really good.”

Sounds a little bit like Wallace.

“They’re totally different players,” Keatts said. “One situation doesn’t affect the other. Mike Scott and Eric Wallace get along very well. They’re independent people and I think Virginia’s doing a great job recruiting Mike Scott. I think Virginia’s one of his top two or three schools right now.”

N.C. State, Wake Forest and Clemson are also involved with Scott.

Virginia Tech has taken a commitment from 6-6 Hargrave forward Jeff Allen, a DeMatha product who was at Oak Hill Academy last year, and will be entertaining 6-4 Hargrave guard Lorenzo Hudson, who played at Forest Hills High School in Marshville, N.C., in 2005-2006.

According to Prep Stars, Hudson, at No. 58, is the highest-rated player on the Hargrave roster. Allen is 60th, Wallace is 67th and Scott is at No. 170. Jordan Crawford, younger brother of New York Knicks’ guard Jamal Crawford, is 161st on that list.

Tech also has an interest in Crawford.

MY INTEREST WAS PIQUED this week when I noticed that freshman Kyle Hughes would be starting at quarterback for VMI this week in place of an injured Jonathan Wilson.

Just as I suspected, Hughes was on the Roanoke Times’ list of the top 100 prospects in Virginia last year; in fact, Hughes, a former Lafayette High School quarterback who was rated No. 78, was among the players I’ve been listing as unaccounted for.

There were 10 players on that list and I can now account for nine of them:

Timesland defensive player of the year Ricky Cook from Narrows, who was rated 47th, turned down several walk-on opportunities and entered his family’s business. Another top player from Timesland, 48th-rated Bassett linebacker Elijah McCall, is at James Madison.

St. Christopher’s two-sport star Thomas Hovis (No. 57 on ths list) is at Hampden-Sydney; North Cross offensive lineman John Krell (No. 73) is at Virginia Tech but not playing football; Booker T. Washington defensive back Terreon Conyers (No. 74) is at William and Mary; Oakton lineman Jared Ruppert (No. 76) is at Randolph-Macon; Northumberland offensive lineman Colin Smith (No. 92) is at William and Mary, and Manassas Park quarterback Jay Terrell (No. 93) is at Ferrum.

Only one player remains at large, Edison wide receiver Justin Smith, who was at No. 56. As we continue to try and determine Smith’s whereabouts, a complete list of the top 100 and their college destinations will be posted on the new recruiting link on roanoke.com.

 

Cavaliers, Blue Devils looking for 1st ACC win
AARON BEARD
Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. - It's not all that unusual for Duke to be looking for its first Atlantic Coast Conference win a month into the season.

But Virginia? That's a little different.

So is the idea that beating the Blue Devils now falls into the category of a "must-win" for the offensively challenged Cavaliers.

In fact, the teams head into Saturday's game in remarkably similar standing. Both are winless in the league and desperately trying to make something of seasons that are rapidly slipping away. Virginia is entering a stretch full of potentially winnable games, while Duke could use any taste of success at this point.

To listen to Al Groh, the Blue Devils (0-3, 0-2 ACC) have an edge since they are coming out of an off week before facing his Cavaliers (1-3, 0-1).

"I'd say given that Duke has had a lot more time to rest and most particularly prepare, and the fact that they are at home, that's probably an advantage for them when things are even," the coach said. "It certainly would be a desirable advantage to have."

Groh's comment, however, says a lot more about the kind of season the Cavaliers are having - particularly on offense. Virginia has scored 43 points in four games and ranks last in the ACC by averaging 210 yards per game, forcing Groh to turn to redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell as his third starting quarterback this season.

Virginia lost 38-13 at Pittsburgh to open the season, edged Wyoming 13-12 in overtime the next week then followed with a 17-10 home loss to Western Michigan. Last week, Virginia managed 166 total yards in a 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech.

Now the Cavaliers are entering the first of two road games in the state of North Carolina - they travel to East Carolina next week - before returning home to take on Maryland, North Carolina and North Carolina State.

"We have to go down there and win," cornerback Marcus Hamilton said. "We've had a rough stretch of games this season so far, and we need to right this ship that we're on. We have to come back with a victory."

Duke has had similar offensive struggles, suffering two shutout losses in its first three games. The Blue Devils' only positives came in a 14-13 loss to Wake Forest in Week 2, a game in which Duke moved the ball well and shut down the Demon Deacons' run-oriented attack only to lose on a blocked field goal on the final play.

Duke has lost 11 straight games dating to last season, and hasn't beaten a Division I-A opponent since topping Clemson late in November 2004.

"(We're) not where we want to be, but at the same time, we're making progress - substantial progress - that hasn't shown up in wins yet," Duke coach Ted Roof said. "It's a bottom-line business, but to make decisions to build programs the right way and build a solid foundation takes time. There are no quick fixes."

