White: 'Hoos Hoping for Fantastic Finish
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 11/27/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- It seems an eternity ago, at least to those associated with the University of Virginia football program.
Nov. 29, 2003.
On that day, UVa whipped No. 21 Virginia Tech 35-21 at Scott Stadium. The Hokies' home then was the Big East, not the ACC. It was Al Groh's third season back at his alma mater, and his program was ascending. There was no reason to believe then that his first victory over the Hokies as the Cavaliers' coach might also be his last.
But that's likely to be the case unless Virginia (2-5 ACC, 3-8 overall) upsets 14th-ranked Tech (5-2, 8-3) in the regular-season finale for both teams Saturday (3:30 p.m.) at Scott Stadium.
The Wahoos will finish with a losing record for the third time in four seasons, and a coaching change appears imminent in Charlottesville no matter which team walks away with the Commonwealth Cup.
This is the first season since 1986, when they went 3-8, that the 'Hoos will win fewer than five games. A victory Saturday would not erase the pain of a frustrating year for the Cavaliers, but it would help.
Only once in a series that dates to 1895 has UVa lost six in a row -- 1958 to '63. That's a record the current team has no interest in matching.
"This is our last go-round, and regardless of whether it's going to be our fourth win or our 12th win, you've got to approach it the same way,'' said linebacker Aaron Clark, a team captain. "It's got to be the biggest game of the season."
Many of his players have voiced their support for Groh, whose record at UVa is 59-52. For his part, he has consistently deflected questions about his future at Virginia.
"No, it's not really about me," Groh told reporters Monday at John Paul Jones Arena. "It's about the team and it's about the players."
Those players include quarterback Jameel Sewell, a fifth-year senior who, like his teammates, never has beaten the Hokies. For a native Virginian such as Sewell, who was born in Richmond, that's tough to take.
"That's the thing that's pushing us," said Sewell, who ranks No. 3 in career passing yards at UVa.
"Right now we don't have a bowl game, we don't have a winning season, but we do have an opportunity to come out and compete and execute and try to beat Tech.
"None of us have done it, and we would love to be able to do it and get this Commonwealth Cup. It'd be a great feeling and a great way to go out on your last day of college football."
It won't be easy. As usual, the Hokies' defense ranks among the ACC's finest. And in quarterback Tyrod Taylor and tailback Ryan Williams, Tech has two of the nation's most explosive playmakers.
Taylor, a junior, leads the ACC in passing efficiency. He's thrown 13 touchdown passes and only three interceptions, and his scrambling ability is the stuff of legend.
Williams, a freshman, leads the ACC in rushing (123.2-yard average) and has run for 15 touchdowns.
UVa's coaching staff has "a lot of ideas" about how to limit Taylor's effectiveness, Groh said, "but then again, everybody's had ideas against him. His talent and his competitiveness have risen above those ideas. Schemes only count for so much. Mostly it's about the talent that's executing those ideas. But we certainly have some ideas. We had a fairly successful day last year. We'll have to change some things up, but we'll probably go down the same track."
Taylor's passing -- 12 for 18 for 137 yards and one touchdown -- wasn't the story in Tech's 17-14 win over UVa in Blacksburg last year. He hurt the 'Hoos more with his legs. Taylor ran for 137 yards, with 73 coming on a third-quarter run that set up the TD that pulled the Hokies to 14-14.
Williams redshirted last season and so didn't play in the game at Lane Stadium. He wasn't expected to assume such a prominent role this year, but the season-ending knee injury suffered by Darren Evans, the Hokies' No. 1 tailback in 2008, changed that.
A week after facing Clemson's C.J. Spiller, UVa has to try to slow another tailback who figures to play in the NFL one day. Williams has five runs of at least 44 yards this season.
"He's a tremendous talent," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said.
Groh, who's also Virginia's defensive coordinator, may be without one of his starting inside linebackers Saturday. Senior Darren Childs is doubtful with an ankle injury. His backup, Tucker Windle, is a true freshman who hasn't played much from scrimmage.
No matter who's out there for the Cavaliers, the objective will be same against Williams.
"No creases," Groh said. "We've said for years to our players that all running backs run the same when there's no hole. You don't stop the runner when you play against a runner like that. What you have to do is stop the blockers. If the blockers are unsuccessful, there are not many creases for the runner. If the blockers are successful, then the runner can go any place that he wants."
Before the game, UVa will recognize 30 fourth- and fifth-year seniors, a group that includes Sewell, wide receiver Vic Hall, running backs Rashawn Jackson and Mikell Simpson, offensive tackle Will Barker, defensive lineman Nate Collins, linebackers Denzel Burrell, Clark and Childs, cornerback Chris Cook and safety Brandon Woods.
"It's one of those games where it's going to be highly emotional," Jackson said.
Hall said: "This is it. There's nothing after this as far as college football for us, so this is a bowl game for us. It's the biggest game of our careers.''
For the Cavaliers to win Saturday, they'll need many of those seniors to shine, especially Sewell. Inconsistency has marked his career, but no one has questioned his effort on the field.
"Jameel's an intense competitor and one of the players on our team to whom this team means a great deal," Groh said. "That's the type of personality that players respond to in the huddle. They know they're going to get everything he's got on every play. Whether that turns out perfectly or not, they're going to get the very best that he's got or that he can give."
The Senior Day ceremony figures to be emotional for Groh, too, but "the time for nostalgia is after the game," he said. "I think most players, they understand that for some of them it will be their last time in this stadium and wearing this uniform that's been so important for them. At the same time, it's really the competition that provides the major motivation in a game like this."
That won't be the Cavaliers' only motivation Saturday. They know this could be Groh's final game at UVa.
"I'm sure it could light a lot of sparks in the players,'' Tech's Williams told reporters in Blacksburg. "I know it's going to be an emotional game, a very intense game, and I'm sure all those guys love Coach Groh, and are going to play their hearts out for [him]."
Groh can't promise that UVa will win Saturday. He's confident, though, that if the 'Hoos lose, it won't be for lack of effort.
"Anybody who's watched our team play over the last nine years knows that not every pass is completed, and not every kick is made, and not every play is stopped," Groh said. "But I'd say pretty much every time out our teams have played hard, they've played with energy and they've played with purpose.
"So this one's easy. All we have to do is be ourselves."
 

Next Man Up: Tucker Windle
Nov. 27, 2009
10:28 a.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- On the injury report UVa released Thursday night, one of the team's starting inside linebackers, Darren Childs, was listed as doubtful.

That means there's at least a 75-percent chance Childs, a senior, won't play Saturday against Virginia Tech in the battle for the Commonwealth Cup.

If Childs isn't available, Al Groh said Friday morning, the job will go to Tucker Windle, "a very promising young player for us."

A 6-3, 220-pound true freshman from Charlotte, N.C., Windle has appeared in six games for UVa. In all, he's been in for 95 plays -- 36 on defense and 59 on special teams.

In Virginia's loss at Clemson last weekend, Windle was in for 20 plays on defense, a career high.

"He's done a real good job in practice," Groh said, "and we expect he'll step up and do a real good job in the game if that's the circumstance."

Windle's father, Al, played linebacker at UVa in the '70s.

-- Jeff White

 

dailypress.com
The last go for Groh
David Teel
November 28, 2009

Al Groh coaches the University of Virginia's football team for the last time today against the most fitting opponent.

Virginia Tech.

No rival, trend or event more defined Groh's nine seasons. None contributed more to his demise.

Groh guided the Cavaliers to five bowls — they won three — and two top-25 finishes. He worked tirelessly, earned two ACC Coach of the Year honors and oversaw the development of five first-round NFL draft choices.

Groh irritated superiors and donors with unapologetic arrogance. He installed his ill-equipped son as offensive coordinator, mismanaged the roster and twice lost to Duke.

Yet no matter what he did — good, bad or indifferent — the chasm between the state's two premier football programs appeared to widen.

Virginia administrators and fans deemed the latter untenable, and shortly after the Cavaliers conclude their third losing season in four years today at Scott Stadium, the school will jettison Groh.

Dismissal? Coerced resignation? It doesn't matter. For the sake of all concerned, Groh must go.

Virginia enters today's contest 3-8 overall and 2-5 in the ACC. If only Groh had been that good against Tech.

The Cavaliers are 1-7 against the Hokies on his watch, 0-5 since Tech (8-3, 5-2) joined Virginia in the ACC.

Some of the games were hauntingly close — the Hokies prevailed 17-14 last year in Blacksburg with a late defensive stand.

Others were startlingly lopsided — Tech dismantled Virginia 52-14 in Charlottesville four years ago.

But Groh detests what-ifs, and the harsh truth is he's the first Cavaliers coach to lose five consecutive games to the Hokies.

Sharing conference membership makes it worse.

Losing to blood rivals from another league is bad enough. Losing and staring up at them in the standings is a large slice of hell.

For example, Virginia joined the ACC in 1954 but has yet to win an outright football championship. Tech has won three in six seasons.

The Hokies earned three similar titles as Big East members during the 1990s, but Cavaliers faithful could dismiss the Big East as inferior. Now the programs encounter virtually identical conference competition, and the results are jarring.

