A New Perspective
Former Central Virginia stars get a chance to be part of UVa-Va. Tech rivalry after years of watching
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 26, 2004

Going to high school in Charlottesville gave Chris Johnson and Chris Long a better appreciation of the rivalry between Virginia and Virginia Tech.

They went to games. They watched fans go crazy for their respective teams. They developed a knowledge of how important it is to win the game and the Commonwealth Cup that goes with it.

That understanding will reach a new level on Saturday when 16th-ranked Virginia

(8-2, 5-2) plays at 11th-ranked Virginia Tech (8-2, 5-1) and Johnson and Long play in the series for the first time.

Johnson, a redshirt freshman, is expected to start at defensive end for the third straight game. Long, a true freshman who also plays defensive end, sees most of his time in Virginia’s nickel coverage.

“The rivalry is tremendous and it seems like a great game every year,” said Long, who played for coach John Blake at St. Anne’s-Belfield. “There’s a lot of respect on both sides. You could really feel the energy when you went to one of those games.”

Johnson agreed.

“The Tech-Virginia game is always crazy, whether it is here or there,” said Johnson, who played for Garwin DeBerry at Charlottesville. “All you ever hear is yakking back and forth. They say we’re cocky. We say they’re cocky. Everybody really wants to win the game and now I am actually part of it. That is so big.”

Neither player would have imagined that the game would leave the winner with a share of the ACC title.

“It’s amazing with this whole ACC thing and that we are playing a big game at the end of the year,” Long said. “But that’s the way it is. It’s two great programs.”

Both players entered the season fighting for playing time on a star-studded defensive line that included seniors Chris Canty and Andrew Hoffman and junior Brennan Schmidt.

Virginia opened the season with three easy wins over Temple, North Carolina and Akron. That allowed the rookies to see more playing time than they might have otherwise.

Another window of opportunity opened late in Virginia’s win over Syracuse on Sept. 25, but this time it happened in a way that neither player had wanted to see.

Canty, who they admitted they looked up to, was lost for the season with a major knee injury.

“Chris was such a force on defense. When he got hurt, I knew I had to play better. I had to step up my game,” Johnson said.

While Johnson’s playing time increased, Long’s season hit a snag when he was diagnosed with mononucleosis.

Long has since recovered and together, the Charlottesville natives have proven that they are going to be household names for some time to come.

Last week against Georgia Tech, Long recorded his first collegiate sack and Johnson recorded his first tackle for a loss as a Cavalier.

Johnson’s play against the Yellow Jackets continued a recent trend of solid play from the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder.

Johnson had been inserted into the starting lineup on Nov. 13 against Miami and responded with a career-high seven tackles.

After the Georgia Tech game, Virginia coach Al Groh said Johnson has begun “to show the cumulative benefit now of seeing plays run at him in games, rather than practices.”

For Long, he said his first career sack was only possible because his teammates were playing so well alongside him.

“It was exciting to get the sack, but anytime we get a sack out in nickel on third down or any play like that I get excited. So, I can’t really say that I got anymore excited than I do when someone else makes a sack,” Long said. “When we get pressure, it means that everybody is executing and has got their role and is creating pressure on that play.

“I thought about the sack for a second, but they were kind of in a hurry-up, so I couldn’t really think about it long.”

Long said he briefly discussed the sack with his father, Howie, a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

“We didn’t really talk about the sack. I was just happy that we won. I was kind of unhappy with the way that I played,” Long said. “I call him and he says you did some good things and you did some not-so-good things. That’s basically the story behind every game. You always have something that you want to improve on and there’s always a flash of something good that you want to do more often. That’s what he says.”

History lesson
Hokies, Cavs have had memorable encounters
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 26, 2004

There have been shutouts and shootouts. There have been blowouts and nail-biters.

There have even been games played in off-campus sites like Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke.

It has been a series that has seen the unthinkable happen.

It is the Virginia-Virginia Tech series, as we know it. And while the annual winner has been given the Commonwealth Cup since 1996, the bragging rights for the winning program mean so much more.

School records indicate that UVa started playing football in 1888 with a three-game schedule that included a contest with the Pantops Academy.

Virginia Tech’s first known season, which consisted of two games, was played in 1892. The Hokies played St. Albans, not once, but twice that season. They split the games.

Both teams played light schedules every year until they finally met on the gridiron for the first time in 1895.

It was Virginia Tech’s season opener. Virginia had a head start. Three days before playing the Hokies, the Cavaliers topped the Miller School, 30-0.

A rivalry was ready to be born.

The date? Oct. 5, 1895.

The coaches? A.C. Jones was in his first year at Virginia Tech. Harry Mackey coached Virginia, in what proved to be his only season at the helm.

The result? Virginia 38, Virginia Tech 0.

They played again the next year and Virginia won again, 44-0.

After taking two years off from the series, Virginia and Virginia Tech played every year from 1899 to 1905, with the Cavaliers winning all but the final one.

So, what happened after the Hokies snapped Virginia’s eight-game winning streak?

The series was cancelled.

Why? Both teams disagreed about the eligibility of Virginia Tech star Hunter Carpenter.

After graduating from Tech, Carpenter enrolled in graduate classes at North Carolina for a year. He then returned back to Tech with hopes of finally beating UVa, something he could not do at either campus.

With Carpenter in the lineup, Virginia Tech finally beat UVa, but allegations surfaced that Carpenter and others had been compensated for their play.

Virginia Tech players signed affidavits stating that they did not receive money to play, but tempers flared and the series was halted for 18 years.

After it finally returned, the teams played every year with the exception of a two-year absence from 1943-44 and a three-year layoff from 1967-69.

In all, the teams have played 85 times. Virginia Tech has won 43. Virginia has 37 victories. Five times the teams have finished deadlocked in a tie.

The series has provided Virginia fans with memories - good, bad and ugly ones.

For the good memories, a great place to start is last year’s showdown in Charlottesville.

With Virginia Tech riding a four-game winning streak in the series, Virginia outscored the Hokies 28-7 in the second half and cruised to a 35-21 win at Scott Stadium.

Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub completed 32 passes in the contest, the most Virginia Tech had ever allowed in a game.

That win knocked the Hokies out the AP poll, a place they had been a mainstay for 84 consecutive weeks.

Virginia has also had some of its best punts in school history in games against Virginia Tech.

In 1923, Sam Maphis punted the ball 80 yards against the Hokies in a game played at Lambeth Field. That punt is still the longest punt in school history.

Joel Dempsey had a 68-yard punt for UVa in 1988 and legendary punter Russ Henderson kicked two punts over 60 yards.

In 1992, Randy Neal made history as a sophomore when he returned a pair on interceptions for touchdowns as UVa narrowly edged Virginia Tech on the road, 41-38.

Two years later when Neal was a senior, Virginia picked off five passes against the Hokies, tying a school-record. Also in that game in ’94, Rafael Garcia was a perfect 5 for 5 on field goal attempts.

