QB takes coordinator's path
As U.Va. quarterbacks, Verica and Mark Groh were unlikely starters
Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 - 12:07 AM

NORTH CAROLINA AT VIRGINIA

Saturday:3:30 p.m., WRIC-8
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE - If the bond between offensive coordinator Mike Groh and quarterback Marc Verica is especially strong these days, there is good reason.

When Groh looks at Verica, he sees a quarterback following a similar career path to the one he followed at University of Virginia.

Verica was an unheralded recruit when he arrived at U.Va. in 2006 to play for Mike Groh's father, Al.

Mike Groh was an unheralded recruit when he arrived at U.Va. in 1991 to play for then-coach George Welsh.

Groh was a reserve as a redshirt freshman in '92 and again in '93. He didn't make his first start until the second game of the 1994 season, and then only because of an injury to Symmion Willis, who was back with the first team a week later.

That didn't deter Groh. He ended up starting the Cavaliers' final seven games in '94 and kept the job in '95. U.Va. finished 9-3 in '94 and 9-4 in '95 and won its bowl game each season. Groh ranks No. 6 in career passing yards at Virginia.

"He did a tremendous job of just seizing the opportunity and making the best of it," Verica said Tuesday.

The same might be said about Verica one day. He was No. 4 on the depth chart as a redshirt freshman in 2007 and No. 2, behind sophomore Peter Lalich, when this season began. But Lalich was kicked off the team last month, and the Grohs turned to Verica.

His improvement has been remarkable. In Virginia's recent wins over Maryland and East Carolina, Verica completed 50 of 66 passes for 442 yards and three touchdowns.

Credit Mike Groh, Verica said.

"When I came in here I was completely raw," Verica recalled. "I had some ability, and he recognized that, but he made it very apparent to me that I had a lot of work to do . . . He deserves all the credit, really, for my development over the last two years. It's definitely a positive relationship."

Present time tops UVa's Eugene Monroe's priorities
By Doug Doughty | The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Close to 20 Virginia players had done Tuesday interviews this season before the projected No. 1 NFL Draft pick strolled through the door for the first time.

Eugene Monroe's first session with UVa's beat reporters came one week after his 17-year-old offensive linemate, Austin Pasztor, had conducted a teleconference in which he regaled the media with tales of his Canadian upbringing.

Clearly, Monroe doesn't crave the limelight, but he'd better get used to it.

Three years after coming out of Plainfield (N.J.) High School as the nation's No. 1-rated prospect, as chosen by SuperPrep magazine, Monroe stands atop draft guru Mel Kiper's "Big Board."

"I wouldn't say I'm oblivious to it," said Monroe, a 6-foot-6, 315-pounder. "It's unavoidable. I hear it every day. At the same time, my focus right now is getting ready for the UNC game [Saturday]. I look forward to what could happen after the season, but right now it's a distraction."

For all the accolades that accompanied his arrival at Virginia, Monroe has toiled mostly in the shadows. He did not allow a sack last year for a Virginia team that finished 9-4 but was not named first- or second-team All-ACC.

Some of that might have resulted from the attention given Cavaliers offensive guard Branden Albert, who was named first-team All-ACC and later was selected by Kansas City in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Albert and Monroe were fellow members of the Cavaliers' 2005 recruiting class and both played as freshmen, Albert as a starter and Monroe as a back-up to All-American D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

As expected, Monroe took Ferguson's place in 2006, but not until he had spent an entire spring and summer rehabilitating a dislocated kneecap. Monroe played in every game that year but was replaced in the starting lineup by Zak Stair for seven games.

"It was rough," he said. "It was difficult knowing I could play better if I was healthy. I'm just thankful I was able to get back to 100 percent in 2007."

If the all-star voters didn't notice Monroe's play in 2007, the NFL scouts did, based on the early projections for next April's draft. Monroe, who did not turn 21 until April and is nearly 212 years younger than Albert, did not consider passing up his final season of college eligibility.

