U.Va. football notebook
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 19, 2002

Last year’s top recruit eligible, will practice with team in spring
Spring football practice just became much more interesting at the University of Virginia.

Ahmad Brooks, the team’s top recruit a year ago, has been accepted for admission and will participate in spring drills.

“Ahmad is very excited,” said Robert Prunty, Brooks’ coach at Hargrave Military Academy. “He’s ready to get up there with his U.Va. teammates.”

Brooks, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker from Woodbridge, was the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year last season. He signed with Virginia last February but failed to qualify academically. He enrolled at Hargrave, where he raised his standardized test score enough to qualify under NCAA guidelines.

Brooks is expected to play inside linebacker in Virginia’s 3-4 scheme.

“He ran a 4.4 the other day at the combine,” Prunty said. “I think he’s a clone of Lavar Arrington.”

Brooks could be joined on the inside by Kai Parham, who has begun practicing recently after missing most of the season with a back injury.

Parham, a freshman from Princess Anne High, was a Parade All-American last season. He redshirted this year and, like Brooks, will have four years of eligibility remaining.

Players get holiday break through this weekend

After practicing five times in four days, Virginia broke for the holidays Tuesday night. The Cavaliers will reconvene Saturday to continue preparations for the Continental Tire Bowl Dec. 28 in Charlotte.

The NCAA allows teams wide latitude in preparing for bowl games. Virginia coach Al Groh said it is “one of the few times the NCAA allows common sense to rule.”

Some coaches abuse the privilege, using bowl practice as a mini-spring practice. Groh said he heard of one school that is practicing 17 times before its bowl.

Groh said the Cavaliers will practice no more than necessary to get ready for West Virginia.

“We’re trying to structure it so we can get prepared for the opponent,” he said.

Two Charlotte natives sidelined for bowl game

In a cruel twist, U.Va.’s two best players from Charlotte — tailback Alvin Pearman and defensive end Chris Canty — won’t be available to play.

Pearman suffered a season-ending knee injury against Georgia Tech. Canty is out with an elbow injury. Stan Norfleet, a linebacker who plays strictly on special teams, is the only other Cavalier from Charlotte.

Canty will be replaced by freshman Kwakou Robinson, who has missed the last three games with an illness. Justin Walker also will play defensive end.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Groh said guard Elton Brown should resume practicing when the team arrives in Charlotte on Saturday. Brown has been playing with a stress fracture in his foot.

“By the time we get to Charlotte, this’ll give him three weeks to be feeling a little bit better,” Groh said.

Cavs land highly rated offensive lineman

After visiting Virginia four times in the past year, coveted offensive lineman Ian-Yates Cunningham announced Wednesday that he will sign a letter of intent with U.Va.

Cunningham, a 6-6, 300-pound offensive tackle from Plano, Texas, picked the Cavaliers over the other two schools he had visited, Georgia Tech and Nebraska.

Cunningham was born in North Carolina and his grandparents, Rudy and Becky Cunningham, live in his father’s hometown of Petersburg. His second cousin is legendary tennis star Arthur Ashe.

Cunningham, rated the No. 6 offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep before the season, said he based his decision on the relationship he had built with the U.Va. coaches and players and on academics. He has a 3.2 grade-point average and 1,000 on the SAT.
 

Prized Texas lineman finds home with UVa
Ian-Yates Cunningham is rated the No. 6 offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

After visiting Virginia four times in the past year, coveted offensive lineman Ian-Yates Cunningham will be making the Old Dominion his temporary home.
Cunningham, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive tackle from Plano, Texas, announced Wednesday that he will sign a letter of intent with Virginia. Cunningham picked the Cavaliers over the other two schools he had visited, Georgia Tech and Nebraska.

Cunningham was born in North Carolina and his grandparents, Rudy and Becky Cunningham, live in his father's hometown of Petersburg. His is second cousin to Arthur Ashe, the late legendary tennis star.

Cunningham, rated the No. 6 offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep before the season, said he based his decision on the relationship he had built with the UVa coaches and players and on academics. He has a 3.2 grade-point average and 1,000 on the SAT.

Cunningham is the sixth preseason All-American to commit to the Cavaliers, four of them from outside the state. He will join Altamonte Springs, Fla., center Jordy Lipsey, rated the nation's No. 2 offensive lineman by SuperPrep.

"You practice with All-Americans and soon you might become an All-American," said Cunningham, recruited by Cavaliers' assistant Danny Rocco. "I plan on contributing to what I believe can be an ACC championship team next year."

 

OL commits to Cavaliers
Cunningham cousin of Ashe
Dec 19, 2002

Offensive lineman Ian-Yates Cunningham, a cousin of the late Arthur Ashe, yesterday became the second high school football star in a week to commit to Virginia on ESPN.com.

A week ago, tight end Jonathan Stupar of State College, Pa., committed to the Cavaliers during an online "chat" moderated by ESPN.com recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

Cunningham, a 6-5, 300-pound senior at Hebron High in Lewisville, Texas, chose U.Va. over Nebraska and Georgia Tech. Dan Rocco, Virginia's assistant head coach, was Cunningham's main recruiter. Rocco got help, though, from other players who had committed to the Cavaliers.

On his unofficial visits to U.Va., Cunningham formed friendships with such recruits as Stupar, center Jordy Lipsey and quarterback Kevin McCabe, and they stayed in touch on the phone.

"Jordy and I are going to be roommates," Cunningham said. "That played a large part in it."

Cunningham, who has a 3.2 grade-point average, has strong ties to this state. His grandparents, Rudy and Becky Cunningham, live in Ettrick. Rudy Cunningham is a former athletic director at Virginia State University whose late sister was Ashe's mother, Ian-Yates said.