And then there was the game in ’52. That year, Virginia recovered six Hokie fumbles en route to a 42-0 win in Roanoke. For the game, the Cavaliers forced nine turnovers, which set a school record.

The Cavaliers tied that takeaway record in ’57 when they topped Virginia Tech 38-7 in a contest played in Richmond.

While those are just a few of the great moments and achievements in the series, many Cavalier fans would say they dim in comparison to the 1998 game in Blacksburg.

With Virginia trailing 29-7 at halftime, the Cavaliers pulled off the greatest comeback in school history.

Thanks to a 47-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Brooks to wideout Ahmad Hawkins with two minutes left, the Cavaliers rallied for a 36-32 victory.

The history and the bragging rights will take a back seat on Saturday as the teams fight for something even greater - a share of the ACC title.

Va. Tech aims to complete
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 26, 2004

BLACKSBURG
When Virginia Tech breaks its football huddles, the Hokies’ collective chant is simple but direct: “One, two, three ... Takeover.”
“We’re trying to take over the ACC,” junior defensive tackle Jonathan Lewis said this week. “That’s something we came up with at the start of the season, something to motivate us to go from the bottom to the top.”
When the Hokies were predicted to finish sixth in their new league back in July, many of their players used that as motivation to show the ACC that they were better than given credit.
“We had confidence in ourselves,” Lewis said. “Nobody else did. We knew our guys could play. We never felt like we were sixth in the ACC.”
Come Saturday at 1 p.m., the Hokies can take one giant step toward taking over the ACC. They are sitting in the catbird’s seat entering this weekend’s showdown against ancient rival Virginia.

Big stakes
The winner walks away with no less than a share of the ACC crown. Win this one and then beat Miami on the road next week and Tech can officially consider it a takeover.
“I’m sure [Virginia] doesn’t want us to come in here in our first year and win it all,” Tech’s other defensive tackle Jim Davis said.
But Davis believes the stars are aligned for a Virginia Tech football championship.
“Everything is all lined up,” the senior Davis said. “It’s a fairytale waiting to end. We’re coming to the end with a chance to play for the ACC title. What better ending can you ask for?”
The Hokies hope to avenge last year’s loss to the Cavaliers in Charlottesville, which would keep their hopes alive. Tech is 5-1 in the league, UVa and Miami are 5-2, while FSU is 6-2.
“This is what I’ve always asked for,” Davis said. “I was talking to my dad and he was telling me this is what I came to college for. You’re playing for an ACC title. You’re playing against your rival in one of those games. We’re in a good situation right now.”

Momentum
Tech has won six straight games and is playing at home, where the Hokies are expecting an electric atmosphere in Lane Stadium, where they are particularly difficult to beat.
The game is being billed as the biggest UVa vs. Tech game ever.
“This is everything you expect in a rivalry,” Davis said. “It’s going to be long, it’s going to be bloody, it’s going to be a fist fight. ... It’s a heavyweight championship fight deal.”
For Davis, who missed last year’s 35-21 loss in Charlottesville, ending a five-year Tech winning streak, this is a chance to retake bragging rights for the last time. He knows several of the Cavaliers, particularly UVa senior center Zac Yarbrough, whom he played with at Fork Union Military Academy.
In previous years, Davis played outside at end and rarely made contact with his
old Fork Union teammate during games. Now that Davis is playing inside, he figures he and Yarbrough will be reacquainted.
“We’ll have a little bit to say to one another on Saturday,” said Davis, who has proven to be a strong pass rusher with 17.5 career sacks. “Guys are going to run their mouth, there will be shoving and pushing. I’m too old for all that, but I’m going to give Yarbrough his share.”
When the two played for Coach John Shuman at FUMA, four of his best friends all chose Virginia, with Davis going the other direction. Three of those former teammates have now graduated from UVa, Almondo Curry, Art Thomas and Jamaine Winborne. Only Yarbrough remains.
“Four of my close boys went to UVa,” Davis said with a big smile. “I got teased and called a turkey and everything like that. I didn’t talk to any of those guys last year, thank goodness. But the years before I used to give them an earful.”
Tech coach Frank Beamer credits Davis for being one of the difference makers on this year’s defense. He has 9.5 tackles for loss and has been strong against the pass and run, one of the reasons the Hokies rank No. 6 nationally in total defense.
“Jim has brought a whole new intensity with him to the defense,” Hokies’ end Darryl Tapp said. “He’s probably one of the most prolific pass rushers and defensive ends that Virginia Tech has ever had. We see that and try to emulate him.”
When Davis missed last season and the UVa game in particular, something was missing from Tech’s defensive line.
“Our coaches made it no secret when we looked at film of last year’s Virginia game,” Davis said. “We were pretty soft. [Virginia] just beat us up front. That has been the secret to this whole series ... who ever wins up front wins the game. Our guys are going to be so ready for what UVa has to offer. I know they’re as good as advertised, big and athletic. But so are we.”
While most fans watch the running backs, the quarterbacks and wide receivers, Davis advised that the real action on Saturday is going to be on the line of scrimmage.
“Their offensive line versus our defensive line is one of the best matchups of the season,” the Tech tackle said. “If you want a fist fight, why not up front ... the line of scrimmage. Let’s start it there.”
Now don’t get Davis wrong. He’s not talking about a brawl like the one that occurred at the end of the Clemson, South Carolina game last week.
“I don’t think it’s going to be like that ... I think that was a little ridiculous,” the Hokie said. “When you’ve got to throw blows, that’s going too far. I mean guys are going to take their shots ... this is football. But it’s a healthy rivalry. We’re going to play hard but we’re not going to throw away a bowl trip.”
So, Tech’s attempt to take over the ACC will begin down in the trenches on Saturday. UVa’s offensive line vs. Tech’s defensive line.
“The whole state will be watching,” Davis said.
He’s wrong. The whole ACC will be watching.

3 cheers for Randall
The Tech quarterback endured the questions early in his career to earn the fans' loyalty.
By Randy King
981-3341
The Roanoke Times

BLACKSBURG - Kelly Shaver is a self-proclaimed "townie" who will re-enter classes at Virginia Tech in January.

Right now, she is biding her time working the desk at the Virginia Tech campus visitors' center, where one of her duties is to issue parking passes. And like every other Hokies backer, she has been keeping a close eye on one of Tech's current students: quarterback Bryan Randall.

When his name came up Monday, Shaver simply couldn't resist throwing in her two cents. ... Or maybe it was a half-dollar.

"Oh, Bryan Randall, I just think he's the most sweetest, most wonderful guy," said Shaver, suddenly embarking on a totally unsolicited 45-second personal tribute to Tech's senior quarterback.

"Just seeing how he conducts himself, just hearing about his community involvement, and how he represents your university, it just makes you so proud to be a fan of Virginia Tech football. This is a big-time program and there are so many guys on the team who seem to be so full of themselves.

"I don't personally know Bryan Randall, I've never even met Bryan Randall, but he really seems to be the kind of guy you could go up to and just say 'hi.' He's just a perfect image of a student-athlete. My, his parents must be so proud of him."

