White: Opener Looms For Football Team
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 08/31/2009
By Jeff White
jwhite@virginia.edu

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Senior linebacker Aaron Clark had barely settled into his chair at the front of the John Paul Jones Arena press room when the first question arrived.
So, who's going to start at quarterback in the season-opener against William and Mary?
"No idea," Clark said with a smile. "If I knew, I couldn't tell you anyway."
The leading candidates, of course, are seniors Vic Hall and Jameel Sewell and junior Marc Verica, who have 32 starts among them at that position as Cavaliers. Hall started UVa's most recent game -- last year's regular-season finale at Virginia Tech -- and no one will be surprised if he takes the first snap Saturday against W&M at Scott Stadium.
But don't expect an announcement from Al Groh before the opener, and Hall said he knows not which way his coach will turn.
"We're taking it one step at a time, one day at a time," Hall said.
Asked when he would pick a starter, Groh said he doesn't "necessarily have any timetable for it. Whenever seems appropriate. Whenever the moment is right. Whenever the scales tip in one direction or the other. We probably don't feel any great urgency to do so because if we only had one of the three participating, we would feel very good whichever one it was. With three of them we feel very comfortable with the flexibility and the versatility that we have."
Hall, a first-team cornerback in the Cavaliers' first 11 games last season, was a surprise starter at QB against Virginia Tech. Hall has said he didn't let even his mother in on the secret that week.
And if he's told early that he's starting against W&M?
"I guess she can find out at the game," Hall said, eliciting laughter from his audience.
He figures to be a busy man Saturday night. Hall also will return punts and hold on extra points and field-goal attempts.
* * * * * *
Verica threw twice as many interceptions (16) as touchdown passes (eight) last season, when he started nine games.
In practice thus far, he's cut down on his poor decisions. Still, it's too early to know if Verica's problems have been fixed, "because those mistakes seldom ever showed up last year in practice, either," Groh said.
"We would sometimes throw a lot of passes in a row where the ball never hit the ground. 
But it's the same thing with Jameel and Vic. We haven't seen either one of those players throw a pass in competition for a long time, either. So I'm sure there are a lot of players who are anxious to see how all of these players do when they play, and we are equally anxious to see.
"We realize that maybe we have watched them in practice for now 40 practices. But still, the greatest reading comes in the game. So as important as it is to our team and everything the coaches and players have invested in this, we are all looking forward to seeing what the results bring."
* * * * * *
Poor special-teams plays contributed to UVa's 5-7 record in 2008. That phase of the game is now under the direction of Ron Prince, who spent three seasons as Kansas State's head coach before returning to Virginia as special-teams coordinator.
Prince was offensive line coach and, for three seasons, also offensive coordinator during his first stint on Groh's staff at UVa.
"Coach Prince is one of the most intelligent coaches I've ever been around, and his special-teams game plan and intensity and excitement, it's unmatched," Clark said. "He's a great coach, and we're all excited about using special teams to change the game."
A year ago, Clark was asked, would he have thought Virginia wasn't emphasizing special teams enough?
"I think you always think you're doing enough until something else comes along where you're like, 'Wow, we really stepped it up,' " said Clark, who plays on three special-teams units.
"It's about the same time in practice, but it's a different mindset, so it seems a lot more focused and intense. I'd say the core of our special teams has changed, and it's going to be a different special teams to watch. It's going to be fun."
* * * * * *
UVa hasn't played William and Mary in football since 1995. If the teams had met last year, the Phillips brothers' rivalry would have been one of the more compelling storylines around the game.
The Tribe's starting quarterback was Jake Phillips, and Virginia's No. 1 tight end was his brother, John. Both have exhausted their college eligibility, but each has a rooting interest this weekend.
"I imagine that household is going to be a fun one Saturday," Clark said.
* * * * * *
With Hall now on offense, Virginia's top returning tackler is senior linebacker Denzel Burrell, who made 48 stops last season.
Burrell said he hasn't been an especially vocal player and so didn't expect to be named a team captain. But the players selected Burrell, Hall, Clark, cornerback Chris Cook, defensive end Nate Collins and offensive tackle Will Barker as captains.
"I remember the night it happened, the first night of training camp, just tons of emotion went through my body," Burrell said. "To be chosen as one of those guys, to really be the true leaders of the team, words can't really explain how I felt after the guys saw me as one of those leaders. Now, in my mind, I really have to fulfill this role."
* * * * * *
The Cavaliers had a special guest at practice Sunday: Romeo Crennel.
Crennel, a Lynchburg native who still has relatives in Madison Heights, dropped in to see his longtime friend Groh, who called him "the best defensive line coach we've ever been around."
Groh and Crennel coached together on three NFL teams -- the Giants, the Patriots and the Jets.
Crennel spent four seasons as the Cleveland Browns' head coach before being dismissed in January. His assistants in Cleveland included Bob Trott, who's in his first year as UVa's linebackers coach.
After practice ended Sunday, Crennel spoke to the players for about 10 minutes.
"His insights were helpful," Groh said. "It's just fun to have him around."
Crennel has an open invitation to attend UVa practices and games, Groh said, whether "he wants a sideline pass or a seat in the stands. He likes football. He likes being around football guys. He's one of the family."
* * * * * *
William and Mary's longtime coach is Jimmye Laycock, whom UVa assistant Wayne Lineburg knows well.
Lineburg, a Virginia alumnus, was W&M's restricted earnings coach in 1996 and '97 and its running backs coach and recruiting coordinator from 2000 to '03.
Groh said today that to not ask Lineburg for insight into Laycock's system "would probably be negligent in terms of doing due diligence. I think that would be the same in any profession. If any of you were going to write a story about somebody that one of your colleagues had written a story about, you would at the very least read the story and also ask the person what it was like to interview that person."
* * * * * *
A new radio show focusing on UVa sports can be heard each week in the Richmond area, starting Sept. 2. The hosts of Hoos Talking are UVa graduates Jim Hobgood and Frank Maloney, and Sports Radio 910 (WRNL) will carry their show from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Hobgood, as many fans know, is a former UVa basketball player. He was the analyst on radio broadcasts of Virginia games when Mac McDonald was the play-by-play announcer.
Guests on the Sept. 2 show will be former UVa football players Frank Quayle and Ahmad Hawkins. Quayle is the analyst on radio broadcasts of UVa football games.
The show will be streamed live on www.sportsradio910.com and www.thesabre.com.
Questions and comments from listeners are welcome during the show. The phone number is (804) 345-0910. The e-mail address is HoosTalking@sportsradio910.com.

 

Normality returns to Cavs’ routines
By Michael Phillips
Published: September 1, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Contrary to popular belief, training camp isn't 24/7 football.

At U.Va., it's really only about 14 hours a day.

After a month of eating, sleeping and sweating football, Virginia players dispersed last week to resume lives as normal students, getting into the school routine and only practicing occasionally.

"It was a good time for us -- you learn a lot about each other, both on and off the field," linebacker Denzel Burrell said. "Now that we're all separated and people live in different areas, it's a bit harder to unify all the time, but this is the most important time."

Coach Al Groh said that the important thing was for the players to bond during the training-camp time, while they all live together and are free from other distractions because the campus is mostly empty.

Activities start at 7:30 or 8 a.m., and after a day of classes and practicing ends at about 9:30.

The non-field activities were even more important for this year's team, which includes lots of youth, making it hard to just continue any chemistry that existed the year before.

"There's really quite a difference between being a team and just a collection of players in the same-colored jerseys," he said. "Every year, we have to put the team back together again, because the personalities change."

The Cavaliers will find out Saturday how successful they were in creating the right mix of players. The team plays its home opener at 6 p.m. against William and Mary.

Yesterday, the first depth chart was released, showing how the coaches feel about the players through the end of the practice period. There were no real surprises, with the biggest revelation being that quarterback Vic Hall will also return punts.

In truth, it's tough for anybody to know how things will turn out until after a few actual games. Of course, that doesn't stop the players from trying to read into the results during the team scrimmages.

"You practice against yourself for 28 days, so you speculate that, 'Oh, we dominated the offense today,'" linebacker Aaron Clark said. "Then they'll come back and throw long touchdowns, so it's all back and forth when it comes to practicing. You never know what you've got until the first game."

