A Grohing Bond
Schaub, UVa coach have formed a strong relationship
By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
November 26, 2003

On Al Groh’s list of things to be thankful for today, Matt Schaub may be near the top, somewhere in between good health and good recruiting classes.

Schaub probably has Groh high on his Thanksgiving appreciation index, too, just behind shoulder pads and sports cliches.

If ever there was a mutual admiration society of player and coach, it’s at Virginia, where Groh and Schaub have developed a relationship that is somewhat rare in college football.

“We trust each other, totally,” Schaub said. “He trusts that I’ll do the right thing on the field. And I trust that he’ll put myself and the team in the best position to succeed.”

Both have earned that trust over time. Initially, when Groh was hired as UVa’s head coach three years ago, Schaub was a redshirt sophomore with little experience. Groh anointed him the starter in the 2001 opener, but Schaub struggled and ended up sharing time with Bryson Spinner the rest of the season.

Since then, however, Schaub has been Groh’s guy. Other than one benching, in the second game of the 2002 season, and two games Schaub missed this season with a separated shoulder, Groh has put his team’s fate in the 6-foot-5, 240-pound quarterback’s hands.

Never in Cavalier football history, it’s safe to say, has a coach asked more of his QB. Throughout Groh’s tenure, UVa’s running game and defense have ranged from mediocre to lousy. Yet Virginia has won the majority of its games thanks largely to the efforts of Schaub, who has set more than 20 school passing records in the process.

“I think he certainly will go high on the list of players during their career at Virginia who have had a profound impact on the success of their team,” Groh said. “There have been some players who have been magnificent players on our team or other teams, but maybe just didn’t have as much individual impact on the results of the games. Obviously a lot of that has to do with the position. …

“His impact has been tremendous from the performance standpoint, from the set-the-standard standpoint, and from a general attitude standpoint.”

Schaub was never petulant or selfish during his competition with Spinner, nor was he cocky or jaded after achieving some success. “He’s been the same guy,” said Groh, and to the coach there is no higher compliment.

Schaub is Groh’s kind of quarterback - a poised leader, a precise passer, a tough dude and a dedicated student of the game. Groh is Schaub’s kind of coach - a detail-oriented tactician, a supportive boss, a wise mentor and, yeah, a tough dude.

“He’s helped develop me with my maturity on the field and my football awareness and IQ,” Schaub said. “He’s really developed my skills and helped me see the big picture in football and life as well, and how to continue on after college.”

Schaub’s mother, Debbie, called Groh during his radio show two weeks ago and choked up while thanking him for his efforts in coaching her son. Groh said Schaub would have been successful without him, but he might not have won as many games without Schaub.

For both men, then - and Schaub, now playing as a 22-year-old graduate student, is no longer a kid - the final home game of Schaub’s career could be a melancholy moment. The Cavaliers (6-5) complete their regular season Saturday at Scott Stadium against No. 21 Virginia Tech (8-3), with Schaub looking to achieve one of the few goals that has eluded him - beating the Hokies.

Schaub has had two chances. In 2001, he came off the bench and passed for 243 yards and a touchdown, but Virginia fell 31-17. Last season, amid swirling, frigid winds in Blacksburg, Schaub threw for a season-low 43 yards in a 21-9 defeat.

Beating Tech, Schaub said, is the “one thing we haven’t been able to do here. … It’s motivated me a lot. The factors that contributed to that game and how we lost that game, we’ve been thinking about that for 365 days now. … I think it’s an important game for us and for our program.”

Win or lose, Schaub’s legacy is secure. He will go down as one of the best quarterbacks in Virginia history, maybe the best. After all, he shattered nearly every single-season passing record in 2002, when he was voted ACC player of the year. Despite his shoulder injury, his numbers are similar this season.

He holds the school career marks for passing yards (6,900), attempts (992), completions (664) and completion percentage (66.9). With 53 touchdown passes, he needs three more to break the record owned by Shawn Moore, who set the standard for UVa quarterbacks from 1987-90.

After Saturday, Schaub and Groh likely will have one more game together - either the Continental Tire or Humanitarian Bowl. After that, Groh may coach many more years at Virginia, but he doesn’t know if he will ever again have a quarterback quite like Schaub.