Tech is an ACC-best 37-10 in league play since joining in 2004. Virginia is 23-24 during the same stretch.

The Hokies boast no such domination of the Cavaliers in any other sport. In fact, Virginia is superior in most.

The cruel irony is that Groh and other athletic department chieftains opposed including Tech in the ACC's football-driven expansion. Administrators and politicians had other ideas.

Groh this week attributed his struggles against the Hokies to merely a "good team" and "close games." He minimized the results' effect on in-state recruiting.

Perhaps, but as the good folks at Alabama and Auburn, Michigan and Ohio State, and Army and Navy can attest, success against your foremost rival is paramount to a coach's survival.

Consider Groh's counterpart today, Tech's Frank Beamer. Five losses to Virginia in his first six seasons had fans howling.

But a 20-17 victory at Scott Stadium in 1993 capped an 8-3 regular season and quieted the critics. Beamer is now 13-9 against Virginia.

Then there's Groh's predecessor, George Welsh. After losing his first two encounters against Tech, including a 48-0 beatdown at home in 1983, Welsh took the Cavaliers to Blacksburg in mid-September of '84.

Trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, Virginia faced fourth-and-1 from Tech's 34. John Ford's subsequent fingertip catch of Don Majkowski's play-action pass gained 33 yards and kick-started not only a come-from-behind victory, but also a landmark season that concluded with the program's first bowl appearance.

His bona fides secured, Welsh finished his Virginia career 9-10 against the Hokies.

Groh's win over Tech, 35-21 in 2003, included another bold call — a fake field goal that holder/quarterback Matt Schaub converted with a 10-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller. But unlike Welsh in 1984, Groh could not sustain the momentum and goodwill generated that day.

In 2004, a victory against the Hokies would have given his Cavaliers a share of the ACC title. Tech won 24-10 and claimed the crown outright.

In 2007, the Hokies and Cavs played for a berth in the conference championship game. Tech prevailed 33-21 and defeated Boston College for the title.

Reverse either or both of those results, and Groh's job could be secure. Now, nothing can save him.

Despite that pall, Groh insists that the season has been no different than others.

"When you win, it's a grind," he said prior to last week's defeat at Clemson. "OK, when you lose, it's a grind. But it's positive. It's good. It's what we choose for it to be. But to do 100 hours a week and go through the whole process again every week, there is no carryover. …

"That's what we like to do. We enjoy getting ready for games. We enjoy teaching the players. We enjoy the competition. …

"The result is paramount, but the process is fun. … Every season is challenging in that respect. Every season has things to deal with. Every season you get guys hurt. That's why we don't make a big deal out of it. … When you start making a big deal out of it, you create built-in excuses for the players, or you create built-in excuses for yourself."

There is no bigger deal for Virginia's football coach than beating Virginia Tech, and Groh has no excuses for failing to.

"Improvements in football and men's basketball are a priority," Littlepage wrote to donors in February.

"Like you, I expect us to win our in-state battles, and to compete for ACC and national championships."

Less than two months later, Littlepage fired basketball coach Dave Leitao after four seasons. Groh is next, his tenure long, his epitaph brief.

He lost to Virginia Tech.

Sympathy forgotten once game begins
By Norm Wood | 247-4642
November 28, 2009

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer wishes no ill will toward Virginia coach Al Groh.

Now that the schools are both members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Beamer has grown accustomed to and — if he's to be believed — may actually enjoy seeing Groh on the road at conference meetings.

Still, just in case there's any question regarding Beamer and No. 14 Virginia Tech (8-3, 5-2 ACC) having a soft spot for U.Va. heading into today's rivalry game, forget about it. There will be no love lost in Scott Stadium.

"If you ask the question (to Tech fans), 'If you're going to win one game this year, what's that one game that you'd like to win?' and about 96 percent would say Virginia," Beamer said.

"I feel sure I'm kind of accurate right there. I don't think there's any question that this is an important game for us and Virginia.

"I've got a lot of respect for Al. He's a good football coach. They're very sound football teams. We've had good fortunate luck here the last few years and have been able to get them, but I've got a lot of respect for them.

"Things kind of get going sometimes … but as far as a quality person, a quality coach, I don't think they get any better than Al Groh."

All pleasantries aside, after losing five consecutive games against Tech — and 12 of the last 16 meetings — U.Va. (3-8, 2-5) figures to be on the prowl for a new football coach as soon as Sunday or Monday. If U.Va. has any hope of turning around its recent shortcomings against Tech today, it'll require an effort from the Cavaliers that hasn't been present all season long.

"I don't think you could give me any amount of money in trade to beat Tech," U.Va. linebacker Aaron Clark said. "It's going to be a big day for us."

Though he never has lost to U.Va., Tech senior defensive end Nekos Brown can relate to Clark's desire to get his first win in his last chance in the state's biggest rivalry game. Brown, a native of Waldorf, Md., received his first scholarship offer from U.Va. His only other offer eventually came from Tech.

Brown was leaning to U.Va., but in the summer of 2005, he said the Cavaliers stopped returning his calls. Mike London, who was then U.Va.'s defensive coordinator and who was responsible for recruiting Brown, was hired away to become the defensive line coach for the Houston Texans. Brown ended up at Tech, and the rivalry was born.

"It's real tough," Brown said regarding U.Va.'s current coaching situation.

"I couldn't imagine it, really. That played a part in my decision to come here. They had a lot of stuff going on when I was getting recruited by them. For them to be going through this right now, at the end of the season, through the whole season really, it's tough. I've got sympathy for them when it comes to that emotionally, but when it comes to the field, it doesn't matter."

Many of U.Va.'s players avoided discussions this week regarding Groh's future. Perhaps the knowledge that Tech has won this rivalry by an average of two touchdowns per game in the last 10 years is enough to inspire U.Va.

How much do the Cavaliers want to win this one?

"With one word: badly," U.Va. linebacker Denzel Burrell said.

"It's been noted that no one on this team has beaten Virginia Tech since we've been here, and I've been here for five years. That says a lot."

Virginia's comeback kid Sewell hopes for last hurrah
Despite ups and downs, Jameel Sewell is third on U.Va.'s all-time passing list
By Norm Wood | 247-4642
November 28, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE - With tears in his eyes and a tremor in his voice, quarterback Jameel Sewell discussed how he came up just inches short of a critical first down in the closing minutes of Virginia's 14-10 loss to Boston College.

Losing that Nov. 14 game officially knocked U.Va. (3-8 overall, 2-5 ACC) out of contention for bowl eligibility and served as the ultimate heartbreak for a guy who had received a reprieve on the life of his college career from Al Groh.

Now, as U.Va. enters a game today against No. 14 Virginia Tech that Sewell and many of his teammates have referred to as their bowl game, Sewell isn't above using Groh's dire status as coach as motivation for victory. After all, Groh most likely won't be granted another chance to revive his career at U.Va.

"I love the man to death, with all my heart," said Sewell, who has completed 145 of 270 passes this season for 1,728 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. "He's a great coach, and he stuck with me. He's been on me and on my back hard about a lot of things, and he's been coaching me up a lot about a lot of things.

"Since I've been here, I haven't won a game against Virginia Tech. Coach Groh is going through a lot. He's having to deal with a lot of dumb things that are being said by people. He's had to deal with it throughout his whole career, just like I have. There's nothing more I want to do than help Coach Groh get this win against Virginia Tech."

Sewell's career has been a study in perseverance.

Though he missed last season while he was academically suspended from the team, sat out a game this season because of a shoulder injury, dealt with an ongoing ankle injury this season and struggled with inconsistencies throughout his career, Sewell still moved last week into third place all-time on U.Va.'s passing yardage list with 5,246.

He's the only player among U.Va.'s top 11 quarterbacks in career passing yards who wasn't on the roster for a minimum of four seasons. Sewell is behind only Matt Schaub (7,502 yards) and Shawn Moore (6,629). Groh's assessment of Sewell's contributions is fairly clinical, but Sewell's desire to rejoin the team as a productive player speaks to other emotions.

"It says how important his production has been to our team over the years that he's been our quarterback," Groh said.

"There's not many years that they get to spend on a team. There are very few people who really get to experience what it's like to be part of a football team, and to be part of it is a pretty special thing. So, for somebody who was in Jameel's circumstances when he was without that for a while … that's what players really relate — that they're just really glad to be back in the locker room and back with their teammates."

In addition to his top-three finish on U.Va.'s passing yardage list, Sewell also could finish among the top three in total offense. He's fourth right now with 5,788 yards, 271 behind third-place Scott Gardner.

Early this week, teammate and close friend Vic Hall was asked to reveal a side of Sewell that wasn't often seen. Hall said Sewell was "a funny guy." Preparing for the final game of his career, Sewell's lighter side hasn't been on display. He has been all business, which serves as a tribute to the kind of player he said he hopes to be remembered as — one who never quit on his team.

"I take a lot of pride (in coming back)," Sewell said. "It took a lot. You hear a lot of things about your brothers on the football team and about yourself from everyone, but the big thing for me was to try to come back in school and to be back with the guys. I take a lot of pride in being able to do so, and being able to get back on the field. It took a lot and it means a lot that I was even able to come back."