UVa head coach Al Groh and Monroe discussed the topic only briefly "because it was not something Gene was particularly interested in from the outset," Groh said.

"It was very important to him that he get his degree, which he'll do in 312 years, and it was important to him to finish with his class and his teammates.

"He is a player who has clearly profited from playing his full four years. His skill level and his execution this season is substantially upgraded from what it was last year."

That might not have been apparent when Virginia was losing three of its first four games and ranking near the bottom of Division I-A in virtually every offensive category.

The two offensive tackles, Monroe and Will Barker, were the only returning starters from 2007, and it showed. Yet the Cavaliers eventually turned a corner with victories over Maryland (31-0) and East Carolina (35-20).

"Finally, we started to block the right people," Monroe said. "We're just doing now what we should have been doing at the beginning of the season. [The problem was] miscommunication, mental errors and getting used to playing with each other."

Monroe is not one of UVa's co-captains, but he does feel an obligation to be a leader, especially with Pasztor now starting alongside him.

"Very obligated," Monroe said. "My main goal as a leader is to make my performance speak for what I demand out of my teammates in terms of performance or focus. If I'm not doing my part in that regard, then nothing I say will matter.

"I was frustrated with my play [early], but I'm frustrated with my play every week. I always go back to the drawing board and see things I could have done better."

Sometimes, he takes out his frustration on outside linebacker Clint Sintim, the ACC sack leader, who occasionally goes up against Monroe in practice.

"I definitely see why he's No. 1," Sintim said. "He's extremely talented, he's massive and he has great feet. Going against him every day in practice really elevates my game.

"Every Wednesday, we go into a one-on-one pass-rushing drills. That's my day to work him over. It doesn't work as often as I'd like. A lot of the moves I try on him don't work as well as they do in the games."
 

Cavs' next focus: Special teams
UVa notes
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE --There was a time in Virginia's football season when special teams were little more than an afterthought.

Now that the offense and defense have stabilized, however, the Cavaliers' kicking game is getting a second look.

The tipping point came Saturday, when Virginia took a 28-6 halftime lead against East Carolina. Coach Al Groh figured there was one way the Pirates could get back in the game: a long runback of the second-half kickoff.

Sure enough, ECU's Dwayne Harris responded with a 59-yard return and the Pirates cut the deficit to 28-13 with 9:16 left in the third quarter.

Virginia got a late touchdown to put the Pirates away, 35-20, but none of the special teams escaped Groh's wrath.

"This isn't a free year's subscription to be on these teams," Groh said. "You've got to start making some [plays] if you want to be on these teams. It got quite a bit of attention [Sunday] evening, but it gets quite a bit of attention every Sunday evening.

"We've really got to shake something loose with that. These games are going to be too close over the second half of the season to be trying to win with two units. We've got to get all three units involved."

Vic Hall, who returned seven punts for a total of 21 yards in UVa's first five games, had returns of 15, 16 and 9 yards against ECU, but a missed block prevented an even longer gain, Groh said.

Virginia's best kickoff return of the day was nullified by what has become a weekly hold or block in the back.

"We have to improve with the kicking of the ball in all phases," Groh said. "We've got to kick the ball better than we have for six games, we've got to punt the ball better than we have for six games and we have to do a better job with placements."

Two of punter Jimmy Howell's punts were downed inside East Carolina's 20, but one of those was a 24-yarder that was fair caught at the 19 and the other a 23-yarder downed at the 14.

Howell's longest punt of the day, a 49-yarder, flew into the end zone.

"We're getting little bang for our buck in terms of the amount of time that's been invested," Groh said. "All of those units are definitely on call, and the individuals who comprise those units are on call."

Virginia (3-3 , 1-1 ACC) will face the ACC's top punt-return unit Saturday when 18th-ranked North Carolina (5-1, 1-1) comes to Scott Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, but the Tar Heels will be without the services of return specialist Brandon Tate. Tate suffered a season-ending knee injury Saturday in a 29-24 victory over Notre Dame.

