Payne, Pearman coming into their own in UVa backfield
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
October 19, 2007

Keith Payne is only going to get better.

That was Al Groh’s fearless prediction this week - not one that shocked the masses.

Virginia’s coach believes that, with experience and attention to detail, the monstrous tailback will mature into one of the best players in the ACC.

“From a good news presentation, there’s certainly lots of development in front of him,” Groh said. “The high water that we see is well up there from where the performance is right now.”

Yes, Payne has struggled with some assignments, as one might expect from a redshirt freshman with just 33 carries.

Groh remains hopeful that the Virginia native paid attention to one of his teammates, running back Cedric Peerman.

“[Payne is] a big back, but right now he is not necessarily a punishing back,” Groh said. “He just happens to be a big back. Actually, the most punishing back that we have on the team is Cedric, because he has fashioned his game around that style.

“As we have talked before about Ced, he came to the realization that what he wasn’t was a scat-back. At whatever size he is, the type of punishing game that has been productive for him this year is the kind of game that serves him best. I think as I have referenced on other occasions, it is a good example of a player coming to acceptance of who he is as a player.”

Payne may be asked to play an increased role this weekend when Virginia (6-1, 3-0 ACC) travels to Maryland (4-2, 1-1 ACC). Peerman, the second-leading rusher in the conference, will miss his second straight game with a foot injury.

Payne and Andrew Pearman, who has rushed for 141 yards this season on 34 carries, have combined for 197 yards in the seven quarters Virginia has played without Peerman.

“They have really been stepping up for us,” said Virginia quaterback Jameel Sewell. “Keith had no idea against Middle Tennessee that he was going to get in the game. He was just on the sidelines mozying around and he came in and made big things happen and so did A.P.

“They did the same thing [against Connecticut].”

Sounding off

Last week, Virginia scooted cornerback Vic Hall onto the field for an offensive play for the first time.

Hall, who also holds for placement kicks and returns punts, hurled a 35-yard pass to wideout Chris Gorham. The play set up Virginia’s second and final touchdown.

Sewell, who seemed more excited than Hall after the play, offered the best description of the play.

“It was cooler than the other side of the pillow,” the quarterback said.

Sewell said Connecticut’s players did not mention that Hall had joined the huddle, but said teams should not be surprised.

“He is the No. 1 punt returner in the nation so I guess people expect him to be out there cutting up guys and making things happen,” Sewell said.

Delivering on demand

During a critical possession in the fourth quarter, Virginia defensive end Chris Long took a brief delay in the action to get the student section involved.

Long backed up his demand - the senior bulled by Connecticut’s right guard, knocked Huskies quarterback Tyler Lorenzen silly and caused a fumble.

“I had to let them know that I was getting them louder for a reason,” Long said. “I can’t just get them louder and not make a play.”

Earlier this week, Long was named a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top lineman.

Four finalists will be named for the award on Dec. 5.

The other semifinalists include nine defensive players and four offensive.

Speaking of Long

At one point last Friday, Long likely stunned a collection of residents at the team hotel.

Watching a local news broadcast, Long witnessed his younger brother, Kyle, catch a touchdown pass as a tight end for St. Anne’s-Belfield.

Kyle Long, who is headed to Florida State to play baseball next year, made the transition recently from offensive lineman to tight end.

“I almost fell off the bed laughing,” Chris Long said. “That kid is not supposed to be able to do that. He is 6-foot-12, which would be 7-foot … He is enormous.

“He shouldn’t be able to catch the ball, and I bust his chops about it. He is always talking about my hands, but I guess he does have good hands.”

Tough to watch

Jon Copper, the lone married man on Virginia’s team, was asked last weekend if the style in which Virginia has been winning games has worried his wife.

“No,” he said with a smile. “But it bothers my grandmothers.”

Five of Virginia’s six wins have been by a total of 21 points.

“Our motto is that we are going to find a way to win, whether that is by one point or 20 points,” said Copper, who leads the Cavaliers with 54 tackles.

A brutal stretch

Fans who have failed to watch the third quarter this season have missed only one scoring opportunity.

That was a 48-yard field goal from Chris Gould against North Carolina.

Virginia offensive lineman Ian-Yates Cunningham was asked when the team’s last touchdown in the third quarter came.

“No, I don’t know,” Cunningham replied.

It came last season against North Carolina.

“Are you serious?” Cunningham blurted.

Thus far this year, the Cavaliers have been outscored, 34-3, in the third quarter.

“I couldn’t tell you what specifically we have to do,” Cunningham said. “It is one of those things that we have to be more consistent throughout the game. It starts up front and we know that we haven’t been that successful in the third quarter.

“We have to have that approach throughout practice as that being the third quarter, because everything else has carried over to the game.”

Injury update

Virginia may gain the services of wide receiver Maurice Covington this weekend. The junior, who broke a bone in his hand, has been impressive in practice this week, Groh said. Fullback Rashawn Jackson, who tweaked a hamstring against UConn, has also returned to practice.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Friday, Oct 19, 2007 - 12:06 AM

Cavaliers can slug it out
Virginia football coach Al Groh has shown a particular fondness for boxing metaphors this season. He likes to his tell his team that it reminds him of Joe Frazier, who was often overshadowed by the flashier Muhammad Ali.

