Plenty of questions raised by Butler case
Tech beat writer, "Nappy" King, weighs in
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Five days into the Brad Butler-Mathias Kiwanuka controversy, I’m still at a loss for words.

Was it a chop block, which is the way I originally described it, or was it a cut block? Is there a difference?

According to Virginia football coach Al Groh, they’re the same thing, but I’m not sure.

“It wasn't a chop block,” reader Bill Anglim wrote in an e-mail. “A chop block occurs in college when one O-lineman has a defender engaged above the waist and a second O-lineman hits him below the waist.

“ Without two O-linemen involved, you're talking about a cut block. A cut block is legal if it is in a defined rectangular area and the the ball is still in that area. In the play in question, the ‘play’ was no longer in the legal area (and the whistle may have blown), making it an illegal block.”

Maybe Butler was guilty of an illegal block, for which he should have been penalized (he was assessed a personal foul). But, maybe it was a legal block, given the framework of the rules.

So, why was he suspended?

If it could be proven that Butler was trying to injure Kiwanuka, then he should have been suspended, but Butler said he was not trying to injure Kiwanuka.

If Butler had a history of dirty play, then he should have been suspended, but he had no history of dirty play.

So, why was he suspended?

I think he was suspended because it was the politically correct thing to do – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Left to his own devices, I don’t think that Groh would have suspended Butler. I suspect if you’re a coach and watch each game 5-6 times, that plays of this nature are not unprecedented.

(Sportswriter Randy King said on this week’s Roanoke Times “podcast” that his son, Justin, a two-year starter on Northside High School’s offensive line, watched the replay and asked his dad what the big deal was, that plays like that occur 3-4 times a night in a Blue Ridge District game.).

On the other hand, Groh has been such a pain in the butt this fall that the media wasn’t about to give him a free pass on this one. For sportsillustrated.com to refer to Butler’s block as the “dirtiest play in college football history,” was a little extreme but sportsillustrated.com seemingly has it out for Groh, whom it rates as one of the four most overrated coaches in college football.

B.J. Schechter of sportsillustrated.com rated Virginia as his second-half flop team in a piece that a Sports Illustrated publicity agent subsequently e-mailed to UVa media outlets.

I think it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction – no pun, intended – but if Virginia had failed to suspend Butler, it would have been crucified.

In the end, it does not appear that Groh put up a fight. If it was athletic director Craig Littlepage who made the call, as was his contention, that was a good sign. It has not always been apparent that Virginia has any control over Groh.

On the other hand, if it was president John Casteen who was calling the shot, that was scary. Virginia fans shudder at the thought of Casteen becoming involved in athletics, particularly with the growing evidence that Casteen was behind Groh’s new $1.7-million-per-year contract.

Few people would argue that Groh merited a contract extension and at $700,000 per year, he was underpaid, especially in light of the $925,000 that new men’s basketball coach Dave Leitao was getting, but was it necessary to give him a 250-percent raise?

At least UVa had the sense to write a buyout clause into this contract, but when you note the direction of the men’s basketball program after Pete Gillen got his 10-year, $900,000-per-year pact, UVa fans have to hope this wasn’t the kiss of death.

 

Which is better? SEC or ACC?
Having expanded from South Florida to New England, the once quaint ACC now boasts as many elite teams — if not more — than the mighty SEC
By JOSEPH PERSON
Staff Writer

When Steve Spurrier coached at Duke in the 1980s, the ACC was a nine-team conference known more for basketball than for what transpired inside its quaint football stadiums on fall Saturdays.

“A nice little conference, wasn’t it?” Spurrier recalled this week. “Clemson back in the early ’80s, they were so far the superior team. They were like a big SEC team in the ACC. Had the big stadium. Their athletes looked like Alabama’s and Auburn’s and Florida athletes.

“It’s really changed. And I don’t know if it’s for the best.”

Since Spurrier left Duke following the ’89 season, the ACC has become bigger and — most would argue — better. Through expansion, the Greensboro, N.C.-based conference added four teams that form a who’s who of college football: Florida State in 1992, Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004, and Boston College this season.

The additions have transformed the ACC from an intimate, regional conference to one that stretches from New England to south Florida. With top-10 teams, renovated and expanded stadiums and an inaugural championship game set for Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 3, the ACC is doing what was unthinkable 20 years ago: challenging the SEC for Southern football supremacy.

“When they added Miami, Florida State, Boston College (and) Virginia Tech, that became a conference that rivals the SEC and in some ways made it even tougher,” said Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, a longtime Miami assistant. “I thought all along in the SEC we should have added some teams like that. It’s great for exposure. It’s great for recruiting.

“ACC beat us to the punch. They did a good job with that.”

By almost any measure, the ACC stacks up well this year with the SEC, the Birmingham-based conference that went to the two-division, championship-game format in 1992.

While the SEC has six teams ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll, the ACC enjoyed a two-week stretch in September during which seven of its teams were ranked. It is interesting to note that the four ACC teams ranked in this week’s poll are the four newcomers that were brought in to enhance the league’s football image.

“Those are four premiere teams,” Tuberville said. “They could make their own conference.”

The Big Four — Florida State, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami — are 20-2 overall and 10-2 in ACC play. But the top-heavy nature of the conference is not necessarily bad thing for the ACC, which is trying to get two bids in the BCS championship series for the first time.

