UVa's Robinson ready to live up to hype
Virginia defensive end Chris Canty's injury gives backup Kwakou Robinson a chance to show off his improvement.
By Doug Doughty
981-3128
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Going strictly by recruiting rankings, there is no position at which Virginia's football team was better prepared to lose a marquee player than at defensive end.

UVa's top backup at both defensive end spots, Kwakou Robinson, was rated the No.36 prospect in the country by SuperPrep magazine after his senior year at Brooklyn (N.Y.) Poly Prep. Robinson, slated to replace Chris Canty in the starting lineup Thursday against Clemson, is the first to admit that his performance hasn't lived up to his buildup.

"I finally got the opportunity to show people that I'm a good player," said Robinson, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound junior.

Actually, this isn't Robinson's first opportunity. The first came in 2002, after Canty had suffered a broken leg during the spring. Robinson, then a true freshman, started the 2002 opener against Colorado State and for four games after that.

"We looked at that game a couple of weeks ago, my roommates and I, and if I'd have known the things then that I do now, I would have been so much better," he said. "My hands were crazy. My feet were out of place. It was great to look at that and judge myself. All I could say was, 'Hey, you sucked.'"

By his admission, Robinson wasn't ready to play at a high-major level in 2002, and he may have been better suited by a redshirt year in 2002 or even 2003.

"That's what a lot of people say," Robinson said, "but that wasn't the situation."

After getting on the field for nearly 350 plays as a true freshman, Robinson played 186 plays last year, or fewer than 15 plays per game over a 13-game season.

"I feel I was prepared to play more plays my second year," Robinson said, "but Chris was there."

Robinson entered this season with two career tackles for loss, including one sack. When asked recently about Robinson's maturity level and his knowledge of the defense, head coach Al Groh needed only one word, "adequate."

When asked this week what was needed from Robinson, Groh wasn't much more wordy. "Solid play," he said.

"I want to be better than solid," said Robinson when informed of Groh's comments. "I feel like I bring a good run-stopping mentality. I'm working on my pass rush. It's doing well. I feel I can chase people from sideline to sideline a little bit, [but] within 10 yards, I'm going to get you. Don't worry about it."

Robinson is listed at 327 pounds on Virginia's official roster, but he indicated Monday that he's closer to 312 or 315. He feels he's a much better athlete than he was in 2002.

As a true freshman, he weighed 325 pounds, with a body fat of nearly 25 percent. Now, he's down to 17 percent.

"It was crazy," he said. "There was a comparison in weight, maybe a comparison in technique, but everything else is totally different. I didn't really know anything."

At this level, Robinson knows he can't dominate physically. As a right defensive end, he will face either 6-7, 350-pound Clemson left tackle Barry Richardson or 6-4, 335-pound left guard Cedric Johnson.

"I just can't wait to play this game," Robinson said. "I'm definitely excited to see what I can do as a starter and see if I'm up to the task of being out there for 60 plays or so. It's a challenge to me to see if I can do it."

"In the back of my mind, I'm like, 'It's messed up the way it came about. It's messed up that it had to happen to a guy like Chris, a good guy.' Sometimes, God just makes a way and you just say, 'All right, I've got to take it and run with it.'"

Moten move not unprecedented
Early Friday commitment academically driven
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Upon hearing earlier this week that Virginia had taken a men's basketball commitment from Brian Moten, recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons said he could not remember another instance when a player had gone from a MAC recruit to an ACC recruit "without playing a game."

When Moten did not meet NCAA eligibility guidelines,that voided a letter-of-intent he had signed with Mid-American Conference member Western Michigan and will enable him to sign with Virginia in November.

For some reason, I was reminded of a similar situation in 2000, when Robert Brooks was released from the letter-of-intent he had signed with Eastern Kentucky, which belongs to the Ohio Valley Conference. It turns out that Brooks, who signed with Georgia Tech after an Eastern Kentucky coaching change, went to the same high school in Saginaw, Mich., as Moten.

UVa is looking at Moten for the "2" spot and 6-5 Mamadi Diane, who had committed one week earlier as a 2-3, "but, any way you want to cut it, they're wings," Gibbons said. "Moten is known more as a shooter. He's a good player. I saw him play in the summer of 2003."

Much has been made of Virginia putting itself in a position where it might not have any scholarships for 2006-2007, the year the Cavaliers' new arena opens, "but, for them, I think the future is now," Gibbons said. "I think Pete needs to establish in the minds of the UVa followers that they're building a program. I think there's something to the old adage, ‘Things have a way of changing.'"

Gibbons thinks that Sam Warren, a 6-foot-10, 235-pound frontcourt player from Greenwood Village, Colo., might benefit from a year in prep school. Warren is expected to meet NCAA eligibility standards but it may be a stretch to think he will be ACC-ready by 2005-2006.

KEVIN SUTTON, the coach at Montverde Academy in Bradenton, Fla., confirmed Virginia Tech's involvement with Luc Richard Mbaha Moute, a 6-7 forward from Cameroon who was in Blacksburg last week on an unofficial visit. "He is without question a high-major player," said Sutton, a longtime assistant to current Montrose Christian coach Stu Vetter.

Tech has formidable competition for Moute, whose other official visits are scheduled for UCLA, Georgia and South Carolina. While Vetter's players customarily do not sign until the spring, Sutton oversees his players' recruiting on a case-by-case basis.

