sabres.gif (4521 bytes)

Side by side: UVa's Brooks, Parham a hit
By Jerry Racliffe  / Daily Progress sports editor
October 7, 2003
 

Their reputations preceded them. They were a big hit in the spring football festival and then again on Meet the Team day in August. Now, it’s the real deal.
Kai Parham and Ahmad Brooks, easily the most heralded linebacker recruits in Virginia football history, are now where everyone expected them to be when they signed with the Cavaliers back in February of 2002: side by side.
For the first time since their much-anticipated arrival, Parham and Brooks played together for the entire game last Saturday in UVa’s rout of rival North Carolina. Brooks has started since the season opener against Duke. Parham has played but got his first start last weekend when senior Rich Bedesem couldn’t go because of an injury.
“They had to run the whole defense, make calls, tell the rest of the team where to go and focus on doing their job,” said UVa coach Al Groh, who knows a little about linebackers. “That was a big step for them and their performance bodes well for our future.”
Quick, sculpted
Brooks has stunned most everyone with his unique speed for a 6-foot-4, 250-pound inside linebacker. While speed is Brooks’ ally, strength is Parham’s. Teammates will tell you that Parham is the hammer at 6-3, 240.
“Yeah, I’m strong ... I’m real strong,” Parham said before practice Monday. No brag, just fact. Parham is about as modest a kid as you’re going to find. He’s also honest.
“I was born like this ... I had abs and stuff when I was a little kid,” Parham said.
Even Princess Anne coach Jeff Balance, told this columnist that Parham was as chiseled as an NFL player as far back as his junior year of high school.
Dynamic duo
Together, Brooks and Parham are projected to become perhaps the most dynamic inside linebacker tandem in the country. While Brooks played last year at Hargrave Military Academy to take care of some academics, Parham was on Virginia’s team but was redshirted due to a slow-healing back injury.
While their debuts in Orange & Blue were a year later than expected, neither have disappointed. Brooks is currently the second-leading tackler on the team, while Parham ranks tied for seventh. Both are getting more comfortable in the defense with each passing week.
“My first start was fun,” Parham said of the win over UNC. “But this is really my first season of college ball.”
Learning process
He learned Virginia’s defensive playbook coming into last season but all that went for naught.
“If you don’t put it to use it kind of slips away from you,” Parham said. “I had to re-learn everything last spring because I didn’t get the opportunity to use it. I didn’t get a game plan last fall. I’m still getting used to everything but I’m way ahead of where I used to be.”
Parham and Brooks are getting familiar playing alongside one another. Parham usually plays to the tight end side of the field and makes the defensive calls, which are signaled down to assistant coach Mike London on
the sidelines from defensive coordinator Al Golden up in the pressbox.
Because of his strength and power, Parham also lines up at fullback when the Virginia offense is on the goal line and sometimes at tight end on third downs or goal line.
That’s easy for him because he has designated assignments, unlike inside linebacker where he must make the call, make sure everyone else is in the proper position, then concentrate on his own job.
“I have to see so many different things and make so many different adjustments, I definitely need to know what I’m doing without a shadow of a doubt just so I can focus on what I’m trying to do,” Parham said.
The two inside backers have the utmost respect for one another.
“Kai stepped in and showed he could take control of the defense,” Brooks said of his teammate.
Parham often stands in awe of Brooks’ ability to move.
“There’s a lot of big guys who can run but to be as big as Ahmad, he can accelerate so fast,” Parham said. “You just don’t see anybody else doing that.”
Both were optimistic they would earn starting jobs at some point this season but each realized they were behind returning senior starters. Brooks had so much natural ability, he couldn’t be ignored. Parham moved ahead of the injured Bedesem.
He’s not cocky about it, but isn’t surprised he is starting so early in his career.
“It was just going to come to pass anyway,” Parham said.
He wasn’t so sure about that last season when he was slow to recover from an offseason back injury. He couldn’t lift weights during that long span and had to remain patient about his career. A very spiritual young man, Parham looked heaven-ward for answers.
“There was nothing I could do,” Parham said. “It was tough. I was just waiting on God to do whatever it was he wanted to do. My back was hurting for a long time.
“I was talking with my friend’s mom one day and she said that God’s going to heal my back, that when I laid down that night, not to move until He healed me,” Parham said. “She said, ‘Before you go to sleep and when you wake up your back will be fine.’ My back’s been better ever since.”
Once he started to lift weights again, he got everything back amazingly quick. Now, he’s getting bigger and stronger every month.
No wonder last August, Groh stood gazing at Parham, Brooks and linebacker Darryl Blackstock standing together as a group out on the practice field and said, “Now we’re starting to look like a real defense should.”
Looks are not deceiving.