Under Groh, rivalry has tilted toward Tech
By Michael Phillips
Published: November 28, 2009
Updated: November 28, 2009
» 0 Comments | Post a Comment
vote
nowBuzz up!

CHARLOTTESVILLE It is college football's unpardonable sin.

For all the reasons that will be trotted out as to why Al Groh likely is coaching his final game at U.Va. today, perhaps it really is this simple -- he's played Virginia Tech eight times and left a winner once.

In the college game, it's tough to keep a job if you can't keep the rivalry trophy.

The Commonwealth Cup has had an extended stay in Blacksburg -- none of the 30 seniors the Cavaliers will honor today has beaten the Hokies.

"I don't think you could give me any amount of money to trade for beating Tech," linebacker Aaron Clark said.

Groh has been more subdued on the issue this week as he has consistently declined to discuss his future and has done his best to avoid discussing the series. He was asked Monday what has made it so hard to beat the Hokies.

"Good teams, close games," he said.

But while it's true that Tech's teams have been consistently good, U.Va. has entered the series a handful of times seemingly just as strong, but the Cavs couldn't make it happen.

Now as they wrap up their season, they'll try to avoid two dubious distinctions. It would be the sixth consecutive loss to Virginia Tech, tying the school record, and the sixth consecutive loss this season, the first time that's happened since a seven-game stretch in 1981, which marked the final year of coach Dick Bestwick's tenure.

Groh has had a number of teams that seemed to have a good shot at victory, dating to the 2002 Tire Bowl champs, but save for a 35-21 victory in 2003, it hasn't happened. Most recently, the Cavs lost at home in 2007 with the ACC title on the line.

"It's been noted that they're one of the toughest teams in the ACC, year in and year out," linebacker Denzel Burrell said. "But it's about the rivalry."

Burrell remembers his freshman year, noticing that the upperclassmen started hitting harder and practicing with a little more intensity as they prepared for the game.

Many of Virginia's players are from out of state, but it didn't take them long to get indoctrinated into the rivalry.

For Nate Collins, it came as the New Yorker was chatting with teammates Clint Sintim and Chris Long as a freshman.

"I remember Clint and C. Long and some of those guys and how they're like, 'We hate Tech. We have to beat Tech.' And I'm going about it like it's just another game, and they're like, 'No. It's not just another game. It's different,'" Collins said. "It is different. You just want to do everything you can to play your best, since it's a big-time rivalry game and people are going to remember it win or lose."

Recently, it's been more lose than win for the Cavs. The all-time series stands at 48-37-5 in favor of Tech, a margin that has been helped by Groh's 1-7 record.

On his watch, the Hokies also claimed an all-time winning record in Charlottesville, moving to 18-17-3 with their 2007 victory.

Today's game may not have as much on the line, but for a coach wrapping up his tenure, it's one last opportunity to get a victory that has consistently eluded him.

Some U.Va. reading, three keys, and a prediction
Michael Phillips
Nov 27, 2009

You’ll want to pick up tomorrow’s T-D, with a full pullout section on the game, including a look at Virginia Tech’s recent dominance in the series. But here’s a little Friday reading to get you fired up, including an extended version of tomorrow’s notebook, three keys, and the final prediction of the season. For those of you taking these picks to the bank, my season standing is 7-4.

Slebonick’s impact is off the field:

Patrick Slebonick doesn’t take the field often, but there’s a number of young people in Charlottesville who are glad he stuck with football.

After graduating last year, Slebonick still had a year of eligibility left, and the team invited him to return. His role is in the punt formation — he plays the “door,“ or middle position, in the three-man shield that stands in front of the punter.

His greatest impact, though, has been in starting a program called ACE — Athletes Committed to Community and Education. Working along with former Cavs Tom Santi and Chris Long, the three visited a local school as part of a community-service requirement for a class.

“We saw that we could really have an effect on some of the kids,“ he said. “They’re clearly listening to anything that a college athlete says.“

The elementary school asked the players to return, and the next time they brought 20 of their teammates.

While Santi and Long have graduated, Slebonick stayed behind and help create a formal program, which now has spread to all U.Va. sports and involves more than 100 student-athletes.

Slebonick was rewarded for his work with a regional academic all-American distinction this season. He’s headed to law school next year, but doesn’t regret spending an extra year in Charlottesville.

“Every opportunity here at Virginia is the best. We have some of the best facilities in the country, a historically-competitive football team, the people here are really awesome, and obviously the academics are top-notch,“ he said. “It was a great choice.“

Friday night speeches:

Tonight Virginia will have its standard meetings at the Omni Hotel, but afterward the seniors on the team are all invited to speak to their teammates, which has become a yearly tradition.

For linebacker Aaron Clark, it will be his fifth year listening to speeches, but this time he’ll get to speak.

“It’s actually fairly gut-wrenching to see your friends that you went through school with and you struggled and bled with to get up there and have the raw emotions that they have going into their last game,“ he said Monday. “Some people will never play football again, and that’s a tough thing to deal with.“

Lineman Nate Collins, who is one of the few seniors on the team who didn’t redshirt, said that he always enjoys hearing from the soft-spoken guys who aren’t captains or vocal leaders.

“Not a lot of guys are vocal on the team,“ he said. “But that’s a time for anyone to come out and be vocal and say that I love playing with you guys. It’s something we’re all going to be looking forward to.“

Coach Al Groh said that unlike what is customary in basketball, he won’t try to play each of the seniors at some point, unless it fits in with the game plan. Before the game, all 30 will be recognized.

Injury update:

The Cavs have a relatively clean bill of health, at least relative to other games this season.

It will be a game-time decision for senior Mikell Simpson, who injured his hamstring last week against Clemson. Quarterback Jameel Sewell (Hermitage) is probable with a shoulder injury.

One of the team’s most stable positions this season, inside linebacker, will have to adapt as Darren Childs, a senior, is listed as doubtful with an ankle injury. Freshman Connor McCartin handles backup duties.

Freshman running back Torrey Mack, who has not seen much time this season, will not play because of an ankle injury.

Three keys:

1) Keep the offense on the field: Time of possession has been a big concern for an already-thin U.Va. defense. In the games where they’ve been asked to play 35 minutes or more of possession time, the results have been disastrous in the fourth quarter. Third-down conversions have played a role, but more so is the Virginia offense, which has had too many three-and-out possessions that fail to give the Cavs defense adequate rest.

2) Sewell’s accuracy: Quarterback Jameel Sewell (Hermitage) has occasionally led the team to victory, and occasionally thrown inaccurate passes. Which Sewell shows up will play a big part in determining which team wins. His receiving corps hasn’t been doing him any favors, either.

3) Win one for Al: While not everybody in town is enamored of him, U.Va.’s senior class has known Groh for as long as seven years, and speak glowingly of his football knowledge. They’d love to send him out with a victory, though they’re hesitant to call it his last. After all, as NFL-hopeful Vic Hall said, “I wouldn’t want it to be my last game, and I don’t want it to be his last game.“ Perhaps the two will end up reunited next year.

Prediction: Call me crazy, but I think the streak ends. Virginia 14, Virginia Tech 10.

Cavs look to win one for Groh
At least partly because of his inability to beat Virginia Tech, nine-year Virginia football coach Al Groh appears likely to lose his job. He hasn't lost his team.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

At least partly because of his inability to beat Virginia Tech, nine-year Virginia football coach Al Groh appears likely to lose his job.

He hasn't lost his team.

"Coach Groh's going through a lot, man," said Jameel Sewell, UVa's fifth-year quarterback. "There's nothing I want to do more than get Coach Groh this win against Virginia Tech."

Groh said he was touched by Sewell's "win one for Al" mentality.

"And, it's very reciprocal," Groh said. "I'd like to see us win the game for all these kids who have put so much into it for so long."

None of the UVa players has ever beaten Virginia Tech and Groh hasn't beaten the Hokies since 2003, when a Matt Schaub-led Cavaliers team defeated Virginia Tech 35-21 in Charlottesville.

Groh has lost seven times in eight games with the Hokies.

Seldom have the odds been greater. Fourteenth-ranked Tech (8-3, 5-2 ACC) started the week as a 13-point favorite over the Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5) and the betting line has subsequently risen to 16.

Virginia co-captain Aaron Clark said he feels there would be a void in his career without a single victory over the Hokies.

"That would be pretty disheartening," said Clark, a fifth-year outside linebacker from Rockbridge County, "I don't know if I could stand hearing that every day. I know it's No. 1 on my list and No. 1 on a lot of other people's lists, too.

"You couldn't trade me any amount of money for beating Virginia Tech."

Determination is one thing. When Groh was asked recently why his team was no longer winning at home, he responded in one word, "Talent."

The Cavaliers have lost seven of their last eight home games and have not beaten an ACC opponent at home in more than a year. Attendance has dipped into the low 40,000s at 61,500-seat Scott Stadium and a sellout crowd today is certain to include a large Tech following.