"As a matter of fact, I instruct my players to keep files on every school that they are most interested in," Sutton writes. "In that file will be the following: (1) letters, (2) e-mail conversations, (3) notes from home visit, (4) notes from campus visit, (5) list of players in their position the school is recruiting , (6) website information on their potential major, (7) a list of questions that relate to athletics, campus life, (8) notes from telephone conversations, (9) number of times the coaching staff has been to our school to see them, (10) a positive/negative worksheet.

"So, as you can see, when one of my players arrives at a decision it is an educated decision that is based on merit. One which is made by the prospective student-athlete and their families with me as a consultant."

AT LEAST one reader called to inquire about an item that appeared in a sister column, the College Notebook in Thursday's editions of The Roanoke Times. Tech recruiting target Sam Young, listed as having committed to Virginia, actually committed to Pittsburgh. The Hokies had thought that ACC affiliation would help with Young, whose home is in Clinton, Md.


MEDIA GAFLY Jeff White wants to know: if Phoebus defensive end Steven Friday has so many Division I-A scholarship offers, why he was rated as low as 21st among the state's top prospects by The Roanoke Times.

Friday received offers from many of the same schools as Phoebus running back Elan Lewis, rated No. 2 on The Roanoke Times list, but Friday was more of a question mark academically as he headed into his senior year of high school. In fact, that may have been one of the reasons why he committed so early to Virginia Tech.

"We got some improvement to go," Phoebus coach Bill Dee said. "That was the first thing he said to me, that he wanted to just get [the recruiting] done and work on the season and his grades.

"I never push a kid to commit. He said, ‘What do you think about committing and I said, ‘Number one, are you absolutely sure? Number two, did you talk to your parents?' And, I said, ‘Do you think you want to make a couple more visits?' He said, ‘No, I just want to commit to Tech.' "

WILLIAM FLEMING LINEBACKER Darryl Gresham, who committed to Virginia this past summer, told Chris Horne that he heard from Florida, Tennessee and Maryland during September and that Virginia may not be the only school he visits unofficially or officially. Horne covers recruiting for thesabre.com and techsidelines.com.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Oct 5, 2004

COURT TIME: Seven practices into his seventh season as men's basketball coach at Virginia, Pete Gillen said his team has "a lot of balance. Maybe we don't have a superstar, but we have a lot of very good players."

The Cavaliers went 18-13 last season, and six players who started at least 10 games apiece are back. Of those veterans, Gillen told reporters yesterday, the most improved is power forward Jason Clark, a 6-8, 240-pound senior. Clark was academically inegible for the first semester last year and couldn't practice with the team during that period.

"He's playing with confidence and shooting the ball better," Gillen said. "He's consistent, and he rebounds the ball well."

Virginia heads north Thursday for a brief exhibition tour that coincides with the school's fall break. In Montreal, the Cavs will play the Royal Military College of Canada on Friday, Concordia University on Saturday and McGill University on Sunday. Monday has been set aside for sightseeing.

U.Va.'s roster includes three freshmen, the most touted of whom is 5-11 point guard Sean Singletary from Philadelphia.

"He's played very well so far," Gillen said. "He creates shots for other people, and he's also a good perimeter shooter himself."

BIG LOAD: At 6-2, 260 pounds, Rashawn Jackson is unlike any running back at U.Va., to which he recently committed. But Jackson's size is deceiving, said Rich Hansen, his coach at St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City, N.J.

"He's powerful, but he has quick feet," Hansen said. "He's a very athletic kid."

Anyway, Hansen said, Jackson's body figures to change after he arrives in Charlottesville.

"I would think he's going to play somewhere between 240 and 245, but I think he'll probably be stronger and a little quicker," said Hansen, who has compared Jackson's style to that of Ron Dayne.

St. Peter's, like U.Va., runs a 3-4 defense, and Jackson could play inside linebacker in college. But the Cavaliers want to try Jackson at running back first, Hansen said. "They're only recruiting one back, and he's the back. That helped clarify things for him."

Among the other schools that offered scholarships to Jackson were Wisconsin, Florida, Tennessee, Michigan and Nebraska, Hansen said. Another St. Peter's star, cornerback Mike Brown, committed to U.Va. in June.

"They've played together for four years," Hansen said, and Brown's commitment "definitely played into" Jackson's decision.

PREGAME: U.Va. invites fans to greet the football team as it walks to the stadium before each game at Scott Stadium. Next up for the 10th-ranked Cavaliers (1-0, 4-0) is a Thursday night date with ACC foe Clemson (1-2, 1-3). School officials say the "Wahoo Walk" will start at 6 p.m. when the team is dropped off at Engineer's Way on McCormick Road. The team will walk down Engineer's Way to Whitehead and then Stadium Road.

BAD NIGHT: Clemson has an 0-5 record in ESPN's Thursday night games, including an 0-4 mark under current coach Tommy Bowden. The Tigers were underdogs in each of those five games, however, and four of the losses were to teams in the AP's Top 25.

Virginia is 3-4 in Thursday night games shown by ESPN. It has dropped two straight to Georgia Tech in 2000 and Maryland last season since beating Auburn 19-0 in 1998.

IN THE CREASE: In the first of its two fall scrimmages, the U.Va. men's lacrosse team edged Navy 11-10 on Friday night in Virginia Beach.

Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia had planned to play redshirt freshman Bud Petit and sophomore Kip Turner in the goal for a half apiece. Petit, however, was hit in the chest with a shot during pregame warmups and was held out as a precaution.