Groh said he feels the team is beginning to develop the bonds it needs to succeed, bonds that he said "go beyond just being connected by winning."

The players agree, but know it won't mean anything until it happens on the field in a game situation. And now that they're freed from training camp, they can relax and look forward to results, not speculation.

"I'm going to be satisfied when we get out there at 6 p.m. Saturday," Burrell said. "All the question marks can finally be answered, and we can just get out there and play."
 

Groh’s opening comments
Michael Phillips
Aug 31, 2009

Here’s the latest at U.Va., and remember to check back often - it’s time for this blog to kick into high gear.

-Groh is sticking with the three-quarterback system, and says he has no concerns about it. “If we only had one of the three participating, we would feel very good whichever one it was. With three of them we feel very comfortable with the flexibility and the versatility we have.“

-Vic Hall will return punts. Kickoffs will be rotated between five players. Groh joked that Hall “would like several other titles, too.“

-He said he will rotate the quarterbacks “like a pitcher in baseball. You use however many you need to use to get the batters out.“

-He’s not concerned about the penchant Marc Verica had for making mistakes last year, but added that last year, he also looked sharp in practice, and that “stage fright” could play a factor there.

U.Va. coach Al Groh is sticking with the three-quarterback system, and says he has no concerns about it. Also, QB Vic Hall will return punts.
 

Full U.Va. depth chart
Michael Phillips
Aug 31, 2009

Here we go….

Offense

WR Jared Green, Kris Burd
LT Landon Bradley, Oday Aboushi
LG Austin Pasztor, Isaac Cain
C Jack Shields, Anthony Mihota
RG B.J. Cabbell, Aaron Van Kuiken
RT Will Barker, Matt Mihalik
TE Joe Torchia, Colter Phillips
QB Vic Hall OR Jameel Sewell OR Marc Verica
TB Mikell Simpson OR Torrey Mack, Keith Payne
FB Rashawn Jackson, Curt Orshoski
WR Matt Snyder, Javaris Brown

Defense:

DE Nate Collins, Zane Parr
NT Nick Jenkins, John-Kevin Dolce
DE Matt Conrath, Will Hill
OLB Aaron Clark, Cam Johnson
ILB Steve Greer, Darnell Carter
ILB Darren Childs, Aaron Taliaferro
OLB Denzel Burrell, Jared Detrick
CB Chris Cool, Chase Minnifield
S Rodney McLeod, Trey Womack
CB Ras-I Dowling, Mike Parker OR Devin Wallace
S Corey Mosley, Brandon Woods

Specialists
PK Robert Randolph, Chris Hinkebein
KO Hinkebein OR Randolph
P Jimmy Howell
H Vic Hall
LS Danny Aiken
KOR Torrey Mack, Chris Cook, Corey Mosley, Tim Smith, Javanti Sparrow
PR Vic Hall

The complete chart, as given out just now by U.Va. media relations
 

Vic Hall: “It’s been a long time coming”
Michael Phillips
Aug 31, 2009

The presumptive U.Va. quarterback says he doesn’t know anything about how he’ll be used on Saturday, so it looks like the week’s top dilemma should have enough legs to get to Saturday unanswered. He is anxious to play, though, saying that he’s been ready since camp got underway.

As far as his role as punt returner, he said he’s been working with that unit since the middle of spring ball, and that after a big return, he will feel a little winded, but he has no problems giving up the reins to one of the other quarterbacks for a couple plays. “Whatever helps the team,“ he said.

Linebackers Aaron Clark and Denzel Burrell also dropped by, they’ll be the outside ends to start the season in the 3-4 defense. Clark said that he played some standing defensive end in high school, so he was ready for the adjustment. Burrell added that William and Mary running back Jonathan Grimes was very “slippery,“ so the unit would have to be careful to perfect its tackling technique. Clark said that the Tribe’s experience should bode well for them in a tough atmosphere.

Bottom line, these guys are tired of talking and ready to go - “We’ve been working for months, we’re excited to put it into action,“ Clark said.
 

12th game brings state schools back to Scott Stadium
Michael Phillips
Aug 31, 2009

One last tidbit from Al Groh to wrap up the blogging day. We’ll be right back at it tomorrow morning, and of course post breaking news whenever it happens.

It’s been 14 years since the last U.Va.-William and Mary matchup. The Cavs lead the all-time series 26-5-1, including the last six. Now that the schedule allows all teams 12 games, expect to see more of these matchups.

“The opening up of the 12th game on an annual basis gave us the opportunity to expand out schedule,“ the coach said. “In doing so, we thought the best thing for all the parties concerned - our fans, the visiting fans, our players - was to schedule those games locally rather than with teams from a distance.“

They did likewise last year, scheduling the University of Richmond. UR lost 16-0 in a fairly close game, ultimately going on to take the FCS title.

We’ll see if William and Mary can hold their own this year. Either way, we’re likely to see much more of this in the future. It’s good for the FCS schools (more money), good for the big schools (who can sell more tickets), and good competition during the season’s opening week.
 

QB Hall to return punts
Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia football player Vic Hall won't be alone this weekend if he starts at quarterback and also serves as the holder for field goals and extra points.

Many quarterbacks do that. On the other hand, it might be difficult to find another Division I-A football team whose starting quarterback also returns punts.

Head coach Al Groh wasn't prepared to divulge UVa's starting quarterback for its opener Saturday against William and Mary, but Hall was the only player listed as a punt returner or holder on the Cavaliers' depth chart.

That begs the question: If there's only one player listed, is it really a depth chart?

Groh insisted that he had furnished names of other prospective punt returners in a meeting with sports information director Jim Daves on Sunday, but "you don't need to know the other names," Groh said Monday. "It's going to be Vic."

Hall has been UVa's main punt returner for the past two seasons but was relieved of those duties for the final game of the 2008 season, which coincided with his move from defensive back to quarterback.

Marques Hagans, an undersized Virginia quarterback to whom Groh frequently compares Hall, was a punt returner while he was a wide receiver early in his career. However, Groh could not remember ever using his No.1 quarterback to return punts.

"Vic is our best punt returner," Groh said. "That's all that's at issue. We have a chance to score on that play and we'll put our guy back there who gives us the best chance to win.

"We want to handle the ball cleanly. To do otherwise, we jeopardize our chance to win. Every time a ball is punted to us, the game is on the line, so we're going to have the best player back there who is available.

"He probably wants a few other jobs, too, if we let him have them."

Hall may not have returned punts in his college quarterback debut at Virginia Tech, but he did play cornerback in some third-down situations and registered the only sack of his college career.

More on the QBs

Groh offered no insight into his choice for UVa's starting quarterback Saturday, but precedent would suggest that he will go with Hall, who took the first snap to start spring practice and again to start preseason camp.

Groh acknowledged recently that it is difficult to hold a quarterback competition in the preseason because the quarterbacks are held out of contact. There is a parallel to 2006, when fifth-year senior Christian Olsen was No. 1 in the spring and all the way through preseason but then was replaced after two regular-season starts.

But there is one big difference in the two situations. None of the 2006 candidates had ever started, but the Cavaliers this year are in a position where Hall's closest challengers, senior Jameel Sewell and junior Marc Verica, each has passed for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

Only two other Division I-A teams, Baylor and SMU, have two quarterbacks who have passed for 2,000 yards in a season. What separates Virginia's situation is that the Cavaliers most likely will not start either of their 2,000-yard passers.

Personnel

The only unsettled starting positions, as designated by "or" on the UVa depth chart, are quarterback and tailback.

Fifth-year Mikell Simpson was an obvious choice at tailback but was seen in an orthopedic "boot" during the preseason, leading to speculation that he had a foot injury.

Groh, saying he is not required to report on injuries until Thursday, has declined to discuss Simpson's availability but 6-foot, 195-pound redshirt freshman Torrey Mack could get the starting nod.

Mack was considered the top recruit in UVa's 2008 signing class. When asked Monday what he likes about Mack, Groh said, "He makes 'em miss."

History

Virginia has not played William and Mary since 1995 and Groh hasn't coached against longtime Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock since his Wake Forest teams entertained William and Mary in back-to-back seasons in 1984-85.

