Five standouts holding Cavaliers' interest
By Jamie Oakes / Special to the Daily Progress
October 28, 2004

Virginia is off to the fastest start in college football recruiting history. Al Groh and staff have 24 verbal commitments in tow and there are still over three months until Signing Day. Obviously, the scholarships in the 2005 class are running low and the Cavs are working hard to fill the remaining spots with impact players. Who are the top five players remaining on the board?

Toney Baker
Baker, a 5-foot-10, 218-pound running back from Jamestown, N.C., is one of the hottest running back prospects in the nation. The talented back broke the all-time North Carolina career rushing mark last week with a 284-yard, four-touchdown performance. Those numbers put Baker at 9,286 yards rushing for his career and moved him to third on the national all-time list. Baker, who credits his physical development to a diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a strict workout regimen, is not only a power runner, he is also a gifted receiver out of the backfield and a punishing blocker. Baker has a solid top five and is ranked five-stars by Rivals.com.
North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech are Baker’s top five schools at the moment, but he hopes to narrow it down to three schools by next month.
“Coach Rocco and all of the coaches at Virginia have been very consistent in my recruitment. I feel comfortable with coaches and the program is heading in the right direction.” Baker said. “Virginia looks very good right now, but they are on the verge of being great. The offense is definitely a positive for UVa and I could see myself playing in it.”

Brian Cushing
Cushing a 6-4, 216-pound outside linebacker from Oradell N.J., can best be described as a physical phenom. Cushing has played, and has been recruited to play linebacker, wide receiver, running back and safety. Linebacker/safety is where he will play in college and after missing two games with a high ankle sprain, Cushing is putting up some incredible numbers. In his last two games, Cushing has racked up 50 tackles, seven sacks, two blocked punts and an interception. Cushing is rated four-stars by Rivals.com.
Louisville, Miami, Notre Dame, Virginia and Notre Dame are the five schools that are at the top of Cushing’s list. Cushing had a great visit to Charlottesville in June.
“I have really good relationships with Coach D’Onofrio, Coach Golden and Coach Groh. Virginia is close to home and offers the opportunity to get a great education and play big-time football at the same time,” Cushing said.

Victor “Macho” Harris
Harris, a 6-foot, 185 pound running back/cornerback from Highland Springs, is the top rated prospect in Virginia for 2005. Harris has played running back, wide receiver and safety for the Springers this season but he seems to prefer to play cornerback at the collegiate level because he feels it gives the best opportunity to play on Sundays. So far this season, Harris has rushed for 1,703 yards with 22 touchdowns and has an interception on defense. Harris is up for whatever position a college may want him to play and he could be star at either running back or cornerback. He is rated five-stars by Rivals.com.
Miami, Michigan, Southern Cal, Virginia and Virginia Tech are the teams that are still in contention for Harris. He has already visited Southern Cal (Oct. 15) and will visit Michigan (Oct. 29), Virginia (Dec. 3), Virginia Tech (Dec. 10) and Miami (Dec. 17). Virginia is primarily recruiting Harris to play cornerback.
“I like the coaches at Virginia. Mike Groh has been on me for a while now so I really feel like I know him well,” Harris said. “Virginia is the school that is closest tohome and I went to two games last year.”

Todd Nolen
Nolen, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound wide receiver from Hampton, is a prospect who is flying below the national radar. He is the most talented receiver in the 2005 Virginia class, although his three-star Rivals.com ranking might not show that. In Nolen’s last four games, he has amassed 738 yards receiving and five touchdowns helping lead Hampton High School to a 7-0 record. Nolen runs precise routes, shows great hands, and has excellent “ball skills.” His height, speed, leaping ability and willingness to go across the middle make him a threat to any opposing defense.
Nebraska, UNC, Syracuse, UVa and Va. Tech are the schools that are still in contention. Nolen has said for some time that Nebraska and Virginia are his two favorites, but Virginia seems to have taken a slight edge over the Cornhuskers in this battle. Virginia has been looking for top wide receiver prospects in this recruiting class.
“Coach London is not only my recruiting coach from Virginia, he is almost like family. I have a bond with him. He grew up where I grew up and has a lot of ties to this area. Virginia has a lot of players from Hampton that are on the roster and have played there in the past. It is almost like a tradition,” Nolen said.