Schaub, meanwhile, will move on to the NFL, where Groh believes he will succeed because of his accuracy, intelligence, strength and toughness.

“I see a lot of players doing well who didn’t enter [the NFL] with his credentials,” Groh said. “I think he has a whole lot of things going for him.”
 

Coach, fans supporting each other
Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 26, 2003

Scattershooting around the ACC, waiting for some turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie ...
Virginia coach Al Groh has developed a special relationship with the Wahoo fans, particularly the students. Groh tried to leap into the stands after last week’s win over Georgia Tech but needed a little help.
Big Elton Brown was asked if he made an attempt and replied, “Nah, I didn’t make it. I heard Coach Groh didn’t make it either ... he needed a little help.”
But Groh has helped change the mentality of fans who have left the stuffy coats and ties at home and have instead festooned themselves in orange, which really stands out, particularly on TV and on the sidelines when recruits are visiting.
Expect tons of recruits to be at Scott Stadium on Saturday for the regular season finale against rival Virginia Tech.

Looking to be louder
Cavalier players have requested for the fans to turn up the volume to show the television audience that Scott Stadium is truly an intimidating house of football.
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden remarked a year after the Cavaliers upset them at Scott in 1995, that it was the best atmosphere he had ever been involved in. Several Seminoles players agreed. But things have dropped off a bit since that magical moment.
When naming the loudest places to play in the country the other day, Bowden omitted Charlottesville, which should be plenty of incentive for UVa fans to get that turned around.
Bowden, who has coached in many of the top college venues in the country, everywhere from Michigan’s Big House to Notre Dame Stadium, to Florida’s Swamp, to the Death Valleys at both LSU and Clemson, says Florida is not the loudest as Gator fans claim.
“No, but it’s one of them,” Bowden said. “The ones that were the biggest impact on me, personally, first was LSU back in the old days, which they are probably still that way. Auburn. Clemson is as loud as any of them. Notre Dame and Miami have gotten that way. And Florida can just match any of them, but I won’t say they are any louder. To be honest with you, it’s not louder than Clemson.”

Rose goal
When asked for a list of 10 things he would like to do during his lifetime, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden listed playing golf in Scotland and Ireland as No. 1.
Not far behind at No. 6 was coaching in the Rose Bowl, which remains a possibility for the Seminoles this season if they can beat rival Florida.
Miller time
Players didn’t get to vote for
the All-ACC team but if they had, Virginia tight end Heath Miller would have gotten a strong endorsement from Georgia Tech safety James Butler.
“Miller’s a big joker,” said Butler. “He’s got me hurting.”
Miller caught six passes for 110 yards and a touchdown against the Jackets but also was a solid blocker, leaving Butler thoroughly impressed.
“I thought I could hit him high,” Butler said. “I was mistaken. Next time, I hit him lower. He’s one of the more athletic tight ends we played all year. He did a good job getting vertical and he was very strong ... He’s acrobatic for a tight end.”

Under Roof.

Duke’s players have come out strong in support of interim coach Ted Roof to become the permanent leader of the Blue Devils.
Under Roof, Duke won two of its last five games, ending the ACC’s longest losing streak and ending a 13-game streak to rival UNC.
“We’ve done the absolute best we know how,” Roof said of his accomplishment. “Whatever happens I can look myself in the mirror and so can our coaches and so can our players.”

Ring my bell.

For the first time since 1989, Duke players had an opportunity to ring the Victory Bell, presented to the winner of the rivalry with Carolina.
Carolina players were ringing the bell continuously before the game, but as soon as time expired at Kenan Stadium last Saturday, Duke players charged across the field to take the bell away from the Tar Heels. Duke was so confident of victory that the Blue Devils players actually planned a week ago to run across the field and take the prize.
The Duke players sat on a cart beside the bell and posed for photos and everybody took a turn ringing it.

Bunting safe.

UNC athletic director Dick Baddour said that Tar Heels head coach John Bunting’s job is absolutely safe after three seasons in Chapel Hill.
While Baddour said he would not pressure Bunting into dumping any assistant coaches, defensive backs coach Jim Fleming is already gone. Fans also put the heat on defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable and conditioning coach Jeff Connors.
Carolina’s defense was the worst statistically in school history, giving up a record 6,063 yards, an average of 505 yards per game and a record 459 points. The Heels also surrendered 3,339 passing yards, also a school record.

