U.VA. NOTES
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2007 - 12:06 AM Updated: 09:10 AM

Weigand looking for more hang time
Ryan Weigand opened the season with a career-best effort at Wyoming, and his production hasn't dropped off much since then.

Weigand, a senior at Virginia, leads the ACC with an average of 48.6 yards per punt. In net punting, however, U.Va. ranks third among ACC teams with a 38-yard average, mainly because Weigand's kicks haven't always stayed in the air long enough for his teammates to get downfield in coverage.

Last weekend, for example, Weigand averaged 47.4 yards on his eight punts, but Georgia Tech averaged 11.4 yards per return.

"We are working on that," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said.

"Ryan himself is up there pretty good statistically. Our net punting is up there pretty good statistically, but what we want to do is decrease the risk of danger on any one of these punts. There's been some danger involved with some of those outkick-the-coverage punts that when you go up some against some of the superior return men, and if they're given that much open field to get started with, then that's a concern that that one time where he gets you could be the one play that changes the outcome of a game."

Cavs hoping for a noisy night
Next up for U.Va. (3-1) is a home game against Pittsburgh (2-2). The Cavaliers drew a noon start (Eastern) for each of their first four games. Kickoff for Saturday is 7 p.m.

Virginia linebacker Jon Copper sounded like a coach-in-training when asked yesterday about playing under the lights.

"Our thing is, wherever we play and whenever we play, we want to try to be the same guys, try to be the same team that shows up," Copper said. "Obviously with a night game, you probably get a little more people out of bed instead of a noon game, so the crowd might be a little louder. But those aren't things that as a player from a play-to-play basis you really think about: 'Oh, the crowd is here,' or, 'The lights are on.'"

U.Va. is hoping for its first capacity crowd at 61,500-seat Scott Stadium since Virginia Tech's visit on Nov. 19, 2005.

WR Dalton tying to get up to speed
Chris Dalton might be the fastest wide receiver to enter Groh's program, but the redshirt freshman from Statesville, N.C., has fallen off the depth chart. Even with both of the team's projected starters for this season, Kevin Ogletree and Maurice Covington, out with injuries, Dalton is behind Staton Jobe, Dontrelle Inman, Chris Gorham, Cary Koch and Mikell Simpson -- and maybe Jared Green -- at wideout.

"His progress has kind of stalled," Groh said. "The next move really is up to him."

Brown expects to return in 2008
Mike Brown's absence this season has made his value to the Wahoos more apparent. Brown, who's recovering from offseason knee surgery and will take a medical redshirt, would have been at worst the team's No. 3 cornerback this year if he'd stayed healthy. He also was a special-teams standout, particularly in punt coverage.

"He played a lot of different roles, especially on special teams, and played them at a high level," Groh said. "Not that he's been easy to replace [at cornerback], but more difficult to replace on teams, even yet."

Brown plans to return as a redshirt junior in 2008.

Groh unconcerned about criticism of Hall
The injury to Brown cleared redshirt sophomore Vic Hall's path to a starting job at cornerback. Hall, who came to U.Va. as a quarterback in 2005, has struggled at times, but not, his coach, to the extent that many observers believe.

"It's been intriguing to me that, some of the commentary I hear, all of the sudden Vic Hall's the target now," Groh said. "Is he ready for the Kodak All-American team yet? Probably not quite yet. Are there some things that he's experiencing at corner as a first-time starter? There are. But I certainly wouldn't say that Vic has been a problem for us." -- Jeff White

 

Stair back in line of duty
Oft-maligned tackle could replace ailing Monroe against Pitt
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2007 - 12:06 AM Updated: 09:09 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Zak Stair, a seldom-used reserve in 2005, started seven games at offensive tackle for the University of Virginia last season. The 6-6, 299-pound junior's next start may come Saturday night against Pittsburgh.

Stair, whose propensity for drawing false-start penalties hasn't pleased his coaches, is listed No. 2 at left tackle behind Eugene Monroe on the depth chart released yesterday by U.Va. But Monroe suffered an unspecified knee injury in the final moments of Virginia's 28-23 win over Georgia Tech last weekend, and it's unclear if he'll play against Pitt.

"We're just going day to day on that one," Cavaliers coach Al Groh told reporters. "He's doing everything he can to get back as quickly as he can, and we'll just see."

It's often difficult to get a definitive answer from Groh about injuries, and so it was yesterday. But U.Va.'s seventh-year coach indicated that this injury isn't nearly as serious as the dislocated kneecap Monroe suffered in April 2006.

Groh said he spoke with Monroe on Monday and reminded the 6-6, 310-pound junior that "frustration is not a medicine that's prescribed by any doctor. It's not going to make him heal any faster. He's been through these issues before. We feel it for him and feel it for us, but we're just keeping a positive attitude for it. He's been through this before, certainly a much, much, much greater long-range situation than this one."

Neither Stair nor Monroe was among the U.Va. players who met with the media yesterday. But right guard Ian-Yates Cunningham, who lives with Monroe, stopped by John Paul Jones Arena to talk to reporters.

"He knows how to deal with injuries," Cunningham said. "He knows what to expect, he's very positive in his outlook, on not just athletics but in life. So I think he's approaching it that way, and he's very optimistic."

Virginia entered last season's opener at Pittsburgh with only one returning starter on the offensive line: left guard Branden Albert. The line is dramatically more experienced this year. Right tackle Will Barker, center Jordy Lipsey, Albert and Cunningham each started 12 games in 2006. Monroe, who was slow to recover from the operation on his kneecap, started the five games that Stair didn't start at left tackle.

