Virginia dismisses starting QB Lalich from team
AD Craig Littlepage decides the sophomore's latest legal incident is the last straw.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Peter Lalich, the highest-rated quarterback prospect ever to sign with Virginia, has been dismissed from the Cavaliers' football team less than one month into his second season.

Lalich was given the news by athletic director Craig Littlepage in a meeting that took place within hours of Lalich's appearance Thursday in Charlottesville General District Court.

"Peter Lalich is no longer a member of the University of Virginia football team," said Littlepage in a statement released through UVa's sports information office. "We have supported Peter, but believe today a point has been reached where it's best for all concerned that he no longer participate on the team.

"This is my decision and it has the support of head football coach Al Groh. We wish Peter the best in the future. We will have no further comment."

Lalich originally was scheduled for a Sept. 26 hearing after he was charged with a probation violation, but the court date was rescheduled at the request of Lalich's attorneys at McGuireWoods.

The Cavaliers, who have an open date this Saturday, return to action Sept. 27, at Duke.

Lalich told the court Thursday that he had violated his probation, at which point judge Robert H. Downer Jr., continued the case until July 21, 2009, the one-year anniversary of his arrest for underage possession of alcohol.

Lalich, who was UVa's starting quarterback in Virginia's first two games, did not travel with the team to its game this past Saturday at Connecticut but returned to practice Sunday.

"Any time a situation doesn't work out in the most positive way for any player it's regrettable," UVa coach Al Groh said through his SID office, "but we stand united with this decision."

Lalich's court appearance Thursday was staffed by the Charlottesville Daily Progress, which reported that Lalich testified that he drank alcohol to celebrate the final day of football camp but had not used marijuana.

The Daily Progress had reported Sept. 5 that Lalich had told his probation officer of alcohol and marijuana use. Lalich refuted that story in a Sept. 9 news conference.

"I have not smoked or done any drugs while on my probation," he said that day.

On Thursday, Lalich told the court that he didn't realize until later that his last marijuana use had occurred prior to his July 21 court case.

"I made a mistake," he said of his alcohol usage, according to the Daily Progress account. "I'm very sorry about it."

Lalich, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound sophomore, was rated the No. 10 quarterback prospect in the country by SuperPrep magazine after he passed for 3,134 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2006 as a senior at West Springfield High School.

Lalich played in eight games for UVa last year as the backup to starting quarterback Jameel Sewell and was viewed as the heir apparent when Sewell was placed on one year's academic suspension in January.

Following the July 21 charge against Lalich, Groh said the matter would be handled internally. UVa did not identify a No. 1 quarterback until minutes before Lalich took the field Aug. 30 against Southern Cal.

Lalich took every offensive snap until Virginia's final series in a 52-7 loss to the Trojans, and he went the distance Sept. 6 in a 16-0 victory over Richmond, when he passed for a career-high 204 yards.

Three days before UV's game last Saturday at UConn, Groh said that Lalich would not be making the trip, explaining that he had not lived up to team "standards and values."

Sophomore Marc Verica took over as starter and completed 22 of 30 passes for 158 yards in the 45-10 loss. Fifth-year senior Scott Deke replaced Verica in the fourth quarter.

Virginia has three scholarship quarterbacks remaining in its program. The third, true freshman Riko Smalls, has been working predominantly with the scout team and did not travel to Connecticut.

Neither Lalich nor his parents could be reached for comment Thursday night.
 

Duke game critical for Groh
Fork Union coach talks up Pasztor
By Doug Doughty

Part of me says that Virginia's upcoming football game is the biggest of Al Groh's coaching career.

The other part of me says, "Remember Wyoming."

I can still remember the visually stunning drive from Laramie, Wyo., to Denver, with an equally pleasing dinner stop in microbrew-happy Fort Collins, Colo., and how a certain media gadfly and I discussed possible Virginia coaching candidates for hours.

We didn't have that conversation for the remainder of the season.

The 2007 Cavaliers had a klunker for an opener, losing at Wyoming 23-3, but never embarrassed themselves again. I can't remember anybody predicting a 9-4 season at the time, and I know nobody's predicting one now.

You could say that Virginia has had two klunkers already, although the 52-7 season-opening loss to Southern California doesn't look as bad in the context of USC's subsequent 35-3 romp over Ohio State.

