Cavs' Minnifield has DB pedigree
Son of ex-Browns cornerback shows talent at same spot
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Wherever he goes in Kentucky, Frank Minnifield gets questions about his son. He gets comments, too.

"I wish Chase was at Kentucky," somebody will say, or "Chase should be at Louisville."

College football fans in the Bluegrass State still rue Chase Minnifield's decision to attend the University of Virginia. And the better he plays for U.Va., the more UK and Louisville followers will ponder what might have been.

He's only three games into his college career, but Minnifield, a 6-0, 192-pound redshirt freshman from Lexington, Ky., has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of those who believe he's a special talent.

At cornerback, he's had some rough moments, especially in the opener against Southern California. But he already has picked off a pass (and returned it 28 yards against Richmond) and returned a kickoff 56 yards.

"This clearly is an example of the old saying about the apple not falling far from the tree," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "He's got the same focus and the same competitiveness as his father. Also, just his sense of the game."

Born to play football: That's Chase Onassis Minnifield.

"They say if you put a basketball in a baby's hands, he's going to play basketball," Chase said. "I always had a football in my hands."

Given his father's background, that's not surprising. Frank starred at Louisville. He then became a Pro Bowl cornerback for the Cleveland Browns, whose assistants in 1992, his final season with the team, included Groh.

The elder Minnifield stands 5-9, and for a long time, he wondered if his son would ever catch him.

"He's probably grown at least about 5 inches over the last four years," Frank said. "When he was on the short end, I was a little skeptical whether he was going to be big enough to play football. He was always tough enough."

At Henry Clay High, Chase also played basketball -- he remains a hard-core UK hoops fan -- but football was his best sport. He punted, kicked and, as needed, played cornerback, wide receiver, running back and quarterback for the Blue Devils.

Chase, who chose U.Va. over Louisville, might have played for Groh as a true freshman if not for the torn ACL he suffered playing basketball as a 12th-grader.

His rehab seemed to last an eternity, but he was 100 percent by spring practice this year and quickly earned a place on the two-deep.

With Ras-I Dowling sidelined by a leg injury, Chase started the Aug. 30 opener against USC. The Trojans, not surprisingly, capitalized on his inexperience several times in their 52-7 romp at Scott Stadium. Afterward, Chase heard the same message from his father and Groh: Don't get discouraged.

"Things happen, and you've got to take them," Chase said. "As a corner, you've got to have a short memory."

Sophomore Mike Parker replaced him in the starting lineup a week later, but Chase played on the Cavaliers' nickel defense, and his fourth-quarter interception helped seal their 16-0 victory over Richmond.

Had Chase wanted to play wideout at U.Va., Groh would have slotted him there. But defense is in Chase's genes. From the time he was 4, his childhood coaches included his father, and Frank has worked endlessly with Chase on technique.

"He came up [to Charlottesville] before camp started, just to help me on my back-pedal and getting out of my breaks," Chase said. "I can't ask for a better dad when it comes to just caring for me."

Chase turned 19 in March but, with his baby face, looks closer to 16. He's soft-spoken and polite. His father couldn't be prouder.

"He's one of those guys who, when things are going well, they're going to go better because of Chase," Frank said. "And when things are going bad, it ain't going to be nearly as bad as you think they're going to be, because of Chase."

 

Bivens headed to diamond, likely done with football
By Jay Jenkins
Published: September 16, 2008

It took a few swings, but eventually Mickey Roberts saw glimpses of greatness.

On Friday, the Prince George High baseball coach threw an extended batting practice session to former pupil John Bivens.

As it unfolded, the workout was the first step in Bivens’ return to the baseball diamond.

On Monday and Tuesday, Bivens took batting practice with the Virginia baseball program, which likely signaled the end of his injury-plagued time with the Cavaliers’ football team, Roberts confirmed.

Bivens, who was moved from safety to linebacker, played in seven games last year — mainly seeing time on special teams — before knee surgery in November ended his season prematurely. The troubles with the surgically-repaired knee continued into training camp this year, eventually prompting Bivens’ decision.

“This is kind of like a fresh start for him,” Roberts said. “He told me, ‘Coach, the only thing I want to be is a professional athlete.’ I think baseball is going to give him that opportunity when he loses 25 pounds.

“He knows he needs to lose 25-30 pounds and then he is going to pick up big time. I think you will be surprised. He told me that with the added weight, that’s when his knee really started acting up. I think he is just tired of dealing with the pain in his knee, and he truly believes that when he loses the weight that he is going to be OK.”

Now listed at 233 pounds, Bivens hit .525 with five homers and 24 RBI as a senior at Prince George. But most teams, Roberts said, pitched around Bivens when possible.

“Most of those home runs were game-winning home runs when teams had to pitch to him,” Roberts added.

Bivens, who redshirted in 2006, may have never made it to Charlottesville had a shoulder injury not impacted his stock with professional scouts during his senior season.

“If his shoulder hadn’t been bothering him, I think he would have been a Top 5 draft pick,” Roberts said. “I was a little surprised coming out of high school that something didn’t work for him professionally with baseball. [Scouts] were all over him. I talked to some guys later and they said … that they backed off on him because of the shoulder injury and the football scholarship.

“They were worried that he would go some place, and if he did not have much success he would go and play football.”

Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor confirmed that Bivens practiced with his team and will make his debut on Friday in the program’s exhibition game against the Ontario Blue Jays as a designated hitter.

In high school, Bivens was an all-district and all-region performer in baseball. While his ability to hit monstrous homers created most of his buzz, Roberts said Bivens was also a stellar defensive player.