You so right, girl.

Like the younger of their two sons, Edgar and Belinda Randall simply aren't the type to go 'round bragging and boasting about anything. Dittos for Brandon Randall, Bryan's older brother by 20 months.

If one of this tight-knit clan slips a bit now, well, give 'em a free pass. Certainly, they're owed one - better make that a few.

Give him some love

Bryan Jemar Randall will play his final game in Lane Stadium on Saturday, when he will make his school-record 36th consecutive start at quarterback when No.11 Tech faces No.16 Virginia.

If there's anything right in this world, the 65,115 fans packing the house, even most of the UVa backers, will have enough gumption to lend No.3 a rousing, standing ovation so loud, strong and powerful that it will spit out a reading on the nearest seismometer.

"Man, they'd definitely better give it up big time for him," Tech linebacker Mikal Baaqee said. "Bryan Randall is a guy who is great on the field and off the field. They just don't come any finer than that guy. I wouldn't say he's perfect, but ain't nobody perfect. I will say this: Finding something bad to say about him is hard to come by."

During Senior Day ceremonies shortly before kickoff, Randall's name will be announced and he'll be escorted to midfield by his parents.

"I'm very proud of my son and the young man he has become," Belinda Randall said. "You're right, I won't be able to stop smiling."

"Or stop crying," Edgar Randall said. "Bryan doesn't show a lot of emotion ... I'm the most emotional one! My wife will tell you in a heartbeat because she'll call me a crybaby at the drop of a dime."

Brandon Randall, one of the stalwarts on Hampden-Sydney's powerhouse Division III basketball team before his graduation last May, said he can't wait to pay homage to his little brother and "best friend."

"He's definitely done it and I'm overjoyed," said Brandon, speaking about the best man in his wedding last May and the godfather of his 4 1/2 -month-old daughter, Amari. "I pray riding to work every morning, and the other day all I could do was really just give thanks to God. Bryan definitely deserves it and I'm so thankful."

And what does Bryan Randall feel as the clock ticks down toward his final home game?

"It's all gone by so fast," he said. "It's something that you really don't want to see. These four years here have been hard to believe and my time is almost up. It's going to be real special."

Bucking the odds

Despite the fact that he has led Tech to a 24-11 record and is a veritable lock to leave town with at least four of the school's major career records for quarterbacks, Bryan Randall, for the longest time, was never quite good enough for one of college football's most rabid followings.

Until this season, Randall's up-and-down play was often described by the sometimes fickle Tech faithful in four-letter words. However, it was another four-letter word - the surname Vick - that made Randall's Tech task more difficult than it had a right to be.

In addition to coming to Blacksburg in the shadow of Michael Vick, the greatest QB in school history who put Tech on the national map and now stars for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, Randall then had to deal with the legend's younger brother. After redshirting in Randall's sophomore season, Marcus Vick was the fan favorite to take over as the Hokies' No.1 QB last season.

While a determined Randall effectively fended off Vick's challenge for his job through a 6-0 start that vaulted Tech to No.3 in the polls, things began to quickly unravel in late October. After Randall had a nightmarish game in the Hokies' 28-7 stunning stumble at West Virginia in late October, Tech coach Frank Beamer decided it was time to throw Vick into the mix.

It proved to be a recipe for disaster. Beamer elected to play both QBs at that point, a move that effectively shot Randall's confidence. Meanwhile, the raw-talented Vick simply wasn't ready to be a prime-time player.

This season, most thought Vick would take Randall's job. That challenge was aborted, however, when Vick was involved in a pair of off-the-field scrapes with the law that led to his suspension from school for the fall semester.

That left the whole show in Randall's hands. Not only has he directed a team picked to finish sixth to first place in the ACC with two games to play, he finally appears to have won the respect of the majority of Hokie Nation.

"It's satisfying because I think people have questioned my ability since I've been here," Randall said. "I guess some people have come around where before they were still like, 'Randall ... we need to get him out of there!'

"That's just the way people are, though. I first realized it my freshman year when I had arm troubles and a lot of people had me moving all over the field - defensive back, rover, whip. The way I've endured through it all in my time here, yeah, it feels good."

Success everywhere

In addition to spearheading Tech's surprising run for a league title in its inaugural season in the ACC, Randall has continued to get it done right off the field, too. He earned his degree in sociology in three years and now is working on his master's degree in health.

"I don't know how he does it, but you know if you follow Bryan Randall I know you can't go wrong," said Josh Hyman, a redshirt freshman receiver. "He's just a big-time leader and such a good person. He's tougher than anybody on this team. Plus, the guy is just cool."

The coolest part of all is that Randall is finally getting his just due as his career winds to a close. If the Hokies win the ACC title, the guy who was so ridiculed in the past has a shot at being the league's player of the year.

"It couldn't happen to a better guy," Beamer said.

Saturday is Randall's last home game, but his story is far from over, his brother said.

"The whole ordeal he's gone through ... all the negativity and criticism ... all the people who didn't believe in him initially ... a lot of times we couldn't really see the positives in it," Brandon Randall said.

"Good things have already happened, but great things are about to happen. The way it's all come down, it's absolutely perfect."

Don't believe it? Just take a trip to Tech and ask the girl at the visitors' center. She'll set you straight. Then you can park.

Kelly Shaver was Monday when the stranger burst through the door and promptly requested a one-day parking pass.

"I'm up here on business working on a story on one of the football players," the stranger volunteered.

While filling out the permit, the suddenly inquisitive Shaver replied: "Really ... so who are you writing about?"

"A guy named Bryan Randall ... ever heard of him?" the interloper responded. Saturday

A gameday breakdown, including starting lineups and keys for each team.

Sunday

Over four pages of coverage from Lane Stadium. Additional content at roanoke.com. Cavs 8-2, 5-2 ACC; Hokies 8-2, 5-1Virginia vs.2

Virginia Tech1 p.m., Lane StadiumSaturdayThe Randall fileHeight/weight: 6-0, 228

Hometown: WilliamsburgHeight/weight: 6-0, 228 lbs. Hometown: Williamsburg, Va.

Hometown: Williamsburg, Va.Fast facts

• Set a school quarterback record by starting the last 35 games for the Hokies.

• Graduated in three years with a degree in sociology, and is now taking graduate courses in health promotions.

• Played in 18 games with the basketball team last season.

• Spent part of his summer working in Los Angeles with underprivileged kids as part of Athletes in Action.Movin' upWhere Bryan Randall stands in the Tech record books with three games left in his career.Career completionsWill Furrer 494 1988-91 Bryan Randall 442 2001-04 Don Strock 440 1970-72 M. DeShazo 397 1991-94Career passing yardsDon Strock 6,009 1970-72 Will Furrer 5,915 1988-91 Bryan Randall 5,861 2001-04 M. DeShazo 5,720 1991-94Touchdown passesMaurice DeShazo 47 1991-94 Will Furrer 43 1988-91 Bryan Randall 42 2001-04 Jim Druckenmiller 34 1993-96Career rushing for QBsB. Schweickert 1,723 1962-64 Bryan Randall 1,417 2001-04 Michael Vick 1,202 '99-2000Total offenseBryan Randall 7,278 2001-04 M. DeShazo 6,105 1991-94VIRGINIA AT VIRGINIA TECH, SATURDAY, 1 P.M., WSET

Candidates emerge for ACC's top player
ACC notebook
The Roanoke Times

Last season, then-North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers was a unanimous pick by the media as the ACC player of the year. This year, there are several contenders for that honor.

Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe mentioned Miami quarterback Brock Berlin, North Carolina quarterback Darian Durant and Virginia Tech signal-caller Bryan Randall when asked who his choice would be. Miami's Larry Coker mentioned Berlin, Randall and Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans. Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen pointed to Durant and Randall. Virginia's Al Groh suggested Randall and UVa tailback Alvin Pearman.

Berlin has thrown for 2,370 yards and 21 touchdowns with four interceptions. He leads the ACC in total offense and passing efficiency.

"Brock has really put in a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of study and it's really paying off," Coker said.

Randall has passed for 1,617 yards and 15 TDs with seven interceptions. He also has rushed for 402 yards. He ranks fourth in the ACC in both total offense and passing efficiency.

"Randall has meant as much to his team as Alvin Pearman has been to our team," Groh said.

Hagans has thrown for 1,751 yards and seven TDs with five interceptions. He ranks second in the ACC in passing efficiency and third in total offense.

Durant has thrown for 1,979 yards and 14 TDs with nine interceptions. He ranks third in the ACC in passing efficiency and fifth in total offense.

Durant "really carried that team and I noted a marked improvement," Friedgen said.

Pearman averages 83.8 yards rushing and leads the ACC in all-purpose yards (159.4 ypg). Groh said Pearman has been the heart of the Cavaliers.

"He's meant a tremendous amount to our team," Groh said. "He's a tremendous candidate for the award."

The media will also pick the ACC coach of the year. Groh said Tech's Frank Beamer, whose team was picked sixth in the preseason ACC media poll, should be a top candidate. Friedgen and Coker pointed to Beamer and Groh.

Beamer moves up

With the retirement of South Carolina'sLou Holtz, Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer moves up from fourth to third on the list of the winningest active coaches in Division I-A. Beamer has 175 wins, trailing only Florida State's Bobby Bowden (350) and Penn State's Joe Paterno (341).

"I hadn't even thought about that. You're starting to make me feel old," said Beamer, in his 18th year at Tech after six at Murray State. "I feel fortunate to have been around this long and to have been at as good places as I've been in. Those two guys above me, I have great, great respect for them."

Can Beamer see himself coaching into his 70s, like Bowden and Paterno?

"How much success you have affects that a lot," Beamer said. "When your program's established and you can have success, it's kind of fun. But the other side of it's not much fun, I can tell you that. I don't know. It gets back to your health and how long the alumni will put up with you."

Coming aboard

Virginia Tech and Miami have fared quite well in their first year in the ACC. Coming aboard next summer is Boston College, which can wrap up the Big East's BCS berth with a win Saturday against Syracuse.

"There's been a lot of talk about the University of Miami and about Virginia Tech coming into the league, and I've said before, 'Don't forget Boston College,'" Miami's Larry Coker said. "Tom O'Brien's done a great job there."

Wake coach Jim Grobe, whose team beat BC this year, said the Eagles will do "really, really well" in the ACC.

"They'll probably bring a little bit of a Big Ten kind of element to the ACC," Grobe said. "They're a team that relies on running the ball north and south and playing tough run defense."

Unwanted trip

As the result of Clemson turning down a bowl bid because of last weekend's brawl with South Carolina, Georgia Tech is in line to go to the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise for the second straight year. The Yellow Jackets would rather go elsewhere.

Clemson had been expected to go to Boise, the ACC's sixth and last bowl slot. That would have left Georgia Tech a free agent, available to fill any bowl slot with a vacancy.

The MPC Computers Bowl has reportedly agreed to wait until next week before booking Georgia Tech. The ACC is in trade talks, trying to send Georgia Tech to a different bowl in exchange for putting a team from another league in Boise.

"They're doing their best to not ever send a team back-to-back to the same place," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "The people in Boise were great and we had a good time out there, but the guys have experienced it.

"I don't know where we'll be. ... There's a lot of wheeling and dealing going on, as you can well imagine, between TV companies, bowl representatives and conferences. ... If we go back there, that's fine. A bowl's a bowl."

U.Va.'s Pearman has the drive to succeed
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 26, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Take a look at his locker.

Not a pad out of place.

Peer into his closet.

Shirts are hung in one direction, pants in another, and never shall the twain mix. Shoes are arranged by type.

Don’t move anything an inch. He’ll know it.

Check out those boxes stored in his parents’ home. They contain complete sets of football cards. Unopened.

Get a load of his essay, exquisitely detailed and lavishly illustrated, declaring that he will play running back in the National Football League.

Written when he was 7 years old.

Flash forward 15 years, and listen to what people are saying about Alvin Pearman, the most versatile — and arguably the most valuable — player on the Virginia Cavaliers.

“I’ve never seen drive like that, ever,” said his high school coach, Bob Witman.

“He’s absolutely convinced that if he puts his mind to the task, it will be done,” said Virginia coach Al Groh.

“He’s always been very serious about the things he involves himself with,” said his father, Alvin Sr.

In middle school, Pearman was voted the president of the school choir, though he can’t hold a note.

When his mother, Aidee, would send him to the corner store for a gallon of milk, Pearman would turn it into a contest, timing himself to see if he could return faster than the previous trip.

When he ran AAU track, he was the third-fastest guy on his 4 x 800-meter relay team. Yet, the coach made him the anchor leg, figuring Pearman would find a way to win.

At Virginia, Groh turns to Pearman for a variety of tasks. He plays running back. He plays receiver. He returns punts and kickoffs. He covers punts. He covers kicks.

He leads the ACC in all-purpose yardage, by more than 500 yards.

“I just love football,” he said. “I’d play defense if I could.”

Groh might want to take that under advisement. He’s already convinced that Pearman should be the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.

“Who’s had a more dynamic season or been more important to his team than Alvin Pearman?” Groh asked recently. “How many players have returned a punt for a touchdown, returned a kickoff for a touchdown, been on three different special teams, started a game at split end and then came back and rushed for whatever it is, 400 yards, in two consecutive games?

“Now, that’s pretty good football.”

Groh made those remarks a couple of weeks ago. Since then, Pearman has rushed for an additional 189 yards in two games, giving him 582 over his last four.

With only Saturday’s showdown at 11th-ranked Virginia Tech left in the regular season, Pearman is playing the best ball of his career. He’s on track to graduate in December, a semester early, with a degree in sports medicine.

Just like he planned it.