The Collegiate graduate is likely to start Oct.16 against Ohio State in Charlottesville. Turner went the whole way against the Midshipmen, last season's NCAA runners-up, and impressed Starsia.

MISCELLANY: Spectators planning to arrive early for Thursday's football game, take note: Parking lots at U.Va. will not open until 5:30 p.m., 2 hours and 15 minutes before kickoff. . . . Clemson returned some of the tickets it was allotted for the game, and as of yesterday, about 300 were left. Call (800) 542-8821 or check www.virginiasports.com for ticket information. Jeff White

Cavaliers about to find out what kind of prize this guy is
Virginia doesn't expect Kwakou Robinson to be another Chris Canty. But the Cavaliers do need him to step up.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published October 5, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Looking back, you need reminding that Kwakou Robinson was one of the headliners in Virginia's blockbuster recruiting class of 2002 and started the first five games of his freshman season. Lately, he's been living the quiet life of a seldom-used reserve who stands out only because of his mammoth size.

But Robinson's life is about to change. Chris Canty done for the season with a knee injury, so Robinson will make his first start in nearly two seasons at defensive end on Thursday against Clemson. When the nation's 10th-ranked team loses a valuable cog, it's headline news. At the team's weekly media day, Robinson drew a bigger crowd than did quarterback Marques Hagans.

Robinson understands the interest, and knows Virginia's season may hinge on how well he does. But he's determined, however unrealistically, to keep things simple.

"It's the same mindset, the same mentality I have for every game," Robinson said. "I'm ready to play any given second. You're always one play away from somebody getting hurt, from you getting hurt, or from you starting. And now we see that.

"I'm definitely excited to get some more plays and see what I can do at the starting level. It's a challenge for me to see if I can really do it. You have to be ready, and I'm ready."

Robinson was one of the bigger names in Al Groh's first recruiting class, which included tailback Wali Lundy and tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Robinson chose Virginia over a who's-who list of football powers that included Ohio State, Miami and Southern California. Sure, everybody liked his name - Kwakou means "male child born on Wednesday" in one of Ghana's languages. But they loved his potential.

By the time the 2002 season began, Canty had not recovered from a broken leg sustained during the offseason. So Robinson, a 325-pound rookie less than three months removed from his graduation at Poly Prep in Brooklyn, got the start. He had six tackles, one resulting in a 17-yard loss. He had six tackles the following week in a loss at Florida State.

Canty returned for the third game, and by Week Six had regained his starting spot. Robinson's playing time faded, and he missed the final three games of the regular season with an illness. During Canty's breakthrough junior season in 2003, Robinson averaged 14 plays a game. In his past 17 games, he has 29 tackles.

"It wasn't discouraging," Robinson said of the scaled-back playing time. "I knew I wasn't really ready at that time. I knew I didn't have all the tools that Chris had at that time, and I knew that once he came back he'd probably take it back. But now, I feel that I'm on the same level as Chris."

Groh looks at it another way. In using a baseball analogy, Groh said he is losing a .320 hitter and plugging in a .275 hitter.

"We're not trying to replace Chris," Groh said. "Whether through injury or graduation, when a player leaves the lineup it's unrealistic and unfair to say 'We're going to replace that player.' We're going to put a different player in there with different skills and a whole different persona to him."

Canty's skills allowed him to make 30 tackles, seven behind the line of scrimmage, in four games. His persona led his teammates to elect him a co-captain. He provided relentless pressure along the edge and sang during pregame stretching. Not an easy package to replace.

"I want people to judge me by Kwakou Robinson, not the guy who's backing up Chris Canty," Robinson said. "I just want to be judged on what I do, and not by what Chris has done."

Though he weighs about the same as he did two years ago, Robinson says he's in better shape. His body fat percentage has dropped from 25 to 17, which gives him more strength and endurance. He'll need whatever edge he can get. Robinson has been in for 56 plays so far this season. That probably will match, give or take, his total Thursday night.

"Kwakou is definitely up to the challenge," defensive end Brennan Schmidt said. "The more reps he's been getting, it's been giving him the opportunity to get more experience at the position. He's a go-getter. He sees his opportunity now and he's going after it."

Tigers tinkering with pass rush
Clemson hopes to take advantage of its quickness

CLEMSON — Hoping to utilize its quickness more, Clemson has installed some new pass-rushing schemes for Virginia.

“We’re a little undersized, but I think we’ve got some new schemes in that will work for us real well,” defensive end Bobby Williamson said Monday. “I think it will help us use our quickness. They’re a very big offensive line. We’re going to try to find the nooks and crannies and get in on them.”

The average size of Virginia’s offensive linemen is 6-foot-6, 299 pounds, compared to 6-4, 269 for Clemson’s starting defensive line. The Tigers have 15 sacks, tied with Florida State and N.C. State for the ACC lead, but only six are by defensive linemen.

Defensive coordinator John Lovett said blitzes from linebackers and defensive backs have contributed to the low total by the linemen, although he wants a better rush from them. This might be a tough week against quick quarterback Marques Hagans, who has been sacked once in four games.

“He’ll go play action and keep everybody in (to protect), and if he keeps everybody in, it’s going to be hard to get a sack on that,” Lovett said. “We may do more straight pass rush this week.”

Williamson, who moved from tight end in August, leads the line with three sacks in 85 snaps. Starting end Charles Bennett has none in 159 snaps.