"So many of them, they were just going into the unknown, and now they're going into the known," Groh said. "They've been against some of these teams. They've been against some of these very same players in some cases. They have much more awareness of what to expect. Most particularly they have a much, much heightened awareness of what to expect from themselves."

And if Monroe isn't available this weekend?

"We don't feel any discomfort with [Stair] in there," Cunningham said. "We feel just as comfortable, because he's one of us."

 

Miscues giving Wannstedt fits
Pittsburgh ranked 109th nationally in turnover margin
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
September 27, 2007

Christian Olsen and Kevin McCabe have a plethora of things in common.

One item on the long list for the former Virginia quarterbacks includes accidental passes that were completed to defenders from Pittsburgh and turned into easy Panther points.

In the process of dropping its season opener at Pitt last year, 38-13, Virginia’s offense played the role of gracious guest. It turned into a troubling trend - later in the season, Florida State, Maryland and Western Michigan returned interceptions for scores in wins over UVa. The Cavaliers also committed other turnovers that led to easy scoring opportunities.

Through the first four games this season, Pittsburgh (2-2) has witnessed how uncomfortable the game-changing miscues can crash a contest.

In a 17-13 loss at Michigan State, Pitt quarterback Kevan Smith threw a pass that was intercepted and returned 31 yards for a touchdown.

Against Connecticut last week, the Panthers committed three turnovers, including an interception for another touchdown. Those mistakes led to 17 UConn points in what turned into an eventual 20-point rout.

Even a stout defense that ranks 11th in the country, as Pitt’s currently does, can handle only so many field-positioning plays.

“We can very much relate to that,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “Their defense is playing admirably. They’re in the top 25 in many categories this year.

“The defense is playing very well but is being put into some very difficult circumstances by turnovers. Offensively, there hasn’t been a game that they’ve played yet where the opponent has put together multiple long drives for touchdowns.”

The problems with Pitt’s offensive play have started at quarterback. A rookie rotation fueled in part by a surgery-requiring thumb injury to first-game starter Bill Stull has taken its toll.

Smith, a redshirt freshman with 334 yards passing, has thrown four picks. True freshman Pat Bostick has also tossed four interceptions, but boasts a higher completion percentage.

The Panthers rank 109th out of 119 teams in turnover margin.

“The most important thing at this point is protecting the football,” Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt said Monday. “We’ve given up 44 points in the last two games and 34 of those 44 points came off of turnovers.”

In a fan-friendly move, Wannstedt announced that Bostick would start against Virginia (3-1) on Saturday at Scott Stadium (7 p.m., ESPNU).

“I think it’s best to let him know up front that he will be the starter,” the third-year coach said. “He’ll take all of the reps with first group and we will try to prepare a gameplan that enables him to have success, while also enabling us to score enough points to win the game.”

Facing a true freshman in his first start is not an issue in Groh’s mind - and for obvious reasons.

“We have a freshman quarterback of our own that we think pretty highly of,” Groh said, referring to Peter Lalich. “So I think if there is any team who is well aware of the fact that a player can step into these circumstances and do a nice job, it would be our team.”

Groh also has had the luxury of watching film of Bostick and his three-interception performance against UConn.

“One of them was tipped. Another one was a screen pass in which a guy that is not normally going to be there stepped in front of the receiver,” he said. “The interceptions weren’t the type that you would necessarily think would occur the next time that you play.”

Pitt, a program that has lost five of its last seven dating back to 2006, will dig even deeper for an offensive jumpstart. Wannstedt said LeSean McCoy, another true freshman, would start at running back over junior LaRod Stephens-Howling.

Coming off the bench, McCoy has gained 417 rushing yards, scored five touchdowns and has an impressive average of 6.4 yards per carry.

“[Stephens-Howling is] a heck of a football player, but we’ll take a look at that combination of Bostick and McCoy to see if it gives a spark,” Wannstedt said. “Overall, we have to eliminate the turnovers. You can sugarcoat this all you want and talk about giving a kickoff return back or giving up a 25-yard pass on defense, but we only had 22 plays in the first half [against UConn]. That’s not enough.

“We’re trying to get enough carries to our backs and more opportunities. Every time you turn the football over, you’re losing one series, one possession on average. When you turn it over six times, you’re looking at 20 plays that are very valuable, particularly when you’re trying to gain some confidence. And that’s what we have to do on offense.”

 

Keeping game balls on the field
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
September 27, 2007

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering why the NCAA has to be such spoilsports ...

Virginia coach Al Groh customarily has handed out game balls to Cavaliers that turned in outstanding performances for the past seven seasons, a practice that many schools share.

Now comes word from the NCAA that it’s a no-no. Groh has to take back all the game balls from this season because it’s against the rules.

How stupid.

“We found out about it from Compliance,” Groh said during Wednesday’s ACC teleconference with all 12 league coaches and media. “We didn’t think we were doing anything wrong. It’s a tradition in football. I can remember my high school coach giving out game balls. I guess my high school wasn’t in the NCAA.”

Virginia Tech gives ’em out, too, and handed one out to junior linebacker Purnell Sturdivant for his play against William & Mary. Looks like there will be a surplus of game balls in the state for the rest of the year.

Quote of the Week

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer on being exposed to wide receiver Eddie Royal for the first time:

“I’ve told the story many times that when recruiting Eddie, [his high school coaches] had a highlight reel of some of his long plays ... I had never seen so many long plays, ever.”