Gone are the days when the Seminoles run roughshod through the conference to grab the BCS bid.

“When we first got here, we sort of had our way,” Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. “These teams sort of catch up to you, and every doggone game is a fight. It raises the bar, no doubt about it. ... I would put us on par with any league in the country.”

ESPN analyst Jim Donnan, who played at N.C. State and coached at Georgia, believes the ACC has caught up with the SEC.

“You’d have to say right now that the ACC has more elite teams,” he said. “Although I don’t know that their elite teams could beat the elite teams in the SEC.”

Each conference has two undefeated teams — Georgia and Alabama in the SEC, and Virginia Tech and Florida State in the ACC. In both instances, the unbeaten schools are in opposite divisions and could square off in the conferences’ championship games.

“If you were to pick who has the more tip-top teams, because we haven’t seen enough of Alabama, you’d have to say ACC,” said Bill Curry, another ESPN analyst who coached in both conferences. “But if you went with who has the most teams that are struggling, you’d also have to say the ACC.”

Curry, who coached at Georgia Tech, Alabama and Kentucky, points to N.C. State, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest as teams that have been enigmatic. The Yellow Jackets beat Auburn in the opening week but fell out of the top 25 following losses to Virginia Tech and N.C. State.

In the only other head-to-head matchup between the two conferences, Vanderbilt knocked off Wake 24-20.

With the NCAA moving to a 12-game schedule beginning in 2006, Tuberville believes there will be more ACC-SEC pairings as teams look to cut down on travel costs. Said Tuberville: “I think it’s good not only for the teams, it’s also good for fans to be able to travel shorter distances rather than going to (Southern Cal) or to Iowa, something like that.”

In recent weeks, USC and Clemson have announced future games against North Carolina and Georgia, respectively.

North Carolina is the epitome of an ACC scheduling philosophy that appears to be much more challenging than the SEC’s nonconference slate. ACC teams have gone 8-5 in 13 games against schools from other BCS conferences, while the SEC has played only six such games, posting a 2-4 record.

The Tar Heels recently concluded a brutal nonconference gauntlet that included Wisconsin, Utah and Louisville. Meanwhile, SEC schools have feasted on smaller schools, going a combined 16-1 against opponents from the Sun Belt, Conference USA and Division I-AA.

“That’s definitely a problem area,” Donnan said. “But at the same time, the SEC, because they have to play each other and knock each other off, it’s hard to schedule a lot of BCS teams.”

The SEC continues to churn out NFL players, but the ACC is inching closer in that category. There were 261 former SEC players on NFL opening-week rosters, compared to 231 from the ACC.

Florida State topped the list with 42 players, followed by the SEC triumvirate of Florida, Tennessee (37 each) and Georgia (35).

One of the only areas in which the ACC lags far behind its SEC brethren is in attendance. At the season’s midway point, the SEC has averaged 74,063 fans at its home games. The ACC average is 52,492, a figure weighed down by Duke (16,795) and Wake Forest (28,281), where home games remain the intimate gatherings that Spurrier remembers.

“I don’t know if it’s better for the ACC or not,” Spurrier said of the new-look conference. “But that’s the way it is.”

 

Cavs promising more discipline, more defense under new coach
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 14, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE — The alarm clocks have been going off a lot earlier for the Virginia men’s basketball team this year.

Since school started, players have been gathering at 6 a.m., five or six days a week, to lift weights. They eat breakfast together before scattering for classes. Afternoons, they assemble again for more conditioning.

“Everything is more structured,” guard J.R. Reynolds said. “We needed it.”

The changes have been implemented by new coach Dave Leitao. He takes over for Pete Gillen, who resigned last spring. Leitao’s teams at DePaul, where he coached for the last three years, were known for discipline and tenacity, especially on defense. Gillen’s teams, to put it charitably, were not.

“We didn’t work that hard,” forward Donte Minter said. “Now we’re being pushed to a whole new limit. It’s just made us closer as a team, and it should come out on the court.”

The Cavaliers hope so, because talent and numbers alone aren’t going to get them far in the ACC. Practice opens today with just eight scholarship players healthy. Minter is recovering from off season knee surgery and guard T.J. Bannister from surgery for a sports hernia.

Virginia lost leading scorers Elton Brown and Devin Smith from last year’s 14-15 team, and top reserve Gary Forbes transferred. The team will be built around returning guards Reynolds and Sean Singletary.

Little wonder, as Leitao said, “The few (publications) that have come out so far don’t expect much of us.”

Virginia’s been picked to finish near the bottom of an ACC that was decimated by graduation and early departures to the NBA. Only Duke, Boston College and N.C. State have been projected in the top 25 of most preseason polls. Last year, six ACC teams were ranked to start the season .

Still , the Cavalers are optimistic. They say Leitao’s no-nonsense approach already has made them better. Singletary, for one, said he was crying out for more structure and discipline.

“It’s going to make us have stronger character, “he said. “Last year, I feel we broke a lot, defensively, and as a team.”

Last year was a “headache” for everyone, Reynolds said, with the cloud of Gillen’s eventual departure hanging over the team and an overall lack of leadership from both players and coaches. Already, Leitao has “sparked a fire” under the team, Singletary said.