Short yardage.

Virginia’s Alvin Pearman is second in the nation in receptions by a running back with 53. ...In fact, Pearman’s total with one game to go is the fifth-highest, single-season number of receptions by a back in ACC history. ...Cavaliers linebacker Ahmad Brooks ranks fourth in the country in tackles by a freshman with an average of 8.5 per game. ...Florida State is 90-6 against the ACC since joining the league in 1992. ...Seven of the ACC’s nine starting quarterbacks have thrown for 300 yards or more on 23 occasions this season (last year, there were only 10 of the 300-yard passing games). ...UVa’s Connor Hughes has missed only two field goal attempts in 27 tries since he took over the job late last season.
...Clemson linebackers coach David Blackwell wouldn’t allow Tigers’ linebacker John Leake come to the school’s news conference last week, several days prior to the annual showdown with rival South Carolina. Why? Leake showed up with five rubber chickens stapled to his shirt and was quickly sent away by Blackwell before the press saw what was going on. ...In their last four meetings, Maryland has outscored N.C. State 46-10 in the fourth period. ...In its 43 trips to the “red zone” this season, Virginia’s offense has scored either a touchdown (28) or a field goal (12) on 93 percent of its visits.

The picks. Last week: 2-2. To date: 47-21. This week: Georgia 42, Georgia Tech 17; Florida 27, FSU 24; Maryland 33, Wake Forest 24; Virginia Tech 30, Virginia 27.
 

Kennedy assassination weighs on Groh's mind
By Doug Doughty

Attention recently paid to the assassination of President John Kennedy has given Al Groh a little-needed reminder of his whereabouts on Thanksgiving Day in 1963.

Groh was in his first season as a varsity football player at Virginia, a 21-6 loser at Maryland that day.

The game had been scheduled for the preceding Saturday, the day after Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas.

The team had boarded a bus for Maryland on Friday and "as we got into the government area of Washington, all of the flags were at half-mast," Groh said.

"We had an offensive lineman from Pennsylvania, Pat McFalls, [who] was kind of up on that kind of stuff, and I remember distinctly somebody asking, 'Hey, McFalls, why are all the flags at half-mast?' Nobody knew."

The players didn't learn the answer till they were greeted in College Park, Md., by assistant coaches who had gone recruiting in the area and had learned of the assassination.

"There was still uncertainty over what the schedule would be," Groh said. "I don't know when the game was [postponed]. We spent Friday night up there, came back [to Charlottesville] the next morning, then went back up there Wednesday and played Thursday morning.

"I think I remember this correctly: It's a good thing it was Boy Scout Day. Otherwise, it might have seemed like a Thursday morning practice. There weren't too many fans there that day. One, it hadn't been planned for that day. And, two, I don't think the country had recovered yet."

According to the official statistical book, attendance was 15,000.

Roof in running

Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Hue Jackson interviewed Tuesday for the head-coaching position at Duke, one-time coaching home of his Redskins boss, Steve Spurrier. Interim coach Ted Roof, who led the Blue Devils to a 30-22 victory at North Carolina, met with Duke officials on Monday.

BC delay

ACC assistant commissioner Mike Finn said Wednesday that it is "looking less likely each day" that Boston College will join the ACC in time to compete for the 2004 conference football championship.

Finn said the issue is not so much the five-year, $27-million exit fee proposed by the Big East as the ease with which the Big East will be able to add Conference USA football members Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida. If the Big East knew it would have those schools for 2004, Finn said, it might be willing to "facilitate" Boston College's move.

The moves

Finn said that Virginia fans who would prefer Charlotte, N.C., over Boise, Idaho, as a postseason destination should root for Miami to beat Pittsburgh. That would give the Hurricanes a BCS berth and likely send Pittsburgh to Charlotte for the Continental Tire Bowl.

A Pittsburgh victory would send the Panthers to a BCS bowl, leaving Miami for the Insight.com Bowl in Phoenix, Ariz., and Virginia Tech for the Continental Tire Bowl, but Finn thinks the Insight.com Bowl might prefer Tech to Miami - whether the Hokies win or lose Saturday at Virginia - because of their drawing power.

