Making a 'Special' Impact
Cavs, Terrapins possess game-changing players on special teams
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 4, 2004

They call it special teams for a reason.

Week in and week out, college football games are won and lost because of the play of players who excel in those special situations.

From punts to kickoffs to placement kicks, small plays become enormous in the grand scheme of a game when they are performed with or without accuracy.

Expect that trend to continue on Saturday as Virginia (6-1, 3-1) welcomes Maryland (4-4, 2-3) to Scott Stadium.

While Maryland has struggled this season in so many ways at so many times, its special teams units have tried to pick up the slack.

They don’t have a deadly return man as good as Devin Hester of Miami, but senior Steve Suter, who has yet to call a fair catch in his career, made himself a household name in Terrapin circles by scoring six special team’s touchdowns. Suter holds the ACC’s career punt return yardage record.

Nick Novak, a local product and graduate of Albemarle High, has missed five of his 17 field goals this season, but connected on both attempts in a 20-17 win over Florida State.

The biggest weapon on special teams for Maryland - punter Adam Podlesh - is a flat-out game-changer. With a 44.73 yards-per-punt average, which ranks ninth in the country, Podlesh has put many of Maryland’s opponents in a bad situation.

And lately he has been busy. For the season, Podlesh has

44 punts and 35 of those punts have come in the last four games.

“[Maryland’s] punter is terrific,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “He does it all the right way. He’s got distance. He’s got height and he’s got location. He’s really a big factor for their team.”

Virginia’s chief punt returner, Alvin Pearman, knows that he can expect long, booming kicks from Podlesh.

“They have a very good punt game,” Pearman said. “That’s something we really have to focus on because we’re not doing too well in overall punt yards. That difference can really pan out in the course of a game.”

The numbers support Pearman’s thought.

Virginia punter Sean Johnson is averaging just

34.5 yards per punt. The Cavs rank last in the ACC in punting.

To Johnson’s credit, Virginia’s offense has not helped him much. Most of Johnson’s kicks have come when he had a short field to work with.

Much like Novak, Virginia placekicker Connor Hughes has been off his game this season.

After making 23 of 25 last year, which ranked him second in the country, Hughes has missed four of his 14 field goal attempts. Hughes has also missed two of his 32 extra point attempts.

On the flip side, Virginia has performed above early-season expectation levels on returns.

Pearman is averaging close to 13 yards per return and the team as a unit averages 27.8 yards on kickoff returns, which ranks second in the ACC.

'The Fridge' plentiful with focus, faith
Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 4, 2004

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering how football coaches block out the rest of the world ...
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen admitted that after living in the state for the last three years that he doesn’t know his own zip code, can’t tell you the name of the street he lives on and didn’t know that last Sunday was Halloween.
Friedgen voted in the presidential election for the first time in his life on Tuesday and even though he wouldn’t reveal his choice, there is a photograph in his kitchen of him, his wife and President Bush at a White House dinner.
But the big guy is a man of faith. Just like his dad, a legendary New York high school coach, Friedgen carries a rosary in his pocket during games and crosses himself for a couple of hours throughout game days.
Virginia fans should hope that Saturday’s game doesn’t come down to a Hail Mary.
Hoos No. 1? Rivals has come out with its early national football recruiting rankings and the Cavaliers are ranked No. 1 in the country in quality.
UVa has 24 commitments at this point, including one five-star prospect, three four-stars, and 14 three-stars, according to the Rival ratings. Big lineman Eugene Monroe, considered one of the top three prospects in the nation (at any position), is the five-star. Maryland (No. 6), Virginia Tech (No. 16) and Clemson
(No. 20), are the only other ACC schools currently ranked in the Rivals’ top 25 rankings in terms of recruiting classes.
How does Groh feel about the job his staff has done thus far and about the rankings in general?
“It makes us feel a little more confident about the future,” Groh said. “Your present is usually a result of occurrences in the past. That’s why each class is so important. You can almost predict how you’re going to be in the future by what you’ve got coming in.”

Changes at FSU. Following the upset loss at Maryland, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden and staff made some major changes for this weekend’s game against Duke.
Chris Rix is back in the good graces and will start Saturday over Wyatt Sexton. The Seminoles’ offense has struggled on the road under Sexton’s direction as it has managed to score 40 total points in three games: at Syracuse, Wake Forest and Maryland.
Rix needs only 11 yards to become only the 10th player in ACC history and only the second at FSU (Chris Weinke was the other) to pass for 8,000 career yards.
Bowden said that Rix has beaten N.C. State and Florida, two teams remaining on the Seminoles’ schedule, and that the offense has missed Rix’s mobility.
But that’s not the only big change on FSU’s roster. Bowden has demoted place-kicker Xavier Beitia and named freshman Gary Cismesia as his starting kicker. Beitia has missed seven of his last 13 field goal attempts over the last four games, including three misses at Maryland last weekend.
“How will he do?” Bowden said of the freshman he had
hoped to redshirt. “I don’t know because he hasn’t been under fire, but we have no choice.”

Off the block. Did UNC’s stunning win over Miami save coach John Bunting’s job? It would seem so, but Bunting won’t acknowledge any change of feelings from Tar Heel faithful.
“I only think about the next opponent,” Bunting said this week. “I’ve only been thinking about making the football team better. I have to shut out any type of evaluation by the
so-called critics.”
To some observer’s surprise, UNC stands
4-4 overall and needs to win two of its last three games to become bowl eligible. The Heels host Virginia Tech this weekend, then travel to Wake and Duke to close the regular season.
But Bunting isn’t putting the cart before the horse.
“I will not talk to the team at all about eligibility,” the coach said. “I haven’t talked about that with them and I won’t talk to them about that. It’s not important to me. We want them to focus on Virginia Tech, not on any bowl game.”

