JMU Wants To Play Cavs – But Not Hokies – In Football Posted 2007-09-20
By Mike Barber

HARRISONBURG — Bring on the Cavaliers – but not the Hokies.

James Madison athletic director Jeff Bourne said Wednesday he’s interested in adding a football game against Virginia to the Dukes’ schedule, but has turned down two chances to play Virginia Tech.

“We just don’t know that playing a team that’s ranked in the Top 10 is the best thing for James Madison,” Bourne said. “We have scheduled I-A opponents [for future games], but we haven’t scheduled somebody with that caliber team.”

Bourne said Tech athletic director Jim Weaver inquired about playing JMU in both 2012 and 2016, but was rebuffed – and it wasn’t because of money.

“I don’t think money is the issue,” said Bourne, whose team earned $300,000 for its trip to North Carolina this season. “It was an attractive financial offer. It has more to do with the level they compete at.”

Earlier in the day, Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said he’d like to schedule a game with JMU, a I-AA playoff team in two of the last three years.

“For sure,” Beamer said during the ACC conference call. “I think, particularly, [scheduling] in-state programs is good for football in the state.”

After practice Wednesday, JMU coach Mickey Matthews declined to respond to Beamer’s comments.

The Hokies play William & Mary on Saturday and Beamer said he’s made it clear to his players they need to be ready.

“Don’t let the divisions fool you,” said Beamer, who coached I-AA Murray State to a pair of I-A upsets before taking over at Tech in 1987. “We need to get ready to play a football game.”

JMU last played Tech in 2003, getting pounded 43-0. In all, the Dukes have traveled to Blacksburg four times, going 0-4 and being outscored 180-32.

While Tech is 23-6 since the start of the 2005 season, the Cavaliers have struggled of late, going just 14-13 in that same period, making them a more attractive prospective opponent for JMU.

But Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said Wednesday that U.Va. tries to avoid scheduling I-AA teams – in a bow to coach Al Groh’s desires – and said it was unlikely it would make an exception for JMU.

“There hasn’t been a lot of interest expressed by our coaches to play the non-Division I-A schools,” Littlepage said. “I wouldn’t have an objection to it if that’s what our football people wanted to do.”

JMU hasn’t played Virginia since 1983, when the Dukes lost 21-14 a year after upsetting the Cavaliers 21-17 in Charlottesville.

Bourne said he’s had discussions with Littlepage.

“We’ve had dialogue with them, but we can’t get anything scheduled,” Bourne said. “In the past, they’ve been receptive and said they’d look at dates. We have and will continue to have an interest in playing them.”

Matthews said he’s not sure he’d want to play Virginia anyway.

“Not necessarily, no,” Matthews said. “I want to go for the most money. You play those games for money.”

JMU has games with Duke in 2008 that will earn it $150,000, Maryland in 2009 ($325,000) and North Carolina ($350,000) again in 2011.

While I-AA teams knocking off I-A opponents is a rarity, when it happens, it makes a big splash for the small school. Never was that more the case than when two-time defending I-AA champion Appalachian State stunned Michigan in Ann Arbor to open this year’s season.

Northern Iowa also beat Iowa State, and New Hampshire downed Marshall. That win was the Wildcats’ third straight over a I-A foe; UNH beat Rutgers in 2004 and Northwestern in 2005.

But overall, even teams in the Colonial Athletic Association – considered one of I-AA’s top leagues and home to JMU and New Hampshire – have struggled playing the big boys. The CAA (formerly the Atlantic 10) is 9-39 against I-A teams since the start of the 2001 season.

“Those games are the exception rather than the rule,” Bourne said of the I-AA wins. “There aren’t very many games that go in favor of the two As.”

In fact, Appalachian State’s victory was the only one for the powerful Southern Conference over a I-A team in the past two seasons. The league is 1-10 against I-A’s since the start of last year.

If Michigan’s shocking loss didn’t scare off I-A schools from scheduling I-AA opponents, it at least grabbed the attention of coaches and players, Beamer said.

“It’s real,” Beamer said. “Usually kids are smart enough to know what’s real. It’s just a fact that Appalachian State probably shouldn’t have beaten Michigan, but they did. It can happen any Saturday.”

 

Protecting The Coach? Posted 2007-09-13
For College Broadcasters — Like U.Va.’s McDonald — It’s A Fine Line
By Brent Johnson

HARRISONBURG — In his 33 years of broadcasting, Mac McDonald has learned to walk the line. And last week, he knew not to cross it.

Virginia football coach Al Groh was under fire in the wake of the Cavaliers’ opening-day loss to Wyoming. “Groh Must Go!” read the painted message on Beta Bridge. Then, last Monday, Clyde from Forest vocalized the frustration.

As he does regularly, Clyde phoned in to “Cavalier Call-In,” Groh’s weekly radio show — hosted by McDonald, the voice of U.Va. sports.

Clyde’s message?

The best way Coach Groh can help this program is to resign. That’s the best he can do for us.

McDonald jumped in.

Clyde, you’re done. We appreciate your comments.

“That’s my prerogative,” McDonald said via phone this week from his Charlottesville home. “[The show] was not an avenue for a fan to call in and express that in front of a head coach.

“I know who the gentleman was. That’s just not his place. For him to do that was not fair. So, yeah, I took him off the air. I will continue to do that. … If he wants to ask him to resign, he can write a letter or send an e-mail.”

McDonald’s reaction to Clyde’s call brings us back to “the line” — the one that most play-by-play announcers frequently have to walk.

On one side, broadcasters want to be an unbiased source of information to fans.

On the other side, unlike newspaper reporters, radio talk show hosts or television personalities, college radio broadcasters are often under contract with either the school they cover or radio networks paid by the school to carry its sports.