 

 

 

Brown may be back in line
Cavaliers have blocked well in his two-game absence
By John Galinsky  / Daily Progress staff writer
October 7, 2003
 

Elton Brown says his head is clear and his health is fine, but his aggression is building. “I haven’t hit anybody in two weeks,” he said. “I’m ready to go.”
Virginia’s junior right guard, who has missed the past two games with a concussion, insisted Monday that he will return for Saturday’s game at Clemson. He participated lightly in Monday’s practice and will undergo more tests to determine his status, UVa coach Al Groh said.
Regardless of whether he plays, the 25th-ranked Cavaliers (4-1, 3-0 ACC) have done surprisingly well without the 6-foot-6, 333-pound Brown, the team’s most dominating and seemingly indispensable blocker. In the games he missed - victories over Wake Forest and North Carolina - the offensive line helped produce 380 rushing yards while allowing no sacks of starting quarterback Matt Schaub.
“We’ve run the ball with effectiveness and gotten a lot of push on a lot of plays,” Groh said. “I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but no one - players or coaches - really blinked with the Elton situation. We said what we always say in these situations: This is who we’ve got and this is who we’re playing with.”
Virginia reshuffled its line in Brown’s absence. Brian Barthelmes, normally the starting left guard, moved over to the right side. Kevin Bailey, a previous starter at tackle and center, started at left guard against UNC and acquitted himself nicely, Groh said. Two freshmen, Ron Darden and Ian-Yates Cunningham, also have seen action at guard, with Darden starting against Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers are first in the ACC in rushing offense at 184.2 yards per game. Last year they were seventh, averaging 126.9 yards.
“The line has done a great job,” Schaub said. “I think a lot of it is experience, knowing their assignments and being able to adjust. That’s the main reason they’re better.”
Sophomore tackles D’Brick-ashaw Ferguson and Brad Butler are bigger and more polished in their technique, as is junior center Zac Yarbrough. Ferguson graded out at 90 percent against the Tar Heels and was named ACC offensive lineman of the week for the second time this season.
“I think we’ve done great,” Ferguson said. “It’s pretty much all the same guys from last year, but we have more experience now. We’ve been through a full year of the strength and conditioning program. That’s all made a big difference.”

Role player. Just what does Marques Hagans do during a typical practice these days?
“Catches punts, runs the punt team, catches a few balls and majors at being the quarterback,” Groh said.
In other words, the sophomore’s primary role is backup quarterback, but he also is working at receiver and special teams. Against North Carolina, he returned three punts for 10 yards and played several snaps at wideout without catching a pass. He also played quarterback on the final drive, completing his only pass for two yards.

Injury update. Sophomore safety Willie Davis, who was injured in a violent collision against South Carolina on Sept. 6, is unlikely to return this season, Groh said.
Backup safety Robbie Catterton suffered a sprained ankle against North Carolina and left the stadium on crutches.
He is not listed on the depth chart this week, leaving Virginia with three scholarship safeties: Jermaine Hardy, Jay Dorsey and Lance Evans. Starting cornerback Jamaine Winborne also has been practicing at safety in recent weeks.
Two other players who missed the UNC game with injuries, linebacker Rich Bedesem and tailback/kick returner Marquis Weeks, are not expected to return this week.

Rising stock. Sophomore linebacker Darryl Blackstock was named ACC defensive back of the week after making a pair of sacks against North Carolina. He also recovered a fumble in the second quarter and was credited with three quarterback hurries.
Blackstock earned the same honor last year following his performance against Clemson.

Extra points. Kickoff for Virginia’s next home game against No. 5 Florida State on Oct. 18 has been set for 7:45 p.m. It will be televised by either ESPN or ESPN2.
… Wali Lundy is the ACC’s leading rusher at 102.4 yards per game, Almondo Curry leads the conference in interceptions (3) and Connor Hughes is the league’s top scorer (8.2 points per game).
… The Cavaliers will be trying to go 4-0 in the ACC for the first time since 1995, when they finished first at 7-1.