Pearman has always taken a long-term view of things. When he was 4 , he surprised his mother by asking for a pack of football cards. She thought it was a strange request from a child so young. What Pearman did when he received the cards surprised her even more.

Instead of tearing into them, Pearman stored them, unopened.

“He said they were more valuable if you kept them closed,” she said. “Other kids wanted expensive presents, but if you gave him a $1.99 deck of cards, he was perfectly happy.”

Pearman grew up around football. His father played and coached at Colgate, and was drafted by the Baltimore Colts. He also coached at Princeton and at Williams College.

Pearman attended games and practices, mimicking the drills he saw the college players doing. “He’s always been around people who were very serious about athletics,” his father said. And about life.

Aidee Pearman stayed at home with her children for 18 years. When she entered the workplace, she did it with a passion, working three jobs at one point.

Alvin, then in elementary school, took notice.

“It was motivating,” he said.

When Pearman was 11, his mother was attacked by a dog. She was told she could lose both her legs. Health insurance didn’t cover all the medical costs.

“It set us back as a family for a while,” she said. “But the kids learned you didn’t have to have a lot to be happy.”

Aidee Pearman perse vered. After her legs healed, she began walking dogs, to heal her mental scars. And, needless to say, she returned to work.

“It was just another example of how strong a person she is,” Pearman said.

“I respect her more than anything in the whole world. She’s my hero.”

If his mother was his hero, Pearman’s father, a track and football coach, was his model, and mentor.

Pearman ate up all the drills his dad threw at him. Then asked for more.

“He probably caught 10,000 balls when he was young,” his father said.

By the time he got to high school, at Charlotte Country Day, Pearman was opening the weight room each day at 6:30 a.m.

“All year long, game days and everything,” Witman said. “He gained 23 pounds between his sophomore and junior year, 10 more before his senior year, and got faster every year.”

George Welsh recruited and received an oral commitment from Pearman. When Groh took over, Pearman decided to look around again before signing.

He didn’t look long.

“Al Groh was just a blessing for Alvin,” Pearman’s father said. “He’s just the perfect coach for him, a very serious, no-nonsense, no excuses kind of guy.”

Groh appreciated his young player’s mature, meticulous approach.

Pearman appreciated Groh’s willingness to throw freshmen into the mix immediately.

Pearman returned the opening kickoff of the 2001 season — the first play of his college football career — 61 yards to set up a field goal at Wisconsin. By midseason, he was starting at tailback.

He finished as Virginia’s leader in all-purpose yards, with 1,167.

Pearman’s sophomore season ended early with a knee injury at Penn State. He threw himself into his rehabilitation and returned a half-step faster in 2003.

Pearman caught 63 passes last season, including a school-record 16 against Florida State. He also returned punts and kickoffs and played on the punt coverage team.

This year, Pearman has added a physical element to his game. He’s noticeably stronger, at 5-foot-9 and 204 pounds.

And, as usual, he’s brimming with energy and what Groh calls “want to.”

Pearman carried 38 times against Duke and also caught three passes. He followed that with 31 carries against Maryland.

Last week, Pearman carried 17 times, caught three passes and returned five punts in the win over Georgia Tech.

Groh thinks Pearman’s versatility could be his ticket to an NFL career. That, and his “professional” approach.

“He takes his game very seriously. He prepares very thoroughly, and he’s very passionate about it,” Groh said. “And I think that’s what it takes to make a professional in any occupation.”

If drive were all it took, Pearman would be a lock.

“It’s just my nature and how I was raised,” he said. “I’m a very optimistic person.”

Not to mention, on football Saturdays, a busy one.

Welcome, but don't beat U.Va.
Sen. George Allen, a former quarterback at Virginia, is an advocate for both state ACC members, but he maintains a rooting interest in their annual meeting.
BY DAVE FAIRBANK
247-4637
Published November 26, 2004

Whenever Sen. George Allen finds himself in a group, he tends to mentally organize people according to football positions - center, right guard, right tackle, tight end, etc.

It's understandable, given his background. Virginia's junior senator is the son of longtime NFL coach George Allen and is a former quarterback at the University of Virginia.

Allen lettered in 1972 and '73. He led the Cavaliers in passing in '72, completing 55 of 115 passes for 650 yards, with five touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

The Cavaliers defeated Tech 24-20 in Charlottesville in '72, and the Hokies won 27-15 the following year in Blacksburg. The two teams play again on Saturday in Blacksburg with a potential ACC championship at stake.

Football is rarely far from his thinking. As head of the National Republican Senate Committee for the past two years, he handed out game balls and trophies to senators who excelled in his view.

Q: What recollections do you have of the Virginia-Virginia Tech game from your playing days?

A: It was always a big rivalry. I think it means more now that the game matters in conference standings, but it mattered a great deal for people who went to high school in Virginia. Neither team in those days was as good as the teams are now. This was the early '70s, and Virginia Tech did have some decent teams prior to that.

Q: Any specific games or moments that you recall personally?

A: Sometimes I started, sometimes I came in as a backup, but I was always a (place-kick) holder. One time we had a field-goal attempt and the snap was errant. There was no way to get it down for the kicker, so I ran around, threw a pass, but we didn't score a touchdown out of it. ... What I remember playing down there was not only was it a bitter rivalry, but bitter cold wind. One of those types of cold that just goes right through you. I remember having a cold, so it seemed even colder.

Q: What are your thoughts on Virginia Tech being a part of the ACC?

A: I'm very much in favor of it. I remember there were a group of business leaders, including (Tech president Charles) Steger, whenever all this started, and one of the questions came up as to whether Virginia Tech should be in the ACC. This was before things really started gearing up and all the machinations and maneuverings of the Big East and the ACC trying to expand. And I mentioned the hypocrisy of college football.

I said, "Of course Virginia Tech should be in the ACC, by every logical measure it should be in the ACC: geographically, as well as shared research with Virginia and Duke and Wake Forest and Georgia Tech and shared consortiums work with Virginia Tech." And the only reason Virginia Tech was not in the ACC is because it's a small media market, and conferences are driven almost exclusively by money.

My main goal as this all progressed was to try to make sure that Virginia Tech was in a strong conference. If that was going to be the ACC, that was the preference. If not, I wanted the Big East to stay strong, because a strong conference gets TV revenues that help finance all your non-revenue sports.

Q: So it wasn't difficult for a Cavalier to support Virginia Tech coming to the ACC?

A: No, it wasn't. I'm not going to say that I didn't get a lot of nasty e-mails and letters and comments. In fact, I was at the Virginia-Miami game and a few people are still grousing at me about it. But knowing what I know of athletics and what it would mean for women and men to have those athletic experiences, which are very important, Virginia Tech needed to be in a strong conference. I've always said it was logical geographically, as well as academically, for them. I was looking at what's in the best interest of Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the men and women who attend our institutions. I think it's worked out great.

Q: Has your experience in football and athletics helped you in Congress and politics?