McDonald is under contract with Virginia Sports Properties, the flagship network of U.Va. athletics. He said he has to be approved by the university and is also the Director of Broadcasting for Cavalier Sports Marketing.

“I know where my bread is buttered,” said McDonald, 54, a five-time Virginia Sportscaster of the Year. “I am also friends with coaches. … But you do have to tell the story. If Virginia is not playing well against Wyoming, there’s no use to sugar-coat the debacle. …

“You’re the voice of a university. You are going to cheer for them. You are going to be biased. But you have to tell the story correctly.”

McDonald has wanted to tell that story since he was 5. The Des Moines, Iowa, native remembers interviewing “his buddies” using a baseball bat as a microphone. He did play-by-play of his father mowing the lawn.

After graduating from Northwest Missouri State in 1975, McDonald worked for a station in his home state until getting the football and basketball play-by-play job at Virginia.

“I applied for the job on a whim,” McDonald recalled this week, taking a break from preparing for Saturday’s U.Va. football game at North Carolina.

He broadcast Virginia’s first bowl game, the Peach Bowl in 1984, and covered Harrisonburg native Ralph Sampson carrying the Cavs to the Final Four in ’81. McDonald was also there when U.Va. returned to the Final Four in ’84.

Some of his best memories come from the ’81 basketball season, such as a pair of comeback wins over North Carolina — especially the game in Chapel Hill.

“We were down 17,” McDonald remembered. “We won the game in overtime. Fights broke out after the game. Dean Smith threw an elbow. It was a remarkable night.”

McDonald left U.Va. in 1985 to pursue a television job with syndicater Jefferson Pilot, but despite broadcasting a few games, he never broke into a regular rotation. So he moved into sales and marketing for a while. But …

“The longer I was out of [broadcasting], the more I missed it,” he said.

Then, in 1990, the play-by-play job at Wake Forest opened. The school was also looking for someone to help sell its radio network. McDonald fit the profile and ended up covering Tim Duncan’s years as a Demon Deacon.

McDonald returned to Virginia in 1996 and has remained busy since. Until last June, he was a morning sports anchor on WINA in Charlottesville. Now, he hosts five radio talk shows a week and does a few TV spots along the way. He also runs the Mac McDonald Invitational, a charity golf event for the Children’s Hospital, every year.

McDonald continues to work in marketing, as well, going on sales calls and helping generate ideas for his network.

As for the recent Clyde from Forest incident, McDonald wants to make it known that he does not screen calls. In fact, on Monday’s show, McDonald said he took a call criticizing Mike Groh, U.Va.’s offensive coordinator and Al Groh’s son.

The question posed to the father: Would it be tough to fire your son?

“It was a good question,” McDonald said. “Al answered it, and that was fine.”

Bill Roth, the 20-year radio voice of Virginia Tech, said he sympathizes with McDonald’s decision to cut off Clyde.

“There are plenty of talk shows around the country and the commonwealth for fans to make a comment like that,” Roth said via phone from his office this week. “A university-specific talk show probably isn’t the place for that. Mac did a great job of handling it. …

“We love passionate fans. We want them to be engaged in all of our programs. We’re here for them. We want that passion from our fan base. But at the same time, our job as hosts, regardless of where it is, is to not let a caller take a cheap shot.”

McDonald makes his mission clear:

“I am not a newspaper writer. I am not a biased sports talk guy. But I report. I try to shed the best light I can on the university. That is my job.”

 

Specialty pays off for Aiken
Cave Spring graduate Danny Aiken struggled against Duke but bounced back at UNC.
Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Some of the positions Danny Aiken played in his early days at Fork Union were quarterback, tight end, defensive end and punter.

Long snapping was not on his to-do list.

"I was punting for Fork Union and one of our long snappers wasn't doing so hot," Aiken said. "I told Coach [John] Shuman, 'Gee, Coach, I can do this.' He said, 'All right. We'll see what you've got.' "

By then, Aiken already had given thought to leaving Fork Union, a military school that afforded few of the comforts of Southwest Roanoke County and Cave Spring High School.

"Honestly, I knew I wasn't going to be able to come home," Aiken said. "I called my parents and they were like, 'You need to stay.' I said, 'I know.' I knew the whole time. I wanted to go home, but I knew it wasn't going to happen.

"Fork Union was different, but it was right for me."

Four months later, with long snapping as his ticket, Aiken was headed to Virginia on a full ride. Less than a year after he began snapping for Fork Union's postgraduate team, Aiken is playing in front of crowds of 60,000 or more as a true freshman.

When he was at Cave Spring, Aiken played quarterback, arguably the highest-profile position. But there's still plenty of stress in his new job.

"It's one of those positions when nobody knows your name till you screw up," Aiken's dad, Doug, said.

After a perfect afternoon in the Cavaliers' opening game at Wyoming, Aiken had three bad snaps in UVa's home opener against Duke and was replaced briefly by Crutcher Reiss.

Head coach Al Groh never committed to a starter before Aiken trotted onto the field at North Carolina for the Cavaliers' first extra-point try.

Aiken also snapped for five field goals and three punts in Virginia's 22-20 victory Saturday.

"His ability was unquestioned and he'd demonstrated that right from the start," Groh said. "We wanted it to work out this way because at those positions, whether it's a punt returner who's dropped one or two or it's a young receiver, we really want to build confidence.

"We wanted to go with what we'd seen for five weeks, rather than what had occurred on a couple of isolated circumstances. He really paid off."

Aiken won some admirers after the Duke game, when he was the first UVa player to arrive in the interview area.

"He was accountable," Shuman said. "He didn't miss the press conference. He didn't make any excuses."

Fortunately for Aiken, the Cavaliers had beaten Duke 24-13 and he was able to get his mind straight without having a loss hanging over his head.