 

 

 

VIRGINIA NOTES
Anderson proves handy

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   CHARLOTTESVILLE - The way that Virginia football coach Al Groh had been raving about wide receiver Ottowa Anderson's blocking, it was only natural to wonder about Anderson's receiving skills.

    If there were any doubters, they were quieted Saturday at North Carolina.

    Anderson, a 6-foot, 186-pound junior from Norview High School in Norfolk, had a career-high six receptions for 80 yards in the Cavaliers' 38-13 victory over North Carolina.

    "I talk about my blocking, too," said Anderson, who also gained 7 yards on a reverse, "so, it doesn't bother me to have other people talking about it. A lot of wide receivers don't get recognized for that."

    Anderson gets almost as excited about flattening a defender as he does about catching the ball.

    "That's when you turn into a football player," he said. "You forget about positions at that point [and] all the stereotypes about receivers being little guys who don't hit anybody."

    Anderson learned as a freshman that downfield blocking was his ticket to early playing time.

    "I developed a love for it," Anderson said. "It helps when you're getting compliments from the coaches. If I'm helping my team by blocking or catching passes, it's all the same to me."

    Anderson has had double-digit receptions in each of his three seasons, including 14 this year, the high for UVa wide receivers.

    "He's a tremendously hard-working player - very competitive and very coachable," Groh said. "Things that coaches bring to his attention quickly show up in his game, whether it's 'This is the way we've got to play this week,' or 'This is how you've got to run this route.' He's one of the most coachable players on the team."

    Anderson's breakout receiving day Saturday followed a 27-24 UVa victory over Wake Forest in which he caught a touchdown pass but also dropped a potential scoring pass in the end zone.

    "That was the worst feeling," Anderson said. "I see players miss a ball on TV and I think, 'How could you drop that?' Then, it happens to me. I didn't know I was as wide open as I was and tried to make the catch harder than it needed to be."

    Anderson said he has never known anybody else named "Ottowa" but doesn't know how he got his first name. "All I know is that a lot of people have trouble pronouncing it," he said. "I could never understand that. It sounds just like it's spelled."

    INJURIES: Groh said on the weekly ACC teleconference last Wednesday that he planned to adhere more strictly to his policy of not discussing injuries, but junior offensive guard Elton Brown dressed for practice Monday with the intentions of playing Saturday at Clemson after missing two games with a concussion.

    "His tests keep progressing cleaner and cleaner," Groh admitted before his regular Monday meeting with his training staff at 4:30 p.m. "I feel positive about it, but that's not my call. When it deals with heads and necks and whatnot, I just go with the information the medical people give me."

    SIGN HIM UP: Groh was caught by surprise Monday when he was informed that David Rosenbaum, who has committed to the UVa men's soccer program, had kicked a 62-yard extra point Friday for Wilson High School of Washington, D.C., in its 41-0 triumph over Spingarn.

    Rosenbaum had returned the preceding kickoff 69 yards for a touchdown, after which his team received three penalties for excessive celebration. Rosenbaum told The Washington Post that he "saw it as a chip shot. I have hit longer ones in practice."

    TIME SET: Virginia will play host to Florida State at 7:45 p.m. Oct.18. It has not been determined whether the game will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.

    FRESHMAN PHENOM: Ariel Thompson, who led Salem High School to the Group AA state championship this past spring, scored the winning goal with 30 seconds left Sunday as 14th-ranked Virginia (9-1-1) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat visiting Florida State 3-2 in women's soccer.

    Thompson is third on the team in scoring, with five goals and two assists, despite starting once in 11 games. On a team that has converted 17.2 percent of its shots, Thompson's five goals have come on 10 shots.

 

 

 

Best lineman returns to practice
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published October 7, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- After missing the last two games with a concussion, Virginia right guard Elton Brown returned to practice Monday. He wasn't in pads and wasn't allowed anywhere near contact, but it's a step.

"This is my first day of practice since Thursday (before) Wake Forest," Brown said about 30 minutes before drills began. "I won't have any pads on, so I can't hit anybody today. But I'm just real anxious to get back out there, just to be a part of the team again. I mean, I'm always a part of the team, but it'll be good to suit up and everything."