Cardiac Tigers. Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said he can’t figure out why his team waits to turn it on at the end of the season, just as they did last year when the Tigers stunned FSU, hammered rival South Carolina and cruised to a big win in their bowl game.
“I think we like suspense,” said big defensive tackle Eric Coleman, who hails from Charlottesville.
Clemson started the season 1-4 and now stands 4-4 with Miami, Duke and South Carolina remaining. No team in ACC history has ever started 1-4 and made a bowl in 63 such occurrences.
“I’d eventually like to get to the stage where you got to defend the mountain instead of climb up it,” Bowden said. “It’s probably harder to do, to defend it. I think it’s easier to be the underdog.”
Meanwhile, Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips confirmed that the Tigers will probably not play Virginia, Virginia Tech or North Carolina next season due to Boston College’s entry into the ACC. League officials informed Clemson last week that Miami and FSU will likely play at Clemson along with Duke and BC, while the Tigers will travel to Wake, Maryland, Georgia Tech and N.C. State.
Virginia apparently will play at Boston College next season rather than return this season’s game to Clemson.

Banged up Wolfies. N.C. State will limp into its home game against Georgia Tech, needing to win two of the last three games to become bowl eligible. The Wolfpack close the season facing the Yellow Jackets, Florida State and ECU.
Starting tailback T.A. McLendon hurt his shoulder in the loss to Clemson, while wide receiver Richard Washington will require an MRI to determine how serious his injury may be.
If that isn’t enough, State’s cornerbacks were so banged up against Clemson that players had to be shuffled in the defensive backfield. State’s offensive line was beaten up prior to the loss to the Tigers.

Muted. Are you as tired of the Under Armor commercial as everyone else? You know, the one that has Friedgen inspiring a fictitious football team.
UVa’s Alvin Pearman has only one reason to watch it: two former Wahoo teammates appear in the commercial.
“Honestly, the only reason I watch it is that Ryan Sawyer and Muffin [Curry] are in there,” Pearman said. “You see Sawyer when he’s running out of the tunnel for literally half a second. I don’t think you can see Muffin in there.”

Short yardage ... ACC officials informed Maryland’s Friedgen that the pass interference call that led to Clemson’s winning TD in their recent game was incorrect. ... A half dozen ACC teams are ranked among the nation’s top 25 in total defense: N.C. State, Virginia Tech, FSU, UVa, Maryland and Georgia Tech. ...
Groh said he and his staff hears from or stays in touch with a number of former UVa players, including Falcons’ backup QB Matt Schaub, whom Groh spoke with last week, along with Chris Slade, Merrill Robertson, Lube Stamenich and many more. “We tell them that they’re always part of the family, they’re just not on the team anymore.” ...
Want evidence to back up what ACC coaches are saying about the league being tough to win in? How about the fact that 13 of the 28 ACC games played so far have been decided by seven points or less, including three OT games. ... Carolina is second in the ACC in total offense and dead last in total defense. Go figure. ...
UVa senior Marquis Weeks is No. 7 in the nation in kickoff returns with a
30-yard average. ... The Wahoos’ total offense average of 465.4 yards per game, not only leads the ACC, but is the school’s best per game average since the great 1990 offense that averaged 501.5 per game behind Shawn Moore, Herman Moore and Terry Kirby. ...
Virginia’s Ahmad Brooks is ninth in the league in tackles per game with a
5.5 average. Brooks also is fifth in the league in sacks, while linebacker teammate Darryl Blackstock is ninth. ... Weeks, who moved over from tailback to safety, has done a pretty good job of it and ranks No. 24 in the ACC in tackles, the second-highest Cavalier in those rankings. ... However, none of the Cavs rank in the ACC’s top 10 in tackles for loss, fumbles forced, fumbles recovered or passes broken up ... and that, my friend, needs to change if the Wahoos are to win the ACC title. …
Beamer Ball is alive and well after the Hokies beat Georgia Tech with a 25-point fourth quarter and made them 49-8 in games when they score at least one time on defense or special teams. … There has been much debate about whether Beamer did or did not accept the UNC job offer a few years back and then changed his mind when Tech sweetened the pot. Asked about it this week, Beamer replied, “I don’t think we need to get into that.” ... Beamer had a surprise visitor prior to the Georgia Tech game in Atlanta last Thursday, when NASCAR driver Sterling Marlin asked Beamer to pose with him for a photo and the Hokies’ coach agreed. Beamer is a huge NASCAR fan. ...
Running back P.J. Daniels is doubtful for the N.C. State game and Georgia Tech is 0-3 in games Daniels doesn’t play or doesn’t finish and 4-0 in games he finishes. ... Call it the “Curse of the Gipper,” but in Boston College’s last four wins over Notre Dame, the Eagles have failed to win the following week.

The picks. Last week: 2-3. To date: 41-15. This week: Florida State 44, Duke 10; Miami 33, Clemson 23; N.C. State 24, Georgia Tech 17; Virginia Tech 35, UNC 28; Virginia 31, Maryland 14.