UVa originally was scheduled to play William and Mary in the 2008 opener before that game was postponed one year in order to make room for Southern California.

Richmond was added to the 2008 schedule but Groh faced only one Division I-AA team in his first seven years at UVa, Richmond in 2001.

The NCAA's approval of a 12th regular-season game has enabled Virginia to revive rivalries with some of the state's I-AA programs, Groh said.
 

UVa not ready to choose QB
By Jay Jenkins
Published: September 1, 2009

With classes in full swing, Denzel Burrell has noticed something special in the air around campus.
Virginia’s lone returning starter at linebacker knows that could come from numerous prevalent factors.
“There is a lot of anticipation, a lot of question marks,” Burrell said Monday during a press conference at John Paul Jones Arena. “[The students] are just really antsy to get the season started because they want to know the same thing that everybody else wants to know.”
What are those reservations that Burrell has heard about?
“Who is going to be out there? Who is going to be throwing the passes? Who is going to be running the ball?” he offered. “Right now, there’s really no answers. You just tell them to wait until Saturday, wait till kickoff and see then.”
On Saturday, Virginia opens its football season at Scott Stadium against William & Mary in search of its first season-opening victory since 2005.
Even as the contest creeps closer to reality, the quarterback that trots out for the first play of the game
remains unknown.
Expect it to remain that way until speculation becomes clear during pre-game drills on Saturday, which typically provides an indication of the pecking order at a position.
Linebacker Aaron Clark admitted that he was uncertain how the snaps would be divided or dominated on Saturday.
“No idea,” he said. “If I knew, I couldn’t tell you anyway.”
Vic Hall continues to be considered the frontrunner to start against the Tribe, leading fellow senior Jameel Sewell and junior Scott Deke.
Which quarterback does Hall think will start?
“I can’t say right now to be honest,” he said. “I don’t know. We are just taking it one step at a time, one day at a time.”
Virginia coach Al Groh said that he did not have a timetable for making the decision public within the team.
“Whenever seems appropriate. Whenever the moment is right. Whenever the scales tip in one direction or the other,” he said. “We probably don’t feel any great urgency to do so because if we only had one of the three participating, we would feel very good, whichever one it was.
“With three of them we feel very comfortable with the flexibility and the
versatility that we have.”
It is known that Hall has secured at least one duty for the Cavaliers.
“That’s one thing we know for sure, that we will have Vic (Hall) back there returning,” said Virginia coach Al Groh.
There is a risk having the potential starting quarterback returning punts, but Groh said it was an easy decision and a back-up was not even listed on the depth chart.
“We have a chance to score on that play, and we’ll put our guy back there who gives us the best chance to do that,” he pointed out. “We want to handle the ball cleanly; to do otherwise we jeopardize our chance to win.
“Every time a ball is punted to us, the game is on the line and so we are going to have the best player back there that we have available to us at this time.”
Hall realizes that could leave him winded or banged up at times, but said the other quarterbacks are capable of running a play or a series until he was able to return.
Virginia did rotate quarterbacks (Hall and Verica) in the same series last year at Virginia Tech.
“It is not that big a deal,” Hall said.
Diving into the depth chart
Several interesting discoveries could be made looking at Virginia’s two-deep, a list that coach Groh provided to the team’s media relations staff in the past 48 hours.
Sophomore wide receiver Matt Snyder is listed as a starter opposite Jared Green. The Cavaliers are expected to employ a three-wideout set that would also get sophomore Kris Burd onto the field for meaningful snaps.
Snyder, listed at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds has enjoyed an “excellent” camp, Groh said.
“[Snyder has] progressed thoroughly all the way through,” he added. “Game continues to grow.”
A true freshman, Oday Aboushi, is listed as the top reserve behind left tackle Landon Bradley.
The depth chart also leaves some debate as to who will start at tailback against William & Mary.
Mikell Simpson, a senior, was joined as a potential starter by redshirt freshman Torrey Mack.
While the defensive two-deep appeared as expected, redshirt freshman Devin Wallace made his debut as a back-up cornerback and continues to push reserve Mike Parker in practice.
At placekicker, sophomore Robert Randolph is listed as the top option, but his head-to-head battle with Chris Hinkebein could continue in practice. Groh said the team has worked as much on that facet of the kicking as any in training camp.
Chris Cook and Mack appear to have the edge to return kickoffs. As for Mack, what does Groh like about his skill set?
“He makes them miss,” the coach said. “That’s what he does.”
Extra points …
Virginia is one of three schools in the country that boasts two quarterbacks on its roster (Sewell and Verica) that passed for 2,000 yards in a campaign. The other two are Baylor and SMU. … The Cavaliers have not played William & Mary since 1995. … Virginia assistant Wayne Lineburg worked under William & Mary coach Jimmye Laycock on two occasions. He was there from 1996-97 and from 2000-2003. ... The Cavaliers will release their injury report today. It would be announced at that time if any current players have been lost for the season. The lone player likely to be released was fifth-year senior Matt Kelly, who was hoping to latch on as a special teams phenom after a stellar lacrosse career. He tore his ACL earlier in training camp.
 

Quarterback Hall still to return punts
By Dave Fairbank
247-4637
September 1, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Vic Hall again will pull multiple duties this season for Virginia, but he has the peculiar, and probably unique, job description of quarterback/punt returner.

Most coaches wouldn't think of endangering their quarterback by having him return punts. But Al Groh and Hall himself are fine with it.

"Vic is our best punt returner," Groh said. "That's all that's at issue. We have a chance to score on that play, and we'll put our guy back there who gives us the best chance to do that. We want to handle the ball cleanly. To do otherwise, we jeopardize our chance to win.

"Every time a ball is punted to us, the game is on the line and we are going to have the best player back there that we have available to us at this time."

Hall spent his first 31/2 years primarily as a defensive back, and he returned punts the past two seasons. He averaged 8.5 yards per return for his career, with a long return of 67 yards.

Hall's new dual role sets up the unusual possibility of a big gain on a punt return, and then he remains in the huddle to play quarterback.

"Most definitely, I'm winded," Hall said, "but if I have to, I could go play quarterback. But we have other guys that can play quarterback in that situation."

Indeed, either Jameel Sewell or Marc Verica might get the nod at quarterback in such a circumstance. Hall also will remain the holder on placement kicks.

"He probably wants a few other jobs, too, if we let him have them," Groh said.

Season opener
This time last year, Virginia prepared to open against national power Southern California, while this time it's Football Bowl Subdivision opponent William and Mary.

"There's a lot (more) mystique or a lot of fanfare with a team like USC, than there is with William and Mary," linebacker Aaron Clark said, "but we try to prepare the same way."

Sounds good. Coaches like to hear that. But can players honestly pull off an equal approach and not be more inspired to face a team such as USC?

Clark says it can be done, because the respect is for the game and the opponent, "whether they have a Trojan symbol on their helmet or a Tribe symbol. You can't worry about the grandeur that comes with a lot of teams."

Overlap
Cavs running backs coach Wayne Lineburg did two stints as an assistant at William and Mary, in 1996-97 and again from 2000-03.

Virginia hasn't faced the Tribe since 1995, and Groh hasn't faced W&M and Jimmye Laycock since he was head coach at Wake Forest in 1985. Has Groh mined Lineburg for W&M tendencies?

"Not to do would probably be negligent in terms of doing due diligence," Groh said. "I think that would be the same in any profession."

Kicking
Groh said that he is more confident in his placekickers than a year ago. Last season, kickers Yannick Reyering and Robert Randolph combined to make just 9 of 15 field goals, the longest a 43-yard kick by Reyering in the season's third game, a blowout loss at Connecticut.

Randolph, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound sophomore, and fellow soph Chris Hinkebein are listed 1-2 on the depth chart. Groh said that the field goal unit has done as much live kicking in practice situations as any other unit during preseason.

"We certainly do go into the first game," Groh said, "with a heightened expectation of success than we had a year ago."
 