It's been a tough stretch for Brown, who was playing the best ball of his career before that Sept. 25 practice when he suffered a concussion. There wasn't one particular play or hit that did it. After practice, Brown began experiencing headaches and other symptoms common to concussions.

Coach Al Groh, believing he had slipped in recent weeks, told reporters last week he was returning to his strict policy of not discussing injuries. However, in Monday's weekly press conference, he sounded optimistic that Brown would play Saturday against Clemson.

"His tests keep progressing cleaner and cleaner," Groh said. "I feel positive about him, but that's not my call. When it deals with heads and necks and whatnot, I just take the information that the medical people give me."

Brown left little doubt.

"I'm going to play," he said. "Don't worry about it, I'm going to play. I feel great. I felt like I could have played last weekend, but, you know, I've got to listen to (the trainers)."

Without Brown, its best offensive lineman, Virginia shifted Brian Barthelmes from left guard to right and started Kevin Bailey - who had played tackle and center, but never guard - at Barthelmes' old spot. Virginia had 229 rushing yards, an average of 5.0 per carry, and quarterback Matt Schaub was never touched.

IN THE DOGHOUSE? The second of Schaub's 19 completions in 22 passes went to Art Thomas, a senior who had played cornerback until being switched to wideout last spring. But for the second consecutive week, he fumbled it away.

After the previous week's fumble, which came in the second quarter against Wake Forest, Thomas returned and made three catches in the second half. But this time, Groh's patience had worn thin. Thomas played only on special teams the rest of the way.

"I'm sure there was probably a message involved, but it was more of a case of trying to win the game," Groh said. "This is two weeks in a row, and it makes it hard to win. I didn't think we could afford more fumbles in the game."

SHORTS. Left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and linebacker Darryl Blackstock were honored by the ACC on Monday. Ferguson was named offensive lineman of the week and Blackstock, who had two sacks, was chosen defensive back of the week. ...

Kickoff for Virginia's home game against Florida State on Oct. 18 has been set for 7:45. The game will be televised either by ESPN or ESPN2. ...

Groh said the likelihood of safety Willie Davis returning this season is "doubtful to unlikely." Davis injured his shoulder and neck in a violent collision with a South Carolina player on Sept. 6. ...

In by far the most extensive playing time of his career, linebacker Mark Miller had five tackles, including a sack. "It was a positive game and I'm glad it was," the former walk-on said. "But in no way do I feel I've arrived." ...

Since coming back from a separated shoulder, an injury that nearly required surgery, Schaub has completed 49-of-67 passes (73.1 percent) for 610 yards. ...

When Groh was told freshman linebacker Ahmad Brooks is the team's second-leading tackler at 7.2 stops per game, he asked who was No. 1. Told it was safety Jermaine Hardy at 8.6 per game, Groh replied, "Won't be long." ...

Freshman Fontel Mines on his first college reception, an 18-yard touchdown pass from Schaub on Saturday: "Man, it was crazy. I caught it, looked down and I was like, 'I see a lot of blue down there!'"
 

 

 

Gridiron agony in the Triangle
By FRANK DASCENZO : The Herald-Sun
fdascenzo@heraldsun.com
Oct 6, 2003 : 6:58 pm ET

Chuck Amato took a beating on the radio talk shows on Monday. Not as bad as Bobby Cox, but it was about a push with Ron Zook.

Duke and UNC meet in football on Nov. 22 in Chapel Hill, and tickets won't be difficult to get. Trust me on that one. UNC plays at ECU on Saturday afternoon. The two teams are a combined 0-10, and if the Tar Heels lose, John Bunting will need friends.

I'm pulling for the Chicago Cubs -- historical franchise, America's real underdogs, fabulous fans. Deep dish pizza and the north side, Sammy Sosa charging out of the dugout. God's truth, there's no place like Wrigley Field, and Dusty Baker is a genius, oh by the way.

The current football record for Duke, UNC and N.C. State is 5-11. They don't call this basketball country by accident. If you throw in ECU, it's 5-16.

What's going on here? N.C. State is 10-9 in the ACC over the last 2˝ seasons and can't win on the road. UNC is 6-13 in the ACC over the last 2˝ seasons and can't win at home. Duke has lost 27 consecutive ACC games. ECU is 10-18 over the last 2˝ seasons and has been horrible in the first five games under first-year coach John Thompson.