The Blue Devils haven't played since a 36-0 road loss to the Hokies on Sept. 16, a break that came at a good time for a frustrated team that also was a little banged up. Chief among that group was freshman quarterback Thad Lewis, who said this week he feels fine after leaving the Virginia Tech game early with a concussion suffered on a late hit.

"I think this bye week has come at a good time because it's kind of let us catch our breath and get refreshed," nose guard Eli Nichols said. "Just play the next play and let go of what happened in the past."

 

Duke, UVa on common ground
By BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com
Sep 30, 2006 : 12:44 am ET

The football programs at Duke and Virginia have known as much misery as any in ACC history, but still it's uncommon for them to stand on common ground in that dubious regard.

Before Georgia Tech joined the conference in 1979, Virginia mustered better than a breakeven record just once in the ACC's first 26 seasons. Over that period, Duke added two trips to the Orange Bowl and a Cotton Bowl appearance to a history that already included multiple trips to the Rose and Sugar bowls.

Now, Duke is suffering through a stretch with just one winning season out of the last 16. Virginia, by contrast, has just one losing season over that time.

The programs did once share some success when, in 1989, Virginia won the only ACC title in school history while Duke won what stands as its lone ACC title in more than four decades.

And today at noon at Wallace Wade Stadium, they'll share some struggles: Virginia is 1-3 to start the season for the first time since 1986; Duke is the league's lone winless team, staring at the possibility of 12th consecutive losing season.

Misery might love company, but today both teams hope to part company via what they hope will be a season-saving victory.

"We've had two weeks to prepare for a game that we should win," Duke sophomore linebacker Michael Tauiliili said. "We've been working hard. We're ready.

"We know they're going to come in here playing aggressively -- they're looking for a win as well. But all we've got to do is come out and execute and do the things that we're taught to do, and we'll make it happen."

It's been a while since a Duke team had cause for such confidence against Virginia, which has won six in a row and 16 of the last 19 in the series. But on paper, for the first time in a long time, the gap between the teams is paper-thin -- albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Offensively, Duke and Virginia hold the bottom two spots in the ACC in total offense, rushing, scoring, first downs and third-down conversions. Defensively, they both rank in the bottom one-third of the ACC in total defense, scoring defense and pass efficiency defense.

"I think it's a pretty even matchup," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "Duke has had a lot more time to rest and most particularly prepare, and the fact that they are at home, that's probably an advantage for them when things are even."

The Cavaliers, much like Duke, are inexperienced and thus far ineffective on offense.

Gone are three starting offensive linemen from last year's 7-5 bowl team, including top-five NFL draft pick D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Gone are two of the top eight scorers in ACC history in running back Wali Lundy and kicker Connor Hughes.

Also gone is dangerous quarterback Marques Hagans, who has been replaced by -- well, no one so far. Virginia has started three different quarterbacks through four games and will go with redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell for the second straight game today.

"No matter how well you play on defense you have to get more points than the other team does," said Groh, whose Cavaliers are averaging 10.8 points per game, ahead of only Duke in the ACC. "It's a quarterback-driven sport. Top play there usually produces enough points to win, and when you don't get enough points or enough playmaking there, then you are going to struggle for your points.

"Sometimes you get in that quicksand and you thrash around but you don't go any place. We have been kind of doing that."

Duke is on similarly shaky ground on offense, averaging 4.3 points per game, but has reason for optimism. True freshman quarterback Thad Lewis, who threw for more than

300 yards in his only complete game of the season, is set to return from a concussion that sidelined him for most of Duke's last game, a 36-0 loss at Virginia Tech on Sept. 16.

But he's obviously inexperienced, as is the line in front of him -- the youngest in the nation, in fact. In addition, some of his supporting skill players are hobbled: Speedster "devil back" Ronnie Drummer has been practicing but is questionable to return from a two-game absence, and leading receiver Jomar Wright was injured on a non-contact play in practice Wednesday and will be a game-time decision.

Defensively, it's been more of a mixed bag, with Duke cracking the top half of the ACC in rushing defense and Virginia doing the same in passing defense.

Both also feature a preseason All-America candidate in cornerback John Talley for Duke and defensive end Chris Long for Virginia.

"We have a very challenging game ahead of us against a team whose season seems to reflect a lot of the things that have been principle factors in our season," Groh said. "We have two teams that certainly, at this stage, resemble each other very closely."

And when the final whistle blows, the Blue Devils hope to have one more thing in common with the Cavaliers: one win.

"I feel like we should win it," Tauiliili said. "There should be no excuse."