Statistics would suggest that there was a 30-minute segment during the middle of the Virginia-USC game when the Cavaliers played respectably. There was no redeeming value to UVa's performance Saturday at Connecticut, where it seemed the Huskies could have won 63-0 if they had wanted.

Especially after an 11-for-11 first half, quarterback Tyler Lorenzen attempted only four second-half passes. Virginia knew that the Huskies were going to give the ball to tailbacks Donald Brown and Jordan Todman and still couldn't stop them.

Brown, a one-time Cavalier recruit out of Red Bank, N.J., has rushed for 566 yards in three games (206 against UVa). In a feature story in Friday's Hartford Courant, Brown said Connecticut had showed him the most love from the start but indicated he "probably" would have gone to Virginia if the Cavaliers had committed to him as a running back.

"Every game means the world to me," said Brown after the UConn-UVa game, "but there are two red letter games on the schedule and this was one of them."

These kind of recruiting stories are not uncommon. Brown is a redshirt junior, which would have put him in the 2005 recruiting class. Virginia took two running backs in that class, Mikell Simpson and Rayshawn Jackson, and also had Cedric Peerman in the program.

Would you take Brown over Simpson and/or Peerman? Not in 2007, when Simpson and Peerman rushed for close to 1,200 yards and Simpson led the team in receptions. The UVa running backs haven't done anything this year but the Cavaliers had only 14 rushing attempts against UConn. How would anybody know?

We have to assume that Virginia has gone to a spread offense because it was thought that a rebuilt offensive line initially would find it easier to pass-block than run-block. UVa quarterbacks have been sacked only four times in three games, but the tradeoff is a bunch of 1- and 2-yard completions that don't move the chains.

In my eyes, it would help if head coach Al Groh took one or two coaches out of the press box and moved them to the sidelines, but it's mostly about players and there are several problem areas, most notably the offensive line and safety. At the latter spot, Brandon Woods is getting his first opportunity to start this year as a fourth-year junior and maybe now we know why he didn't play earlier.

Remember, Woods was a promising wide receiver out of Durham, N.C., higher rated than his former high-school teammate, Maurice Covington. But it was Covington who played as a true freshman wide receiver while Woods was moved to defense. The Cavaliers had a trio of veteran safeties in front of Woods - Nate Lyles, Jamaal Jackson and Byron Glaspy - but Lyles was injured for a time and Jackson was a journeyman. If Woods had distinguished himself, presumably he would have played.

It's not an easy position to master, obviously. One of UVa's back-up safeties, Rico Bell, attracted considerable interest out of Charlotte, N.C.'s Vance High School and was a state sprint champion, but Bell can't get on the field as a third-year sophomore. Redshirt freshman Corey Mosley is a hitter and Lord knows the Cavaliers need somebody who can make a tackle, but he needs to become better acclimated to the scheme.

If you're looking for a true freshman whose redshirt might come off at Duke, the scene of similar 2004 decisions involving Chris Gorham and Bud Davis, you might want to consider 6-4, 200-pound true freshman Ausar Walcott. When asked about Walcott and other true freshmen who had made the trip to Connecticut, Groh said that Walcott was being rewarded as the scout-team player of the week.

One true freshman who has played, but only sparingly, is 17-year-old offensive guard Austin Pasztor (6-6, 310). Pasztor played at Fork Union Military Academy last year and FUMA coach John Shuman says that he is comparable to Anthony Castonzo, a 2006 FUMA offensive lineman who started as a true freshman last year at Boston College.

It might be noted that Castonzo was at least year older than Pasztor, who played on the Fork Union postgraduate team as a senior in high school, and had the benefit of enrolling at Boston College at mid-year and participating in 2007 spring practice.

Pasztor "doesn't have the same foot speed, which is why they bumped [Pasztor] inside," said Shuman, who played Pasztor at tackle, "He's got the same smarts and he'll get after you. He's as good a lineman as I've had. He'll be an All-American in two years."

Shuman is a master of hyperbole. He won't mind me saying that. But, if Pasztor has the potential to be, let's say, an all-conference player, then maybe Groh could increase his playing time. At the very least, an open date will give O-line coach Dave Borbely a chance to rediscover the 2007 Will Barker because the 2008 Barker has not been the same guy.

