Where's Vic Hall?
By Aaron McFarling

The two men each clutched a fistful of dollar bills.

"They're on the 20," one would say. "Second down. Think he'll score here?"

"Dollar says he does," the other would say.

"You're on."

Then Vic Hall would take the snap, drop back -- and make another doubter pay.

There's probably something terribly immoral about fans making bets on what a high school quarterback is going to do next. But that's how interesting, how amazing, how unbelievable Vic Hall was as Gretna High School's quarterback.

And four years ago, as I watched these two middle-aged men exchange laughs and petty cash in the crowded stands at the Group AA championship game in Lynchburg, it somehow seemed appropriate. Hall was a phenomenon, one of the most explosive high school athletes you'll ever see. Might as well gamble on greatness while you can.

Too bad Al Groh never did.

Today, I flip to page 79 of the University of Virginia media guide and find Hall's biography. I see a header listing "Honors." Below it, this is written:

"2007 -- ACC Specialist of the Week (Oct. 1) vs. Pittsburgh."

That's it.

And that's a shame.

Vic Hall is a cornerback now. He's a redshirt junior and a captain. But he's also one of the greatest "what ifs" ever to play football in this state, thanks to the stubbornness of Groh.

Hall would never tell you this. He is the ultimate company guy, a classy, "yes sir, no sir" type who's going to do what the coach tells him. But that day in Lynchburg, after he capped his record-breaking career with four touchdowns and a second consecutive state title, Hall said he planned to play QB at UVa. Said the coaches told him he'd be a QB at UVa. Said part of the reason he was going to UVa is because he'd get a shot at QB.

That didn't even last a whole season. Hall was moved to the defensive backfield during his redshirt year and has never taken a collegiate snap.

Meanwhile, the quarterback position has become an absolute mess in Charlottesville.

Groh has never fully explained the reasons behind moving Hall. And any time Hall does something that brings back old memories -- like in 2006, when he served as the scout-team version of Reggie Ball in preparation for Georgia Tech, drawing praise from the defense -- Groh has deflected questions about the possibility of Hall ever returning to QB.

"That has no bearing on where we are right now," he said then.

Sure it did. They had just lost games with Kevin McCabe and Christian Olsen under center. The position wasn't exactly "settled." And it still warrants pondering today, as a 1-2 UVa team goes to Duke on Saturday as a touchdown underdog.

Mostly, we've been left to guess why Hall was switched. One theory is that Hall, a Ron Prince recruit, fell out of favor once Groh's son, Mike, recruited Jameel Sewell. How's that working out? Sewell failed to make the grade and is no longer on the roster.

The other theory is that the 5-foot-9 Hall was too short to play QB for an NFL-minded head coach. Try telling Todd Reesing at Kansas that diminutive QBs are doomed to fail.

Meanwhile, last week, Groh's NFL prototype -- the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Peter Lalich -- was dismissed from the team for off-the-field issues. Repeat: This is not the NFL. This is college, where athletic players with strong arms, leadership ability and great instincts have a chance to succeed.

Nothing against Marc Verica, the next starter in line, but it sure would have been nice to see what Hall could do.

Perhaps Groh would play the competition card on Hall. But at some point, 13,770 career yards of total offense -- a VHSL record and the fifth-most by any prep QB in the NATION -- has to count for something.

People wondered what kind of competition Darren Evans was playing in Indiana that would allow him to score a state-record 61 TDs as a senior. He was lightly recruited. And now, as a redshirt freshman, he looks like he could be the next great tailback at Virginia Tech. Can you imagine if they'd moved him to rover without first giving him a carry?

Or how about Angela Tincher, the All-American softball pitcher who carved up small-school competition in high school and only got one scholarship offer. Should the Hokies have moved her to shortstop?

Of course not. At least not before she had a shot to fail at the position she knows best.

Just a chance to make the doubters pay. Something Vic Hall has never truly gotten at Virginia.
 

Virginia Looks to Turn Season Around Again
There is no joy in Hooville as the fans have lost faith in head coach Al Groh and the administration. Ben Gibson explains how Virginia's season can be saved or lost in just a few days.
by Ben Gibson (Columnist)
0 85 reads
Preview/Prediction
September 23, 2008

Share this StoryYahoo! BuzzDigg Facebook StumbleUpon Print Email The Virginia Cavaliers have fallen and seemingly cannot get up.

The bye week came at a perfect time last week for the Cavaliers who were still stinging from a 45-10 loss at UConn.

For those of you keeping track at home, UVA shutout the top FCS team in the country, but have been outscored 97-17 by teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (aka "real" teams).

97 points? Virginia is supposed to be known for its defense and yet the loss of Chris Long alongside Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Mike Brown, and Aaron Clark means that the Cavaliers have given up more points in three games than they did in their first five victories of 2007.

The stalwart defense Virginia has relied on has fallen apart. Add to that, the recent departure of quarterback Pete Lalich who violated his probation from earlier this year.

In other words, do not expect the Virginia offense to pick up the slack.

Despite talented skill players, Virginia lacks a leader on offense to lead the team through tough times. Say what you will about Jameel Sewell's throwing ability, but he had the mental toughness to gut out five victories by two points or less last season. Now, however, he is tutoring middle school kids in Charlottesville waiting to be reinstated.

Instead the Cavaliers are left with a depleted offensive line, a beat up running back, and a sophomore quarterback in Marc Verica who will be making only his second start in his collegiate career.

In other words, if this isn't rock bottom, Virginia fans don't want to know what is.

The question remains, now that Virginia has officially been listed by Vegas as underdogs against a Duke team whose senior class has never won an ACC game, will Virginia win another game?

This Duke game is critical to proving how both teams will fare in the ACC this season. After 24 straight losses, if the Blue Devils can take care of business at home they could just surprise a few other teams and might make the 5-6 win plateau.

Coach David Cutcliffe knows the importance of this game and he has even sponsored an event on campus to try and rally the students.