‘Renaissance man’ Hall looks to do it all for Cavaliers
Senior competes for starting quarterback job with Sewell, Verica; coach Al Groh expects Hall to continue former punt returning role regardless
Andrew Seidman, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor
Published: Tuesday, September 1 2009

Senior Vic Hall, who averaged 6.4 yards per return last season, could be asked to continue his special teams responsibilities while also starting at quarterback. By the time Virginia Tech comes to town, Vic Hall might be lining up for the game winning field goal.

For now, Virginia coach Al Groh is content to name Hall the team’s starting punt returner. Never mind that Hall is also the leading candidate to be the team’s starting quarterback; that starting quarterbacks rarely do anything other than play quarterback; that returning punts often involves head-on collisions with 200-pound giants running full-speed with the sole purpose of laying the returner flat on his back.

Hall may run the first punt back for a 60-yard, dazzling touchdown. Or, he may tear his ACL and never play college football again.

Certainly, Hall already faces the possibility of injury as a running quarterback, but putting him in the position to return punts only exacerbates the problem inherent to his style of play.

But after enduring a disappointing 5-7 season last year, during which Virginia ranked last in the ACC in both scoring offense (16.1 points per game) and total offense (299.8 yards per game), and 10th in punt return average (6.6 yards per game), Groh appears willing to take some risks if it means boosting offensive production.

“Vic’s our best punt returner,” Groh said. “So when it’s time to return punts, that’s all that’s at heart, that’s at issue. We have a chance to score on that play; I want to put our guy back there who gives us our best chance to do that. We want to handle the ball cleanly — to do otherwise, we jeopardize our chance to win.”

Heading into his last season at Virginia, Hall seems determined to be the Cavaliers’ Renaissance man, doing whatever it takes to win.

“I’m just taking it one day at a time, taking every moment in and leaving it all on the field,” Hall said. “‘Cause no matter what happens — if I make it to the next level or not — I can never get college football back.”

Perhaps it is this sense of urgency that has inspired Hall to take on his new roles with such vigor.

“He wants a few other jobs, too,” Groh said, “if we’d let him have them.”

But no matter how badly Hall wants to be Virginia’s superhero this season, he is not immune to the basic human condition of fatigue. Even Hall acknowledges the difficulty associated with returning punts and immediately lining up under center on first down.

“Definitely I’m limited,” Hall said. “If I have to, I could go play quarterback, but we have other guys obviously who could play quarterback in that situation.”

“That situation” will occur every time the opposing team punts.

“That’s one thing we know for sure,” Groh said. “We’ll have Vic back there every time [they punt].”

If this is indeed the case, Groh and offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon may have to give more snaps to junior Marc Verica or senior Jameel Sewell, raising a couple of potential problems. First — featuring multiple quarterbacks in a single series could disrupt any offensive rhythm the team builds. Moreover, the use of Sewell or Verica on first down may actually make the offense more predictable. Any attentive defense should recognize that when the starting quarterback is on the sideline, the offense is more likely to hand the ball off to a running back.

Despite these potential problems, if Hall does become an effective returner, he will have a chance to ignite the offense with big plays — the likes of which Virginia saw few and far between last year.

“It’s a position that I’ve learned,” Hall said. “And once you learn something, you have fun doing it, ‘cause it’s catch and run.”

That could be the mantra of the 2009 Virginia football team: Run, Hall, run.
 

The non-prophet returns
Dan Stalcup
Published: Tuesday, September 1 2009

Senior quarterback Jameel Sewell returns to Virginia’s roster after sitting out last year because of academic ineligibility. The Cavaliers went 9-4 during his last season.
For those of you who don’t read my awesome sports column every week — that is, for everyone except my dad and my editor — let me share the back story. At the beginning of last year, I made a set of bold football predictions and dubbed myself the “non-prophet” because it seemed like a funny play on words at the time.

People called me crazy for making some of the predictions I made — North Carolina winning the ACC? Terrell Owens being selected as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player?

A few months later, I revisited my predictions to see just how many I got right. I think it totaled zero correct guesses. Nevertheless, I cheated and spun every prediction and result to make myself seem truly Delphian. I also expressed my love for Tony Romo.

A year later, football season again cometh. The time is nigh for the non-prophet to once again make a fool of himself.

Before I get started, I’ll remind you that I’m intentionally going for high-risk picks. In Commerce terms, the potential yield is “Dan looks like a genius” and the potential loss is “Dan still looks like an idiot.”

Now, on with the prophecies.

Prediction 1: Jameel Sewell will be an All-ACC honorable mention.

So, the Virginia senior quarterback who most expect to start the season as a backup will end up one of the best players in the conference?
Yep! First, I think Vic Hall, the probable starter, will be benched by the fourth week. He hasn’t played quarterback regularly in four years! Hall was great in high school, but the NCAA is a faster, tougher game.

Sewell, on the other hand, is seasoned and has ice in his veins. Anyone who watched the 2007 season can attest to this. He hasn’t played in a year but he’ll return quickly in tip-top shape. As far as I can see, he’s the team’s only hope for a winning season.

Also, Sewell is a great story. He drops out of Virginia because of bad grades. Then he studies his rear off, starts tutoring kids and claws his way back into Virginia for one more year of glory. He’s also a stand-up, nice guy, so I’m rooting for him.

Prediction 2: The Washington Redskins will win the Super Bowl.

There’s no way I’m serious. I’m just a Skins fanboy, right?

Yeah, you got me. I don’t really think this team can win big. The Redskins can’t even scrape their way into the playoffs, even though their schedule is easy and every part of their roster is better than it was during their run to the playoffs in 2007.

But even if the Redskins somehow slink their way into the playoffs, there’s no way they could make a dash for the Lombardi Trophy. Defense-first teams with hugely talented defensive lines never perform well in the playoffs.

The only exceptions to that pattern are the Steelers in 2008 and 2006, the Giants in 2007, the Buccaneers in 2002 and the Ravens in 2001. In general, though, teams that play good defense never compete for a title. Right?

Prediction 3: N.C. State will win the ACC this year.

Smart money is on the Hokies, with Georgia Tech and Florida State as the common fallback picks. My pet pick from last year, North Carolina, is even in the mix as far as most people are concerned.

Don’t count out the Wolfpack, though. N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien is now in his third year with the team and thus is working mostly with his own players. Remember, O’Brien is the guy who brought the once-woeful Boston College to a No. 1 national ranking for a week in 2005.

The Wolfpack also has one of the most promising and best returning quarterbacks in the league with sophomore Russell Wilson. Combine that with a mostly-intact O-line and seven returning starters on each side of the ball, and you have a team that could squeak out a berth in the ACC championship game.

Prediction 4: Al Groh will be fired within one month of the final snap of the football season.

This prediction might be too likely to be included with the rest of these. Groh’s not on thin ice; he’s already treading icy waters, counting the days until he gets his pink slip and can move on to bigger and better things.

An unlikely bowl game would complicate the issue, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Groh’s a goner.

Prediction 5: Chad Ocho Cinco will lead the league in receiving touchdowns?

I thoroughly believe everyone’s favorite wide receiver from Cincinnati, who hilariously changed his last name to a non-existent Spanish number last year — “ochenta y cinco” would be the accurate translation into 85 — will find the Midas touch now that his new name is on his jersey.

The runnerup will be Randy Moss, but there’s nothing bold in that. Why fantasy football experts believe Larry Fitzgerald will put up bigger numbers than Moss with a healthy Tom Brady is beyond me.

Prediction 5: I will make and lose a bet against the Dallas Cowboys.

Last year, I made this same prediction, and it was the only one I got spot on. See, I hate the Cowboys and often put things more valuable than money — pride, dignity — on the line against them. And it seems the Redskins, who I always foolishly bet on, find a way to lose at least one game each year against the Cowboys, so I have a good feeling it will happen again.

So, just for future reference, even if I am obligated to state otherwise because of an unfortunate Redskins-Cowboys result: Tony Romo is not my homeboy.
 

Transcript from Al Groh's Weekly Press Conference
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 08/31/2009

Virginia opens the 2009 football season at 6 p.m. Saturday against William and Mary. The game will not be televised but will be available online at ESPN360.com. UVa and William & Mary are meeting for the first time since 1995, a 40-16 UVa win. The Cavaliers hold a 26-5-1 edge in the all-time series, including a 20-3 advantage in Charlottesville.