The Bear growled

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is looking forward to this weekend’s game against Alabama in Jacksonville, Fla. He’s been looking forward to it for three decades.

“When I came to Florida State in 1976, we invited Bear Bryant to come down and play golf with us (Bowden and the FSU athletic director) for a couple of days,” Bowden said Wednesday. “We were an independent and we wanted a game with Alabama. Bear said, ‘No,’ and ‘as long as I’m here, we’re not going to play Florida State.’”

Bear was true to his word.

“This,” said Bowden, who grew up in Alabama, “will be exciting for me.”

Yellow Jackets’ curse

When Georgia Tech lost for the eighth consecutive time in Scott Stadium last Saturday (covering 17 years since its last win in Charlottesville), it marked a new Yellow Jackets record in futility.

The Ramblin’ Wreck had never lost more than seven straight on the road to any opponent (two seven-game streaks at Notre Dame, the latest snapped this season). Tech hasn’t won here since 1990.

Look on the bright side, Jackets. North Carolina hasn’t won here since 1981.

Great Scott!

Stat of the Week

3 - the number of times in a row that Maryland has lost when the Terps have forced at least four turnovers (Virginia Tech and BC in 2005, and Wake Forest last week). Now, that’s an oddity.

Monday Night rematch

When Al Groh’s New York Jets staged one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history and defeated Dave Wannstedt’s Miami Dolphins on Oct. 23, 2000, (voted the greatest Monday Night Football game of all-time), yours truly was sitting in the end zone with a coaching friend (tickets courtesy of Dolphins’ strength coach John Gamble). UVa had lost at Florida State two days prior and this columnist visited friends in South Florida.

Groh was asked about that game during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, appropriate with Wannstedt’s Pitt team coming to Charlottesville this weekend.

“I’ve got the video that ESPN sent me when they said it was No. 1 on Monday Night games,” Groh said. “I have never watched it. I’m kind of saving that memory. It was nice that it was recognized as such.”

In that game, Groh’s only season as head coach of the Jets, his team trailed 30-7 with 12 seconds left in the third quarter. Behind Vinny Testaverde (a Fork Union Military grad), the Jets roared back to win in overtime, 40-37. The clincher was a Testaverde pass to Jumbo Elliott on a tackle-eligible play, which Elliott bobbled but hauled in to tie the game with 42 seconds remaining.

Testaverde was 18 for 26 for 235 yards and four touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone.

Will Groh ever watch it?

“I anticipate some day probably, I will put my walker aside and take the time to look at it,” the Virginia coach said. “But right now, it’s about moving on to the future.”

Wannstedt’s Pitt team evened the series with Groh last year in the Steel City, so this is the rubber match.

OB’s woes

Former UVa offensive coordinator Tom O’Brien, in his first season as head coach at N.C. State, is dealing with a lot of issues, including knee injuries.

“We’re on track for our eighth knee surgery since the spring,” O’Brien said Wednesday. “We didn’t have eight in 10 years at Boston College (where he was head coach between his gigs at UVa and State).

Starting quarterback Harrison Beck is the latest victim, having suffered an injury in last week’s 42-20 loss to Clemson, which piled up a school-road-game record of 608 yards total offense. It was State’s 10th straight loss to a Division I-A football team.

O’Brien won’t criticize former Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato but made it clear that there’s not a lot of talent on hand.

“We’re going to have to recruit players that play like Clemson’s,” O’Brien said. “When you get overwhelmed like we did, it still comes down somewhat to personnel. You can coach guys all you want, but if they’re in the right gap and they just get run over or miss a tackle, that means they better be better football players.”

State’s current defensive tackle rotation includes sophomore backup Jamaine Clemmons (5-foot-11, 255 pounds) and Marcus Kuhn, a true freshman from Weinhelm, Germany.

No wonder the Wolfies rank 101st in rush defense.

Bye, bye bowl

When Virginia plays at Miami on Nov. 10, it will mark the last game ever played in the Orange Bowl stadium in downtown Miami. The Hurricanes will move to Dolphins Stadium, near Fort Lauderdale, after this season.

While the Orange Bowl is full of history, it is perhaps the most dilapidated stadium in the country.

We chatted with former Miami coach Larry Coker last week when he came to town as an ESPNU analyst for UVa’s home game against Georgia Tech. Coker coached for 12 years in the Orange Bowl, the last six as head coach.

“I hate to see any team lose their stadium, but it’s not on campus,” Coker said of the Orange Bowl. “The [stadium] is owned by the city and in the 12 years I have been here, there has been nothing done to the Orange Bowl to improve it.”

There wasn’t much Miami could do but make the move, in the former coach’s mind.

“From a football playing standpoint, it’s a great place to play the game, but I think for the overall perspective, parking, fans, the skyboxes, concessions, all those things, it was probably time to move,” Coker said. “It was probably the only move they could make. The stadium is about to crumble, it’s about to fall down, and they need to move on.”

Short yardage ...

... Maryland gave up 19 sacks all of last season, but QB Jordan Steffy has already been sacked 15 times in four games. ... Clemson QB Cullen Harper, a first-year starter, has yet to throw an interception in 130 attempts. ... Virginia Tech freshman tight end Chris Drager will take advantage of the NCAA’s new redshirting policy that allows a player to retain eligibility if he doesn’t play in more than four games. Drager, who played in the Hokies’ first four contests, will miss the rest of the season with a partially torn ACL. ... If history has a say, then Georgia Tech and N.C. State can kiss aspirations of an ACC title goodbye. In the league’s 54-year history, no team has ever started its conference schedule 0-2 and come back to win the ACC championship. ... Georgia Tech’s offense converted only three of 15 third-down attempts against Virginia, adding to the Jackets’ woes. They rank next-to-last in the country in that department, behind only Florida International (the school, not the airport).

