Sintim still unstoppable
U.Va. senior leads nation's linebackers in sacks and is team's No. 2 tackler this year
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 12:07 AM

MIAMI AT U.VA.
Saturday:Noon
On the air:TV -- WRLH. Radio -- WRVA (1140), 11 a.m.
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Once, twice and then a third time Saturday, Clint Sintim sacked Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt. That raised Sintim's season total to 10 sacks, by far the most of any Atlantic Coast Conference football player.

Still, it was the sack that went to his University of Virginia teammate Rodney McLeod, a freshman cornerback, that stuck with Sintim, a four-year starter at outside linebacker.

Down 24-17, Georgia Tech had the ball at its 41-yard line with 2:25 remaining when Nesbitt dropped back to pass at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.

"I beat my guy clean, had [Nesbitt] in my sights, clean as day, and he just dropped his shoulder on me, and there I go just flying over him," Sintim recalled yesterday.

"He made a great play on me and made me look silly, but Rodney was right there coming off the edge and kind of cleaned him up for me and didn't make me look as bad."

Sintim rarely has looked bad during the past two seasons. He had nine sacks as a junior, including three against Virginia Tech. In 2007, though, he benefited from the attention paid to defensive ends Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald, and observers wondered how Sintim would fare without them this year.

The answer? Just fine.

The 6-3, 245-pound Sintim has been all but unstoppable at times for Coastal Division leader Virginia (3-1, 5-3). He has recorded at least one sack in each of the past five games and now ranks second on the career list at U.Va., with 28.

"When I have the opportunity to rush, I feel like I can win," said Sintim, who leads U.S. linebackers in sacks and also is the Cavaliers' No. 2 tackler this season.

Sintim redshirted at U.Va. in 2004. He needed time to learn a new position -- he had been a defensive end at Gar-Field High in Woodbridge -- and a new scheme, the 3-4 that coach Al Groh brought to Virginia from the NFL after the 2000 season.

"Last year was a very good year for him, obviously," Groh said, "but in the beginning, when Clint was first here, it was all about flashes of ability."

Now, it's all about consistency with Sintim, who lines up at defensive end in Virginia's nickel and dime defenses. With a light class load as he wraps up work on his degree in anthropology, Sintim has time for extra film study and extra sessions in the weight room.

"He has a professional's take on how to get ready for games without being a so-called professional," Groh said.

Sintim's closest friends include Long, now a rookie with the St. Louis Rams. In the offseason this year, Sintim said, he studied video of Long and Joey Porter and other players to gain a better understanding of their pass-rushing techniques. That work helped produce a player who has dominated this season as few other linebackers have during Groh's tenure at U.Va.

To the list that includes Angelo Crowell, Darryl Blackstock, Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham, Sintim has added his name. And the NFL has noticed. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Sintim among the top 20 prospects for 2009.

"That's exciting, don't get me wrong, but there's so many other factors that will go into that before the end of the year," Sintim said. "With all due respect to Mel Kiper, he doesn't necessarily pick the picks.

"All I can really do is focus on my play and try to do whatever I can to help this team win more games. . . . I'm just trying to continue this streak I'm on."
 

U.VA. NOTES
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 12:07 AM

Verica excelling despite having name mangled
Virginia's football team has won four consecutive games, a streak in which sophomore quarterback Marc Verica has completed 72.5 percent of his passes.

Yet as recently as last weekend, announcers on ESPN were mangling the pronunciation of Verica's last name. It's VARE-ih-cuh (rhymes with "America"), not Va-REEK-a, as ESPN would have had you believe.

"I've been hearing a lot about it from friends and family and teammates and stuff like that," Verica said yesterday at John Paul Jones Arena.

"But I really don't care if they're pronouncing my name wrong. As long as we're getting positive coverage on ESPN, it's fine with me."

For the season, Verica has completed 144 of 215 passes for 1,281 yards and five touchdowns, with nine interceptions.

Verica, who redshirted in 2006, was the Cavaliers' fourth-string quarterback last season. Until this season, he had never played in a college game.

Sagarin: Cavs' schedule second-toughest in FBS
According to the Sagarin Ratings, U.Va. has the second-toughest schedule in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision.

Of Virginia's 12 opponents, only Clemson (3-4) has a losing record. Southern California, Richmond, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina and Georgia Tech have six victories apiece, and Miami (Fla.) and Virginia Tech have five.

Miami junior tight end hails from Richmond
Miami's starters include tight end Dedrick Epps, a 6-4, 253-pound junior from Huguenot High in Richmond. Epps has 14 receptions for 146 yards this season. For his college career, he has 22 catches for 229 yards.

"He was over here a few times [in high school]," Virginia coach Al Groh said yesterday. "We liked him a lot, but it never seemed to get rolling here. It seemed that he was looking for more.

"I don't know what more you'd want than to go to the University of Virginia and catch 50 passes a year, but it seemed as if he was looking for more. So it's worked out well for everybody. Our guys have caught 50 to 60 passes a year, and things are going nicely for Dedrick."

A season ago, tight ends Jonathan Stupar, Tom Santi and John Phillips combined to catch 93 passes for 970 yards and seven touchdowns for U.Va. This season, Phillips has 35 receptions for 300 yards and one TD.

Pruett proves adept at recruiting in Tidewater
Mike London was one of Virginia's top recruiters during his six years on Groh's staff. So when London left last winter to become head coach at the University of Richmond, many wondered how that would affect U.Va.'s recruiting, especially in Tidewater.

Not to worry. London's successor as defensive coordinator, Bob Pruett, has proven to be an outstanding closer. Of the Wahoos' 21 commitments for 2009, five are from high school standouts who live in the 757 area code.

"It's gone well down there," Groh said yesterday, "I would say better than people who didn't have the facts thought. But if anybody knew Bob's résumé as an assistant coach and as a head coach at Marshall, they would know that he had always had good success in recruiting.

"And as we said when people posed that negative question in the beginning, if you know Bob, he relates very well to people of all ages and understands people and develops a good connection with them."

Hokies' Greenberg offers praise for Groh
Praise for Groh is coming from all directions. At media day for ACC men's basketball Sunday, Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, of all people, raved about the job Groh has done this season.

After a 1-3 start that included one-sided losses to USC, UConn and Duke, the Cavaliers have won four straight to take over first place in the ACC's Coastal Division.

"As a coach, the hardest thing to do is get your team back," Greenberg told reporters in Atlanta. "To get that team back on point, and to get them believing and trusting in one another, is a testament to coaching. As a coach, you want to sit down and study them and say, 'What did you do to keep the guys together?'" -- Jeff White

 

Tech coach praises Groh
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Praise for Virginia football coach Al Groh came from an unexpected source Sunday at the ACC's Operation Basketball.

Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Seth Greenberg made reference to New England Patriots football coach Bill Belichick, at which point it was noted that Greenberg was beginning to sound like Belichick's buddy, Groh.

"Tell you what, Al Groh's a lot smarter than all you jokers gave him credit for about four weeks ago," said Greenberg, who shares a New York heritage with Groh.

"I don't know anything about football, but, at this juncture, he might have done the best coaching job I've seen anyone do in my five years in the ACC."

The Cavaliers, who entertain Miami at noon Saturday, were 1-3 before winning four games in a row. Their three losses were by a combined score of 128-20.

"When you're in a tough situation, the hardest thing to do is get your team back on point," Greenberg said. "To go from where they were to where they are and trusting and believing in themselves, that's a testament to their coaches.

"It's phenomenal, really. They barely beat Richmond! As a coach, you'd like to sit down and study, 'What did you do to keep the guys together?' "

On target

Virginia sophomore quarterback Marc Verica is completing an ACC-high 67 percent of his passes and thinks he can do better.

