White: 'Hoos to Open Second Season at UNC
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/02/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Al Groh's players never thought that, three games in, they'd be 0-3.
Maybe 3-0, or 2-1, or even 1-2, if things went awry. But not 0-3.
Alas, that's where UVa finds itself on the eve of its ACC opener. The Wahoos opened with a stunning loss to William and Mary, got hammered by TCU and then, on Sept. 19, played well for the first two-and-a-half quarters at Southern Mississippi, only to collapse and lose 37-34.
You take inspiration where you can find it, and UVa players, in interviews this week and among themselves, have noted that the team's bid for the Coastal Division championship is unblemished.
"We just keep reminding ourselves we're 0-0 in the ACC right now," nose tackle Nick Jenkins said. "It's a brand-new season for us. Unfortunately, we do have three losses, but those three losses are out of conference."
UVa's opponent Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C., is longtime rival North Carolina (0-1, 3-1). The Cavaliers have won six of the past seven games in the series, but the Tar Heels are heavy favorites in this one.
That doesn't seem to bother the 'Hoos. They say the recent bye week gave them time to address their most glaring problems.
"We took some steps forward," said Jenkins, a redshirt sophomore.
Like most of his teammates, Jenkins never has lost to UNC. None of them wants that to change.
"We're really, really locked in," quarterback Jameel Sewell. "You still have an opportunity to pull something out of a hat and have an awesome season."
UVa modified its offense before the Southern Miss game, with impressive results. The extra practice time since then, Groh said, seems "to have given a number of [the players] who went through some of those transitions more confidence in what they're doing.
"There was nobody who said going into the first game, 'Coach, I don't feel confidence.' What it is now is, a lot of players after the third game are saying, 'I feel a lot more confidence and a lot more comfortable in what my role is.'"
Those players include Sewell, a fifth-year senior who'll make his third consecutive start Saturday. Sewell started 22 straight games for Virginia -- the final nine in 2006 and all 13 in '07 -- before being suspended for academic reasons.
Sewell was out of school last fall. He participated in spring practice this year, but that didn't make up for his time away from the game. Only recently -- late in the TCU game and against Southern Miss -- has the 6-3 left-hander looked in rhythm.
"In our conversations, he's allowed that he didn't fully appreciate how much effect the year away might have on him, because he was so anxious to get back," Groh said.
"It was kind of like, 'Hey, I'm back, and everything's going to be back -- presence, performance, everything.' But by his evaluation, everything wasn't back, and now he's feeling much more comfortable, much more confident. Makes his throws with a much higher level of conviction."
Sewell, whom William and Mary intercepted three times, threw two late touchdown passes against TCU. At Southern Miss, he passed for a career-high 312 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 23 carries, the second-most ever by a UVa quarterback.
"I didn't expect to start off so slow," Sewell said. "Coming off of a year's suspension, I guess it does have a big [effect] on just seeing the game, because things change. It's just like coming from high school and going into college -- everything's faster and everything's different.
"So a lot of things were different. Even though I had a lot of game experience, practice experience, whatever the case may be, it was still different to me."
Virginia lost one of its most promising young players, first-year tailback Dominique Wallace, to a season-ending foot injury at Southern Miss. In general, though, the Cavaliers head to Kenan Stadium in good health.
Senior cornerback Chris Cook, who lasted only one play against Southern Miss, is expected to be back Saturday, and Vic Hall may well play, too.
A converted cornerback, Hall started the opener at quarterback but suffered a hip injury that effectively sidelined him for the next two games.
Hall, a senior, has been back at practice, but how Groh plans to use him isn't clear. Sewell is likely to take most of the snaps against UNC, but Hall could line up at quarterback or running back or wide receiver. Or back in the secondary.
Wherever and whenever Hall plays, the other 'Hoos will be excited to have him back.
"He brings an energy to the whole team," Sewell said.
A winless team can use that kind of boost. Denzel Burrell, a two-year starter at outside linebacker, said he's heard from former teammates, including Clint Sintim, who inquired about the players' morale.
Burrell told Sintim, a rookie with the New York Giants, that the team has remained positive.
"Everybody still has the mindset that we can do this," Burrell said.
"I feel like once we can get that first game, hopefully momentum will come, and we can just keep rolling from there."
 

Cavaliers hope to get on track
By Jay Jenkins
Published: October 3, 2009

It has neared rite-of-passage status.

Virginia faces North Carolina. The Cavaliers finish victorious.

A repeat performance today at a sold-out Kenan Stadium could not come at a better time as Virginia looks to win a game for the first time since Oct. 25, 2008.

Losers of their past seven games dating back to last season, the Cavaliers (0-3) have upended North Carolina in nine of the last 11 meetings and have lost just five times since 1983.

“We have played some of our best football against UNC,” Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell said. “Hopefully, we can continue that and turn this season around.”

A 13-point favorite today, UNC (3-1, 0-1 ACC) is in a similar position, looking to stay in the race for the ACC Coastal Division title and avenge a dismal 24-7 loss last week at Georgia Tech.

While Virginia has struggled in the fourth quarter in two of its three losses, it has been the

opening moments of play that have taken its toll on North Carolina’s offense. In fact, the Tar Heels have scored just one first-quarter touchdown in four games.

“We didn’t start off well [against Georgia Tech]. Once that kind of happened, it kind of dog-piled on top of each other and things got even worse,” UNC quarterback T.J. Yates told reporters. “We’ve got to do a better job of coming out quick and finding a rhythm early.”