The Insight.com Bowl has the third choice of Big East teams after the BCS and Gator Bowl but almost certainly would not want Pittsburgh for the second time in three years.

 

PLAYING FOR SENIORITY Many U.Va. standouts winless vs. Tech
By Norm Wood
Daily Press
Published November 27, 2003

BLACKSBURG -- Kase Luzar did a lot of watching, a lot of listening and a lot of cringing the week of the Virginia Tech game when he was on Virginia's scout team in 1999.

Luzar would cringe when seniors Shannon Taylor, Mo Anderson and Dwayne Stukes hit him a little harder during practice. He would watch when they showed him a few more things in the film room. And he would listen when they talked a little louder in the locker room about what it takes to beat Virginia Tech.

Luzar, now a senior, is doing the same this week, but he doesn't have much experience to draw from. Taylor, Anderson and Stukes were on teams that beat the Hokies. The Cavaliers haven't won the Commonwealth Cup, given to the winner of the game, since 1998. This is Virginia's seniors' last chance.

"I just remember the seniors and older guys talking about the importance of beating them," Luzar said. "We use those scout guys to have a good week in practice and get us ready. It's always meant a lot to everybody."

While Luzar has been hitting people this week, he's hasn't been talking much. That's where seniors like Almondo Curry come into play. Curry, a cornerback, may be the most animated player on either team. He has been using this week to work on new material to use against Hokie receivers Ernest Wilford and Richard Johnson.

"That's a part of my game," Curry said. "There's a lot of players out here that use that as part of their game. That's just something that has always been with me ever since I've been playing football. That part of me is never going to go anywhere."

Vegas Robinson is Curry's counterpart at Tech. Robinson learned from the best. When he was redshirting in '99, Robinson and other underclassmen would listen to defensive ends John Engelberger and Corey Moore tell stories about the Virginia game.

Robinson is the storyteller now, and he would love to finish his chapter in the rivalry with another happy ending.

"I like the thought of it, but we've got to get it done this week," Robinson said. "Every year, this is the game we emphasize. We must win this game."

Wilford doesn't talk smack. Four consecutive wins have given him material, but maturity and experience have made him trust his own brand of preparation.

He is spending more time in the film room this week, watching Curry's footwork and trying to pick up adjustments and tendencies.

"Every advantage helps," Wilford said. "I want the freshmen to see that."

There's one more ingredient to this week's preparation: fear. Virginia's seniors don't want to leave Charlottesville without beating Tech. The same is true across the Commonwealth.

Tech senior Jake Grove remembers watching Virginia beat the Hokies 36-32 in 1998 when he was a senior at Jefferson Forest High. He remembers wondering what Tech's seniors were feeling, knowing they'd never get another shot at their rival.

"That really opened my eyes to the fact this wasn't about records or numbers," Grove said. "It was about who wanted it more. They wanted it more that year.

"This is my last shot at it. If we win the first three [he played in] and lose the last one, it really doesn't mean as much."
 

ACC set for influx of talent
By CAULTON TUDOR, Staff Writer

Virginia football player Heath Miller has reason to be thankful.

So do Georgia Tech's P.J. Daniels, Duke's Chris Douglas and several other members of the All-ACC team that was announced earlier this week.

They can be thankful that Miami and Virginia Tech won't be ACC members until next season. Otherwise, they wouldn't be first-team all-stars.

Miller, the Cavaliers' exceptional sophomore tight end, probably would have lost his position to Miami junior Kellen Winslow. Either Daniels or Douglas would have been replaced by Virginia Tech's Kevin Jones.

Three of the four first-team defensive backs -- James Butler of Georgia Tech, Stanford Samuels of Florida State, Eric King of Wake Forest and Andre Maddox of N.C. State -- would have been booted off by Virginia Tech's DeAngelo Hall and Miami's Sean Taylor and Antrel Rolle.

Such is the changing landscape of ACC football. Many of this year's standouts will be next season's also-rans.

The classic example is Daniels, a durable sophomore who rushed for 1,110 yards through the Yellow Jackets' first 11 games.

When the 2004 preseason all-conference team is selected, Daniels easily could be replaced by Jones, the leader of the nation's No. 12-ranked rushing offense, and Miami's Frank Gore, who was averaging almost 6 yards per carry when he suffered a knee injury in the season's fifth game.