No matter that Groh's players were born long after Smokin' Joe's glory days in the ring.

"Everybody knows who Joe Frazier is," said offensive guard Branden Albert, an Ali fan. "He's a tough guy. If you hit him and keep hitting him, he's going to keep coming at you. The last couple of games, we've proven that. We've taken some big blows and fought to the end."

Of U.Va.'s six victories this season, four have come by five or fewer points.

Freshman QB progressing
Virginia's No. 4 quarterback is redshirt freshman Marc Verica. Groh said yesterday that Verica has impressed him in practice.

"Because he is running the scout team, we see him throwing a lot of passes each day, and he's doing a nice job with it," Groh said.

U.Va.'s recruiting class for 2008 is not likely to include a quarterback, Groh said. A decision on whether the Cavaliers' No. 3 quarterback, Scott Deke, will return as a fifth-year senior in 2008 will be made after the season.

Virginia has a full complement of 85 scholarship players this season, and that's likely to be the case next year, which could work against Deke.

Meyinsse adds weight and confidence
As a freshman last season, Jerome Meyinsse appeared in only 15 games for the U.Va. basketball team, in part because he lacked the strength to battle bigger post players. After an offseason with strength coach Shaun Brown, the 6-8 Meyinsse is up to 245 pounds.

"He's much more confident and more aggressive," Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said.

"Last year he was 220 pounds going up against" 6-8, 250-pound Lars Mikalauskas and 6-11, 245-pound Tunji Soroye in practice, Leitao said, "and he was just getting bounced around. That really doesn't happen as much any more. He's found a niche where he can get his shot off and where he can rebound and move people around."

Lacrosse team ends fall on high note
The U.Va. men's lacrosse team dominated its fall scrimmages, whipping Navy and Georgetown, and will enter the 2008 season on the short list of NCAA title contenders.

In the Cavaliers' 17-11 win over Georgetown, their starting attackmen - juniors Danny Glading and Garrett Billings and senior Ben Rubeor - combined for 10 goals and four assists. Glading led U.Va. with five goals.

"I thought Danny had a breakthrough fall," coach Dom Starsia said. "He's been taking charge from the first day."

Practice resumes in January. In the new year, Starsia will pick a starting goalie from this group: graduate student Bud Petit, freshman Adam Ghitelman and sophomore Mark Wade.

After a slow start, Petit, a former Collegiate School star, got "consistently better," Starsia said.

On one midfield line, Starsia has matched graduate student Peter Lamade, a transfer from Duke, with the nation's most celebrated freshmen, twins Shamel and Rhamel Bratton.

- Jeff White

 

Cavs' Albert owes much to his older sibling
Friday, Oct 19, 2007 - 12:06 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
 

CHARLOTTESVILLE - University of Virginia football star Branden Albert got a care package this week from his brother and sister-in-law. Albert undoubtedly would have preferred cookies and candy to what he found inside.

Enclosed were blown-up photos of Albert "as a kid, wearing my Terps helmet and uniform," said his brother, Ashley Sims, who roared with laughter.

Sims, 34, is a former defensive end at Maryland. Albert, a 6-7, 312-pound junior, is a three-year starter at left offensive guard for U.Va. The Cavaliers (3-0 ACC, 6-1) play the Terrapins (1-1, 4-2) tomorrow night, and the crowd at Byrd Stadium will include Sims, a parole officer who lives near Baltimore.

He can't bring himself to wear blue and orange, but he'll be pulling for Albert, one of U.Va.'s captains.

"My blood runs through my brother," Sims said.

Albert, who'll turn 23 next month, figures to be a coveted prospect when he enters the NFL draft. That could be as early as next year, though Albert says he's not concerned with the NFL now. He's focused on helping the Wahoos try to win the ACC's Coastal Division.

He admits, however, that it's "surprising for me sometimes when I think about where I came from and where I am now."

Albert, born in Rochester, N.Y., lived there until 2002, when he left his mother's home and moved in with his brother's family in Maryland. Albert was in danger of failing out of school in Rochester, but he didn't want to leave his mother, who pampered him, and he didn't want to play football, no matter how big he'd grown.

"He was real resistant about coming here, because he knew I was going to push him hard, and he knew I was going to force him to play," Sims said.

Reluctantly, Albert came south. In Maryland, he battled homesickness and his brother's discipline. He should have been an 11th-grader, but he'd failed the ninth grade twice, and extraordinary measures were required for him to catch up to his class.

Albert finally began to apply himself, with impressive results. He took night classes and summer school, in addition to his regular course load at Glen Burnie High, and he graduated in 2004. He's an anthropology major at U.Va.

His transformation on the football field was equally remarkable. He'd been a basketball player for most of his life, but Albert, at his brother's insistence, went out for football at Glen Burnie. The Gophers were coached at the time by Brad Wilson.