Virginia head coach Al Groh held his first weekly press conference for the 2009 season on Monday morning. Here is the transcript:

Q. You've been doing this 40 years, is it still that same level of excitement? Are you glad to finally get to game week?
COACH GROH: It's really the same every year, but if I was more excited 40 years ago than I am this week, then it must have been an awesome week. So we are very excited about the season and the challenges and the opportunities to achieve, and we certainly really well, we're in it now. This is a week we can get started early.
So being involved in the research and the planning and then teaching the plan and correcting it, that's the most fun part of the whole deal. So I think coaches, players, everybody is glad to be in there.
Q. You just touched on it a little bit but do you notice the players with training camp and preseason practice, they are champing at the bit?
COACH GROH: Very much, just the challenge of dealing it's not so much just the hitting other people. It's the challenge of preparing ourselves to go against other systems than what we have. And that's really a big part of it is how you match your system on the other team's system, how the individual player matches his skills on the player he's going to play against. That's what competition is and just figuring out a way to be successful collectively with that.
And that's the exciting thing about the season, and for everything we deal with this week and then it starts all over again next Sunday with a new set of matchups, whether it's scheme matchups or personal match ups.
Q. What's your background with Jimmye Laycock?
COACH GROH: Similar generation, for one thing. Don't always get a chance to say that here. Actually the last time we played one of Jimmye's teams is back in the 80s when we were at Wake Forest, so it's a tribute to his longevity there. You don't stay one place as long and as successfully as Jimmye has without being an outstanding coach and his record is clearly a testament to that fact.
Q. In (assistant coach) Wayne (Lineburg), you have a when you have a situation, does a guy like Wayne, do you lean on him more for preparation and talk to him about tendencies and so forth?
COACH GROH: To certainly not do so would probably be negligent in terms of doing due diligence. I think that would be the same in any profession. If any of you were going to write a story about somebody that one of your colleagues had already written a story about him, you would at the very least read the story and also ask the person what it was like to interview that person. We simply do likewise in this profession.
Q. Is there a point in preseason where you assess what the team is capable of?
COACH GROH: Somewhere in the two to four game range, once the season starts, is usually when a coaching staff gets a real handle on who that particular team is.
You have a sense of that going into the season, but clearly, it takes competition, playing against other teams, but also teams are trying to exploit what they know about your system. You are trying to do some things that you think you can do. You find out whether or not the players involved can actually do them, so you're exactly right. It is a little bit of a process and it takes a while to find out the identity of any particular team.
Q. When we spoke to Gregg Brandon, he indicated that you would make the decision on quarterback. He hoped that it was the same choice that he would make. When do you hope when do you plan to decide?
COACH GROH: Don't necessarily have any timetable for it. Whenever seems appropriate. Whenever the moment is right. Whenever the scales tip in one direction or the other.
Probably don't feel any great urgency to do so because if we only had one of the three participating, we would feel very good whichever one it was. With three of them we feel very comfortable with the flexibility and the versatility that we have.
Q. Do the players say anything to you about the quarterback battle? Do you listen to them or seek them out, or does it work out and you just know and you know eventually?
COACH GROH: In certain circumstances it can serve a team well to get the insight of the players. Sometimes you just get that without asking. You get it through their response. You get it through their body language.
The strong impression that the staff has is that the players are very comfortable with all three individuals at that position.
Q. About this team, what do you see that really excites you as a coach about this team? Is it the speed and versatility, depth? What kind of things really make you look forward to coaching this team this season?
COACH GROH: Really starting at the most important levels, the players have shown from the very start; that is, when we opened the gates on this raceway back during the winter, to really bond together with a strong sense of purpose, as a team and in doing so, have created the type of connections that's needed that go beyond just being connected by winning. When players become connected by more than just winning, then you have a really united, solid team. That's when they become connected by caring about each other and taking care of each other. We've really seen that grow here. That's an important thing to do during training camp because it's the one team of the year where literally we live together, we eat together, we meet together and we don't really deal with too many people other than ourselves.
Now after last Monday I guess it was, all of a sudden we become separated and you have players going different directions, living different places and taking different classes and stuff. One of the things that's been very important for us to continue the process of is making those connections even though we tend to go off in different directions for more time in the day. And I think they have been very cognizant of doing that and we have certainly seen more progress in that direction during the course of the year.
We have gone through some things that have tested us, not the way the season does, but as much as we can put in front of the team has tested our collective mind strength and resolve and energy in those areas and have responded nicely to those circumstances.
And just as you have to get physically in shape for the rigors of the season, those things that come up, so, too, does a team have to get mentally in shape for the challenges and we have got checks to come up during the course of the season. With our schemes, we have a roster that at least from the top of the roster whereas you cited, Jerry, we do have the opportunity to play with some versatility in our style and our scheme, in all three phases of the team.
And I guess another positive thing is that as we had hoped the second half would be inaudible will be the ability of some of these rookie players to contribute to the games early in the season.
Q. Inaudible. Have you seen positively in special teams do you have any more confidence in that phase of the team?
COACH GROH: We do. By the same token, Jay, in every area, coaching, playing, offense, defense, special teams, we haven't done anything yet, okay. It's all nice talk.
And have we done from our perspective the proper things to this point to position ourselves where maybe we can do something? We do feel confirmed about that. We had a good off season program. We have had a good camp. We have had good performances. We have had the players really clued in hard in these first three days of preparation. All of the right things are being done, but that hasn't won any games yet.
So your jury, our jury, everybody's jury is still out on those things until the results actually come in.
Q. You used to say when Mike (Groh), was our offensive coordinator that he didn't necessarily think like you but he knew how you thought, I wonder what kind of relationship you've developed with Gregg (Brandon) and how much autonomy you'll give him to run the offense as he sees fit.
COACH GROH: It's our belief that the head coach is responsible for what happens to the football. Now, in some case, head coaches take care of that because they call all of the plays themselves. In some cases, the head coach simply monitors the plays and if something comes in that he doesn't like, vetoes that and says, pick something else. Sometimes a coach doesn't call the plays but makes some suggestions. Sometimes a coach just stands there with his arms folded and watches the game like everybody else in the stadium. But no matter how it goes, until the end result, the head coach is responsible for what happens to the ball. So from our perspective then, that defines how far autonomy goes.
Q. Having not seen William & Mary, what do they look like on film from last year and how much of that carries over to this year?
COACH GROH: Well, we've had a complete (film) exchange with William & Mary, so they have seen as much of us as we have of them. It's one of the highest scoring teams last year that they had in Coach Laycock's 30 year tenure.
One of the more eye catching things, and while their team, because of his expertise on offense has always been known as a very, very good offensive team, this is by their release last year, this is one of the they explain it as one of the better defensive teams that they have had. So we can only take by comparison the games against NC State and Richmond, which bookended their season, clearly evident we have a very high regard for the Richmond team; that game went into overtime. And we know the competition of NC State, and that was a very challenging game for NC State. So gives us a pretty good perspective at this point of the matchup.
Q. It seems earlier in your tenure you did not play many in-state teams, and I was impressed it had been so long since you last played William & Mary. What went into the decision to start playing so many of these teams again?
COACH GROH: The 12th game, when the NCAA made the 12th game a part of every season; whereas before it was based on some type of calendar formula, how many solar eclipses there were in a particular year or whatever. Just I couldn't figure it out. I would wait until the administration said you had 11 games or 12 games to play. But the opening up of the 12th game on an annual basis gave us the opportunity to expand our schedule and in doing so, then we thought that the best thing for all parties concerned, our fans, the visiting fans, our players, was to schedule those games locally rather than with teams from a distance.
Q. Is there anything you like to promote for player bonding?