In Sewell-like fashion, Yates took the blame for leading the Tar Heels to just 154 yards of total offense on 44 plays against the Yellow Jackets.

“It starts with me just not completing easy passes, routine little things,” he said. “When you do that at the start of the game, it throws the whole offense off.

“We weren’t running the ball well, which wasn’t complementing our passing game, and when you’re not passing the ball well, it doesn’t complement your running game. Two wrongs don’t make a right. We’ve got to do a better job of getting into rhythm and getting things going early so we can piggy-back on that throughout the game.”

In Virginia’s last contest, it was Sewell that seemed to get on track early, connecting on 69-yard strike with rookie Tim Smith.

Despite special-teams blunders and an inept offense in the final quarter, Sewell finished with 312 yards passing and accounted for four touchdowns.

“He’s got a little bit of momentum going,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “Certainly he can play better, but he is playing better.”

Sewell, a senior, has been known for slow starts and improved finishes, which was the case in 2006 and 2007.

“That’s been his history in his previous two years as a starter — to continue to play better, as he accumulated more starts,” said Groh, who is 6-2 against UNC at Virginia. “And we have to remember that [Sewell] is a player, who once he did get into that type of rhythm two years ago, he won nine games for us.”

Sewell, the team’s leading rusher with just 98 yards on the ground, will be challenged today, however, by one of the top defensive units in the country. The Tar Heels have allowed just one passing touchdown and rank 14th nationally in total defense.

“Usually against a defense of that strength it takes a quarterback to really step up and do something spectacular,” Groh said.
 

Offensive output gives UVa new hope
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: October 3, 2009

At last glance, Virginia’s offense exited Hattiesburg, Miss., with its self-respect intact for the first time this season.

In a loss to Southern Miss, the Cavaliers made a strong showing on the offensive side of the football after a dreadful start in home losses to William & Mary and TCU. There were several contributing factors to the improvement, chiefly a philosophical change as coach Al Groh resorted back to what he and his team knew best.

The concept of the spread offense wasn’t totally shelved — just tightened up in some places, tweaked in others as the line splits were narrowed, backs were kept in the backfield to protect quarterback Jameel Sewell and tight ends became more active.

In other words, it looked more like an Al Groh offense on the field against the Golden Eagles, and it was an offense that scored enough points to win in a 37-34 setback.

Just like old times

Fast forward to high noon today in Chapel Hill, N.C., where the Cavaliers will resume the South’s oldest rivalry when they take on North Carolina for the 114th time. It’s an opportunity for UVa, a

13-point underdog, to walk out of Kenan Stadium later today with a 1-0 record in the ACC.

While Virginia has struggled to get much of a ground attack going behind an offensive line that has failed to get its act together, Groh has clearly hitched his wagon to Sewell. The senior southpaw threw for 312 yards at Southern Miss and looked more comfortable in the retro offense.

Wahoo fans who know Sewell’s history are keenly aware that in past seasons he has started slowly but picked up his performances as seasons progressed. Two years ago, he led the Cavs to a rare nine-win season behind his passing arm.

Senior moments

In some ways, critics could argue that Sewell is a better overall quarterback now because he’s got more experience under his belt, is a better leader on the field, and is less hesitant to run, which could be a key against the Tar Heels today. Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran the ball 30-some times against UNC a week ago in a lopsided Yellow Jackets win.

Yes, Nesbitt is a horse — 235 pounds, as compared to the much more slightly-built Sewell. But Sewell is quicker and a good runner, who hasn’t had much trouble running more than 20 times a game.

However, it was Sewell’s arm that came alive in the Deep South two weeks ago. Part of it was some perfectly-timed passes and some of it was his young receiving corps stepping up big-time.

So what was the deal with the receivers?

“It almost feels foolish to answer the question this way,” Groh said. “But [the receivers] just ran faster. And they ran faster out of conviction and confidence of what they were doing, just another week of what they were doing, because even with the interjection of some things that we have done in the past, not many of the returning receivers have much background in those things and nobody has any background in many of the other things that we are doing.

“So Kris Burd’s never really played in games. He was a special-teams player last year. Javaris Brown has never played, Jared Green hasn’t played that much, Tim Smith has never played,” Groh pointed out. “There are just a lot of players in their first games and running those routes and reading the coverage for the first time. We are just seeing these things developing faster and getting into the secondary with more burst and more push.”

In other words, these receivers are growing up before our very eyes. Therein lies one of the keys to a win in Chapel Hill. The receivers have to be at their best to pull out a win, but the Cavs still need to run the ball in order to control the clock.

Georgia Tech kept the ball away from the Tar Heels last weekend and dominated the game. When UNC did manage to get its hands on the pigskin, the Heels couldn’t do much with it. Their only offense came on six catches by a freshman wide receiver, who accounted for 107 of Carolina’s 154 yards of total offense and you can take it to the bank that Groh’s defense isn’t going to allow that receiver to inflict the same amount of defense on it this afternoon.

Sewell told a few sportswriters on Wednesday that he and others had difficulty comprehending the wide-open spread techniques, which led to two bad performances and Groh’s sudden shift of philosophy heading into Southern Miss game preparation.

With a bye week last Saturday, the Cavs have had two weeks to polish up on the new/old way of doing business from the offensive perspective.

Sewell also said that the year away from football due to an academic suspension caused him more problems in shaking off the rust than he expected.

“Jameel was back, but he wasn’t back-back,” Groh said Thursday.

If Sewell can put together another week of 300 yards passing, he must might be back-back.