“There’s a lot of trust on this team now,” he said.

On the court, Leitao’s challenge is to find a way to win with a team built around guards. None of Virginia’s three returning big men — Minter, Jason Cain and Tunji Soroye — averaged more than 2.6 points or 3.0 rebounds last year.

Leitao said he’ll likely have to alter his offensive philosophy and spread the floor and play faster than he might like.

“When your major concern is just putting five guys on the floor, it’s going to sometimes be untraditional,” he said.

One thing that won’t waver, Leitao said, is his commi tment to defense, which he said is a “constant and controllable” part of the game.

“The biggest dilemma that I have right now ... is how much can I push them vs. how much can I hold back?” he said. “This is a marathon we’re preparing to start.”

Leitao hopes to add a couple of walk-ons so he can conduct more rigorous practices. At the moment, Virginia has 12 players, including Minter and Bannister, who are expected to be available for the season opener Nov. 18 against Liberty.

Meanwhile, Leitao’s pleased with the effort he’s received from players .

“This is a rebirth, so to speak, in how they view themselves,” he said. “Everybody’s optimistic right now. Everybody’s undefeated.”

 

Chris Hall makes the most of his punts
By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Success for Florida State's offense can once again be measured by big plays. Big hits continue to be the way to gauge the Seminoles' dominance on defense.

But to judge Chris Hall on the basis of big, gaudy numbers per punt is to miss the senior's effectiveness and importance to FSU. Hall, a Centreville, Va., native who averages just 38.9 yards per punt, returns to his home state not even ranked among the Atlantic Coast Conference's top10 in that category.

Other statistics matter more for FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) with Virginia next on Saturday. Hall's hang time on punts sometimes reaches 4.8 or 4.9 seconds. He has pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line or on fair catches with 11 of his 22 punts. The most impressive number is 16 - the number of yards FSU has allowed on the five punts that have been returned. That's 3.2 yards per return - less than half of what the Seminoles allowed a year ago.

"A lot of times we're actually punting to try to pin them into a certain area," Hall said. "It's something I've really worked on - not just trying to hit a 50-yard punt when you only need like 30.

"I try to do my part. It's gratifying when you pin them down there and the defense stops and they have to punt from the end zone - it's kind of the hidden stuff."

But to his teammates and coaches, it's not.

Defensive-ends coach Jody Allen, who is in charge of the punt team, said Hall is making the smart choices, and sometimes that might draw criticism from fans. Instead of chancing a touchbakc by bouncing the football into the end zone, Hall will work to get a fair catch at the 14 rather than closer to goal line.

"He's steady - doing what it takes to get us the best punt to win," Allen said.

Hall is quick to point to his teammates - guys such as Fred Rouse and Lawrence Timmons.

"Those guys are really fighting to get down there to make great plays," Hall said. "I thought my hang time has been a lot better - sometimes in the 4.8s and 4.9s. Any time above 4.4 or 4.5 is probably going to be fair caught just because you give them more time to run down there."

 

Virginia men's basketball tips off
Leitao concerned with discipline
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
October 14, 2005

Sporting an orange dress shirt and orange tie, University of Virginia basketball coach Dave Leitao sat on a dais for more than 40 minutes on Thursday.

In his lengthiest meeting with the media since coming to UVa in the spring, Leitao discussed his new players, the Cavaliers' brutal early-season schedule and a new strength and conditioning coach.

But Leitao's most interesting - and frank - remark came when he was asked about the perception of UVa basketball as it relates to recruiting.

"It's almost non-existent," Leitao said. "Virginia basketball has not lived in the consciousness of a young recruit's mind. Creating that is something we've tried to do.

"The good thing is we haven't had to get rid of a lot of negativity about the program. I don't have to convince people that whatever was "wrong" with the program is different now. We're creating something."

It's just going to take some time - an underlying theme during Leitao's talk.

With the team's first official practice set for Saturday morning, Leitao said he knows he has his work cut out. He only has 10 scholarship players at his disposal this year, and two of them are currently nursing injuries.

Leitao revealed that junior guard T.J. Bannister recently underwent surgery for a sports hernia type of injury and probably won't be able to play for about a month.

In addition, junior post player Donte Minter is still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and won't be at full strength for another couple of weeks.

Not all is awry in Cav Nation, however.

Leitao said there have been some pleasant surprises. One of them is freshman Mamadi Diane, who was recruited by former coach Pete Gillen. With Gary Forbes now at the University of Massachusetts, Diane should get some quality minutes at the wing position.

"He's going to play a lot and not just because of necessity," Leitao said. "If we had a [full] team, I think he would play a lot. He has a great work ethic, is a tremendous runner, has a resiliency and a really good skill package."

Leitao also had praise for freshman forward Laurynas Mikalauskas and sophomore wing Adrian Joseph, other players he wasn't very familiar with prior to coming aboard.

Leitao, the former Depaul coach, broke out a funny one-liner when he talked about a seven-day stretch of games against Arizona, Northwestern and Georgia Tech.

"I could have been at the game last night watching the White Sox, sitting in Chicago, if I knew all that was going to go on," Leitao joked.