Yes, I picked the Wolfpack to win the ACC, but hype had nothing to do with it. You can blame me on that one, right now and forever, too. I just had a theory that Amato would manage to win at Wake Forest and win at Georgia Tech. It was a stretch I was willing to take. How was I to know the favored Wolfpack would get penalized 10 times in Winston-Salem and that the Yellow Jackets, with a true freshman quarterback for heaven's sake, could hand N.C. State its fifth straight road loss?

How did The Beatles sing it? "The long and winding road?" Not to worry, Connecticut arrives in Raleigh on Saturday with a 4-2 record, and Amato's bound to break that road losing streak on Oct. 25 at Duke.

I don't know what it is with Jon Tenuta and his defense against Philip Rivers, but a good essay on that subject might be an educational read once Rivers is long gone and N.C. State has played in -- oh, take your pick -- the Humanitarian, Tangerine, Peach or Continental Tire bowls, maybe. All this when Wolfpackers were thinking BCS. Now don't blame me.

True, there's still time for the Wolfpack to save the season. Rivers said it's possible to be 9-3. It's also a fact that Amato's three previous teams are 6-6 in November.

I thought football was fun until I watched Duke play Northwestern on Sept. 20 and then saw UNC take on Virginia last Saturday. Look, I know this is basketball country -- Mike and Roy will be here before you know it -- but just once, I'd like to think there's a Sugar Bowl or an Orange Bowl or a Fiesta Bowl in the future for a Triangle team. The darn truth hurts.

There are at least eight things we all can do to ease this football misery:

1. Forget the initials T.A. and the word "injuries" because it will only make your blood pressure worse. Think about Wood -- first name Kerry -- and imagine how the front office of the Atlanta Braves is doing today.

2. Do not spend your time wondering if UNC will break its nine-game home losing streak in football against Arizona State on Oct. 18. Instead, wonder if Virginia can beat Florida State, or ask yourself the usual question: Is ACC football still the Seminoles and the eight dwarfs?

3. Do what Mack Brown does when he recalls his promotional days as UNC's football coach. Remember Chris Keldorf more for his school career-record 35 touchdown passes than for the interception he threw at Virginia on Nov. 16, 1996.

4. Jot down all the things Fred Goldsmith and Steve Logan would be saying to each other over a glass of sweet tea in a real sit-down between two Southern gentlemen.

5. Rent my favorite movie, "The Bridge on the River Kwai," to better understand the psychological battle of wills to help you overcome this gridiron agony. Alec Guinness is great and William Holden isn't bad, and the brutal camp commander, Sessue Hayakawa, is splendid.

6. This one is especially for those owning up to still being Duke football fans: Learn to eliminate the words "bowl eligible."

7. Respect the road. After his Virginia Cavaliers beat UNC in Chapel Hill, Al Groh said, "In the ACC, road games are important. If you want to do anything in this conference, you have to win on the road." Now, that's strong, baby.

8. To avoid thinking about future ACC football powers Miami and Virginia Tech swaggering into the Triangle, just remember the immortal words of Steve Spurrier: "To be the champion, you've got to beat the champion."

 

 

 

ACC meddling with tradition
RON GREEN SR.

It is possible, if you are good at puzzles, to figure out who will play whom now that the ACC has designed its new schedules to accommodate the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech to the nine teams already in the fold.

What is still not possible, though, from where I sit, is making sense of the ACC's decision to plunge into something so out of keeping with its mission, to take a good, stable, sensible conference that had family written all over it and tacky it up for the money.

It's like putting fins on the family sedan and hanging a Playboy icon from the mirror.

Nothing against Miami or Virginia Tech. It's the grab for money from bowl bids and television exposure that is so unbecoming to men who like to think of themselves as educators doing something noble for our young people.

Here's an idea. If you need money that badly, maybe you could cut spending.

A few days ago, the league delivered its plan for scheduling, starting in 2004. Some old rivalries took a hit, sold down the river for expansion money.

A football team can't play every other conference team home and home in alternate years because that would leave too few dates open for nonconference games. Not every basketball team will play each other twice in one season for the same reason.