I'm not actually sure which is harder for Duke, winning in the ACC or bringing fans into Wallace Wade Stadium.

Despite the lack of faith from the fans, Duke seems to be in very good shape to pull off a big victory and put the losing streak to an end.

Virginia needs this game if they want any chance of salvaging a season that already appears to be flirting with disaster. Despite Groh's mediocre record at Virginia, he has never lost to the Blue Devils and a loss could be the final nail in the coffin for the alum who has alienated many allies over his eight years at the helm.

A loss would send Virginia into a tailspin which may result in one more victory at most. A win might allow them to pull an upset in the upcoming weeks against an up-and-down Maryland team or perhaps shocking the ECU Pirates. A bad season would still be on the horizon, but it would be better than the gloomy days of the Sonny Randle era.

Verica was not awful against UConn, but if he is to lead the Cavaliers to their second victory of the season he will need the Virginia defense to play at the level most have come to expect.

Clearly the Fall of 2008 in America has centered around the word "change". Virginia football is certainly changing, but it is not one I can believe in.

Many have to ask, is Virginia changing towards a better future or a pre-George Welsh past full of ties, sundresses and about 6 home coming games a season.

Saturday will give us a look at the early exit poll.
 

Only in the ACC
By: Tim Britton
Posted: 9/24/08

It jumps off the small print of the local newspaper.

Virginia (+7) at Duke.

Just weeks after the Blue Devils successfully argued in court that they possessed an "inability to ever win games," they are favored to win their first conference matchup since 2004.

This, my friends, is the first and only exhibit we need to prove that the ACC has hit a rough patch.

An ACC in which Duke is favored is like an NFL in which Ed Hochuli makes mistakes and an October without Yankee Stadium. Ignoring Blue Devil football had become an autumnal rite of passage, like picking pumpkins or forgetting to vote.

But the spread in Saturday's game says a lot more about Virginia and the ACC than it does about Duke.

The Cavaliers are just one of a number of teams in the conference who have been nothing short of embarrassing early in the season. Virginia has lost its first two Division I-A games by a combined 80 points. Sure, USC is good. UConn? Not so much.

N.C. State earned the conference's biggest upset of the season last week. Over East Carolina. I'm not questioning the prestige of the Pirates; after all, they did eke out that win at Tulane. But State's victory doesn't make up for the Wolfpack's 34-point thrashing by South Carolina on national television three weeks earlier.

Losing big in non-conference games on national TV has become old hat for the ACC the last two years. Virginia Tech's 48-7 loss to LSU last season is the main reason the Hokies didn't get a chance to play for the national title. Clemson failed to meet high expectations-again-in a 34-10 drubbing by Alabama the first Saturday of the season.

You know times are bad when you're calling Miami's 26-3 loss to Florida a moral victory.

The common theme is the ACC's subservience to the SEC. Even the conference's best team this season, Wake Forest, needed a last-second field goal to escape Mississippi at home. Some even have the Rebels cracking the top 10 of the SEC this season!

What's happened, then, to the ACC?

It would be simple to blame it on the mid-decade expansion, when Commissioner John Swofford wooed Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College. But Stats 101 teaches us that correlation doesn't equal causation, and the brutal truth is that the ACC's problems extend beyond expansion. This is a conference that hasn't won a BCS bowl game during the Bush administration, a stretch that dates back to Florida State's national title in January 2000.

Since then, the ACC is 0-9 in the BCS without earning a single at-large bid to college football's postseason payday. But maybe I'm being unfair: BCS wins are reserved for transcendent programs like Boise State, Utah, Kansas and Oregon State.

Paramount to the ACC's demise has been the collapse of Florida State, which hasn't been nationally relevant since it stopped playing 28-year-olds at quarterback. The Seminoles have been joined in mediocrity by their old rivals, Miami. The two programs that have combined to make five appearances in the BCS title game have gone 24-25 the last two seasons.

That's opened the door for Virginia Tech, which has become the Seattle Seahawks of the ACC-a decent team thrust into prominence by an incompetent division. The Hokies, like their analogue, continue to fail on the big stage, going 0-3 in the BCS.

The other teams in the ACC haven't been able to fill the void with any compelling stories. Wake Forest remains a well-regarded underdog that can't possibly contend nationally without a bigger financial commitment.

Clemson, meanwhile, is harder to figure out than the new ACES, North Carolina already reached its "one-good-pass-rusher-per-decade" quota with Julius Peppers and N.C. State longs for the glory days of Chuck Amato.

Maryland, Virginia and Duke are all schools that score more on the lacrosse field than on the gridiron.

But conceding that the ACC is awful doesn't mean it's uninteresting, especially when your team hasn't won a conference game in four seasons.

And in a world where Hochuli blows the play dead and Jose Molina is the last player to homer at the Stadium, why not Duke (-7)?

Dane Huffman is the Sports Managing Editor at WRAL.
ACC coaches don't compare to 1989
By Dane Huffman
Posted: Today at 12:34 p.m.

The ACC’s torpid start raised questions about the quality of football in the league, a question somewhat muted by the league’s performance last weekend.

But N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler raised an interesting point Wednesday in an interview with 99.9 FM The Fan.

“I do think probably at this time we have as good a head coaches in the league as we’ve had, and that’s from top to bottom,” Fowler said. “And I think, given the time for these guys to get their program going, we’re going to have one of the better leagues in the country.

“I think we have 12 of the better head coaches we’ve ever had in this conference.”

It’s an observation worth a closer look.

Personally, I believe the league had a stronger set of coaches in the late 1980s and specifically 1989.

Virginia and Duke tied for the league title that season.The Cavaliers had their best coach ever (George Welsh) and Duke had its second-best ever (Steve Spurrier, second only to Wallace Wade).

Clemson was in the last year of the Danny Ford regime, and Ford finished 10-2 in 1989 before being pushed out.

Georgia Tech had Bobby Ross, who would win a share of the national title in 1990 and go on to be successful in the NFL.