The picks

Last week: 5-3. To date: 28-10. This week: Boston College 42, UMass 10; Clemson 38, Georgia Tech 14; Miami 54, Duke 7; Alabama 28, Florida State 20; Louisville 44, N.C. State 30; UPSET SPECIAL: Maryland 24, Rutgers 21; Virginia Tech 27, North Carolina 17; Virginia 34, Pitt 9.

 

Carrying on
UVa's Cedric Peerman is taking advantage of his opportunities.
Doug Doughty | doug.doughty@roanoke.com | 981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Nobody would argue with the description of Virginia football player Cedric Peerman as mannerly, which doesn't necessarily make him mild-mannered.

Anybody watching closely after a third-quarter UVa interception Saturday could have seen Peerman hustle off the field, yank off his helmet and throw his hands into the air in frustration.

Might there be an occasion, Peerman was asked after the game, when he would tell UVa's coaches to give him the ball?

"I said it today," said Peerman after the Cavaliers' 28-23 victory over Georgia Tech.

That conversation took place immediately after the interception and apparently Peerman got his point across. He carried the ball nine times for a hard-earned 40 yards in the fourth period.

"He's just a tough guy to tackle," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said Wednesday.

"You can't tackle him low and you can't tackle him high. That's the mark of a good back."

In one of its recent issues, the ACC Sports Journal rated the conference's running backs and Virginia was listed 10th.

Since then, all Peerman has done is string together rushing days of 137, 186 and 138 yards and take over the ACC rushing lead.

That's no small feat given Peerman's workload in Virginia's opening game, a 23-3 loss at Wyoming, when he had seven carries for 18 yards.

Since then, he has 77 carries in three games, including 30 at North Carolina.

"I know 30 is the most I've ever had," he said.

You can probably take Peerman's word for it. However, William Campbell coach Brad Bradley remembers Peerman carrying the ball 28 times in the 2002 Group A title game, when Peerman rushed for 317 yards and scored seven touchdowns in a 70-0 rout of Appalachia.

"He also had to play middle linebacker his last two seasons," Bradley said. "When you play middle linebacker, you know you're going to take a pounding, but, still, he wanted that football play after play."

Peerman has followed Thomas Jones and Heath Miller in a line of Group A players who have thrived at UVa. Another Group A product, tight end John Phillips, has big-time potential at tight end. But it looked as Peerman's opportunities would be limited when he had just 46 carries as a redshirt sophomore in 2006.

Coach Al Groh hadn't given up on him, but wondered if Peerman hadn't become too muscle-bound. When the rest of the Cavs hit the weight room in January, Groh pointed Peerman toward the track team in order to improve his flexibility.

Peerman ran at William Campbell, where he won the Group A 100-meter title with a 10.6-second clocking.

When spring drills began in late March, Peerman (5-foot-10, 208 pounds) was on a mission.

"I told Cedric, 'You've got to catch their eye somehow, someway,' " Bradley said. "Everybody was talking about the [Keith] Payne kid, the Payne kid, the Payne kid. Nobody was talking about Cedric Peerman. I think that Cedric went out there with the attitude of, it was going to be his position to lose."

Payne subsequently took a leave of absence from team activities in order to concentrate on academics but was back practicing with the team by mid-August. Andrew Pearman was moved from wide receiver to running back in order to create some depth, but the Cavaliers didn't need it.

Peerman's backups can't get on the field. Pearman had one carry against Georgia Tech, Payne has had three carries all season and No. 4 tailback Raynard Horne hasn't played from scrimmage.

The most rest Peerman gets is during practice.

"He's getting plenty of looks in the games, the best looks he's going to get," Groh explained.

All Peerman ever wanted to do was go to Virginia, and when an offer came in May of his junior year at William Campbell, he accepted on the spot.

"Once he committed, he told Coach Groh, 'I've been waiting for this offer and I want you to know I'm definitely coming here and nowhere else,' " Bradley said. "He didn't even want other coaches to see him in the school."

Everything about Peerman is orderly. At William Campbell, he would arise at 5:45 a.m. to work in his family's tobacco fields in Gladys, then participate in two-a-day preseason practices that didn't end till 9 or 9:30 a.m. Once school started, he would return to the tobacco fields after practice, but not at the expense of his schoolwork. He graduated with close to a 3.5 grade-point average.

In Charlottesville, Groh said, it is clear that Peerman never leaves home without carefully considering how he is dressed.

"He'd take the longest of anybody to get ready for games," Bradley said. "He had to make sure his belt was in the right place. If he was wearing an armband, it couldn't be out of place."

Peerman frequently returns home, where his younger brother, Stanley, is a junior at William Campbell. Stanley Peerman, smaller than his brother, had 22 carries for 135 yards last Friday night.

"I called Cedric on Saturday to tell him about his brother," Bradley said. "I never could get him, but I left a message. I said, 'Well, you've got some pressure on you.' He called me after the game and said, 'Coach, I got 100-whatever. I beat Stanley.' "

Cedric isn't about to let his younger brother upstage him, but humility steps in at the mention of Charles Haley, the greatest player ever to come out of William Campbell.