So, the year away really hampered him?

“That’s what I’m going to blame it on,” Sewell said with a chuckle. “Things change. It was almost like coming out of high school ball to college ball and getting adjusted to the speed of the game again.”

However, the performance in Hattiesburg gave him and the entire offense a lot of confidence, something lacking after the first two games when offense appeared disjointed.

“It gave us confidence that we could compete,” Sewell said. “We were able to put points on the board, which we hadn’t done lately. We just have to continue to do that.”

There’s no better time than today.



 

Are 0-3 Cavaliers a team worth waiting for?
By Michael Phillips
Published: October 3, 2009

Without a game last week, Al Groh sat at home and put his remote control to work.

The U.Va. coach is a compulsive channel-flipper, and off the top of his head rattled off nine different games that he saw at least part of as he chased the action.

His patience may not have been visible on the couch, but when he returned to work Sunday, it was on full display once again.

He says he's ready to see his team's true identity in this afternoon's game with North Carolina. After three weeks and a bye, the time has come for Virginia to show if it has a chance to rebound after an 0-3 start to the season.

"Sometimes it takes three or four weeks for teams to find an identity," Groh said. "By that I mean its personality, its strengths, the concerns you have about the team -- for all that to really show itself."

Patience for him also means knowing when to make big changes. After two weeks, he saw the offense floundering and dumped the spread in favor of a more traditional system.

He's also hesitant to give big motivational speeches regularly making sure the players know there is a reason when it happens.

Now as the conference portion of the schedule begins, he is trying to emphasize a fresh start, as opposed to a continuation of a seven-game losing streak that dates back to last year. The coach was asked this week just how much the mental aspect matters when fighting something like that.

"It would be foolish to say it's negligible," he said. "But as long as a team can see progress and see the mission in front of them for each particular game, then that's when you have the energy and commitment that's necessary to keep moving forward."

But even if past performance is an indication of future results, that might not be such a bad thing for the Wahoos today.

They've claimed six of the past seven games against the Tar Heels, including a pair of close games the past two years.

In 2007, it was kicker Chris Gould knocking in five field goals in a 22-20 victory. Last year in Charlottesville, U.Va. trailed by a touchdown in the final minutes, but rallied to a 16-13 overtime victory.

Coming into today's game as two-touchdown underdogs, Groh and his team are about to find out exactly what their identity is.

A big loss, and it will be tougher for Groh to sell everybody on having more patience. But a victory might mean that the coach was right, this team just needed a little longer to develop.

He said that accumulated knowledge is one reason he's hesitant to make wholesale changes during the season.

"Once you make an adjustment, you're back to scratch," he said. "You have to be very careful not to overreact just because you're not getting the results you want."

By the end of the afternoon, it will be seen whether Groh's patience pays off, or whether a long conference season is ahead.
 

Three keys and a U.Va. prediction
Michael Phillips
Oct 02, 2009

I’ll be helping out with our high school football coverage tonight, but to get you fired up for tomorrow’s game, here’s three keys to victory for U.Va. against North Carolina:

1) Replace Chris Cook: If the cornerback can’t go, which seems likely, it will be up to Chase Minnifield to fill his role in the secondary. It’s a position where one key play can change the outcome of the game, making Minnifield’s role that much more important. He’ll play opposite Ras-I Dowling, who struggled at the start of the season but came closer to his all-conference form against Southern Miss.

2) Special teams can’t allow points: Special teams play has cost Virginia on the scoreboard, and two weeks ago it became a disaster when the group allowed two big kickoff returns as part of the Golden Eagles comeback. For the unit, which was much-hyped in the preseason under first-year coordinator Ron Prince, they need to quit worrying about making game-changing plays and instead focus on not allowing them the other way.

3) Continuing receiver growth: Virginia’s young wide receivers struggled early in the season, but have started to show flashes of their potential. The group is loaded with speed, but it remains to be seen whether they can convert their raw tools into playmaking ability. A couple drive-extending catches would boost the offense and give the defense time to regroup.

And, of course, my prediction. I’ve got U.Va. losing 21-20.

We’ll see you tomorrow live from Kenan Stadium. Kickoff is at noon.
 

Cavaliers seek to recapture winning
Virginia heads to UNC with seven straight losses dating back to the end of last season.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

When Virginia won seven straight football games during a 2007 Gator Bowl season, the Cavaliers were hailed as a team that found ways to win.

Now, the Cavaliers can't win for losing.

One week, they're victimized by seven turnovers. Another week, they give up 205 return yards in one quarter.

If there's a winner's mentality, the 2007 team had it. The 2008 team had it for a while, winning four consecutive games.

Since then, it's been all famine. The Cavaliers ended the 2008 season with four straight losses and take an 0-3 record to North Carolina's Kenan Stadium. What is the impact of losing on a team's psyche?

"That's hard to gauge," said UVa coach Al Groh in his final pregame teleconference. "It would be foolish to say it's negligible. Obviously, attitude and mentality has a lot to do with [winning and losing].

"As long as a team can see progress and see the mission in front of it each game, that's where you get the energy to keep moving forward."

There were signs of progress on Sept. 19, in a 37-34 loss at Southern Mississippi -- a game that UVa seemingly had under control when it led 34-17 in the third quarter.

Groh tried to accentuate the positive after that game, but it's clear that he is walking a tightrope.

"You've got to make sure, for one thing, that you're not 'over-talking,'" he said. "If every day is a sermon or a lecture to the team, it becomes kind of like a thunderstorm. You know, 'Hey, wait a few minutes and it will be over and we'll get on with our business.'