Albert was very raw, Wilson recalled this week, but he was "big, agile and had great feet. You don't find many guys of that size with great feet. But the thing that stood out the most was his personality. You just couldn't help but love the guy."

As a senior, Albert was All-Metro in two sports, and Niagara offered him a basketball scholarship. The consensus of those around Albert, however, was that football held the most long-term promise for him, and he signed with U.Va. coach Al Groh in February 2004.

Once they began recruiting Albert, the Cavaliers realized he'd have to take a detour to prep school. That didn't scare them away, though other schools, included Maryland, backed off, Sims said.

Albert spent the 2004-05 school year at Hargrave Military Academy, where he starred for coach Robert Prunty's postgraduate football team. At the Chatham school, Albert also shored up some of his academic weaknesses and showed he could thrive in a structured environment.

Hargrave "helped me as a football player and as a young man," Albert said.

An offensive tackle at Hargrave, Albert started two games at that position this month while Eugene Monroe recovered from a knee injury. In 2005, though, the Cavaliers needed help inside, and Albert won the starting job at left guard in training camp.

His ability to play two positions will only boost Albert's NFL stock.

"There are going to be times during the season when a team will only activate seven or eight [offensive linemen] for a game," Groh said. For the team to have a two-deep on the line, "those seven or eight players have to add up to 10, and the more a player can do, it makes that player significantly valuable."

To see Albert play in the NFL, as he almost certainly will do one day, will be amazing, Sims acknowledged.

"But I'll be more amazed when I see my brother with a cap and gown on," he said. "That's my payback, seeing him receiving a sheepskin from the University of Virginia."

 

Brandenburg’s decision was well thought-out
Coach predicts bright future
By Doug Doughty

To understand John Brandenburg’s decision-making process in choosing Virginia, it helps to know a little bit of his history.

Brandenburg, a promising 6-foot-11 basketball prospect from St. Louis, visited UVa over the weekend of Sept. 7-9 with hopes of reaching a decision shortly after he returned home.

By the time he notified the UVa staff of his decision last weekend, approximately five weeks had elapsed.

For most prospects, it’s a process unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before, but not Brandenburg.

As an eighth-grader in the Kirkwood, Mo., school system, Brandenburg had several choices. He could have stayed in public school and gone to Kirkwood Senior High School or he could have gone to one of several strong private schools in the area.

After some deliberation, Brandenburg and his family decided that he would enroll at Christian Brothers College High School as a ninth-grader.

Not long after that, Brandenburg had a chance of heart and decided he preferred another all-male Catholic school, DeSmet Jesuit High School.

Brandenburg was reminded of that process often in the past month.

“It definitely affected my decision because I really didn’t want to go through that again with college,” he said. “I didn’t want to tell one place that I wanted to go there and then have to decommit.

“One of the reasons I took so long with this decision was, I wanted it to be right the first time.

“It was pretty stressful [in 2004]. In St. Louis, it’s different from most places because they’ve got a couple of places where a lot of guys want to go and they’re really competitive to get into. Most people have a line of heritage and just go to that school, but I didn’t.”

Brandenburg’s interest in basketball was whetted by his involvement with a travel team that went to the AAU Nationals following his eighth grade. But he wasn’t specializing at that point and even played ninth-grade football, along with lacrosse, soccer and baseball.

Brandeburg started on the DeSmet varsity basketball team as a sophomore, when he averaged 11.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. His rebounding improved last season but he was injured at various stages of the year and finished with 8.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

“He missed six games last year because of injuries and it really affected us as a team,” DeSmet coach Bob Steiner said. “He never really got into the flow because he’d get hurt, then be out a while, play a couple of games, then get hurt again. I think he sprained both ankles and had some issues with his back.”

Steiner thinks Brandenburg’s best days are ahead of him and hopes that includes the 2007-2008 season.

“Actually, he’s a shade over 6-11 [and] weighs, I guess, about 225 or 230,” said Steiner, who has been at DeSmet for 21 years, the last 11 as head coach. “He’s extremely athletic, runs the floor well, jumps well, catches well – all the things you’d like a big man to be able to do.

“He’s very tenacious, very driven, highly motivated. He’s very bright.”

That’s a lot of positives.

“I think so,” Steiner said.

DeSmet is the alma mater of Steve Stipanovich, who actually was recruited by Virginia before signing with Missouri,

Steiner says it is premature to compare Brandenburg to Stipanovich.

“Steve’s the greatest player ever to play here and John is different from Steve,” Steiner said. “John is not a tremendously polished offensive player right now. What everybody sees in John is a tremendous upside because of his athleticism.

“He had a decent sophomore year. He had a disappointing junior year because of injuries. He’s got great potential, but I think it was coach [Bob] Knight who said, ‘Potential only refers to a guy who hasn’t done anything yet.’ ”

Brandenburg’s height and athleticism “are things you can’t teach or coach,” Steiner continued. “His offensive skills need work. He’s not awful. If he was awful, they wouldn’t have recruited him.”