"Charles Haley has five Super Bowls," Peerman said sheepishly. "I guess he's still got a little bit on me."
.....Advertisement.....
Play the weekly football challenge

Sign up to play the weekly football challenge. Be the owner and work under the salary cap to hire and fire players. Scout players each week as the GM, or decide who sits and plays as the coach.

And the best part? Enter to win cool stuff like a Playstation 3 with Madden 2008! Get ready for kick-off

 

Virginia stops passing out game balls

Something was missing from Virginia's interview area Saturday after the Cavaliers' second home football victory of the season.

None of the requested players was holding a game ball. That's because no balls were awarded.

Head coach Al Groh said UVa refrained from that activity, in which it has not been unique among ACC schools, at the request of its compliance office.

"After one of our games, somebody wrote that recipients of the game balls were so-and-so and so-and-so," Groh said Wednesday, "We didn't think we were doing anything that you couldn't do because it's been a tradition in football.

"I can remember my high-school coach giving out game balls, but I guess my high school wasn't in the NCAA, so it was OK."

The footballs that Virginia already had awarded this year have been retrieved, although, in one of the cases, quarterback Jameel Sewell had given his football to tight end Tom Santi.

"It's not specifically in the rule book that you can't give out a game ball," UVa compliance director Steve Flippen said, "but there are a lot more interpretations than there are rules and that's one of the interpretations of the extra-benefits rule.

"At the end of the year, if a team had a player of the year and awarded him a game ball, that would be OK, but not on a game-by-game basis."

Four hours next?

By the time the final horn sounded Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia and Georgia Tech had been playing for three hours and 50 minutes, hardly the direction that rules makers have wanted the game to go.

"To me, that's what we were trying to avoid and we haven't avoided it at all," Yellow Jackets coach Chan Gailey said. "I've always said that that's a problem in the college game. In the fourth quarter and sometimes in overtime, we're putting the kids in a dangerous position with the game going that long."

ACC associate commissioner Mike Finn said the average time for an average ACC game for the first four weeks has been 3:20, with the Wofford-North Carolina State game also going 3:50. The average time for an ACC game last year was 3:06.

Some of the speed-up roles were relaxed after last season because the number of plays had dropped dramatically.

Recruiting

Sylven Landesberg, a 6-foot-6 swingman from Holy Cross High School in Flushing, N.Y., has scheduled a news conference today at which he is expected to announce his school of choice -- either Virginia, Georgia Tech or St. John's. ... Another Cavalier target, 6-10 John Brandenbury from St. Louis, has postponed his announcement in order to take an official visit to Stanford, which he visited unofficially over the summer.
 

UVa nose tackle toils in obscurity to free up Cavs' stars
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 26, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Everybody knows defensive end Chris Long, Virginia's unquestioned leader and de facto team spokesman. Everybody is getting to know defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald, who seems to add to his interception and touchdown total every week.
Not everybody knows Allen Billyk, a former defensive end who is now an unheralded nose tackle.

He doesn't sweat it.

"I'm fine with it," the fifth-year senior said. "I'd much rather be (in the middle getting) double-teamed than sitting on the sideline waiting for one of those guys to get tired and then come in."

Billyk does the dirty work in Virginia's 3-4 scheme, toiling in anonymity among the double- and triple-teams that go hand in hand with being alone on the inside. He doesn't have tackle numbers or sack totals that rival his defensive linemates, but he does have their respect.

"I know it's tough in there, but he doesn't complain a bit," Fitzgerald said, "He goes in there and does what he needs to do."

It helps that he's finally healthy. Billyk was hampered by a pair of sprained ankles last year. He hurt one at the start of training camp but still emerged as the starting nose tackle. Things got worse at East Carolina in the sixth week, when he took a cut block to the other ankle, hobbling him further.

It was the first time in his life he'd ever injured an ankle, let alone two. Though he played in all 12 games and started 10, he labored through most of the season with cumbersome braces on both feet.

"I had tape, then those braces, then tape over the braces, then I had my shoe, then I'd have a spat over the shoe," Billyk said. "It was almost like having a cast on."

Billyk played the majority of the snaps at nose tackle but rotated with Nate Collins and Keenan Carter. He finished with 23 tackles.

This season, he already has 13. Following a promising preseason, after which head coach Al Groh distinguished him as one of the most improved defensive players, Billyk made a career-high six stops at Wyoming and followed it up with five tackles against Duke.

"It's nice to be out there and not be like, 'I can step good to my right, so I hope they don't go to my left,'" Billyk said. "Now it feels good to be out there, just knowing whatever situation I find myself in, I'll be confident."

Billyk needs his mobility because he isn't a prototypical nose tackle. At 275 pounds, he's lighter than both of Virginia's starting defensive ends. He relies on his quickness to read a play, getting on the center as fast as he can in order to free up the linebackers.

It fits in with the rest of the Cavaliers' defensive line, which is as athletic a group as Groh has had in his seven years at UVa.

"I guess you could say that if we were a basketball team, we're running more of a wide-open style rather than walking the ball up the court," Groh said.

Virginia's had success with undersized nose tackles. Andrew Hoffman, who never tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds, skillfully manned the position from 2002-04. So when the Cavaliers thought of moving Billyk from defensive end to tackle, he thought, Why not?

"I was playing at end, but I wasn't bringing any extraordinary things to the table," Billyk said. "I'm a smaller nose, but I have a little more quickness."