Better safety play and an improved offensive line would help, but UVa will need for its playmakers to come through against Duke, which has scored 31, 20 and 41 points in its first three games. Granted, the Blue Devils have played James Madison, Northwestern and Navy, but chances are, Duke will be favored against UVa.

Considering that Duke has lost 25 consecutive conference games, it would be an insult for Virginia to be chosen as underdog next week, much less lose the game. After the trip to Duke, UVa has consecutive home games with Maryland, East Carolina and North Carolina.

Maryland looked vulnerable early, but now the Terps have a victory over ranked California. East Carolina beat Virginia two years ago in Greenville, N.C., and the Pirates have a better team now. North Carolina hasn't won in Charlottesville since the early 1980's but would be a heavy favorite if the game were played today.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Friday, Sep 19, 2008 - 12:07 AM

Close to home
Dave Leitao can leave his office at John Paul Jones Arena and be at the Miller School in western Albemarle County about 20 minutes later.

Leitao, Virginia's fourth-year basketball coach, is becoming familiar with that drive. U.Va.'s targets in the Class of 2010 include Mychal Parker, a 6-6, 180-pound swingman from Little Washington, N.C., who's a new boarding student at Miller.

Scout.com has Parker at No. 25 in its rankings of the nation's 11th-graders.

Parker is likely to start on the wing this season but "potentially could play point for us," Miller coach Fred Wawner said. "He handles the ball better than I thought he would."

The NCAA's fall contact period opened Sept. 9, and Leitao was at Miller that day to check out Parker, with whom he has built a strong relationship.

Parker has a Richmond connection. For the past two seasons, he's played AAU ball for Tony Squire's program.

"He reminds me of Kobe Bryant," Squire said, "because he's 6-6, super-athletic, with huge Dr. J hands, he plays both ends, and he's a great rebounder."

More hoops
Leitao's tallest player, Assane Sene, has cleared the administrative hurdles that kept him from traveling to Montreal last month.

On the day the team left for three exhibition games in Canada, U.Va. announced that Sene, a 7-0, 225-pound freshman from Senegal, would not make the trip "due to pending clarification of his initial eligibility status."

The NCAA Eligibility Center, formerly called the NCAA Clearinghouse, rules on the academic status of each incoming recruit. Sene is a good student, but his international background made his case more complicated than most, and that caused the delay. He has lived in the United States for only about 16 months.

On the diamond
Virginia's baseball team will meet the Ontario Blue Jays today at 4 p.m. at Davenport Field. The exhibition game is free and open to the public.

Fans can get their first look at John Bivens, the former U.Va. football player who joined baseball coach Brian O'Connor's team this week. Bivens was an All-Metro outfielder at Prince George High.

Other Cavaliers with area ties include freshman catcher John Hicks (Goochland), freshman pitcher Will Roberts (Maggie Walker Governor's School) and sophomore pitcher Tyler Wilson (Midlothian). Wilson was named the top pitcher in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League in Ohio.

Former Clover Hill High pitcher Sean Tierney, a freshman at U.Va. last season, is now at James Madison. Under the NCAA's new transfer rule for baseball, Tierney must sit out the 2009 season at JMU. -- Jeff White

 

U.Va. dismisses Lalich
Cavs quarterback admits to violating terms of probation
Friday, Sep 19, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The short, troubled football career of quarterback Peter Lalich at the University of Virginia ended yesterday.

U.Va. announced last night that Lalich, a sophomore from Springfield, is no longer a member of the team. Football coach Al Groh broke the news to his players after practice.

In a statement, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said, "We have supported Peter, but believe today a point has been reached where it's best for all concerned that he no longer participate on the team. This is my decision, and it has the support of head football coach Al Groh. We wish Peter the best in the future."

Earlier in the day, Lalich had appeared in Charlottesville General District Court, where he admitted to violating terms of his probation. That hearing, originally scheduled for Sept. 26, had been moved up to yesterday at the request of Lalich's attorney, Tim Heaphy.

Lalich, 20, testified that he drank alcohol to celebrate the end of U.Va.'s training camp last month, the Daily Progress reported. Lalich told Judge Robert Downer that he believed he was allowed to drink while on probation as long as he didn't get arrested, the paper reported.