Cedric Peerman, who has rushed for 383 yards in his last two games, returned 40 kickoffs in his first two seasons at UVa and said he would be willing to reprise that role.

Groh isn't concerned about overworking Peerman so much, as his previously injured knee could be aggravated in pileups.

Breaking through

John-Kevin Dolce does not appear on the Cavaliers' two-deep but has made a successful move from inside linebacker to defensive end, where he is getting 20 or more snaps a game in obvious pass-rushing situations.

Dolce, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound sophomore from Bayshore, N.Y., was redshirted in 2006 and did not play in a game last season. He was involved in two sacks against Richmond and had a solo sack against East Carolina.

"He's kind of a hybrid player," Groh said.

"He's got quickness and he's got real natural strength, explosive strength, which compensates for not having as much bulk. The things that occur in pass rush play a little bit more into his game."
 

Energized Cavs eager to feed off more wins
Posted to: College Football Sports Virginia
By Rainer Sabin
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 16, 2008
CHARLOTTESVILLE

If there was a moment in Virginia's topsy-turvy season that cued the Cavaliers' recent resurgence, cornerback Ras-I Dowling couldn't think of one. Neither could linebacker Clint Sintim.

There was no team meeting called by the players to air frustrations. No fiery speech delivered by coach Al Groh to rally his Cavaliers. There wasn't even a play that triggered Virginia's sudden emergence from the depths.

Instead, Dowling said, the team got fed up and buckled down after Duke thumped the Cavaliers 31-3 on Sept. 27, handing Virginia its third defeat in its first four games.

"We had enough," said Dowling, who grew up in Chesapeake. "We had enough of the losing."

Simple as that.

But what hasn't been so simple is explaining why the Cavaliers looked so inept the first month of the season and so capable of solid play the next. After all, it's not just the offense that has experienced rapid improvement; the defense has, too.

In the first four games, Virginia was scoring only nine points a game and yielding 32. Take out its lone victory during that stretch - a pedestrian 16-0 win over Division I-AA Richmond - and the numbers are even more unfavorable.

Flash forward to October and the statistical evidence paints a different picture. In wins over Maryland and East Carolina, the Cavaliers averaged 33 points and allowed 10 a game. With No. 18 North Carolina coming to town on Saturday, Sintim hopes Virginia's surge continues.

"We knew coming into the season it wasn't necessarily going to be perfect at first," Sintim said. "We have a lot of young guys who haven't played the game. We knew it was going to be a process."

On Virginia's most recent depth chart, four sophomores and four freshmen are listed as starters. One of the underclassmen is quarterback Marc Verica, who has guided the Cavaliers' offense with a steady hand the past two weeks. Thrown into the fire after Peter Lalich was dismissed from the team in mid-September, Verica's quick maturation has coincided with the progress the offense has made since the beginning of the season.

Verica has completed 65.9 percent of his passes and has been buoyed by the return of tailback Cedric Peerman, who sat out the loss at Duke because of a bruised knee but has gained 283 rushing yards the past two games.

"It's about growth," Groh said. "Now Marc has been in four games, we have young players who are gaining experience, Cedric is back and going for us and everyone is sticking together, seeing that there is going to be light at the end. We're into the tunnel, and we're seeing some real progress."

The defense, Dowling said, has been encouraged by what Virginia can accomplish when it has the ball. Each Cavaliers score relieves the burden on the players charged with stopping the opposition. In turn, Virginia has been able to employ more aggressive tactics. After leads were established against Maryland and ECU, the coaching staff has ratcheted up the pressure.

"We feed off the offense, and the offense feeds off the defense," said Dowling, the Deep Creek High grad who leads the team with three interceptions.

But Groh says the entire team has received its new-found energy from something else: victories.