"I was excited to get back out there and redeem myself," he said. "I came in with the mind-set of, 'Last week is over; it's a new week. Got to ready for North Carolina.' I got a lot of support from the team and the coaches."

It helped that UVa place-kicker Chris Gould and punter Ryan Weigand are seniors, but even players such as preseason All-American Chris Long were talking to him.

From an early age, Aiken heard from his father that long snapping was a skill that might lead to a college career.

The fundamentals came courtesy of former Cave Spring assistant Walt Derey, who was a long snapper at Northside before playing tight end for Virginia.

However, Aiken played a variety of positions at Cave Spring, including tight end and defensive end, and had the size to attract some recruiting interest.

He could have gone to Emory & Henry or UVa-Wise, "but he decided he wanted to shoot a little higher," Aiken's father said. "He knew those schools would still be there if nothing came out of Fork Union."

It took a while for recruiting interest to pick up. Virginia, for one, wasn't in the market for a long snapper until would-be returnee Tyrus Gardner got caught up in a credit-hours mix-up that left him ineligible.

"We didn't hear a whole lot about it," Doug Aiken said. "We weren't in the loop. Then [the Cavaliers] called and said they wanted him to come in for an official visit."

Shuman compares it to the recruiting of another ex-Cave Spring and Fork Union player, Robbie Powell, now in his third year as the starting center at Purdue. The Boilermakers never contacted Powell until one week before signing day in 2003.

"Last year, we had Danny and Frank Castonzo," Shuman said. "One week, Castonzo was going to Drake. The next, he had an offer from Boston College and now he's starting as a true freshman. It's a crazy world."

One reason the Cavaliers liked Aiken was his size (6-foot-5, 245 pounds). They had other walk-on long snappers in the program, but few with the bulk needed to hold off rushers.

Aiken knows he won't be a quarterback for the Cavaliers, but he eventually might like to try tight end.

"Those thoughts run through my head all the time," he said.

For the time being, he's more than content with the 10-15 plays he gets each game as a snapper. Few of his classmates have been tested the way he has in UVa's first three games.

Said Doug Aiken, "His first words to me after the UNC game were, 'Dad, if I hadn't gone to Fork Union, I wouldn't have been able to go out here today and do this.' "
 

Cavs focusing on Choice despite injury
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
September 21, 2007

Life after Cedric Peerman at Virginia is expected to involve a heavy dose of Keith Payne.

At Georgia Tech, the post-Tashard Choice era appears to include Jonathan Dwyer.

That process might start earlier than many expected.

After tweaking his hamstring in the third quarter in last week’s loss to Boston College, Choice landed on the Yellow Jackets’ injury report as questionable.

The contingent expecting Choice to watch from the sidelines Saturday at Scott Stadium, however, does not include Virginia coach Al Groh. UVa enters the game 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC. Georgia Tech (2-1) has played only one league game.

“We are just going forward with full expectation that [Choice] is going to play,” Groh said. “All our preparations are with that in mind.”

Choice’s performance in 2006 demanded that kind of attention. Last year as a junior, he ran for an ACC-best 1,473 yards and finished the season with seven straight 100-yard games.

With former greats Calvin Johnson and Reggie Ball gone, the offense this season was built around Choice.

In Georgia Tech’s first two games, the tailback rumbled for 306 yards on just 37 carries, albeit carries against winless Notre Dame and Samford, a Division I-AA program picked to finish ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference.

“[Choice is] a terrific back, certainly the equal of any back in this conference,” Groh said. “He can really hit the crease, he finds the smallest of slivers and he’s through it quickly.

“He’s very elusive in the open field and he’s obviously a very durable player. He had more carries than any back in the country last year.”

Georgia Tech should provide the toughest task to date on the ground for Virginia’s defense, which ranks 39th in the country against the run. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, that is only sixth best in the league.

“We just have to get back to basics, and I personally believe that Tashard Choice is the best running back in the ACC,” said Virginia defensive end Chris Long. “That and the fact that they have an experienced offensive line - they return almost everybody, I think - are two challenges that we are going to have to meet.”

Choice took the road less traveled to Georgia Tech. After spurning an offer from Mississippi State, Choice committed to Oklahoma. After a redshirt season, he climbed the depth chart and appeared a lock to start as the top tailback in 2004.

A hamstring pull late in training camp, however, opened the door for Adrian Peterson, who secured the job and ran with it - he was a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Due to the hamstring pull, Choice was limited to 22 late-season carries and 100 yards, and he elected to transfer to Georgia Tech after the season to be closer to his mother, who had a foot injury.

The current hamstring injury is a “totally different scenario,” Choice said, but like Oklahoma, the Yellow Jackets appear to have options waiting in the wings with H-back Rashaun Grant, Jamaal Evans and Dwyer, the most logical reserve candidate.

“If you are backing up Tashard Choice … you know there have been some great players in sports that have backed up some even greater players,” Long said. “That’s nothing to discredit [Dwyer] that he’s taken a backseat to some degree there.

“You are backing up the best running back in the ACC. What does that say? I don’t know. You have to see him play, and I have heard great things about him.”

Groh likes what he has seen - through three games, Dwyer has 23 carries for 181 yards and a team-best five touchdowns.

“He is an impressive young back. He has a lot of size,” Groh said. “He is very rugged for a young player - it shows that he is naturally that way.

“It would look by the way this guy deals out contact, as well as takes it, that he’s been a high-contact runner for a good part of his career. He does have quite a bit of shake and speed to get up the field. They appeared to be very well set when the current tailback moves on.”

Wite-out at wideout

Virginia wide receiver Cary Koch (knee) is expected to make his season debut this weekend against Georgia Tech. That could prove to be important.

