Long earns 1st postseason trophy
Virginia star named ACC's top defender, tabbed finalist for Hendricks Award
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | (434)978-7250
November 28, 2007

Chris Long watched it in person.
Former Virginia safety Anthony Poindexter terrorized opposing offensive players with chinstrap-adjusting hits.
He heard how former Texas running back Ricky Williams, the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner, said Poindexter was the greatest player he had ever faced.
In 1998, Poindexter, now the Cavaliers’ running backs coach, was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
On Wednesday, Long, a senior defensive end, joined Poindexter as the only Cavaliers to stake such a claim.
In a landslide, Long was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, garnering 69 of the 71 votes for the award as selected by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson and Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler received one vote apiece.
“It means a lot,” said Long, who was also named a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award. “Anything that happens from here on out, it’s unreal to me. It’s been a wild ride and a great four years.
“To go out with a solid senior season means a lot to me, and the way we’ve played this year makes it all the more gratifying.”
Thanks in part to the 6-foot-4, 279-pounder, Virginia finished 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the ACC, which secured second place in the Coastal Division. The Cavaliers await an invitation, which likely comes Sunday, to play in the Chick-fil-A, Gator or Champs Sports bowls.
Long leads the conference in sacks (13.5) and tackles for a loss (18.5) and led the league’s defensive linemen with 6.2 tackles per game.
“[The ACC is] a conference that plays good defense,” Long said. “Just to get this is gratifying, it’s humbling and it’s an honor.”
Long was also honored on Monday, making the All-ACC First Team as the only unanimous selection.
He did, however, lose out on one award - Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, edged Long, 50-18, in the balloting for the league’s player of the year award, which typically goes to an offensive player.
Ryan, also a senior, passed for a BC-record 28 touchdowns and 3,953 yards and guided the Eagles to Saturday’s ACC title game against Virginia Tech.
“There are guys when they walk in a room and you can tell they are winners,” said Long, recounting when he first met Ryan at the ACC Kickoff in July in Pinehurst, N.C. “It was probably the first thing I said to [Virginia tight end] Tom Santi, ‘This dude’s a winner. You can tell. He’s going to have a big year.’
“That’s why they are in that game this weekend. He couldn’t be a guy more deserving.”
Long said he was hopeful that winning the award brought recognition to UVa and Charlottesville.
“I am just happy to represent the University of Virginia,” Long said. “I am learning from the best here … everything else is just hard work and staying on it everyday.
“It’s been a dream to play college football in my hometown. Everything that I can do positively I am proud to do it as a native of Charlottesville. It feels good to do it all close to home.”
He also singled out his dad, Howie, an NFL Hall of Famer, and his coaching staff at St. Anne’s-Belfield, namely coach John Blake and defensive coordinator Charlie Scott, for a piece of advice that led to his progression as a Cavalier.
“They said, ‘Play every play like it’s your last play,’” Long recounted. “It’s cliché, but really, if you think about it, it’s hard to do.
“You just try to do that and never be satisfied with your progress and you will always be improving.”
 

It's Long, in a landslide
U.Va. star is ACC's top defender; Ryan is player of the year
Thursday, Nov 29, 2007 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- University of Virginia defensive end Chris Long was on a conference call with reporters last night when a familiar voice spoke up.

"I don't have any questions, just a comment," said Al Groh, phoning in from a recruiting trip. "You're the best."

The Cavaliers' coach isn't the only one who feels that way. Long, a 6-4, 279-pound senior from nearby Ivy, yesterday was named ACC defensive player of the year. The oldest son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long was the choice of 69 of the 71 Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association members who voted.

Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson and Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler received one vote apiece.

"It's unreal to me," Long said. "It's been a wild ride and a great four years. To go out with a solid senior season means a lot to me, and the way we've played this year makes it all the more gratifying."

Long finished second to Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan in voting for ACC player of the year. Ryan also was named ACC offensive player of the year.

At an ACC gathering in Pinehurst, N.C., in July, Long got to hang out with players from other conference teams, Ryan among them.

"There are guys who when they walk in the room, you're know they're winners," Long said. "The amount of respect I know [Ryan] probably claims in that locker room just by his presence is remarkable. That's why they're in the game this weekend. I wish him the best."

Ryan, a senior, has passed for 3,953 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. Boston College (10-2) plays Virginia Tech (10-2) in the ACC championship game Saturday.

Asked Tuesday about ACC player of the year, Groh said, "If Chris Long wins the award, he'll be a tremendously deserving award winner . . . but the same could be said about Matt Ryan. I've watched Matt Ryan play on a number of occasions and have a tremendous amount of respect for what he did for his team. He seems to have the same emotional presence and input on his team that Chris has on our team."