"It's a lot easier to build off these kinds of games than the other kind," he said after the Cavaliers beat East Carolina 35-20 on Saturday. "The message is being picked up."

Dowling went one step further, saying the team has passed the stage of recognizing its deficiencies and has moved on to discovering ways to overcome them.

"We have found ourselves," he said. "We have found our identity. The team has clicked. This is who we are."

 

Now rising from rock-bottom
The Cavaliers have shown progress with two home victories after looking hopeless early in the season.
By NORM WOOD | 247-4642
October 16, 2008

After his team scored a season-high 35 points in last weekend's win against East Carolina, Virginia coach Al Groh had a moment to reflect on how his offense has progressed this season.

Of course, it's easy to grow when you start at the bottom.

Before scoring a total of 66 points in wins over Maryland and ECU, Virginia averaged just nine points per game. Virginia (3-3 overall, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) is still last in the ACC in scoring offense (17 points per game) entering Saturday's game against No. 18 North Carolina.

"It'd be nice if you could say, well, we're going to get 10 points every quarter," Groh said.

"It's hard enough to score. We'll take them in any spurt we can get."

As U.Va. prepares to begin the second half of its season, there are multiple areas that need improvement. Steps in the right direction were taken against Maryland and ECU, but Virginia now must deal with a challenging ACC stretch.

OFFENSE
DRunning back Cedric Peerman's return from a knee injury that kept him out of basically two games has had a lot to do with Virginia's starting to get its running game in gear. He had a total of 33 carries for 283 yards and three touchdowns in wins against Maryland and East Carolina, but U.Va. still is averaging just 111 rushing yards per game (100th in the nation) after its slow start. Quarterback Marc Verica has been decent at times while working out of the shotgun and more traditional pro-style sets. Still, one has to wonder how much this passing offense (76th in nation; 199 yards per game) would've matured if it still featured dismissed quarterback Peter Lalich. Wide receiver Kevin Ogletree (leads U.Va. with 31 catches for 383 yards and three touchdowns) and left tackle Eugene Monroe have been as steady as expected. U.Va. leads the ACC with 16 giveaways.

DEFENSE
B-Like the offense, this is another unit that has improved since the start of the season. Yet, this grade could've been much lower if not for the defense's efforts in the past three games. U.Va. has given up fewer than 305 yards in each of its past three games, but Southern California (558 yards against U.Va.) and Connecticut (506) showed what faster, stronger teams can do against the Cavaliers. It'll be interesting to see how North Carolina, Miami, Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia Tech — all teams that have more speed than the Cavaliers — fare against U.Va.'s defense. Linebacker Clint Sintim leads the ACC with seven sacks. End Matt Conrath (three sacks), cornerback Ras-I Dowling (eight passes defended) are budding stars, while linebackers Antonio Appleby (team-best 46 tackles) and Jon Copper (44 tackles) continue to be solid.

SPECIAL TEAMS
DPunter Jimmy Howell gets great hang time, but he's averaging only 37.5 yards per attempt. Kicker Yannick Reyering, who is struggling with a leg injury, has connected on just four of seven field-goal tries. Chase Minnifield has been promising on kickoff returns (averaging 26 yards), but Vic Hall isn't getting much done on punt returns (averaging 6.1 yards). Last week's fake field goal for a touchdown pass against East Carolina was a nice wrinkle.

COACHING
DWho has been the more maligned offensive coordinator in the Commonwealth this season? U.Va.'s Mike Groh or Virginia Tech's Bryan Stinespring? Some of U.Va.'s offensive woes can be attributed to the loss of Lalich and injuries to Peerman and left guard Zak Stair. Yet, a team that struggled to convert third downs against non-conference opponents (28 percent) and has only scored touchdowns on an ACC-low eight of 17 trips inside the red zone also has some play-calling issues. If U.Va. plays worse overall than it did in the first half of the season, coach Al Groh could be in trouble, but he should be given credit for pulling his team a few steps away from the abyss after starting 1-3. Let's see if he can keep the team off the ledge.