Derrick Williams
Williams, a 6-foot, 189-pound wide receiver from Greenbelt Md., needs no introduction to most because he is rated the No.1 player in the nation. Williams has lit up camps up and down the East Coast and has been on the cover of multiple publications and has been on ESPNNEWS on more than one occasion. In a word, Williams is incredible. He is fast, strong and he oozes with natural athletic ability. Williams plays quarterback and some wide receiver for Roosevelt, but he is being recruited to play wide receiver at the collegiate level. So far on the season, Williams has racked up over 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns on offense. Williams is rated five-stars by Rivals.com.
Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia remain in contention for the nation’s top high school player.
Virginia jumped into the mix out of nowhere. Williams and his father, Dwight, visited Charlottesville for the Cavaliers’ Spring Game and the NIKE Camp. The Williams’ were impressed by the professionalism of the staff, the atmosphere and academics that Virginia provides.
“Virginia has been the school that has been relentless in recruiting me. I am constantly getting things in the mail from them and I think I have good relationships with Coach Garrett, Coach Prince and Coach London,” Williams said.

Jamie Oakes writes for thewagononline.com, one of the top sources for Virginia football recruiting.
 

Officially speaking, Friedgen not happy
College Notebook by Doug Doughty
The Roanoke Times

Maryland's Ralph Friedgen is the latest coach to express a beef with ACC football officiating, which also was the subject of the lead editorial in the most recent ACC Sports Journal.

Maryland was called for pass interference shortly before Clemson scored the go-ahead touchdown last Saturday in a 10-7 victory at Clemson, and that was after an apparent Maryland fumble recovery was overruled. Friedgen didn't mention field judge Ronnie Stewart by name, but let it be known he was referring to an official stationed in front of Clemson's bench.

"There were four calls over there, four by that guy," said Friedgen, who was asked about Stewart after the game. "He didn't come over to my sideline [after the interference call]. I think he called [the fumble] also. What bothered me on that one was the guy said we had the ball. Then, they changed their mind."

Disagreement at the end of the Maryland-Clemson game followed a controversial ending to an Oct.9 game at North Carolina, won by the Tar Heels 30-24 after a North Carolina State touchdown was signaled and then disallowed.

There have been questionable calls in other conferences, most notably at the Tennessee-Florida game in Knoxville, Tenn., where a Gators' loss in the closing seconds could not have helped Florida coach Ron Zook, fired this week.

Bobby Gaston, the Southeastern Conference supervisor of football officials, later confirmed that an error - or errors - had been made. Where the ACC Sports Journal took the ACC to task is for the unavailability or reluctance of supervisor Tommy Hunt to provide any closure.

Loaded again

Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith said he does not expect 6-foot-4 guard Jamont Gordon to sign with Tennessee during the early period, even though Memphis, the other school that he was considering, elected not to wait and took another guard. Smith said that Gordon, rated the No.38 prospect in the country by Bob Gibbons, has reopened his recruiting.

Top returning Oak Hill scorer K.C. Rivers, who has committed to Clemson, has been told that he can't run until Dec.15 after suffering a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula in a pickup game earlier this month. Smith said, when he saw Rivers' foot, that the foot was turned completely backward and that he thought Rivers' career was over.

Among the Oak Hill players who have made oral commitments are Rivers; 6-3 Eric Devendorf, who is headed to Syracuse; and 7-1, 188-pound Senegal native Bamba Fall, who may visit other schools but has given his word to SMU assistant Robert Lineburg of the Southwest Virginia Lineburg clan. However, the best player on the team might be 6-9, 192-pound junior Kevin Durant from Baltimore.

"He's the most skilled player I've had as a junior," said Smith, who had future first-round NBA Draft picks Carmelo Anthony and Josh Smith as seniors. "He needs to gain weight, but he didn't turn 16 until Sept.29, so he might be 6-10, 200 by February."

Durant and another junior, guard Tywon Lawson, had 33 and 29 points, respectively, when Oak Hill had its annual preseason scrimmage with Hargrave Military Academy, the nation's No.1-ranked prep school team in 2004. Oak Hill, which was No.1 among high schools last year, won the first "half" by 12 points and the third "half" by four points. Hargrave won the second "half" by five.

More recruiting

West Virginia reportedly has received a commitment from Hargrave's 6-7 Joe Alexander. ... UCLA has taken a commitment from Luc Moute, a 6-7 Cameroon native who earlier had taken an official recruiting visit to Virginia Tech. ... Richard Hendrix, a national top-10 prospect from Athens, Ala., picked Alabama over North Carolina.