Creatine not welcomed in ACC
Former basketball player Terry Taylor says Tech provided him with discounted creatine.
By Mark Berman
981-3125
The Roanoke Times

Football coaches at many of Virginia Tech's fellow ACC schools said Wednesday they don't allow their players to take creatine, citing NCAA rules and concerns over health risks.

The NCAA has banned schools from providing creatine - a supplement widely used by athletes looking to add muscle quickly - to athletes since August 2000. Tech officials, however, launched an investigation this week over allegations that a strength coach helped players buy creatine at discounted prices.

ACC coaches were asked about their policies on creatine on the league's weekly conference call.

"Our kids don't mess with it to my knowledge," North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato said. "We don't allow it. ... I don't think it would be good for you. ... Somewhere down the road it may be a detriment to you."

"The last three or four years, we will not allow our kids to do it," Florida State's Bobby Bowden said. "They might go out and get it over the counter somewhere, I don't know, but ... we don't let it happen if we can stay aware of it."

Tech offensive lineman Nick Marshman and ex-Tech linebacker Mike Brown told the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record that Mike Gentry, the school's assistant athletic director for strength and conditioning, helped them buy creatine at discounted prices in the 2003-04 school year. They told the paper that Tech distributed the creatine by leaving it in slots marked by each player's jersey number.

If a school does that "it's certainly an unfair advantage, but more than that I think it's potentially doing harm," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "We're in college football, and you don't want to see that."

Terry Taylor, who played for the Tech men's basketball team from 2001-03, said Wednesday that Tech provided him with discounted creatine. Not only are schools forbidden to provide creatine to athletes, but it is also an NCAA violation to give athletes special benefits such as discounted items.

Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said the school "missed an interpretation of the new legislation."

"No one here has intentionally done anything wrong," Tech football coach Frank Beamer said.

Athletes are allowed to use creatine, which is legal, as long as they don't get it from their school.

"It's illegal for us to give it to our players," North Carolina coach John Bunting said. "If they choose to purchase it, they have the means to do that."

Coker, Bobby Bowden and Clemson's Terry Bowden were under the incorrect assumption that the NCAA had banned creatine altogether. Beamer pointed out Wednesday that the NCAA had not banned it.

"It's a voluntary thing here whether you'd use it or not," Beamer said.

UVa coach Al Groh said he had no idea if his players used creatine and refused to discuss his or the school's position on it.

UVa head strength coach Evan Marcus said later Wednesday that UVa doesn't give players creatine "because no school's allowed to give it to them anymore." He said players are "free to buy it on their own," but they must bring the creatine in so it can be screened by the UVa training staff for any banned substances.

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said creatine is not used at his school. Wake Forest's Jim Grobe said Wake has "gotten completely away from creatine."

"We used to use creatine, like most people did. At one time, nobody realized there was any problem with it," Grobe said. "The NCAA came out against creatine, and since that's happened, we're just not involved with it anymore."

"We don't believe in it," Coker said. "We really feel strongly that you can get your strength .. by legitimate methods, in other words, by just hard work and good technique and good training."

The NCAA rule states a school can provide athletes only "nonmuscle-building nutritional supplements." It specifies what those approved supplements are, such as electrolyte drinks, vitamins and energy bars.

"We've got very simple rules here that if we don't give it to you, don't put it in your body," Duke's Ted Roof said. "We don't dish out creatine here."

Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said he doesn't tell his players whether or not to take creatine.

"We let them use their judgment," Gailey said. "We do a good job of explaining to our staff what we can and can't do."

Terry Bowden said he doesn't believe his players spend their money on creatine.

"They're going to go with teeth, gold or silver, with initials or a girlfriend's name, and various bling-bling and shoes and clothing over creatine," Terry Bowden said.

Taylor said "everybody just about" on the men's basketball team used creatine when he was at Tech. He said he ordered creatine through the Tech strength department.

"You could go to the GNC store, but it would be more expensive," he said. "You've got to ask for it [at Tech]. ... You've got to give them one of your personal checks. ... You paid for it and when it came in they'd give it to you."

Taylor said creatine helped him bulk up to 315 pounds.

"You'll get strong as hell" from creatine, he said. "That's the reason I broke the basketball squat record. ... When I got there, I couldn't squat 290 and when I left I maxed out at 530. And I was only there two years."Jim Grobe

Wake Forest"We've gotten completely away from creatine ... The NCAA came out against creatine, and since that's happened we're just not involved with it anymore.""We've gotten completely away from creatine ... we're just not involved with it anymore."Chuck Amato

N.C. State"We don't allow it ... Somewhere down the road it may be a detriment to you."John Bunting

UNC"It's illegal for us to give it to our players. If they choose to purchase it, they have the means to do that."

Larry Coker

Miami"We don't believe in it. We really feel strongly that you can get your strength ... by legitimate methods."

Bobby Bowden

Florida State"The last three or four years, we will not allow our kids to do it. ... We don't let it happen if we can stay aware of it."Ted Roof

Duke "We've got very simple rules here that if we don't give it to you, don't put it in your body."Duke's Ted Roof said. "We don't dish out creatine here.

Phillips climbing hills large, small
John Phillips has overcome a torn ACL to again star at Bath County.
By Aaron McFarling
981-3124
The Roanoke Times

WARM SPRINGS - John Phillips was chatting with a reporter as he walked off the Bath County football field Tuesday when he suddenly stopped at the foot of a steep, grassy incline that leads to the locker room.