Billyk has had this week's game circled on his calendar for a while. He grew up in New Castle, Pa., a little less than an hour north of Pittsburgh. He used to go to University of Pittsburgh football camps and was recruited by then-head coach Walt Harris, though the Panthers weren't among his final choices, which included Boston College, Michigan, Ohio State and Virginia.

He said he has a group of about 16 people coming down to see him play, plus, "It will definitely be on TV up there," Billyk said. "Everyone back home will be watching."

That means for one game at least, he'll be a little less anonymous.


 

Virginia Walk-On Jobe Is Catching On Quickly
By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 26, 2007; Page E01

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Sept. 25 -- Staton Jobe knows the look well, the one on opposing cornerbacks' faces that screams, "What's he doing here?" Jobe saw it in Austin, as a 6-foot wide receiver in perhaps the most competitive high school football atmosphere in the nation. He has seen it a lot this season, as a redshirt freshman, without a scholarship, splitting out as Virginia's top wide receiver.

"You know they're kind of thinking in their head, wondering, 'Who's this guy? He's going to be easy to beat,' " Jobe said. "I just like to prove guys wrong."

With his rapid ascension, Jobe already has surely stunned the division I-A teams that did not offer him a scholarship, which would be all 119 of them. Three years ago, Jobe attended a football camp at Virginia before his high school senior year. Now, because of injuries to and defections by a gaggle of wideouts, Jobe is the Cavaliers' No. 1 option on the outside.

Not even Jobe expected he would be thrust into a primary role this soon, but he did not walk on with the Cavaliers as some sort of experiment. He takes the field as if he belongs.

"I came in here with the mind-set that I wanted to compete for playing time as soon as possible," Jobe said. "The fact that I was a walk-on, I wasn't going to let that stand in my way. I guess it was kind of an adjustment in how fast my role was accelerated compared to last year. But I came in here plannin' on playin'."

His attitude stems in part from his familiarity with big-time football. He attended Westlake High in Austin, a high-profile program and the alma mater of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. His father, Jeff Jobe, was a star wide receiver at Texas Tech and his brother, Taylor, walked on for the Red Raiders, too, though he rarely played.

While the Cavaliers' tight ends have dominated the passing game, Jobe leads Virginia's wide receivers with 104 yards receiving and is second with eight catches. He also hauled in the lone touchdown reception thrown to the wideouts, the winning score in Saturday's 28-23 victory over Georgia Tech.

Jobe compensates for his lack of size in two ways. The first is speed: In high school, he won the 100-meter dash in Westlake's 5A district three straight years. The second is grit.

In the first round of the Texas state playoffs Jobe's senior year, Westlake faced Pflugerville, led by Antwan Cobb, a star running back recruit now at Texas. Pflugerville led with four seconds left with the ball near its goal line. Cobb ran a sweep and, with Westlake's tacklers gambling for a strip, broke away. Jobe, playing defensive back, fought off a blocker and rocketed downfield. The clock expired as Cobb sprinted away. But that didn't matter; Jobe caught Cobb at the Westlake 5-yard line and dragged him down. It was the final play of Jobe's high school career.

"I mean, the game was over," Westlake High Coach Derek Long said. "Most guys would have shut it down and let him score. He's a real fighter."

But poor statistics kept college programs away. Westlake rarely passed during Jobe's junior season, owing to a quarterback who struggled throwing but excelled running. When recruiters came to watch Westlake, they overlooked Jobe. By the time he had caught 44 passes for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior, colleges already had their recruiting classes set. Three of his teammates signed division I scholarships, but Jobe was named Westlake's most valuable player.

"We tried to tell everybody that came in here that he was a playmaker," Long said. "These days, everybody wants wide receivers who are 6-3 or 6-4."

During his first two years of high school, "I didn't even know where the University of Virginia was," Jobe said. A family friend played volleyball there, though, which prompted a visit. He fell in love with the campus and attended a football camp, where his speed helped him stand out.

A year later, he was walking on.

"When you first get out here and step on a college practice field, you're kind of like: 'Whoa. This a little faster, and these guys are bigger than I thought.' " Jobe said. "I never let that keep me down. I was confident in my abilities."

Jobe practices with the first team now, where he wants -- and expects -- to be. He knew he would need to earn his teammates' trust. Ever since he stepped into the huddle with the starters ("It was pretty cool and surreal at first," Jobe said), he has done so.

"He's fast, and he's a great athlete," guard Ian-Yates Cunningham said. "When you saw him the first day that he could make plays, you knew that he's legit. He's a legit football player. He's good. Walk-on status or scholarship status, if you can play, you can play."

Gameday Preview: Pitt Panthers vs. Virginia Cavaliers
by Tyler Long (Contributor) 0 comments
Filed Under: Big East Football, Al Groh, Pitt Football, College Football, UVA Football, Dave Wannstedt, ACC Football

The Pitt Panthers and the Virginia Cavaliers seem to be at different ends of the rebuilding stages of their programs, but they still share similarities in their team composition that should make for an exciting game Saturday afternoon.

The teams will meet for the third time in five years in Charlottesville, with Pitt taking the last meeting in 2006 at Heinz Field by a score of 38-13.

The similarities between the two teams start at the helm, Dave Wannstedt and Al Groh each are former NFL head coaches, and are head coaches at they respective alma maters. Wannstedt is in his third year at the University of Pittsburgh and has missed a bowl each of his first two seasons, and Groh is in his 7th year with the Cavaliers, and missed a bowl for the first time in four years last season.

It also seems like the things that plagued Virginia last season: turnovers, inexperience at QB and a young defense, are all traits that have been with Pitt so far this season.