N.C. State had Dick Sheridan, whose only equal in Wolfpack history was Lou Holtz. I’d rank Holtz slightly ahead of Sheridan as the best coach N.C. State has ever had but there’s no question both were superior coaches.

North Carolina finished 1-10 that year for the second straight year under Mack Brown, but Brown the Heels pointed in a winning direction and his recruiting classes would soon pay off.

Carolina’s three best coaches ever were Carl Snavely, Bill Dooley and Brown. Snavely benefited from Charlie Justice’s brilliance, and Dooley produced steady winners that played tough, and somewhat boring, football. I believe Brown was the best Carolina ever had, and the program could have approached elite status if he had not left for Texas in 1997.

Wake Forest had Dooley in 1989, who struggled that year but made the Deacons competitive overall. The weak link in the 1989 group of ACC coaches was Maryland’s Joe Krivak, who would stumble on for two more years before being fired.

That’s the best collection of football coaches I can remember in the ACC. But Fowler’s point on the strength of the current coaches has merit.

The coaches in North Carolina, for example, are strong and may get the state moving in a sport long overshadowed by basketball.

Jim Grobe has been brilliant at Wake Forest.

Butch Davis has recruited well and hiked interest in the UNC program.. He’ll have to show he can get his team to play smart in big games, as it failed to do in Saturday’s loss to Virginia Tech. But UNC’s talent is rising and the program will only improve as it matures.

N.C. State’s Tom O’Brien has been shackled by a ridiculous run of injuries – although getting him to share information on that is like asking North Korea about its nuclear weapons. But O’Brien is a tough coach who knows how to win, and will. He’s similar to Sheridan in his approach and ultimately may have similar success.

Duke’s David Cutcliffe knows how to lead and has the benefit of the school finally backing football.

Elsewhere, you have to love Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech, Paul Johnson of Georgia Tech and maybe even Tommy Bowden of Clemson, although Tiger fans are hard to please.

It’s too early to judge Jeff Jagodzinski of Boston College and Randy Shannon of Miami. Al Groh of Virginia and Ralph Friedgen of Maryland appear to be faltering and Bobby Bowden of Florida State… well, let’s be nice.

As good as the SEC?

Gosh, no chance.

And as good as 1989?

Not by my count.

Overall, though, the ACC has a strong group of coaches and some programs with a chance to rise. The key to how these coaches are judged is whether any of these programs can push into elite status. Right now, only Virginia Tech ranks among college football’s best programs, and the current coaches will have to change that before the league is taken seriously.


 

The Catastrophe in Charlottesville
By Aaron Pyre
SouthernPigskin.com Mid-Atlantic Columnist

The 2007 Virginia Cavalier football team is thought of as Al Groh’s best team in his tenure in Charlottesville. He is the reigning Coach of the Year in the ACC, finishing the season with a 9-4 record. While not supremely talented, he certainly had a lot of ammo at his disposal, including two NFL first round draft picks in defensive end Chris Long and offensive guard Branden Albert. That Hoo team clawed and scratched out quite a few victories and Al looked to have the program on the right track, where a similar season in 2008 was not far fetched. Then the team imploded in the off season, leading to a disastrous 1-2 start to the 2008 season. The lone win came against the University of Richmond, a FCS opponent. They have been outscored 97-17 in losses to USC and UConn, then the news of starting quarterback Peter Lalich being dismissed from team seemed to have even sunk the season outlook even lower.

Let’s take a look at the player losses that have contributed to Virginia’s poor start.

• Jameel Sewell, a two year starting quarterback due to academic suspension
• Jeffrey Fitzgerald, a very athletic defensive end and heir apparent to Chris Long, transferred to Kansas State due to academic issues
• J’Courtney Williams, a highly touted linebacker, transferred to Hampton University after being dismissed from the team due to legal problems
• Chris Cook, a starting cornerback, suspended due to academics
• Mike Brown, a backup cornerback, kicked off the team after legal issues
• John Bivens, a backup linebacker, gave up football over lingering knee problems
• Darnell Carter, a backup linebacker, suspended to academic problems
• Sean Gottschalk, a backup defensive end, is on a personal leave of absence
• Peter Lalich, the new starting quarterback, dismissed from the team after the 2nd game due to ongoing legal issues

That’s the top two quarterbacks, arguably the best defensive player and another four players who would have likely been in the two deep to start the season for the Cavaliers. This has created a talent and experience void that Al Groh has had trouble filling. Let’s not forget that more than a few of these players were upperclassmen who were also being counted on to be team leaders. It’s pretty easy to see why the Virginia football team is off to such a poor start, ranking last in both total and scoring offense as well as defense in the ACC.

A loss to Duke this weekend would cement the Hoo program as the worst in the ACC this season. How will the fans, press and administration react if this happens? Simply put a loss would put Al Groh squarely on the coaching hot seat. If the press and the fans turn on him, things could get pretty ugly before the season is over. There are some variables to this equation to consider other than the off-season and this season’s results:

• First and foremost the job he did last year. How much goodwill did he accumulate with the 2007 campaign?
• His contract goes through the 2011 season that has his compensation at just above $2 million a year. UVA is still on the hook for six million after this year.
• The high academic standards UVA sets for their athletes sometimes can comeback and bite them pretty hard if a few do not make grades. How much of that fault is the coach or academic adviser, and how much is on the young man himself?

While my last column had their game vs UConn as a statement game for the program, the contest vs the Blue Devils could wind up as the Hoos most important game of the season.

 

Virginia looks to its youth vs. Devils
Due to unexpected attrition and some poor performances by starters, the Cavs make changes.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Unintentional as it might be, Virginia football coach Al Groh suddenly finds himself in a youth movement.

When the Cavaliers visit Duke on Saturday, first-time UVa starters will include a pair of redshirt freshmen, nose tackle Nick Jenkins and safety Corey Mosley,

Until this week, Mosley never had appeared in a UVa two-deep.