"You gonna walk up that hill?" the 6-foot-6, 235-pound senior asked. "Yeah," the reporter said, a bit perplexed.

"Mind if I run it?" Phillips said. "I haven't walked up it in three years."

"By all means."

"Thanks."

And off he went, darting up and out of sight.

This wasn't for show. John Phillips does nothing for show. The day he made one of the biggest decisions of his life, when he shook the hand of Virginia coach Al Groh and committed to the Cavaliers, Phillips was wearing bloody hunting boots and a cut-off flannel shirt.

No pretense here. This hill thing is a deeply held tradition.

"God put that hill there," Phillips explained later. "I might as well run up it after practice. I've already got to get up it somehow. It's going to be quicker, and it's going to help me get in shape.

"See, other teams, they just walk off the field to the locker room. This is kind of an advantage for me. It's something I take pride in."

When you play at a small school, where the weight lifting program is rudimentary and you're expected to play several sports just to keep the rosters filled, it can be hard for colleges to notice you. Bath County has produced a few Division I-AA football players - the most recent one being Phillips' older brother Jacob, who is now a freshman at William and Mary - but nobody around here can recall any Division I-A players before John Phillips.

Reaching that level takes something extra. Like running up big hills when you don't have to.

Or scaling giant ones when you must.

Phillips' mental mountain appeared last fall, out of nowhere. Things were going well for him. He was piling up yardage at tight end and disrupting opponents at defensive end for the undefeated Chargers. He was excelling in the classroom. He was getting recruiting letters from UVa, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State.

But in the regular-season finale against James River, a 10-yard out pattern turned into disaster. As he caught the pass and approached a defensive back, he decided to try to run over him. Phillips stayed high while the defender went low.

Contact. Rip. Pain.

Everyone knew right away it was serious.

"When he got up and was limping, you knew something was wrong," teammate Nathan Anderson said. "He's never acted like that before."

The torn ACL would keep Phillips out of the playoffs and prevent him from playing basketball. Phillips also feared he might have blown his chance at a scholarship.

"That definitely crossed my mind," he said. "I got real nervous. I kind of mellowed out real bad."

Mellowed out? More like fell into depression. Phillips calls the weeks that followed the worst time of his life, when a fun-loving, socially active jock suddenly lost a big part of his identity.

"Sports was always the way for me to deal with any problems that I had," Phillips said. "If something goes wrong, I can always just run harder or hit somebody or get an extra inch on the dunk.

"But not having sports, not being able to run or anything like that, I got frustrated. I punched a punching bag about every day."

When he'd attend practice and home playoff games, he'd look at the hill. He was healthy enough to walk up it, but he refused.

"I told everybody that if I was going up that hill, I was going to go full speed," he said. "They either had to let me run up the hill or get a vehicle. They ended up getting a vehicle."

Focused? You bet. As football season ended and basketball began without him, Phillips started attending two-hour physical therapy sessions at the local hospital. They continued for eight months.

He had surgery to repair the knee in March. A month later, Groh blew Phillips away by offering him a scholarship - even though Phillips still couldn't run. He committed right away.

Summer passed. With hard work, Phillips got to 70 percent healthy. Then 80 percent. Then 90.

When he arrived at preseason practice, he felt good. But he was still a little nervous about how the knee would respond.

"When it came down to the first hitting drill we had," he said, "I just tried to lower the shoulder and run over as many people as possible. I wanted to prove to Coach and everybody that it was gone, that it was in the past."

By the end of that practice, he'd made a believer of everybody.

One giant mountain vanquished. One big hill to rediscover.

Blackstock doesn't enjoy being Mr. Clean
Statistically speaking, the U.Va. linebacker isn't as effective as he used to be. Is it him, or is it the opponents' schemes?
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published November 4, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Darryl Blackstock doesn't like the numbers.

"What have I got, like, 20 tackles or something?" he asks.

Twenty-four, actually.

"Wow," he answers with disgust. "That's unbelievable. How many sacks do I have? Three? That's crazy, man. That's so crazy. I mean, it's not hard to accept, but it would be hard to get used to."

Blackstock, Virginia's high-energy outside linebacker, is used to making plays. But after a 10-sack, 107-tackle Freshman All-American season two years ago, Blackstock's production has steadily decreased. He had 85 tackles in one fewer game in 2003. And this season, his 24 tackles place him 10th among the Cavaliers' 11 defensive starters.

Blackstock, a graduate of Heritage High in Newport News, is all about the team, and Virginia is 6-1 and ranked 12th nationally entering Saturday's game against Maryland. But individually, it's been a frustrating two months.

"It's still fun," he said. "It's one of those things where you don't care who gets the credit, but your jersey is still clean."

So why is Blackstock's jersey so clean? Why does Dennis Haley, the starter on the other side who is not nearly as skilled, have 15 more tackles? Virginia coach Al Groh says the answer is obvious. And he remembers a similar situation when he was a New York Giants assistant coach under Bill Parcells.

"There was a period there in the 1989 season when the writers at his press conference asked him, 'What's wrong with LT?' " said Groh, referring to Lawrence Taylor. "Well, 'what's wrong' was that the other team decided they weren't going to let him be a factor in the game.

"You can do that a little more with an outside guy than you can with an inside guy. If you're in the middle, you have pretty good access to get either way. If you're outside, you can only play the plays that are on the outside. But he's doing what I want him to do. I think it's just a statistical issue. I think it's a non-issue."