“We can very much relate to that,” Groh said in his weekly press conference. “Their defense is playing admirably…About 75 percent of their most recent points have occurred as a result of turnovers and some of them run directly into the end zone.”

Groh is all too familiar with the subject, last season his team had five interceptions run back for touchdowns.

Following the loss to UCONN last week, Wannstedt said the team has to start putting a higher premium on protecting the football.

“The most important thing at this point is protecting the football. We’ve given up 44 points the last two games and 34 of those (points) came off of turnovers.”

Pat Bostick will have the task of protecting the ball squarely on his shoulders on Saturday as he makes his first collegiate start at quarterback. Bostick has shown promise in the short time he has been on the field so far this season, but still has thrown more interceptions (4) than touchdowns (1).

Joining Bostick in the backfield will be freshman standout LeSean McCoy, who will make his first start despite being the team’s leader in yards rushing and rushing touchdowns.

“We are going to continue to run the football,” Wannstedt said. “He (McCoy) will start at tailback this week…we’ll take a look at the combination of (Pat) Bostick and (LeSean) McCoy to see if it gives us a spark.”

The Panther offense has been stagnant that past two weeks, only scoring 23 points in losses to Michigan State and UCONN.

To make matters worse for the Panthers, the Virginia defensive front will provide quite the challenge for Pitt’s offensive line, that has started with the same five in the line-up only twice this season.

If tackle Jason Pinkston can’t go because of a nagging shoulder injury, Mike McGlynn will once again be called on to take his place. McGlynn and fellow tackle Jeff Otah will have their hands full with Virginia’s all-american caliber defensive ends, Chris Long and Jeffery Fitzgerald.

Long and Fitzgerald have been dominant up front for the ‘Cavs, they are 2nd and 3rd on the team respectively in tackles, account for 8 of the team’s 13 sacks and have 3 INTs between the two of them.

“They are a very physical team. Their front seven is probably as strong and physical as we have faced all year,” Wannstedt said of the Virginia defense.

Not to be outdone, Pitt’s front seven and defense have turned heads all season long, ranking in the top 25 in several defensive categories including total defense, and look to get back on track with a strong performance against Virginia.

Four of the top 10 tacklers on the Pitt defense are defensive linemen, including redshirt freshman Greg Romeus who recorded 8 of his 16 tackles last week against UCONN, including his first career sack.

Groh said Pitt’s defense was not overly complicated, but presented some unique challenges when it came to preparing for the game on Saturday.

“There are not a lot of schemes involved. There’s some movement but if you are going to move the ball against these guys you’ve got to dig them out of there. They have some of those 6-2, 290-pound point-of-attack kind of guys and it’s hard to dig them out.”

Junior Scott McKillop has been impressive as well filling the gap left by H.B. Blades. McKillop leads the team and the Big East in tackles with 42, and has been a leader on what is a young Panther defense.

The game is also a litmus test for both teams as they enter the middle part of the season. Pitt has dropped two straight and now looks at a daunting conference schedule, while Virginia has one three straight games and sits atop the ACC Coastal division at 3-1.

Both teams need the win to inch one win closer to becoming bowl eligible at the end of the season, but Pitt faces an uphill battle to get six wins if they can’t win at Virginia. The loss would drop Pitt to 2-3, with games against Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers and South Florida before traveling to Morgantown for the 101st edition of the “Backyard Brawl.”

Virginia is already in good position in the ACC, all three of their wins have been in-conference and they have games against Middle Tennessee State and UCONN before returning to ACC play at Maryland. The Cavaliers could potentially enter the home stretch of the season needed only one win to become bowl eligible, and play Virginia Tech and 2006 ACC champ Wake Forest in the last three weeks of the season.

Keys of the game:

-Pressure on the QB. Both teams start young QB’s and both teams have had productive defensive lines to this point in the season

-Turnovers. Pitt has been killed by them in the first 4 games, turning the ball over 8 times, while Virginia has forced 8 and can turn opponent’s mistakes into points. Pitt gave up 17 points off turnovers last week and has made life tough for their defense.

- Establishing a running game. Both teams need to run the football to loosen up the defense and make life easier for their young QB’s. Both LeSean McCoy (Pitt) and Cedric Peerman (Virginia) are on pace for 1,000 yard seasons, and they could both have a huge impact come Saturday.

- 1st the 3rd quarter production. This will be key for both offenses; Virginia has gotten off to fast starts all four weeks, outscoring opponents 45-12 in the opening period, but has come out flat to start the second half so far this season. Virginia has scored only three points while giving up 27 to open the second half, while Pitt has not been scored on so far in the 3rd quarter.

Players to watch:

-Virginia DE Chris Long

The Stats: 28 tackles (7.0 tackles/game), including 7 TFL and 6 sacks. Long also leads the team in QB pressures, with 11 and has one interception.

Why to Watch: Long is living up to his father’s legacy, he is becoming a dominant force for the ‘Cavs at the right time. He has shown the ability to consistently pressure and sack the quarterback, but his 28 tackles show he can shut down the run as well. Long will be matched up on either Mike McGlynn or Jason Pinkston, neither of which has been healthy or consistent this season.

-Virginia DE Jeff Fitzgerald

The Stats: 27 tackles (6.8 tackles/game), including 6 TFL and 2 sacks. Fitzgerald leads with team in interceptions with 2, and has broken up 4 passes.