"It's always been like that," Clark said. "Growing up in Lexington, Virginia, you get that all time. Regardless of whether you're a UVa fan or you went to UVa or you played football there, they're going to get on you pretty good."

Groh's job status was in question after the 2008 season, when UVa declined to exercise the rollover clause in his contract following a 5-7 season. He was left with three years remaining on a pact that has escalated to more than $2 million per year.

Groh twice has been named ACC coach of the year, but, under his watch, UVa has now suffered back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1981-82. This is the Cavaliers' third losing season in four years, but the last time they had as few as three wins in a season was in 1986, when UVa was 3-8.

Virginia's five-game losing streak is its longest since 2001, Groh's first season at his alma mater. The Cavaliers haven't lost as many as six games in a row since they lost the last three games of the 1981 season under Dick Bestwick, then lost their first five games the next year under then new coach George Welsh.

The 1982 season was also the last time UVa lost as many as nine games in a season. The Cavaliers were 2-9 that season.

Clark spoke recently of the players' awareness of the big picture and that coaches with families could lose their jobs, "but, we as players, choose not to get involved with that," he said. "Coach [Groh] is a grown man. He's schooled in this world of football. All we can do is play our hearts out for him."

Virginia has a core of fifth-year seniors who play critical roles. They include the likes of Sewell, Clark, linebacker Denzel Burrell, slot receiver Vic Hall, running backs Mikell Simpson and Rashawn Jackson, offensive tackle Will Barker, cornerback Chris Cook, safety Brandon Woods, and linebacker Darren Childs.

The constant speculation on Groh's coaching future has been hard for the players to ignore.

"It's difficult," Burrell said. "It's definitely difficult because, as much as you try to avoid it, [it's always there]. As a player, I turn on the television; I read the newspaper. We know how big of a win this would be, not only for us as players but for the coaches.

"We've all been hurting the same this year. We've put even more emphasis on winning this for Coach [Groh] because of what he's done over the years. It really kind of sucks to hear what might happen."

After a 34-21 loss at Clemson last week, co-captain and fourth-year UVa senior Nate Collins went so far as to say that the Cavaliers would look at the Tech game as their bowl game. That's probably not the first time that analogy has been used, but Collins went one step further this week.

"Beating Virginia Tech might be better than winning any bowl game we could end up in," Collins said. "Why not play every play like it's your last? And for some people it is."

Game pits UVa's desire vs. Tech's talent
By Aaron McFarling

Welcome to the referendum on rah-rah, the ultimate indicator of how much emotion matters in college football.

Even the most ardent Virginia fan cannot argue that the Cavaliers are as talented as Virginia Tech. The evidence doesn't support it. The only question today is whether UVa can pull an upset fueled by desire, capitalize on a craving to win that nobody doubts resides in Charlottesville.

How big is the empirical talent gap? Every week, the ACC ranks teams in 30 statistical categories covering offense, defense and special teams. Tech is ahead of Virginia in 26 of them. The Cavaliers are better than the Hokies at three things:

1. Coming away with points in the red zone. 2. Stopping opponents on fourth down, and 3. drawing penalties on the other team.

Tech and UVa are tied in extra-point conversions at 100 percent apiece.

In everything else -- rushing, passing, defense, sacks, kick returns, punting, etc. -- the Hokies are superior.

But if the league charted competitive fury, the Cavs might lead the conference this week. You could see it in their faces, hear it in their voices.

"One word," UVa linebacker Denzel Burrell said, when asked how much he wants a victory over Tech to soothe the disappointment of the season. "Badly."

Senior linebacker Aaron Clark went a step further.

"I don't think you could give me any amount of money to trade for beating Tech," he said.

He hasn't done it yet, and neither have the other 29 UVa seniors. Five straight losses to Tech lie heavy on their shoulder pads.

To which the Hokies say: Great! Now here comes an elephant-sized dose of Ryan Williams to try to make it six.

And that's really all Tech should have to do today, repeatedly ship the ACC rushing leader toward the line of scrimmage and watch the man work. The Cavaliers play respectable defense, but their strength lies in the secondary. They rank 10th in the conference against the run.

As matchups go, that's bad news for UVa.

But can heart/ambition/adrenaline somehow raise that mediocre level to something special? Coach Al Groh and his players have to hope so.

"I love games like this," Groh said. "I love going against the best players and going against the best teams in games that really count for something in this type of environment.

"I think we certainly feel that. The better the opponent, the bigger the game, the more juice."

Juice has been largely absent from Blacksburg ever since the Hokies fell out of contention in the conference, but that hasn't seemed to matter. The Hokies have destroyed Maryland and N.C. State since with workmanlike ease.

In the Cavaliers, Tech faces a team on a five-game losing streak, including a 25-point home loss to Georgia Tech and a 35-point setback at Miami.

Any trepidation, then, will have to be manufactured.

"You can't assume anything," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "We know a lot of their players. We've got respect for a lot of their players. They've had some tough injuries that's set them back a little bit, but I think they're very relentless. They went down to North Carolina and won, and I don't think a lot of people would have bet on them that week."

Most won't this week, either. But one by one, as those UVa seniors spoke this week, they labeled this matchup as their bowl game. There are no goodie bags, no free PlayStations, no trips to the beach, but you get their point: This is it for them, win or lose.

And you know what they say about bowl games, don't you?

Beware of the team that wants to be there more.

Signing of Michael Vick jump-started Tech recruiting
Loss of Curry critical to Cavs
By Doug Doughty

In hopes of obtaining lists of the state’s top 25 football prospects over the years, Norfolk sportswriter Kyle Tucker told me this week that Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster had cited the recruiting of Cornell Brown as a turning point in the Hokies’ program.

Ever since Brown’s commitment, it was implied, Tech has had the upper hand in in-state recruiting.

Just because I compiled the lists doesn’t mean that I can find them now. Roanoke Times online archives only go back to 1990. Because my primary beat is Virginia, it’s hard to remember when Tech signed a particular player.

Heck, it’s hard to remember when some of the Virginia players played.

What I do remember is that I was at the news conference at E.C. Glass High School when Brown, a Hilltoppers linebacker, announced that he was signing with “the University of Virginia … Tech.”

One day, I’d like to ask if his announcement was scripted that way or whether he just got a little tongue-tied.

Here’s what his mother, Oglessa, said at the time:

"He shocked me when he said 'Tech' at the end of it,' " she said. "He said, 'University of Virginia,' and I said, 'Thanks, that's where I wanted him to go.' Then he said, 'Tech,' and I said, 'Wait a minute.' "

That was from the story that appeared in The Roanoke Times on Feb. 4, 1993.

Here’s what Foster has to say for a story that will appear in The Virginian-Pilot on Saturday, hours before a 3:30 p.m. kickoff between the Hokies (8-3 overall, 5-2 ACC) and the Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5):

“We had cultivated the state for a couple years, trying to build relationships with coaches in the state,” Foster said. “That particular guy, being the caliber he was, it showed, ‘Hey, trust these guys.’ “

AT THAT JUNCTURE, the Hokies had lost five of six games with Virginia, including four of five with Tech head coach Frank Beamer and his staff in place.
While it may have seemed as if the series was becoming one-sided, particularly to Beamer, Foster and Co., former Tech coach Bill Dooley had dominated his UVa counterpart, George Welsh during the early to mid-1980s.

Tech had defeated Virginia in six of seven games between 1980-1986, and the Cavaliers need a miraculous fourth-down pass from Don Majkowski to John Ford for their only win during that period, 26-23, in Blacksburg in 1984.

If the late Tom Fletcher were still living, I think he would tell you that Virginia did not have the upper hand on Virginia Tech during those years and was lucky to have signed wide receiver Herman Moore from Danville when the Hokies couldn’t assure Moore that he would be admitted.

At the time, it’s worth remembering, Moore was not even ranked among the state’s top 25 prospects by The Roanoke Times (one of the classic, all-time oversights). The more critical recruit for Virginia was Martinsville High School quarterback Shawn Moore, who signed with the Cavaliers in 1986 (one year before Herman Moore).

If you ask any of the old Hokies, like assistants Bryan Stinespring and Jim Cavanaugh, they would say that Virginia never would have gotten Shawn Moore if not for then-Cavaliers assistant Danny Wilmer, which makes it even more unconscionable that current UVa coach Al Groh did not retain Wilmer.

But. I digress.

FOSTER CERTAINLY KNOWS his program and, if he says that Cornell Brown turned the tide of in-state recruiting, you have to put a lot of stock in that.

Still, my feeling is that in-state recruiting changed for good in the fall of 1997, particularly the night of Sept. 4, when Virginia lost at home to No. 17 Auburn but received a verbal commitment from the state’s top prospect, Hampton High School quarterback Ronald Curry.

You could almost say that the change had occurred earlier, when the Cavaliers’ recruitment of Curry took them out of the running for another Hampton-bred quarterback, Michael Vick from Ferguson High School.

Vick’s coach, Tommy Reamon, had let it be known early in the process that schools needed to make a choice between Curry and Vick. If they were recruiting Curry, they need not bother coming after Vick as a fallback. That eliminated Virginia, which already had another Reamon quarterback, Aaron Brooks, in its system.