The way the schedule is set up, beginning in 2004, N.C. State and Duke will play Miami and Virginia Tech in football, but not each other for at least two years. The Wolfpack and Blue Devils have only been playing since 1924.

This is an illustration of the wreckage this new alignment has wrought. Duke and N.C. State are neighbors, separated by half an hour or so by car. They have history, tradition, rivalry. To separate them in the name of money is, simply put, crazy.

There will be those who argue that the addition of Miami, one of the winningest football programs in America, and Virginia Tech, a perennial power, will cause the other member schools to elevate the quality of their teams.

Please. We've heard that song before. When Florida State was admitted as the ninth member of the ACC in 1992 -- to help raise the ante in the TV contract and add bowl money -- it was supposed to force the other football teams to get better. Didn't happen.

In the first 10 years the Seminoles were in the league, they won 76 ACC games and lost four. They outscored ACC opponents 3,401 to 1,194, or roughly 42-15 per game. Some ACC teams are still trying to get a win from the Noles. One or two may never.

Under the new basketball schedule, North Carolina has designated N.C. State and Duke as the teams it wishes to play home and home every year. That means the Tar Heels will play Wake Forest one game one season, two the next, then back to one. Duke chose North Carolina and Maryland as its "partners," which means the Blue Devils will play Wake Forest and N.C. State one game in one season, two in the next. How wrong is that?

Big Four basketball should never be tampered with. No other place in America has anything close to that going for it. To break that up to accommodate Miami and Virginia Tech is a sin.

All 11 teams will be invited to play in the ACC basketball tournament at season's end. The top five teams will draw first-round byes. Now, fans, instead of just one of those exciting play-in games, you get three!

Everett Case would croak, if he hadn't already croaked. Move over, Everett, I might join you.
 

 

 

Whitehurst, three others miss practice because of injury

Starting quarterback Charlie Whitehurst was one of four Clemson starters who was prevented from practicing Monday because of injury.

Whitehurst, who has a foot injury, is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Virginia and will be replaced by redshirt freshman Chansi Stuckey if he can’t play.

Linebacker Eric Sampson (sprained ankle) and wide receiver Airese Currie (sprained ankle) also are questionable.

Defensive end Khaleed Vaughn is doubtful after having arthroscopic knee surgery Sunday.

“It’s going to be tight with all of them,” said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden. “We’ll just go with whoever we’ve got. Chansi. Gaines Adams stepping in (for Vaughn). Curtis Baham (for Currie), and Lionel Richardson (for Sampson).”

Senior Tony Elliott also will play more at wide receiver if Currie can’t play. Elliott has nine catches for 88 yards and one touchdown over the past two games, including an incredible, leaping reception over the middle Saturday against Maryland.

But Elliott doesn’t stretch the defense as well as Currie, a sprinter who won the 100 meters in the NCAA East Regional outdoor track championships.

“He’s the biggest jet,” Bowden said of Currie. “He’s the Concorde, the supersonic guy. That would hurt you a little bit (if Currie can’t play).”

• Officiating concerns. Bowden sent ACC officiating coordinator Tommy Hunt videotape of some calls Bowden questioned in Saturday’s 21-7 loss to Maryland.

Bowden wouldn’t comment on which calls he questioned, but one of them likely is Maryland’s 69-yard touchdown reception by Derrick Fenner, who had been out of bounds before the catch.

Officials ruled that Fenner was eligible to come back in bounds because Clemson cornerback Tye Hill forced Fenner out of bounds. But Bowden questioned whether there was a collision on the play that forced Fenner out of bounds on the Clemson sideline.

“We lost three cups of Gatorade,” Bowden said. “I didn’t realize he was going to stop over there, take a drink and then keep going.”

• Tiger tracks. Hill said he let Fenner run past him on the touchdown because he thought Fenner was ineligible. “Once he was out of bounds, I thought he was dead, and I was looking back for work,” Hill said. ... Freshman Jad Dean and walk-on Stephen Furr began working on long field goals Monday. Bowden has indicated he might use one of them instead of Aaron Hunt on kicks of 43 yards or longer.
 

 

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Oct 7, 2003

THE BIG MAN RETURNS: Virginia offensive guard Elton Brown was in high spirits in the McCue Center locker room yesterday, and for good reason.

"I'm back today," he said.