Groh has a point. After all, if you're an offensive coordinator, which of Virginia's outside linebackers are you going to challenge? The 6-foot-4, 240-pound ball of energy who has started 32 consecutive games and made life miserable for tackles around the league? Or the 6-1, 247-pound senior who was a backup until this season?

Blackstock's reputation is as a relentless pass rusher - just like another outside linebacker Groh used to coach who wore No. 56. So if you had to pick somebody to avoid. ...

"I guess they respect my game," Blackstock said. "I wish they would disrespect it, to be honest with you. I get out there and the game is slow. I mean, you could call out what they were going to do, and they'll still go away from you. You really have to have a lot of patience, you know?"

Patience isn't a natural trait for this guy. Before his first practice at Virginia in August of 2002, he talked about breaking Chris Slade's school and conference sack record of 40 (he needs 22). He came in weighing 216 pounds but used his quickness to fly past blockers on the rush. His teammates took to calling him The Freak, with apologies to Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse.

But even with his success at getting to the quarterback, Blackstock didn't want to be known solely as a pass-rusher. He worked on less-glamorous things, like pass coverage and stopping the run. Groh says Blackstock is better in all areas, whether the numbers show it or not.

"This is a multi-job position," he said. "A 3-4 outside linebacker can go out and do jobs that strong safeties often do. They do jobs defensive ends do and they do jobs linebackers do. A player's mental flexibility is as important as his physical versatility. He's got to be able to transition his thinking.

"Darryl really understands the position. Not just his job, his assignment, but he really understands the position."

Blackstock, a junior, will be eligible next spring for the NFL draft. After his freshman season, it seemed inevitable that he would leave early. Now, given the drop in his production, he may choose to stay. Either way, he's not saying. "I like to keep people guessing," he said.

He does think about the plays he isn't making. Bugged about it one day, he asked Groh what he was doing wrong. Groh assured him he's doing things the way he's supposed to. Still, Blackstock wants more chances to get his jersey dirty. If only he hadn't made a name for himself so early.

"What I did my freshman year affects me now, I guess, stat-wise," Blackstock said. "I play my role with 100-percent effort. I don't take off plays because eventually they do come my way to see if I've still got it. And once they learn I've still got it, they don't like the play anymore. I appreciate the respect, but at the same time the game gets kind of slow."

Cavs look for another strong late-season run
Virginia closed '02, '03 on promising note, hopes to do same this season
By Kevin Van Valkenburg
Sun Staff
Originally published November 4, 2004

In 2002, when Virginia lost back-to-back games to Georgia Tech and Penn State in the middle of the season, most people assumed a promising season by the Cavaliers was about to unravel. Instead, Virginia went 3-1 the rest of the year, beating three ranked teams in the process, including a victory over Maryland that cost the Terps a share of the league title.

In 2003, when Virginia lost four of five games late in the year to drop to 5-5, things again looked bleak for the Cavs. But Virginia again staged a late-season rally, winning its final three games, which helped make the program a trendy preseason pick for this season.

It goes without saying that Cavaliers fourth-year coach Al Groh would like to see his team close the season strong for the third straight time, but everyone understands this time around, things are different. Virginia - which sits atop the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 6-1 record and a 3-1 record in league play - is playing for much higher stakes than an invite to the Continental Tire Bowl, where it has been the past two years. This time, the Cavs are playing for a league title and a berth in the Bowl Championship Series.

"I think the players are accustomed to being in the circumstance where they had to play their best [at the end of the season]," said Groh. "Now, it's a little bit different this year in that, I guess you could say we're playing for more of the higher rungs and not for more of the middle rungs."

Groh has repeatedly said throughout the season that his only goal was to "be in the hunt" come Nov. 1. If you subscribe to the opinion that Virginia has dramatically upgraded its recruiting since Groh took over - which most people do - then you also have to concede that the program has underachieved somewhat the past two years. This year, with expectations again skyrocketing, a number of Virginia fans were buzzing about possibly playing for a national championship. With future NFL players on the team like linebacker Ahmad Brooks, offensive guard Elton Brown and tight end Heath Miller, it was easy to see why.

That was before the Cavs lost to Florida State, 36-3, Oct. 16., but winning an ACC title outright this year with wins over Maryland, Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech to close the season would certainly help elevate the program to another level.

"It's going to be a very exciting finish because so many of the top teams are playing each other," Groh said. "Teams on top have demonstrated equal ability. All three teams currently on top of the standings with one loss are playing teams that, based on how they played last week, are playing very well. So it's going to be really exciting for our fans."

Around the league

# MARYLAND: When D'Qwell Jackson took over for all-American E.J. Henderson two years ago at middle linebacker, Terps coach Ralph Friedgen cautioned people about comparing the two. Henderson was a once-in-a-decade type player, and doing so would be unfair to Jackson.

But Friedgen's now come full circle. He said yesterday he thought Jackson, a junior who leads the ACC in tackles with 11.1 per game, is even better than Henderson, who now plays in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings.

"He's been really amazing this year," Friedgen said. "I think he's playing even better than the way E.J. played. He's just all over the field. He can cover, stop the run, everything. He's an excellent person and really a great kid to have in your program."

# NORTH CAROLINA: Tar Heels running back Chad Scott, a third-stringer who rushed for 175 yards in an upset win over Miami last week, received quite the compliment from Hurricanes coach Larry Coker this week.