Overall grade: D.
 

Backfield pushes team past Pirates
Long runs, fake FG boost Cavs against ECU
Cayce Troxel, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, October 16 2008

Senior running back Cedric Peerman saw nothing but open grass as he burst up the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown run. This was Peerman’s second long TD run of the half, as he first tight-roped the sideline on a 79-yard opening score. Dominating and embarrassing. Encouraging and frustrating. Uplifting and erratic. Midway through its 2008 campaign, the Virginia football team has left fans grappling for adjectives to properly capture what has been one roller coaster ride of a season thus far. With a decisive 35-20 victory against East Carolina Saturday, the Cavaliers (3-3, 1-1 ACC) successfully silenced critics’ cries that their runaway upset of Maryland the week before was a fluke. Questions, however, continue to linger as to whether Virginia coach Al Groh’s squad has truly turned the corner after a rocky start to the season.
“That was the challenge facing us this week,” sophomore quarterback Marc Verica said after the game. “To show that this wasn’t a one-week thing, and the challenge was really, can we play that way consistently from week to week?”
While Verica’s play over the last two games has contributed in large part to the team’s offensive turnaround — the sophomore has notched a completion percentage of more than 70 percent while racking up nearly 500 yards through the air in his last two outings — the running game has been the real remedy for the Cavaliers’ early season offensive woes. Nearly half of the team’s total yardage against both Maryland and East Carolina came on the ground, and senior tailback Cedric Peerman alone has rushed for almost 300 yards over the two-game span.
Peerman “has a way of just enforcing his will upon the defense,” Verica said.
Hampered by a leg injury at the start of the season that forced him to play limited minutes in the first three games of the season before completely sitting out Virginia’s loss to Duke, a healthy Peerman — after piling up 110 yards on the Terrapins — exploded for a season-high 173 yards against the East Carolina Pirates. Two of the senior’s 16 carries on the day were trips to the end zone for more than 60 yards and came at critical junctures in the game for the Cavaliers.
With Virginia trailing East Carolina 0-6 following two early field goals by the Pirates, Peerman not only sliced through a string of defenders but managed to avoid the sideline as he tiptoed his way to a 79-yard touchdown run to end the first quarter.
“I’ve never had to really tight-rope the sideline like that throughout my career,” Peerman said. “I’m just trying to run wherever the green grass is and avoid all that contact.”
Just two offensive drives later, the two-time Virginia high school state titleholder in the 100-meter dash again called upon his speed to find a hole in the Pirate defense, this time breaking free for a 60-yard run and giving the Cavaliers a critical 14-6 edge they would never relinquish.
“It’s just a mind-set of, ‘Don’t get caught,’” Peerman said of breaking the big touchdown runs. “‘Don’t let them catch you.’”
Perhaps more important than points, Peerman’s recent string of big carries and touchdown runs have provided the Cavaliers with a much-needed emotional spark.
“When you’ve got a guy back there like [Peerman] who can just carve out so much, it inspires everybody,” Groh said. “He does more than carry the ball for us — he carries the flag, too, and he’s given great tribute to that the past couple of games.”
In the midst of an up-and-down season, it is necessary that leaders like Peerman, as well as fifth-year senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim, are ready, Groh said, “to add some passion and some juice to [the] team personality.”
Against East Carolina, Virginia also got an unexpected emotional boost from a player other than the Cavaliers’ established leaders. In the fourth quarter, senior backup quarterback Scott Deke, who holds on field goals and extra points, provided the team with some inspiration of his own, successfully converting a fake field goal on a pass to wide-open senior tight end John Phillips in the left corner of the end zone. While the trick play also helped seal the victory for the Cavaliers, it also marked the fifth-year senior’s first career touchdown pass.
“That was my favorite part of the day,” Verica said.
Although Virginia has managed to capture on-field passion from both expected leadership and unexpected play-calling in its past two outings, the second half of the season will be a test for the Cavaliers and their newfound success. Of the squad’s remaining opponents, only Miami has a losing record, and this Saturday, the Cavaliers will host a No. 18-ranked North Carolina squad (5-1, 1-1 ACC) that has serious aspirations of snagging the ACC’s automatic Orange Bowl bid.
At the halfway point of the 2008 campaign, it has already been a tale of two seasons for the Cavaliers, and Virginia fans can only hope Saturday’s win against the Pirates was a sign of things to come.
The players “have a lot of unity, and a lot of commitment to each other,” Groh said. “That’s developing right now. We maybe did a little bit more to continue to forge our personality [Saturday].”