Mosley takes the place of fourth-year junior Brandon Woods, a Durham, N.C., product whose homecoming would have made for a nice story if not for a fall from grace.

Woods, victimized on several long runs in a 45-10 loss at Connecticut, is listed as co-No. 2 with Trey Womack at the spot now manned by Mosley.

At 5-feet-10 and 197 pounds, Mosley might lack prototypical safety size, but he's a physical player.

"From his first days here, it was apparent that he had the type of built-in ability that would give him a chance to be a very good player," Groh said Wednesday on the weekly ACC coaches' teleconference.

"He's got quick speed -- that is, he's got acceleration -- and he's got long speed. He's got toughness. He packs a real punch and he has a sense of where the ball's going. It's just been a question of his adapting to college football."

Mosley wowed spectators at UVa's preseason scrimmages with his hard hits on goal-line sequences, but he didn't grasp UVa's system quickly enough for the coaches to trust him in games.

"Things kind of built up in the spring," Groh said. "Maybe they all ran together. He hit a little bit of a roadblock. When we started training camp, that really picked up and he's had a real good [last] 10 days with us.

"Amongst the things that was very noticeable about Corey at Henrico High School was, he was just a good player. He ran the ball, he caught the ball, he returned kicks, he played defense. He's got a multiple set of skills that he brings to the position."

As opposed to Mosley, who has played in all three games but participated mostly on special teams, Jenkins (6-3, 285) has shared time with starting nose tackle Nate Collins.

"Nick has been a very mature player since he's gotten here," Groh said. "He's one of those players that needs to develop technique and learn the system, but, overall, you can see that college football wasn't too big for him from the outset. He wasn't going to have to grow into it.

"Clearly, if we've got him where we do, we think that he's played a little bit better than [Collins]."

While the changes involving Jenkins and Mosley were the most noteworthy, UVa's second offensive line was basically revamped.

True freshmen Mike Price (6-5, 265) at center and Matt Mihalik (6-7, 275) at right tackle have joined classmate Austin Pasztor (6-6, 310) in the two-deep.

UVa has a total of five freshmen in its first two units, including inside linebacker Steve Greer and outside linebacker Cameron Johnson. Only Pasztor and Johnson have played to date, and UVa will take redshirts off the others "probably only as need be," Groh said.

Groh does make an exception for players like Pasztor, who is the backup to a senior, Zak Stair. With Pasztor likely to start in 2009, Groh wanted to make sure that he had some game experience.

A sixth true freshman who could make the trip to Durham this weekend is Riko Smalls, one of three scholarship quarterbacks in the program since the departure of Peter Lalich, who is expected to surface at Oregon State following his dismissal from UVa program.

Lalich earlier had been left home for UVa's trip to Connecticut, a decision that was made so late in the week that Smalls, who had been working with UVa's scout team, could not get a crash course in the Cavaliers' offense.

As a result, Marc Verica and Scott Deke were the only UVa quarterbacks who travelled to Connecticut, but it does not appear Groh will take that risk again.

It has been Groh's intention to redshirt Smalls, "but really, for this year, we've got to do what we've got to do," he said.

If one of Virginia's three walk-on quarterbacks could provide the same kind of insurance as Smalls at the No. 3 spot, Groh might be willing to go that route.
 

Cavs entrust hopes to cool 'Piano Man'
David Teel
September 25, 2008
CHARLOTTESVILLE

Virginia's new starting quarterback is an aspiring economist, semi-retired cartoonist and self-taught musician whose tastes range from Marvin Gaye to Coldplay.

And what, you might ask, does any of this have to do with Marc Verica shepherding the Cavaliers through what promises to be a minefield of a season?

More than you might think.

Virginia is a fragile team entering Saturday's game at Duke. A staggering 1-2 start combined with unpleasant roster upheaval cries for internal leadership, especially at quarterback.

Amid such uncertainty, leadership demands more than throwing lasers, ducking defenders and reading coverages. It requires maturity, humility and an appreciation of opportunity.

Enter Verica.

He strolled into the John Paul Jones Arena press room Tuesday with days-old stubble and a natural ease. He spoke of family and football, piano and guitar, and his improbable rise from fourth-string a year ago.

"It's almost surreal in a sense," said Verica, a redshirt sophomore. "I think I've come a long way in the last couple years. I've always just tried to focus on my game and what I needed to improve and eventually become a factor on the team. I didn't just want to sit (on the bench) my whole career. …

"I'm the kind of guy who thinks you should stick it out no matter what. I made a commitment to this place. There's going to be competition wherever you go. You can't back down or fold. You have to stay in there, show some grit and compete. Eventually, if you're doing the right thing, you'll get the opportunity."

Last year, Verica quarterbacked the scout team, the group that mimics upcoming opponents. Jameel Sewell started, Peter Lalich backed him up and Scott Deke mopped up.

But after a 9-4 season, Sewell turned up academically ineligible. Then Lalich betrayed his considerable skills with frat-house antics that last week got him booted from the program.

That left Deke and Verica, and even Deke, a fifth-year senior, endorsed Verica as the successor.

"He's really put himself in position to be one great quarterback here at Virginia," Deke said. "He's always been a good student of the game. He's become very accurate, and he moves in the pocket. He's definitely a dual threat in that respect."

Verica is accustomed to inheriting the starter's role during crisis. As a junior at Monsignor Bonner High School in suburban Philadelphia, he replaced senior Andrew Case, who injured his knee days before the season opener and now plays receiver at Temple.

Despite playing with an injured left shoulder for much of his senior year, Verica earned scholarship offers from Wisconsin and Virginia to become a second-generation college quarterback. His father, Mark, played at Division II Kutztown in Pennsylvania.

"I don't know if it was nature versus nurture, but my dad was a quarterback and I guess it was inevitable for me to be the same," Verica said. "I used to always play catch with him in the driveway. …

"He still has a good arm. When we have a catch, his arm isn't as strong as mine. But there was a point a couple of years ago when he was still stronger than me."