"You want to make sure, when you've got something to say, that it's very pertinent."

Groh directed offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon to make changes in the offense before the Southern Mississippi game and the Cavaliers responded with their highest scoring output of the season.

"We are not a knee-jerk operation, but sometimes you've got to react to reality," Groh said.

North Carolina enters the game with a defense that is ranked among the top 25 in multiple categories, but head coach Butch Davis isn't sure what to expect from Virginia offensively, especially since UVa has been off for a week.

"It's a guessing game," Davis said. "You don't want to coach against ghosts. You don't want to fabricate and make up things. Virginia is no different than any other team playing college football. In the early part of the season, you're trying to find yourself."

North Carolina (3-1 , 0-1 ACC) played 11 true freshmen in its first game. Virginia has played six, raising questions about how much Groh is thinking about this season and how much he is thinking about the future.

One would surmise he's thinking about this season, however, since it could be his last at Virginia if he doesn't start winning games.

UVa true freshmen who have played are wide receiver Tim Smith, running back Dominique Wallace, defensive end Will Hill, running back Perry Jones, wide receiver Quintin Hunter and defensive back LaRoy Reynolds.

Smith has caught touchdown passes in each of the past two games, and Wallace had 14 rushing attempts that came early enough before he was injured for him to receive a fifth season of eligibility. The rest have appeared almost exclusively on special teams.

"Our philosophy remains consistent," Groh said. "Whenever a player is ready to help the team be better than it otherwise would be, then we're enthusiastic about using the player. We're going to take full advantage of the roster and use everybody who can help us win."

Groh mentioned defensive back Javanti Sparrow and 6-foot-7, 295-pound defensive lineman Brent Urban as other true freshman who may play.

Special teams are where many young players get their indoctrination, but the UVa special teams have ranked among the worst in the country. They are ranked last in Division I-A in kickoff coverage and next-to-last in kickoff returns.

Southern Mississippi kickoff returns of 68 and 100 yards may have skewed the coverage statistics, but there's no obvious explanation why UVa returns have been so anemic.

"I don't like to say this because it sounds like you're pinning everything on the players," Groh said. "It's a collaborative effort [of] players, coaches and whatnot. But, clearly, there have not been enough opposing cover guys blocked well enough."

Substandard blocking by another unit, the offensive line, is an equally big reason why the Cavaliers are in such a desperate state.

"I think everybody is desperate every single Saturday," Davis said. "You want to win."
 

Henderson-UVa break-up OK with all parties
Cave Spring big man to choose between Davidson, Vanderbilt
By Doug Doughty

It didn’t take an oral commitment from Akil Mitchell for Cave Spring big man Josh Henderson and Virginia’s basketball staff to part ways.

“It’s kind of like a boy and girl in high school who both want to end a relationship but are waiting for the right moment,” Cave Spring coach Billy Hicks said.

Hicks isn’t sure when it was Wednesday that the Cavaliers notified Henderson that they had taken a commitment from Mitchell, a 6-foot-7 forward from Charlotte, N.C., but Henderson already had alerted Hicks that he would be canceling an official visit to UVa scheduled for next weekend.

Henderson will be at Davidson on an official visit this weekend and Hicks thinks that Henderson, a 6-11, 205-pounder, will make an announcement as soon as next week. His other finalist is Vanderbilt, which he visited in early September.

Davidson coach Bob McKillop and Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings were at a Cave Spring open gym to observe Henderson on Wednesday night.

“Both schools have said he was their No. 1 choice,” Hicks said.

That was one of the issues with Virginia. It was hard to say how badly the Cavaliers wanted Henderson, whom they had invited to Charlottesville on a weeknight in September in order to extend a face-to-face offer.

Hicks’ impression is that UVa thought Henderson would commit on the spot. When he didn’t, they asked him to push back a visit originally scheduled for Sept. 12 until the second weekend in October.

Schools generally like to have the last visit if they can get it. In Virginia’s case, because Henderson didn’t commit on the spot, they might have wanted the extra time to weigh their options.

Hicks definitely thinks that could have been the case.

He said that Bennett called him Thursday to “apologize” for the way the Cavaliers had recruited Henderson.

“He was making sure he hadn’t offended me,” Hicks said. “He was behind the 8-ball, coming in late as he did. They didn’t immediately fall in love with Josh. Then, I sent them tape and they decided, ‘We’ve got to get this guy.’ “

At the time, UVa already had a commitment from 6-8 Will Regan from Buffalo, N.Y. Still, the Cavaliers felt they needed two more big men, which is why they backed off Trae Golden, a once-coveted guard from Powder Springs, Ga.

On the same weekend that Henderson originally was to have taken his official visit, he visited UVa unofficially. James Johnson, a 6-9 post player from outside San Diego, was in town the same weekend and committed before he left campus.

When Henderson didn’t immediately commit, the Cavaliers had time to think. According to Hicks, they eventually came to the conclusion that Regan and Henderson were the same kind of athlete -- skilled but not “ultra” athletic, as Hicks put it.

One of Johnson’s main attributes is his athleticism but, if the Cavaliers were in a position where Henderson was playing the “5” spot and Regan was at the “4,” more athletic teams might be able to take advantage of them.

Thursday’s phone call left Hicks with a better taste in his mouth about the Bennett regime. He said he had not been in regular contact with the UVa staff, which had another contact in Cade Lemcke, Henderson’s AAU coach for the Charlottesville-based East Coast Fusion. Lemcke played at Virginia as a walk-on during the early years of the Pete Gillen era.