But how much high-profile talent will actually arrive with the Hurricanes and Hokies?

Winslow could be in an NFL uniform by the time the Canes play their first ACC game. The same may go for juniors Rolle, Taylor and Vince Wilfork, a defensive tackle who has to be double-teamed on any passing play.

Rolle is perhaps the nation's best one-on-one cornerback, and many scouts project Taylor, a safety, as a top-five draft pick.

Three Virginia Tech juniors -- Jones, Hall and mammoth offensive tackle Jon Dunn -- are also prime NFL prospects.

But just for the heck of it, let's pretend that the new ACC will not lose a single underclassman to the NFL. Here's what the preseason all-conference team would look like:

Offense

QB: Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson

RB: Kevin Jones, Virginia Tech and Frank Gore, Miami, or P.J. Daniels, Georgia Tech

WR: Craphonso Thorpe, Florida State, and Derrick Hamilton, Clemson

TE: Kellen Winslow, Miami

OL: Jon Dunn, Virginia Tech; Alex Barron, FSU; C.J. Brooks, Maryland, and Elton Brown, Virginia

C: David Castillo, FSU

Defense

DL: Vince Wilfork, Miami; Randy Starks, Maryland; Eric Henderson, Georgia Tech; and Eric Moore, FSU

LB: Mikal Baaqee, Virginia Tech; Leroy Hill, Clemson; and D'Qwell Jackson, Maryland

DB: Antrel Rolle, Miami; Sean Taylor, Miami; DeAngelo Hall, Virginia Tech; and James Butler, Georgia Tech

Notice anything interesting, such as not a single player from the four North Carolina schools?

All four have legitimate candidates. N.C. State will have linebacker Pat Thomas, Maddox, wide receiver Tramain Hall, running back T.A. McLendon and possibly offensive lineman Chris Colmer.

Wake Forest has runner Chris Barclay and defensive back Eric King. Duke has linebacker Brendan Dewan, and North Carolina has quarterback Darian Durant.

When the pro defections shake down, some of the North Carolina-based players probably will move up and land preseason all-star spots. But the competition for individual honors, like the ACC team race itself, is about to get a lot more difficult.


 

Mines gets first shot at Tech
But something's missing from rivalry: ex-Hermitage teammate
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 27, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE This time last year, Fontel Mines and Duane Brown were Hermitage High classmates, close friends who shared a passion for football and basketball.

They're still tight, but their allegiances have shifted. Mines is on football scholarship at the University of Virginia; Brown, at Virginia Tech.

Their teams clash Saturday, but only Mines will play in the 1 p.m. game at Scott Stadium.

Brown, a promising tight end, is redshirting. Mines, a 6-5, 215-pound wideout, has played in nine games for Virginia (6-5). He's caught five passes for 55 yards and one touchdown.

Another Mines highlight includes a block that gave U.Va. tailback Wali Lundy a clear path to the end zone on a screen pass against Clemson.

"He's really a willing student," Virginia coach Al Groh said of Mines. "He's very responsive to everything, and he really tries to put in into play."

Mines made his college debut Sept. 13 at Western Michigan. He's struggled at times to handle the myriad responsibilities of a Division I-A receiver, but Mines is progressing well and figures to contend for a starting job in spring practice.

"I'd say here in the last three or four weeks, watching him practice," Groh said, "it's become apparent that things are becoming a lot clearer for him: not just the what, but the why."

Mines came into the season expecting to redshirt, but he says he's glad his coaches decided to use him.

"It's just about the experience," Mines said. "I know I'm not getting 60 catches like [Pittsburgh star Larry] Fitzgerald, but our offense is so wide open and so spread, we have so many weapons, it's hard to get one person catches. I have a way better understanding of the speed of the game, things I need to do, practice tempo, things like that."

Virginia beat Georgia Tech last weekend. As soon as that game ended, Mines said, he noticed a change in his teammates. Their attention turned immediately to the next opponent.

"It hasn't happened that like that in previous weeks," Mines said. "It was like, 'OK, we're playing Tech. We've got to step up our game.' We know what this means. It's bragging rights.'"
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Nov 27, 2003

BIG E: Football coach Al Groh said he hadn't given much thought to the Jacobs Blocking Trophy before learning this week that Elton Brown was this year's recipient.