Curry, on the other hand, had eliminated the Hokies. So, Tech had no option other than to recruit Vick, who signed with the Hokies and became arguably the best quarterback in the history of the program, as well as the No. 1 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft.

Turns out, Vick was a better college quarterback than Curry. But, that didn’t matter to Virginia. Curry never made it to Charlottesville, deciding in the winter of 1997-1998 that he wanted to play college basketball. He ended up signing with North Carolina because it was perceived to have a better men’s basketball program, although the Cavaliers had a better team for stretches during his career.

Curry played basketball for the Tar Heels and also had a reasonably successful football career, both with Carolina and in the NFL. It’s hard to say what kind of impact he would have had at Virginia, which had Dan Ellis at quarterback for most of that time.

Curry and Vick both came out of the talent-rich 757 area code, but “757” never became the rallying cry elsewhere that it was for the players Tech signed from that area, and you can attribute much of that to Vick.

The No. 1 players in the state in 2000 and 2002 were quarterback Bryan Randall from Williamsburg (Hampton) and defensive end Xavier Adibi from Hampton (Phoebus). Both signed with the Hokies.

Adibi’s class included linebacker Vince Hall from Western Branch and fellow Top 5 choice Chris Ellis, a defensive end from Bethel in Hampton. Defensive back Jimmy Williams had come from Bethel to Hampton in the class before that.

IF YOU LOOK AT the years following the Brown signing, Virginia continued to be a factor for a while.

One year later, the ‘Hoos and Hokies each got one of the top two players in the state, with defensive back Anthony Poindexter from Jefferson Forest going to Tech and running back Ken Oxendine from Thomas Dale going to Tech.

Poindexter and Jones were rated the No. 1 player in the state by The Roanoke Times, as was running back Antwoine Womack from Phobeus in 1997. The only No. 1 prospects to sign with Virginia since then –- or during the Al Groh coaching regime -– were linebackers Ahmad Brooks in 2002 and Olu Hall in 2004.

Hall never panned out and was overrated in an in-state recruiting class that included Tech-bound Sean Glennon and Eddie Royal. Brooks had moments of brilliance but eventually was dismissed from the team.

No. 1 in-state prospects to sign with the Hokies since then have been Adibi in 2003, Macho Harris in 2005, Tyrod Taylor in 2007 and David Wilson in 2009. Tech has certainly taken the upper hand, which, as much as anything, has sealed Al Groh’s fate at UVa.
 

Virginia Tech-Virginia: A Cavalier Attitude Towards The Rivalry by Ben Gibson
Ben GibsonSenior Analyst, Featured Columnist
163 articles written
471 comments written
50 fans
View Profile
Senior Analyst Written on November 26, 2009

That is the record Virginia coach Al Groh has posted over arch-rival Virginia Tech and Frank Beamer.

No other record matters more to Cavalier fans and no other record perfectly exemplifies why a change is so desperately needed in Charlottesville, Va.

I recently came across a column by Justin Cocchiola talking about the Hokie perspective on the rivalry, a series that has been clearly in the Hokies favor since the "miracle of 1998" when Ahmad Hawkins reeled in a huge 21-point Cavalier comeback in Lane Stadium.

Reading it made me realize that someone needs to articulate the other side of the rivalry. Sure, I do not claim to speak for every Virginia fan across the country, so pardon me for taking a bit of a Cavalier attitude in explaining my thoughts on the rivalry.

For my first inclination is to say, what rivalry?

Don't get me wrong, I hate Virginia Tech. As any good rival, beating Virginia Tech in dominoes would make me ecstatically happen. In reality, the Cavaliers beat the Hokies all the time. It is actually the rule and not the exception.

However, those victories take place on the baseball field, the basketball court, and the pitch. It's been six long years since the Cavaliers smelled victory on the gridiron, in a dramatic 35-21 victory which led to Virginia's second straight bowl victory in three seasons under Groh.

Since the Hokies have joined the ACC, however, Virginia has yet to defeat their bitter rivals.

Not to say they have not had their opportunities. In 2004, the Cavaliers lost by seven at Lane Stadium. Tantalizingly close to posting consecutive victories and claiming only two losses for the regular season.

In 2008, the Cavaliers lost by three thanks to Vic Hall's incredible speed. A costly interception late by Marc Verica took away a chance to knock home the game-tying field goal and force overtime.

Virginia has knocked on the door, but they have yet to breakthrough with the victory.

For you see, almost doesn't count , especially in football. It does not matter how many times you almost win, when don't win, reputations are made.

People begin to believe that the Cavaliers do not deserve to be on the same field as the Hokies.

The Hokies crank out 10-win seasons, the Cavaliers have one winning record in the past four seasons.

Rivalry losses make it appear like the gap between the programs is more like a gulf. When you dig deeper though, it really is not the case.

Sure the numbers look bad, but a few wins here and there would change everything. If Virginia had won in 2007, they would have gone to the ACC Championship Game instead of the Hokies.

If Virginia had won in 2008, Georgia Tech would have represented the Coastal Division and cost the Hokies a chance at an Orange Bowl victory, not to mention a big BCS payout.

These losses hurt more than pride, they hurt the overall perceptions of the programs. Over time, those perceptions become reality.

Whoever is going to be the next coach of the Virginia Cavaliers does not need to worry about recruiting, academics, fan apathy or facilities. All he needs to worry about is beating Virginia Tech, if he can do that everything else will fix itself.

The Cavalier fans are not greedy, I think most understand that we are never going to be an perennial fixture in the top-ten. However, there is an expectation for us to be competitive. There is the belief that we should not be losing by double-digits to William and Mary and Duke at home.

If a coach can crank out winning seasons with an appearance in the ACC Championship game every five years or so, he could restore Virginia to its success in the early 1990s.

Al Groh came to Virginia saying he would bring the program to the next level, however that level has only been a step backwards as he now has more losing seasons in his nine years than his predecessor did in twice that period of time.

Which leads us back to this week. Most Virginia fans remain optimistic about this weekend; they want to believe that the team can rally around their lame-duck coach and send him out with an improbable victory.

The Cavaliers have had moments of offensive genius, such as the Southern Mississippi game or the first half against Clemson. However, those spurts have been few and far between.

In reality, Virginia is banged up and mentally exhausted from one of the more trying seasons in recent memory. Winning this game would require a tremendous amount of innovation, much like the "Wildcat" wrinkle made the game competitive last year.

Does Groh have any more tricks up his sleeve? Would they even be effective?

If they were, it would be a nice way to send out a man who has given so much to this university. No one takes joy in the demise of Al Groh's tenure here, but it is reality and must be dealt with.

Hopefully, this weekend marks the end of an era. With this game behind us, Virginia can concentrate on the change they need to make in order for this rivalry to be important on a national scale once more. That is something we can all desire.

After all, this series has become a lose-lose for the Hokies. If they win, they were supposed to. If they lose, it would shock and infuriate the fan base who has become used to dominating the series.

While there can only be one winner on Saturday, if the Cavaliers make the right change this off-season, everyone wins.
 

Raw emotions flow during Cavaliers testimonials

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -Win or lose, Virginia's players buy into what coach Al Groh tells them about being a family.

It's never truer than the final week of the season.

On Thursday, the team shared a Thanksgiving dinner. On Friday, the night before the Cavaliers play No. 14 Virginia Tech in the final game of many of their careers, raw emotions will flow as one by one the seniors tell the team what it has meant to their lives.

"It's actually fairly gut-wrenching to see your friends that you went through school with, you played ball with, you worked and struggled and bled with to get up there and to have the raw emotions that they have going into their last game,'' fifth-year senior linebacker and co-captain Aaron Clark said. "Some people will never play football again.''

Watching, and listening, is meaningful to head coach Al Groh, who said he's "more than curious or surprised, mostly gratified that they express their experience the way that they do.''

It could be especially poignant this year.

Besides being the final game for many of the players, Saturday also could well be Groh's last. The Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) have lost five straight games this season, and five straight against the Hokies (8-3, 5-2). Attendance at Scott Stadium also has declined dramatically - the average this year is down 13,600 compared to two years ago.

"We know how big of a win this would be, not only for us as players but for the coaches,'' linebacker Denzell Burrell said. "We know that they're putting their 100 percent effort and everything into this game and we really want to win it for them as much as for ourselves because we're all one big family and we've all been hurting the same this year.''

In the past, many players have used the talk to try to fire their teammates up one last time, and some have had epiphanies. A few years ago, one lineman rose and stunned the room by sharing how he'd short-changed himself - and the team - with a lack of effort.

Senior Nate Collins, another captain, said he most remembers linebacker Clint Sintim sharing in a smaller setting - the house they shared with several other teammates.

Sintim is now in the NFL with the New York Giants, and while Collins, Clark and many of their teammates hope to also go on to the NFL, the good-byes are still difficult.

"You always want to leave your team with something to remember you by,'' Collins said. "It's just one of those things just to let your teammates know ... just to come out and say I loved playing with you guys and it's going to be hard that after this game, we'll never get the chance again to put pads on and be in the locker room like we are and like we have been.''