"In games, I'd like to complete between 70 and 75," Verica said. "Obviously, you want to complete every pass, but that's not the case. Sooner or later, you're going to have to throw it away or throw it at someone's feet, or maybe someone will drop a pass."

Remember, that's the games.

"In practice, I like to be in the 90s," Verica said. "There's practices where I'm like 20-of-21 or 19-of-22. And Scott [Deke], too. He's been really accurate in practice. It's kind of a fun thing that we try to do every day. We try to complete every pass and there's days when we try and throw 10 touchdown [passes] combined.

"They keep track of everything that we do in practice: completions, attempts and touchdowns and your quarterback efficiency. The numbers are a little inflated in practice, but it helps you get ready for the games."

Verica has completed 72 percent (103-of-143) of his passes for 929 yards and five touchdowns during UVa's four-game winning streak.

Leitao, too

Not to be outdone by Virginia Tech's Greenberg, Virginia basketball coach Dave Leitao sung the praises of Cavaliers' running back Cedric Peerman after his third 100-yard rushing game in the last four games.

"He is as important a player as any team in America has," said Leitao, an avid football fan, particularly of the NFL's New York Giants. "Just talking to the coaches about him and his personality, hearing what he's overcome injury-wise, he's as natural and positive a leader as you'd want.

"If a guy makes a sack and he's jumping up and down like a fool, I'm like, 'What is that for?' If you're in the first quarter and down 13, that doesn't do anything for me as a fan or as a team. What Cedric does on the field or in the locker room is real. It's not contrived."

Stat of the week

When oddsmakers listed Miami as an early one-point favorite this week, it would have marked the 11th straight game dating back to the 2007 season in which Virginia had been the underdog against Division I-A opposition.

The Cavaliers have won eight games as an underdog over the past two seasons but may not have that opportunity this week. By Tuesday, early action supporting the Cavaliers had made Virginia a two-point favorite.

Showdown

Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson, rated the No. 3 prospect on draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest "Big Board," had four tackles Saturday in Virginia's 24-17 victory over the Yellow Jackets. For parts of the afternoon, he was matched against UVa offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, whom Kiper now has at No. 4, down from No. 1 before the season.

Johnson was going up against Monroe when he sacked Verica in the third quarter and caused a fumble that was recovered by teammate Derrick Morgan. Otherwise, Monroe was pleased with what he was able to accomplish and told Johnson after the game that he expected to see him again.

Sack talk

Virginia outside linebacker Clint Sintim, who has moved up to 18th on Kiper's list, was given another half-sack following a review of Saturday's game film and has an ACC-high 10 sacks for the season. He has moved into third place on UVa's all-time sack list, supplanting Darryl Blackstock, the only linebacker ahead of him.
 

Highlights from Al Groh's Weekly Press Conference
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 10/28/2008

Fresh off an exciting 24-17 come-from-behind victory over No. 21 Georgia Tech last week, Al Groh's Cavaliers return home against Miami Saturday for their annual Homecoming contest. Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will be televised on the Raycom/ACC network.

Virginia has won its last four games and is 5-3 overall this season and in first place in the ACC's Coastal Division with a 3-1 conference mark. The Hurricanes have put together a three-game winning streak and stand at 5-3 overall. They trail the Cavaliers in the Coastal Division by one game.

Cavalier head coach Al Groh held his weekly press conference Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights as he talked about this weekend's match-up.

Q: What’s been the big difference in Miami from the time you played them last year? Is it the freshmen or just another year in the system?
Groh: That transition year can be very tricky in terms of a coach having all of the players fully on board with exactly how he wants to do it. It’s always going to be different than the previous year, even the coach was part of previous staff. It’s always going to be different. Sometimes there is resistance; sometimes there’s no resistance, it’s just not a complete buy in.

Randy’s a year deeper into, ‘this is the way things are going to be,’ and clearly with these freshmen—so talented—to be able to play so much so early, they don’t know any other way. So it’s probably a case where the team belongs to him to a much, much greater percentage than a lot of times would be the case in just the second year.

I know a friend of mine ... who was with a coach whose team is in the top ten this year and very good; it’s been there eight or nine years, who told him last year that last year was the first year that he felt that the team truly belonged to him. That’s not to say that its going to go seven or eight years every place, but it gives it a little insight of how long it takes to make that complete transformation.

So getting this influx of lots of young players in there who are strictly Randy Shannon’s guys and know no other way, certainly would be helpful.

Q: Would the interception that Vic Hall made at the end of last week’s Georgia Tech game been one that that he necessarily would not have been able to make last year or is that kind of indictive of the strides he’s made this season?
Groh: Most likely it’s an indication of the strides in more confidence than physically. Vic is very confident in his game, he is one of the players who prepares the very most diligently for games. And as his skills have developed and his understanding of what’s going on on the other side and how to fit every coverage on it, he’s become just that much more assertive in situations.

Q: Talk about Miami coach Randy Shannon. When you see Miami starting to win more recently, they’ve won three in a row, and they’re getting pretty hot right now. Is this an example that maybe things are coming together a little bit sooner than many people first thought?
Groh: Most likely. There are a lot of young players in there who have been playing from the start and they’re highly skilled.

We went through this in our second year and we started nine freshmen. But they were highly skilled players and they elevated the talent level on the team. That was the tradeoff for them getting some on-the-job-training: to put increased talent level on the field. It’s always talent that comes number one and in watching all of the games that would seem to be the case.

Q: The way that you marveled in what Chris Long did last year, have you done the same at times for Clint Sintim in his ability just to be consistent from play one of the season until now?
Groh: Really it shows his maturity as a player (and) how’s he come along. It was certainly this way along the way. Last year was a very good year him obviously.

But in the beginning when Clint was first here, it was just all about flashes of ability. Even when he got to playing early as a redshirt freshman it was still about flashes of ability. But he’s very, very, very zoned in on his performance. Monday is our day off, and he is in there every Monday for a couple of hours on his own watching tape of the upcoming team (because he) wants to get a head start on it. Players lift Sunday (and) work out Sunday (and) he comes in Monday for an extra work out. He has a professional’s take on how to get ready for games without being a so called professional.

Q: Have you had a better all around linebacker here than Sintim?
Groh: The way he’s playing right now he’s right up there with the best of what we’ve had. Angelo Crowell in his last year was on every aspect of his game for sure. Darryl (Blackstock) was very good at it but he left (early and) there were a few rough edges that could have been knocked off.

Q: Do you feel Sintim hanging around Chris Long as long as he did had an impact on him? Do you see a lot of Chris Long in him?
Groh: Definitely. I think just not only being around Chris but being around the whole family—Howie, Diane, Little Howie, Kyle—it’s definitely had a very positive impact on him.

Q: Obviously you would like to see every player progress and get better as they go into the program, but how enjoyable is it as a coach to see Sintim kind of go from that flash to the complete football player and do you see that happen and your coaches have a part in it?
Groh: (It’s) fun to see him. I mean that’s what we have fun (with) —seeing the players experience success. In his particular case because of the position he plays and the amount of years that I have spent involved with the position, I’ve had the opportunity to really have more day-to-day and nuts-and-bolts work with him on his play at the position, maybe than say (if) he was playing wide receiver or offensive tackle or something like that. We’ve spent a lot of time together during the course of his career, probably more so than is the case in many circumstances for the head coach to be able to do.

Q: I know John Phillips played quite a bit contributed quite a bit before this season, but has he maybe surpassed any expectations you might have had for him for this particular season or did you sort of expect him to step in and kind of be that next big contributing tight end?
Groh: Yes, we thought that now that he was hitting in the clean up spot, we expected that his production would be very good.