 

Going by the numbers
In recent times, U.Va. has had difficulty maintaining adequate depth on roster

BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 30, 2006

It may seem like ages, but less than two years have passed since the University of Virginia football team rose to No. 6 in The Associated Press poll. The Cavaliers lasted only one week in that rarefied air -- they plummeted from the top 10 after losing 36-3 at Florida State -- but still looked like a team whose future held great promise.

The future looks more uncertain now for sixth-year coach Al Groh's program. Since its nationally televised beating at FSU, Virginia has been in steady decline.

U.Va. has dropped 12 of its past 23 games. The Wahoos, who won their first five games in 2004, finished 8-4 that season and 7-5 last year. They're 1-3 overall this season (0-1 in the ACC) heading into their game today at Duke (0-2, 0-3).

"I think it's a pretty even matchup,"Groh said Tuesday.

Such statements do little to reassure an anxious fan base that looks down the road and sees a perennial power at Virginia Tech. The Duke Blue Devils to whom Groh referred are the same ones who have lost 11 straight games, the same ones who have finished above .500 once in the past 15 years, the same ones who have been shut out twice this season.

Groh believes better times are coming for the Cavaliers, who are 38-29 under his leadership, and his optimism is understandable.

U.Va. started only three seniors tailback Jason Snelling, wide receiver Fontel Mines and cornerback Marcus Hamilton -- in its most recent game, a 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech, and Groh's recruits for 2007 are well-regarded academically as well as athletically. Moreover, the Cavs have used only one true freshman this year, so they can expect an infusion of talent next season from players now being redshirted, including tailback Keith Payne.

The present, however, looks bleak. The last time the Cavaliers' record was this bad after four games was in 1986, when they finished 3-8. Virginia ranks last among ACC teams in total offense and totaled only 166 yards -- its fewest under Groh -- against Georgia Tech.

So how did things get to this point in Charlottesville? Mediocre recruiting is one reason. Of the players who entered U.Va. in 2003, for example, only wide receiver Deyon Williams has been even honorable-mention all-ACC. Damaging, too, has been Groh's propensity -- until this year -- for thrusting true freshmen into reserve duty instead of redshirting them. (See Alex Field, Maurice Covington, Jamaal Jackson and Bud Davis, among others).

Another factor has been Groh's inability, at least so far, to develop a capable successor to Marques Hagans at quarterback. Poor evaluation of recruits' ability to succeed academically at U.Va. also has contributed to Groh's woes.

What has hurt U.Va. most, however, is attrition.

Virtually every Division I-A team loses players who have eligibility remaining. But few teams struggle to retain players as Groh has at U.Va.

A Division I-A team is allowed to carry 85 scholarship players. Virginia has about 70 players who matriculated as scholarship recruits.

That total would be higher had a full third of the 24-member recruiting class that signed with U.Va. in February not failed to enroll because of academic issues. Even without those players, though, Virginia could have fielded a significantly stronger team this season.

Picture a defense that included Ahmad Brooks, Kai Parham, Olu Hall and Devonta Brown at linebacker, Vince Redd, Chris Johnson, Ron Darden and Jon Kirchner on the line, Philip Brown, Stefan Orange, Kenneth Tynes and Ahmad Bradshaw in the secondary.

Imagine an offense whose options included Eddie Pinigis and Brett Tobin at tackle, Bud Davis at wide receiver, Kevin Bradley at fullback.

All of those players, had they stayed at U.Va., might have been on the 2006 roster. Not all would have started, but the others could have provided valuable depth.

For various reasons, however, those players and others have left Groh's program since the start of the 2002 season.

Some flunked out of school, and some were dismissed for violating team rules. Some transferred in search of more playing time. Others encountered legal problems. Persistent headaches ended Darden's career prematurely. Tobin, a Wisconsin native, got homesick and left U.Va. He now starts for Division I-AA Western Illinois.

Kirchner gave up football but remains a student at U.Va. Parham, an all-ACC linebacker in 2005, earned his bachelor's degree and opted to pass up his final season of eligibility. He entered the NFL draft pool but wasn't selected.

Groh was asked recently about the importance of roster management. That's an area, most observers would agree, in which he's struggled since leaving the New York Jets to return to his alma mater after the 2000 season. His comments, coupled with his apparent intention to redshirt most of his first-year class, indicate that Groh may be learning from his mistakes.

His program's long-term prospects may well hinge on his ability to do so.

Coaches "all talk a lot about game management . . . but roster management is such a critical issue," Groh said, "especially when you are counting on players at a certain position to both be primary players as well as create depth on your team, and all of the sudden they're not available to you.

"It dramatically impacts how you go about your business. It happens for so many different reasons, and it's essential that it be minimized, or else you really find yourself in a difficult numbers situation."

The sooner Virginia starts winning the numbers game, the sooner it can realistically start thinking about winning ACC titles.