Hicks said he didn’t think UVa was the best place for Henderson “but, I told Tony that he was the last person I wanted to alienate. Everybody I’ve talked to about Tony Bennett has led me to believe he’s a class guy.”

MITCHELL WAS THE fifth player to commit to a Virginia staff that had only five scholarships at its disposal. Even so, from all indications, UVa’s decision to offer him was not connected to the Henderson recruitment.

Shonn Brown, the coach at Charlotte (N.C.) Christian School, said that the Cavaliers made an offer to Mitchell after watching him at an open gym Tuesday night and that he committed Wednesday.

The name, Shonn Brown, immediately rang a bell. I had last spoken to Brown in the spring of 2008, when I had written a story on Seth Curry and the fact that no big-time programs had recruited him despite his pedigree as the son of 17-year NBA veteran Dell Curry and the younger brother of Davidson star Stephen Curry.

Seth Curry had signed with Liberty, then coached by Ritchie McKay. McKay subsequently resigned at Liberty last spring to join the new staff at UVa and was instrumental in the Mitchell recruitment.

Mitchell averaged between nine and 10 points per game last season, not impressive numbers, Brown said, until you consider that Charlotte Christian had three Division I signees.

As a Division I signee, Mitchell will follow in the foosteps of the Curry brothers and his 2008-2009 Charlotte Christian teammates Willis Hall (College of Charleston), Tyler Wagener (Wofford) and Carson Sullivan (Pennsylvania).

“While [Mitchell] made some impact, we were pretty good,” said Brown, whose team finished 23-9. “He has done well and I believe he will do unbelievably well this year. He has an unbelievable upside.

“He’s young. He’s 17 years old. If you were to ask me, ‘What does he need to work on, I’d say, ‘strength.’ He needs to gets stronger but he has real good skills. When you have his size and can handle the ball the way he can … he can shoot the ball, he can post people up, he can take bigger people outside. Plus he’s a very bright kid.”

Brown said that schools that were after Mitchell included George Washington, James Madison, Richmond, VCU and Tulane. Auburn and Gonzaga also expressed interest.

Brown also mentioned the possibility of Mitchell redshirting and possibly adding 18 or 20 pounds. UVa had thought about redshirting Henderson but whether that topic was actually broached is an item for another column.
 

UVA gets 5th basketball commitment
Eric Kolenich
Oct 02, 2009

Whitey Reid of the Daily Progress brings the news:

On Monday, Charlotte, N.C., prep basketball standout Akil Mitchell learned that his scholarship offer to play at George Washington had been rescinded.

“I was really, really surprised,” said Mitchell, who was considering GW and a host of other mid-majors. “They said that they wanted to watch me some more.”

The very next day, Mitchell’s fortunes changed pretty quickly when Virginia coach Tony Bennett came down to Charlotte. Mitchell thought it was simply a standard visit in which Bennett would chat him up and give him an update as to where he stood with the UVa program.

But then Bennett offered him a scholarship, and it was so long Atlantic 10, hello ACC.

“It was really great,” Mitchell said. “They were really high on my list for a long time. When they offered, it felt pretty good.”

Mitchell, who wound up choosing Virginia over SMU, Liberty and UNC Greensboro, among others, says the combination of athletics and academics is what made Virginia so appealing. Mitchell, a very good student, hopes to major in business.

“I think UVa was his first pick from the beginning,” said Anthony Mitchell, Akil’s father. “When they came knocking and said, ‘We want you to come,’ his eyes just lit up.

“He said, ‘That’s where I want to be.’ It’s [great] when you get your No. 1 pick — not too many people get that.”

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Mitchell joins Will Regan, Joe Harris, K.T. Harrell and James Johnson in Bennett’s inaugural 2010 recruiting class. Barring any roster turnover, Virginia doesn’t have any remaining scholarships remaining for that class.

Mitchell is a 3-star prospect (out of 5) according to Rivals.com. Mitchell is the only member of the 2010 class not ranked among the Top 150 by Rivals — and that doesn’t bother him one bit.

“That’s kind of how it’s always been,” Mitchell said. “Nobody’s ever given me a chance. I didn’t make our team in middle school and didn’t play my freshman year, so I’ve always played with a kind of chip on my shoulder.

“Coach Bennett told me that he loved my potential and the determination that I have to get better.”

One of Virginia’s big selling points to Mitchell was assistant coach Ritchie McKay. The former Liberty head coach had built a relationship with Mitchell from his days recruiting former Flames guard Seth Curry, the younger brother of NBA player Stephen Curry. Seth, now at Duke, and Mitchell had been teammates at Charlotte Christian School.

“We liked that they’re starting over,” said Anthony Mitchell, when asked what attracted his family to the Virginia program, “and one of the keys to the program was coach McKay. He’s the one who’s been watching the longest time, starting back in 10th grade.

“He really knows and loves Akil. That was the biggest deciding factor — having a coach who knows my son.”

The elder Mitchell, who played some college basketball and spent time playing professionally overseas, believes Akil’s versatility will be a big plus.

“His growth has been dramatic and that’s what coach Bennett alluded to — he just loves the upside,” Mitchell said. “Akil can play the 3 and I think he’s getting quick enough and stronger to the point where he can actually guard some 2s. His shot has really progressed, and he can post up and go down and play some 4.

“I think they got somebody who they can go with in several different directions.”

Mitchell, who is looking forward to seeing his former teammate Curry when Virginia and Duke meet up, says right now he feels most comfortable at the 3.