According to sources familiar with the situation, junior wideout Maurice Covington is doubtful for Saturday’s contest with a broken bone in his hand. The injury, however, should not have a long-term impact on Covington’s playing ability.

Through three games, Covington leads the team’s wide receivers with nine catches, four of which came last week against UNC.

Koch, a junior, transferred to UVa from Tulane last summer. As a freshman at Tulane, Koch made 23 catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns, but he appeared in only two games for UVa last year, making only a 4-yard reception against Duke.

Koch was sidelined in August with a sprained knee.

“Koch seems to be about back to where he was before he got sat down for a little while,” Groh said. “That’s been a positive thing.”

Groh offered encouraging comments about senior wideout Chris Gorham, too. The converted cornerback is listed behind Covington and ahead of Chris Dalton on the team’s depth chart.

“We remarked [Wednesday] evening that he has had a pretty positive couple of days here,” Groh said. “He has only been at wide receiver since April, and some of these things are new to him, and now he has been in two or three games as a wide receiver.

“Hopefully, that’s given him a little bit of calmness and confidence. We are looking for a little bit more production there.”

Gorham has made only one reception this season - he caught a 4-yard pass from Peter Lalich in the second quarter of the Duke game.

Virginia has had only two other receivers make catches - Staton Jobe (7 rec., 78 yards) and Dontrelle Inman (4 rec., 45 yards). Mikell Simpson, who can line up in the slot or the backfield, has three receptions for 25 yards.

 

Coker will be in the house this weekend
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
September 21, 2007

About this time last year, coach Larry Coker’s Miami Hurricanes were about to start a four-game winning streak, one that some observers thought might save his job.

On Saturday, Coker will be in the Scott Stadium press box, but he won’t be coaching.

Instead, the veteran coach that was fired after a six-loss season, will provide analysis for ESPNU of the Cavaliers’ game against Georgia Tech. Probably won’t be easy talking about two teams that helped put him in the broadcast booth, having lost to both the Wahoos and the Ramblin’ Wreck last season.

Have headset, will travel

However, it is a way to keep in touch with the college game that Coker loves and hopes to return to after a year’s exile. After all, he told this columnist on Thursday that he’s not burned out, he doesn’t feel old (he’s 59), and he misses the competitiveness of recruiting, game days, and working with kids.

Prospective ADs shopping for a new football coach might take note that Coker also owns a 60-15 record (that’s an .800 winning percentage for the mathematically challenged), and was the 2001 National Coach of the Year after guiding the Canes to a 12-0 record and the national championship.

But getting back to this weekend’s game, my thoughts all week have been that the key is how Virginia’s offensive line and young quarterbacks handle the aggressive zone-blitzing scheme of Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta. First thing I asked Coker was whether he agreed.

“They’re going to get pressure, and how they handle it is going to decide everything,” Coker said. “They want to take the rhythm away from an offense and especially the quarterback. So, [UVa’s quarterbacks] are going to have to be poised and they’re going to have to make some plays.

“And, some people are going to have to make some plays for them.”

Shark-infested waters

If Virginia’s offensive line can’t handle the blitzing and quarterbacks (sophomore) Jameel Sewell and (true freshman) Peter Lalich lose their poise, it could become a long afternoon for the Cavaliers.

“Any blitzing defense that has some success, well it’s like they smell blood in the water and it becomes a feeding frenzy of sharks,” Coker said.

Tenuta, a UVa grad himself who interviewed for the head coaching job that went to current coach Al Groh, has built a reputation, first at Ohio State, now at Georgia Tech, for extremely aggressive defenses.

Last season in Atlanta, Sewell was understandably jittery in his first collegiate start. He threw for 115 yards (rushed for 30 more) and was picked off twice in an easy Georgia Tech win. Lalich, who said as a senior at West Springfield High School, that he relished blitzes because it meant a receiver was open somewhere, hasn’t seen pressure like the Yellow Jackets will bring.

“[Tenuta] has an outstanding scheme,” Coker said. “A lot of people zone-blitz, but Jon’s players believe in it, Jon believes in it, and he’s going to come out attacking. That’s their base, not an exception for them, and they execute it with passion.”

Tech has eight starters back on a defense that ranks 24th nationally overall and seventh against the run.

At the same time, though, an over-aggressive defense can backfire, and that’s part of what happened last weekend when Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan lit up the Jackets for 436 yards and 30 completions (Tech’s pass defense is ranked No. 77 nationally, only four notches better than Virginia’s).

“I’m sure Virginia has watched the Boston College film,” said Coker. “BC did an outstanding job of protecting the quarterback and handling the zone blitz scheme.”

In that game, Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski said his offense took advantage of some of the things that Tenuta tried to do against the Eagles.

“We took some shots down the field on the [Georgia Tech] corners and Matt was pretty accurate,” Jagodzinski said. “Jon just kept blitzing and we kept hitting the intermediate routes. And as long as they were going to keep blitzing, we were going to keep throwing it.”

That’s what Coker’s point was about sometimes being too aggressive.

“No doubt about it,” Coker said. “That’s what you have to preach offensively, that you have to be patient, because they’re going to make some plays ... but, if you keep attacking and do the right things, you’re going to make some plays also and normally they can be big plays.”

Sometimes offenses can gain mismatches by throwing to running backs against linebackers and the intermediate routes that Jagodzinski mentioned.

Coker also believes that if Tech’s top running back, Tashard Choice (hamstring), can’t answer the bell, it will be an advantage for Virginia, even though the Jackets boast some quality reserves.

“What that takes away from you is the security from a veteran leader,” the former Miami coach said. “[Choice] being in a game just makes everybody else better, makes them feel a lot more secure in their jobs. He’s a veteran back that’s not only a solid player, but a solid leader, a tough kid. You lose some of that.”