Last year our tight ends caught 93 passes and that was shared amongst three guys. Now that was a high number because the wide receiver production was down, so some of those 93 catches, fortunately for us, have gone to Maurice (Covington) and to Kevin (Ogletree) and to a few other players.

The tight end position won’t produce 93 (catches this year), but it’s probably going to be 50-55 before the year is over which is going to make him amongst the leading tight end catchers in the country. We saw him in that role and we moved into some different roles that were left empty by the departure of his predecessors. Not only has been the expansion of his game as it was before, but he’s been able to move into some other slots and get some other balls that way, too.

Q: Is that where you’ve seen his game expand the most, just sort of that versatility?
Groh: Definitely. He was really slotted into a singular role last year. Not because he couldn’t do the other things because he has showing this year that he clearly can, but because those other players had very defined positions as fit their skills, and they had been in them before he was.

We stayed with that and it is working out for both of those guys. They have proven what they can do and they are getting a good look here this year where they are. We are kind of looking down the path at that position. We like that position pretty much and so we are really trying to do a good job with developing the next line here pretty soon.

Q: Can you talk about the offensive line and how far they’ve come?
Groh: (It’s made a) big huge leap, a leap that was ... as we evaluated it back on August 4th, a leap that was going to be necessary. (It was) expected but not guaranteed.

You know it’s going to be necessary. When there’s a degree of progress that‘s possible, the odds are it’s going to occur, whether enough of it occurs or not, but there’s no guarantee that any of it will. Fortunately really every one of the five ... is playing better now than he did in the beginning and collectively as a group they’re playing much more cohesively and together.

Q: Is a team more easy or more troublesome to prepare when you've won four games in a row than maybe after a game like the Duke game? You kind of prepare the same all the time, but which is more challenging for a coach or maybe more worrisome?
Groh: Anytime that your team is able to prepare from a foundation of confidence is a more advantageous circumstance and confidence only comes from demonstrated performance. They've got some performance to reinforce them, reinforce them with their confidence that if we do the right things here this week, it’s good enough and yet I think that this team certainly understands that there's no guarantee of anything. It has been hard enough in each one of them that we can see that the margin is very, very small and if we do anything less than what we've done for the previous four games it probably won't be enough.

Q: Was there a sense at all during the period of time when you guys started 1-3 that there were even small pockets of players on the team that lacked confidence in what was being done and how they were being directed?
Groh: It was probably a more sense of players lacking confidence in themselves. I mean, there were some players who had never been in games before and no matter what any of us did for the first time, we were waiting for the first success. We are all reinforced by the first success. And when it comes, we feel a little bit better about the next time we attempt it.

I think there we a lot of players that just hadn't had any—it wasn't that they had experienced failure—it was just that they hadn't had any tangible success before then, they were waiting to see that. One of the things that did get us to this point was that the players were always listening to the message. And they with it and we're appreciative of that and give them a lot of credit for it.

Q: The running back for Miami, Graig Cooper, seems to be a good fast young kid that they could build a team on. Would that be a fair assessment of him?
Groh: You've got it right. There's not much more to say than that. He's good, he's fast and they're building their team around him.

Q: Do you have to prepare for both quarterbacks, even though one is very limited in what he does; he runs the two-minute offense very well.
A: They're both very athletic players. They're very effective outside the pocket. As a result, Miami conducts the same game with both of them. (Jacory) Harris played two-and-a-half quarters in the Duke game, so we had plenty of continuous plays to see him. Everything looked, in terms of the style of play, looked to be much of the same.

Q: When people talk about Miami, they talk about their speed, Is that something you have to be prepared to adjust for or is it not that big of a difference?
A: Oh, it is a big difference. It’s what these young players have brought in, particularly at the skill positions. What they lack in polish at this early stage of their career, they've got raw speed. When you see these tapes and you can see some guys. There might be 18 guys that are all moving and the camera is on the same speed for them, and there's three or four guys that clearly are moving faster than everybody else, you know those guys are fast and there's three or four of them out there at the time now.


 

Cavs' Hall makes it look easy
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
CHARLOTTESVILLE--

Virginia junior cornerback Vic Hall has become such a perfectionist his teammates have developed a nickname for him: "Can't Do Wrong Vic."

"That's what we like to call him," Cavaliers' senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim said. "He does everything right."

Sintim made it clear he wasn't simply overstating his teammates' commitment to detail.

"The drills we do in practice, where you have to strip the ball out and cause a fumble, he's done that two times in a game," Sintim added. "He reads the routes right. He's perfect."

Well, nobody's perfect.

But with Hall it isn't for a lack of trying.

The co-captain will help lead the Cavaliers (5-3, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) against Miami (5-3, 2-2) on Saturday in a key Coastal Division clash.

"He's one of the players that prepares the most diligently for games," Cavaliers head coach Al Groh said of Hall.

That preparation came in handy this past Saturday in Virginia's 24-17 victory over Georgia Tech.

Hall sealed his team's fourth-straight win and put it alone in first place in the Coastal Division with an interception that came after he read Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt and made a diving grab on the Yellow Jackets' final possession.

It was a play that even with all his preparation, Hall likely wouldn't have made in the past.

But Groh said the former star quarterback at Gretna High School, who owns several Virginia state passing records, has fully made the adjustment to defense. He said the transition to a position Hall never played in high school was more about confidence than athleticism.

Hall agrees.

"I think it reflects how far I've come as far as feeling more comfortable with the position," Hall said of his second interception of the season. "I'm not second-guessing myself."

It hasn't been an easy process switching from quarterback to cornerback, but Groh said Hall never complained.

His teammates know all about his high school exploits, but they're glad he's on the field helping the Cavaliers defensively. Hall returned his first interception of the season 60 yards for a touchdown to seal the Cavaliers' 16-0 victory over Richmond on Sept. 6.

"He was a great athlete [at quarterback]," Sintim said. "But I think he's found a home at corner."

Back on track

Virginia junior right tackle Will Barker has performed much better since he recently got over a legal matter.

Barker was found not guilty of petit larceny in Charlottesville General District Court on Oct. 6.

The case was hanging over his head since the summer when he and a teammate were charged with stealing alcohol from a club in Charlottesville.

Barker struggled earlier in the year, but showed he's back to his 2007 form with a strong performance against Georgia Tech that earned him ACC lineman of the week honors. Groh said putting the legal issues in the past has been important for Barker.

"That's a weighty matter to hang over any kid's head particularly when it's been given probably the unnecessary public scrutiny that it got," Groh said. "He's a kid that tries to do the right thing. It bothered him and probably once that deck was properly cleared, it enabled him to relax a little bit."

Epps not missed

Groh made it a point to look at the season statistics of Miami junior tight end Dedrick Epps.

Epps, a Richmond native, was recruited by Virginia, but chose the Hurricanes instead. Groh said he always sensed Epps "was looking for more" when he attended Virginia camps while at Huguenot High School.

Groh said the Cavaliers' recruitment of Epps "never got rolling." He gave a sly grin when reminded Epps has just 14 receptions for 146 yards and no touchdowns this season, while Virginia tight end John Phillips has 35 catches for 300 yards and a score.

"I don't know what more you'd want than to go to the University of Virginia and catch 50 passes a year," Groh said.

 

UM defensive end Ojomo's determination paying off
The Hurricanes' Adewale Ojomo is an intense redshirt freshman with Nigerian roots and an up-tempo style. He is improving every game, coaches say, and is scheduled to make his third start Saturday at Virginia.
BY SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN

Cassandra Ojomo was first struck by her son's determination when he was about 18 months old. Mom was tending to Adewale's sister as Adewale shrieked from his crib for a bottle of milk.

Suddenly, the crib was empty.