“I like to create mismatches and take advantage of smaller players in the post,” he said, “and not too many players my size can guard me out on the perimeter.”


 

Defensive adaptationArticle
BY KEN TYSIAC - Staff Writer
Tags: college | football | sports

In one respect, at least, coaching the Cleveland Browns proved simpler for Butch Davis than coaching the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Coaching in the NFL, Davis said, the offenses he had to scheme against week to week all shared similarities. From his perspective, every team in the NFL used the same runs and the same passes, and everyone relied on the same strategies on third down in his four seasons coaching the Browns (2001-04).

Early in his third season with the Tar Heels, though, Davis is facing a stunningly diverse group of offenses.

"This is something that is so dramatically different from the National Football League, that every week, every offense we've played has been so much different from the one before," Davis said. "There is no real carryover."

A look around the state today validates Davis' angst. The four ACC teams from North Carolina all will be playing within a 90-mile radius, each of them armed with an offense radically different from the other three.

•At noon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (3-1, 0-1 ACC) will line up against Virginia (0-3, 0-0) in a classic pro-style scheme that's probably not a lot different from the offenses Davis faced when he was with the Browns.

•In Durham, also at noon, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis will rush Duke (2-2, 0-0) to the line in a no-huddle scheme. But if Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe wants to play Virginia Tech (3-1, 1-0) at a slower tempo, Lewis will look to the sideline for a play call after the Blue Devils' coaches survey the defensive alignment. But the no-huddle allows Cutcliffe to speed up the game to keep the defense off balance if he chooses.

•In Winston-Salem at 3:30 p.m., Wake Forest (2-2, 0-1) will challenge N.C. State (3-1, 0-0) with an assortment of misdirection plays and orbit sweeps by the flankers to set up Riley Skinner's play-action passing. The Deacons have used the flexbone, power-I and even the wishbone to generate a running game.

•And although N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien spoke fondly of Pittsburgh's smash-mouth attack last week, his Wolfpack is mostly a finesse offense that spreads opponents out as quarterback Russell Wilson works with his arm and his feet.

The different schemes are a headache for defensive coaches, but they can be a treat for fans and for players who enjoy the diversity of the game.

"It makes it a lot more fun, because you're not expecting the same thing each and every week," N.C. State cornerback DeAndre Morgan said.

The Wolfpack, for example, already has faced the spread offenses of Murray State and Gardner-Webb. Last week, Pittsburgh challenged N.C. State's toughness with its power attack. Today, Wake Forest will combine elements of the flexbone with dropback and play-action schemes.

And offenses are changing constantly, even within a given game.

N.C. State defensive coordinator Mike Archer said Gardner-Webb used six different personnel groups against the Wolfpack in the first quarter on Sept. 19. Those different groupings force the defense to scramble to change personnel to match the offense.

"It used to be you put one bunch out on the field and they played," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "Now it's regular personnel, nickel personnel, dime personnel. You've got big people. There are a lot of different packages that you play based on the style of offense."

QBs on the run

Before the 2000 season, then-Clemson offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez was asked if he planned to use the triple option to take advantage of the running skills of first-year quarterback starter Woodrow Dantzler.

Rodriguez cryptically replied that Dantzler was going to run the ball, but not in the triple option. That season, Rodriguez unveiled the read-option quarterback running scheme out of the spread that quickly took the nation by storm.

By providing college teams a template for running athletic quarterbacks while retaining sophisticated passing games from spread formations, the read-option drove a wedge between NFL and college offenses.

"The thing we have to worry about here [in college] is, quarterbacks can run," said Archer, who coached linebackers for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1996 to 2002. "...You never worried about, in pro football, the option. You didn't worry about that, because those $12 million quarterbacks weren't going to take hits."

In the ACC, the addition of second-year Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson's flexbone triple-option scheme has given defensive coaches yet another wrinkle to combat.

Ditching a cliche

Georgia Tech has caused at least two ACC coaches who faced his Yellow Jackets last month to tear a sacred cliche out of their coaching bibles.

Coaches love to say they take one game at a time. At North Carolina and Clemson, however, they ignored that philosophy this preseason.

In the spring and in August, the Tar Heel defenders spent time in practice getting familiar with their option responsibilities for Georgia Tech, as well as with different wrinkles they would face from other early-season opponents.

Swinney's preseason drills incorporated preliminary defensive concepts Clemson will need against all 12 opponents. He didn't tell his players why they were doing it.

But with just 20 hours each week to prepare for widely divergent offenses, Swinney got a head start on all his opponents during preseason camp.

"Our mentality is, 'Next play, next game.' Simple as that," Swinney said. "But from a coach's perspective, it's only smart to have good planning so you can be efficient with your time."

Before facing Georgia Tech, Davis said he hoped players on the Tar Heels defense (which returned nine starters from 2008) would remember some of the lessons from last season. Despite that experience and early preparation, North Carolina gave up 317 rushing yards in a 24-7 loss to the Yellow Jackets.

A week later, though, the Tar Heels can forget about the flexbone as Virginia brings its new spread offense to Kenan Stadium. The week-to-week changes are nothing like what Davis experienced in the NFL.

"There's virtually no carryover," Davis said.

That's what makes defense in college football challenging, or fun, or both, depending on your point of view.
 

Virginia at North CarolinaArticle
J.P. Giglio

Tudor's take

It's all but impossible to imagine the Cavaliers offering a flat performance. That's how thoroughly they've dominated the rivalry against UNC for most of the past 25 or so years.