"But it's a challenge. I didn't expect it to be any different. It's the ACC. You have to play that level of schedule year in and year out. There's not a whole lot you can do about it. It was handed to me, whether I liked it or not. We'll play it and hopefully be as prepared as we need to be."

Almost every player on hand at the press conference, when asked about the biggest differences between Gillen and Leitao, talked about structure and organization. They said Leitao has run a much tighter ship since stepping foot on the grounds.

"It's about having more discipline," said Bannister, describing the early days of the Leitao regime. "Duke, Carolina - they all have it. You can't win without it."

One place where the players' discipline has already been put to the test: Leitao's new conditioning program. Every player has been required to attend running sessions at 6 a.m.

In that vein, it was announced that Shaun Brown, a former head strength coach with the Toronto Raptors, had been hired as the men's basketball strength and conditioning coach.

"A person of his stature and the things he has been able to do will help us tremendously - even in something as simple as recruiting," Leitao said "You let guys know and understand that if it worked for Vince Carter, it certainly can work for you.

"We were very fortunate to be able to get him. It speaks to the what this program is about and the potential it has that someone like him would commit himself to our university."

Leitao shied away from stating any specific goals for the upcoming season. He said he needs time in the gym with his guys before he can offer a fair assessment.

Leitao said he was already aware of naysayers predicting another bleak season for the Cavs.

"It's just on paper," Leitao said. "Those people aren't in our locker room or our gym."

One thing was pretty obvious as Leitao talked - he's pretty excited about practice on Saturday.

"All of the things we've been doing off the court in terms of getting organized as a staff and recruiting - it's all for this one moment when every coach in America feels like a kid again, when you get on the court and start practicing and organizing a team," he said.

"However optimistic or pessimistic one may be, it's a great time for college basketball. The players are anxious and excited, and I can't wait to get going as we try and build this team for this year and beyond. I can't wait to start this new chapter."

 

Young Lipsey experiences growth
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
October 14, 2005

When Jordy Lipsey arrived in Charlottesville in 2003, he was preceded by a reputation as the No. 1 rated center prospect in the nation by one recruiting publication, and the No. 1 overall lineman in the country by at least two others.

The Longwood, Fla., recruit was offered by the Hurricanes, the Gators and the Seminoles. More offers piled up, but Lipsey was waiting for Virginia to look his way.

When the Cavaliers finally did extend an invitation, Lipsey jumped at the chance. Preceded to this state by two older brothers who both played for Division III Washington & Lee, Lipsey saw a bright future in the Commonwealth.

Reality check

His first year in Hooville was a reality check, the same kind that many highly touted freshmen are confronted with in Division I-A football programs all over the country. A bit undersized, he was red-shirted. Last year, he played a little early but not much afterward. Coach Al Groh kept noting that Lipsey just wasn’t ready.

That it isn’t easy to deal with for any young person, particularly one whose entire identity focused around their success on the gridiron.

“It was a tough thing,” said Lipsey, the only Floridian on Virginia’s roster as the Cavaliers host Florida State on Saturday night. “Not only did it effect actual football, it affected everything. I wasn’t playing good on the field, so I thought I was a terrible person. I thought no one liked me and stuff like that because I was used to everyone thinking I was a great football player.”

Once his football rep was stripped away, Lipsey felt almost invisible. He was miserable. He would go out with the fellas and thought it would make him feel better, but it didn’t.

“Jordy’s struggle with confidence was a little more dramatic than some others,” Groh said this week. “It has taken him a little bit of time to regain that confidence.”

Groh said that it is customary for him and his coaching staff to have their “antennas up,” on all incoming freshmen, not just tuned in on performance but all sorts of signs with young players.

“It’s the same every year even though the faces change,” Groh said. “It might be a repetitive circumstance for us coaches, but it’s the first time it has happened to these players. Sometimes it’s a very unsettling experience for some players.”

The coaches purposely have a lot of communication with anyone whose body language sends a message that there are issues. More appointments, more checking up, more of just ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ kind of stuff.

Maturing into a man

Lipsey said that as it turned out, going through those feelings made it a great growing experience.

“I had to learn that I had to be more than just a football player,” said Lipsey, now a sophomore and expected to play against his homeboys this weekend.

He was talking with his dad the other night and mentioned that if anyone had told him before the season that he would have played two-and-a-half games by midseason, he would have never believed it. But he came in against Duke when starter Brian Barthelmes was injured, then started against Maryland and Boston College.

“It has been a great opportunity for me,” said Lipsey, who has done everything possible to take advantage of the situation. He has gotten the proper amount of sleep, has watched his diet, practiced to the best of his ability and used visualization, a trick his dad taught him long ago, to envision what he wanted to do in games.

Groh has been impressed.

“At a certain point, something really clicked with Jordy,” Groh said. “He became more assertive and has made improvement.”

“When I got to Virginia, I started out at a very low level. I thought I was at a high one, but I wasn’t,” Lipsey said. “I feel like I moved up but I still feel like there’s still so much I have to do with size and knowledge of the game. I feel like I’m still in the beginnings of my development as a football player here.”

At 6-foot-3, 270 pounds, the Cav center is normally at a size disadvantage, such as last week when he was matched up against BC defensive tackle B.J. Raji, who measured 6-1, 337 pounds.

For the mathematically challenged, that’s a 67-pound difference.