Long, who leads the conference with 14 sacks, was the only unanimous choice on the all-ACC first team, which was announced Monday. Groh was named ACC coach of the year Tuesday.

"It's good for us to be able to represent the University of Virginia football program that way," said Long, a graduate of St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville.

Long, a finalist for several national awards, is the second U.Va. player to be honored as the ACC's top defender. Anthony Poindexter, who now coaches the Cavaliers' running backs, won the award as a safety in 1998.

Under Groh, Virginia's base defense has been the 3-4. It's not a scheme known for showcasing ends, who often must battle double teams.

"It's a daunting task to come into a defensive system where you're doing one of the hardest things on the field," Long said. "Rather than be intimidated by it, you realize you have to work really hard and master it, or you're going to look bad doing it. I never wanted to look bad."

In helping Virginia post a 9-3 regular-season record, Long looked great. He made 75 tackles, including 19 for loss and one for a safety. He broke up seven passes, forced two fumbles and blocked one kick. He also had an interception that he returned 25 yards.

 

U.Va. is just glad to be bowl eligible this year
The Cavaliers are anxious for a chance to make a better showing in whatever bowl awaits them.
BY MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
9:08 PM EST, November 28, 2007
 

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia won't find out until Sunday which bowl it will play in, but the destination seems to matter less than the opportunity.

"We're already anxious to get back and find out where we're gonna play football next," Cavaliers defensive end Chris Long said after the Cavaliers' 33-21 loss to Virginia Tech last Saturday denied U.Va. the Coastal Division title and a shot to play for the ACC championship. "We know that wherever we're given the opportunity to play a bowl game, we're gonna play hard."

"I think that's how we all feel," Cavs coach Al Groh said at his Tuesday press conference. "(The Tech game) wasn't our best performance. For everything that we've done and all the positives that all of us take coming out of this year, we'd like the prevailing winds of the last game to be fresh and positive ones."

Barring unlikely developments, Virginia will take one of the top three bowls for ACC teams remaining after Saturday's conference championship game winner accepts the league's Bowl Championship Series bid to the Orange Bowl. The Cavs likely will land in either the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 31, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville on Jan. 1 or the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 28.

"To come, in one year, from not being bowl eligible to being bowl eligible and being in one of the top four games for the conference is a great show of progress," Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said.

Bowls have a little leeway in their contracted choices, but must pick a team within one loss of its designated slot within the conference standings. The loser of Saturday's title game between Virginia Tech (10-2, 7-1) and Boston College (10-2, 6-2), along with Virginia (9-3, 6-2) and Clemson (9-3, 5-3), are in the mix for the top three non-BCS spots. The Gator Bowl has said it won't take the title game loser, since that team will have played in Jacksonville a month earlier, and BC historically doesn't travel well to bowl games, making Clemson and Virginia potentially more attractive choices.

ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach projects Virginia to meet Indiana in the Champs Sports Bowl (No. 4 ACC vs. No. 4/5 Big Ten), while the Web site's Ivan Maisel predicts Virginia will face Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl (No. 3 ACC vs. Big 12 No. 4/Big East No. 2). CBSportsline.com and CNN-Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel also have the Cavaliers meeting the Red Raiders in the Gator.

"We know that we're gonna get a real good team," Groh said. "That's the exciting thing about earning your way into a game like that. ... If you finish at a certain level in your conference, you're going to get a good game, so you need to be ready for that."

When the Cavaliers practice again on Friday, it'll be with a determined sense of purpose.

"This is a game that we're taking deadly serious. This isn't a vacation trip," Groh said. "You can't do football 24 hours a day. There will be some nice things for the players to be able to enjoy as a team ... but our focus is on getting ourselves as ready as we can to play against high-level competition and try to win a 10th game."

 

How much is too much?
Eric Strow

Cavalier Daily

By this point you know what happened in Charlottesville Saturday, whether you were here at the game, home for Thanksgiving or living under a rock. Virginia lost 33-21 to Virginia Tech on a day when the Hokies simply outplayed the Cavaliers. But I don't want to talk about the football. I want to talk about the presentations and festivities that occurred before kickoff and during halftime, and why I think they may have taken the home crowd out of the game. It almost didn't even feel like a home game at all.