One of Brandenburg’s problems last year was a cyst on the wrist of his shooting hand.

“Every time I shot, it was painful,” Brandenburg said. “I know it sounds like I’m just rattling off injuries, but it seems like I’d be on the floor for a week and then I’d get injured again.”

Said Brandenburg: “A lot of development is needed but I’m really willing to work for it.”

As of Wednesday, Steiner said he still had not sat down with Brandenburg since the weekend but had heard about the commitment to Virginia from the staffs at both UVa and Stafford.

“I had no idea,” Steiner said. “ I knew it was down to Stanford and Virginia. I was shocked he let go some of the schools he let go.”

Brandenburg had a final five of Virginia, Stanford, Missouri, Wisconsin and Florida. It was Steiner’s sense that Brandenburg also could have gone to Kentucky.

“Primarily Kentucky and Florida were the ones that made you go ‘oof,’ “ Steiner said. “I can’t speak for Florida but [Kentucky] coach Billy Gillispie was here and I talked to coach [Glynn] Ciprien daily.

“Plus, my daughter was a senior at Kentucky. I know they tried to work him real hard but John wasn’t interested.”

Other schools had done too much legwork for Brandenburg to give the Wildcats much consideration.

“Kentucky moved in for a little while,” he said. “They were a little late, so it was a little harder. It’s always hard to accept a school because you know they were looking at so many other guys before you.”

It was as much a credit to Virginia academically as it was athletically that the Cavaliers reached the final two with Stanford.

“I would never want to put down any of the other schools,” said Brandenburg, a 3.9 student. “Some of them are really great schools, but I really just wanted a strong academic tradition. So, it wasn’t that difficult to narrow it down from the five to the two.”

Brandenburg’s father is an attorney, his mother is a speech pathologist, an older sister just graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and a 6-7 older brother is playing junior-college basketball after beginning his college career at the Division II level.

Brandenburg’s dad is 6-6 and his mom is over 6 feet, so it’s no surprise that John is now 7 feet in shoes.

“My parents were really supportive of both schools and didn’t want to take sides,” Brandeburg said. “That made it even harder, with them stepping aside and letting me take all the responsibility for this decision.”

At least he’d been there before.
 

Moten is Terps' do-it-all LB
Redshirt freshman has learned all three linebacker positions
By Heather A. Dinich | Sun reporter
6:58 PM EDT, October 18, 2007
 

College Park - Those within the Maryland football program tend to describe linebacker Adrian Moten as a player with an uncanny ability to find the football, and as having "football savvy."

Moten, a redshirt sophomore, has an acronym for it: FBI -- football instinct.

"That's what I have," he said. "It's just a natural thing, something that comes quick to me."

Moten's ascension from the scout team last season to a dependable do-it-all player this year also came quickly to him. Numerous injuries have forced Moten to learn all three linebacker positions, and he was thrust into an integral role earlier this month against Georgia Tech. Although he came into the game at weak-side linebacker -- the position he is least familiar with -- Moten had his most successful performance while filling in for starting linebacker Erin Henderson and his backup, Rick Costa.

With Henderson (knee) expected to play Saturday night against visiting Virginia and Costa still out with a concussion, Moten is listed as the No. 2 linebacker for both the strong-side and weak-side positions. Although he has yet to start a game at Maryland, Moten has proven to be a viable option at any of the three positions.

"I call him the gypsy," said outside linebackers coach Al Seamonson. "He doesn't have a home. He keeps bouncing around to me, Coach [Chris] Cosh, anybody else who will take him."

And they all want him.

Moten began his career at the strong-side position this past fall, but was moved to the middle in late August after injuries to Dave Philistin and Chase Bullock -- two more linebackers who have been nicked up recently but are expected to play against Virginia.

Moten has played in all six games this season, but received his most significant game time Oct. 6 against Georgia Tech after Costa suffered head and neck injuries.

In Costa's absence, Moten matched a career-high five tackles -- including a career-high four solo -- after roughly two weeks of practicing at his position.

"If we didn't have him, I don't know who we would have put there Saturday," defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre said. "Everybody was getting hurt. He definitely came in handy."

Moten, who was just as versatile at Gwynn Park High in Prince George's County, was recruited by Maryland to play either linebacker or safety, but he never made it into the Terps' secondary. After an impressive spring, he entered this season atop the depth chart at strong-side linebacker with Moise Fokou, who has started there every game this season.

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said what Moten has been able to learn in such a short time is "amazing."

"You don't find that very often," Friedgen said. "For a redshirt freshman, it's remarkable he's doing as well as he's doing."

In addition to playing all three linebacker positions, Moten starts on three special teams units -- kickoff coverage, and both punt teams.

"His table's full for a redshirt freshman," Seamonson said. "He learns fast, but you worry about a little overload for a kid that hasn't played a lot yet, and he's only a redshirt freshman. But he's handled it well. Hopefully he'll benefit from it in the long run, but we certainly hope he can settle in and get good at playing one spot here soon if we can stabilize and stay healthy and keep developing our roles."