COACH GROH: There's a lot of things we like to do with that. One is it does have to be promoted it doesn't just occur naturally. That's a long process. There's a lot of different things involved in that. But amongst the things that we see within ourselves is that clearly every team that runs through the tunnel in every stadium that has the same color jerseys on and same helmets on, people in the stands identify as being a team; that there's really quite a difference being a team and just a collection of players in the same colored jersey. And that's the challenge every year and that's when we say that every year, we have to put the team back together again, because the personalities change. Players leave your team, they graduate, they go on. Players come on to your team, players assume different roles, and so those connections and those bonds and those things that really create a team, it's a very good statement, I'll have to I don't have it verbatim, but I have said it enough times, but a very good statement about a player by a player, Rich Schubert, who was an offensive guard on the Giants team that won the Super Bowl, and he's saying that in his experience, and he'd been in the league for a while, that is it possible for a team to achieve the high level without having those really strong type of connections, and then part of his statement, he went on to say, it's not necessary that every player necessarily that every player like every player in the locker room, but that you don't hold any grudges, you put aside your differences and for those players that you really love, that you play your heart out. That's what creates a team.
When players at the highest level recognize it's not just about collecting talent and that's clearly where the mark has been missed, you see certain circumstances in the NFL, people who have owned team who maybe were not career football people, thought that they could have best record by buying all the best players. But those players just all wore the same jersey. They never became one team.
Q. You said in the past that you were excited to get Torrey Mack out on the field, can you just talk about what he does that Cavalier fans can look forward to with this player?
COACH GROH: He makes them miss. That's what he does.
Q. I'm sure it's not in your best interests to tell William and Mary how you're going to use the fullback, but you've got a fullback listed on the depth chart; does this offense have are there occasions where you'll have two running backs?
COACH GROH: There's a lot of occasions. A lot of occasions. His mother (Rashawn Jackson) asked us to make sure we listed a fullback because he's a fifth year player. Yeah, there's a lot of occasions.
Q. You mentioned on a teleconference recently that a lot of these first year guys might play, do you feel there are some guys that will play later in the season but perhaps not Saturday, or are there ones that will play now?
COACH GROH: It's in both categories. There are those players that we think will have a chance to be pretty good contributors on Saturday. There are those players, and they are maybe not quite at that level yet but we see them fairly soon doing that and part of the development process is just to get in the games.
There are some other players that we think that we can see that if their development continues, that at a certain point later in the year may potentially move into that circumstance.
So those players continue to get quite a bit of attention, whether it's in meetings, individual sessions with the coaches, to make sure that while they are not in the game mix right now, they are progressing mentally with the systems and applying that in practice so that either they can if no circumstances come up that they need to be used as a replacement, when they are ready to contribute, we just have more contributing players on the roster, or as often is the case, we lose players during the course of the year, and that's where the development of those players is so important that if they are ready to step in, then the loss of any particular player at a certain point is less painful or really one of the better examples of that was in just our second year here with Brad Butler who did not play in probably the first seven or eight games and started the last three, which included the Bowl game in Charlotte, and he just kept coming on and kept coming on and kept coming on. And actually there was a circumstance where we had to move one player to fill in a vacant spot and we were able to put Brad in there and put him in another spot.
So a series of events came up that made his participation necessary and valuable for us and had we backed off just thoroughly in the year saying, no, he's not in the mix right now, his development probably wouldn't have put him in that position at that time.
Q. Do you like having a situation where you have played two quarterbacks or two quarterbacks will contribute, or would you prefer the continuity of just one person, one quarterback, that separated it?
COACH GROH: I will say that the only way that we would platoon either Tom Brady or Peyton Manning is if they were both on the same team. If we had each one of those players clearly we would be aiming for them to play the whole game, because they stand out so superior to the other players in the world at that position.
But what we do have, a fairly equal set of skills and ability, the important thing as we saw as we've seen every year here, and we are like every other team on every level of football, that the play at that position is so integral to the final result, we said this two or three weeks ago when we had the press conference here and I've said it on a number of occasions; that these are not the only three things that a team needs to be successful, but they are three of the things that every team that is successful has in common: Good quarterback play, good kicker, good defense. If all three of those things are present on a team, that team is going to have a very positive season. If one of the three is missing, it's going to be more challenging and probably the result won't be as high as what the expertise of the other two indicated. There's a reason why quarterback is on the top of that pyramid, because of the control that is has over the course of the game.
So we will do whatever it takes to get that level of performance in any particular game, play one, play two, play three, play one every other play, just whatever it takes at that position to play well enough, okay.
Take the same attitude kind of like a pitcher in baseball. However many pitchers we have got to use to keep the other team's runs down so we can win the game, that's however many we are going to use. If the starter can go all the way and win, then he's going to do that. Now if he needs a little relief, then we are going to do that, too.
Q. First game of the season, you don't have games to turn back to study an opponent, at least for the last couple of weeks, but when you go against a guy like RJ Archer, not necessarily a quarterback, how far does it detract from preparing for somebody like that to get a feel for what you have to do?
COACH GROH: Well, it's certainly not the same as if he had two seasons or three seasons as a starter. But being a local player, we know a lot more about him than if he was from Detroit, just athletically. He did start one game last year, and played a good amount of time in some other games.
We have had a chance to watch some of the games that he played in previous years as a wide receiver, and we also respect the fact that we have a pretty good quarterback here in 2005 and 2006 that played wide receiver the previous two seasons. So we have had a precedent as to what a player as I recall, Marques (Hagans) first game as a quarterback after two years as a wide receiver, I think we won 51 7 or something like that.
So we have a very high appreciation of how a guy can step in and do very well, especially when he's a veteran player.
Q. I see that at left tackle, (Oday) Aboushi, he's 17. Does he have a role of special teams at all, or is he a true freshman on special teams?
COACH GROH: He is a backup. He is not at a primary position.
Q. You won't know until you play an actual game, but what does Marc (Verica) do? Do you feel better about Marc's ability to avoid some of the mistakes that were issues last season?
COACH GROH: Yes, but I'll put the but on it, because those mistakes seldom ever showed up last year in practice, either. We would sometimes throw a lot of passes in a row where the ball never hit the ground.
But it's the same thing with Jameel (Sewell) and Vic (Hall), haven't seen either one of those players throw a pass in competition for a long time, either. So I'm sure there are a lot of players who are anxious to see how all of these players do when they play, and we are equally anxious to see. We realize that maybe we have watched them in practice for now 40 practices. But still, the greatest reading comes on in the game. So as important as it is to our team and everything the coaches and players have invested in this, we are all looking forward to seeing what the results bring. It will probably take us a few games to either confirm what we see initially or maybe change what we see initially.
Q. Do you know who will be out there starting?
COACH GROH: No, not necessarily.
Q. And back on Media Day, you were saying that coaches evaluate the quarterbacks and they are progressing; how have they progressed and what percentage will you be operating at as of week one?
COACH GROH: Where is Karnack when I need him? If I knew what level of efficiency that we would operate on here right now, probably go to the movies this afternoon. I mean, I don't know. I don't know. We are just coaching. We just try to do everything we can to get the players prepared, and do the best that we can in that area and go to the game and see how it goes and adjust as we go along.
We don't know.
Q. William & Mary has a handful of local kids on the team, any of those kids that you had looked at?
COACH GROH: We are familiar with a lot of their players. One of the things that we try to make we make sure that every coach in whatever geographical area that he's responsible for knows about every player in his area.
So any of these players that are from the State of Virginia or any of the other areas that we recruit to varying degrees, most of them we have some awareness of.
Q. You have not said a whole lot about RJ Archer, but is your memory good enough to remember what he looked like?
COACH GROH: I couldn't find my car keys this morning. (Laughter).
But we do have 37 passes that he threw against Villanova, so that helped me compensate for that lapse in memory.
Q. If you could get one quarterback ready or all three quarterbacks ready, how challenging was it during camp to get all three guys ready as if they were going to be the starting guy?