“It’s real frustrating,” Bennett said. “I missed one against Georgia Tech. I plan on making a change this week against Virginia.”

Grant’s drop. Wide receiver Kelvin Grant can’t escape the touchdown he dropped against Florida State. Even while attending an uncle’s funeral last week, relatives asked about the play.

“I took my eye off it in the last second,” he said.

Clemson has dropped Grant out of its starting three-receiver formation this week as he tries to regains his confidence.

“I haven’t been able to bounce back,” Grant said. “I’m thinking about the catch instead of just being natural and let it flow.”

Miller on offense? Lovett prefers cornerback Justin Miller sticking to defense rather than playing offense as well, as coach Tommy Bowden has suggested could happen.

“I don’t know that he’ll help the team going over there,” Lovett said. “To me, how many plays can a guy learn as a part-time guy? ... You know where I stand on it. If there’s some way he can help us over there and not be a disruption, I’m all for it. That’s what they’ve got to decide. That’s not my call.”

Bowden isn’t tipping his hand about Miller on offense, except to say he has considered the possibility and thinks Miller would work best at tailback.

Waters to start. Linebacker Anthony Waters probably will remain in the starting lineup, but his plays will be divided almost evenly with Nick Watkins, Lovett said. Waters has 29 tackles in 243 plays, compared to Watkins’ 20 tackles in 97 plays.

“Not that Anthony’s playing bad. Nick’s playing good,” Lovett said. “You have to put the kid on the field.”

Tailback rotation. Yusef Kelly will be the second tailback behind starter Duane Coleman, Bowden said. Reggie Merriweather and Kyle Browning drop to the third and fourth spots, respectively.

Kelly, who has not played the past two games, has succeeded against Virginia’s physical 3-4 defense in the past. Coleman said he is not back in game shape yet and his foot, which he broke in August, still bothers him some while cutting in practice.

— Jon Solomon

Players might take the fifth
ACC proposal would allow five years of eligibility
By JON SOLOMON
Staff Writer

CLEMSON — Clemson defensive end Moe Fountain, a fourth-year senior, smiled upon learning from a reporter there could be a way he plays college football again in 2005. All fourth-year seniors might be eligible if the NCAA approves an ACC proposal for five-year eligibility.

“I’m going to look into it,” said Fountain, one of seven seniors on Clemson who never redshirted. “I probably would (come back), depending on how the season goes.”

The catches: An amendment would delay the start of five-year eligibility until next year, and a final ruling will not come until April 28. That is after the NFL draft and well beyond the January deadline to declare.

“That’s too big a risk then,” Fountain said. “It’s a pretty good idea. They’re passing all the good rules the year after I leave.”

College football coaches, players and administrators still have more questions than answers about the five-year eligibility proposal.

Proponents say five years of eligibility and the elimination of redshirting would increase graduation rates by keeping players in school longer.

Coaches this fall have faced decisions about whether to risk playing true freshmen now with the hope those players still have four years of eligibility. Shane Lyons, the ACC’s associate commissioner for compliance, strongly advised coaches against that because an amendment could start five-year eligibility Aug. 1, 2005.

The NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet chose not to vote on the proposal last week and sent it to the full membership for discussion.

“It’s a very controversial piece of legislation,” Lyons said. “It’s going to be an uphill battle.”

Clemson has stayed with its policy of using true freshmen if they would play in about 100 snaps this season. The only freshmen to play are wide receiver La’Donte Harris and offensive tackle Barry Richardson.

South Carolina also has not altered how it uses freshmen, and coach Lou Holtz is against five-year eligibility.

“Most seniors are ready to move on anyway,” he said. “Now you’re going to drag out graduation. Most of our athletes will graduate in four or five-and-a-half years. I don’t think many that stay five years will play in the NFL.”

N.C. State coach Chuck Amato initially said he would play all of his freshmen because he believed they would benefit by an extra year.

Amato has used seven of his 15 freshmen.

North Carolina coach John Bunting said he has been more inclined to play freshmen partly because of the five-year proposal.

Alabama coach Mike Shula, who favors the proposal, has played 10 true freshmen.

“My understanding is if it does pass, it’s not going to be retroactive,” Clemson recruiting coordinator David Blackwell said. “I would be shocked if they punished a kid for redshirting because they’ve got no way of getting that year back. To me, that would be an unfair advantage.”

The larger issue is whether five years of eligibility belongs in football, which has the highest participation numbers in college athletics and thus the most use of redshirting players.

“I like the idea of pointing toward four years, and if you need the other additional year, yes,” South Carolina athletics director Mike McGee said. “But it would become the norm if it was five years of eligibility. I’ve got some misgivings about that.”

Clemson athletics director Terry Don Phillips has long been in favor of five-year eligibility but doubts the measure will pass.

“And why it wouldn’t, I don’t know,” Phillips said. “It seems like a good idea. I’m not sure I understand the downside to it.”

Linda Bensel-Meyers, director of a watchdog organization of college athletics, said the proposal is a good start but does not go far enough.

The Drake Group calls for five-year, guaranteed scholarships in all sports and banning freshman participation. Scholarships are renewed on a yearly basis, and Bensel-Meyers said she saw athletes at her former school, Tennessee, stripped of aid during the academic year.

“The five-year eligibility proposal is purely a benefit for the business and not for the students,” said Bensel-Meyers, an associate English professor at the University of Denver. “If it was for the students, they would let them get their feet on the ground academically as freshmen and learn how to negotiate the campus.”