There were some nice gestures during the pre-game activities on behalf of the Cavaliers. The national anthem was played by soloist Michael Phillips on saxophone, which was a nice change of pace from the norm. He also played "Amazing Grace" after a moment of silence to remember the shooting victims of the tragedy in Blacksburg. A flag was rolled out displaying the Virginia and Virginia Tech logos on an outline of the Commonwealth, and the field goal net was replaced with a banner that read "Virginia pride" and again displayed both logos together. The pre-game ceremonies were topped off by a two-plane flyover, which is always awesome.

These gestures on behalf of the Cavalier family were appropriate for a football game played between these two rivals. Virginia showed its support for Virginia Tech, but the displays of unity needn't have carried over to the football game. After these ceremonies, all attention should have been focused on the game that decided which team would go to the ACC Championship. Virginia fans should have been able to start giving their Cavaliers a real home field advantage. This was not the case, however.

A number of regularly exciting pre-game activities were toned down to an extreme lull. The epitome of this would be the Adventures of CavMan -- also known as the reason why the entire Scott Stadium student section is packed by 11:56 a.m. as fans search for seats that give them a good view of HooVision.

In case you missed the video, the Hokie Bird was beamed down into the dungeon like every other opponent, CavMan jumped down like he always does, and then ... the two shook hands/feathers, and the message appeared, "Let's decide this one on the field."

Uh ... what?

What happened in Blacksburg is obviously still on everyone's minds, and rightfully so; it was a severe tragedy that nobody could possibly forget. We were all affected in some way, whether we are Hokies, Cavaliers or neither. And for that reason, I understand why HooVision wouldn't show CavMan killing HokieBird as he would vanquish any other opposing mascot. But I think its safe to say very few people were satisfied that this video ended with a handshake.

At this point, all things including the Hokies in Cavalier business should have ceased. The game is a rivalry game. It is played for the Commonwealth Cup. And, did I mention that the game decided who would compete in the ACC Championship?

But, things continued to go downhill after the Adventures of CavMan, which earned a chorus of boos from the crowd. CavMan and Sabre were already on the field, rather than dashing out of the tunnel. The team just walked out on the field instead of sprinting out to echoing cheers. There just seemed to be a lack of energy and excitement in Scott Stadium, which isn't how it should be for the biggest game in Charlottesville in many years. It was as if the game wasn't even in Charlottesville.

Later on, Virginia could have used a boost at halftime. But again, the ceremonies failed to provide a spark. It was nice to see Tiki Barber's jersey retired, and it is always a welcome moment to pay tribute to former Cavalier greats. But honoring a former Hokie? Unacceptable. There was no good reason we had to see Bruce Smith being honored at midfield. That had nothing to do with Virginia paying respects to those who were affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Asking Cavalier fans to applaud Smith in the name of "Virginia pride" takes a shot at our school pride.

A fellow Cav Daily sports writer worried about football trumping respect during this rivalry game. I don't want to say I believe the opposite happened, because having respect for one's opponent is always bigger than the game. But what I do believe is that football was buried beneath too many layers of "Virginia pride" fluff. The energy usually cooked up in pre-game events wasn't there, and halftime became as much about the Hokies as the Cavaliers, with their band being on our field and Bruce Smith being honored at our school. The lack of excitement took the crowd out of the game. It might even have affected the outcome -- home field advantage matters. Just look at what happens in Lane Stadium on gamedays.

In closing, it wasn't really a home game for the Cavaliers. Considering all the ceremonies, maroon-clad Hokie fans in attendance and their keys jingling on third downs it was as if the game wasn't being played on our home turf. There is a line that needs to be drawn to protect the importance of the football atmosphere. The University continues its efforts to support Tech, Cavalier fans rallied around their Hokie neighbors, and just as we did back in April, we still remember those whose lives were tragically taken. But by including Virginia Tech in so many gameday festivities in Charlottesville, it was as if the University willingly sacrificed its own identity -- and possibly the outcome of the game -- in a way that was not wholly necessary.
 

Give Groh a chance
Coaches need time to develop dominant football programs
Cavalier Daily
Ross Lawrence

AS ALWAYS, a Virginia loss brings out the Al Groh haters, once again claiming that the old ball coach has let the Wahoo faithful down. Admittedly, at a glance, the evidence can seem rather compelling: four straight losses to the archrival Hokies (Groh is 1-6 against his Virginia Tech counterpart Frank Beamer), two losing seasons during his watch, no ACC titles to brag on and not a New Year's Day Bowl or better to date. Pretty condemning results indeed. But before pulling out the pitchforks and torches, maybe a brief stroll through Virginia football history is in order.

For all intents and purposes, Virginia football as we know it began when George Welsh took over in 1982. There had been successful coaches prior to this, but no consistency in the program. Welsh took the Cavs to their first bowl game, the 1984 Peach Bowl, en route to becoming the most successful coach in ACC history. In addition, he was named National Coach of the Year three times during his tenure.