Making the transition from the sidelines to the booth, Coker is constantly reminding himself that he has two roles as the analyst. He must satisfy the connoisseurs of the game, but at the same time keep things simple for those who don’t understand the intricacies.

“Sometimes things that might not be a big deal to me, well, a 74-year-old grandmother may not have been aware of a particular issue,” Coker said. “She hasn’t watched a ton of tape. I try to do a good job for the players and the schools, but mainly for the viewers so that they can get a good perspective and take something away from this ... like, ‘I didn’t know that,’ or ‘that’s interesting,’ something other than, well, there goes the ball.”

One thing that’s clear to Coker and his audience is how important this high noon showdown is for both programs.

“This is such a key game,” he said. “Georgia Tech has already lost one in the league and Virginia is 2-0 in league play. The winner could be in pretty good shape.”

That’s something Coker won’t have to sweat on Saturday. He’s got 60 of ’em in his hip pocket and a national championship ring on his finger, hoping somebody out there just might notice so he can start sweating again.

 

Cavs' tough, gentle giant
Soft-spoken Monroe paves the way for U.Va. ground game
Friday, Sep 21, 2007 - 12:06 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE He has 15 siblings, including 10 brothers, but Eugene Monroe doesn't have to worry about getting overlooked at family functions. At 6-6, 310 pounds, he's difficult to miss.

Monroe, the starting left offensive tackle for the University of Virginia football team, is a giant whose size belies his voice. Off the field, the New Jersey native speaks so softly, so politely, it's hard to believe he's capable of mustering the aggression needed to thrive in a violent game.

"I think you have to switch it on when you play football," Monroe said. "To be an aggressive person all the time, I don't know how people could like you."

U.Va. coach Al Groh said: "Eugene is very soft-spoken and very gentle in nature, but he's very competitive, and he's got the requisite level of toughness."

North Carolina will attest to that. At Kenan Stadium last weekend, Monroe led the line behind which tailback Cedric Peerman ran for 186 yards in U.Va.'s 22-20 win. For his performance, Monroe was named the ACC's offensive lineman of the week.

That marked the first time he'd been so honored, a longer-than-expected wait for a player who as a 12th-grader had scholarship offers from LSU, Southern California, Oklahoma, Florida State and Ohio State.

But Monroe, who as a true freshman backed up All-America left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson in 2005, hasn't always been as fit as he is now. He dislocated his left kneecap in April 2006, and an operation followed. He played in all 12 games last season, starting six, but his knee held him back.

"I wasn't 100 percent, but I was healthy enough to play," said Monroe, a sociology major who graduated early from Plainfield High and attended a community college in the spring of 2005. "I never even thought about not playing."

The Wahoos desperately needed him last year. Only one starter from '05 -- left guard Branden Albert -- was back on the offensive line.

"Had circumstances been otherwise, it would have been terrific to have [redshirted Monroe in 2006]," Groh said. "It was just not feasible to do that, so he had to deal with that . . . It was very difficult for him, because he's a very prideful player, and things weren't going well there."

Monroe's play improved over the second half of last season. Still, not until last spring did he begin regularly showing the combination of strength and athleticism that had made him such a coveted prospect. At the spring game, Monroe was recognized as the offense's most improved player.

"He was hampered with some injuries early on, and that's tough, because I know he was frustrated," said U.Va. defensive end Chris Long, an All-America candidate. "But it was a credit to him, he never said a word about it. I didn't even know he was really that hurt. And he comes out this year, and starting this spring, he's just a dominant guy, and you're like, 'Who is this kid?'

"He's unbelievable. I think he's one of the better tackles I've ever played against."

When the Wahoos' first-team offense faces the first-team defense in practice, Monroe is matched up against Long. "Eugene couldn't have found a better player to work against anywhere in the country," Groh said.

In 2005, Long's first season as a starter, he lined up across from Ferguson, whom the New York Jets would take with the fourth overall pick in '06. Their playing styles differ, Long said, but Ferguson and Monroe have at least one thing in common.

"I think if Gene keeps working hard, the sky's the limit for him," Long said. "In that they're the same."

 

Groh to look into Long's sack gesture
Cut out the lollygagging, Groh preaches
By Doug Doughty

To be honest, when I saw Chris Long celebrate after a sack in the second quarter Saturday at North Carolina, it looked like any other fist pump I’d ever seen.

Leave it to Roanoke radio host and longtime Virginia antagonist Greg Roberts to make a federal case out of it.

“Who’s a better player in college football than Chris and who’s a better person on a team than Chris?” Virginia football coach Al Groh said Thursday. “It’s unfortunate that it seems like there’s a mentality of always finding something wrong with people.”

Roberts said on his radio show Wednesday that he had spoken with two officiating contacts who said that Long was running the risk of an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty by the way he was celebrating big plays.

Long had said during an interview Tuesday that he was making the “L” sign, for “Long,” as something of a bond with his younger players.

Long referred to it as a “little L,” and it was so inconspicuous that Groh hadn’t even noticed it.

I wouldn’t have noticed it until Kris Wright of thesabre.com asked Long about it at a Tuesday news conference.

“I’m glad you brought it to my attention,” Groh told one of the reporters – not the strangely absent Roberts – on a Thursday teleconference.

“I haven’t really noted it as being an overt attempt to bring attention to himself, but I’ll mention it to him.

“There can be some natural, emotional reaction to it. Excessive. I think that’s the word in the rulebook: ‘Excessive celebration.’ But, I’ll bring it to his attention.”

MY IMPRESSION during Virginia’s 22-20 victory at North Carolina was that the Cavaliers seldom looked smooth on offense. Groh used the word blasé.