“That’s what my parents told me they saw in the program,” Lipsey said. “He was pretty big. Against a guy that size you just have to use technique and play smart. But I thought our offensive line did a really good job.”

The Cavs carved out a lot of yardage against the then-No. 2 rushing defense in the country (BC has since dropped to No. 5 in that statistic).

But there are still things to learn. He admittedly goofs up from time to time. In fact, that’s what caused UVa quarterback Marcus Hagans to get in his face after a play midway through the second quarter at BC.

“I think Marcus was upset at me, which he should have been because I was upset with myself,” Lipsey said. “I kind of double-clutched a snap, which was something I shouldn’t do and Marcus was upset. We were both fighting my inner demons.”

The challenge will be tougher Saturday night against fourth-ranked Florida State, particularly for Virginia’s offensive line, which has been a patchwork effort the past couple of weeks.

With All-ACC left offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson questionable and right tackle Brad Butler sitting out a one-game suspension, the Cavs may go with true freshman Eugene Monroe (the No. 1 rated offensive line recruit in the nation last season), and Ed Pinigis (who has started three games in his career) at the two tackle spots.

“We’re going to miss Brad a lot because he was such a leader,” Lipsey said. “But everybody knows what to do. We work together every day in practice, so we’ll be ready for the challenge.”

Now that sounds like a guy with confidence.
 

Ryan Best's tests
Cancer is the biggest obstacle defensive back has overcome
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 14, 2005
Ryan Best plays on several special teams as well as in the Cavaliers' nickel defense.
ANDREW SHURTLEFF/MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
FSU AT U.VA.
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ON THE AIR: TV - ESPN; Radio - WRVA (1140), 7
TICKETS: Sold out

CHARLOTTESVILLE He came to the University of Virginia on a full soccer scholarship. He gave it up after a year to join the football team as a walk-on.

He came to U.Va. with a lump under his right ear. Doctors discovered last winter that the lump was cancerous. He underwent rounds of chemotherapy and radiation that sapped his strength, but he's again healthy and hale at 5-11, 208 pounds.

He came to Al Groh's football program as a tailback. He's now a safety who, before his college career ends, figures to be put on football scholarship.

Ryan Best's story is not that of a typical junior at U.Va.

"I've definitely been through a lot in college," said Best, a yellow LiveStrong bracelet on his left wrist.

At Williamstown High in New Jersey, Best was a standout tailback who, he said, drew scholarship offers from Boston College, Rutgers, Iowa and North Carolina for football. He also was a soccer star who'd played for U.Va. coach George Gelnovatch on the U.S. national 18-and-under team.

When Gelnovatch offered him a full ride at Virginia, Best accepted. He had little choice.

"My parents wanted me to come here for academic reasons," Best said.

As a freshman in 2003, Best started eight games at goalkeeper for U.Va. before suffering an injury. His unheralded replacement, Ryan Burke, sparkled in goal and helped the Cava liers win the ACC title. Even before his injury, Best said, he'd questioned his decision to play soccer.

"That freshman year during practice, I was asking myself, 'Why am I doing this? This is not what I really enjoy doing.'" Best recalled.

His prowess at soccer had allowed him to visit such countries as Brazil, Italy, France, Ireland and Germany. But his passion was American football, not the international version.

"I think soccer was just something I did because it took me to different places, and I was good at it," Best said. "Maybe at one point I liked it, but it was never that I truly loved the game."

And so, with his parents' blessing - he'd told them he'd get college loans - Best surprised Gelnovatch by quitting soccer in the summer of 2004.

Best's timing could have been better. "I sort of left [the team] out to dry," he said.

Gelnovatch said: "I think he realizes he didn't handle it right. He wasn't going to be our starting goalkeeper, so that wasn't the issue. The problem was, I didn't have a backup [for Burke in 2004]."

This story had a happy ending. Burke stayed healthy last season, and Best and Gelnovatch are again on good terms.

"There are no hard feelings," Gelnovatch said. "I'm happy to see that it's working out for him, hopefully."

Best had greeted Groh several times in the McCue Center weight room, so they weren't strangers. In July 2004, Best approached Groh about joining the football team.

"I told him that I loved the game," Best said. "I also felt pretty confident about myself, because coming out of high school, I was right with these guys, being recruited by different schools."

Groh invited him to join the team, and Best worked at tailback last season. He dressed for four games but didn't play.

After the season ended, doctors diagnosed the lump under his ear as lymphoma and prescribed a regimen of chemo and radiation. During his treatment, which lasted about five months, Best lost some 20 pounds. Rarely, however, did cancer keep from attending an offseason workout with the team.

"It took a tremendous amount of courage on his part," Groh said, "and certainly confirmed to everybody what his resolve was to be a part of this."

Best, 20, went into training camp this year as a tailback, where the Cavaliers are well-stocked. That's not the case in the secondary, and Best moved to safety in August. He's proved a fast learner and now plays on several special teams as well as in Virginia's nickel defense. Best has made two tackles.

He has two seasons of eligibility left after this one. Does he expect to one day earn a starting job?

"Definitely," Best said. "I'm a very competitive person. I have the label of a walk-on, but every time I go on the field I don't see myself as a walk-on. I always believe I have just as much talent, if not more than some guys."