Brown, an all-ACC candidate, said he'd been cleared to practice for the first time since Sept. 25. That was when the 6-6, 330-pound junior from Hampton was diagnosed with a concussion, a condition that kept him out of the Cavaliers' wins over Wake Forest and North Carolina.

U.Va. (3-0, 4-1) visits Clemson (1-1, 3-2) for a noon game Saturday.

Against Wake, redshirt freshman Ron Darden started in Brown's place. Early in the game, however, offensive line coach Ron Prince moved Brian Barthelmes from left guard to right guard and inserted true freshman Ian-Yates Cunningham at left guard.

Against UNC, Barthelmes stayed at right guard, and senior Kevin Bailey, a former standout at center and tackle who's rounding back into shape after a knee injury, played left guard.

RELATIVELY SPEAKING: The other Elton Brown at U.Va., the basketball player, carried a sloppy 275 pounds on his 6-9 frame last season. He's down to 250 and inspires double takes from many who haven't seen him for awhile.

"He looks like a different person now," the football-playing Brown said of his cousin. "It's crazy, but I've been up here all summer, and I've been watching how hard he's been working. He deserves it."

HONORED: The ACC yesterday singled out two U.Va. players for their contributions to the 38-13 rout of North Carolina at Kenan Stadium.

Sophomore tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson is the ACC's offensive lineman of the week, the second time he's been so honored this season. Sophomore linebacker Darryl Blackstock is the ACC's defensive back of the week, a distinction he earned once last season.

Virginia rushed for 229 yards Saturday against UNC, and quarterback Matt Schaub wasn't sacked. Blackstock had six tackles, including two sacks, and helped hold Carolina to 58 yards rushing, the fewest U.Va. has allowed in nine years.

UNDER THE LIGHTS: U.Va.'s Oct. 18 game with Florida State at Scott Stadium will start at 7:45 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2 will televise the game, which could be for first place in the ACC.

IN PURSUIT: Junior safety Jermaine Hardy leads Virginia in tackles with 43, but inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks (36) is second and gaining fast.

"Won't be long," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said.

Brooks is improving with every game he plays at U.Va., Groh said. The 6-4, 249-pound true freshman has four tackles for loss, including two sacks, and has broken up three passes.

At Hylton High, where he was a Parade All-American, Brooks played middle linebacker and relied heavily on his superior speed.

"There would be a lot of plays you'd be watching where he'd be standing in the middle and everybody else would be running," Groh said. "And he'd just kind of stand there and sort out where the ball was going, and then he'd run and go get it."

So, who would win a race between Brooks and Blackstock?

"It would probably depend upon the distance," Groh said. "If it was 15 or 20 [yards], maybe Blackstock. If it was 40, maybe Ahmad."

VOCAL LEADER: Coaches love to talk about "high-motor" players. U.Va. defensive end Chris Canty is a "high-volume" player.

"I think he's got a very good personality for a defense," Groh said. "But probably if everybody was like that, nobody could hear themselves think. So it's best not to have 11 like that, but it's good to have two or three."

The 6-7, 282-pound Canty has five tackles for loss, including two sacks, this season. Among his teammates, only Blackstock has more than Canty in either category.

FUTURE TEAMMATES: Gretna High junior quarterback Vicqual "Vic" Hall, who earlier in the day had committed to U.Va., rushed for 345 yards and six touchdowns Friday night in a 61-21 win over William Campbell. Hall also threw a TD pass.

The Generals' top player is senior tailback Cedric Peerman, another Virginia recruit. Peerman rushed for 164 yards, including scoring runs of 66 and 43, against Group AA Gretna, but defending state Group A, Division I champion William Campbell had its 18-game winning streak snapped.

"U.Va. has done a great job recruiting this area," Gretna coach Rob Senseney told the Danville Register & Bee. "I think they got the best senior athlete in this area [in Peerman] . . . And now they got the best junior athlete in this area, which is Vic."

LOOKING AHEAD: The Cavaliers will play 11 regular-season games in 2004. Ten are set.

U.Va. will play host to ACC rivals Maryland, Clemson, North Carolina and Miami as well as nonconference foes Syracuse and Akron. Groh's team will play conference games at FSU, Georgia Tech, Duke and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers are seeking an 11th opponent for 2004, and it's not likely to be a big-name team. - Jeff White