According to Lyons, the average student takes 4.8 years to graduate. Lyons said critics of the proposal do not want to encourage a five-year graduation cycle and are worried about legal ramifications.

“The biggest opposition is probably legal concerns and how it applies to other sports, leaving yourself vulnerable to a lawsuit,” Lyons said. “People have questioned why football players get five years and men’s soccer only four. Those things continue to be discussed with the NCAA legal counsel.”

Two weeks ago, the National Association of Basketball Coaches withdrew its proposal for five-year eligibility despite the support of NCAA president Myles Brand. Lyons said the basketball coaches felt the idea was drawing attention away from other proposals and was not worth the fight.

“I don’t think that really hurts football,” Lyons said. “Football can make an argument they’re different, and they are. One could argue there’s a cost, but I don’t see it. It’s just you’re having kids sticking around longer.”

The ACC proposal comes during a changing academic landscape for athletes. NCAA rules have lowered the admission standard for athletes and increased the percentage of course work completed each year to remain eligible.

“I really think the NCAA academic reforms aren’t reforms at all,” Bensel-Meyers said. “They’re just window dressing, and it’s going to lead to more academic fraud. The ACC might have good faculty reps to work around that issue. I don’t think that will be the case for a majority of schools.”

Will things be different this year?
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
October 5, 2004

It wasn’t difficult to read the frustration in coach Al Groh’s face during last October’s 30-27 overtime loss at Clemson.

Groh has always been a coach in love with the power running game and last year, at least in the early portion of the season, the Cavaliers just couldn’t get it done with the run against a good defense.

The Tigers were simply more physical than the Wahoos in that game and nothing revealed that fact more than Virginia’s failure to convert in short yardage situations in the game at Death Valley.

Stopped cold

First quarter, third-and-one for UVa at the Clemson 47 ... Wali Lundy gets the call and tries to get around the right end and is dropped for a loss of one. Punt.

First quarter, the next series, third-and-one at the Clemson 44 ... Lundy gets the call again, off left tackle and is stopped for no gain. Punt.

Second quarter, trailing 10-0, it’s third-and-two at the Virginia 27. Alvin Pearman tries left tackle and gains only a yard. Punt.

Focusing binoculars on Groh from the press box, it was evident he wasn’t a happy camper. He has always taken pride in physical football and this time his team was getting whipped.

That might explain why the next 19 straight play calls and 37 of the 42 plays called in the second half were pass plays. Only in overtime did Virginia return to the run, and guess what ...

Third-and-one at the Clemson 16, Pearman was hammered off right tackle for nothing, zip, nada. Virginia kicked a field goal, but the Tigers answered with a touchdown and a win.

The Cavs finished the game with a mere three rushing first downs. They ran it but 22 times for a net gain of 53 yards.

That might explain why Virginia put such a heavy emphasis on getting more physical in the spring and the off-season.

Bring the hit

Virginia’s spring drills were bone-jarring, full of high impact, full contact football with the aim to make the Wahoos as tough as they come. They left Pearman shaking his head some days as the head knocking intensified.

“I thought to myself, ‘Does Coach really want us to do this?’” Pearman said. “Is this legal? Can we really stand 20 yards apart with no pads and run smack into each other?”

So, things have changed drastically in a year’s time and Thursday night, with a national television audience looking on, sets the stage for the Cavaliers to show how far they’ve come.

Brown remembers those short yardage failures last season and said they serve as an inspiration for the new offensive line to get it done. Still, he knows it won’t be easy.

“We feel like we’re a different line this year,” Big E said. “But [Clemson] is one of the teams you have to bring your four quarter game to. It’s a fight with these guys every year. They have a physical

defensive line, they have athletic and physical linebackers. They bring the fight to you and you have to be willing to bring the fight back at them.”

At this point, Virginia leads the ACC in rushing with an average of 284 yards per game and a whopping average of 6.1 yards per attempt. Clemson is next-to-last in the league in defense against the run, surrendering 219 yards per game on the ground and 4.3 per touch.

Not only will Groh throw a stable of backs at Clemson behind his more physical offensive line, but he’ll have the X Factor in mobile quarterback Marques Hagans, who used his mobility to make two huge plays against Syracuse.

One was a 59-yard gallop for a touchdown once pass protection broke down. The other was a 54-yard pass play off a bootleg when Hagans made a remarkable connection on the run to tight end Heath Miller.

Groh beams every time the play is mentioned, but used assistant coach John Garrett’s quote about the Hagans’ pass.

“He said, ‘It was one of the greatest throws he’s ever seen any place,’” Groh said.

Garrett was a wide receiver for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, then coached with Tampa Bay, Cincinnati and Arizona.

Hagans was running all out to escape a pass rusher, knowing he had to thread the needle to Miller between two defenders. Somehow, he fired a hissing spiral down field to Miller, who picked up 54 yards.

“I knew if I could just get it to Big Money [Miller], we would be fine,” Hagans said. “I saw a few inches and I threw it with everything I had ... trust me, I’m not lying.”

So, not only will the Cavs throw a more physical attack at the Tigers, but will have the finesse of Hagans on the bootleg and his ability to turn chicken feathers into chicken salad when things break down.

“I think the ability to run the ball helps the bootleg a lot,” Hagans said. “Once you establish the run, teams have to respect that. Being able to sell good play fakes off the boot and make something happen when you get on the edge is the key. I love running the bootleg. We want to be one of the best bootleg teams in the nation and it’s fun to get out on the edge and try to make something happen.”