 

Cavs start slow
U.Va.'s Leitao hopes player shortage proves short-term problem
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 14, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - If the season began today, the University of Virginia men's basketball team would have eight scholarship players available, five fewer than the NCAA allows.

That's not good news for a squad picked by many to finish last in the ACC. Fortunately for first-year coach Dave Leitao, whose team opens practice tomorrow morning, U.Va.'s first game isn't until Nov.18. By then, the Cavaliers hope to have back post player Donte Minter (knee) and backup point guard T.J. Bannister (hernia). Each is recovering from a recent operation.

For now, Leitao must make do with eight scholarship players, including three freshmen, and veteran walk-ons Billy Campbell and Mike Forkin.

"The biggest dilemma that I have right now, especially because we're new, is how much can I push them, versus how much I have to hold them back," Leitao said yesterday at University Hall.

"This is a marathon we're about to start. When you push them hard and you're trying to establish some things and you have enough numbers, you don't necessarily worry about February and March as much. But we have to in this case, because we're so limited in the amount of people we have."

After two years of speculation about his job security, Pete Gillen stepped down in March after his seventh season as coach. U.Va. turned to Leitao, a protégé of Jim Calhoun, to rebuild a program that under Terry Holland and then Jeff Jones appeared regularly in the NCAA tournament.

The Cavaliers finished 14-15 last season. Gone from that team are the top two scorers and rebounders, as well as 6-6 swingman Gary Forbes, a projected starter. Forbes transferred last month to Massachusetts after U.Va. ruled him academically ineligible.

Still, returning players are eager to begin with a fresh slate, especially the starting backcourt of junior shooting guard J.R. Reynolds and sophomore point guard Sean Singletary.

"It can't get any worse than it was my first two years," said Reynolds, Virginia's top returning scorer (10.7 ppg).

That has included 6 a.m. offseason workouts. Leitao intends to make rebounding, defense and discipline the program's foundations, and he knows his players must become mentally and physically tougher. That's one reason he recently hired Shaun Brown as his strength-and-conditioning coach. He was the Toronto Raptors' head strength coach the past two seasons.

NOTE: Fans are invited to University Hall this evening for "Hoos Hoops Madness," a free event that runs from 5:30 to 8:15. Players from the U.Va. men's and women's teams will be available for autographs. Also scheduled are contests for fans, short scrimmages by each team and 3-point shooting and dunk competitions among the players.

 

UVa's ground game struggling
Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 14, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The numbers say Virginia’s rushing offense is just fine. At 172 yards per game, the Cavaliers rank third in the ACC behind Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. In fact, UVa ran for 155 yards last week against Boston College and what was the nation’s second-ranked rushing defense.

Still, something’s not right.

“I look at the overall running game, (and) it still doesn’t have the rhythm, the precision and the in-sync that it’s supposed to,” Virginia head coach Al Groh said.

That’s because the numbers are misleading. Take away quarterback Marques Hagans’ 191 yards, the majority of which were gained off improvised runs on designed pass plays, and the Cavaliers are averaging 131.8 yards per game.

Backup tailback Michael Johnson leads the team with 51 rushing yards per game and is the only back with more than 15 carries, averaging more than 3.8 yards per carry.

There are plenty of reasons to explain the ground game’s struggles. Virginia’s offensive line, which welcomed two new starters at the beginning of this season, has been completely shuffled since mid-September.

Starting tailback Wali Lundy hasn’t been the same since spraining his foot in the opener and still hasn’t topped 30 carries this year. Plus, Virginia has had to go to the air after falling behind in the last two games.

“We’re gaining some yards,” Groh said. “On paper they look like pretty good numbers, but with my own eyes, the running game really didn’t look the way that I would like it to look.”

Mines emerging at WR

While Deyon Williams has clearly established himself as Virginia’s top receiving threat, Fontel Mines appears to be securing his spot as the No. 2 receiver.

Mines will make his second straight start this week at the wide receiver spot opposite Williams, beating out senior Ottowa Anderson.

Two weeks ago against Maryland, Mines got behind the defense for a 59-yard pass, setting up UVa’s last touchdown of the game. Last week at Boston College, he caught his second career touchdown pass, stretching in the back of the end zone to catch a high pass from Hagans and managing to drag his right foot before falling out of bounds.

This was the type of season some expected Mines to have last year. Those hopes faded after he broke his collarbone in the first week against Temple.

“When you play the first week and then you miss six, you really haven’t had enough at that stage to be sharp on your game,” Groh said. “It’s almost like starting all over again when a guy comes back.”

Mines caught five passes for 41 yards after returning from the injury. This season, he has six catches for 121 yards.

“It’s been long, a very long season, a long offseason,” Mines said. “I think my teammates have done a good job of keeping me up and keeping my head up, along with the coaches. … I think that’s the important thing is to keep my mind right.”

How’s the weather?

The matchup is bound to happen at some point of Saturday’s game - 6-foot-6 Florida State wide receiver Greg Carr against 5-foot-9 Virginia cornerback Mike Brown.

“The list of things that concern me on an ongoing basis is quite long,” Groh said. “That would certainly be on this particular list. … Since (Carr’s) burst on the scene here, he’s been a problem like that for everybody this season and there’s good reason to continue to think that he’ll be like that for quite some time.”