Downer did not punish Lalich for his violation. The judge kept Lalich on probation and continued the case until July 21, 2009. But the events in court convinced U.Va. officials that Lalich's dismissal was warranted.

Sources close to the football program said that Lalich, in recent meetings with U.Va. officials, had assured them he had not been drinking while on probation.

The school's decision to dismiss Lalich was not simply a reaction to his probation violation, sources said. There had been a series of transgressions not involving the criminal-justice system.

One of them, sources said, occurred last week, when U.Va. became aware of photos on Lalich's Facebook page -- since taken down -- that called his judgment into question and indicated that statements he'd made to university officials and the news media might not have been genuine.

Those photos, sources said, led to the decision by Groh, with the full support of U.Va. officials, to not allow Lalich to travel with the team to last weekend's game at Connecticut.

Lalich, who as a true freshman last season backed up starter Jameel Sewell, started the Cavaliers' first two games this year. His departure probably means that sophomore Marc Verica, who started against UConn, will continue as the team's No. 1 quarterback. Sewell, who's serving an academic suspension, is expected to return to U.Va. in January.

If Lalich transfers to another school, as expected, he'll have two years of eligibility after sitting out the 2009 season.

"Any time a situation doesn't work out in the most positive way for any player it's regrettable, but we stand united with this decision," Groh said in a statement last night.

Lalich's father, Todd, declined comment but said the family would probably have a statement in the coming days.

On July 21, Lalich was placed in a pre-conviction probation program after being charged earlier that month with unlawful purchase and possession of alcohol, a misdemeanor.

Had he met the conditions of his probation for the next 12 months, the charge would have been dropped July 21, 2009. On Sept. 4, however, Lalich was cited for violating the terms of his probation.

The Daily Progress, citing documents it had obtained, reported Sept. 5 that Lalich had admitted, in an interview with his probation officer, to using marijuana and alcohol while on probation. But Groh, apparently convinced that report was incorrect, started Lalich against Richmond on Sept. 6.

Three days after the UR game, Lalich told reporters: "I have not smoked or done any drugs while on my probation." He reiterated again yesterday in a statement that he had not used marijuana while on probation.

Heaphy said yesterday afternoon that Lalich had mixed up his dates in his Sept. 4 interview with his probation officer.

"He miscalculated the time frame of the historical marijuana use, and that's what we needed to clarify today," Heaphy said.

Drug tests provided to the court yesterday showed that Lalich had not been using marijuana, Heaphy said. Also, U.Va. wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, who lived with Lalich over the summer, testified on his teammate's behalf.

Last night, Heaphy declined to comment on Lalich's dismissal from the team.

"I do not know what factors went into their decision or what else may have transpired to cause them to take this step," Heaphy said. "I can say that Peter Lalich did a courageous thing today by admitting a mistake. He expressed remorse for that mistake and apologized to the judge, who left him on probation despite the violation. I think Peter learned from this experience and is a more mature person as a result. He has the potential to move on from this and achieve great success as a player and a person."

Before he learned of his dismissal, Lalich released a statement yesterday through Heaphy. It said in part:

"I have learned a great deal from this experience about personal responsibility. My family, the University of Virginia and the court have all given me opportunities to succeed in life. I know that my actions have disappointed the people who have helped me. From this point forward, I will try my best to show my family, the university, my teammates, the court and everyone else that I am worthy of their faith and trust in me."
 

Lawn tailgates return—with restrictions
By Aaron Lee
Published: September 18, 2008

The party is back on, kind of.

Close to three weeks after the Cavaliers’ home-opener football game against the University of Southern California, there are new rules about pre-gaming in the University of Virginia’s historic Lawn and Range areas.

It was before the USC game that Allen Groves, UVa’s associate vice president and dean of students — who was in the Lawn area — had to tell at least one person not to urinate in public.
Add that to the trash left behind and at least one reported fistfight that day, it just wasn’t pretty. And it led to a ban on socializing outside of residents’ rooms during the most recent home game, against the University of Richmond on Sept. 6.