Most of that was reflected by 10 penalties for 85 yards. In addition to the holding penalties that have mounted in recent weeks, there were two penalties for illegal formations when freshman wide receiver Dontrelle Inman lined up incorrectly, at least one delay-of-game penaly and several other occasions when UVa just beat the time clock.

Then, there were the two times that freshman quarterback Peter Lalich turned the wrong way and was tackled for losses, which overshadowed some of the good things that he did.

Groh’s explanation: “Just a young guy, only in his third game and hasn’t had a season to sit around and watch everybody do it.”

But, the Cavaliers’ starting quarterback, Jameel Sewell, is a redshirt sophomore who is in his third year in the program. There are veterans from one end of the offensive line to the other.

Sloppiness hasn’t been a problem in the past, not even last year, when Sewell was a first-time starter. And, according to Groh, it doesn’t derive from the new NCAA speed-up rules.

“It’s the personality of the players,” Groh said. “I guess that’s how I’d say it. I don’t mean this as a negative to the quarterback position, but it’s up to the quarterback to get the other guys in the huddle and get the play called for them, so we’re not having to take valuable timeouts or get delay penalties.

“Get them to the huddle. Get them from the huddle to the ball. As active and aggressive as that group was after the snap of the ball last week, we are kind of having to herd them along to get them going. We’ve made it a point of issue for quite some time.”

When delay penalties are called, fans frequently blame the offensive coordinator for not being decisive in his play calls. In this case, because the offensive coordinator is also the head coach’s son, he’s an even easier target.

“We’ve monitored ourselves in terms of how quickly the calls were getting downstairs and getting signaled in,” Al Groh said, “and they were right on schedule.”

That operation also includes No. 3 quarterback Scott Deke, who does the signaling..

“We’ve actually shown tape to the players,” Groh said. “Most of the time, on the coaching copy we get, there’s not a lot of footage before the snap. But, we do have some stuff from the past that does show the guys coming up to the line at a pretty brisk pace.

“Our pace is not the same and we’ve emphasized, ‘This is what we’re looking for. We want a good tempo. Let’s go’ It’s probably been heard in the triple digits over the last three days out there.”
 

Groh looks to former big men for tempo boost
By Andy Bitter
abitter@newsadvance.com
September 21, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia's offensive linemen were quick on the snap last week, aggressive and physical, getting to their blocks most of the time.
In between snaps, however, they're a little logy.

The Cavaliers have had troubles getting plays in on time this season. Against North Carolina, they took two delay-of-game penalties and came close several other times.

Head coach Al Groh has noted that the coaching staff has had to herd players back into the huddle more than in the past. Part of the blame falls on the quarterbacks.

"We've emphasized: 'This is what we're looking for. We want a good tempo. Let's go,'" Groh said. "And it's probably been heard in the triple digits out there this week."

Virginia carefully monitored the amount of time it took for the coaches to get the play in to the sideline last week. There was no noticeable lag.

Groh also watched game tape of past seasons, where players like Brad Butler, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Brian Barthelmes and Elton Brown anchored the line. He noticed that they had a good pace and simply got out of the huddle and lined up quicker than the current group.

"It's the personality of the players," Groh said. "I guess that's the way I would say it."

Center of attention

Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey was complimentary of UVa center Jordy Lipsey's ability to move.

"Not everybody has a center that can pull like they do," he said.

Virginia normally does. It's been a staple of the Cavaliers' offense since Groh took over the program, with mobile centers like Zac Yarbrough and, during his senior season, Barthelmes. Lipsey, who isn't big by offensive lineman standards, at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, is just the latest to excel at pulling.

"Every player's got to take advantage of what the high side of his game is," Groh said. "Obviously, Jordy isn't 320 pounds like some centers are, but what he can do is get out and run in a way that some centers can't."

Excessive or not?

Groh said he'd have a discussion with defensive end Chris Long to make sure his sack celebration, the forming of an "L" by pumping his fist, doesn't draw a penalty.

The coach didn't know about it until it was brought to his attention during Thursday's teleconference.

"I haven't really noted it as being an overt attempt at calling too much attention to himself," Groh said. "There can be some natural emotional reaction to (a celebration). But (it can't be) excessive. I think that's the word in the rule book is excessive."

Extra points

Converted cornerback Chris Gorham has stepped up his play at wide receiver in practice lately, Groh said. Along with the likely return of Cary Koch, who hasn't played this season because of a sprained knee, it gives UVa some more options at wideout. ? Maurice Covington's uncle, Thomas, played for Georgia Tech from 1987-91. He was on the 1990 team that won a share of the national championship. That year at Scott Stadium, the Yellow Jackets toppled undefeated and No. 1-ranked Virginia 41-38 on a 37-yard field goal by Scott Sisson with seven seconds left. It was the last time Georgia Tech won in Charlottesville.

 

Tech's Choice to start at Virginia
By MATT WINKELJOHN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/20/07

Choice, the second-leading rusher in the ACC with an average of 112.3 yards per game, left last Saturday's Boston College game with a strained right hamstring. He was limited in practice Tuesday and Wednesday, when he was held out of contact.

On Thursday, "He did everything and looked good," coach Chan Gailey said. "We're going to start him and play it by ear."

The Yellow Jackets lost a starter, though, as Gailey said right tackle Jacob Lonowski, who has been beset by shoulder injuries in his career, was banged up against B.C. and will not play. His injury has not been disclosed. Asked if A.J. Smith will start (the other apparent option is Cord Howard, who re-gained his eligibility last week), Gailey said, "We're going to see."

Tenuta 'Mr. Growly?'

You give up a whopping 527 yards of total offense, as Tech did last Saturday against B.C., and you have to ask a player if defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta is playing the role of Mr. Growly this week

Senior safety Jamal Lewis wasted no time responding: "Coach Tenuta's always Mr. Growly so we kind of get used to that."