Virginia's latest women's basketball recruit, 5-11 Enonge Stovall from Archbishop Carroll in Radnor, Pa., is the younger sister of Maurice Stovall, a prized wide receiver who broke UVa football hearts two years ago when he picked Notre Dame over the Cavaliers.

Bowl-eligible Cavs draw attention
Virginia notes
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

An entire season in the Top 25, including two weeks in the top 10, have given Virginia's football team a slightly different perspective.

When the Cavaliers defeated Duke 37-16 last Saturday, nobody mentioned that the Cavaliers had become bowl-eligible.

At 6-1, Virginia is guaranteed to finish the regular season with a winning record. In the ACC, only fourth-ranked Miami (6-0) and No.5 Florida State (6-1) can make the same claim.

Of the current 11 ACC members, eight would have been bowl-eligible last year, which would have been a touchy situation for a conference with six bowl tie-ins. Two of those teams - Miami and Virginia Tech - played in the Big East in 2003, but it does not appear that there will be an excess this year.

For one thing, two ACC teams that were ranked in the Top 25 to start the season, Maryland and Clemson, are both 3-4.

"It's pretty top heavy," said Tom Mickle, executive director of the Tangerine Bowl. "It looks like four teams have separated themselves, depending on what [Virginia] Tech does Thursday night at Georgia Tech.

"Having the fourth pick, we think we're going to have a great team, if they don't send four to the BCS. If Florida State moves up to No.4, I think they're pretty much guaranteed a [BCS] spot."

Peach Bowl executive director Gary Stokan scouted the Cavaliers last Saturday. The Peach Bowl has the third choice of ACC teams, while the Continental Tire Bowl picks fifth. Virginia has played in the Continental Tire Bowl following each of the past two seasons, but has never been to the Tangerine Bowl, played in Orlando, Fla.

"I think Virginia has separated itself because of its bowl ticket-selling the last couple of years, even though that was in Charlotte, N.C." Mickle said. "Their home ticket sales and the atmosphere at Scott Stadium has now made them much more attractive than they were five years ago.

"I think everybody is comfortable that Virginia would be a great selection if you could get them."

Back in the picture

Rich Bedesem's return to the starting lineup Saturday came after he had played five plays in a 36-3 loss to Florida State. Bedesem, who started alongside Kai Parham at inside linebacker in the Cavaliers' opener at Temple took Parham's place in the starting lineup.

Bedesem-for-Parham was the most noteworthy switch after head coach Al Groh put all of the starting jobs open for competition, but Parham actually had more plays at Duke, 31-26.

Making an impression

Virginia's most unlikely starter Saturday was Tom Santi, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound freshman who has been lining up at fullback. Santi, whose natural position is tight end, also played fullback against Florida State as the Cavaliers have attempted to cope with an injury to No.1 fullback Jason Snelling.

"This week is really the first that I've been kind of like a set fullback," said Santi, whose shoestring catch and 16-yard gain helped set up the insurance touchdown that put the Cavaliers ahead 30-16. "It's just fun to be out here. I really don't have a preference."

Groh said Sunday that the timetable he has been given for Snelling would suggest that Snelling will not be available for the Cavaliers' next game, Nov.6, against visiting Maryland. Snelling was averaging 6.9 yards per carry before injuring an ankle in the opening minutes of an Oct.7 game against Clemson.

Enduring record

Johnny Papit's single-game rushing record of 224 yards set in 1948 is one of the longest-standing on the UVa books, but not through lack of effort. Even before Alvin Pearman rushed for 223 yards on Saturday, Thomas Jones had 221-yard rushing games twice in the same season in 1999.

Pearman became the seventh UVa player to rush for 200 yards in a game. The other six had accomplished it a total of 15 times, including six by Jones and three by Papit. Tiki Barber, second to Jones on UVa's career rushing list, had a school-record 19 100-yard games but his single-game high was 185.

By the numbers

Pearman was able to threaten the record on a day when he did not have a run of more than 18 yards. He had five other runs of between 11-13 yards. ... With two receptions Saturday, junior tight end Heath Miller has moved into a tie for second place with John Ford on UVa's career receptions list with 128. Billy McMullen is first with 210. Pearman is fourth with 125. ... Of the top seven scorers in the ACC, only Virginia tailback Wali Lundy, who has a league-leading 72 points, is not a kicker.
 

ACC NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Oct 28, 2004

SELF-DESTRUCTING: In the ACC, only Clemson (minus 11) has a worse turnover margin than N.C. State (minus 10).