While Moten has been getting a lot of practice time recently at weak side, that doesn't mean that's where he'll stay. Friedgen said Moten's future depends in part on where Alex Wujciak is next season after recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but that both would make good middle linebackers. Ideally, Seamonson said, he'd like to keep Moten with him at strong side.

His role against Virginia is as open as where he'll play next year.

"Who knows where I'll be on Saturday," Moten said.

The better question might be where he won't play.

Notes: Friedgen said quarterback Jordan Steffy has not been cleared to play this weekend. ... Henderson has been selected as one of 10 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's best collegiate linebacker.

 

UVa Notebook - Terrapins rivalry renewed with brotherly love
By Andy Bitter
abitter@newsadvance.com
October 19, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia left guard Branden Albert talks to his brother on a regular basis, but the phone calls seem to pick up during Maryland week.
That's because his brother, Ashley Sims, was a defensive end for the Terrapins from 1994-97.

"Some days he calls me out of the blue and just starts doing his little Terp chant," said Albert, brushing it off. "It's nothing new. I'm not worried about it."

Though a native of Rochester, N.Y., Albert moved to Maryland to live with his brother after struggling academically early in high school. Albert straightened himself out at Glen Burnie High and, after a year of prep at Hargrave Military Academy, enrolled at Virginia.

His football r?sum? has only expanded since. In addition to growing into his role as a team captain at left guard, Albert selflessly moved to left tackle when Eugene Monroe missed two games with a knee injury. Albert played tackle in high school and at Hargrave.

"I feel like, if I'm a team player, I'll fill in whatever role they want me to," he said.

Getting a brief showcase at the position may help the 6-foot-7, 310-pound junior down the line, when the NFL comes calling.

"That versatility is so significant in putting together an NFL offensive line," UVa head coach Al Groh said. "There are going to be occasions during the course of a season where a team may only activate seven or eight offensive lineman for the game. ? To be two-deep, those seven or eight players need to add up to 10.

"So the more a player can do, it certainly makes him more valuable."

Better than Uncle Rico

He may have started the season as Maryland's No. 3 quarterback, but sophomore Chris Turner has been impressive in the two games he's played since Jordan Steffy suffered a concussion at Rutgers.

Turner, a Napoleon Dynamite look-alike whose father was the original drummer for the band Ratt, has led Maryland to back-to-back wins, first upsetting then-No. 10 Rutgers before topping Georgia Tech 28-26 two weeks ago.

He's managed the games well, going 28-for-43 (65.1 percent) with a touchdown. In the six quarters since Turner went under center, Maryland has scored 48 points.

"You can call a guy anything you want to call him: freshman; redshirt sophomore; redshirt freshman; senior; senior citizen; whatever," Groh said. "But when a guy is completing 66 percent of his passes, then he's given a lot of life to the offense."

Another runner out?

Fullback Rashawn Jackson (hamstring) has done some work on a very limited basis this week, Groh said, and his status for Saturday remains uncertain. Jackson injured himself on the first drive of the Connecticut game and did not return.

Jackson has few touches (six carries for 20 yards, six receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown) but has given UVa the lead blocker out of the backfield it didn't have last season. Virginia will already be without starting tailback Cedric Peerman (foot) on Saturday.

"Given that we already have one of our best runners out of the game, if (Jackson is) not in the game, then certainly that compounds that situation," Groh said.

 

Albert's versatility a boon to Virginia
October 19, 2007 12:35 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.

CHARLOTTESVILLE--Branden Albert is much better on the football field than he is with press conference analogies.

At Virginia's weekly get-together with the media on Tuesday in John Paul Jones Arena, Albert was asked about the positive effect senior defensive end Chris Long has had on the rest of the team.

"You ever heard of the term cancer?," Albert said. "But his cancer is in a good way."

Albert scrambled to take back the comparison.

But the verbal slip-up is about the only thing he's misfired on in his standout career at Virginia.

The junior left guard will make his 32nd consecutive start for the Cavaliers (6-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) in their trip to ACC rival Maryland (4-2, 1-1) tomorrow at 8 p.m.

Playing the Terrapins means Albert will be razzed by older brother Ashley Sims, a former Maryland defensive end.

"Some days he calls me out of the blue and starts giving his little Terp chant," Albert said. "Then he'll hang up in my face. But I'm not worried about it."

Defensive linemen like Sims don't seem to faze Albert.

He's putting together an all-ACC-caliber season while displaying the type of versatility that gets the attention of NFL scouts.

"His performance is continuing to move upward," Virginia head coach Al Groh said. "We're real pleased with how he is doing."

There isn't much for Groh to be displeased about with Albert.

The 6-foot-7, 310-pound Rochester, N.Y. native stepped in for the Cavaliers as a true freshman in 2005 and he hasn't missed a game since.

This year, he impressed coaches and teammates when he started at left tackle against Pittsburgh and Middle Tennessee State while Eugene Monroe sat out with a knee injury.

The offensive line didn't miss a beat, although it was the first time Albert had played the position in college.