A: It's helped immensely, in campaigns, as governor and in the Senate. Football in particular is such a team sport and everyone has a role. It doesn't matter if you're the quarterback, the right guard, a receiver, the coaches, the equipment manager - everyone's involved and everyone has to be committed to executing to the best of their ability. Even the assistant equipment manager, if he doesn't do his job, that can foul up the whole team.

I remember my father saying about his assistants that he didn't want to coach the coaches. And I wanted cabinet members, if I could find them, who knew more about their area of jurisdiction than I did. That made it stronger. I called my cabinet "The Competitiveness Cabinet" because I wanted to make sure Virginia was more competitive for investment and jobs. The same thing applies in campaigns. The same thing applies in the U.S. Senate.

Interestingly, the open Senate seats in the South for Republicans or Democrats who retired all ended up being NFC South states: North and South Carolina for the Panthers, the Falcons in Georgia, the Tampa Bay Bucs in Florida and the Saints in Louisiana. I told people we've got to come out of the NFC South with a winning record. It drives some of these folks nuts because they had no idea what I was talking about. I got a lucky football in Louisiana and had a Sharpie and wrote NFC South and my name on it, so no one would steal it, or at least so they'd know whose ball it was. I carried it to stops all over the South. It turned out to be lucky because we went 5-0.

Q: What do you enjoy personally about football?

A: I just love the passion of football, the spirit, the teamwork of it. The discipline, pushing yourself, pushing your team, really does translate. People get on me about my incessant sports analogies. I'd like to use racing analogies more, but nobody in Washington understands NASCAR, they're so out of touch with the real world.

The thing that's great about football, and any sport, is that it's a meritocracy. It's what we should aspire to for this country. People on a team don't care what their race is, their religion, their ethnicity, where they're from. All you care about is can they produce? Can they catch, can they tackle, can they block, can they throw, kick, whatever? Whether it's a track team or hockey team, football team, it's a pure meritocracy. There's accountability. Those who produce and do well are rewarded. That gives you an opportunity to play and win, and that's really how society ought to be.

Q: Do you care to predict the outcome of the Tech-Virginia game?

A: (Laughs) Let me preface it this way. I'm for Virginia Tech in every game that they play except one. I'm for U.Va. in every game that they play. I'll be for U.Va.

Virginia's defense is going to have their hands full with Tech's quarterback, but I think they can contain him. Their offense is going to have to be imaginative with Tech's defense. I'm not going to predict a score. I'm going to be for U.Va., but I haven't been very good at predicting scores.

Tigers’ Kelly shows no remorse
Player says he would kick player in the head again if put in same situation
The Associated Press

CLEMSON — Clemson tailback Yusef Kelly says he was defending himself when he kicked a South Carolina player who lay face-down, helmet off, hands covering his head during Saturday’s brawl between the Tigers and the Gamecocks.

“If I hadn’t done it to him, he would have done it to me if he had the chance,” Kelly told The (Charleston) Post and Courier.

Kelly, 22, knows he has become a symbol of the late-game fight that led the two schools to decline bowl invitations. But the former Walterboro High star said he doesn't regret what he did.

“It was a fight,” he said. “Everybody knows things like that happen during a fight.”

One could make a convincing case that three highly visible actions by Kelly contributed greatly to Monday's decision by the schools to cut their seasons one game short.

Athletics director Terry Don Phillips said earlier this week that Kelly’s conduct was “unacceptable.”

Bowden banned his assistant coaches and players from speaking to the media after Monday's announcement. Kelly is the first representative of the team to comment publicly.

After the kicking incident, Kelly picked up a South Carolina helmet and paraded it around the end zone before tossing it into the student section at Memorial Stadium. After the game, he told reporters he hoped his toss would occupy a famous — not infamous — niche in Clemson lore.

“I know the die-hard Clemson fans, they are going to love it,” he said after his team's 29-7 victory. “I think I kind of left an impression. They'll have something to remember me by.”

The senior said the Gamecocks started it all before the game, waiting in the east end zone as Clemson made its traditional entrance down the Hill. A group of Tigers, led by linebacker Leroy Hill, stopped and confronted the Gamecocks. A brief scuffle broke out before coaches broke it up.

“When you get disrespected by people meeting you at the bottom of the Hill — that's just something you don't do,” Kelly said. “It's one thing to disrespect the players, but when you disrespect an age-old tradition like that, you just don't do that.”

The university has ruled out further action against Clemson players who were involved in the fight, and Kelly said a suspension from school would have been unfair.

“It’s not like I'm out there shooting people, selling drugs or anything like that,” he said. “I don't get in trouble. I’m a model student. I go to class. I do my work. And to have this one blemish on my record, I don't think that merits kicking me out of school.”

Kelly said he would react the same way if put in the same situation.

“We wouldn't change it, because how can you get mad at somebody for helping their teammates?” he said. “Take those same people who say punching and kicking is wrong: If somebody was to threaten them or harm them in any way, what are they going to do? Just sit there and take it? No. It's basic human, animal instinct to defend yourself.

“It was just us getting caught up in the moment. It's nothing serious.”

Hit the sack
Blackstock keeps crunching quarterbacks in his march toward Slade's career record
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 26, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE Darryl Blackstock has been blessed with extraordinary reserves of energy, and that's a good thing for a young man who, at 21, is juggling football, school and fatherhood.

"I just keep moving," Blackstock said the other day during an interview conducted as he climbed a flight of stairs at University Hall.

A 6-4, 240-pound junior from Newport News, Blackstock lines up at outside linebacker in Virginia's 3-4 defense. He weighed some 25 pounds less when, on the eve of the 2002 season, he told reporters he hoped to break Chris Slade's school record of 40 career sacks.

He's not there yet, but Blackstock is in hot pursuit again after totaling seven sacks in his past three games. That gave him 27 for his career, the second-most in U.Va. history and the second-most by a linebacker in ACC history.

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"I'm not really worried about the record," Blackstock said. "I just want to win."

No. 16 Virginia (5-2, 8-2) closes its regu lar season tomorrow against No. 11 Virginia Tech (5-1, 8-2) at Lane Stadium in a game with ACC title implications. Rest assured, No. 56 figures prominently in the Hokies' scouting report.

"Blackstock, he's got quickness coming off that edge now," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "He is flat quick."

That speed was apparent from Blackstock's first practice at U.Va., and he had 10 sacks as a freshman. No longer able to sneak up on opponents, he dropped off to six (in 13 games) as a sophomore. After seven games this season, Blackstock had four sacks but only 24 tackles.

"I was like, 'That's not me,'" he recalled.

His declining production didn't go unnoticed. What's wrong with Blackstock? Reporters who covered the team posed that question, as did U.Va. fans.

Not John Shuman, who coached Blackstock on Fork Union Military Academy's postgraduate team in 2001.

"I said, 'There ain't nothing wrong with that guy,'" Shuman recalled this week. "When all that stuff was hitting, I said, 'I'm going to tell you something right now, he'll come back,' and man, that's what he did."

Al Groh is in his fourth season as Virginia's head coach. In 1989, when Groh coached the New York Giants' linebackers, a group that included Lawrence Taylor, the pressing question at one point was, "What's wrong with L.T.?"