Cavs showing signs of major progress
After 0-3 start, Virginia turns it around
A.J. Carr, Staff Writer
Comment on this story

The University of Virginia recently lifted a ban and allowed fans to post signs in Scott Stadium again, but Clint Sintim says he hasn't noticed any.
What the Cavaliers standout linebacker has noticed are signs of progress on the field.

Though Virginia (3-3) isn't an ACC power, neither is it a pushover opponent for 18th-ranked North Carolina, which goes to Charlottesville on Saturday.

After getting blown out by Southern California (52-7), Connecticut (45-10) and Duke (31-3), the Cavs blanked Maryland (31-0) and beat East Carolina (35-20) in the past two weeks.

"We've started to jell a little more," said Sintim, who ranks fifth among the nation's sack leaders. "Overall, a lot of individuals are taking it on themselves to make plays."

Defensively, Sintim said the linemen -- with three first-time starters in the 3-4 scheme -- are disrupting blockers and freeing linebackers to chase down ball carriers.

Offensively, after scoring just 36 points in the first four games, the Cavs' awakened with 66 points in the past two outings.

A healthy Cedric Peerman, improved performances by quarterback Marc Verica and sharper blocking from an offensive line contributed to the increased productivity.

"Cedric, coming off the injury, is running with aggression, is back in the groove," Sintim said. "Marc is coming into his own, is taking the lead and making the right reads."

Verica didn't play a snap in a game last season. He entered spring drills as a reserve and moved up when starter Jemeel Sewell was suspended.

Verica's debut came during the debacle against Connecticut. In his second start, against Duke, he threw four interceptions.

Then the musical sophomore -- who plays the piano, guitar and drums -- began to hit the high notes, completing 50 of 66 passes in the two straight victories.

Warning: Verica had better be alert and accurate against the Tar Heels, who lead the country in interceptions and turnover margin.

"They have more stability at quarterback," UNC coach Butch Davis said when asked about Virginia's turnaround. "Sometimes it takes awhile to find a rhythm. They've found that.

"[Overall], they are playing with more efficiency and a lot more confidence."

In the wins over Maryland and ECU, Virginia displayed better balance than a tightrope walker -- rushing for 403 yards and throwing for 454.

Peerman, who missed the Duke game because of an injury, can slam between the tackles and also take the ball to the house, as he did on 79- and 60-yard touchdown runs against East Carolina.

Virginia also is apt to play some foxy football, as it did by scoring a TD on a fake field-goal attempt against ECU. Anymore tricks planned for North Carolina?

"We'll see," Sintim said.

Give coach Al Groh credit for keeping this team intact after those three demoralizing defeats.

But Sintim said Groh has been "very effective" as a leader, constantly injecting the team with positive energy despite hearing wolfish howls from frustrated fans. The issue of flashing signs in the stadium revolves around Groh's tenure and was started when a fan was ejected a year ago over a "Fire Groh" sign. The season started with the ban, but protests led to it being removed.

Since going 9-4 a year ago, Virginia lost 11 underclassmen, eight because of academic issues or suspensions. Groh knew there would be a maturing process.