"If he's third string, then they need to let us have their fourth-string guy," Coker said.

Through Ups And Downs, Statham Level
Terps Sophomore Quarterback Has Endured Plenty of Scrutiny
By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 4, 2004; Page D01

In one of the most difficult moments of his season, Joel Statham and offensive teammates walked to the sideline after another failed series against North Carolina State three weeks ago. A fan sitting behind Maryland's bench shouted an expletive -- and then another -- directed at Statham. The fan, wearing a Maryland jersey, wanted results or a new quarterback.

Josh Allen, Maryland's running back, grew angry, adamantly waving his hand in front of the heckler.

"I turned around, and I looked at the fan," Allen said, "I said, 'We're not going to have any of that.' "

So much of the scrutiny the Maryland football team has been under this season has centered on Statham, the sophomore penciled in as Scott McBrien's successor since spring.

But virtually everyone in the program -- from Statham's teammates to coaches -- will tell you that the 20-year-old from rural Georgia has been only one part of a season that, before last week's upset of Florida State, had been largely disappointing. Offensive linemen have been injured. Wide receivers only recently have made strides. And there have been other deficiencies that have plagued one of the most inconsistent offenses in the country.

At times, Statham has been bad, forcing passes and playing hesitantly. He has been booed by home fans, criticized by fellow students, shredded by message board loyalists and twice replaced by a freshman in the second half.

At times, he has been good, compiling offensive statistics against Duke that rivaled any performance this season and calmly dissecting a Florida State defense that ranked among the nation's best.

"He's had some pretty rough games with us only having 80 total offensive yards -- you can't get much lower than that," senior captain Domonique Foxworth said. "And knocking off the number five team in the country -- you can't get much higher than that. And he's always [acted] the same, which is refreshing to us to know that he's going to be there no matter what."

Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen has taken significant steps to shield Statham from distractions, declaring him off-limits to the media the past several weeks, except after games. When speaking publicly, Statham's demeanor has been consistent in defeat as well as victory. "He always has the same face. Always," sophomore wide receiver Drew Weatherly said.

Added offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe: "I don't think he got all carried away after the Duke game. And this [the Florida State victory] was obviously a landmark win for our program, but I told him, 'That's not your goal to have that on your tombstone. Here lies Joel Statham, beat Florida State, 20-17. Hopefully, you want more in your life. . . . You certainly can handle adversity; now we need you to handle success.' "

He has had few opportunities to deal with success in the past year. Among coaches, however, there is little question regarding his resolve. Friedgen recognized that trait as early as Oct. 23, 2003, when Statham didn't flinch despite incessant blitzing by Georgia Tech's defense in a 7-3 loss.

Statham's growth has followed a similar curve as that of McBrien, who excelled in practice long before games. Statham responded well when Friedgen declared an "open competition" in practice a few weeks ago, making each quarterback accountable each drive, every rep.

Aside from one moment three weeks ago, when he acknowledged his confidence had been shaken after two inexplicably poor offensive performances at home, Statham has been steadfast. He did not second-guess Friedgen's decision to replace him in the third quarter of two games with freshman Jordan Steffy, a fan favorite who was loudly cheered when he entered the game.

Even during Statham's worst struggles, Friedgen has criticized his performance but never said that he didn't believe Statham could evolve into a good quarterback. Saturday night, Statham, as usual, showed little emotion speaking to reporters, but he said he appreciated Friedgen's support through the erratic season. "At times, we'd like him to show a little more emotion," Taaffe said of Statham's on-field demeanor.

Teammates, such as Allen with the hostile fan, have displayed emotion on Statham's behalf. At a team meeting a few weeks ago, they gave a standing ovation after Statham critiqued his season's performance. More than anything, they seethe when outsiders blame only Statham for the team's 4-4 record. Captains Foxworth and C.J. Brooks, among others, said they occasionally are confronted by classmates who say they disapprove of Statham.

"It's hard to be nice, to say the least," Foxworth said. "I don't know them or care about them on any level, whereas I know Joel, have a personal relationship with Joel and care about him a great deal. He's almost like a brother, as much time as we spend together. I could talk about Joel, make fun of him and play around with him. But when I hear other people doing it, it hurts. I mean, I'm happy. At least we don't have to worry about that for another week because everybody's going to be singing Joel's praises at least until this upcoming Saturday."

It remains a week-to-week learning process. For Statham, who has eight touchdown passes and 10 interceptions, the line between success and failure has been razor-thin and often not entirely based on circumstances he can control.

Case in point: Maryland called a quick screen pass four times against Florida State. Once, it resulted in a completion to Sam Maldonado, who carried the ball 13 yards before fumbling it to the Seminoles. Another occasion, Statham completed a pass to Allen, who evaded tacklers en route to the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown.

"When they rush off the edge -- Florida State was probably salivating," Taaffe said. "Sometimes we get the blocks outside. When we don't, it gets ugly."

The offensive line protected Statham well. Receivers found openings and made catches they had not made in previous weeks. All Friedgen has said the past two weeks was that an offensive playmaker needed to emerge. After that occurred Saturday, he said, success became contagious, and "Joel's confidence soared."

"We had a couple of players-only meetings, and that's one of the things that we brought up, is that it's not all Joel's fault," Foxworth said. "Joel can't control getting sacked. Joel can't control running the ball. He can only do what he can do. And not to take all the blame off of Joel because he's made mistakes, but it's nice to see the tide completely turn and him be on top of the game."
 