''I look up and see Walle toddling from the kitchen with a bottle in his mouth, heading right back to his bedroom,'' Cassandra said. 'I thought, 'This boy is very determined.' ''

Still is.

Ojomo, the University of Miami's intensely imposing right defensive end, is a first cousin of Dolphins linebacker Akin Ayodele. He's only a redshirt freshman, but this son of a former Nigerian professional soccer player and Homestead-born certified public accountant is taking out a whole lot of pent-up ''anxiety,'' as UM coach Randy Shannon calls it, on opposing quarterbacks.

''The game is played with emotion and there's something in my soul and my heart I feel when I'm on the field,'' Ojomo, 19, said. The 6-3, 250-pounder, who works up a substantial sweat even at rest, extends his long, muscular arms and roars to the sky when he makes a huge play. Last Saturday, he howled to a frenzied Dolphin Stadium crowd when he sacked Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner and stripped the ball for Antonio Dixon to recover.

''Nigerians by nature are very confident people,'' he said. ``I'm a live wire. When I'm on the field I'm always talking, and a lot of the guys feed off me. It's a passion thing.

``In high school, when I dunked on somebody or did something that showed total dominance, it just brought me an exciting feeling. There's no mistake about who I am on the football field. I differentiate myself by the way I disengage a block or don't let anybody run over me.''

Ojomo, who graduated from Hialeah High, will start for the third time Saturday when UM (5-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) plays at Virginia (5-3, 3-1). Last week against Wake, he had six tackles, with 1 ½ sacks, 2 ½ tackles for loss and the forced fumble.

''He has a motor on him -- hell, yeah,'' said senior defensive tackle Dixon, who earned the fumble recovery. ``He goes hard every play and he uses his hands a lot.''

`A CRAZY DANCE'

His feet, too.

These days, Ojomo is famous for performing the Wu-tang, a hip-hop dance that originated in Philadelphia and he learned in his hometown of Opa-locka. Often before practice, Ojomo stands between the offense and defense during stretching drills and dances the Wu-tang as his teammates ''do a beat on their thigh pads,'' he said, and yell, ``Wu-tang! Wu-tang!''

''It's a crazy dance,'' defensive-line coach Clint Hurtt said. ``I can't imitate it without herniating a disk. He'll do it in practice. He'll do it in the locker room. He pumps his arms in different directions, pops his butt at the same time and goes up and down. Walle is a free spirit.''

Ojomo was last season's defensive scout team MVP. He still loves to play basketball and regularly watches YouTube videos of NFL defensive ends such as Dwight Freeney and Jevon Kearse. The forced fumble was partly a result of his emulating those players.

''I have the same build and body type,'' he said. ``So there's no reason I shouldn't be doing the same things against guys in college. I've noticed that if you don't get to the quarterback, you can still reach your hand out and knock the ball down.''

`YOUTHFULNESS'

He said Ayodele, who came to the Dolphins this season from Dallas, tells him ``to stay focused and do the right things -- you know, the usual.''

But Ojomo, a devout Baptist who attends the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, at times has not stayed focused, he conceded. He said he was suspended for the opening game against Charleston Southern because of a one-day study-hall issue from last spring. He was suspended for the Central Florida game for another internal issue.

''His youthfulness tends to show sometimes,'' Hurtt said. 'But he's a good kid and works extremely hard. Last year, [offensive line] coach [Jeff] Stoutland and [offensive coordinator] Patrick Nix would come to me every day and say, `Hey, that kid is going to be a stud.' We're starting to see it.''

Said Shannon of the suspensions: ``You take something away from somebody and it wakes them up.''

FAMILY

Ojomo's father, Raymond, is a Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspector who came to the United States from Lagos, Nigeria, in 1980. He said he played left wing for the National Bank of Nigeria and for a club in Kwara, Nigeria, that lost in the 1978 national league title game.

''My nickname was Bulala -- when I took shots they were too hot for [goalies] to catch,'' Raymond said, laughing.

Raymond said he took Adewale and sister Ireti, now 21, to the soccer fields everyday when they were little. Dad played soccer, but Adewale loved football most.

`BRING LUCK'

''He was always younger than the other boys in his weight division,'' Raymond said. ``When he was playing in the 120-pound division with 14-year-olds, they'd say, `The boy who just tackled you is only 12 years old.'

``But he was always a very good boy, a very respectful kid.''

Adewale's name in Nigerian means ''bring luck to the home and family,'' said his father.

Ojomo said he loves his African roots, but gets just as much pride from his mother's side of the family.

''I get a lot of my confidence from my mom,'' he said.

``I try to do everything with God in it. My mom is a very strong woman. . . . She teaches me a lot, like a second coach to Coach Shannon. She really doesn't know the technical parts [of football], but she knows the basic parts of staying humble and not fearing anything.''

NO REVENGE

When asked Tuesday if he wants revenge after last year's 48-0 loss to Virginia, Ojomo reflected for a moment.

''I really don't feel revenge,'' he said. ``I respect all my opponents. I'm just going to play a hard game, as I would if we had beaten them 48-0.''


 

Miami Hurricanes prepare for Virginia Cavaliers' defense

With Virginia coming up Saturday, UM coach Randy Shannon said his team spent practice Tuesday preparing for the Cavaliers' 3-4 defense.

The Cavaliers play exclusively out of the scheme and have a talented and experienced group of linebackers.

Shannon compared preparing for the 3-4 defense to preparing for a traditional option offense, another scheme that requires extra preparation because it's not widely used.

On offense, Shannon said the focus was on stopping the run, an area where the Hurricanes struggled against Duke and Wake Forest.

If Miami can shut down the run, it will put more pressure on quarterback Marc Verica, who was No. 3 on Virginia's depth chart at one point.

Verica got the starting nod when starter Peter Lalich was dismissed from the team and has helped spark a four-game winning streak.

''When you're able to run the football it makes it easier for any quarterback,'' Shannon said. ``I think that's the thing they do a good job of.''

Shannon also said that offensive tackle Reggie Youngblood (leg injury) practiced Tuesday and that trainers said linebacker Darryl Sharpton is OK.

-- GARRETT W. HYLTON
 

Miami Hurricanes looking for payback against Virginia
The Hurricanes are in the thick of the Atlantic Coast Conference race. Now they prepare for Virginia, the team that embarrassed them in the Orange Bowl finale.
BY SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN
 

The University of Miami's three-game win streak has opened the door another crack for the Hurricanes to grasp onto more than just a glimmer of hope within the topsy-turvy Atlantic Coast Conference.

But after battling back to defeat Wake Forest on Saturday at Dolphin Stadium, the Canes (5-3, 2-2 ACC) have quite a challenge ahead of them as they prepare to travel to Charlottesville, Va.

The Cavaliers -- Hurricanes fans will not forget them anytime soon -- were the ones who humiliated Miami 48-0 in the final game in the Orange Bowl.

Now those Cavs (5-3, 3-1) have impressed ACC followers by defeating No. 21 Georgia Tech last weekend in Atlanta and taking over first place in the ACC's Coastal Division, of which UM is a member.

NO EFFECT

Sunday morning, UM coach Randy Shannon tried to downplay last year's embarrassment.

He said that game will have no effect on the youngsters who are bringing the Hurricanes back on a winning track.

''Different team,'' Shannon said of his players. ``Most of these guys playing right now probably weren't on this team.''

But they watched from the stands, he was told of the former recruits from Miami Northwestern High -- including current quarterback Jacory Harris.

Is revenge overrated? Shannon was asked.

''All we're worried about is Virginia, that's it,'' he answered.

The Cavaliers were down 14-3 on Saturday and scored the winning touchdown with 3 ½ minutes left on a touchdown by Cedric Peerman, who finished the game with 118 yards.