As many as 30 seniors will get the chance to speak at the dinner, and for some of them, the discomfort of the getting up will hardly compare to their desire to share feelings.

"I'm pretty shy,'' Vic Hall, another of the six captains, said. "I'm not long-winded with words, but whatever's on my heart and on my mind, I'm going to speak it.''

The evening has become one the team looks forward to.

"It's different when you have your coaches talk all the time, but when you have one of your brothers up there talking, it's always good and it's always something special for everyone,'' Collins said. "It can be real effective because I feel like every year you just find out, you hear different perspectives and their stories, what they are playing for and how the team has helped them stay together and how they want to do everything they can.''

It is, Clark said, a nice way to wrap up a college career.

"It's something special,'' he said. "It's something you will always remember.''

 

College football locals: Naples grad Randolph stands out for Virginia
By BARBARA BOXLEITNER
Posted November 27, 2009 at 11:04 a.m.

 NAPLES — His team has struggled, but University of Virginia kicker Robert Randolph has not.

The Naples High School graduate recently was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, a Palm Beach County Sports Commission honor for the nation’s top kicker. A preferred walk-on last year, the sophomore is the third player in Virginia’s history to be named a semifinalist.

Randolph said he heard from a teammate that he was a semifinalist and later headed to the Internet to learn more.

“I’m just very grateful,” said Randolph, a member of the Golden Eagles’ 2007 Class 3A state championship team. “It was surprising. It was something I always looked at. I never even thought of coming to that point in my life. I’m trying not to make it any hype.”

Entering Saturday’s regular-season finale against Atlantic Coast Conference foe and No. 14 Virginia Tech (8-3), Randolph has converted 15 of 17 field goal attempts and all six of his extra point tries. He has hit 11 of 12 field goals from 30 to 39 yards and two of three from 40 to 49 yards. Randolph leads the Cavaliers (3-8) with 51 points.

It didn’t take long for him to assert himself this season after becoming the full-time kicker. In five games last year, he converted three of four field goal tries and all six of his extra point attempts.

“I was just waiting for my chance,” said Randolph, who chose Virginia because of its academics and the potential for playing time. “I really expect myself to do good. I set my standards very high.”

Being recognized among the nation’s elite kickers in the first season of regular duty is quite a feat.

“I’m not surprised,” said Randolph’s high school coach at Naples, Bill Kramer. “It speaks to how good he was in high school.”

Randolph's family and friends got to see how far he has come during a Nov. 7 game at Miami. Naples High defensive coordinator Sam Dollar was among the Naples coach there, and Randolph's mother, cousins, aunts and uncles also attended the game at Land Shark Stadium. Randolph had a 34-yard field goal in a 52-17 loss.

Randolph has twice kicked three field goals in games, against North Carolina and Georgia Tech. The ones against the Tar Heels helped Virginia get the first of three consecutive wins. “That felt great, to know that I helped my team win,” he said.

His season long of 49 yards came on his first of four attempts during a loss to Georgia Tech. “That always stands out to me,” he said.

Randolph added a 19-yarder, then missed from 35 yards before finishing with a 30-yarder in that game. It was rainy during the game, and the snap for the failed kick was not clean. “I really try not to think about everything,” he said about his ability to move past missed attempts.

“He’s a perfect kicker,” Kramer said. “He wants to kick the game-winning field goal. He thrives on that because he’s got that mental makeup. It’s really rare.”

Randolph’s most recent miss, which went wide right, was a 47-yard attempt against Boston College. “I hit it great. It was one of the better kicks I hit,” said Randolph, who later connected from 38 yards.

Randolph started handling kickoffs a couple of weeks ago, learning of the additional duty the morning of the game.

“It was really to my surprise,” he said. “I did all right, not perfect. I’m not really hitting the ball deep into the end zone. It definitely helps out keeping me from thinking about anything too much.”
 

For Cavs, a game--then goodbye?
November 28, 2009 12:35 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
CHARLOTTESVILLE

--Optimism abounded after Al Groh was named the University of Virginia's head football coach on Dec. 30, 2000.

Groh had been a coach in the NFL for 13 seasons, including one year (2000) as head coach of the New York Jets.

He's a 1967 Virginia graduate and someone who seemingly understood what it takes to win at the school.

Many Cavalier supporters felt he was the perfect coach to usher in a new era when George Welsh retired after 19 seasons.

"I think he was the right coach at the right time," said Fredericksburg native Charles McDaniel, an ex-Virginia linebacker who is a trustee on the Virginia Athletic Foundation.

But after nine seasons, the Cavalier faithful aren't as enamored with Groh.

He's widely expected to be fired or resign under pressure following today's season finale against No. 14 Virginia Tech (8-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) at 3:30 p.m. at Scott Stadium.

The Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5) have lost five straight games and have already secured Groh's third losing season in the last four years.

He has two years remaining on a contract that pays him $2 million per year, but according to multiple reports efforts are already under way to raise money for a buyout.

Groh has declined to address his job status. He said he prefers to focus solely on today's game.

"I think he's a wonderful football coach, and there's no one more passionate about Virginia football than he was, is and will be," McDaniel said. "I think what's been lacking is any consistency. And if there's a change, that's going to be the reason for it."

A GOOD START

It began well for Groh.

He made a splash on the national recruiting scene in 2002 when he landed a top-five class.

He guided Virginia to bowl game appearances every year from 2002-05. The Cavaliers peaked at No. 6 in the nation in midseason 2004. But even that season ended in disappointment when Virginia lost three of its last four games, including the MPC Computers Bowl to Fresno State.

"That year was very disappointing because the expectations were so high," McDaniel said. "But I don't think it's necessarily been one game or one season."

It's been a collection of setbacks.

The Cavaliers have gone 22-26 since 2006, leaving Groh's overall mark at 59-52. They won nine games in 2007 and earned a Gator Bowl bid, but the past two seasons have been disastrous.

Numerous off-the-field issues led to about a dozen players leaving the program in 2008 when Virginia finished 5-7.

This season has been much worse. The Cavaliers rank 118th in the nation out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total offense.

"There are higher expectations," McDaniel said. "[Groh's] always been one to say it's all about performance. For whatever reason, the performance [has been lacking]. He'll be the first to tell you it's not acceptable."

Home attendance is down by an average of 13,600 spectators from 2008, with each game breaking a previous record for the lowest attendance since 2000, when Scott Stadium was expanded to a capacity of 61,500. Only 44,324 attended the previous home game against Boston College two weeks ago.

Groh and his players are often showered with boos at the end of games. Still, Virginia players said they support their embattled coach.

"For all the things he's done here over the years," senior linebacker Denzel Burrell said, "it does kind of suck to hear the things that may happen."

TOO MUCH TURNOVER

Even though the players support Groh, senior defensive end Nate Collins admitted the constant carousel of assistant coaches has been damaging.

Assistants Ron Prince, Danny Rocco and Al Golden all departed at the end of the 2005 season for head coaching opportunities.

"You don't begrudge them at all," McDaniel said. "But consistency in staff is important."

The inconsistency continued at the end of last season. That's when offensive coordinator Mike Groh, defensive line coach Levern Belin and secondary coach Steve Bernstein resigned as part of a staff shake-up. Assistant head coach for defense Bob Pruett retired after just one season.

McDaniel said the turnover makes a difference with high school coaches, particularly when contrasted with rival Virginia Tech's static staff. Four of Frank Beamer's assistants, including both of his coordinators, have been with him for at least 12 years.

Liberty High School head coach Tom Buzzo said Groh has opened Virginia to coaches and recruits more than Welsh, but the staff instability has probably hurt the Cavaliers.

"Coach Groh has had tremendous turnover in his staff and Virginia Tech never has," said Buzzo, who has sent several players to careers at major college programs. "I still work with the same people I've been working with for years at Virginia Tech."

ONE LAST STAND

McDaniel said those who know Groh well will "remember him very fondly."

He said Groh, 65, is known for being young at heart and that the coach is one of the hardest workers he's ever seen who cares deeply about his players.

"I think for people who don't know him, it may be a different opinion," McDaniel said.

McDaniel said he doesn't think Virginia fans should celebrate if today is Groh's last game.

He said anyone who has "busted his hump for nine years" deserves positive recognition from the fans.

Still, McDaniel said he understands why Groh is perceived differently by those who don't know him.

"I think maybe the relationships with some of the other parts of a successful program, which are the media and alumni, may not have been as successful as he and everybody else wanted," McDaniel said.

McDaniel cited Groh's success at sending players to the NFL as one of his strong points. The Cavaliers have had 28 players drafted in Groh's tenure, including five in the first round.

"As good as the Hokies have been, you can probably name on your ears the number of Hokies who have had big impacts at the next level," McDaniel said. "Conversely you look at Virginia and they've had quite a few.

"Now that begs the question: Why the hell didn't they win more in college? I think that's a legitimate concern."

The Cavaliers will get a chance to earn Groh's second victory over the Hokies today. He's 1-7 against them in his career.

Players said they're treating this as a bowl game. They want to win for their seniors. And they want to make one last defiant stand for Groh.