A Logjam Atop the Conference
By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 4, 2004; Page D03

The ACC can be summed up as follows: Everybody but Duke.

League coaches are still trying to make sense of the peculiar predicament as the 11 teams enter November. Every team except Duke is in contention for a bowl berth or already has clinched one.
An indication of either parity or power, three teams -- Miami, Virginia and Virginia Tech -- have six wins and identical conference records at the top of the standings. What's more, all three teams will play one another in the next month. After fourth-place Florida State, which has also secured a bowl appearance, the middle of the conference is even more congested, with six teams, each with four victories, competing for an expected two remaining bowl berths.

"I'm going to tell you," Georgia Tech Coach Chan Gailey said, "in the ACC, we're going to beat up each other."

Added North Carolina State Coach Chuck Amato, "It may be that the ACC champ never again will have no losses."

Most expected the additions of Miami and Virginia Tech, and Boston College next fall, to bolster the conference. Some believed that the league could vie for two berths in the Bowl Championship Series each season.

But who could have predicted that both Florida teams, considered the conference's elite, could be humbled on the road on the same weekend? Florida State lost to Maryland; Miami lost to North Carolina. As for the rest of the season, Amato said, "This could become really, really, really hairy."

"The biggest factor is playing away from home," Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said. "It's not a library anymore. There are wild people up in those stands and ain't none of them is rooting for you."

There is no better authority on the competitive ebbs and flows of the ACC than Bowden, whose Seminoles joined the ACC in the early 1990s. Bowden believes Florida State served as the model program in terms of success for the rest of the teams.

"I don't think we dipped," he said. "I think everyone else got better."

Saturday's four games were decided by a total of 14 points. Thirteen of the 28 ACC games played to date have been decided by seven points or fewer, including three in overtime.

One of the challenges, coaches said, is how to get a team motivated for each game on the schedule when there are virtually no soft spots. Clemson Coach Tommy Bowden suggested Miami survived recent games against Louisville and N.C. State on talent, even though the Hurricanes' defense did not play well. Possible complacency stung Miami against North Carolina, and Tommy Bowden said he now expects to get the Hurricanes' best effort on Saturday. "I don't think there is any doubt," he said.

Virginia, which had an open date last week, plays Maryland on Saturday as a first-place team. "We haven't played in a little bit," Virginia Coach Al Groh said. "But the whole landscape of the conference has changed since we did."

Creatine Denounced

Several league coaches, asked about the prevalence of creatine, denounced the legal nutritional supplement. Virginia Tech is investigating a report in the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record that a strength and conditioning coach helped two players acquire the supplement at a discount, a possible violation of NCAA extra-benefit rules.

"No one here intentionally broke any rules," Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer said.

Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said players do not use it at Maryland and that it is an unfair advantage if other teams use it. "I feel it should be one rule for everybody," Friedgen said.

Said Miami Coach Larry Coker: "We don't believe in it. We really feel strongly that you can get your strength and conditioning from legitimate ways. . . . I think it's harmful, which is worse than being an unfair advantage."

Top Rushers Ailing

The conference's two leading rushers will miss games Saturday. Georgia Tech will be without P.J. Daniels, who has a bruised knee, when the Yellow Jackets visit N.C. State. Florida State again will miss Leon Washington, the conference's leading rusher who has a separated shoulder, when the Seminoles host Duke. . . .

Is Boise, Idaho, that bad? A reporter on yesterday's coaches' teleconference asked if Boise is a dreaded bowl destination for ACC teams. "We'd like to go anywhere," Friedgen said. . . .

Don't expect Clemson on Saturday to kick to Miami punt returner Devin Hester, who has returned three punts for touchdowns. "If our punter shanks one and it goes to him, don't call me an idiot," Tommy Bowden said. "Don't blame me. We're not kicking to him." . . .

Bobby Bowden has turned once again to senior quarterback Chris Rix, who will start against Duke to give the offense more "explosiveness. We haven't had that all season," Bowden said.
 

Change of plans led lineman to Maryland
Armstrong set to face his friends at U.Va. in emotional game
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 4, 2004
MARYLAND AT U.VA.
SATURDAY: 3:30 p.m. ON THE AIR: TV - WRIC-8; Radio - WRVA (1140), 3 TICKETS: Sold out

In February 2002, as a senior at Washington-Lee High in Arlington, defensive lineman Rob Armstrong signed with the University of Virginia.

Less than a year later, Armstrong enrolled at the University of Maryland. And you wonder why people say there's ill will between the schools' football programs?

"I think Virginia and Maryland always fought it out pretty hard," said John Shuman, who coached Armstrong at Fork Union Military Academy. "This just stirred the pot to get things ignited."

Armstrong was a regular at Scott Stadium for much of the 2001 and'02 seasons, hanging with other recruits at U.Va. games. He'll be back in Charlottesville this weekend, this time on the visitors' sideline. The 12th-ranked Cavaliers (3-1, 6-1) play host to ACC rival Maryland (2-3, 4-4) on Saturday.

"It's going to be pretty weird because I was down there for awhile," said Armstrong, a 6-4, 298-pound sophomore who is the Terrapins' second-team nose tackle. "A lot of my boys play for Virginia. It's kind of like bragging rights."