"People jump on the bandwagon too fast, and they jump off the bandwagon too fast," he said.

With a victory over North Carolina in Charlottesville, the wagon would likely break down from a Wahoo overload.

Sintim also might notice a few positive signs waving amid Scott Stadium's orange-clad crowd.
 

UNC wins turnover battle
By Jay Jenkins
Published: October 15, 2008

In each of North Carolina’s victories this season, the Tar Heels won a critical category needed to be successful in college football.

Finding a way to win the turnover battle, regardless of the method, improves any team’s chances to end up the victor.

Entering Saturday’s game at Scott Stadium against Virginia (3-3, 1-1 ACC), UNC leads the nation in turnover margin and boasts a plus-13 ratio in its five wins.

“The team with the most turnovers — most of the time — wins the game,” said UNC safety Trimane Goddard after the Tar Heels’ victory over Notre Dame. “It takes points off the board and gives the ball to the offense more and changes field position.”

In the eyes of Virginia coach Al Groh, the turnover process, namely 14 eye-catching interceptions, starts with North Carolina’s last line of defense.

“A few of [the turnovers] have come under rush but they’ve got two safeties who really track the ball hard — Goddard and [Deunta] Williams,” Groh said. “We’re quite familiar with them. They were real good high school players, and they’re really after the ball and they believe it belongs to them, which is the way that everybody wants their safeties to play and they do a real nice job with it.

“They’re impressive in what they do.”

For the season, Goddard has four interceptions and is tied for the national lead in interceptions per game. Cornerbacks Kendric Burney and Charles Brown, a reserve, have also combined for a pair of takeaways through the air.

“I would say their defensive backs are very opportunistic; they are very aggressive,” said Virginia quarterback Marc Verica. “When the ball is in the air, they

believe that is their ball. They are not just letting the receiver take it.”

Verica, who will be making his fifth career start, may appear to be a prime target for North Carolina. Through four career starts, he has thrown seven interceptions.

“It is something to keep in mind,” he said, “and it will be a challenge.”

North Carolina (5-1, 1-1) has also mastered turning its opponent’s aerial miscues into field position-changing plays, returning the 14 thus far for a total of 342 yards.

Goodard alone has amassed 68 yards off his four interceptions.

“He’s such a good, quiet leader,” said UNC coach Butch Davis last week. “He is professional about the way that he works, the way he studies film.

“He’s infectious to the young kids because they see the byproduct of his work during the week manifests itself on Saturday by having the awareness and being savvy enough to be in the right place to take advantage of opportunities to make plays.”

 

There are two jobs Grobe might pursue
By Lenox Rawlings | Journal Columnist
Published: October 16, 2008

Orange aides and other notes:

While Clemson assistants coach the football team, Clemson leaders and Clemson followers shout out names of Tommy Bowden's prospective replacements.

Wake Forest's Jim Grobe, Auburn's Tommy Tuberville and Texas' Mack Brown have already appeared on some of these fanciful lists. Grobe and Brown fall under the heading Wishful Dreaming. Clemson can forget it. Tuberville is wading through his own popularity problems at Auburn, which the late Lewis Grizzard accurately identified as Clemson without the lake.

Brown has one national-title notch on his holster and could scratch out a second this season. Grobe made it clear last fall that mere money will not wedge him out of the Wake Forest cockpit, although the Arkansas decision went closer to the wire that some people realized.

What would it take? In Grobe's case, probably a combination of championship capabilities, location and outrageous fortune.

His threshold might drop a bit lower if he hears many more boos from Wake Forest fans. Some supporters loudly rejected a routine decision to punt against Navy and disagreed with formations used near the end zone against Clemson. Quarterback Riley Skinner lined up as a receiver, with tailbacks taking direct snaps. Clemson solved the trickery, which probably lasted one play too long.

Whether the boos were aimed at Grobe or offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke doesn't matter. They're in this together -- and doing rather well, especially in historical terms.