The Wolfpack (3-2, 4-3) has lost 10 fumbles - the most of any team in the conference - and thrown seven interceptions. Its defense has come up with seven turnovers, but that hasn't offset the Pack's troubles holding onto the ball.

"If anybody's got an answer, let me know," State coach Chuck Amato said. "We're looking for it."

OH, SO CLOSE: It's not much of a stretch to say that Wake Forest (0-4, 3-4) could be undefeated, Duke coach Ted Roof noted yesterday.

The Demon Deacons' losses to Clemson and N.C. State came in overtime. Wake lost 17-10 to Virginia Tech on Oct. 9 and 20-17 to Florida State last weekend.

"Our goal is certainly not just to be a competitive football team," Deacons coach Jim Grobe said. "From a program standpoint, you absolutely have to get to the point where you win the close ones."

Wake plays host to Duke (0-4, 1-6) at noon Saturday.

ELITE PERFORMER: Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer will get an up-close look at Georgia Tech tailback P.J. Daniels tonight in Atlanta. Beamer already has seen plenty of Daniels on videotape.

A junior, Daniels leads the ACC with an average of 105.8 yards rushing per game. The former walk-on is the only back in the league averaging more than 100 yards.

"You don't gain that many yards not being a really good back," Beamer said.

A season ago, Daniels led the ACC in rushing (111.3) and made the all-conference first team.

This year, Yellow Jackets coach Chan Gailey said, "I think he's a better open-field runner. I think he's making more people miss than he did last year."

TOUGH TO CRACK: Seven ACC teams are ranked among the top 25 nationally in total defense: N.C. State (No. 2), Virginia Tech (No. 7), Florida State (No. 8), Georgia Tech (No. 18), U.Va. (No. 20), Maryland (No. 21) and Miami (No. 23).

TAKE THAT: The recent performances of Miami quarterback Brock Berlin have silenced many of his critics. Berlin led the Hurricanes to an impressive comeback win over Louisville and then tied a school record by throwing for five touchdowns in a victory over N.C. State.

Berlin, a leading candidate for all-ACC honors, certainly made a few fans at N.C. State.

"People have been talking poorly about him and, after the game he played against us, I don't see why," Wolfpack defensive end Manny Lawson told the High Point (N.C.) Enterprise. "He played an excellent game. He connected with his receivers, he dodged our pressure. He did everything a quarterback's supposed to do."

UNSUNG HERO: At Virginia, tailback Wali Lundy has scored 12 touchdowns, tight end Heath Miller has caught 25 passes, tailback/returner Alvin Pearman has amassed 1,071 all-purpose yards, quarterback Marques Hagans has completed 67.3 of his passes, and linebacker Ahmad Brooks has made 56 tackles, including six sacks.

With all due respect to those players, though, "nobody's having a better season [at U.Va.] than Andrew Hoffman," fourth-year coach Al Groh said.

Hoffman, a 6-4, 280-pound senior, is a three-year starter at nose tackle. He's seventh on the team in tackles with 33, including six for loss.

STRAIGHT TALK: Florida State coach Bobby Bowden made it clear yesterday that he didn't approve of Florida's decision to fire Ron Zook on Monday. But when a reporter asked if FSU might benefit from the move, given Zook's reputation as a big-time recruiter, Bowden had an interesting answer.

"Let me say this: Ron was an excellent recruiter. He did a great job," Bowden said. "But it ain't hard to recruit for the University of Florida. You could recruit for them."

HANGING BY A THREAD: Forget about winning 10 games, as Maryland did in each of its first three seasons under coach Ralph Friedgen. The Terrapins (1-3, 3-4) must win at least three of their final four-regular games simply to become bowl-eligible.

It won't be easy. After playing host this weekend to fifth-ranked Florida State (4-1, 6-1), Maryland visits 13th-ranked Virginia (3-1, 6-1) on Nov. 6 and 22nd-ranked Virginia Tech (2-1, 5-2) on Nov. 18. The Terps close the regular season at home against Wake on Nov. 27. - Mike Harris and Jeff White

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Oct 26, 2004

ON THE DIAMOND: Fall baseball at Virginia concludes this week with the second annual "Orange vs. Blue World Series."

The first of three intrasquad scrimmages at Davenport Field will begin today at 4 p.m. The second is set for tomorrow at 6 p.m., with the third to start Thursday at 4 p.m. There's no charge to attend any of the seven-inning games.

The best-of-three series was scheduled to begin yesterday but was postponed because of wet conditions.