"I was impressed, but I was definitely not surprised," senior right guard Ian-Yates Cunningham said of the way Albert switched positions. "He's such a great athlete."

That was apparent to Groh when the Cavaliers recruited Albert out of Glen Burnie (Md.) High School.

He moved to Glen Burnie from Rochester to live with Sims.

He was a high school football and basketball standout, who could've played both sports at the Division I level.

However, he was told by family and friends that it was much harder to secure a future in professional basketball than football.

"The only person that wanted me to play basketball was my basketball coach at Glen Burnie," Albert said.

The Cavaliers are thankful Albert didn't listen.

After leaving Glen Burnie, he attended Hargrave Military Academy, where he was was a standout left tackle. So his performance in a pinch for the Cavaliers wasn't totally unexpected.

Albert said the biggest adjustment was blocking quick defensive ends instead of stout defensive tackles, but he added that, "being here for three years, I pretty much know what everybody has to do on the offensive line."

"I feel like I'm a team player," he said. "I'll play whatever role they want me to."

Albert wasn't highly recruited out of high school, but he's blossomed at Virginia. He's now a co-captain along with Long and senior tight end Tom Santi.

He called his run as a three-year starter "surprising."

"Sometimes I think about where I came from and where I am now," he said. "The people here at U.Va. are helping me make my potential come forth."

That potential may eventually reach the NFL level.

Albert certainly has the size, and with the versatility he showed at left tackle, he could make an intriguing prospect in 2008 or 2009.

Albert isn't thinking that far ahead.

"Who knows,?" he said. "Wherever the future brings me, I'm not worried about that right now."

 

Terps lacking happy returns
October 19, 2007

By Patrick Stevens - Less than two months ago, college football coaches were wondering whether the kick return might become college football's most unpredictable play after kickoffs were shifted back five yards.

Maryland can only hope the excitement arrives soon.

The Terrapins have sifted through a revolving door of primary returners, from Terrell Skinner to Da'Rel Scott to injury fill-in Anthony Wiseman. Opponents have directed kicks to the side, yielding a few yards for better coverage. And Maryland's average return has sunk to 17.8 yards, next to last in the ACC.

The vital figure, though, is the average field position. Maryland (4-2, 1-1 ACC) is beginning its drives off kickoffs at its 29.72, nearly two yards behind its average starting spot a year ago.

"I would think we should be better than that on a whole," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "I think we should be more productive in that because we have in the past. But I think how they kick it has something to do with it, too."

The most unstable variable for Maryland, which meets Virginia (6-1, 3-0) in a prime-time showdown at Byrd Stadium tomorrow night, is the return man. Scott, a Pennsylvania high school champion in the 100-meter dash as a junior, was the likely starter until he sprained his right ankle in camp.

Skinner held the job for the first three weeks and averaged just 18.5 yards a return. Scott, a redshirt freshman, took over for the next two games before spraining his left ankle. Wiseman was the deep man against Georgia Tech and returned two kicks after working at the position for a week.

Scott is expected back tomorrow, and he is the only Terp to produce a return of more than 30 yards. He also has the speed Josh Wilson displayed a year ago.

"My goal is to be around that 35-yard line start," special teams coordinator Ray Rychleski said. "What we did last year was very good, and after a while I think they got scared of kicking to Josh. We don't quite have the athlete back there yet. That is important. You have to have the right guy."

That 35-yard line benchmark has eluded the Terps more often than not. Maryland has started only nine of its 29 series after kickoffs from at least that point, and squibs and directional kicks to the sideline (and away from the deep man) have accounted for some of the abbreviated returns.

But a slippery man in the back is the linchpin in improving field position.

"I always say you can have 10 of the best blockers in America and a very average returner and you will have an average return," Rychleski said. "You have 10 average guys and you get a get a pretty good returner and you're going to have a pretty good return."

With Scott back, the Terps could have that element against Virginia. Wiseman, eager to expand his role, could get another look after his credible debut effort.

No matter who is returning kicks, Scott knows the way to make this particular question dissipate.

"It's just really exciting because I'm just waiting to get that ball," Scott said. "First game, I had a couple good returns. I'm really just trying to take one to the house. I want a house call."

And even halfway through the season, that would deliver plenty of electricity for Maryland.

Notes — Friedgen said quarterback Jordan Steffy (concussion) was not cleared by team medical personnel. If he were cleared, Steffy would be an emergency option tomorrow. ...

Linebacker Erin Henderson (knee) practiced again yesterday and Friedgen thinks he will play tomorrow.
 

Son Emerges From Long Shadow
By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 19, 2007; E01
CHARLOTTESVILLE

Chris Long is running alone under the floodlights at the Virginia football team's practice field. The rest of his teammates have walked off the field and into the locker room, content to be done with their first practice of the preseason. Stripped down to a pair of gray spandex shorts and soaked in sweat, with blades of grass sticking to his body in the thick summer air, Long sprints up and down the field.