Virginia, which lost three of its first four games by an average of 36 points, is the only Coastal Division team with one ACC loss.

Each of the other five Coastal Division teams has two league losses -- Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Miami, Virginia Tech and Duke.

Besides Virginia, the Canes have yet to play Virginia Tech (Nov. 13), Georgia Tech (Nov. 20) and the Atlantic Division's North Carolina State in the season finale (Nov. 29).

The winner of the Coastal and Atlantic divisions meet in the league championship game Dec. 6 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

HOPING FOR HELP

The Hurricanes must now hope that North Carolina, the only two-loss ACC team that beat them, loses another league game.

Shannon only wants to think of his next opponent, as long as it's not in terms of last season's debacle.

''I try not to think about last year,'' he said. ``This is a huge challenge for us, a road game, conference game, intra-conference game.

``Virginia is playing very well now. Early in the season they kind of stumbled around a little, but late in the season they really start pouring it on.''

UM has also displayed steady improvement, though if anything, Shannon is concerned the young players might be thinking a little too much of themselves.

MUST STAY FOCUSED

''It happens when you don't have a veteran team,'' Shannon said. ``When you have a veteran team, guys tend to stay focused because they know what the big picture is.

``When you [don't], guys tend to slack off because there's still that little bit of people telling them how good they are. They kind of let it sink in too much.''

Shannon will find plenty of areas in which the Canes need to improve this week in practice, bringing them back down a bit.

Still, he said he's glad his players are positive.

''They feel good about themselves right now,'' he said. ``They feel they can win games and we can play within this conference. They have a lot of spirit.''

INJURY REPORT

Shannon said linebacker Darryl Sharpton (knee) is ''nicked up.'' He also said safety Randy Phillips, recuperating from knee surgery, hasn't started running yet.


 

Hurricanes out for vengeance
By Jay Jenkins
Published: October 28, 2008

As odd as it seemed, the confetti filled the air and eventually rested on the turf at the Orange Bowl.

Last November’s goodbye party for the stadium that hosted some of college football’s most memorable games seemed ill-timed based on what the scoreboard read.

Virginia had just completed a stunning 48-0 whitewashing of Miami in the Hurricanes’ final appearance at Orange Bowl.

Miami will get its shot at revenge on Saturday — the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2 ACC) invade Scott Stadium at noon with hopes of upending Virginia (5-3, 2-1) and jumbling the league’s Coastal Division standings even further.

Virginia’s players said that they are aware that Miami should have something extra to play for based on last year’s result.

“I’m sure it’s going to be on their mind,” said UVa linebacker Clint Sintim. “I’m sure they’re going to be fired up and prepared to come down here and try to stick it to us.”

After losing back-to-back games to North Carolina and Florida State, Miami has salvaged its ACC title hopes with its current three-game winning streak, one that has included league victories over Duke and Wake Forest.

The Hurricanes, boasting the nation’s 15th-best scoring defense, have progressed rapidly with newcomers emerging for second-year coach Randy Shannon.

“Randy’s a year deeper into, ‘This is the way things are going to be,’ and clearly with these freshmen — so talented — to be able to play so much so early, they don’t know any other way,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “So it’s probably a case where the team belongs to him to a much, much greater percentage than a lot of times would be the case in just the second year.”

While Groh expects an inspired effort from the Hurricanes, he has seen it play out in different fashions with different teams.

“It comes more from the players,” Groh said. “There are certain players that [previous results are] an issue with and certain other players that doesn’t seem to be. From just observing different teams, it seems to go differently from team to team.

“I am sure that they are anxious to change the tables.”

A new nickname

Virginia cornerback Vic Hall has been given a new label by one of his teammates.

After watching Hall perfect the finer details of a specific drill, Sintim slapped the new nickname on his friend.

“‘Can’t-Do-Wrong Vic’ is what we like to call him,” Sintim said. “He does everything right. You can expect on a daily basis to know that Vic Hall will do everything right. He approaches the game like he’s supposed to. He does everything right.

“I’m saying it, but I really mean it. Vic does everything right. The drills we do in practice where you have to strip the ball out and cause a fumble — he’s done that two times in a game. He reads the routes right. He’s perfect. He’s a great guy and I respect him tremendously.”

Hall was one of the defensive standouts in Saturday’s 24-17 victory over Georgia Tech, with his game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter highlighting the performance.

“Vic is very confident in his game,” Groh said. “He is one of the players who prepares the very most diligently for games and as his skills have developed and his understanding of what’s going on on the other side and how to fit every coverage on it; he has become just that much more assertive in situations.”

Hall also provided hidden yardage with two punt returns that went for 16 yards.

“They were inspirational returns,” Groh said. “He battled out 10, 11 yards each time. One time we had the ball on the 21- or 22-yard line instead of the 10. That’s a big difference. That’s a real big difference.

“He can ran the ball with the same mentality that Cedric [Peerman] runs his runs.”

Praising Pruett

Much was made about Virginia’s impending recruiting struggles in the Tidewater region when former defensive coordinator Mike London left to become the head coach at Richmond.

Thus far, the Cavaliers have not skipped a beat, which was evidenced again on Monday when Tim Smith, a three-star wideout from Chesapeake’s Oscar Smith High, verbally committed to play at Virginia.

Give credit to first-year coordinator Bob Pruett.

“It has gone well down there,” Groh said. “I would say it has gone better than people who didn’t have the facts thought, but if anybody knew Bob’s resume as an assistant coach and as a head coach at Marshall they would know that he always had good success in recruiting.

“As we said when people posed that negative question in the beginning, that if you know Bob, he relates well to people of all ages and understands people and develops a good connection with them.”

Virginia, at least in theory, has room to add four more recruits, but Groh said the program would “probably not” add that many.

A speedster

It was well documented that rookie quarterback Riko Smalls helped prep Virginia’s defense by running the scout team offense last week.

Smalls, headed for a redshirt season, had some help.

True freshman Torrey Mack lined up in the slot to help run Georgia Tech’s triple option and showcased his speed.

“Torrey Mack is fast,” Groh said before pausing. “Torrey Mack is really fast.”

Extra points…

... Two offensive linemen — Zak Stair and Landon Bradley — were not included on the team-issued depth chart on Tuesday. There was an explanation. Groh said it was merely an oversight. Since returning from a knee injury, Stair has not regained his starting spot at left guard, but he worked at numerous spots on the offensive line in practice to provide depth. … Groh said redshirt freshman tailback Max Milien, who had a foot injury, has returned to practice. … Virginia tight end Joe Torchia (shoulder) participated in drills on Sunday, marking his return to the practice field. Torchia separated his shoulder at Duke on Sept. 27. ... Defensive end Zane Parr, who has one sack this season, will not play this week and is scheduled to have knee surgery, pushing junior Jason Fuller up one spot on the depth chart behind senior Alex Field.

 

A lot can change in one month
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: October 28, 2008

For now, the villagers have put away their torches and pitchforks. It isn’t Al Groh’s head they want, but rather the continuance of Virginia’s current four-game winning streak.

So much has changed in the past month as the Cavaliers went from a 1-3 start to sitting alone atop the ACC’s Coastal Division standings. In fact, UVa received more votes in the Associated Press football poll this week than Virginia Tech, which has lost its last two games.

A few weeks ago, things could have gone in a quite different direction if it hadn’t been for Groh’s leadership. This team could have gone south and never pulled out of its tailspin.

Other coaches notice things like that, even coaches in another sport.

Praise from a rival

Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg, who knows a little something about playing hard and not giving up, pointed out during Sunday’s ACC Operation Basketball in Atlanta, just what a remarkable job Groh had done with UVa’s football team.