Verica's father also sketches, and his son followed suit, creating his own cartoons. But drawing became secondary after Verica taught himself to play piano and guitar.

He was a hit in the lobby of Virginia's hotel at last season's Gator Bowl, and he offers performances on campus during meals and between classes.

"I play a lot of my own stuff," Verica said. "Technically I'm not the most sound guy. I don't know how to read music. … I just kind of play what sounds good and people normally like it, so I guess that's a good sign. … It's relaxing, it's fun, it's definitely therapeutic in a sense."

Verica appeared equally relaxed in his first college start, two weeks ago at Connecticut. Virginia lost 45-10, but Verica never panicked, completing 22 of 30 passes for 158 yards with an interception.

Most of his throws were short and he missed some open receivers downfield. Still, an encouraging debut.

"Marc's been with us for quite a while," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "It's not like we just picked up a new free agent.

"He's kind of unflappable. I've heard coaches before say sometimes about their quarterbacks, the good thing about them is nothing bothers them and the bad thing about them is nothing bothers them. I think that's good at an early stage."

It's also good that Verica, an economics major, appears bright, curious and grounded. Media knotheads neglected to ask him about the Wall Street bailout, but chances are he's well-versed.

Perhaps most important, Verica seems to understand what Lalich did not, that with athletic opportunity comes personal responsibility.

"It's unfortunate for Pete, his situation," Verica said. "But I was thrust into this role. Now it's just my job to embrace it and lead the team to where we need to go. …

"I think his situation kind of brought to light how fragile a circumstance like this can be, how it can all be taken away from you if you get caught up and distracted from what your job is. … There's definitely a lot to be learned from his situation."

And if the football season derails, might Verica seek refuge in his music?

"I don't want to resort to piano as therapy if I'm not playing well," he said with a smile. "Hopefully, I'm playing just leisurely and not to cope."



 

Lewis runs Duke attack
By Jay Jenkins
Published: September 24, 2008

Throughout the years, scores of ACC players have complained about noon kickoffs.

Not only does it mean that television networks have shunned the ratings-killing contest, but the players are forced to start their pre-game routine far earlier than they would prefer.

Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis looks at the midday time slot in a different light.

In his eyes, starting at noon feels far later than his normal football routine.

The Blue Devils, in fact, start their practices at 8:45 a.m. and head for classes after the two-hour sessions Tuesday through Friday before a handful of students even lift their heads off their pillows.

“It can be tough some mornings,” Lewis said. “But it comes naturally now. Since I got here we have been practicing in the morning. It has kind of become a routine. Since we get up early anyways to do early morning runs it is not hard to get adjusted to it, but you have to have your mind right and be ready to go out and get the job done early in the morning.

“We are fired up and we can’t wait to get out there and play because we get up early anyways. Noon games, for us, I don’t think it will ever be a problem.”

Thus far this season, nothing has appeared to be a problem for Lewis. The junior quarterback leads the ACC in passing, averaging 238 yards per game through the air.

More importantly for Duke (2-1, 0-0 ACC), Lewis has thrown five touchdown passes without tossing an interception. He entered the season with 32 career touchdowns and 26 interceptions.

“He’s certainly much more experienced,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “Two years ago when we played down there, he was obviously a player of talent, who as we frequently see with young players, was probably the most talented quarterback they had, but a little bit in over his head; things were just happening too fast.

“Last year, there was a difference, but the last time we saw him it was only his second game of his second year. Now, we see him in the fourth game of his third year and clearly the process is really kicking in.”

Lewis said credit should go to the Blue Devils’ new offensive scheme, which was added after the arrival of first-year coach David Cutcliffe and offensive coordinator Kevin Roper.

“The biggest thing in this system is knowing the concepts to the system and knowing that everything has a concept,” Lewis said. “The coaches did a good job of teaching me the system, challenging me.”

Working with his third offensive coordinator, Lewis was asked in the spring to draw formations and solve certain defensive coverages after practice sessions.

“We did a great job communicating and getting that job done,” he said.

The progression with the Blue Devils’ offense has been apparent to Groh and Virginia’s coaching staff.

“We hear these days sometimes people referring to the game that we watch as ‘basketball on grass’ and that’s kind of what it is,” Groh said. “And Lewis is the point guard and they’re running the fast break and if it was in Cameron Indoor Stadium and it was their equivalent of it, he’d probably hear the coach standing on the sideline yelling, ‘push the ball, push the ball.’

“That’s what it is, get it out, get it moving. Get it out into space and get it out to places before the defense can get there. It’s the same thing as the guy pulling the rebound down and the coach yelling, ‘Push it,’ and throw it up the floor before the defense can get there and score an uncontested basket. Get it out into spaces before the defense can get there and score an uncontested throw and have enough inside game that if the defense spreads themselves out to accommodate that, then you play the equivalent of half court and slam it up inside.”

Being called a point guard drew a chuckle from Lewis. At 6-foot-2, that was an impossible proposition in high school in Florida.

“I played basketball and I wish I could have played point guard,” he said. “If you are from Miami and you are over 6-foot-1, you are the biggest basketball player on the basketball court, so you kind of play out of position.

“But I take that as a compliment and tell [Groh] that I said, ‘Thank you’ for the compliment. Part of playing quarterback is like playing the point guard position. You have to direct a football team like you direct a basketball team.”

Thanks to Lewis and his teammates, basketball season at Duke has been placed on the back burner — for now. The Blue Devils have averaged 27,089 fans in their three home games this season, up an average of just over 7,000 per contest.

That number could climb even further if Lewis can lead his team past Virginia, giving almost the entire team their first ACC victory.

“It would be great to get a win having all the new fan support that we have received,” Lewis said. “They are sitting out here in the hot sun cheering you on and to get the win would be great.”

 

Lalich going west?
Dropped from U.Va., QB visited Oregon State
Thursday, Sep 25, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Former University of Virginia quarterback Peter Lalich appears headed to Oregon State.