He's running because in a few weeks, he'll play a mile above sea level for the first time at Wyoming, and as a third-year starter and the current face of the team, he needs to be ready. He's running because he finds out what everyone else does, and then he does more. He's running because of the tattoo on his back that's almost too small to see: small, green letters that spell "PRIDE."

He's running because he has discovered that upholding his own reputation is even more difficult than escaping family comparisons. He is no longer Howie's kid, son of a Hall of Famer; he is one of the best college football players in the country, a lock to be one of the first 10 players picked in the NFL draft.

Mostly, though, Chris Long is running for the same reason his father did years ago. He is afraid.

"Fear of failure," Long said. "I have the same fears that he does. That's the eerie part. We both are petrified of coming out and getting embarrassed. You've got to take pride in what you do. People are counting on you -- teammates are counting on you, fans are counting on you. If you go 100 miles an hour, at least at the end of the day, you worked yourself silly out there. That's all you can do."

Famous Father

It's almost midnight this past Monday, and Long is at CVS with Clint Sintim, his roommate and an outside linebacker. They need a new alarm clock for their house, but Sintim plans to get more out of the trip.

"This is Chris Long!" Sintim shouts, running behind an aisle to hide. He won't let up. "Number 91! Howie Long's son! Son of a Hall of Famer!"

Long can be brutal when he needles his friends, always needing to get in the last joke. This is their recourse. Aaron Grossman, Long's one roommate who does not play football, walks up to strangers and says, "Do you know this is Howie Long's son?"

Long blushes, like he always does, but he laughs, too. He tells them to cut it out, but doesn't seem to mean it.

"We wouldn't do it any other way," Grossman said. "He's not 'Howie Long's Son' anymore. He's Chris Long. The joke is just a joke."

Growing up, Long was oblivious to his father's fame. He rarely even watched him play. As he reached high school, though, the idea of following his father began to weigh on him. It made him not want to play football at all.

"That's a heck of a thing to compete with," Long said. "I kind of resented it."

Genetics made the comparisons unavoidable. Howie and Chris were each born with six fingers on one hand. They share that granite jaw line. The first time John Blake, Long's coach at Charlottesville's St. Anne's-Belfield School, watched Long crouch into a stance, he blurted: "Oh, my God. That's his dad."

Long was afraid when his name landed atop recruiting charts. Was he getting credit only because of who his dad was? After his basketball games, Chris retreated to the basement at St. Anne's-Belfield. Still wearing his uniform, he would do power clean lifts. He'd call Blake and ask to run on the practice field. He worked harder than anyone Blake had ever coached. Yet he still struggled with his father's legacy.

Long had several long talks with Blake, wrestling with his father's impact on his career. "Your dad is never going to play another down of football," Blake told him. More and more, Long realized Howie had nothing to do with his results on the field.

"After a while, it's not a competition," Long said. "It's not a shadow I need to move out of or anything like that. Once I found out this is what I'm passionate about, this is what I'm good at, I just welcomed that with open arms. It's a help."

Howie had never pushed football on his boys. Chris's younger brother, Kyle, could have played football but instead chose to play baseball at Florida State. Howie Jr. is heading toward lacrosse.

Chris happened to choose football. "If you're going to play," Howie told him, "play the game the right way."

Howie, who lives five minutes from Charlottesville, does his best to blend in. He has been to a handful of practices, but only the open ones that fans and reporters can attend. "I'm just like every other parent," he said. He stands quietly off to the side, trying to not be noticed, his trademark flattop notwithstanding.

"I'm not coaching Chris," Howie said. "That's important for people to know. Chris is singularly responsible for his success."

Still, they speak at least once a day. Football, naturally, comes up: "It's not like plumbing is the family business," Howie said.

Dominating

The fear hasn't melted away yet. Midway through last season, Long became frustrated with his performance and went to his parents' house with a load of game tapes. Watching with his son, Howie noticed Chris trying new moves, not just using his quickness or hand-to-hand techniques. Howie told Chris to forget about the experiments and stick with what he does best: "Do you," he said.

It was a turning point for Long that has carried over to this season. Long's greatness is both obvious and subtle. At 6 feet 4, 280 pounds, he chases ballcarriers like a maniac, like someone who is afraid.

But a defensive end in the 3-4 alignment favored by Al Groh is designed to be anonymous. Long is responsible for plugging two gaps every play, not just charging upfield like typical ends. Asked how often he sees Long do something amazing that a fan would not notice, Groh responded, "Every play."

Defensive ends in the 3-4 shouldn't pile up gaudy stats. But Long has 40 tackles, second on the team, and eight sacks, fifth in the nation. "That's unreal," Sintim said.

"I've only had the pleasure to coach one other player who was as dominant in his level of competition as Chris is: 56" Groh said. He meant Lawrence Taylor.

Long's performance has made his father's shadow vanish. When Grossman was a freshman living down the hall from Long, other students asked him, "Does Howie ever come by the dorms?" This year, when Grossman's living arrangements come up, no one mentions Howie. Instead, he's grilled with, "Oh my God, you live with Chris Long?"