In fact, Greenberg said that Groh’s efforts in directing the Cavs from worst to first is the best coaching job he’s seen in the ACC during his five years in Blacksburg.

“As a coach, the hardest thing to do is get your team back,” said Greenberg, who once worked at UVa as a graduate assistant under Terry Holland. “To get that team back on point and to get them believing and trusting in one another is a testament to coaching. As a coach, you want to sit down and study them and say, ‘What did you do to keep the guys together?’”

We asked Groh that question after Saturday night’s win at Georgia Tech — the fourth consecutive upset win by the Cavaliers, including two over ranked teams.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the team,” Groh said after the comeback win. “There’s a lot of responsibilities that go with this job, so many that you could stay busy doing them all day long. But sometimes it’s necessary to sit down and just think about the team ... about what the team needs to hear, what needs to be said to the team, or to certain individuals. That’s a big part of it.”

Players kept the faith

Groh would be the first to admit that while he might be pushing all the right buttons, the players still have to be willing to listen and accept what their leader tells them. If they don’t, then you end up with another Clemson situation.

“The message is one part of it, but they’ve got to listen to the message, and so there’s a lot more credit deserved for listening to the message than giving it,” Groh said. “They never stopped listening and they continued to believe and responded. They deserve a great deal of credit collectively for making this happen.”

The players will tell you that Groh kept things positive, upbeat, inspired them to keep battling. That’s one reason Cedric Peerman presented the head coach with a game ball a couple of weeks ago.

Groh never lost faith.

“The players had a strong resolve,” Groh said of the turnaround. “They wanted to have a good season. You have to be pretty tough-minded to play this game and if you’re a person who is going to bail in a hurry, this isn’t the game for you.

“They had faith in each other. They understood the circumstances that were affecting our team early, that those circumstances wouldn’t be constant, and they just had the resolve,” Groh said. “They kept believing that it’s going to be better than this.”

What has happened is quite remarkable, once sitting dead in the water at 1-3, and now on top of the Coastal Division at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the ACC with Miami coming to town on Saturday.

It’s even more remarkable when you glance at the latest Sagarin ratings that has Virginia playing the second-toughest schedule in the nation (behind only Washington).

“Al Groh’s best coaching job at UVa,” said legendary coach Lou Holtz, now a college football analyst for ESPN and the father of Skip Holtz, whose team was a recent victim of Groh’s Cavaliers.

Groh took all this in stride at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

“We’re halfway through the conference season,” Groh said. “We might not win another game ... and, we might win ‘em all. I can see where every one of them [Miami, Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia Tech] is going to be hard to win and I can see where every one of them we have a chance. I think the players see that, too.”

It may require even more leadership to navigate his Cavaliers through the next four-game stretch with everything on the line as it did the previous four. Wonder what Dr. Lou would say then?

 

Canes kicker embraces contact
Bosher's great season enhanced by tackling
By Craig Handel • chandel@news-press.com • October 29, 2008
 

CORAL GABLES — As he reminisces about Matt Bosher the runner, University of Miami special teams coach Joe Pannunzio smiles wryly and slightly lowers his head.

"He's an idiot," Pannunzio said. "I wish he wouldn't. Chill out a little bit."

But Pannunzio knows Bosher the kicker and Bosher the punter have elevated into Bosher the football player; and that makes him not only valued, but it makes him one of the guys.

"That exactly what it is," Pannunzio said. "He's a good athlete, a big part of our football team right now. If you notice, whenever we really get going, it starts with special teams play. Him being the kickoff guy, field-goal guy and punter, he plays a big role in what we're doing."

Bosher said he's always considered himself one of the guys, but when you have seven special teams tackles while making 12-of-13 field goals and drilling six punts of 50 yards or more, he suddenly has a few notches on his belt.

"I just want to be part of the team and play," he said of his tackling. "It's whatever works for me. If I get legs, I'll get a leg. If I get the body, I'll get body."

That approach has worked for the sophomore from Jupiter who in one game got so mad his punt didn't reach the end zone that he not only raced downfield and made the tackle, but forced a fumble, which he recovered.

"I enjoy hitting people," Bosher said. "You can't be afraid of contact.

"When I was a freshman I was a right guard and D-end. I played some wide receiver on scout team. I wanted to play other positions but kicking is fun. It's got me where I am now. I'm not gonna complain."

Miami coach Randy Shannon said kickers and punters often can be isolated from the team because they're doing their things while teammates are doing the grunt work.

"He's got something about him," Shannon said. "Bosher could probably go play defensive back, go and hit somebody. Bosher would also tell you he'd be a great quarterback, receiver. He's got that mentality. Kickers and punters are kind of strange, quirky, which is good because his mentality makes him the way he is."

Shannon has used Bosher's mentality - as well as his 4.7 speed in the 40-yard dash - for special teams trick plays this season. He ran for a first down on a fake punt vs. Florida State before getting drilled out of bounds.

"(The coaches) told him that wasn't so smart," junior left tackle Jason Fox said.

On Saturday, Bosher would've executed a successful squib kick against Wake Forest, "but he made three errors on one play," Pannunzio joked. "He kicked it too far, then he missed it twice. He should be a fielder for the Boston Red Sox because I don't like them."

Bosher helped turn around a 49-31 win over Duke when he boomed a 76-yard punt that changed field position. He then hit three field goals Saturday in a 16-10 win over Wake Forest.

"He has done better than I thought," Shannon said while tapping his knuckles on the top of his head. "He still seems to have a shank a game."

When teammates talk of Bosher, they talk about him as much as a player as a kicker.

"He's a great kicker and he's a tackling machine," junior safety Ryan Hill said.

Junior tailback Javarris James added, "He's great. The one thing I like, he's a lot different from other kickers. If you get a kicker one-on-one, you figure you'll beat them, but with Bosher, you better bring a little bit with you."

Shannon said he's asked Bosher to use better tackling technique. He worries about him getting injured.

"All the time," he said. "I say 'At least (just) take his legs out.' He says 'No, I'll run into him and he'll fall down.' "
 

Shannon denies revenge as big motivation vs. Cavs
By Craig Handel • chandel@news-press.com • October 29, 2008
 

CORAL GABLES — University of Miami coach Randy Shannon is trying to treat Virginia like one of those cell phone commercials where under no circumstances is the word 'merger' supposed to be mentioned.

For Miami, the phrase to avoid at all cost is 48-0, the score by which the Cavaliers blasted the Hurricanes in their last game in the Orange Bowl.

"Not at all, just another ACC opponent," Shannon said. "Most guys weren't on this team."

When he said he wasn't sure if recruits even watched that game, it was pointed out many were in attendance, including freshman quarterback Jacory Harris. In fact, one recruit - Matt Patchan - said he was so disgusted by the Hurricanes' attitude he chose Florida over Miami.

"I'm not worried about that," Shannon said. "I'm only worried about Virginia."

When asked if revenge is overrated, he replied, "I'm only worried about Virginia, that's it."

However, junior lineman Jason Fox said he and others took that loss personally. So is this a revenge game?

"That and a lot of other things," Fox said.

CAVS COMEBACK

In one of the greatest turnarounds in college football this season, the Cavaliers have four straight victories after winning at Georgia Tech 24-17 last Saturday. With the win, Virginia (5-3, 3-1) leads the Coastal Division.

Coming into the season, QB Jameel Sewell was ineligible for academic reasons. After losing to USC 52-7, then barely beating Richmond 16-0, quarterback Peter Lalich was dismissed from the team after admitting in court that he violated terms of his drinking-related probation by consuming alcohol.

Losses to Connecticut by 45-10 and Duke by 31-3 followed.