This is pure speculation, but two situations might intrigue Grobe. He graduated from Virginia, where Al Groh has kicked off his second straight save-the-job comeback. Penn State offers nearly everything a 56-year-old coach could want: tradition, recruiting base, title aspirations, money and the chance, established through precedent, to coach another 20 or 30 years if things work out.

The potential Penn State clincher: proximity to Grobe's native West Virginia, to Virginia and to all sorts of folks from a common culture. The potential impediment: Grobe might choose golf over football before Joe Paterno officially retires.

Bowden, who can spend lovely fall afternoons swinging a wedge rather than a whistle, is smarter than most Clemson fans assumed. When he finally reached the edge of night, Bowden peered over the canyon rim, grunted, loaded $3.5 million plus his 2008 salary into the trunk and put the sucker in reverse.

He rolls down the road now, the third Bowden son chased out of a coaching job while the old man keeps on going. And going.

Tommy Bowden did almost everything almost as well as you can. His players graduated at acceptable rates and stayed out of jail at acceptable rates, two standard measures of modern semipro athletics. Eight of his nine teams went to bowls, but they didn't win an ACC championship.

He could read the handwriting. He could also read the big numbers in small print, still fresh from a contract extension last winter. Bowden prudently slipped into the orange parachute before any miscreants could cut the cord.


 

College notebook: Phoebus QB no longer picking WVU
By Doug Doughty | The Roanoke Times

The suspense has returned to football recruiting in Virginia with word that a second highly rated quarterback is back on the market.

Phoebus High School quarterback Tahj Boyd, rated the state's No. 1 preseason prospect by roanoke.com, informed West Virginia's staff last weekend that he was breaking his March commitment.

The Mountaineers had taken commitments from three Phoebus players, including defensive lineman Dominik Davenport and running back Shawne Alston. Davenport and Alston remain committed to WVU, according to Phoebus coach Bill Dee, but Boyd has eliminated the Mountaineers from consideration.

Dee said Wednesday that he expects two of Boyd's original finalists, Tennessee and Boston College, to be in the mix.

"I know he's going to take a good, hard look at Virginia Tech and Virginia," said Dee, who confirmed that Boyd is planning a trip to Charlottesville for the Cavaliers' game Saturday with North Carolina.

"I think Oregon was a school of interest. The [offensive coordinator] flew in from the West Coast. I'd say that's a pretty good show of interest."

Boyd and Western Branch quarterback Kevin Newsome were considered the Nos. 1 and 2 prospects in Virginia following the 2007 season.

Newsome, who is spending his senior year at Hargrave Military Academy, made an oral commitment to Michigan (and former WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez) before reopening his recruiting.

"Am I happy about decommitments?" Dee said. "Of course not. But I'm also going to support my player. I know the West Virginia [fans] have been hard on him, but he's a 17-year-old kid who changed his mind. I can't speak higher of any other kid I've ever coached."

Dee had sensed some wavering on Boyd's part, and the subject came up Friday night following a 42-6 victory over archrival Hampton. Dee said he would support the decision if Boyd personally notified the West Virginia staff.

Boyd made his original decision after visiting Morgantown, W.Va., with his parents over the winter, and he attended the Mountaineers' game with Marshall on Sept. 27. West Virginia won 27-3, but only six of 119 Division I-A teams have attempted fewer passes than WVU, which ranks 114th in passing offense.

"I think that had something to do with it," Dee said. "I think he's been paying attention to what's been going on. In this day of early commitments, I think you'll see more of this. I was surprised he committed as early as he did."

Dee said that Boyd did not voice any complaints about the WVU coaches. His recruiter, Chris Beatty, coached him as a ninth-grader at Landstown High School in Virginia Beach.

"I just feel like he wanted to move in another direction," Dee said.

"He'd been committed for a while. He's been up there. He's talked with them. In the end, he didn't feel it was the fit he was looking for."