"We know how big a win this would be, not only for us as players but for the coaches," Burrell said. "We're all one big family, and we've been hurting the same this year."

Cavs seek to curb Tech dominance
By Jay Jenkins
Published: November 28, 2009
» 1 Comment | Post a Comment
vote
nowBuzz up!

It was assumed when David Puso moved in 2004 from Wayne, N.J., to Earlysville to be closer to family that the Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry in football was something that essentially stopped the state for a three-hour period once a year.

Since Puso’s arrival, that has never happened.

There is a clear explanation — Virginia Tech has won every game since Puso’s arrival in Central Virginia and nine of the past 10 meetings in the series.

For that reason, the transplant from New Jersey has changed his stance on the head-to-head contest of in-state foes. It will not change today, in his eyes, as the teams meet at Scott Stadium at 3:30 p.m.

“Right now, no, it’s not a rivalry,” he said. “It really can’t be viewed that way when it is so dominated by one side.”

That cruel factoid may

ultimately lead to a coaching change at Virginia later this weekend — coach Al Groh has managed just one victory over the Hokies (8-3, 5-2 ACC) since taking the job in 2001, and just one of the losses was within a 10-point difference.

While Virginia Tech has played in BCS bowl games, Virginia (3-8, 2-5 ACC) will miss lucrative postseason play for the third time in the past four years.

That in itself has crushed the tradition that once stood with the state’s biggest football game.

“It’s a I-A team against a I-AA team,” said Robbie Lawson of Troy. “Virginia against Richmond might be a rivalry.”

It has been hard on many Virginia supporters who suffered through recent seating changes at Scott Stadium and wish for the day that the football rivalry can return to its old form where wins were not considered a pipe dream.

“I long for the day that Virginia can have a winning season. It is as simple as that,” said Charlottesville native Jermaine Jackson. “This is really starting to suck. I feel like the school has so much money but can’t get anything in there.

“Look at all the money they have. Why can’t we have a good football team? It is that simple. It can happen, but that’s up to the people in charge.”

Others, however, have completely ignored the program because of its dismal results in three of the past four seasons.

“Who is Al Groh?” asked Kim White, a manager at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Jackson, meanwhile, admitted that he is one of many who are perturbed that Hokie fans will fill Scott Stadium today thanks to ticket promotions that made it easy for the visiting team to be represented.

“How can the support drop off so bad?” he asked. “But the school kept faith in Al Groh and he should have been gone three years ago. We had a good fan following and that’s all changed. The damage was done nine years ago when we went to the pros to get a coach.”
 

Cavs have a chance to rewrite their legacies
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: November 28, 2009
» 1 Comment | Post a Comment
vote
nowBuzz up!

Denzel Burrell is haunted by the memories of Virginia’s locker room last season when the Cavaliers failed to pull off the upset against archrival Virginia Tech.

It wasn’t easy looking into the eyes of the seniors in the room, knowing they went out with a gut-wrenching defeat in, for many of them, the last time they would ever put on a football uniform. The bus ride from Blacksburg to Charlottesville must have seemed like an eternity.

Burrell’s best pal and fellow fifth-year linebacker Aaron Clark remembers, too.

The last chapter

“It’s a dagger in the heart,” Clark said, describing the emotional aftermath of the Hokies’ win at Scott Stadium in 2007. “I beat myself up for it ... you try to do it for [the seniors].”

Wahoo fans have to go all the way back to 2003 to remember what it felt like to beat the Hokies in the regular season finale. There have been a lot of tears shed by Cavalier seniors between that win and today’s showdown at Scott Stadium.

Certainly, Virginia Tech is favored, and should be. The Hokies have been solid most of the way, losing to SEC power Alabama and ACC Coastal Division champion Georgia Tech along the way. The only real hiccup was a stunning home loss to North Carolina, which reduced Tech from a great football team to a more ordinary one.

If Virginia’s seniors — if the Cavaliers in general — want to make a statement, want to be remembered for something other than the disappointing 3-8 record they bring to today’s game, then they must win.

Horseshoes and grenades

Coming close won’t matter. They came close last year, threw a scare into the eventual ACC champions, the Orange Bowl champions. Close, but no cigar.

There’s an even greater reason to win today. It’s one of those “Win One for the Gipper” kind of games.

With the swirling stories about this likely being coach Al Groh’s final game as the Cavaliers’ football CEO, the players have something extra to play for. The outcome likely won’t matter in terms of Groh’s job security, but it will matter to Groh and to his players.

“All we can do is play our hearts out for him,” said UVa senior “Mr. Everything,” Vic Hall.

When the Cavaliers emerge from their locker room today, many of them for the last time, they will have been through an emotional wringer for the past 18 hours.

Part of the team tradition under Groh has been the Friday night senior testimonies held after dinner at the Omni Hotel, where they spend nights before home games. Each senior is given the opportunity to speak their mind about their experience at UVa, about their teammates, their coaches, what football has meant to them.

Clark described it as a night of raw emotions. It’s nothing rehearsed — just straight from the heart.

Some players have sobbed as they confessed to their teammates that they didn’t give their best effort over their career. Others are demonstrative in another way, such as Clark, who said that everybody is different in their approach.

“Sometimes it’s like, ‘You’re going to have to drag me off the field,’” Clark said. “That type of emotion only adds to the passion.”

He should know. He has been carted off the field a couple of times with knee injuries. But he always came back.

Like his coach, Clark’s a fighter. They don’t always win, but they fight to the end.

Give Groh credit for instilling that into his players. They never quit. A lot of teams would have “packed up their bats” as Groh likes to say, over the past few years. They would have been done.

Not Groh’s teams. Sure, they lost plenty. Three losing seasons in the last four years on the heels of four straight winning seasons and four consecutive bowl games, left a portion of Wahoo Nation restless. Some lost faith.

Not Groh, nor his players.

Some of the leaders on this Cavaliers’ squad have referred to today’s game as their “bowl game.”

If that’s the case, then as Clark said, there’s no reason to hold anything back.

That goes for the coaching staff, too. Just like Auburn on Friday against No. 2 Alabama, they have nothing to lose, no reason to hold anything back. So why leave any unused ammo?

In a rivalry game such as this one, both teams are playing for state bragging rights. The Hokies and Cavaliers have been slugging it out for more than a century with highlights that could fill a storybook.

They’ve met with a lot more on the line for both teams than today’s clash, which will barely show a blip on the national football screen. Fans outside of the Commonwealth will likely surf for a more high-profile rivalry.

For those inside Scott Stadium, which could be divided more evenly in ticket distribution than any time over the past 25 years, today will mean something a little more special.

It’s the 91st meeting.

Who will remember it most?
 

Cavs’ Sherrill surprises on Cancun trip
By Whitey Reid
Published: November 28, 2009
» 0 Comments | Post a Comment
vote
nowBuzz up!

When junior walk-on Will Sherill made a couple of nice hustle plays in Virginia’s win over Rider nine days ago, the John Paul Jones Arena crowd went bananas.

Just imagine what the reception will be like for Sherrill when he peels off his warmups on Monday night against Penn State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

It will be like a Jonas Brother just checked into the game.

Fans still can’t stop talking about Sherrill’s performance on Wednesday night in the Cancun Challenge.

Sherrill, who had scored just eight points and grabbed six rebounds during his entire first two seasons, went nuts south of the border, notching career highs in points (18), rebounds (six), steals (three) and blocked shots (one). Sherrill helped Virginia (4-2) overcome a 10-point second-half deficit and defeat Cleveland State.

Sherrill’s performance, believe it or not, didn’t come as a total shock to Virginia coach Tony Bennett. Ever since the team began practicing last month, Sherill has displayed a nice touch and a quick release on his jumper, according to Bennett.

However, that’s not what earned the New York native minutes in the rotation over highly-touted freshman Tristan Spurlock.

“He gets his hands on a lot offensive rebounds,” Bennett said. “He’s really help-conscious, defensively. He makes up for maybe his lack of quickness or his strength with his smarts.

“He moves the ball and makes the extra pass. He screens well. He stretches the defense with his shot.”

Bennett hopes Sherrill’s good play can continue against the Nittany Lions.

While Bennett would have liked to have won both games in Cancun — the Cavaliers fell to Stanford on Tuesday night — he sounded relatively pleased overall with the trip. He especially liked the way his team came back in the second half against Cleveland State.

“We didn’t pack it in,” he said. “We kind of fought and we scrapped…we battled back and, for the most part, kept our composure.”

Another big positive, other than the emergence of Sherrill, Bennett said, was the play of sophomore Sylven Landesberg. Last season’s ACC rookie of the year had 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, and he committed just one turnover in 38 minutes of action.

“I told him, ‘That was a complete game you played,’” Bennett said. “I still want him to keep working defensively and on his stance and vision, but he made his teammates better.”

On the negative side, Bennett said his team had far too many breakdown on defense in the Stanford loss. In addition, Bennett felt the Cavs had an unnecessary amount of turnovers against the Cardinal, which occurred at particularly inopportune times.