However, the next week, Virginia pounded Maryland 31-0 and has been rolling ever since. QB Marc Verica has completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,281 yards with 12 touchdowns. WR Kevin Ogletree has 39 catches for 474 yards and four scores and TB Cedric Peerman has gained 541 yards for a 5.7 average with seven touchdowns.

JAMES NEEDED

Shannon said he plans to feature TBs Javarris James and Graig Cooper more this week.

Shannon has wanted to do that the last couple of weeks since James returned from a left high ankle sprain, but the Immokalee High graduate said he hasn't been 100 percent.

"I think he's coming back into it now," Shannon said. "Last week showed he's ready to get going more. You don't know till he has a breakout game (that) he's back. You have to see him do something. He may be fully healthy, but in your mind you don't know until you see something (great) happen.

NEW THING TO WORK ON

In the past few weeks, Miami's areas that have needed improvement have ranged from second-half play to pass defense to run defense, to offense to run defense.

This week, the area is not dropping passes and making tackles.

"That was a key factor of them getting some big yardage because of what they were doing with our corners," Shannon said. "I thought (LB) Darryl Sharpton (had) a couple of tackles for losses and didn't wrap up. Those were big plays that could have kept them out of field goal range. ... He has to make sure he does the fundamental things. Darryl's a powerful kid, thinks he can run and just knock people down. That's not going to happen."

 

Home > Inside UM > Archives > 2008 > October > 28 > Entry
Shannon: Sapp “has great dance moves”
By Jorge Milian | Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 10:11 PM

CORAL GABLES - A few notes and thoughts:

……Randy Shannon said he’s been texting Warren Sapp regarding his appearances on Dancing with the Stars. “I’ll tell him, ‘Great move, but you have to get more pizzazz.’ Asked his reaction when he heard Sapp would join the show, Shannon said: “I knew that it would be great because Sapp really has great feet and is truly a great athlete, has great dance moves.”

……Mr. Holmes, a degenerate gambler and good friend of mine, informs me that Virginia is now a 2-point favorite over UM on Saturday. That’s probably a bad omen for the Cavaliers, who have won four straight games as underdogs.

……Shannon indicated at his press conference today that Javarris James will start getting more work at tailback along with Graig Cooper.

……Charlie Persson, Matt Bosher’s coach at Jupiter High School, tells me that Bosher made three downfield tackles on his own punts as a senior. In one of those instances, Bosher punted, forced a fumble and recovered the fumble. Bosher has seven tackles for UM this season, more than DeMarcus Van Dyke, Marcus Robinson, Eric Moncur and Lovon Ponder.

……So Kellen Winslow gets suspended, in part, for berating a Cleveland Browns’ media relations employee. Reminds me of Winslow’s famous ‘soldier’ meltdown in the UM locker room following the Hurricanes’ 2003 loss to Tennessee. As Winslow was launching into his tirade, former UM Sports Information Director Doug Walker tried to calm him but was shot down profanely. No doubt Winslow was a great player, but I never thought much of him as a person.


 

October 28, 2008, 12:32 am
A.C.C. Notebook: The Return of the Cavaliers
By Viv Bernstein

Virginia running back Cedric Peerman diving for a touchdown against Georgia Tech. Peerman was injured early in the season but has rushed for more than 100 yards in three of the Cavaliers’ last four games. (Erik S. Lesser/Associated Press)Along with Clemson’s stunning fall from favorite to also ran, the storyline of the season in the Atlantic Coast Conference is Virginia’s rise from laughingstock to contender.
Who would have figured that a month ago? Four weeks into the college football season, Virginia was on its way to becoming a doormat in the A.C.C. and Al Groh was on the short list of coaches inching toward a possible pink slip. The Cavaliers opened the season 1-3, were outscored by an average of 32 points per game and managed to get hammered, 31-3, on Sept. 27 by Duke, inarguably the worst team in the conference this decade. (O.K., the Blue Devils aren’t that bad this time. Still, it was the first conference victory by Duke in years.)
Yet four weeks later, Virginia (5-3) finds itself atop the Coastal Division with a 3-1 conference record, a four-game winning streak and some newfound respect. The Cavaliers even earned some votes in the weekly top 25 poll.
How did that happen?

First, running back Cedric Peerman, called the heart of the team, finally was healthy enough to contribute after being slowed by a knee injury in the first month of the season. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in three of the last four games.
Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen, whose team was the first victim in Virginia’s run, pointed to the development of quarterback Marc Verica as another reason for the turnaround. Verica became the Cavaliers starter when Peter Lalich was dismissed in September after admitting in court he violated probation by drinking alcohol.
Virginia’s winning streak began with a 31-0 victory against the Terrapins on Oct. 4. Verica 25 of 34 for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns in that game. Friedgen said he saw this coming from Virginia.
“I did, but you know, when I said it nobody believed me,'’ he said. “We probably got ‘em on all cylinders because they played very well against us. I think they gained a lot of confidence form that and are playing extremely well right now.'’
Groh also pointed to team chemistry that developed along the way that led to the turnaround. But it took some time and patience for the Cavaliers to pull together.
“We knew from the outset, if this was to be a successful team, then it would be a team in progress, a work in progress,'’ Groh said on Sunday. “That being the case, we just evaluated it, made a plan and then tried to plow forward with it. Fortunately, everybody stayed on the same page, stuck together and believed in each other, and believed in the plan and it’s starting to work out fairly good, although at this stage, we’re still only halfway through the conference season. So this thing could turn out a lot brighter and it could turn out a lot darker than where it sits right now.'’
Having defeated Maryland, East Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia Tech in the last four weeks - all were ranked at some point this season - the Cavaliers have Miami, Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia Tech remaining. Three of those four have been ranked at times this season as well, although Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia Tech are all reeling right now.
It might turn dark again for Virginia this season. But it won’t get any darker than September was for the Cavaliers.
Virginia Tech Quarterback Quandary
You know things are bad in Blacksburg when the tentative starting quarterback is a reserve wide receiver, the backup is a tight end and the third-stringer is a walk on.
That’s what it might come to on Nov. 6, when Virginia Tech hosts Maryland in a Thursday night game. The Hokies lost Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon, their top two quarterbacks, to ankle injuries in a 30-20 loss to Florida State on Saturday. Both are wearing walking boots and not practicing this week, a bye week for the Hokies. They are questionable for the Maryland game, and Coach Frank Beamer wouldn’t put a percentage on the odds either one would be able to play by then.
In their absence, Cory Holt took over against Florida State. Holt, a senior, was moved to split end this season, but did not have a catch before becoming the emergency quarterback on Saturday. He was 3 of 6 for 28 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s been around the program, he knows what’s going on, he’s got some good ability,'’ Beamer said of Holt.
As for why he moved to split end, Beamer said, “He wanted to help the football team, wanted to play.'’
Holt will take most of the snaps in practice this week, with starting tight end Greg Boone, a quarterback in high school, working as the backup. In an emergency, Beamer said he would turn to the walk-on Jeff Beyer as the third-string quarterback if Taylor and Glennon aren’t available.
Virginia Tech (5-3, 2-2) has lost two in a row and fallen out of the Top 25.
Go Figure
With Maryland’s appearance at No. 25 in this week’s poll, the Terrapins became the eighth team in the A.C.C. to make the poll this season. They join Clemson, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Boston College among A.C.C. teams ranked at some point.
The only teams missing from the list? Duke, Miami, N.C. State and Virginia. The Cavaliers are likely to move into the top 25 if their winning streak continues.
Only three teams are currently ranked, with Florida State (16) and North Carolina (21) also in the Top 25. It has been that kind of season for the A.C.C., with many teams in contention but no clear front-runner emerging from the pack.
“I think the rankings are a nice thing but they really don’t mean anything until the end of the year,'’ Friedgen said of his team’s debut. “That’ll all take care of itself. I do think it is representative of the parity that we have in our league and I think it’s going to even get crazier in the next couple weeks.'’
Around the League
A three-game winning streak is helping the Hurricanes win over fans in Miami. Quarterback Robert Marve threw for 153 yards and rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown to earn A.C.C. rookie of the week honors as Miami (5-3) beat Wake Forest, 16-10. How young are the Hurricanes? Marve was the eighth freshman to score a touchdown for Miami this season. … “It’s hard for me to have conversations with him, I promise,'’ the Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher talking about the brainy quarterback Christian Ponder, a redshirt sophomore who earned his undergraduate degree in two and a half years with a 3.89 grade-point average. Ponder is now working on his M.B.A. … Caulton Tudor of The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., believes the North Carolina junior wide receiver Hakeem Nicks will be a pro by next season. Nicks, the A.C.C. offensive player of the week, had eight catches for 139 yards and scored four touchdowns on Saturday as North Carolina beat Boston College, 45-24.
 