But unless all logic has gone the way of those white helmets with the oversized orange "V" on the side, the Cavaliers -- for once -- should be out of solutions.

Not that Carolina is in any way an overpowering team. If not for a late break at Connecticut, the Tar Heels would be entering this game 2-2 and groping for direction. But after last week's no-show at Georgia Tech, focus shouldn't be a problem. UNC, 28-13.

Observations

A little help

Senior quarterback Jameel Sewell leads the Cavaliers in passing (512 yards), rushing (98 yards) and rushing attempts (57). Injuries have limited running back Mikell Simpson to 14 carries and 64 yards in two games. The other Virginia running backs have 40 attempts combined, 17 fewer than Sewell.

Faster start

UNC's offense has gone three-and-out on the first possession in each of the past three games. On the season, the Heels have scored only seven points in the first quarter. A better start would prevent the offense from forcing plays later in the game.

Player to watch

T.J. Yates

UNC, Jr., QB, 6-3, 220

Even Yates acknowledged he has to play better than he did against Georgia Tech, completing only 11 of 26 passes for 137 yards with two interceptions. His timing was off on his short passes, and he was only able to connect on one deep ball, his specialty, with freshman Erik Highsmith. Look for the UNC coaches to try to build Yates' confidence early against UVa.
 

Cavaliers Drop Three-Set Match to Duke
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/02/2009

DURHAM, N.C. - The Virginia volleyball team dropped a three-set match Friday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium to the Duke Blue Devils by scores of 20-25, 20-25, 20-25.
Sophomore Simone Asque led the Cavaliers' attack with 11 kills, while senior Lauren Dickson contributed a double-double of 10 kills and 10 digs. Junior AJ Cushman led Virginia's defense with 12 digs and freshman Rachel Gray distributed 24 assists.
For Duke (14-2, 4-0 ACC), Rachael Moss led the way with 13 kills and Becci Burling added 10. Kellie Catanach dished out 40 assists, while Claire Smalzer had 16 digs.
Prior to a 6-0 run in favor of the Blue Devils to break open an even 17-17 score in the first frame, the Cavaliers battled Duke to 13 tie scores and the squads traded the lead seven times. The run plagued the Cavaliers though, and they eventually dropped the set, 25-20.
Virginia regrouped in the second stanza, pulling ahead 5-2, but the Blue Devils chipped into the Cavaliers' lead and knotted the score at six. Duke maintained the momentum through the rally, pulling ahead 8-6, before increasing their lead to four by 17-13. The deficit was too much for Virginia and Duke went on to win, 25-20.
Duke's offense kept the pressure on the Cavaliers throughout the third frame. Landing four-straight kills early in the set, the Blue Devils jumped out to a 6-2 lead and extended their lead to 10 by 22-12. The Cavaliers rallied though, cutting Duke's advantage to five at 23-18, but it wasn't enough as Duke won the third frame with a matching 25-20 score.
Virginia (6-9, 1-3 ACC) will return to action tomorrow, facing Wake Forest in Winston-Salem at 7 p.m.
 

Third-Ranked Cavaliers Fall at Top-Ranked Maryland 3-1
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/02/2009

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The third-ranked Virginia field hockey team (11-1, 1-1 ACC) suffered its first lost of the season, a 3-1 setback to top-ranked Maryland (12-0, 2-0), Friday in College Park, Md. Sophomore Paige Selenski scored the lone goal for the Cavaliers.
The Terps scored all three goals in the second stanza after UVa led 1-0 at the half.
The showdown was a physical one, proved by 12 cards issued to the two teams combined. Maryland dominated the second half with a 16-4 shot advantage while registering seven penalty corners.
"Without a doubt we have to put two halves together to win in the ACC," Virginia head coach Michele Madison said. "We won the first half and they clearly won the second half. Both teams had to deal with players down, one or two at a time. Maryland took advantage of that and took possession of the ball. We needed to create more shots. It was a tough environment to play in."
Selenski's goal came at 32:45 on a counter-attack after Maryland was unable to covert on a penalty corner. Vittese gathered the ball and dribbled up the field, dished it over to Selenski, who then got past a defender and into the circle before putting it past UM's Alicia Grater.
Maryland had another penalty corner to end the first half, and got the ball into the cage, but the score was called back after the umpires determined the ball had never left the circle. The Cavaliers led 1-0 at the break.
The Terps came out strong to start the second half and were able to tie the game at 46:25, scoring on a penalty corner as Nicole Muracco notched her first of two goals.
Just four minutes later, Maryland took the lead on another score from Muracco. After a penalty corner, Virginia was unable to clear the ball completely out of bounds and Megan Frazer zipped the ball into the circle where Muracco came charging in to gather it and put it through.
Virginia called timeout and was able to get some offense going but was unable to convert on a handful of penalty corners in the second half.
The Terps once again pressured the ball and were awarded a penalty stroke at 65:06. Emma Thomas put it past UVa's Kim Kastuk to give Maryland a 3-1 advantage.
The Cavaliers registered 12 shots in the game, including eight in the second half, to 23 shots for the Terrapins. Maryland also had a 12-6 advantage on penalty corners.
Kastuk finished with a season-high 10 saves in the cage. Grater had seven stops for the Terps.
Virginia returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 10) with a 1 p.m. game against Cornell at the University Hall Turf Field.
 