Lewis shot down the suggestion that the lopsided nature of the B.C. game will dent the Jackets' confidence in themselves and their schemes.

"It's not confidence. It's mental errors, and guys not being where they're supposed to be," Lewis said. "We have to go out there and play fast, and I don't think we did that."

Chambers leaves team

Junior reserve linebacker Travis Chambers of Decatur (Chamblee High), who battled a string of injuries, has left the team. Gailey declined to say why, and Chambers was unavailable for comment.

Internet chatter

Tech's regular-season practices are closed to the media and the public, but there is mention on a popular Tech-oriented website of freshman quarterback Josh Nesbitt practicing the speed option, and/or option this week.

Gailey said, "It's amazing how rumors get started, isn't it? I don't know where that gets started, how that gets out there. Right, wrong, true or untrue, I'm shocked that stuff like that gets out there."

So is it true?

"Why would I tell you?" Gailey said.

Nesbitt played sparingly in Tech's first two games, but not against Boston College. He is no longer eligible for a redshirt, as players lose their redshirt rights the very first time they step on the field.

The exception is a medical redshirt, which schools may apply to the NCAA for if a player suffers a season-ending injury in the first four games.

Ref reports

Several Tech fans groused about the officiating in the B.C. game, and Tech filed a report with the ACC stating its opinion about the matter — like the Jackets always do after league games.

"You can, but you don't have to," Gailey said. "We do every week."

Asked if the Jackets have any recourse, the coach said, "No."

Officials occasionally are disciplined for the mis-application or mis-interpretation of rules, but never on judgment calls.

Inside the numbers

Tech's passing numbers look terrible.

On the one hand, the Jackets didn't have to throw much in their first two games, yet tossed it around liberally in the second half while trying to come from behind against B.C. Quarterback Taylor Bennett completed 20 of 39 for 204 yards against the Eagles, but still hasn't thrown a touchdown pass.

His passer efficiency rating of 103.4 ranks ninth in the ACC, and 95th nationally. His 13 completions per game rank 88th nationally, and his 136.7 passing yards per game rank eighth in the ACC and 96th nationally.

But Bennett has thrown 73 consecutive passes without an interception, and he's been sacked just twice.

"I thought he made some good reads and did some good things [against B.C.]," Gailey said. "We haven't arrived in the passing the game, but I thought we did some decent things, and we can build on that."

Halftime features 'Big Boi'

Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, one half of the Grammy-award winning duo OutKast, will perform at halftime of the Tech-Virginia Tech football game on Thursday, Nov. 1. Patton, an Atlanta native, will perform along with the Tech marching band during the nationally-televised game (ESPN).

Extra points

Tech is the only Division I team in the nation that has not yet turned the ball over. . . . Defensive end Darrell Robertson leads the ACC and is third nationally with 2.17 tackles for losses per game . . . . Punter Durant Brooks is averaging 46 yards per kick with eight of his 15 kicks being downed inside the 20-yard-line. . . . George Morris has been chosen to represent Tech in the ACC's 2007 ACC Football Championship Game Legends class. Morris, an all-America linebacker for the Yellow Jackets' 1952 National Championship team (International News Service), will be joined by North Carolina representative Harris Barton, a lineman from Dunwoody High.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA

Tech's strongside linebacker Shane Bowen may be busier Saturday than he's been yet, even though Notre Dame tight end John Carlson is a potential All-America player and the Jackets limited him to three catches for 29 yards. Virginia tight end Tom Santi leads the Cavs with 11 receptions, and 18 of Virginia's 54 completions — exactly one-third — have gone to tight ends with Jonathan Stupar catching seven. . . . Don't be surprised if Virginia takes a cue from Boston College in the passing game, over-committing to protection while limiting the number of receivers in routes. Cavs sophomore Jameel Sewell — a run threat — is considerably more composed than when he played against Tech as a freshman. Freshman quarterback Peter Lalich has completed almost 70 percent of his 33 attempts. "The first element of having a sound passing game every week is don't get your quarterback hit," said Virginia coach Al Groh. "If your quarterback is constantly under harassment, then you're going to get some bad decisions. Plus your quarterback takes a beating and that effects how they play."

 

Texans following Schaub's lead
By Greg Garber
ESPN.com

The second-quarter pass was supposed to hit Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson on the back shoulder. Instead, Matt Schaub's underthrown ball fell right into the hands of Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas.

The apparent interception cost Houston a 14-all tie on Sunday at Carolina and sent Schaub, deeply contrite, directly to the sideline.

"I promise you," Schaub told head coach Gary Kubiak, "that will never happen again."

After Houston challenged the interception and as the instant-replay process progressed, Schaub told the Texans' defenders it was his mistake but, going forward, if they had his back, he had theirs. The play was overturned and Schaub's subsequent 9-yard touchdown to Johnson tied the score.

In only the fourth start of his four-year career, Schaub led the Texans to 34 unanswered points and, for the first time in the franchise's six seasons, a 2-0 record.

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Matt Schaub's confidence and sense of accountability have been infectious in Houston.

"That's accountability," Texans general manager Rick Smith said Monday. "The team never panicked because he never panicked. He's got that thing that good quarterbacks have, a presence, a confidence, poise.

"And what's happened is his accountability has spread throughout the team. The guys are now accountable to each other. It's a different feeling because they believe in him."

Although the Patriots have been energized by the offseason acquisition of Randy Moss and Adalius Thomas, it can be argued amid the early returns that no one has had an impact on a team quite like Schaub. The Patriots, after all, have won three Super Bowls in six seasons. The Texans have won 26 games.

In surprising wins over Kansas City and Carolina, Schaub completed 36 of 50 passes for 452 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. His completion percentage (72.0) is the league's third best and his passer rating (111.4) is sixth.