So it appears Groh had some big shoes to fill, right? Well, in one sense, yes. He replaced a Virginia legend, someone who took football at the University to an entirely new level. Yet at the same time, he inherited a program that had unquestionably seen better days. A year before Groh's arrival, the Hoos failed to win seven games in a season for the first time since 1986; they had also dropped four of the past six to the guys in maroon.

George Welsh will always be remembered as the person who took Cavalier football from the Cadavaliers to legitimate contenders. But the team seemed to plateau somewhere around seven, maybe eight wins per year. This doesn't seem too unreasonable for a school never known historically for big-time football. In fact, only Florida State, Michigan and Nebraska can match Welsh's run of consecutive seven-win regular seasons, making the feat seem even more impressive.

So why do we now call for the ax to fall on Groh's tenure? Is it because after seven years in Charlottesville, he's posted two losing seasons? Perhaps that's too many for our fans to endure. But it is also probably worth noticing that our team has a chance, with a bowl win, to reach 10 wins for only the second time in school history.

Lets face it, Virginia doesn't have the same recruiting pull as Virginia Tech, which has a national title appearance, a plethora of double-digit win seasons and seemingly endless Thursday night prime time slots on ESPN to entice athletes. The Hokies won football predominance in the Commonwealth long before Groh arrived. Yet despite this, our coach has more than once hauled in recruiting classes ranked in ESPN's annual top 10 for all of college football. Unfortunately, many of the young, talented assistants he's brought in have moved on to the NFL or to their own head coaching positions -- Bill Musgrave, Ron Prince, and Al Golden to name a few -- but at least this speaks to their abilities. For now, I'll hold my tongue on the issue of Mike Groh being offensive coordinator. It seems a little too much like nepotism for me, but that's another debate.

Coaching legends Bobby Bowden and Beamer have remarked that if the college football environment at the time of each one's hiring was as cutthroat as it is today, they would not have lasted past the first several years. This might seem to be nothing more than empathetic rhetoric, but a look at the facts suggests otherwise. When Beamer took the helm in Blacksburg, the Hokies put up four losing records in his first six seasons, including a pair of two-win campaigns in 1987 and 1992. He went 1-5 against Welsh and Virginia in this span. At this point, as one might imagine, his future with Tech was in peril. But the athletic department stuck with him, and the breakout season came in 1993, when his Hokies went -- and doesn't this sound familiar -- 9-3. The rest is history.

In light of this, a Groh-bashing celebration seems premature at best. If college coaches aren't given time to develop winning programs, but instead have unrealistic ultimatums shoved at them, then the era of great football dynasties is history. After all, at the end of the day, there are plenty of good teams much worse off than nine wins.

 

Charlotte selling itself on location
City bidding to host ACC football final
KEN TYSIAC
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com
Geography is one of Charlotte's main selling points as ACC athletics directors gather to discuss the future of the conference's football championship game Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.

Charlotte and Florida sites Jacksonville and Tampa have submitted bids for the ACC championship games from 2008 through 2010. Several weeks ago, each city presented its case to athletics directors during a meeting in Raleigh.

Commissioner John Swofford expects more dialogue Friday, with a final vote of athletics directors held by conference call within two weeks.

The location of Charlotte close to most of the ACC schools is considered the city's biggest asset.

"With eight schools within 300 miles in the real heart of ACC country, we think Charlotte is the right choice for the ACC," said Tim Newman, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

Jacksonville outbid Charlotte and other cities as the original host site and will host its third ACC title game Saturday when Boston College meets Virginia Tech. Tax records for the most recent year available, 2005, show revenue of $5,749,605 and expenses of $1,232,155 for the ACC for the first championship game.

The small crowd for Wake Forest's win against Georgia Tech last season in Jacksonville opened the door for another round of bidding.

In addition to comparing bids, the ACC athletics directors are considering whether they want to move the championship game to different sites the way the Big 12 does or keep it in one city the way the SEC does in Atlanta.

"Our conference has a significant geographic stretch, and we have four relatively small private institutions, which is a very important and positive part of our make-up," Swofford said. "But it's a little different than either of the other two major conferences that have championship games."

Swofford said the three bidding cities have excellent stadiums and local support, and made high-quality presentations to the athletics directors. Afterward, each city was asked to clarify certain aspects of its bid so ACC officials could make an accurate comparison.

Newman said the Carolina Panthers, who own Bank of America Stadium, have been good partners along with the city and private sector in Charlotte in the bidding process.