COACH GROH: Well, it certainly does provide a challenge for you. The other side of the coin is that try to see it the other way, if one player is so superior that he gets all of the snaps, that's a great thing. Would we like to have Manning or Brady or one of those guys in that job? Sure.
By the same token that means when the circumstance comes up, as we experienced once before, okay, we will get ready to play. Whatever season that was, Matt (Schaub) gets hurt on the ninth play or sixth play of the game we don't have him in the next game. He was the ACC Player the Year before, we don't need to get anybody else ready. Matt gets hurt in the next game and we don't have anybody who is competently ready to game because Matt was ready for a superior season and was ready for that level of competition but he got all of the snaps and was to his advantage. It just wasn't to the advantage of how we went into the second game.
Now we have these snaps being shared. Surely it would be better if one of the players for him had got one of those snaps and it went to somebody else but maybe as the season goes on it wouldn't be as good for the team overall. Those are all what ifs and we'll just have to see how the reality plays out.
Q. Can you just talk from a leadership standpoint, Vic (Hall) well respected by the team, Jameel (Sewell) well respected by the team and Marc (Verica) started several games last season, whichever one you choose, probably an interesting dynamic there just in terms of having all of that leadership.
COACH GROH: You're correct, and that's why I answered the question earlier in the session about in this particular case, the players are very comfortable, whether they are offensive players, defensive players. Players are comfortable with all three players at quarterback.
Q. You don't have a lot of proven wide receivers, but you've got a lot of wide receivers going into camp. Matt Snyder was a nice story, looks like he's probably going to start this week; what kind of camp has he had?
COACH GROH: Excellent. Progressed thoroughly all the way through. Game continues to grow. Will be, we anticipate, one of our leading special teams players in a way that players like Matt, Patch Duda, some of those kids have bought into their role on special teams, has really filtered through the entire team. And there's a lot of players that perk up and are really interested in watching those players in special teams because they are going to do some outstanding things.
Q. Have you thought about your role during the game (as the defensive coordinator)?
COACH GROH: We have operated the same way here for last three years, so that's one part of things I don't have to redefine. It will be exactly the same for me as it has been ever since that game. Just means I keep flicking that button on that headset a lot to go back and forth.
Q. As somebody experienced in pro style offenses for quite a long time, how comfortable are you with the spread and what kind of things does it do that maybe are new, novel, just a different way of approaching things?
COACH GROH: What we have always been interested in, one, offensively, is making the ball move. Whatever system best fit the players that we had, that's what we have always been interested in. So we are really not a run oriented operation. We are not a pass oriented operation. We haven't thought of being the pro style or open offense. We just want to move the ball the best way we can with the players that we have. So when the ball moves, we are comfortable. And when it doesn't, we are less comfortable.
So we are very comfortable with what we are doing. And we chose it. It's like, do I like this suit? Sure, because I bought it.
Q. Your wife probably bought it.
COACH GROH: No, I picked this one out. And it's the same thing with the offense; I bought it. I picked it out. But I'm very comfortable with it.
Q. She picked that today.
COACH GROH: No, she's out of town. Probably matches, too, doesn't it. (Laughter) And the color of blue is basically the same blue as the tie. Doesn't mean I know how to call plays but I could pick my tie out. (Laughter).
Q. Going over to the defensive side of the ball, a lot of people have been wondering about the new linebackers, what are the things you like out of those guys and how comfortable are you going into the season with them?
COACH GROH: The two inside players, Darren Childs and Steven Greer have been a real pleasure to work with. Both have been really purposeful. Darren has been fun to watch. He certainly has probably exceeded his expectations. He's done a really nice job in camp. He's on top of his stuff. His techniques, his diligence, the practices, his attention to detail, his techniques have jumped up immeasurably. In terms of just how he's supposed to hit on the play, he's say very reliable player.
Steven has gone about it and certainly we saw evidence of him being a Jon Copper style type person, as well as player, during the recruiting process, and he certainly took every advantage of being a model in how Jon went about preparing for practice, made the call, all those things.
Again, this is another one of those, nothing has been done yet in the game but all of the things have been done in practice of a very positive nature.
Denzel (Burrell) and Aaron (Clark) have a background in the system. Clearly that Denzel profited from playing in the majority of 12 games last year. And Cameron Johnson has come on well here during the latter part of camp. We can see that this game clearly makes sense to him. And it's just a question of getting him continued exposure in that when he with put him at outside line backer last year, which we knew ever since he committed where he was going to end up but when we officially said here is where you go for drills, that was the first day he was ever an outside line backer. So he really started his college career from scratch. We are really pleased with where that's going.
Q. Not to take anything away from William & Mary, they are not USC, and you opened up against them (USC) last year, a different type of team. What are the advantages and disadvantages of starting the season against William & Mary?
COACH GROH: Well, the disadvantage is we are starting the season against USC, apparent to almost everybody who plays them, ask Ohio State how they felt last year. Outside of that we don't see a disadvantage. We are not looking at it that way. We are just trying to figure out what it takes to play the best we can against the team that we are playing.
Q. Going off of that, maybe a team with the caliber of national notoriety of USC, but do you see the same energy level going into the season opener last year?
COACH GROH: The last three days we have been in our game preparation, we are well pleased with how the players have approached it. We have a lot we want to get done this season and it's going to take a long time to get that done. We have four or five more days to get ready for it, but where we are here on Monday is in a good place. We've still got quite a bit more to do. It's fortunate for us that we don't play at 6 o'clock tomorrow night. But we are in a good place to where we need to be during this week right now.
Q. Following up on the special teams question earlier, you lost a couple kicks in spring game and open practice, has that continued during camp getting a chance to block kicks and can you only use a certain way to block a kick once or can you try things over and over?
COACH GROH: A lot of it has to do with the technique of the individual player, not with the scheme and so it's really built more on that than some magical schemes or Star Wars looking stuff. That's where we are enthused about the progress we are made because of the buy in of some of the players, and the reinforcement that they have gotten from other players who are not necessarily participants on that. For example, offensive and defensive linemen who participate on a lot less than some other players who have the opportunity to have been very encouraging and supportive of their teammates who have the opportunity on one play to make a play that can dramatically impact the outcome of the game. And so there's a good collective realization of that and a good level of support for those players who have those very important roles.
Q. Who will be returning punts?
COACH GROH: That's one thing we know for sure, that we will have Vic (Hall) back there returning.
Q. What are risks involved and what goes into the thinking of using your quarterback as a punt returner? You don't see it very often. Did Marques (Hagans) return punts when he was a quarterback?
COACH GROH: I don't recall that he did. Vic is our best punt returner. That's all that at issue. We have a chance to score on that play, and we'll put our guy back there who gives us the best chance to do that. We want to handle the ball cleanly; to do otherwise we jeopardize our chance to win. Every time a ball is punted to us, the game is on the line and so we are going to have the best player back there that we have available to us at this time.
Q. To clarify that list means kick returners and punt returners?
COACH GROH: I wrote a whole bunch of names down there. They are all in the mix as kickoff run guys. Vic is the punt returner. You don't need to know the other names, it's going to be Vic. (Laughter) he probably wants a few other jobs, too, if we let him have them.
Q. Speaking of kicking, how are your place kickers doing? Have they got to the point to where you're comfortable with them?
COACH GROH: More so, yes. This is a circumstance that we certainly do go into the first game with a heightened expectation of success than we had a year ago. I would love to see exactly what that brings but we have done quite a bit every day of live, competitive kicking.
So as much as any unit that we have offense, defense, goal line offense, goal line defense, dime defense, kickoff return, whatever it might be, those two units have taken more live playing than any other unit, so we have a pretty good feel for it. They just don't get stage fright, which is clearly something that happens to some kickers.
But the only element that will change then will be that there are more people watching. The goal post is the same. The rush is going to be strong. The snapper is the same guy. The holder is the same guy. So all of them have done a nice job during camp.
Q. Just to follow on that, is that similar to the way you would treat a quarterback, like if he doesn't look on the first kick, you go to the next kicker; is it similar?
COACH GROH: No. I think every situation is a unique one in itself.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. That will wrap it up today.