Lalich, a sophomore dismissed from the football team last week, visited the Pacific-10 school in Corvallis, Ore., Monday and Tuesday.

The Oregon State coach is Mike Riley, a longtime friend of U.Va. coach Al Groh. Asked yesterday if he'd recommended Lalich to Riley, Groh said, "I think I'll leave it between Mike and Peter and discuss our team that we have in place now."

The paperwork necessary for a transfer still must be completed, but unless U.Va. officials change their minds this week and allow Lalich back on the team -- a move no one expects -- he is likely to enroll at Oregon State.

Lalich, 20, also considered UCLA and Cincinnati. Oregon State is one of the few Football Bowl Subdivision schools on the quarter system, and fall classes don't start there until Monday.

Lalich did not redshirt at U.Va., and he is expected to petition the NCAA to not count the two games he played this year as a season of eligibility. If such an appeal were approved, he would have three seasons of eligibility remaining after sitting out this fall.

In his two appearances this season, Lalich completed 39 of 74 passes for 359 yards and no touchdowns, with three interceptions. He did not travel with the team for its Sept. 13 game at Connecticut. Five days later, U.Va. Athletic Director Craig Littlepage announced his dismissal.

Lalich admitted last Thursday in a Charlottesville court that he had violated the terms of the pre-conviction probation program he began in July. Later that day, in a meeting with Littlepage, Lalich learned he was off the team.

"We 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," Littlepage said in a statement released that night. "This is my decision, and it has the support of head football coach Al Groh. We wish Peter the best in the future."

Lalich remains on probation. The misdemeanor charge he faces unlawful purchase and possession of alcohol -- will be dismissed if there are no more violations of his terms between now and July 21, 2009.

Lalich's attorney, Tim Heaphy, said that Lalich's probation supervision can be transferred to another jurisdiction. "If he moves to Oregon," said Heaphy, "he will have to be supervised by probation authorities out there."

U.Va.'s decision to dismiss Lalich was not solely a reaction to his probation violation, sources told The Times-Dispatch last week. He had other transgressions not involving the criminal-justice system, the sources said.

 

Lalich heads west for next chapter of college career
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: September 24, 2008

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wishing the best of luck to Pete Lalich, who has transferred to Oregon State ...

Lalich, who was booted from Virginia’s program last week, was in Corvallis on Monday, taking in the Beavers’ practice. Oregon State plays No. 1 Southern California this week.

You think Lalich may have shared a little first-hand knowledge with Beavers’ coach Mike Riley? Lalich and UVa lost to USC in the season opener.

Lalich and his mom, Penny, took a red-eye flight home Tuesday night and Lalich had to write six essays as part of his admission to the school. He hopes to start classes there next Monday.

The former UVa starting quarterback considered UCLA and Cincinnati, but settled on Oregon State. Part of that choice may have been nudged along by Virginia coach Al Groh, who helped Lalich find another place to play.

Groh confirmed during Wednesday’s ACC coaches’ teleconference call that he assisted Lalich’s search but declined further comment on the matter.

“Mike Riley and I are good friends,” Groh said.

Mrs. Lalich said that she likes Riley and appreciated Groh’s help.

“Coach Groh highly recommended [Riley] to Peter and Peter to him,” she said. “Coach Groh has been wonderful to Peter [through the ordeal]. I have even gained respect for [Groh] during this nightmare.”

Mrs. Lalich went on to say that her son misses his old team.

“You will never know how proud Peter was to be a Cavalier,” she said. “He so loved his teammates and coaches and fellow students. I still get teary eyed when I think about what happened in Charlottesville.”

A second chance

One of Duke’s top defensive players, senior linebacker Michael Tauililli, who is averaging 10 tackles a game, is thankful that his school’s administration didn’t pull the plug on his career after he made a big mistake before the 2007 season started.

Only two days before Duke’s training camp ended last season, Tauililli was arrested and charged for a number of items that would make Pete Lalich’s infractions seem minute by comparison.

Durham police charged Tauililli for his part in an auto accident, including driving while impaired, failing to stop after an accident, assault by pointing a gun, carrying a concealed weapon, and simple assault. He, too, was 20 years old (under the North Carolina legal drinking age).

Former Duke coach Ted Roof suspended Tauililli for the season opener, was off limits to media all season and gave the player a strict set of rules to follow for the rest of the season.

“It was fine ... it was a good move by Coach,” Tauililli said. “It was good for me personally so I could get mentally focused on what was going on with the season. Coming back and being able to speak and represent the team in a better light is definitely a positive for me now. I learned so much from it. I definitely plan on not making that mistake again.”

Tauililli said he learned to be more conscious of his decision-making off the field.

Maybe sometimes coaches do know best.

What’s up at FSU?

Seminoles fans were stunned over the weekend when Wake Forest defeated FSU for the third straight season, perhaps another sign of the apocalypse.

What’s wrong with once powerful Florida State?

The answer my friend, is not blowing in the wind. It’s much simpler than that.

Look no further than the offensive line. Florida State has started the youngest offensive line in the nation so far: two true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, one true sophomore, and one redshirt sophomore.

No wonder the ’Noles’ best back, Antone Smith, had only 24 yards rushing against Wake.

Although give the Deacons credit. They have a good defense.

FSU is still getting players back from the off-seasoon academic suspension, with at least three key starters returning for this week’s game against Colorado.

The Streak

Duke coach David Cutcliffe was asked if he will use the Blue Devils’ 25-game ACC losing streak as motivation in preparation for Virginia this weekend. His Devils are a seven-point favorite over the Cavaliers in Durham, N.C.

“We talk about it,” Cutcliffe said. “I’m a big believer in being upfront. I’m not going to pound it into their head. Our redshirt seniors are 1-31 for their careers and 0-24 in their playing careers. They’re aware of it. They know we have to play better just to get into the game.”

On recruiting

Cutcliffe said that while scouting for potential quarterbacks, he watches a ton of tape and that he’s looking at ninth and 10th graders now.