The Blue team's roster includes former U.Va. quarterback Anthony Martinez, a Patrick Henry High graduate. Martinez is trying out for the baseball team and has hit with power during fall practices. Cavaliers coach Brian O'Connor has said he'll decide at the end of fall ball whether to invite Martinez to stay with the team in the spring.

In 2004, its first season under O'Connor, Virginia finished 44-15, tying the school record for victories in a season. The Cavaliers also advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in eight years and became the first state school to play host to an NCAA baseball regional.

U.Va., picked seventh in the ACC, posted a regular-season record of 18-6 in the conference, by far the best in school history.

WAITING GAME: Virginia's Nov. 6 football game against Maryland at Scott Stadium will begin at noon or 3:30 p.m. But an announcement on when that ACC game will start and which network will televise it won't come until next weekend.

ABC is considering three games for its 3:30 p.m. slot on Nov. 6: U.Va.-Maryland, Georgia Tech-N.C. State and Virginia Tech-North Carolina. The network will announce its choice by Sunday.

ESPN will then pick from the remaining two games. Jefferson-Pilot Sports will televise the game that neither ABC nor ESPN selects. The ESPN and J-P games will start at noon.

BULLDOZER: The ACC's offensive lineman of the week, for the fourth time in his career and second time this season, is Virginia's Elton Brown.

A 6-6, 338-pound guard from Hampton, Brown helped U.Va. run through and over Duke on Saturday. U.Va. rushed for 348 yards, its highest total in six years. Virginia's 61 carries were its most in 14 years.

U.Va. tailback Alvin Pearman rushed for 223 yards - one shy of the school record - but the ACC's offensive-back-of-the-week award went to Miami quarterback Brock Berlin. Against N.C. State's vaunted defense, Berlin passed for 265 yards and five touchdowns in the Hurricanes' 45-31 win Saturday night.

HELP WANTED: Virginia has only four scholarship tailbacks on its roster, and one of them, Pearman, is a senior. Another, Wali Lundy, is a junior, so restocking at tailback is a priority for the Cavaliers.

U.Va.'s targets include Toney Baker from Ragsdale High in Jamestown, N.C., and T.J. Pitts from North Hall High in Gainesville, Ga. Pitts plays for Bob Christmas, who previously coached at Jefferson Forest High, where his standouts included Anthony Poindexter.

Baker became the all-time leading rusher in North Carolina history Friday when he ran for 284 yards in Ragsdale's win over Asheboro. His career total is 9,286 yards.

U.Va. wideout Emmanuel Byers, a redshirt freshman, is a Ragsdale graduate and a close friend of Baker. Byers has fallen from favor with the Virginia coaches recently, however, and didn't travel with the team to Duke. That's not likely to improve Virginia's standing with Baker.

Baker still lists U.Va. among his finalists, but N.C. State may be the team to beat in this battle.

IN THE CREASE: For men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia, an especially pleasing development this fall was the play of Kyle Dixon. "I don't want to go too far out on a limb, but it looks like he's ready to step up," Starsia said.

A 6-4, 213-pound junior from Millersville, Md., Dixon was a member of the Cavaliers' starting midfield in 2003, when U.Va. won the NCAA title, and again in 2004. After scoring 17 points in a supporting role as a freshman, Dixon was expected to become one of the team's leaders last season. But he was inconsistent and seemed to disappear during some key stretches. With 21 points, Dixon tied for third on the team in scoring, but U.Va. failed to make the NCAA tournament.

This fall, Dixon was more consistent and showed signs of becoming a player on whom Virginia can count. "For us, Kyle's play is going to have a lot to say about the quality of our season," Starsia said. - Jeff White

Cavs in comfortable spot
With week off, team can gather strength for tough final stretch
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Oct 25, 2004

Time and again this season, Virginia football coach Al Groh has repeated his mantra to anyone who'd listen:

"All we're trying to do is get to Nov. 1 and still be in the hunt."

His Cavaliers have achieved that objective. They struggled against the only elite opponent they've faced to date - fifth-ranked Florida State - but otherwise have overwhelmed their competition. Take away its 36-3 loss to FSU on Oct. 16, and U.Va. has outscored its foes 249-74.

Virginia rose one spot, to No. 13, in The Associated Press poll released yesterday. Groh's club didn't look sharp or inspired Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium but still hammered Duke 37-16. The victory leaves the Cavs (3-1, 6-1) third in the ACC race as they head into their second and final open week.

First is Miami (3-0, 6-0), which visits Scott Stadium on Nov. 13, followed by FSU (4-1, 6-1).