Why to Watch: Fitzgerald is coming off a freshman All-American campaign, and has picked up right where he left off. With a lot of attention being paid to his teammate Long, and his talent, it is easy to see why Fitzgerald is making a big impact for Virginia. He actually already is tied for the school record for INT’s by a lineman with 4, making him a dual threat against the pass. The match-up between Fitzgerald and Pitt tackle Jeff Otah should be one of the best battles to watch on the line all game long.

- Virginia QB Jeremy Sewell

The Stats: 47-79 for 420 yards passing with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Sewell has a completion percentage of 59.5 and has averaged 105 yards passing/game.

Why to Watch: While his numbers have not been overwhelming to this point in the season, Sewell has found a groove in the last three games, completing 64 percent of his passes and has gone three games without being picked off, throwing his two TD passes in that span. Sewell may be hitting his stride at the right time against a Panther secondary that was not as tough against the pass vs. UCONN as it was in the weeks prior.

-Pitt RB LeSean McCoy

The Stats: 417 yards rushing on 65 attempts for a 6.4 ypc average, he also has 5 TDs with a long of 64. McCoy has also caught 11 passes for 40 yards, and has thrown one ball for 18 yards.

Why to Watch: McCoy is living up to the hype as one of the premier freshman running backs in the nation with his shifty moves and ability to get out in the open and create. Against Michigan State, McCoy rushed for a career-high 172 yards and one score, and looks to duplicate that performance against a strong Virginia defensive line.

-Pitt QB Pat Bostick

The Stats: 27-42 (64.3%) for 230 yards with one TD and four INTs.

Why to Watch: Bostick watched his teammate Kevin Smith get booed off the field last week vs. UCONN and had the stadium come to a standing ovation as he entered the game in the 2nd half. This week he is making his first start against a Virginia team that will get after the quarterback. It will be his job to remain composed and take what the defense gives him and not to force throws that aren’t there. Bostick showed some promise last week against UCONN, but will need to cut down on turnovers if he wants to lead Pitt to victory.


 

Davis' father swayed by North Carolina
Former NBAer nudges Benedictine star to Heels
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
September 27, 2007

Father knows best.

That’s one of the biggest assumptions by Virginia basketball fans when the topic of Ed Davis is broached.

In July, Davis, rated by one recruiting service as the second-best high school senior in the country, chose North Carolina over UVa.

A 6-foot-9 forward at Richmond’s Benedictine High, Davis had been one of Virginia’s main targets since coach Dave Leitao took over the program.

Ask Wahoo die-hards about Davis’ decision to attend North Carolina and most will say - right after they roll their eyes - that Terry Davis, Ed’s father, played a major role.

They’re probably right.

Speaking to The Daily Progress for the first time since his son gave his verbal commitment to the Tar Heels, Terry Davis admitted he was a guiding force in the decision-making process.

“He liked Carolina from Day 1. I liked Carolina from Day 1,” the elder Davis said.

“We’ve always liked the program and the tradition there.

“What really kind of put the icing on the cake is that Larry Drew and I are pretty good friends.”

Drew, an assistant coach for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, has known Davis since the pair’s playing days in the NBA. His son, Larry, Jr., one of the top high school point guards in the country, is headed to UNC.

“[Ed] really wanted to go somewhere where they had a point guard that had that point-guard mentality, versus a shooting-guard’s mentality,” Davis said.

Apparently, Davis isn’t familiar with Virginia freshman Sam Zeglinski - a prototypical pass-first guard.

But Davis’ most curious comments came when he was asked about UVa’s recruitment of his son.

“We talked, we rapped,” Davis said. “We liked Coach Leitao, but we can say that [UNC] Coach [Roy] Williams came down here seven times last year to see Edward personally and Leitao came maybe one or two times, so I think that Carolina presence did mean a lot.

“Coach Williams played a 12 o’clock game, then got on a flight to see [Ed] play that night. Coach Leitao was nowhere in the stands.”

Per NCAA rules, Leitao isn’t allowed to comment on Davis’ assertions. However, several sources - both inside and outside the program - disputed them.

Sean McAloon, Davis’ coach at Benedictine High, believes Leitao was as aggressive as anybody.

“Our gym was always full with coaches,” McAloon said. “At one point, Ed was the No. 2 recruit in the country. If you weren’t recruiting him, you have problems.

“Virginia was there as much as anybody, but I didn’t keep a tally.”

One thing not in dispute is Davis’ talent. The power forward, who possesses guard-like athleticism, could have given Leitao something he hasn’t had since he’s been at the helm - a true inside presence. Most insiders believe that Davis - after he beefs up a little - is a lock to someday play in the NBA.

But that doesn’t mean anything to Wahoo Nation now. Next fall, Davis will be wearing Carolina blue.

“He’s really excited. We’re excited also as his parents. It’s a dream come true for me,” said Terry Davis, a former standout player at Virginia Union. “I got looks from Clemson and Wake Forest and Virginia and those sorts of schools, but not the powerhouse, Final-Four kind of colleges.

“This is a blessing from God, man.”

Unless you’re a Virginia fan.

Dunks

Good recruiting news could be on the way for Wahoo Nation, though. Sylvan Landesberg, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from New York City, will announce his college decision at a press conference today. Virginia, Georgia Tech and St. John’s are considered the frontrunners. … John Brandenburg, a 6-10 center from St. Louis, is still trying to decide between UVa and Stanford. … A source told The Daily Progress that Virginia sophomore Solomon Tat (sports hernia surgery) will probably be ready to play by the start of the season, although it may take him slightly longer to recover from the injury than it took Tunji Soroye last season - due to the type of surgical procedure used.