"But I'm very pleased for him," Groh said yesterday. "As soon as I found out about the award, I kind of pictured in my mind many of those plays" for which Brown has become known.

A 6-6, 330-pound junior from Hampton, Brown plays right offensive guard. He runs exceptionally well for a man his size, as was duly noted by the ACC's defensive coordinators who vote on the Jacobs, presented annually to the conference's outstanding blocker.

"He gets to pull a lot, and that's different than in-line blocking," Groh said, "and when he does something out on the edge, lots of people get to see it. I'm certain that that had something to do with it."

ACC defensive coordinators rated Brown more highly than did the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association members who voted on the all-conference teams. Brown was a second-team selection.

"I think he's had a good year," Groh said. "I think it's been a progressive year for him. I think he's really just beginning to show what he can become."

Other recipients of the Jacobs from U.Va.: tackle Greg Shelly in 1968, center Dan Ryczek in'70, tackle Jim Dombrowski in'84 and'85; tackle Ray Roberts in'90 and'91, guard Mark Dixon in'93, and center John St. Clair in'99.

HONORED: U.Va. recruit Chris Long, a senior at St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville, has been named the state's Gatorade player of the year.

Past winners include Kai Parham, who starts at inside linebacker for U.Va., and quarterback Bryan Randall and linebacker Vince Hall, who play for Virginia Tech.

A 6-4, 265-pound lineman whose father is Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long, the younger Long helped STAB win the Virginia Independent Schools, Division II state title this fall.

Long has been selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 3 in San Antonio. He played the second half of this season with a separated right shoulder, however, and he might not be able to participate.

WORTHY CAUSE: The big sporting event in Charlottesville this weekend is the U.Va.-Virginia Tech football game at Scott Stadium, but there's a basketball game of note on the schedule, too. Virginia plays host to Tech at University Hall tomorrow night.

Coaches Pete Gillen and Seth Greenberg are donating $500 apiece to the V Foundation for cancer research.

"Some things are bigger than basketball," Greenberg, a former U.Va. assistant, said in a statement. "Cancer is very personal to me, as my father, Ralph, died from the disease."

TURNING POINT: At Lane Stadium last season, Virginia Tech trailed 3-0 when U.Va.'s Tom Hagan lined up to punt early in the second quarter. Tech's Justin Hamilton broke through the line and blocked Hagan's punt. Darryl Tapp recovered the ball and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown, and the Hokies were ahead to stay.

Limiting Tech's big plays will be one of U.Va.'s goals Saturday.

"Very much so," Groh said, "whether it's an interception return or a blocked punt, kickoff return, or what happened against us at N.C. State: a fumbled snap in the end zone."

Those are the plays, Groh added, that "so often impact games. If you read the newspaper, you look in the history books a few years later, you just see the score there, but so often it's those issues that really determine who wins the game."

KIDDIE CAVS: Of the 22 players on Virginia's defensive depth chart, only three are seniors: linebacker Raymond Mann, cornerback Almondo Curry and safety Jamaine Winborne.

Rounding out the two-deep are true freshmen Ahmad Brooks and Robbie Catterton; redshirt freshmen Parham, Tony Franklin, Marcus Hamilton and Lance Evans; sophomores Brennan Schmidt, Kwakou Robinson, Melvin Massey, Braden Campbell and Darryl Blackstock; and juniors Andrew Hoffman, Chris Canty, Dennis Haley, Rich Bedesem, Bryan White, Jon Thompson, Jermaine Hardy and Jay Dorsey.

SMOOTH TRANSITION: Winborne, who began the season at safety, has played remarkably well at his new position.

"We could only have thought of doing something like that with Jamaine," Groh said. "One, he's got the right attitude for it. He went back there without any personal hesitation: 'Oh, gee, I'm giving up corner,' 'I really like playing corner,' or 'I'm scared about going back there.'

"He just said, 'That's what you need me to do, that's what I'm going to do.' He went back there with a very positive response to it, a lot of confidence that he'd be on top of things, and it has helped that situation. But he was probably our best overall corner, and now he's back playing safety, and he's doing a good job for us. I wish I had two of him or another circumstance." - Jeff White