No. 5 UNC Needs Overtime Goal To Top No. 12 Virginia
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/02/2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The 12th-ranked Virginia men's soccer team battled No. 5 North Carolina to a scoreless draw for more than 108 minutes, but Tar Heel midfielder Cameron Brown's goal in the 109th minute gave UNC the 1-0 victory Friday night at Fetzer Field.

With the loss, Virginia's record dropped to 6-3, 1-3 in the ACC. Carolina, meanwhile, improved to 7-1-1, 3-1 in the league.

The teams were locked in a defensive battle throughout the first half, as the squads combined for seven shots in the first period. UNC had a slight advantage, 4-3, as well as a corner kick to Virginia's none.

The league's stingiest goalkeepers, Diego Restrepo (0.50 goals-against average - No. 1 in the ACC) for UVa and Brooks Haggerty (0.60 GAA - No. 2 in the ACC) for North Carolina were each working a respective shutout at the end of regulation.

Brown's shot, which was a header off of a throw-in, was his fourth goal of the season and third game-winner for the Tar Heels. Zach Loyd and Jordan Graye were credited with assists.

For the game, Restrepo finished with four saves. Offensively for Virginia, Jonathan Villanueva (Grand Prairie, Texas), Tony Tchani (Norfolk, Va.) and Chris Agorsor (Severn, Md.) all had shots on goal, but Haggerty finished with three saves to earn his fourth shutout of the year.

North Carolina evened the all-time series with Virginia (34-34-7) and snapped a two-game Cavalier win streak against the Tar Heels.

It was Virginia's fifth overtime game of the year and its record went to 3-2 in extra-time games this season.

The Cavaliers are back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 7, when they return to Klöckner Stadium for a 7 p.m. match against Longwood.
 

White: Champion Runner Finds Comfort Zone at UVa
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/01/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- When it came time for Catherine White to pick a college, she didn't consider the distance that separated Fayetteville, Ark., from her hometown of Roanoke -- about 1,000 miles -- to be a negative.
In fact, she says now, the fact that the University of Arkansas was a long, long way from Northside High School appealed to her.
"I kind of wanted to get out and explore a little bit," White recalled the other day at University Hall. "And then, obviously, Arkansas has such a rich track-and-field tradition. You go out there and everything is amazing. It has a top-notch track, and everything is just prestigious looking.
"It just looked exciting, and it was something I'd never put myself in before, and I guess I thought that was cool."
From an athletic perspective, White thrived at Arkansas. As a sophomore in 2008-09, she won Southeastern Conference titles in cross country and in the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meters, after which she was named the SEC women's runner of the year.
"But other aspects of my life I was unhappy with, and so there comes a point when running can only take your life so far," White said.
Once she started looking at her options, it didn't take long for White to settle on Virginia. As a phenom at Northside, where she won 15 Virginia High School League titles, she'd seriously considered UVa before choosing Arkansas. Moreover, her brother, Richard, and a cousin, Helen Vasaly, already were at the University.
"It just seemed like this would be the best fit for me, and the best life situation for me," White said, "and it's proven so, so far."
She got her release from Arkansas in late July. Less than a month later, she was a student in Charlottesville.
"It was definitely a crazy couple of weeks, to say the least," White said, smiling.
Richard White is 13 months older than Catherine, and they were close growing up. They've enjoyed their reunion.
"It's been very good, actually, to have her not so far away," said Richard, a fourth-year who's a resident advisor in Humphreys dorm.
Catherine said: "We hang out all the time now, which is really strange, because we hadn't for three years, I guess. It's been really nice. I get to meet all of his friends. I finally met his girlfriend last week. Little things like that, I was missing out."
White's credentials as a runner notwithstanding, UVa coach Jason Vigilante did not immediately offer her a spot in his cross country and track programs. He knows the importance of team chemistry, and he needed to learn more about White. Vigilante didn't arrive at UVa until 2008, so he hadn't recruited White when she was at Northside.
"I think he was concerned with making sure it was a good fit and that I was the right person for this program and a good person for this school," White said.
Vigilante concluded that White would satisfy all of those criteria. He's even more convinced of that now.
"In every aspect she's been a positive addition," Vigilante said. "She's a great runner, but I truly think it's who she is as a young woman -- how she smiles, how she tries to include everyone in her daily communication -- that means a lot more to me."
White wondered if her new teammates would accept her. She need not have worried.
"The girls here have been awesome," she said. "They've all embraced me. I've been making amazing friends. They've really made the transition a lot easier and very comfortable.
"That was a concern of mine: going into a team that's already well-established and stirring things up, but I think all the girls here are very accepting. They're concerned with running fast and not too much about the drama involved with it."
White's debut as a Wahoo comes Saturday morning, at the George Mason Invitational in Centreville. Her potential impact on UVa's program "from a performance outlook is just incredible," Vigilante said.
To wit:
Had White performed for UVa at the NCAA cross country and outdoor track championships the way she did for Arkansas in 2008-09, the University would have finished seventh, not eighth, in the Directors' Cup race.
Despite what White calls "all the craziness" of her summer, she trained well and is in excellent shape. The ACC cross country championship is probably a realistic goal for her, White admits, but she says feels no pressure.
Credit her new surroundings.
"Here, when I come to practice, I actually look forward to it," White said. "There's such a great environment here. We work so hard here. It's just a good place to be.
"And I'm not saying Arkansas wasn't a good place to be. I liked it for two years. I'm grateful that I went there and I had the opportunities that they gave me and provided for me, but there were definitely times at the end where it was just time for me to be somewhere else.
"I'm really happy. Honestly, I'm very happy I made the choice."