And when things break down? No problem.

“It gets a lot funner when things break down,” Hagans said.

Let the fun begin.

Cavs, Tigers headed in different directions
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 5, 2004

Two months makes a world of difference in college football.
Virginia’s Thursday night game with Clemson proves just that.
Sixty days ago this game looked a lot bigger. Virginia was picked third in the 2004 preseason ACC media poll and Clemson was picked fourth.
Since then, Virginia has racked up four straight convincing wins and climbed to No. 10 in the national polls.
Clemson (1-3) struggled to get a season-opening win over Wake Forest in double overtime and quickly lost three straight contests, including a pair of ACC games.
While the game may not be as big as it once looked, it remains just as important for both teams.
Virginia coach Al Groh has repeatedly spoken of the importance of getting to November and still being in the title chase.
With a road game at Florida State looming, the Cavaliers can ill afford to slip up against the Tigers if they want to keep their title hopes alive.
Throw in the nationally televised audience and there could be an added reason for concern of a letdown.
Don’t tell that to Groh.
“I haven’t talked about it and I don’t have a sense it’s necessary here,” Groh said of playing on ESPN. “Everybody is a little juiced because of it, but the team is very cognizant of the challenge that Clemson gives us and what we have to do if we are going to win. I think collectively they have a pretty good set of blinders on. The team is a reflection of its coach.”
Clemson is suddenly battling for its postseason life. A loss to UVa would leave the team with four losses and force the Tigers to go 5-1 the rest of the way just to become bowl eligible.
Despite the crooked number in the loss column, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said his team remains focused.
“There’s a sense of urgency that’s good and a sense of urgency that’s bad,” Bowden told reporters after a practice session on Sunday. “You definitely don’t want them uptight. If they’re playing with a sense of [desperation] you get a little tight, the quarterback gets afraid to make a throw, the back’s afraid to fumble, you’re afraid to take a chance on an interception.”
For the season, Clemson has turned the ball over 14 times on offense and forced only two turnovers on defense.
After the most recent contest, Bowden contacted a number of coaches - including Bob Stoops, Pete Carroll, Lloyd Carr, Sonny Lubick and John Thompson - in search of answers to creating more turnovers on defense.
Bowden does not seem to have as big a problem with the turnovers on the offensive side of the ball.
“That’s my only motto right now - If you mess up, mess up full speed,” Bowden said. “I don’t think [the opposite] has materialized.”

Hitting a high note. Virginia offensive lineman Elton Brown may have a new job in the Cavaliers’ pregame activities.
With defensive end Chris Canty out for the season with a knee injury, Brown says he will pick up Canty’s chores of singing while the team stretches before games.
“I will fill that role,” Brown said. “I’ve got to call Chris and get his playlist.”
Speaking of Canty, Brown told reporters on Sunday that prior to returning for their senior seasons, both players took out insurance policies to protect them against injuries that would keep them from playing in the NFL.
Canty, who had surgery on Thursday, is not expected to be in attendance at the Clemson game.

The ‘k’ in sack stands for Kerney. Former UVa defensive lineman Patrick Kerney leads the NFL in sacks.
Through four games, Kerney has recorded seven sacks and has 26 tackles, 24 of which were solo tackles.
Kerney and the Atlanta Falcons have matched Virginia’s hot 4-0 start.
The former collegiate All-American was on FOX Sports radio on Monday and said the biggest reason for the Falcons’ success is their new coach Jim Mora, Jr.
“He is so intense all the time. It is awesome. I think you see that reflected in the way we are playing,” Kerney said. “He has worked us hard and he’s made us pay a price, but the fact of the matter is if you want to be successful in the NFL with the parity in the league, you are going to have to out work other teams and that’s what he has had us doing so far and I think he continues to do so. He’s definitely shown a bit of fire.”
Kerney is not the only former UVa player on the Falcons’ roster. Former Cavalier quarterback Matt Schaub entered Sunday’s win over Carolina in the fourth quarter. After taking a knee on the final play, Schaub was credited with a rush for minus two yards.

Halftime is tempting. During Thursday’s game, fans will be treated to a performance as the Cavalier Marching Band performs with The Temptations Review starring Dennis Edwards.
Together, the group will play classic hits, “My Girl,” “Get Ready,” “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” and “Standing on the Top.”
”I’m excited about it,” said Bill Pease, director of Cavalier Bands, in a news release. “The band is playing the back up music, and we’ll have dancers on the field. It should be a lot of fun.”

Tickets remain. Less than 300 reserved seat tickets remain on sale for Thursday’s game according to Dick Mathias, assistant athletic director for ticket office management.
Tickets may be purchased in person at the Athletic Ticket Office in Bryant Hall, by telephone at 1-800-542-UVA1 or on-line at www.virginiasports.com.

Cavs hope to prevent 'jet' from taking off
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Oct 5, 2004
CLEMSON AT NO. 10 U.VA.
THURSDAY: 7:30 p.m. ON THE AIR: TV ESPN; radio WRVA (1140), 7 p.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE If the Florida tate Seminoles are not the ACC's fastest football team, then they're a close second behind Miami. So what does that say about Clemson's Justin Miller?