“Wait until he loses a little weight and starts making those diving catches and stuff like that,” Roberts said. “He was a defensive highlight reel when he was in high school.

“You could put him out there in the outfield and a guy would put something in the gap and the next thing you would know, John would just come out of nowhere and dive and make these tremendous catches. [Virginia’s baseball coaches] got a good one there.”

Virginia football coach Al Groh was on the road recruiting on Tuesday and was unavailable for comment, but sources confirmed that he supported Bivens’ attempt to make the baseball team.

Bivens, although draft-eligible after the 2009 season, has three years of baseball eligibility remaining.

 

Turmoil finds Hagans -- again
Marques Hagans is one of my favorite athletes. Has been since a September afternoon in 1999 when Hampton High football coach Mike Smith sadly told his Crabbers that practice was cancelled because of Hurricane Floyd.

“We sure are gonna miss ya, Coach,” Hagans deadpanned.

The entire room, Smith included, cracked up.

Hagans, aka Biscuit, quarterbacked Hampton to a state championship, played the position at Virginia and moved to wide receiver when he joined the St. Louis Rams in 2006. He’s never lost his devilish sense of humor or welcoming smile.

When I saw Hagans this summer at Carl Francis’ football camp, we chatted about the Rams’ prospects this season. “We can’t be any worse,” he said, reflecting on last year’s 3-13 finish.

Little did he know that the Rams would cut him, the cross-state Chiefs would sign him and he’d be subjected to another franchise in turmoil. The Chiefs are 0-2, have scored just 18 points in the process, and were so discombobulated at quarterback Sunday against the Raiders that Hagans returned to his old position for a handful of snaps.

After starter Brodie Croyle separated a shoulder in the opener at New England, Kansas City used Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen against Oakland, with Hagans as a change of pace.

Hagans ran for 7 yards on the Chiefs’ opening drive, but the play was erased by penalty. He later gained 2 yards.

After Huard sustained a neck injury and Thigpen failed to move the team, Hagans did another cameo in the third quarter. He was sacked for a 1-yard loss and completed a 5-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe.

Kansas City has lost 11 consecutive games dating to last season and plays at 1-1 Atlanta on Sunday. Coach Herman Edwards’ job security is negligible, and players are calling the team an embarrassment.

“It’s a little difficult having a different quarterback every (series),” receiver Devard Darling told the Kansas City Star.

If Hagans finds it difficult to summon a smile amid this foolishness, he need only gaze east to St. Louis, where the Rams have been outscored 79-16 in two defeats.

Posted by David Teel
 

Bye week offers chance for Cavs to regroup
Virginia experiences major problems running the ball, stopping the run; sloppy tackling also poses challenge
Brett Levinson, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, September 17 2008

Sophomore cornerback Ras-I Dowling has been one of Virginia’s few bright spots on defense this season. Dowling made a key tackle against UConn after missing the team’s first two games with a leg injury. Starting off 1-2 is not necessarily a measure of how good a team really is. The way the Cavaliers opened up the 2008 football season, however, suggests the chances for a quality season are low. Being overwhelmed by the No. 1 team in the country is one thing, but barely beating an Football Championship Subdivision school and being blown out by a team that has only been a Division I team for eight years are other issues. One part of the Cavaliers’ game has been particularly lacking: running the ball and stopping the run.
In the 52-7 defeat by the USC Trojans, the Cavaliers mustered only 32 rushing yards compared to 208 by their opponent. Against Richmond, the Cavalier defense fared better, only allowing 19 yards rushing while running for 91, with senior running back Cedric Peerman leading the way with 60. The progress unraveled against Connecticut, however, with the Huskies garnering 382 yards on the ground, compared to the Cavaliers’ 31. In this game, the Huskies had 506 total yards of offense, while the Cavaliers managed 219, only 9 more than Connecticut leading rusher Donald Brown, who had 206 for the game with a 10.3 average per rush attempt.
“They rushed for 382 yards. Anytime a team does that, then that’s just crazy.” senior linebacker Clint Sintim said.
When asked about the rushing differential in last week’s game, Coach Al Groh noted that the Cavaliers’ strategy was not so different from Connecticut’s.
“As was pointed out to the team, the play that gained the most yards [Saturday] night for UConn is almost exactly the same play as one that we ran repeatedly for low results, so it’s not like, ‘Well we should put that play in.’ It’s, ‘We’ve had that play in, we ran it quite a few times last night, we’ve run it over the year.’”
Adding to the defensive mishaps thus far this season have been missed tackles.
“It’s just sloppy,” Sintim said. “I take full responsibility for that. It was just poor play.”
Virginia has a bye this week, providing some extra time to prepare for the next game at Duke and to review its early season mistakes. Groh said this team is a “work in progress,” so development of the young players is one of the major goals of the season.
“This [bye] would come at a good time for us,” Groh said. “We always thought we would have the opportunity during this time frame then to try to get something with these other young players and see what they might be able to do for us.”
The Cavaliers are a young and mildly inexperienced team, so bumps on the road are expected. Yet, off-field issues, like sophomore quarterback Peter Lalich’s probation problems, have added more unbalance to the team. Sophomore quarterback Marc Verica started his first game ever at the collegiate level last Saturday and put up decent numbers. Lalich practiced Sunday, but there is no word yet about whether he will play against Duke on September 27.
How does Virginia bounce back after a lackluster start as it heads into its ACC schedule?
“We’ve just got to find the things that caused us to lose this game and just eliminate them this week,” Verica said after the loss to Connecticut.