 

Unknown LBs look to create identity
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: September 1, 2009

They’ve been around the block a time or two, but most Wahoo fans might stumble a bit if asked to name Virginia’s starting linebacker corps in Al Groh’s 3-4 defense.
Here’s a hint: three of the starters are seniors, two of them are fifth-year guys.
Are you still without a clue?
OK, it’s understandable. Most of them have labored as understudies to guys like Clint Sintim, Jon Copper and Antonio Appleby for what seems like forever. Those guys were iron men. Never came out of games. Sucked up the injuries, the pain, and kept on playing football.
A new group
Denzel Burrell started 11 games last season, taking over for fellow outside linebacker and best pal, Aaron Clark, when Clark suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third quarter of the Southern California season opener. Clark is back and healthy and the two fifth-years will bookend the defense as outside linebackers.
Darren Childs is the other veteran, a San Diego native who ended up on the Right Coast and started two games (Georgia Tech and Miami) last season when Appleby was injured.
A couple of guys fans might not be that aware of are Steve Greer and Cam Johnson. Greer will lineup beside Childs inside, while Johnson is a pass-rushing specialist on the outside.
Questions abound
While UVa’s secondary might be its best, or at least its most athletic since the days that Ronde Barber and Anthony Poindexter roamed the turf at Scott Stadium, and the defensive line returns experience across the front, the big question mark has been the linebackers.
When Copper, Sintim and Appleby graduated, the Cavaliers lost a combined 123 starts and 30 percent of the tackles made last season.
There’s only 14 starts among the lot of the current crop of linebackers and Burrell, also the team’s leading returning tackler (not counting Vic Hall who moved from corner to quarterback), has 11 of those starts. Childs has two, Clark one.
“I have great respect for the linebackers that came before us,” Clark said. “People have seen the new linebackers here and there over the years, but not as a corps. So, I think the burden is on us to step up and make plays and show that we’re worthy of playing linebacker for Virginia.”
As the defensive coordinator, head coach Al Groh has brought his expertise to coaching that position, but also hired veteran assistant Bob Trott, as linebackers coach. So far, Groh likes what he sees.
“The two inside players, Childs and Greer, have been a real pleasure to work with,” Groh said Monday at his weekly press conference. “Both have been really purposeful.”
In fact, Groh gave us some insight when he pointed out that Childs has exceeded his expectations and has done a nice job in camp.
“His techniques, his diligence, his attention to detail have jumped up immeasurably,” Groh said. “In terms of just how he’s supposed to hit on the play, he’s a very reliable player.”
Greer was a true freshman last season, but showed he was coachable when from the very first day of training camp, Groh told the rookie to copy himself after Copper, to always notice how Copper did things.
Greer stuck to Copper like Krazy Glue. Sat to his side in meetings, worked out with him in the weight room, studied film with him, so much that Copper must have felt he had an extra shadow.
Clark said that fans might also be surprised that Greer is probably the fastest of all the linebackers.
“That kid can scoot,” Clark said.
Groh said that Burrell definitely profited from playing in all 12 games last season, filling in for Clark, who also learned a lot from observing the season from the sideline on crutches, serving as an extra set of eyes for Burrell. Both helped each other out in every phase of football and each learned a lot, although it was by different methods.
Johnson could be a rising star.
“He has come on well here during the latter part of camp,” Groh said of the sophomore from Greenbelt, Md. “We can see that this game clearly makes sense to him. It’s just a matter of getting him continued exposure.”
Burrell, who commented that the chemistry of the linebacking corps has been enhanced by them hanging together off the field, said that Johnson has developed much quicker than he did during his career.
On the field, both Burrell and Clark believe the group understands the strengths of each linebacker and has developed a feel for how each one plays the position. Childs and Greer, although less experienced, have become more vocal in leading the
defense along with UVa’s safeties, even though Clark and Burrell are two of the team captains.
“Again, this is another one of those ‘nothing has been done yet in the game’ deals, but all of the things have been done in practice in a very positive nature,” Groh said.
While each of these linebackers are aware of the skepticism about their abilities and that they’re being described in some circles as being the defense’s weakest link, they have each taken it to heart to change that perception.
“We have motivation in our unit to do as much as we can,” Burrell said. “We are going to try to prove everyone wrong.”
 

Devvarman Victorious in US Open Debut
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 08/31/2009

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. -- Former Cavalier All-American Somdev Devvarman made a triumphant debut at the US Open Monday, defeating Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in a first round match at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The victory came in Devvarman's first grand slam main draw match.
Devvarman, the first Virginia player to play in the US Open since Brian Vahaly in 2003, reached the main draw by winning three qualifying matches last week. Ranked No. 161, he took the first set 6-3 against No. 106 Gil by breaking him twice. In the second set, Devvarman fell behind a break 3-1 before rallying to take it 6-4 for a two-sets-to-none lead. Devavrman fell behind a break in the third set as well, at 3-2, but broke back in the next game and won the final four games of the match to close out the win.
The match was not the first time the two players had met in New York. In 2003, Devvarman and Gil met in the first round of the US Open Junior Championships, with Gil posting a 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 win.
Devvarman will play No. 23 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the second round. Kohlschreiber defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.
Later in the week, current Cavalier Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) will begin play in doubles at the US Open. Shabaz is teamming with world No. 86 Wayne Odesnik at the Open, after the duo received a wild card. They meet rising American stars John Isner and Sam Querrey in the first round.
 

White: Men's Soccer Standout Cleared To Play
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 08/31/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The men's soccer program got some much-needed good news this morning. The NCAA cleared Chris Agorsor to play for the Cavaliers this season.
Agorsor, a second-year forward from Severn, Md., started classes at UVa last week. However, George Gelnovatch has held Agorsor out of practice this summer while waiting for the NCAA to rule on what Virginia's veteran coach called an "agent issue."
"We just wanted to make sure we did everything by the book," Gelnovatch said.
The 5-9, 145-pound Agorsor will practice with the 'Hoos for the first time this afternoon. He won't travel with the team to Oregon later this week, but Argorsor may be ready for the Sept. 11 home opener against Duke at Klockner Stadium, depending "on how far along he is with his fitness and his timing," Gelnovatch said.
The return of Agorsor should provide a boost to a team that went 0-3 in its exhibitions.
"There's two guys that we're missing that are pretty doggone important to our goal production, and that's Chris Agorsor and Brian Ownby," Gelnovatch said.
A sophomore who will play for the United States in the upcoming under-20 World Cup, Ownby was held out of UVa's final exhibition -- a 2-0 loss to West Virginia -- as a precaution Friday night. He's been bothered by a groin injury.
"I just didn't want to take a chance," Gelnovatch said. "If if it was the season, he would have played. He should be 100 percent ready to go, chomping at the bit, for the Portland trip."
Agorsor was the Gatorade national player of the year as a McDonogh High senior. His talent was evident immediately at UVa last year -- he scored four goals in his seven games -- but his season ended prematurely in late September when he tore the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee.
Virginia will play two games in the Nike Portland Invitational. UVa meets Portland on Friday night and then faces Washington on Sunday afternoon.
Gelnovatch is still waiting for the NCAA to rule on the eligibility of one of his most talented newcomers, Ole Hengelbrock, a first-year defender from Germany.
--30--
 

Brian Ownby To Represent U.S. at FIFA Under-20 World Cup
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 08/31/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Men's soccer sophomore Brian Ownby (Glen Allen, Va.) has been named one of 21 players that will represent the United States at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup from Sept. 24-Oct. 16 in Egypt.

The roster features a blend of professional and college players that will depart for Larnaca, Cyprus, on Sept. 14 and play a final tune-up against Australia before traveling to Suez, Egypt, on Sept. 21. The U.S. will open against Germany on Sept. 26 before facing Cameroon on Sept. 29 and rounding out group play against Korea Republic on Oct. 2. All three of the USA's group matches will be played at the brand new Mubarak Stadium in Suez.

Ownby will compete for Virginia prior to his departure. Last season for the Cavaliers, Ownby tallied five goals and four assists en route to ACC All-Freshmen team honors. This past summer, Ownby competed with the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team that played two international games in Argentina.

Every game of the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be shown live on the ESPN family of networks with Galavision also broadcasting all three U.S. group games. The first U.S. game will be shown live on ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com at 9:55 a.m. ET, while Galavision will also broadcast the game at 9:55 a.m. ET/PT. The remaining two group games for Rongen's team will be shown live on ESPN2 and on tape delay on Galavision.

The Cavaliers kick-off the regular season with the Nike Portland Invitational this weekend, facing host Portland Friday night at 10 p.m. ET. On Sunday, Sept. 6, UVa faces Washington at 3 p.m. ET.

2009 U.S. FIFA U-20 World Cup Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.), Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)
FORWARDS (4): Sam Garza (Denver; Highland Village, Texas), Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.)