Carr, a freshman, out-jumped Wake Forest defenders for several passes last week, catching three balls for 129 yards and a touchdown. That’s a scary thought if he is matched against Brown. A true freshman, the diminutive Brown has played only 85 snaps in the first five games but should see his role increase now that fellow freshman corner Chris Cook is out for the regular season with a broken leg.

So how do you negate giving up three-quarters of a foot in height?

“You rely on your technique,” Brown said. “If you just rely on that stuff and do that to the best of your ability, you’ll have a better chance.”

 

Depleted Cavs host 'Noles in national contest
Virginia's injury-plagued offensive line major question heading into crucial home conference showdown with undefeated No. 4 Florida State
Anders Sleight, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

It's crunch time for the Virginia football team. After last week's loss to Boston College, the team currently stands at 3-2 and is unranked nationally. The Cavaliers' opponent this week is Florida State, currently 5-0 and sporting a No. 4 national ranking.

Saturday's matchup is a make or break game for Virginia. Should the Cavaliers pull off a tremendous upset, it will catapult them back into the race for the ACC Championship. A win also would greatly lift the morale of the depleted team. However, a loss would drop the Cavaliers to 3-3, a .500 record and well behind the division-leading Virginia Tech Hokies.

The suspension of left tackle Brad Butler and the controversy surrounding the incident that led to his suspension has only added fuel to the fire. The team will rely on its veterans to hold the team together and regroup for Saturday's game.

"I'm one of the older guys around here," said junior wide receiver Fontel Mines. "I think I have to help pick some of the other guys up so we can regroup as a team. We have to really lean on one another, know that we're there for each other."

Last season Florida State was the team with all the questions. Virginia went into Tallahassee with a 5-0 record and No. 6 national ranking. But, the Seminoles soundly beat the Cavaliers 36-3 that day. From that point on, Virginia amassed a 3-4 record and lost in the MPC Computer Bowl to Fresno State.

By the looks of it, Florida State holds all the momentum going into the game. Virginia coach Al Groh however, said he does not believe in momentum. He has stressed over and over again to his players to forget what happened in the past and move on. When asked whether or not he buys into Groh's mantra that momentum doesn't exist, wide receiver Fontel Mines responded accordingly.

"I think I do, because this is a different week," Mines said. "We're not worried about last week. We're well aware of what happened. College football is a week-to-week thing -- anything can happen. Last year, Carolina beat Miami. Things happen unexpectedly. We've got to correct the things we've been doing wrong and prepare ourselves for a great team."

The Cavaliers appear to be overmatched on both sides of the ball. Florida State is leading the ACC in offense, averaging 428 yards per game. The team's quarterback, Drew Weatherford, has the luxury of throwing the ball to some very talented receivers. Freshman wide receiver Greg Carr has caught five touchdown passes and averages nearly 30 yards per catch. Carr's deep threat ability will present significant matchup problems for a depleted Virginia secondary.

Offensively, the Cavaliers are working with an injury-ridden offensive line. The suspension of Butler will force yet another newcomer into the lineup. Such inexperience on the offensive line does not bode well against Florida State, a notoriously blitz-happy team.

"It's different than it was last year, because I don't think there was one scratch the entire season [in the offensive line]," sophomore center Jordy Lipsey said. "This year, there's been lots of injuries and uncertainty. It's been interesting."

Lipsey, along with the rest of the offensive line, will have to deal with Seminole linebackers Ernie Sims and A.J. Nicholson, who are potential All-American candidates. However, the Cavaliers are confident they can put last week's events behind them and focus on Saturday's game.

"We've got to treat every one of these practices like we're getting ready for the biggest game of our season -- because it is," said Lipsey. "When we get to Saturday, we need to be ready. It's time for us to put all this other stuff behind us, all this stuff that has happened in these last couple of weeks and get ready for the biggest game of the season."

The Cavaliers are set to play Florida State Saturday at 7:45 p.m. at Scott Stadium.

 

FSU's Bowden Is Taking a Back-Seat Approach
Florida State Head Coach Has Relinquished Much Power
By Mark Schlabach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 14, 2005; E03

TALLAHASSEE, Oct. 13 -- Florida State had just made a potentially game-changing play in its Sept. 5 opener against Miami, and there was confusion among the Seminoles' coaches.

During the third quarter, Florida State had blocked a punt and recovered at the Miami 1. The Seminoles ran fullback James Coleman up the middle twice and lost one yard each time. Facing third and goal from the 3, and needing a touchdown to go ahead 17-7, Coach Bobby Bowden wanted to run up the middle one more time.

"Let's run the belly," Bowden told his coaches in the press box.

"No, Coach. Let's run the toss. We've got a better chance going outside," an assistant told him through the headset.

Like each of the games during the past 30 seasons at Florida State, Bowden made the final decision. So tailback Leon Washington took a handoff from quarterback Drew Weatherford and ran off guard and was stopped for a one-yard loss. After a false start penalty against the Seminoles on fourth down, they were forced to try a 26-yard field goal and missed.

"Dadgumit!" Bowden yelled with his classic Southern drawl.

Bowden was upset the play didn't work, but was even more displeased that he hadn't listened to his coaches. The Seminoles held on to win, 10-7, and Bowden hasn't overruled his coaches again this season.