It was the second time in the last year a ban was put in place. Before the Wake Forest University game last season the partying spiraled out of control and led to a chair being thrown in one instance, witnesses said.
“There have been, in the last few years, a blurring of the fact that this is a residential community,” Groves said.
But now, after conversations over the last week between Groves and Lawn and Range residents about preventing a similar showing in the future, there is a revised game day policy.

Among the new game-day policies suggested by students: an increased police presence, placement of trash cans in the area and the need to put portable toilets in some of the alleyways.
And while Lawn and Range residents have long been able to, with prior notice, host gatherings for up to 40 people on game days, Groves said the revised policy requires socializers to wear wristbands indicating they’re there as guests.

However, socializing must be kept within the vicinity of the rooms — meaning inside the rooms and on the patio area immediately outside the rooms.
Gatherings cannot make their way out into public areas (such as the middle of the Lawn), the revised policy states, reinforcing a long held rule that was more the letter of the law than the way of it.
There will also be no alcohol allowed out of the rooms unless it is in an opaque cup, the revised policy states. Alcohol must also be distributed in the rooms.

Other measures include:
-- Alcohol must be brought into Lawn and Range rooms before 8 a.m. on game days, in effect to limit people who are not residents (or guests of residents) of the Lawn or Range from showing up in the area with alcohol on game day.

-- While visitors who are not guests of Lawn or Range residents are still allowed in the area on game days, those visitors are prohibited from consuming alcohol during their visit.
The revised plan takes effect when the Cavaliers host the University of Maryland on Oct. 4.


 

UVa star back on course
By Whitey Reid
Published: September 18, 2008

When prep phenom Jonathan Villanueva first decided to forgo a professional soccer career in Europe and attend the University of Virginia, George Gelnovatch was practically doing cartwheels outside of Klockner Stadium.

The UVa coach had snagged the most heralded recruit in the country.

As a freshman, Villanueva lived up to a good portion of his hype. The Dallas native was the team’s fourth-leading scorer and was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.

However, last year, by most accounts, Villanueva took a large step back as a sophomore.

“I think I may have been a little over-confident and may have lost some of the drive that I had my freshman year,” Villanueva said. “That year I was very excited and very focused. I think last year, after all the success I had, I stopped working as hard probably.”

Tonight, Villanueva and Virginia open their ACC season at home against N.C. State. UVa (2-3), coming off a 3-1 loss to Virginia Commonwealth, is off to its worst start since 1983 — but Gelnovatch, who recently signed a four-year contract extension, doesn’t seem worried. After all, he’s been starting six of his nine freshmen.

“I think this first-year class has motivated our team, our staff,” Gelnovatch said. “Just in terms of pure talent, this is what I would deem an extremely talented team. This influx of quality guys this year is probably the largest number of quality that we’ve had in a long time.

“It hasn’t shown yet in the results, but we have a talented group and I think it motivates you to play.”

Villanueva, 20, has slowly been working himself back into Gelnovatch’s good graces. In the spring, the junior received a suspension for violating team rules. The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder had to sit out a week of preseason in August and has only recently reclaimed a spot in the team’s starting lineup.

Villanueva says having so many talented freshmen in the mix has served as an additional wake-up call.

“All these new guys have come in and have really pushed me to be even more focused — just to get playing time,” he said.

With Yannick Reyering — the team’s leading scorer from last year — now playing football, Villanueva is being counted on to pick up some of the scoring slack.

Villanueva, a Parade All-American — he was voted the top midfielder in the country coming out of South Grand Prairie (Texas) High in 2006, is hoping for a big season. So far, he has two assists in three starts.

“I’m very confident,” he said, “but at the same time I’m trying to take on a bit of a leadership role and show some of the new guys the way.”

Gelnovatch is keeping his fingers crossed.

“I hope that the things he is saying he is really taking to heart,” Gelnovatch said. “He has to work hard defensively and do all the little things. He’s obviously very skillful and a gifted passer, dribbler. Nobody’s ever questioned the ability he has there. But if you had a pie chart, that’s only a sliver of the game.

“The bigger pieces are how fit you are, and are you willing to chase, and are you willing to tackle and willing to compete all the time? Those are the issues that he needs to deal with. I think it’s early in the season, but he’s strung a couple of really good games together that have shown some decent signs that he’s starting to click a little bit.”