He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns covering 97 and 86 yards, respectively against the Seminoles on Sept.25. The 5-11, 200-pound junior from Owensboro, Ky., finished the game with 282 yards an NCAA single-game record on six kickoff returns. Miller became the first player in ACC history to return two kickoffs for TDs in one game.

"He's a real jet," Virginia coach AlGroh said.

Groh's 10th-ranked Cavaliers (1-0, 4-0) play host to the Tigers (1-2, 1-3) in an ACC clash Thursday night. Miller's special-teams prowess figures prominently in Virginia's scouting report.
Citicard

"That certainly is a concern," Groh said. "It can change the game in a hurry."

Miller, a three-year starter at cornerback who had eight interceptions as a true freshman in 2002, leads the ACC in kickoff returns (36.4-yard average) and ranks fourth in punt returns (12.7). He is second nationally in kickoff returns, two spots ahead of Virginia senior Marquis Weeks (34.0). Miller ran back a punt 69 yards for a TD in the opener against Wake Forest.

"He's got a good initial spurt, which is necessary, especially on punts, because [on] kickoffs, it's a different kind of opening. You can see it coming for a while," Groh said.

"There are not very many guys that are both punt and kickoff guys as he is. That's a good indication of his skills with it."

In 2002, Miller went 80 yards for a touchdown against N.C. State on his first career kickoff return. In 2003, he returned a punt 63 yards for a TD against Duke.

Among ACC teams, U.Va. ranks fourth in kickoff coverage, having allowed an average of 21.4 yards. Of Kurt Smith's 32 kickoffs this season, 14 have been touchbacks. Virginia's punters have averaged only 31.9 yards by far the lowest in the ACC but only one of their 12 kicks has been returned.

 

Canty, Cavs' defensive captain, is out
Virginia has a short week to prepare for home game with Clemson on Thursday
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.

Changes are in store for Virginia's defense.

The loss of defensive end Chris Canty to a leg injury last week means that Coach Al Groh will have to shuffle around some players and adjust schemes to compensate.

"We had an exceptional college play-maker who we don't have anymore," Groh said of Canty, who will have surgery Thursday.

"So we have to find the plays from other players or from alterations in the scheme or the production is logically going to drop off."

Canty, a 6-7, 290-pound All-America candidate, got hurt midway through the fourth quarter of Virginia's 31-10 victory against Syracuse and is out for the year.

Kwakou Robinson has been penciled in to take Canty's spot, but Robinson and the rest of the defense know that it will take a team effort to replaces the captain starting Thursday night when the No. 10 Cavaliers (4-0) will play Clemson (1-3) in Charlottesville.

Groh doesn't want Robinson to try to be Canty, just play solidly.

"We're not trying to replace Chris. When a player leaves the lineup, it's unrealistic and unfair to say we're going to replace him," Groh said. "We're going to put a new player in with different skills and a whole different persona to him."

Robinson started five games as a freshman when Canty was injured, but he has been limited to 56 plays through four games this season. He's been in on five tackles.

"I can't really compare anything to my freshman year," he said. "I didn't really know anything. I really was put in the fire, and I really didn't know as much as I know now, so now it's a totally different situation, and now I know more."

Robinson, 6-4 and 327, is eager to see how far he's come.

"I'm definitely excited to get a little more plays and see what I can really do at a starting level and see if I can really take 60 plays and I'm up to the task," he said. "It's a challenge for me as well, within myself, to see if I can do it."

The Thursday night game is a rare opportunity for the Cavaliers to move into the national spotlight on ESPN and showcase the program and the university.

For football junkies, Groh said, it also begins a five-day feeding frenzy.

"The Thursday night game I think really officially kicks off the football weekend. If people want to start their football weekend, it's on Thursday night," he said.

"Monday night kind of ends the football week, and Thursday night kind of starts the football week. I know how much NFL players look forward to being on on Monday night.

"I'm sure this is the same thing."

The Cavaliers are 3-4 in Thursday night games, and got perhaps their biggest victory ever by beating then-No. 2 Florida State 33-28 on a Thursday night at home in 1995.

But the game also presents logistical problems for players and fans. The visiting team usually misses class for two days, then gets home late after the game. The home fans can't show up too early because their parking lots are in use during the day.

"I don't think you really want to do it too often because while it's great for the at-home fan, it obviously causes inconveniences for your regular fan base," Groh said.

Cavaliers downplay talk of rankings
Team is paying more attention to Thursday night's game against Clemson than to recent national accolades
Jeremy Root, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

With the loss of three top-12 teams this past weekend -- No. 6 West Virginia, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 10 Tennessee -- Virginia, previously ranked No. 12 in nation, has moved into the top 10 for the first time this season. The Cavaliers are ranked 10th nationally in the Associated Press poll and 9th in the country by the most recent ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.

However, the Cavalier players and coaches said they don't pay attention to the opinions of sports writers and other college coaches.

"We're in the top 10 at the end of November, then that's when it means something," senior right guard Elton Brown said. "Right now, the rankings don't matter to us. We're just trying to play Florida State undefeated."

To get to the Seminoles with their record unblemished, the Cavaliers will have to go through the Clemson Tigers. The Tigers come to Charlottesville for a nationally televised game on ESPN this Thursday night. Clemson came into this season with high expectations after finishing last year on a four-game winning streak and with a No. 22 national ranking. But the Tigers have fallen to a 1-3 overall mark this season, including a 1-2 conference record. Clemson hasn't won since its first game of the season, a 37-30 triumph over Wake Forest in double overtime. Nevertheless, the Tigers are still worthy challengers.