Groh said last night that his players should be proud of what they've accomplished.

"I think there's clearly lots of teams that would like to be 6-1," he said. "It's important that the players feel good about what they've done to get here, which I think is substantial. It's also important for the team to realize that the final judgment of the season will be determined by the last four weeks."

U.Va. returns to action Nov. 6 at Scott Stadium against struggling Maryland (1-3, 3-4), which must face Florida State this weekend. Then comes the much-anticipated date with fourth-ranked Miami, which hammered N.C. State on Saturday night.

The Wahoos' final two regular-season games are on the road: Nov. 20 against Georgia Tech (3-2, 4-2) in Atlanta and Nov. 27 against 22nd-ranked Virginia Tech (2-1, 5-2) in Blacksburg.

Unhappy with the Cavaliers' play in Tallahassee, Fla., Groh told his players that "every week's a tryout" for their positions. He wasn't bluffing. Virginia's starting lineup against Duke included tailback Alvin Pearman and inside linebacker Rich Bedesem, both of whom had been coming off the bench. All Pearman did was rush for 223 yards, one shy of the school record. Junior Wali Lundy, cast in an unfamiliar reserve role, ran for 82 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.

Bedesem, a senior, replaced sophomore Kai Parham on the first team, but they played about the same number of snaps Saturday. Parham was credited with four tackles, including a sack, and Bedesem with three.

Against the Blue Devils (0-4, 1-6), U.Va. ran the ball a season-high 61 times, largely because a hip injury kept junior quarterback Marques Hagans from passing with his customary accuracy. Virginia players are off until Thursday, and the rest figures to help Hagans and his teammates gather strength for the stretch run.

"I'm pretty sure by this time of the season everybody's got nicks and bruises here and there," sophomore linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. "It's time that we get a rest and get ready for Maryland."

Trenches controlled by Cavs
Offensive line leads Virginia pass protection, running game to success
Barney Breen-portnoy, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

Virginia running backs Wali Lundi and Alvin Pearman both rank in the ACC top-10 in rushing yards. Quarterback Marques Hagans ranks second in the ACC in passing yards and Virginia's offense is ranked No. 1 overall in the conference. What do these achievements have in common? None of them would be possible without the stellar play of Virginia's offensive line.

The offensive line of a football team is tasked with protecting the quarterback, thereby giving him enough time to complete his passes to open receivers, and opening up holes and creases for the running back to exploit on his way downfield. The cohesion of the offensive line is critical to the success of a team's offensive game plan. Luckily for Virginia, the Cavaliers' offensive line one of the most accomplished in the entire nation.

Starting lineman Brian Barthelmes, one of the key cogs on the offensive line, said he sees strong cohesion on the Cavaliers' line.

"We're different guys, but we hang out a lot," Barthelmes said. "When we're out there [on the field], you know you can rely on the guy next to you to make the block. We're confident that everyone out there is going to play hard and know what they're doing."

Virginia's offensive linemen are extremely familiar with each other's tendencies. There was little turnover on the line between the 2003 and 2004 seasons. All Virginia starting linemen are either juniors or seniors, and they have now spent several seasons learning Virginia coach Al Groh's system together.

"There's a good bond and a good unity about this line," Groh said.

The resurgence of the Cavaliers' diverse rushing attack is one of the main reasons that Virginia is still alive in the ACC title race. The duo of Lundi and Pearman has dominated opposing defenses, with the sole exception of the Florida State Seminoles. Groh said he has been happy with the production and execution of his offensive line.

"They've done a real good job for us," Groh said. "We've been able to use quite a few different schemes, and they executed all of them well."

Arguably, the best-known player on the line is senior guard Elton Brown. Brown is one of 12 semi-finalists for the national 2004 Lombardi Award. On Monday, Brown was selected as the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week for his role in the offensive line's devastation of the Duke defensive front. The Cavaliers accumulated 348 rushing yards against the Blue Devils.

To have a shot at the ACC title, the Cavaliers will most likely have to go undefeated for the rest of the season. Virginia's running game will be critical as the Cavaliers fight for a conference championship.

"Our main goal is that, when we go on the road in November in tougher games, to be able to run the ball," junior tackle Brad Butler said.

Barthelmes said he relishes the fact that Virginia is known for its rushing prowess.

"I'd like to say this is a smash mouth team," he said.

Virginia will likely have to maintain its "smash mouth" style of play in order to defeat late season opponents such as Miami. Continued excellence on the offensive line could be a key element to a late season winning streak and a potential BCS bowl game.