He certainly has an eye for talent, having coaching both Peyton and Eli Manning.

“Right now I’m looking at [a high school quarterback prospect] who is 5-foot-10 that I think is a great player,” Cutcliffe said. “I’ve fallen in love with him already. He can spin it better than anybody I’ve seen. If I can sign him, I will.”

Stat of the Week

Virginia’s opponent this weekend, Duke, has outscored its three opponents by a 48-14 count in the second half thus far, including a key 34-7 margin in the third quarter.

Last season, Duke was outscored 181-96 in the second half (81-46 in the third quarter and 100-50 in the fourth).

Quote of the Week I

Frank Beamer on taking advice from fans:

“I don’t think you want to listen to what the fans say. If you listen to them too much, you’ll be sitting up there with them.”

Quote of the Week II

From Beamer again, on facing Nebraska:

“The tough part is turning on the video and seeing one of the biggest football teams I’ve ever seen. Their wide receivers are big, their tailbacks are big, their linemen are big. They’re huge.”

Quarterback roulette

ACC quarterbacks are certainly taking a beating so far this season.

Heading into this weekend, seven of the dozen ACC schools will have started at least two quarterbacks this season. Some have been because of injury, like Maryland, N.C. State and North Carolina.

Others have been for other reasons, although Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech have brought in other quarterbacks when the starter was nicked.

Virginia and Miami have both used two different starters and Florida State has used three different quarterbacks in its games although Seminoles offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher has stuck with Christian Ponder as the starter the entire time.

Several ACC coaches said during Wednesday’s teleconference that not having two quarterbacks ready to play is a big mistake. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to have three somewhat ready because if the starter goes down, then the reserve had better have a backup just in case he goes down as well.

“The NFL dramatically changed the amount of contact allowed on a quarterback,” said UNC coach Butch Davis, who will be starting a new QB this week against Miami. “College football is a little more liberal to the contact allowed on a quarterback than in the NFL.”

Speaking of the Tar Heels, they’ll start either redshirt freshman Mike Paulus or junior Cam Sexton. Paulus struggled last week when he took over for T.J. Yates and threw two interceptions and was sacked once by Virginia Tech.

Give ‘em time

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said that piling on the ACC for losing nonconference games the first week of the season was a bit premature.

The league was 6-0 against nonconference competition last weekend and is 16-4 overall thus far.

“I said all along that you give this league enough games and we’re going to be just fine,” Beamer said. “The coaching is too good and the teams are solid. I don’t know that you judge [the ACC] over a weekend or even over a year. Over a period of time, the ACC is going to be just fine.”

Beamer’s Hokies face a tough nonconference trip this weekend to Nebraska.

He missed?

Wake Forest fans probably couldn’t believe that Deacons’ kicker Sam Swank missed three field goals in the win over Florida State last weekend. Of course, he made four others to account for all of Wake’s 12 points.

Swank is almost automatic, so much so that Coach Jim Grobe said he sometimes takes his superb kicker for granted.

“It’s a shock to everybody when he misses,” said Grobe, whose Deacs are the ACC’s only undefeated team.

The coach said that he was only concerned with one of the misses, a chip shot that showed a lack of concentration on Swank’s part. Another 48-yard attempt was struck well and just missed. Yet another, well, Grobe took the blame for.

“The first one was my fault,” Grobe said. “Florida State took a time out, then there was a TV time out. We had the field goal team standing out there a long time. I probably should have him come over and kick some into the net, but I’m not smart enough to do that.”

Grobe said kickers are like everyone else on the team and at some point they’re going to have a tough game.

“We’re not going to throw him away because he misses from time to time,” Grobe said.

ACC in NFL

The ACC is well represented in the NFL.

Virginia’s numbers are somewhat misrepresented because the graphic details players that were on opening-day rosters. Since that time, the Cavaliers now have 25 players on NFL rosters, which would tie UVa for the third-most in the league along with Virginia Tech, which is 14th nationally.

Short yardage ...

Wake Forest’s seniors will likely become the winningest class in school history, already compiling a record of 27-14 (the Deacs’ school high is 28-21 by last year’s senior class). ... Wake has won 23 of its last 30 games going back to the ‘06 season opener. ... Florida State coach Bobby Bowden was quick to point out that Wake is an experienced bunch. Said Bowden: “They have eight, fifth-year seniors. They’ve been pretty good the last couple of years, so imagine them coming back for a third year as starters.”. ... N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien will be starting his third quarterback of the season on Saturday when Harrison Beck takes over. ... If C.J. Spiller gains 88 yards rushing this weekend against Maryland, it will mean that Clemson has a 2,000-yard career rusher (Spiller), a 3,000-yard rusher (James Davis), and a 2,000-yard receiver (Aaron Kelly) on the same offense.

The picks

Last week: 4-4. To date: 27-9. This week: Boston College 33, Rhode Island 17; Clemson 24, Maryland 20; Florida State 23, Colorado 17; Miami 30, North Carolina 13; South Florida 31, N.C. State 23; Wake Forest 40, Navy 24; Nebraska 21, Virginia Tech 19; Virginia 20, Duke 19.

 

Duke's Riley likes to play it mellow
Luciana Chavez, Staff Writer
Comment on this story

DURHAM - Eron Riley doesn't sweat.
Even after the longest practices, on the swampiest summer days, Duke's best wide receiver, at most, merely glistens.

Once tabbed by Duke teammate Raphael Chestnut as the Blue Devil most likely to fall asleep during a meeting, the senior wideout is too mellow and happy to waste the energy.

"I just go out and play every week," Riley said.

You would think Riley and the Devils would be sweating buckets thinking about what Saturday's ACC Coastal Division opener -- against Virginia at home at noon -- represents.

For the first time in Riley's four years, Duke has a winning record (2-1) heading into a key game. A win would push Duke two steps forward after so many years of taking steps back.

If Riley can snatch balls out of the sky for touchdowns, like he has 19 times at Duke and five times this season, Duke has a shot.