"We're going through a stretch where the competition is going to continue to get more and more intense," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "When you get into conference play and you're fighting for the championship or you're jockeying for position in the standings to determine what your postseason opportunities might be, the team that you're playing, they got the same aspirations you do."

If Virginia football players enjoyed their bye weekend by watching college football, they saw some upsets, including Northwestern's first win over Ohio State in Evanston since 1958 and Virginia Tech's 19-13 triumph over No. 6 West Virginia to spoil the Mountaineers' quest for an undefeated season.

"Obviously it's true in many cases that occur in the first five or six weeks that in games when the score comes across the ticker and everybody thinks it's an upset based on what the preseason poll was, come December we see the team that won was really the best team in the first place and it really wasn't an upset at all," Groh said. "We haven't discussed rankings in any way to this point. I don't really see that that has really great relevance to us right now. The Clemson situation is threat enough to us."

News and Notes

Junior Kwakou Robinson will make his first start of the season versus Clemson. The 6-foot-4-inch, 327-pound defensive end from Brooklyn N.Y. will start in place of the injured Chris Canty, the team leader of solo tackles and tackles for a loss. Robinson started six games overall in 2002 including the Continental Tire Bowl because of injuries to Canty and was named to the 2002 ACC All-Freshman team by The Sporting News. Canty was lost for the season after undergoing knee surgery Thursday for an injury he suffered versus Syracuse. ... Deyon Williams is back in the starting lineup after missing the Syracuse game because of a hamstring injury he sustained during practices in the week leading up to the contest against the Orange. ... Coach Groh said Clemson will be the most athletic and fastest team Virginia has faced this season, but added that he'll probably say that two more times this year. ... Upon being told by a reporter that Marques Hagans said he wanted Virginia to become the best bootleg offense in the country, Groh said, "I think he's sending me a message." ... Groh used former NFL player and coach John Garrett's statement to describe Hagan's 54-yard on-the-run bullet throw to Heath Miller: "It's one of the greatest throws I've ever seen, anyplace," Groh recalled of Garrett's statement.

Thursday night lights give Cavs chance to shine on national stage
Joe Lemire, Cavalier Daily Columnist

Are you ready for some football?

When the Cavaliers take the field against Clemson Thursday night in ESPN's nationally-televised broadcast, there will be even more at stake than avenging an overtime loss that derailed Virginia's aspirations to contend for the conference title last year. The game will also provide the 'Hoos a chance to assert themselves on the national stage in their first game since breaking the top-10 earlier this week.

"We see it as our debut to show the country what we can do," junior co-captain Brennan Schmidt said.

What better venue to demonstrate its status as a legitimate BCS challenger than this one? As Al Groh said, "Thursday night really kicks off the football weekend." A win in Thursday's national spotlight will help Virginia prove its mettle and provide a springboard of momentum into its contest at Florida State the following Saturday, which just so happens to be another night game airing on ESPN.

With a 4-0 record and a 33.5 point average margin of victory, the No. 10 Cavaliers have certainly not gone unnoticed, but critics can easily point to Virginia's weak early season schedule as a major reason for the success. Virginia's first four opponents have a cumulative record of just 7-13, but should that diminish the authoritative way the Cavs have dispatched each team with relative ease?

On paper, Clemson and its 1-3 record might suggest that the Tigers will be another pushover, but don't be fooled by their slow start. Clemson ranked 15th in the preseason and trailed Florida State only 24-22 late in the third quarter two weeks ago in Tallahassee.Virginia can easily be dubbed a surprise for the way it has ascended to the upper echelon of teams in the nation. The last time Virginia was a surprise -- two years ago when the Cavaliers unexpectedly grabbed second place in the ACC -- it did so meekly from a statistical point of view. In 2002, Virginia finished 9-5 but had the eighth-ranked defense and the ninth-best offense. And that was back when the ACC only had nine teams.

This year is different. I can't remember a time when Virginia had compiled such gaudy stats. The Cavaliers are ranked fourth in the nation in scoring offense (45.5 points per game), fifth in rushing offense (284.0 yards per game), seventh in total offense (500.5 ypg) and, yes, even fourth in kick returning (33.5 yards per return).

Thursday night could be a milestone game for this program. It's one thing to be a regionally broadcast game on ESPN2, as was the case for Virginia's opener at Temple, but it's another thing altogether to be televised on a national network when there's no alternate game competing for viewers. Groh called it a "powerful way to get exposure for your University," and players and fans alike are eager for the game.

"I think that atmosphere is going to be exciting," said quarterback Marques Hagans, whose 182.9 passer rating is fourth best in the country.

Senior All-America candidate Elton Brown dispelled the concern that the national attention might in any way be detrimental.

"I don't think you can be over-hyped or over-excited," he said.

This is college football at its finest. When asked even just this past summer about home football games in Charlottesville, I raved about our tradition and about how much fun the gameday experience was, but I always had to qualify my statements with "for Virginia" or "for a second-tier program like ours."

No longer is such a restriction necessary. Earlier this season, a scouting friend of Groh's described the Scott Stadium atmosphere as one of the best he's seen in college football, and Thursday should be our best demonstration of support yet.

From the Wahoo Walk (the team's march through tailgating fans en route to the stadium) to an overwhelming Sea of Orange, Virginia football is standing in the threshold that separates college football's powerhouses from the wanna-bes. Thursday's game is to show that we belong with the best.