"I suppose I'm like most coaches now, standing on the sideline hoping somebody asks them a question," Bowden said.

Bowden, who turns 76 on Nov. 8, is actually doing more than that, but he has delegated responsibilities to his assistants more than ever before.

So far this season, the system is working for the Seminoles, who will go for their first 6-0 start since their 1999 national championship season when they play Virginia at Scott Stadium on Saturday night.

Florida State, which wasn't expected to do much this season because of its freshman quarterback and depleted secondary and offensive line, is ranked No. 4 in the country, its highest ranking since it was No. 3 after nine games in 2003.

"We haven't been there in a while," Bowden said this week of the top-five ranking, as he sat behind his desk, chomping an unlit cigar. "I'm surprised we've gone as far as we've gone."

Many college football observers thought Bowden might be gone by now, especially after Florida State lost 15 games during the past four seasons, as many it had lost in the previous 11 seasons combined.

Bowden, Division I-A's winningest coach with 356 victories, wasn't ready to call it quits, though, and certainly didn't want to turn over a struggling program. But instead of trying to fix the problems himself, he decided to let his assistants do more.

Instead of retirement, Bowden chose to be more of a chief executive officer, coaching his coaches while they coached the players.

"There will be a day when I don't want to walk out on that field anymore," Bowden said. "It all depends on if I'm healthy and if we're winning."

Bowden said he still watches film of opponents, but "only in case something happens to one of the coordinators and I have to call the plays." He watches his team practice from a tower and rarely gets involved in the hands-on coaching of players anymore.

But Florida State's players still hear from their head coach frequently. Whenever Bowden sees Weatherford, the coach always tells his quarterback to throw the football "a foot in front of the numbers" -- a reminder to put air under his passes so his receivers can run under them.

Bowden tells center David Castillo that the "low man always wins," a cue for the lineman to keep his pad level low for better leverage. Linebacker Ernie Sims said Bowden tells him, "I want to see some knock-backs."

"He loves knock-backs," Sims said. "He loves us to step on toes and make big hits. That's what he loves to see a defense do."

Relinquishing some of his responsibilities was tough for Bowden, who waited more than 20 years to hand off the offensive play calling to one of his assistants. First, he gave those duties to offensive coordinator Brad Scott and then to Mark Richt when Scott left to become coach at South Carolina.

"Once he gave up the play calling, he stayed in the game planning," said Richt, now head coach at the University of Georgia. "But as time went on, he became less involved, but would still offer suggestions. But he's still the boss, there's no doubt about it. I don't think anybody can question that."

Bowden seems to be easing his way into retirement, but with the Seminoles winning again, he doesn't know if it will happen anytime soon.

"Winning makes you a lot happier," Bowden said. "It's no fun to lose, no matter how old you are."

Bowden has always resisted change -- he and his wife, Ann, still live in the same house they bought in Tallahassee when he took the Florida State job in 1976, although they made multiple additions to it after their family grew to include four sons and two daughters.

Three of Bowden's sons became coaches -- Jeff is the Seminoles' offensive coordinator; Tommy is the head coach at Clemson; and Terry coached at Division I-AA Samford and Auburn.

"I nearly feel like if I retired, I'd have to get another job," Bowden said. "I don't like sitting around, and I don't know what else I would do."

But Bowden knows he can't coach forever, and he already is lobbying for a hand-picked successor: Seminoles defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who has worked under Bowden since 1984. Bowden said his support for Andrews is more than a reward for being loyal (Andrews has lobbied for only one head coaching job, at Alabama, his alma mater) during his tenure at Florida State.

"I've always supported Mickey because he's been here for 20 years," Bowden said. "You get all the publicity with the offense, but his defenses are why we've been so good. He's been here the longest, and I always felt like he deserved it."

At one point, each of Bowden's three sons seemed like a possible successor. Terry Bowden led Auburn to an undefeated season in his first season there, but his tenure ended suddenly and he hasn't coached since, working as a college football television analyst instead.

Tommy Bowden produced record-setting offenses at Tulane and was a hot coaching commodity, but his teams have found only lukewarm success at Clemson. Jeff Bowden, his youngest son, has worked the past 13 seasons at Florida State. But while working as the Seminoles' offensive coordinator in each of the past five seasons, he received a lot of the blame for the teams' failures. When raises were doled out to the coaching staff after last season, none of the offensive aides received one.

"I'll be honest, I wouldn't want them following me," Bobby Bowden said of his sons. "When a coach is at a school for a long time and he has had success, you don't want to be the next guy. The next guy usually isn't there for very long."

For now, though, Bowden isn't going anywhere and said he might still be sitting behind his desk overlooking Doak Campbell Stadium five years from now. He doesn't seem ready to retire anytime soon, not with the Seminoles competing for the national championship and not with Penn State Coach Joe Paterno on his heels.

Bowden surpassed Paterno as the winningest coach in Division I-A history nearly two years ago. But with the Nittany Lions undefeated at 6-0 and ranked in the top 10 again, Paterno is only seven victories behind Bowden.

"Dad is really happy," Terry Bowden said. "He's having a lot of fun this year. Joe Paterno is three years older than dad, so surely my dad can coach three more years."