"Well," Groh said, "'what's wrong' was that the other team decided they weren't going to let him be a factor in the game."

Blackstock is familiar with such tactics.

"I get [triple-teamed] some plays," he said. "It's crazy, man. Doubling is one thing, but tripling is hard."

Blackstock's breakthrough came Nov. 6, when he had two sacks against Maryland. He got two more a week later in a loss to Miami. Then, last weekend, in a crucial road victory over Georgia Tech, Blackstock sacked Reggie Ball three times. With 11 for the season, Blackstock leads the ACC.

"Perhaps it is just a circumstance of some things opening up for him, or maybe the matchups are a little bit more advantageous to him, but his game's evolving too," Groh said of Blackstock. "He's better at doing some things now than he was in Week 2. And that's as it should be."

After leaving Heritage High, where he'd recorded 29 sacks for a state-championship team in 2000, Blackstock enrolled at Fork Union. There, he repeated the 12th grade and honed his exceptional talent for football.

"He had it," Shuman recalled, "and he knew he had it, but he worked harder to get better."

Blackstock, who was 4 when he last saw his father, has a 15-month-old son, Savion, to whom he's devoted. Savion lives with his mother, also a U.Va. student, and she and Blackstock take turns caring for their son.

"I seen him probably five, six days out of the week," said Blackstock, who has a tattoo on his arm that reads: Strong Dedicated Dad.

Blackstock is considered a terrific NFL prospect, and the day figures to come when he'll be able to better provide for Savion. But Blackstock said he's in no hurry to decide between entering the NFL draft a year early or returning to U.Va. for his senior season.

"I'm not worried about it right now," he said.

 

After turkey, Hokies, Cavs vie for big slice of BCS pie
BOB LIPPER
POINT OF VIEW
Nov 26, 2004
Bob Lipper
Contact Bob Lipper at (804) 649-6555 or e-mail blipper @timesdispatch.com

Let us revel. Let us wallow in football bliss. Let us gather together and celebrate one king-size Virginia-vs.-Virginia Tech encounter of the earthshaking kind. Let us whoop it up till we drop. Let us remember, you know, to be civilized about it.

This will be the 86th meeting of Cavaliers and Hokies, and there's never been another like it. Oh, no question we've witnessed memorable games between the two. Back-to-back in 1999-2000, for instance, you had U.Va. overcoming a 22-point halftime deficit to win 36-32 in Blacksburg and a year later a Tech freshman named Michael Vick performing dazzling high-wire tricks during a 31-7 romp in Charlottesville.

But those were provincial tussles compared to tomorrow's big-picture collision in Lane Stadium.

Were talking 6.8-on-the-Richter-scale magnitude here. The Cavs and Hokies haven't played a football game that counted in a league's standings since 1935 in the old Southern Conference. That missing piece to their long series ends tomorrow. Plus - and this maybe comes as something of a shock to Sunshine State residents - a conference championship is on the line.

Florida State and Miami were supposed to begin and end the ACC pennant race when they met in early September. Uh-uh. Instead, it's Tech - in its ACC debut - and U.Va. who've muscled in on the territory. Beat U.Va. and then Miami next week, and the Hokies claim the title. Beat Tech, and the Cavs move into a tie for first. Either way, tomorrow's winner winds up no worse than co-champion. And remains alive for a BCS bid.

As U.Va. coach Al Groh said, "You can't have a much bigger pot on the table than that."

There's only been one other ACC rivalry-game finale as weighty, in fact - a season-ending matchup between North Carolina and Duke in 1963 that both teams entered with 5-1 league records. The Tar Heels won, tied N.C. State for the championship and went to the Gator Bowl. Tech-U.Va. is the ACC's first decisive intrastate battle royal since then.

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It'll be a new experience for current Cavs and Hokies, but some of them have faced off for high stakes as schoolboys. Take U.Va. cornerback Marcus Hamilton. He played on the 2000 Centreville High team that earned a state championship by beating a Deep Creek squad that included future Techies Darryl Tapp, Josh Hyman, Chris Clifton and James Anderson. He's eager to renew acquaintances - and maybe results as well.

"We need this victory to do some things we want to do," said Hamilton. "It'll be fun to go out and jaw with some of those guys and go for that."

On the other side, Tech defensive tackle Jonathan Lewis wants to avoid a repeat of the 1999 state-title decision in which Hylton High got the best of Varina. Lewis played for Varina. U.Va. linebacker Ahmad Brooks suited up for Hylton. They've gotten to know one another since then. Lewis likes Brooks. He'd also like to send him back to C'ville a loser.

"Oh, it's a big deal," Lewis said. "It's bragging rights. It's a backyard brawl. It's going to be real physical. This game is big. There's a lot of things on the line."

Other rivalries have gone through this all-the-marbles stuff before. Michigan vs. Ohio State used to decide Big Ten titles and Rose Bowl berths annually. When Nebraska played real football, its slugfests with Oklahoma determined Orange Bowl slots and propelled the winner toward national championships. Southern Cal-UCLA once settled matters in the pre-expansion Pac-8.

This is Tech-U.Va.'s moment. Maybe it'll be repeated - neither roster is overpopulated with seniors - but you never know. There are Hurricanes and Seminoles out there and no guarantees. Meaning we should enjoy this occasion. Meaning it won't be like this every year.

So if you're a Tech or U.Va. person and you spot someone you know from the other camp outside the stadium or in the checkout line at your neighborhood supermarket, here's what you should do. No matter what the weather is, smile and look that Cav or Hokie in the eye and say, "Isn't this a great day for football?" And it is. It truly is.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Nov 26, 2004

WORTHY CAUSE: Coach Al Groh, a Sigma Nu from the University of Virginia, has enthusiastically lent his support to another fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, that is raising money for the V Foundation.

Fijis - as Phi Gam members are known - at U.Va. and Virginia Tech are, for the second consecutive year, holding the Fiji Run Across Virginia before the Hokies-Cavaliers football game. A year ago, the run raised more than $35,000 for the V Foundation, which honors the memory of Jim Valvano by funding cancer research. The Fijis hope to raise more than $50,000 this year.

"So, cancer being something that strikes almost every family in some way . . . I'm happy to help these kids with what they're doing," said Groh, who became friends with Valvano during the latter's tenure at N.C. State.

Members of the Fiji chapter at U.Va. will run the game ball from Charlottesville to Lynchburg. There, Fijis from Virginia Tech will take over and carry the ball the rest of the way to Blacksburg. At Lane Stadium tomorrow, fraternity brothers will present a check to V Foundation representatives.

Visit www.fijirunacrossvirginia.com for more information.

BRRRRR: When the Cavaliers played at Lane Stadium in 2002, cold, blustery conditions made it difficult for them to pass, a staggering blow to a team that had a dropback quarterback and an inconsistent running game.