When called upon, Pearman delivers
Tailback racks up 223 yards in surprise start at Duke to inject life into Virginia ground game
Walker Freer, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

In the game against Duke Saturday, Alvin Pearman made major strides in changing his image as a football player.

Long thought of as a quicker, shiftier back more likely to come out of the backfield and catch a pass downfield than to take the handoff and cut up the middle, Pearman ran in, out and around a porous Blue Devil defense.

As quarterback Marques Hagans had an off day with the passing game, the senior tailback stepped up, putting the entire Virginia team on his back and literally carrying them to victory. Starting in place of junior Wali Lundy, Pearman rushed for 223 yards, coming up just one yard short of the Virginia single-game rushing record.

Following Duke's first touchdown of the game, one that left the Cavaliers trailing early against a team with one of the worst defenses in the country, Pearman took over. In a scene that would become familiar to the Blue Devils defense over the course of the afternoon, Hagans took the snap from center, turned and delivered the ball to Pearman. Virginia's third drive of the game was exhibit A of this display. To start the 11-play drive, Hagans handed the ball to Pearman 10 straight times, producing 69 yards rushing and paving the way for Lundy's ensuing one-yard touchdown run.

While Pearman came up one yard short of the single game record, he didn't seem to waste time thinking about it.

"That's not something that team football players do," Pearman said. "There were holes all over the place. When there are holes, anyone can run through them."

While Pearman downplayed his performance, his coaches and teammates would not let him get away without taking any of the credit.

"Alvin did a real good job on a lot of those plays." Virginia coach Al Groh said. "He had a feel for the tempo of the play, too. He knew when to slow down and when to speed up."

Judging from his showing, Pearman was shifting gears from slow to fast like a well tuned sports car, leaving tire-tracks all over the Duke defense.

"A lot of the credit goes to the running back himself," offensive lineman Brad Butler said. "He made a lot of guys miss out in the secondary."

With the exception of quarterback, it seems that Pearman has played just about every position possible on offense while at Virginia, including kickoff/punt return, running back and even wide receiver.

It's this versatility that has given opposing defenses fits when drawing up a game plan as they never know just at what position Pearman will line up. Against Syracuse a month ago, Pearman started not in the backfield, but at wide receiver, catching two passes for 12 yards.

Last year when Florida State came to Charlottesville and Lundy was out because of injury, Pearman started at tailback. While he started in the backfield, he did the majority of his damage receiving balls and taking them downfield. He caught a school record 16 passes for 134 yards, simultaneously turning the short passing game into a credible threat, putting the Seminole defense back on its heels.

The difference this year is that Virginia can now rely on Pearman to pick up one or two yards in short distance situations. Last year the Cavaliers relied heavily on play action passes to the tight ends on short third and fourth down conversions.

Pearman does not hesitate to go for those tough yards between the tackles now, a fact that was evident this past weekend. He has transcended from finesse to force, yet hasn't lost that silky smooth ability to take a swing pass and break it for a touchdown.

Receivers do the dirty work
Joe Lemire, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

While most football teams rely heavily on the pass-catching ability and game-breaking speed of their wide receivers, those skills seem to be superfluous requirements to play the position for the Cavaliers.

Against Duke, the hands of starting receivers Deyon Williams and Michael McGrew were far more likely to be found grappling with the shoulder pads of a Duke defensive back than they were to be reaching for the pigskin being tossed their way. Admittedly, Saturday's game was a special case, as quarterback Marques Hagans showed early that he was either too injured or too rusty from lack of practice time to connect on any deep passes.

"We prepped [the receivers] quickly during the game to understand what kind of game it was going to be for them," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "It wasn't going to be a big catch game."

On the day, Virginia's wideouts combined for four catches for 25 yards. Not one of those catches went for more than nine yards.

To their credit, Groh said he was pleased at the downfield blocking shown by his wideouts.

"Mike and Deyon were really pretty relentless," he said. "They did a real good job for us on that. For the amount of time we had to [block], I thought it was probably one of the better games that that position has had of doing that."

We've seen several instances of their blocking aptitude firsthand this season. Hagans' 59-yard TD run against Syracuse wouldn't have been possible had McGrew not been running interference downfield. After completing his route and not receiving the ball, McGrew had the wherewithal to throw a block for his quarterback and sustain it until Hagans had reached the end zone.