"Clearly, I don't need to make any statements because Riley has done that himself with his play," Virginia coach Al Groh said about Riley, who is bound to cause headaches for the Cavaliers' defense, ranked 12th in the ACC.

"During his time [in the ACC], it's hard to think of any other or very many other receivers whose career yards-per-catch average is over 20," Groh said.

Even with that pressure, Riley doesn't fret about waiting to receive his due in the ACC nor worry about when this Duke program will permanently turn that corner leading to respectability.

"I figure us winning games," Riley said, "all that will come in due time, but it doesn't bother me."

A late bloomer

Riley didn't play tackle football until high school.

He didn't like it.

The first time someone hit him during that first practice at Windsor Forest High in Savannah, Ga., Riley nearly quit.

"I dropped a pass and took a blind shot from one of the seniors and I wanted to cry it hurt so bad," Riley said. "I was trying to be tough about it. It hurt so bad. ... I was like, 'I don't know if I want to do this.' "

Allen Cartwright, who coached Riley at Windsor, remembers him as a long, gangly kid who didn't know much about football.

"We didn't look at Eron and say he's the next whatever," said Cartwright, who coaches at Claxton (Ga.) High. "He didn't appear to be faster than anyone. Honestly, we didn't see it in him."

Riley laughs telling how he tried to talk to the Windsor coaches that first day about playing quarterback and was told, "Yeah, kid, get in the back of the line."

They meant the receiving line.

Once Cartwright and his staff decided to use a spread offense and throw the ball during Riley's second year, his talent was clear.

By the time he was a senior, Windsor's best play was to throw high and deep along the sideline, accuracy be damned, and let Riley either grab the ball and score or knock it out of harm's way.

Picking up mom's vibe

Riley's family -- Eron's sisters Ericka, Erin and Erianna, and brothers Eric Jr. and Eross -- agree Eron gets his "never sweat" vibe from their mother, Phyllis.

Phyllis Riley said that doesn't mean her son isn't passionate.

"As a baby, he had a temper," she said. "He would just stand up in his crib hollering, with a mean look and his face all red, and then fall out on the floor."

Before he played football, Riley and his brothers learned to love it while visiting with Katherine James, their grandmother and a devoted football fan.

James passed away when Riley was a high school junior, the same year colleges came calling after her grandson.

Riley didn't like the recruiting process. He quickly lost his taste for the hoopla but made official visits to Duke, Maryland and Vanderbilt as a senior.

Riley admits, as his final year wore on, coaches would call and ask to visit and he'd say, "No."

Riley liked Duke. His parents liked Duke more. It was easy just to tell Duke yes and others no.

"I felt in the back of my mind I wanted him to go to Duke because it was a good school; I wasn't as excited about the sports," said Riley's father, Eric Sr., who owns an auto repair shop in Savannah. "Just to go to Duke; no one in our family has been to a school like that, so it was a blessing to me."

Instant impact

Riley couldn't lay back at Duke.

Zack Asack said Riley needed only one play, during the first 7-on-7 passing drill session the summer of 2005, to show he was special.

"We put all the freshmen out there, and Eron was lined up against a senior defensive back," said Asack, Duke's backup quarterback. "Mike Schneider threw a fade route, and Eron jumped over this senior to get it and everyone was like, 'Oh, my god!' "

Riley still excels at winning aerial battles.

"Every once in a while the secondary does a pretty good job," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "But with Eron, I think [Duke quarterback] Thad Lewis feels comfortable putting the ball in his general direction, that good things are going to happen."

Riley likes Terrell Owens, Dallas's mercurial receiver.

"He's got a lot of mouth and all, but he's a big-play guy," Riley said.

Riley, with speed, 38-inch vertical and big hands, has become that threat in the ACC while scoring on plays of 76, 68, 64, 66 and 49 yards, to name a few, at Duke.

"You gotta have a little pride and a little swagger about yourself," Riley said. "You can't be down in the dumps. You're going to drop a few passes here and there, but you have to feel you can't be stopped."

Riley caught nine touchdown passes in 2007, five during ACC play, but he feels he could have helped more in the win column -- Duke went 1-11 -- with more.

It's difficult. ACC teams began targeting him in 2007.

"He gets doubled a lot, so we have to pick and choose our spots with him," coach David Cutcliffe said.

Riley has improved in 2008. Stronger and leaner, he now does a better job clearing out of press coverage and runs crisper routes than he did in 2007.

Riley also wants to run routes across the middle, where some fear to tread. It's not for everyone but Riley did against Navy, scoring on a 49-yard play.

"If that's where the ball is at ...," Riley said, shrugging.

Lewis, with whom Riley has 17 touchdowns, still warned, "Don't get it twisted now. He can still stretch the field."

Riley won't let the big-play receiver spotlight change him.

"You can tell with all the stuff going on with him right now with football he's doing great job," said running back Clifford Harris, who rooms with Riley. "He has a lot of attention on him but he doesn't throw him out of focusing on what's going on. He's really focused on the team."

Riley is still laid-back, still upbeat, still the guy folks back in Savannah call "Smiley Riley."

"I'm not going to be the one slapping helmets because, to me, that hurts," Riley said. "I'll be rooting on my teammates like I do, trying to bring them up. But I'm not going to be the one yelling and cussing and fussing."

Riley is anxious to excel for his family and Duke.

Duke's four-year players, including Riley, are 0-24 in ACC play. Duke has lost 25 straight ACC games. Duke's fifth-year guys are 1-31 in ACC play.

So much is at stake for the program, it does make Riley anxious about not missing his chances.

"I want to feel like I left it all out there," Riley said. "Whatever outcome we get, I have to be satisfied with that. I always feel like the effort is there but the ACC is a whole other level. If we play hard, as long as we win, it'll be fine."

No sweat.

Go online for video highlights of Duke receiver Eron Riley's big scoring catches, with analysis from the quarterbacks on the throwing end, Thaddeus Lewis and Zack Asack.