"I feel more pressure," Long said. "Now I have my own name that I have to uphold every day when I play. Now, people look at you for who you are. That's a blessing, but also, you have to be cognizant of the fact that things change. You have to watch out for your own name."

The Nerd

Attending college so close to home allows for some perks -- laundry day, for instance. On Wednesday night, Kyle Long, the middle brother, came to Chris's house with a basket of sheets their mother had washed.

Long looks after his brothers fiercely. When Kyle was choosing a college and a sport, Long told him, "Do what you love." When Kyle needs help on an essay in high school, he asks Chris.

"He's a better writer than he is a football player," Kyle said.

As chaotic as Chris is on the field, he's calm off it. He likes to go camping or tubing on a lake. He discusses music almost every night with Grossman. He has the messiest room in the house. He's a Discovery Channel devotee.

"He's a nerd," Kyle said. "It'll be Saturday night. 'You going out, Chris?' He'll say, 'Nah, I'm watching "Planet Earth," man.' He sits there by himself watching polar bears."

Said Grossman: "If it wasn't for his stature, he could fit in anywhere. He's smart and witty, and if it wasn't for football, he would a great student here."

Of course, he's not like everyone else. Even when he relaxes, football never leaves his mind. During spring break, he thinks about spring practice. In the summertime, camp is around the corner.

"He's afraid he's going to get beat by somebody," Kyle said.

On Saturday, Long and the Cavaliers will play Maryland on national television, perhaps the most important game of their season. During the telecast, ESPN2 will likely show clips of Howie.

Howie hates that. Chris doesn't mind so much. But the fear is still there. And it's not going away.

"It increases," Long said. "The higher the stakes, the more you feel pressure to perform. That's not a bad thing. For somebody to say they don't feel pressure, fine. That's just not me. I feel pressure. And I thrive on it."

Cavs' rank just a number
By: Geremy Bass
Posted: 10/19/07

The Virginia Cavaliers are 6-1 and No. 19 in the BCS standings. So why, then, are the Cavaliers unranked in the Associated Press Top 25? Because many people aren't so quick to buy into the team's early success.

Neither am I.

To open the season, the Cavs were drubbed in Wyoming, managing to notch only five first downs and 100 yards of total offense. Then, the boys from Charlottesville, Va., experienced what tight end Jonathan Stupar said to the The Washington Post was a "wake-up call", and ran the table to string together six straight wins. Waaahoooo.

Virginia's victory march through September and mid-October, however, looks to me like more of a game of hopscotch against elementary-school opponents.

Except for the Cavaliers' win over Georgia Tech, which is now 4-3, they haven't been tested. The Cavs beat 1-6 Duke, 2-5 North Carolina, 2-4 Pittsburgh and eked by 2-5 Middle Tennessee and 5-1 Connecticut. Connecticut hasn't played any toughies either, so don't let the Huskies' record be deceiving.

The bottom line is that the Terrapins will be the best team Virginia has faced. The Cavaliers' opponents have compiled a combined record of 20-26 thus far and Georgia Tech is the only one of their foes that has taken down a top-25 squad. Here's the kicker: Four of Virginia's six wins, three of those against sub-.500 teams, have been decided by five points or less.

But just because I'm not sold on my native state's Cavaliers doesn't mean they don't have talent. Virginia boasts an athletic quarterback in Jameel Sewell and has a veteran offensive unit. But during the last two weeks, Sewell has thrown three costly interceptions, two of which led to touchdowns.

The big name, though, is junior running back Cedric Peerman, the second-leading rusher in the ACC. Oh, wait - never mind. Peerman's name isn't on the Cavs' depth chart for tomorrow's matchup, meaning his ankle injury will keep him out of the game.

Rock-solid defensive end Chris Long leads the defense, but the list of Cavalier headliners ends after Long and some talented kickers.

Tomorrow, then, would be a tempting scenario for the Terps to roll over and waste a great opportunity to move into the national spotlight. Not so, said head coach Ralph Friedgen.

"Virginia is a very good football team," Friedgen said. "They have won their last six games, they are 3-0 in the ACC, and it's a very big game for us."

I agree with Fridge on everything except the whole "good football team" bit. The Terps should be able to stomp a Virginia team that is without the man behind its usually intimidating running attack. The Cavs are also averaging just 311 yards of offense per game - third worst in the ACC.

Of course, there are a few factors that throw a kink in my prediction of complete domination. The Terps have been ravaged by injuries and can't afford another ache, pain or cramp. Moreover, Virginia will be looking to avenge last season's terrible loss at home, when the Terps stormed back to erase a 20-point halftime deficit and win 28-26.

Throw in the 8 p.m. primetime slot, ESPN2's cameras and a classic ACC rivalry, and suddenly the equation looks quite a bit different.

"All the fans are going to be out there for the game," running back Keon Lattimore said. "We are rivals with this team. It's going to be a great atmosphere and there will be a lot of people out there supporting us so we definitely have to stay focused."

Even with all those factors thrown into the mix, though, it should help the Terps that Virginia isn't, well, good.