Dunks

Spurlock didn’t play in either of the games in Cancun. “Right now, with our rotation, he’s just not in it,” Bennett said. “He’s not quite ready. He just needs to keep working and keep improving. My hope is that he will just keep battling in practice because our rotation is not set by any means. With a lot of young guys, there’s a maturation process and a learning process. That’s part of being a first-year guy.”

Spurlock Remains Work in Progress
Nov. 27, 2009
1:58 p.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- For each of his team's two games at the Cancun Challenge, first-year coach Tony Bennett had 11 players in uniform. Ten played in the loss to Stanford and 10 in the win over Cleveland State.

The exception each night? Freshman Tristan Spurlock, a 6-8 forward from Woodbridge who was considered the gem of UVa's two-player recruiting class.

"Right now with our rotation, he's just not in it," Bennett said on a teleconference Friday afternoon. "He's not quite ready. He just needs to keep working and keep improving, and my hope is he'll just keep battling in practice. Our rotation is not set by any means, but with a lot of young guys, there's a maturing process, there's a learning process.

"That's just part of being a first-year guy, but that doesn't mean he's locked into that role. If he can show some signs, certainly I'm open to that. But I hope he'll keep developing and working hard. That's the hardest thing for young men that come from high school where they've been playing a lot. This is first time where they've probably faced some adversity of not being able to be on the floor.

"You just try to encourage them that there's certainly value in what they're doing and just to keep working, and you don't know when their chance will come."

UVa's other freshman, point guard Jontel Evans, played six minutes against Stanford and the final 15 seconds against Cleveland State.

Spurlock has played in four games, for a total of 21 minutes, this season. He's 2 for 6 from the floor -- 1 for 3 from beyond the 3-point arc -- and 1 for 2 from the line.

Virginia's next game is Monday at John Paul Jones Arena. UVa (4-2) hosts Penn State (4-2) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at 7 p.m.

-- Jeff White




 

No. 15 Virginia Tops South Dakota State, 78-66
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 11/27/2009

FREEPORT, The Bahamas - The 15th-ranked Virginia women's basketball team won its division at the Junkanoo Jam by defeating South Dakota State, 78-66, Friday night. Paulisha Kellum led the Cavaliers with a career-high 25 points en route to tournament most valuable player honors.

Kellum connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field and added five rebounds in addition to her 25 points. Ariana Moorer chipped in 10 points, three assists and three steals, while Monica Wright moved into third place on Virginia's all-time scoring list with eight points and nine rebounds.

Wright surpassed current assistant coach Wendy Palmer, who played from 1992-96 and scored 1,918 career points. Wright now has 1,922 points and was also named to the all-tournament team.

Virginia got out to an early 13-5 lead in the game, but South Dakota State put together an 11-0 run to take a 16-13 lead with 12:46 left in the first half. Another run by the Jackrabbits, this time 10-2, gave them their biggest lead of the contest at 28-20 with 6:22 left.

Virginia fought back with a run of its own, however, and capped off an 11-1 run with an fast break layup by Wright to recapture the lead at 31-29. The Cavaliers ended the half strong and took a 39-34 lead at halftime.

Kellum had 14 first-half points to pace the 'Hoos offense.

In the second half, South Dakota State got no closer than six points and the Cavaliers came away with the 78-66 victory.

Virginia returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 3 when it hosts Purdue at John Paul Jones Arena. The game is part of the 2009 Big Ten/ACC Challenge and tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 

Baseball America Assistant Coach Of The Year
Virginia's Kevin McMullan can recruit and coach
By Aaron Fitt
November 27, 2009

When head coach Brian O'Connor and assistants Kevin McMullan and Karl Kuhn arrived at Virginia in 2003, they were inheriting a program that had not reached the NCAA tournament in seven years and had made just three trips to regionals ever.

In the six years since, the Cavaliers have been to regionals every season, capped by their first trip to the College World Series in 2009. That team was dominated by underclassmen, and UVa. will enter 2010 as a leading contender for the national title.

Virginia has arrived as an elite college baseball program, thanks in no small part to its success on the recruiting trail. Led by the tireless efforts of recruiting coordinator McMullan, the Cavs have brought in four top-25 recruiting classes in the last five years, including top-10 classes in 2005 and '09.

But the rankings and accolades and on-field success only scratch the surface of McMullan's value to the Cavaliers. McMullan is the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year, not only because he's a gifted talent evaluator and an accomplished hitting coach, but also because he knows how to bring out the best in his players.

"He's just a tireless worker. He's got a really good eye for talent but also for helping players continue their development," said O'Connor, who developed a respect for McMullan when both were assistants in the Big East (at Notre Dame and St. John's, respectively) and wasted no time adding McMullan to his staff when he was hired at Virginia. "He demands a lot out of the players, he holds them accountable—which I think is really, really important—and he doesn't let things slide.

"From a developmental standpoint, he's with those guys every day or every other day that we work with these players in individual workouts—he's in the fight with them every day. And he holds them to a very high standard."

Football Mentality

Naturally, McMullan's own background shaped his coaching style. His father, John McMullan, was an offensive lineman at Notre Dame and in the NFL, and his mother died when he was 3, leaving John to provide for five kids by himself. Kevin was the youngest—he had two brothers and two sisters, all within nine years of age.

"You were motivated to impress your dad, and the chores you do, the way you go about them—when we say, 'Dust your shelves,' we mean dust them," McMullan said. "Don't just say you dusted them. There was that competitiveness between brothers and sisters. I remember growing up having wars on the front yard, whether it's 'kill the man with the ball' or Wiffle ball, and my brother's the Yankees, I'm the Red Sox."

The lessons of his childhood—"not making excuses and just playing the hand you're dealt"—would be reinforced over and over again in McMullan's life, so it's no wonder he holds his players to a high standard. He played baseball and football growing up in Dumont, N.J., but he chose to attend Division II power Indiana (Pa.) on a football scholarship partly because football was a full-scholarship sport, so his education wouldn't cost his family any money.

McMullan played exclusively football for two years, and when he proved himself as an All-American linebacker, football coach/athletic director Frank Cignetti allowed him to play baseball also his junior and senior years. He earned D-II All-America honors in that sport, too, as a catcher, but his football mentality was deeply ingrained.

"There's a lot more instruction at the lower levels about staying the course and being tough in a football setting than there is in a baseball setting," McMullan said. "I think it gives you a different perspective, because you're going to get hit in the face, you're going to get knocked down, and you'll have to get back up."

When McMullan's sister was dying from cancer during his college football days, McMullan needed some help to get back up, and he hasn't forgotten it.

"I was snappy and short, and my position coach sat me down and said, 'What's going on?' " McMullan recalled. "That hour-long conversation kept me from going down the toilet bowl. He reeled me in when I needed it and became a big brother/father figure for me. I think our job as teachers and coaches is to try to redirect some of their past habits into good habits, and if you can give them an explanation why, it's a pretty easy formula."

After graduating, McMullan planned to become a graduate assistant in football and proceed down the football coaching career path. But when the independent Salt Lake City Trappers called, McMullan embarked on a three-year pro baseball career, which also included time in the Yankees system. The more time he spent around baseball, the more he realized that the mental side of baseball appealed to him, so he jumped at the chance to take over as baseball coach at his alma mater when Cignetti offered him the job before the 1994 season.

"He said, 'This is your lab, your alma mater. You have no scholarship money but you can learn, sell your university, sell yourself, and if this works out you can move on from here,'" McMullan said. "So it was really the right opportunity at the time."

That's Teaching

McMullan spent three years learning on the fly as a young head coach, then accepted a job as the recruiting coordinator at St. John's, where he said he learned from his first true "baseball mentor," head coach Ed Blankmeyer. During his four years at St. John's, McMullan met his future wife, Sandra, and they started a family shortly after McMullan joined Keith LeClair's coaching staff at East Carolina in 2000.

McMullan was struck by LeClair's unceasing optimism even while he battled ALS, a disease that would eventually kill him. LeClair was a master communicator, and when his disease began to interfere with his ability to communicate with his players as effectively as he wanted, he gave McMullan the duties of acting head coach. LeClair's impact on McMullan is most obvious in the way he interacts with his players.

"Here's a guy that was a walk-on at Western Carolina, and he never treated any player any different—whether you were on a full scholarship or a walk-on, if you played the right way he treated you the same way," McMullan said. "That's teaching, for me. He always believed in the kids, never ever doubted them at all."

After the Pirates chose to hire Randy Mazey to succeed LeClair, McMullan spent a year in pro ball as the Braves' catching/extended spring training coordinator. But the job took a toll on his young family, so when O'Connor approached him about joining him at Virginia, McMullan couldn't pass up the opportunity.

O'Connor agreed to let McMullan fulfill his commitment to the Braves and head to Charlottesville after the summer was over. He also gave McMullan plenty of autonomy in his job. The arrangement has worked out well for everyone involved.

"Anytime you get a head coaching job, you think about who are some of the better candidates out there, and he's the first one that came to mind for me," O'Connor said. "I saw how he interacted with the players, and I think that's the most important thing.

"I know our players have a lot of respect for him. From a teaching standpoint, he keeps things very, very simple, but he emphasizes hard work, and it's paid off for us."