Groh has long been a fan of power football, and his latest team has the ACC's top rushing attack. He said his belief that a team must be able to run the ball in bad weather is a product of 13 seasons on NFL coaching staffs, not the 2002 game in Blacksburg.

"You see those guys up there on television?" Groh said last weekend, pointing to an NFL game being shown in the University Hall press room.

"December's full of those guys. In other words, for 13 years, my Decembers were spent in New York, Cleveland or Boston. And if we weren't playing there, at home, we were playing in Buffalo, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, most of those kinds of places."

NUMBERS GAME: There are not enough snaps, Groh pointed out, for each of the Cavaliers' skill-position players - namely, wideouts Fontel Mines, Michael McGrew and Deyon Williams, tailbacks Wali Lundy and Alvin Pearman and tight end Heath Miller - to get the ball repeatedly in the course of a game.

"Quite frankly, if McGrew had eight catches, and Mines had five catches, and Miller didn't have any, then everybody would be saying, 'Don't you think you should get the ball to Miller more?'" Groh said. "But the Mines fan club would be happy, and the McGrew fan club would be happy. And the Alvin Pearman fan club would be happy.

"Now, if Wali gets it 27 times [against the Hokies], and Alvin gets it 13, somebody's going to say, 'How come you decided not to use Alvin as much?'"

Mines, a sophomore from Hermitage High, started in the Sept. 4 opener against Temple and had two catches before breaking his collarbone in the second quarter. Since returning Oct. 23, he's had the ball thrown his way twice. Mines' reception against Georgia Tech last weekend was his first since the opener.

"I make a lot of catches in practice, and I know Marques [Hagans] has full confidence in me, and trusts me," Mines said, "but just to boost my self-confidence up, it helped a lot."

TRASH TALK: U.Va. cornerback Marcus Hamilton is a graduate of Centreville High, which is well-represented on the Virginia Tech roster.

He'd look forward to tomorrow's game even if he didn't know anybody on the other team, Hamilton said, "but since I do know a bunch of the guys - I know guys from Centreville, Westfield, Deep Creek, Varina - it's just going to be fun."

Hamilton, who had two interceptions last weekend at Georgia Tech, said after that game that none of his Tech friends had called to talk up the Hokies' Nov. 18 rout of Maryland.

"I didn't hear from them, but I'm going to sure make a few phone calls this week and talk to a couple of my buddies over there," he said. - Jeff White

Son Is the Center of Blackstock's Universe
U-Va. Junior Balances Football, Parenthood
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, November 26, 2004; Page D07

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Passionately engaged and immediately engaging, Darryl Blackstock is among the most dynamic personalities on the Virginia football team. No matter the topic, he draws in listeners with a charismatic grin. But ask Blackstock about his 15-month-old son, Savion, and he really lights up.

"That's my pride," he said. "He brings the glow to any room. He makes my day 10 times better. I can go out, I can have the worst practice, the worst time in class, 10 papers due, you know, and I pick up my son and everything's all right."

Darryl Blackstock, left, celebrates one of his 27 career sacks in Virginia's 2003 win over Duke. Blackstock shares custody of his 15-month-old son, Savion, with the boy's mother. (Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)

Blackstock, a 21-year-old junior, shares custody of Savion with the boy's mother, fellow U-Va. student Ashley Brown. He has been involved from the start, ever mindful of his own experience as a child who knew almost nothing of his biological father. His promise is etched permanently in his left forearm. "Strong Dedicated DAD," the tattoo reads.

"Regardless that me and Darryl aren't together anymore, he's still a great dad," said Brown, 20. "He's been a great dad from day one and it's obvious that he loves his son. He'll do anything for him."

Born in Georgia and raised in Newport News, Va., Blackstock can't remember the last time he saw the man whose name he carries. He might have been 4 years old. "I don't know him," he said matter-of-factly.

In 1994, his mother, Linda, married Legrant Williams, but for years Blackstock was cool toward his stepfather's attempts to develop a close relationship.

"Growing up, I really had nobody to look up to," Blackstock said. "I looked to my friends. I looked to my teammates for help and guidance and stuff. . . . I really didn't have much [of a father figure], to be honest with you. I mean, my stepdad, he's been there for me, but . . . I didn't accept him for a while. Until I got here, actually. Until I got to U-Va."

Though he has seen in Williams a positive example of fatherhood, Blackstock acknowledged that his desire to be there for Savion is fueled even more directly by negative memories of his biological father.

"I don't ever want to be nothing that he is," Blackstock said. "That makes me want to be 10 times better than he is. It makes me want to be more successful. I want to be a dad. All he is is just my father. I want to be a dad. There's a big difference."

And so when he learned two years ago he was about to become a father, Blackstock knew he had a new top priority. "It was something he had to accept," Brown said.

Blackstock and Brown, already close friends, began dating after learning of her pregnancy during their freshman year. They moved in together. They considered baby names, agreeing he would choose if the child was a girl (he would've gone with Amaya) and she would choose if it was a boy, as long as she didn't pick Darryl.

On the night of Aug. 13, 2003, Blackstock got permission to skip a team meeting to be at Martha Jefferson Hospital for the birth of his son, named for tap dancer Savion Glover. His romance with Brown ended about nine months later.

"I had to deal with it as a responsibility," Blackstock said. "I couldn't take that out on the child. The child was innocent, so regardless if I'm with her or not, I got to step up to the plate, do what I got to do."

It hasn't been easy. Blackstock also has schoolwork and hours of football practice and preparation, though Brown said she handles most of the daily routine of caring for Savion. Brown is working in retail but is preparing to return to classes at U-Va. after missing three semesters because of the pregnancy and another personal issue. Their college years, especially hers, are far different than they would otherwise be.

Still, Blackstock does his best to juggle everything. Some mornings, he said, Savion is "my extra push to get out of bed," but he is always able to focus solely on football when he reports for work. Blackstock is single-minded in his pursuit of perfection as an outside linebacker, poring over game film more than most players and devouring detailed instruction from Cavaliers Coach Al Groh and position coach Danny Rocco.

"Darryl's personality," Groh said, "is one of energy and intensity. He's a very involved person in whatever he does."

Blackstock leads the ACC with 11 sacks this season and has 27 in his career, second in Virginia history behind Chris Slade, whose team and conference record of 40 sacks Blackstock has been eyeing since he got to college.

Five of those sacks came in the past two games against Miami and Georgia Tech, with Savion in attendance with his paternal grandparents for his first football games. "I was looking at him and he'll just be clapping, clapping, clapping," Blackstock said with a laugh. "He don't know what he's clapping at, but he's clapping."

But where will dad play next year? Blackstock is among a handful of Cavaliers who could leave early for the NFL draft after the season. "I already know what I'm going to do," he said with a grin. "I like to keep everybody guessing."

Brown said Blackstock hasn't told her of his decision. His mother, Linda Williams, said even she doesn't know yet. All agree that Savion's presence likely won't affect the decision. He'll have a dad either way.

"He knows that Savion comes first no matter what," Williams said. "It's great. Thank God he's doing good. He's taking care of his baby first."