Through seven games, Williams and McGrew have 16 and 15 receptions, respectively, and no other receiver has more than three. Even when Alvin Pearman started at the position during the Syracuse game, he only caught two balls for 12 yards.

Instead, Virginia's receivers spend most games blocking. It's not a glamorous lifestyle for these speedsters accustomed to making big plays, but it is a necessary one on a team that has run the ball 66.1 percent of the time.

Not only has the receiving personnel had to adjust to this increasingly run-oriented offense, they've had to do it without their biggest receiver, Fontel Mines, and their two best blockers from a year ago, Ottowa Anderson and Ryan Sawyer. Mines returned to the Virginia lineup Saturday after missing the previous five games with a broken collarbone. Sawyer graduated, and Anderson left the team in the offseason.

Anderson may not have had velvet-soft hands, but he started for this Cavalier team because of his run-blocking on the outside. He was so sufficiently talented that Williams uses him as a benchmark for his own skill. Anderson also instilled in Williams the importance of blocking in this offense.

"I'm probably not as good as [Anderson] right now, but I'm working on getting there," Williams said. "You've got to do a lot of blocking to play."

That is exactly the type of team-first attitude Groh wants from his players. It's no wonder he often speaks glowingly about the sense of purpose about this year's squad.

You can find it in the offensive line that worked so hard to give Pearman a shot at the rushing record against Duke. You can see it in Jermaine Hardy, Marquis Weeks and Tom Santi, who willingly changed positions in the team's best interests. And now you can see it in the receivers who routinely forfeit the ball-handling aspect of their positions, knowing that a running game is essential to late season success.

Bedesem makes first start of year over Parham
Senior linebacker displaces team's sixth leading tackler versus Blue Devils; Pearman takes full advantage of first game as rush attempts leader
Jeremy Root, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

Cavalier senior linebacker Rich Bedesem received his first start of year Saturday afternoon during No. 14 Virginia's 37-16 triumph over the Blue Devils. The 6-foot-2, 234-pound inside linebacker started in place of Kai Parham, who came off the bench for the first time this season.

Until Saturday, The Sporting News' No. 1-ranked linebacking unit of Butkus award semifinalist Ahmad Brooks, Darryl Blackstock, Dennis Haley and Parham had remained intact. But Virginia coach Al Groh warned the team after the Florida State game that no position was safe, and he proved his seriousness versus Duke.

"Every week is a tryout," Groh said. "There's competition every week. It's based on how you played in the previous game and how you played in the previous week of practice. There are enough talented players on the team that it should remain that way."

Bedesem contributed three tackles against the Blue Devils and made a goal line stop on Duke quarterback Mike Schneider on the Blue Devils' fourth possession. The Cavaliers forced a turnover on downs two plays later to remain in front 13-7 and never relinquished their lead.

"Richie gave us good production," Groh said. "The rotation took some plays from Brooks and Parham, and we think allowed them to be fresher."

Bedesem started the first four games last season next to Ahmad Brooks but missed the North Carolina game because of an injury. His absence gave an opportunity to Parham, who took full advantage and started all but one game the rest of the season and led the team in tackles on three occasions.

The Duke contest also marked the first game in which Alvin Pearman was the leader in rush attempts. Before the Blue Devils matchup, Wali Lundy had received the most carries in every game except North Carolina, in which Michael Johnson rushed a team-high 14 times. Pearman took full advantage of his 38-carry day, exploding for 228 yards -- the first Cavalier tailback to break the 200-yard barrier this season. Pearman was one yard and one carry short of two school records.

"We're all interchangeable in the backfield," Pearman said. "Any one of us could have gotten the job done [Saturday]."

News and Notes

Talented freshman tight end Tom Santi saw some extended time playing fullback versus Duke on Saturday with starting fullback Jason Snelling sidelined with an ankle sprain. Former Virginia tight end/fullback Kase Luzar filled a similar role for the Cavaliers the past two seasons. Like Luzar, Santi dons number 86. "Maybe there's a little magic left in that old top hat," Groh said of Santi sharing Luzar's jersey number. ... Groh was not pleased with a few pass interference calls versus the Blue Devils Saturday. He referenced a pass interference call on a Schneider pass that landed five yards out of bounds and said, "I don't know how catchable that makes it." ... Senior midseason All-American Elton Brown earned ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors this week for the second time this season and fourth in his career. Brown had a perfect pancake block on a Blue Devil defender to spring Alvin Pearman for his three-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the fourth quarter. ... With the upcoming bye week, the Virginia football players will be off until Thursday.