Armstrong graduated from Washington-Lee in 2002, but he failed to meet NCAA eligibility standards, so he took a detour to Fork Union. He remain committed to the Cavaliers, all parties agreeing that Armstrong would spend a year at FUMA before moving on to U.Va. in the summer of 2003.

Everything changed, however, when Armstrong received a qualifying standardized-test score in the fall of 2002. He abruptly dropped out of Fork Union, where he'd starred for Shuman, and committed to Maryland, which had continued to recruit him.

"They were upset," Armstrong said, referring to U.Va. coach Al Groh and his assistants.

"It wasn't the way we intended it to [play out]," Groh said Monday. "We were doing everything we could to live up to our part of the bargain."

In the end, though, Virginia couldn't match the Terps' offer to Armstrong. Maryland told him he could enter at midyear. Unlike Ahmad Brooks, another recruit, Armstrong would have to wait until the summer of 2003 to enter Virginia. Brooks began classes at U.Va. in January 2003.

"It came down to the case that Maryland would let me in and Virginia wouldn't," Armstrong said. "I chose Maryland because I wanted to get the college experience going."

Armstrong participated in spring practice with the Terps in 2003 and then played in 12 games as a true freshman. He's made 11 tackles this season, including two for loss.

"He's come in and played very physical," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "Has he been outstanding? No. But I think he's played good, solid football for us."

 

ACC NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Nov 4, 2004

LOGJAM: Of the 11 football teams in the ACC, only Duke (1-7) does not have a shot at qualifying for a bowl game.

Miami (6-1 overall), Virginia (6-1) and Florida State (6-2) already are bowl-eligible, and Virginia Tech (6-2), which is playing a 12-game regular-season schedule, needs only one more win to join them.

Georgia Tech is 4-3, and five other teams are 4-4: North Carolina, N.C. State, Clemson, Maryland and Wake Forest.

Three teams are tied for first in the ACC with one conference loss apiece - Miami, U.Va. and Virginia Tech - and four have three ACC losses each. Between those two groups are FSU (4-2 in ACC) and North Carolina (3-2).

"This could become really, really, really hairy," N.C. State coach Chuck Amato said yesterday, "because not only is it jammed up in the middle, it's jammed up at the top. With all of those three teams playing a round-robin, it could get real funny."

HOT TOPIC: On their weekly teleconference with reporters, ACC coaches were asked yesterday about their stances on the use of creatine by their players.

Creatine, which is legal, is a muscle-building supplement that can be purchased at health stores. The Daily News-Record of Harrisonburg reported Monday that Virginia Tech may have committed an NCAA rules violation by helping players buy creatine for a discounted price.

Several ACC coaches seemed surprised to hear yesterday that creatine, which schools once were allowed to provide to athletes, is still legal. Many coaches said they don't want their players taking creatine, legal or not.

"I don't like it," Amato said. "Our kids don't mess with it, to my knowledge."

Duke's Ted Roof: "We don't do that. We got very simple rules here: If we don't give it to you, don't put it in your body. We don't dish it out here."

Ralph Friedgen: "We don't use it at Maryland."

Miami's Larry Coker: "Our policy is, we don't believe in it."

Clemson's Tommy Bowden said he doubts his players would choose to spend their money on creatine. They'd rather buy "various bling-bling and shoes and clothing over creatine," Bowden said.

Asked if his players were using creatine, Virginia's Al Groh said, "I would have no idea."

Creatine is "not something that I think about [more than] probably once a year," Groh said. "It's not in my thought process."

TIMES HAVE CHANGED: For the second time in four seasons, Florida State, which for years was invincible inside the ACC, will finish with more than one conference loss. Maryland made sure of that last weekend by recording its first victory over FSU, 20-17 at Byrd Stadium.

"To be honest with you, I don't think we've dipped that much," Florida State said Bobby Bowden said. "I think [the other ACC teams] have gotten better and made our job tougher."

Asked about the Seminoles' recent struggles in the ACC, Bowden said, "To me, the biggest factor is playing away from home. I mean, man, when we go to Virginia nowadays or we go Clemson nowadays, when we go to Georgia Tech, it ain't like it used to be.

"It's not a library any more. That's wild people up in the stands, and ain't none of them for you. So that makes a lot of difference."

LITTLE BIG MAN: Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer has talked a lot about Cedric Humes' progress the past couple of weeks, but fellow junior Mike Imoh continues to get the bulk of the work.

Humes, recovering from a broken leg and ankle injuries suffered in spring practice, started the season as the Hokies' No. 1 tailback. The 5-7 Imoh, who was suspended for the first three games of the season, will make his fifth start Saturday at North Carolina.

In the Hokies' victory at Georgia Tech on Oct. 28, Humes gained 3 yards on his only carry. Imoh had 22 of 23 tailback carries and gained 77 yards.

"We have a lot of confidence in the guy," Beamer said of Imoh. "I thought Cedric Humes had his best week of practice. He continues to come along. The way that game was going, Coach [Billy] Hite just felt like we had to have Imoh in there."

FINALLY: North Carolina's victory over the Miami Hurricanes last weekend was its first ever over a team ranked in the top five. The Tar Heels had been 0-36-1 against top-five teams since 1939.

Coach John Bunting called the victory the closest UNC has come to a complete game in three seasons.

"It suggests that we have recruited well," Bunting told the Winston-Salem Journal. "It suggests that we have a very resilient team that has been able to play some good games this year and has had some losses against awfully good teams and bounced back." - Mike Harris and Jeff White