Winning pushes issues aside
> Posted by Shandel_Richardson at 8:41:02 AM
CORAL GABLES _ The conversations about the Hurricanes have changed during this three-game winning streak.

No more questions about Bill Young.

No more fire Patrick Nix message-board threads (well, at least not as many).

No more talk about Randy Shannon being in over his head.

UM has shown significant improvement from last season, and should be able to pick up one victory the last four weeks and become bowl-eligible. Yes, I know what happened last year when the `Canes were in the same situation, but this is a different team. They WILL win at least one of these remaining games and prevent me from focusing on basketball in December.

The only negative during this streak is sometimes winning causes fans to look the other way when there are problems. The Hurricanes haven't been exactly flawless the last few weeks. Remember they were only a few plays from losing at home to Central Florida, a team Tulsa just embarrassed on national TV. They needed a fierce comeback to defeat Duke, and last week beat a Wake Forest team that is obviously on the decline.

And there's still this whole quarterback debate. I'm sure the UM coaches and players don't want to hear this, but there's only so long this can continue. Coach Randy Shannon can ride the "hot" quarterback for now, but eventually, Robert Marve or Jacory Harris has to become the starter. What if Harris commits a turnover when he's inserted late against Wake? It would've been disastrous.

Fortunately, right now, this situation has made it difficult for teams to scout UM because both quarterbacks are so new. As the reps add up, opponents have more film and can notice tendencies and there's goes that advantage.

But the bottom line is the `Canes are doing what's most important and that's winning games. The progress should show the program is headed in the right direction.

A few thoughts:

-If senior cornerback Randy Phillips doesn't return from injury this season, don't expect him back next year on a medical redshirt.

-On Monday, Marve was named the ACC's Rookie of the Week. He and Harris have combined to win the honor four times this year.

-Amazingly, Virginia could make a case for the being the league's best team. After a 1-3 start, including blowout losses to USC and Duke, the Cavs have won four straight. They are coming off a victory against Georgia Tech, a team I thought was the best in the Coastal Division.

 

Singletary keeps faith in hard work

Phoenix Suns guard Sean Singletary, top, reaches over Atlanta Hawks guard Mario West as they battle for the ball during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball on Oct. 15 in Atlanta. Phoenix won 102-100. — AP PHOTO/JOHN AMISSean Singletary

The ending of a book is always more compelling than the start.

After compiling massive numbers and having a successful four-year run at the University of Virginia, Sean Singletary looked like a NBA first-round pick. Instead, the West Oak Lane native was selected 42nd in the second round by the Sacramento Kings.

While the 6-foot, 183-pound point guard is highly respected in Philly basketball circles, Singletary felt that he’s always been underrated nationally.

“I wasn’t disappointed about getting drafted late because I’ve never really been highly touted,” said Singletary. “Out of [Philadelphia] everybody thought I was a good basketball player but I never thought I got respect around the country since I was playing AAU. I have to keep proving people wrong and I’m going to eventually get that big check because of my hard work.”

Singletary played with the up-and-coming team in the NBA Summer League and planned on finding his niche but fate had other ideas.

In a surprise turn of events, Singletary was first traded to the Houston Rockets along with Patrick Ewing Jr. and Ron Artest, then immediately shipped to the Phoenix Suns for D.J. Strawberry. The businesslike rookie was surprised by the constant movement, but didn’t see it hindering his transition to the NBA.

“It was up and down with all of the trades but for the most part my transition to the NBA has been smooth,” said Singletary. “I knew when I got traded to Houston that it wasn’t going to be a good fit so I figured they were going to move me anyway.”

With an influx of NBA players considering playing overseas for huge contracts, Singletary said that he was ultimately sure that everything was going to turn out fine.

“I never considered playing in Europe because I know that I can play at this level,” Singletary said. “I would’ve liked to play in Houston but I got traded to Phoenix and it was a great situation there.”

Being traded to the Suns served as a blessing in disguise for Singletary. While the Kings were a young team searching for an identity, Singletary feels that the Suns are a veteran-laden group with Shaquille O’Neal, Amare Stoudemire, and Grant Hill and two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash.

“You can learn everything from Steve Nash, how to play the point guard position, run a team, stay fit since he’s in great shape,” said Singletary.

With Nash, Singletary understands that he has a great resource to learn from in his early years in the NBA. The ultra-quick point guard also believes that he’ll fit in perfectly with the Suns’ run-and-gun offense.

“I do real well whenever the team plays pickup games everyday and I’ve been learning a lot from Steve Nash,” said Singletary. “The up-tempo style of play really suits my game with how we’re always trying to score a lot of points so everything’s been perfect.”

While the smooth-natured Singletary feels he’s successfully integrated himself onto the Phoenix Suns roster, not being a starter is a shock in itself.

The last time the standout guard wasn’t on a team’s starting lineup dates back to his freshman year at the Haverford School.

Highly touted coming out of Penn Charter, Singletary was the only player on the Virginia roster to start every game his freshman season. By the end of his storied career with the Cavaliers, Singletary left Virginia as a three-time First Team All-ACC selection and the school’s fifth-leading scorer.

The humble Singletary understands that making the jump to the NBA level takes time and knows his time will come.

“It’s something new but I have to have respect for what the [NBA] game is all about and the other players around me,” said Singletary. “As a competitor you always want to be the best player on the court and start every game but as a rookie I have to be prepared to come through when I get my chance.”

Breaking through on a team that features multiple future Hall of Fame possibilities is a tough task, but the relentless Singletary is up to the task. Practicing with the likes of Nash, O’Neal and Hill is almost surreal for Singletary who grown up watching the trio on television.

Though he respects his star teammates’ talent, Singletary promises that he won’t forget to carve out his own niche and merely be a stargazer.

“It’s a crazy situation playing with guys like Nash and O’Neal everyday. It’s perfect being able to go out and play basketball with guys you see on TV everyday,” said Singletary. “You never really expect to be in this situation but I worked hard to be where I’m at now and this is my reality. I’m good enough to play at this level and I have to keep proving it to everybody everyday.”

Along with fellow rookie Robin Lopez and free agent Matt Barnes, new head coach Terry Porter is hoping that these players play huge dividends in his inaugural campaign.

In past years, the Suns have struggled to reach the NBA Finals and with the veterans not getting any younger, the team is looking for immediate results.

Singletary, never at a lack of confidence, believes that his attitude will make a good impression during the regular season.

“I think that all the new players can help on both ends of the floor but we just have to bring an edge when we step onto the court,” said Singletary. “Matt Barnes does a good job with that edge and I know that I have a lot of edge. I just think that bringing that swagger into practice that you want to be the best everyday definitely helps the team.”