But it is Schaub's presence in the huddle and the locker room, not his statistics, that has changed the chemistry in Houston.

"The way we came from behind to win this game after the way we beat Kansas City shows things have changed around here," Johnson told reporters after the 34-21 victory at Carolina. "There's a different attitude in here."

To a man, the Texans credit Schaub with that transformation.

A complete makeover

In 2002, the Texans made Fresno State quarterback David Carr the first overall choice in the NFL draft and the face of the franchise. He struggled over five seasons to carry his team over the threshold, and it was strangely symbolic that Carr, standing on the Panthers' sideline, witnessed Schaub's breakout game.

To their credit, no one in the Texans organization will criticize Carr publicly, but parse their words and you will discover, by inference, that the very things they praise in Schaub were lacking in Carr.

Presence. Confidence. Poise.

The unlikely story of Schaub's success in Houston begins in 2006, when owner Bob McNair sacked two NFL career veterans, Dom Capers and Charley Casserly, and replaced them with two management neophytes, Kubiak and Smith, who learned their craft together with the Denver Broncos.

After the 6-10 shakedown season, Smith and Kubiak came to the conclusion that their first priority was upgrading at quarterback. They mulled the conventional options of signing a veteran free agent or drafting a quarterback. Figuring that Notre Dame's Brady Quinn would be gone when they drafted No. 8 -- he ended up going to Cleveland with the 22nd pick -- the Texans went to Plan C.

Smith, at 37 still the league's youngest GM, called the Falcons and found out Schaub, who was likely to become a vigorously pursued free agent after the 2007 season, was available. Kubiak spoke with his college coach, Virginia's Al Groh, and Falcons assistants Bill Musgrave and Alex Gibbs. They loved him, and after a round of golf in Newport Beach, Calif., Kubiak understood why.

Schaub, a 7-handicap, was cracking on Kubiak's ungainly golf game by the third tee. It was love at first slight. After the round, independently, Kubiak called Smith and Schaub called his agent, Joby Branion. Their message: Do the deal.

A day later, March 22, the Falcons traded Schaub for two second-round draft choices and swapped first-round picks. Despite an incomplete résumé behind Michael Vick of two starts and six career touchdown passes, Schaub got a six-year contract worth $48 million.

Thirty-four days later, police raided 1915 Moonlight Road in Surry County, Va., and the world discovered Vick's unsavory relationship with dogfighting.

Beyond Schaub, the Texans' unprecedented start owes to many happy convergences. Defensive end Mario Williams, taken first in the 2006 draft ahead of Reggie Bush and Vince Young, had two sacks and a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Chiefs. Rookie defensive tackle Amobi Okoye had two sacks at Carolina.

Johnson, who will miss Sunday big game against the Colts (2-0) because of a knee sprain, has Moss-like numbers at wide receiver: 14 catches, 262 yards and three touchdowns. Running backs Ahman Green and Ron Dayne have averaged 110 yards combined per game. In a conscious effort, the Texans signed 10 free agents in the offseason with more than 40 games of playoff experience.

When the Texans beat the in-state rival Cowboys five years ago in their NFL debut, great hopes were raised. This season's opener at Reliant Stadium against the Chiefs featured acres of empty seats at kickoff. Losing has bred contempt, and fans are still angry the team passed on the Longhorns' Young in the 2006 draft.

Houston is wired for Sunday's game against Indianapolis.

"This is the first week," said Houston Chronicle columnist Richard Justice, only slightly exaggerating, "Houston has ever had an NFL team."

Pocket presence

In Carr's rookie season, 2002, he was sacked 76 times, an NFL record for futility. When a national television crew visited to chronicle that dubious achievement, Carr politely answered questions and had the grace to smile.

Carr was sacked an astounding 249 times in 75 career starts in Houston and fumbled 68 times, losing 21 of them. He was not particularly agile, and his decision-making process sometimes required more time than was advisable.

Schaub, on the other hand, moves well for someone who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 237 pounds.

"He just knows where the football's supposed to go," Smith explained. "He goes through his progressions quickly, he has a good pocket presence -- he feels the pressure well -- and he gets rid of the darn ball."

Translation: This wasn't always the case with Carr.

Last year, through Kubiak's insistence, the Texans allowed only 43 sacks, down 25 from the previous year. This year's goal is 30. So far, there's been an average of only one per game.

After taking two sacks in the opener against Kansas City, Kubiak chided Schaub in his postgame interview, saying, "He missed a couple of blitzes where he's got to get rid of the football."

Against the Panthers, one of the league's most quarterback-unfriendly teams, there were zero sacks. This is remarkable, because the three interior offensive linemen -- left guard Chester Pitts, center Steve McKinney and right guard Fred Weary -- were starting in 2002 when Carr was thrashed in record fashion.

While Carr reportedly was an indifferent teammate, Schaub lives only a few minutes from the Texans' facility and is usually among the first to arrive and the last to leave.

He is very aware of his place in the game and the quarterback food chain. Schaub knows that the four quarterbacks taken ahead of him in 2004 were all starting last year: The Giants' Eli Manning (No. 1 overall), San Diego's Philip Rivers (4), Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger (11) and Buffalo's J.P. Losman (22). Schaub, taken in the third round with the 90th pick, is finally getting his opportunity.

The Texans' Sept. 30 game at Atlanta will give Falcons fans a painfully close look at the quarterback they might have had post-Vick.

Smith knows a little something about championship quarterbacks. He was a Broncos assistant coach when John Elway led Denver to back-to-back Super Bowl victories.

"The belief that his teammates had in him, the way he carried himself, was really something," Smith said. "To say that Matt Schaub is going to be the next John Elway -- no, I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is that Matt's got a lot of the qualities that the good ones have."

And that's saying something.