"I look up to my dad, my grandfather and Arthur Ashe," Cunningham said. "I'm trying to follow in their footsteps. I want to be a good man and a good athlete."

Cunningham, 17, said he used to play tennis. "I was good, too," he said, laughing. "But then I got too big."

Like Stupar, Cunningham has been invited to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 5 in San Antonio. ESPN2 will televise the 7 p.m. game. - Jeff White
 

U.VA. NOTES
Dec 19, 2002

IT'S OFFICIAL: Prized football recruit Ahmad Brooks has been accepted at the University of Virginia and will start classes there next month.

"I've got his admission letter right here," Hargrave Military Academy football coach Robert Prunty said yesterday.

A 6-4, 230-pound linebacker from Woodbridge, Brooks was a Parade All-American - as well as USA Today's national defensive player of the year - as a Hylton High senior in 2001. He signed with U.Va. in February but failed to meet NCAA eligibility requirements.

Brooks spent the fall semester at Hargrave, where he raised his standardized-test score, starred on Prunty's postgraduate team and gained admittance to U.Va. He plans to take part in spring practice and is projected to start for the Cavaliers in 2003.

"He's ecstatic," Prunty said. "He's overjoyed. He's just thanking God."

Brooks, whose father, Perry, played for the Washington Redskins, led Hylton to two state Group AAA, Division 6 titles. In his four years on the Hylton varsity, Brooks played in only one loss, to Thomas Dale in the 2001 state semifinals. He missed the 2000 season with a broken ankle.

UP AND COMER: Of Virginia's top eight rushers, only wideout Billy McMullen (seven carries for 37 yards and one touchdown) is a senior. The seven underclassmen ahead of him include fullback Jason Snelling and tailbacks Wali Lundy, Marquis Weeks, Alvin Pearman and Michael Johnson.

Don't be surprised if tailback Tony Franklin earns some playing time in 2003, too.

Franklin, a 5-11, 180-pound freshman from Cleveland, has yet to play in a game for the Cavaliers. But of the offensive players who redshirted this season, senior linebacker Merrill Robertson said, Franklin has been the most impressive.

"He's fast, he's tough, he's athletic," Robertson said. "He's everything you want in a running back."

Franklin rushed for 2,206 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2001. He ran for 322 yards in the state semifinals and an Ohio-record 393 in the state final to help St. Peter Chanel High finish 15-0.

ON THE MEND: Defensive end Kwakou Robinson, who missed the final three games of the regular season with mono, said his weight dropped to about 305 pounds during his illness. He's back up to 310, he said Tuesday night.

Robinson, a true freshman from the Bronx, N.Y., started the Cavaliers' first five games before sophomore Chris Canty, who'd been recovering from a leg injury, reclaimed his starting job. With Canty out with an elbow injury he suffered in the regular-season finale, the 6-4 Robinson is expected to start against West Virginia in the Dec. 28 Continental Tire Bowl.

He played most of the season at about 315 pounds. Robinson said he wants to get down to 295 by next season. He said he's "going to give some of that weight to Brick."

Classmate D'Brickashaw Ferguson has started every game at left offensive tackle despite weighing only 265 pounds.

NOTHING NEW: Derrick Byars' long-range accuracy Tuesday night might have surprised some observers at University Hall, but not his roommate, sophomore forward Devin Smith.

"He shoots like that every day in practice," Smith said.

In U.Va.'s win over scrappy East Tennessee State, the 6-7 freshman made 3 of 5 shots from beyond the arc and scored a season-high 16 points. His treys came on consecutive possessions in the second half.

Smith (12 for 26) is shooting a team-high 46.2 percent on 3-pointers. Byars (9 of 23) is at 39.1 percent. Junior guard Todd Billet (18 for 45) is shooting 40 percent. No other Cavalier has made more than two 3-pointers.

In U.Va.'s previous game, a loss at Michigan State, Byars started but failed to score for the first time in his brief college career. A conversation with Wesley Henning, who coached him at Ridgeway High in Memphis, Tenn., reassured Byars.

His former coach told him "basically that I'm a freshman - be patient," Byars said. "I have a long road ahead of me, so stay positive, listen to what the coach says, give it your all every time you're on the court, no matter how many minutes you play." - Jeff White

 

Herrion gives assistants head-coaching hope
By Dick Vitale
SPECIAL TO ESPN.COM
Dec. 17
It seems like the College of Charleston has been constantly battling for respect. Under the tutelage of John Kresse, the Cougars fought and scrapped for NCAA berths and gave opponents trouble. This year, under new coach Tom Herrion, Charleston has already made some noise by winning the Great Alaska Shootout with wins over Wyoming, Oklahoma State and Villanova.

Beating these three schools was impressive, since many experts feel that all three are contenders for NCAA bids this season. Sharpshooting guard Troy Wheless was the Great Alaska MVP.

Herrion is a former second lieutenant who worked like a gym rat, paying his dues for years.
Why do I want to talk about the Cougars? It seems like we often talk about the same superstars in the coaching profession. Yes, guys like Mike Krzyzewski, Lute Olson, John Chaney, Roy Williams, Gary Williams, Tom Izzo and company earn their praises. But it's great to see new coaching stars rise, too. If you asked the average college basketball fan who's the head coach at the College of Charleston, they'd say, "who?"

Herrion is a former second lieutenant who worked like a gym rat, paying his dues for years. He has learned so much working as an assistant in preparation for the day when he received the call to take over a program. He took over from Kresse, who retired after last season -- the former Charleston coach was so popular that they named the arena after him!

They were a giant killer in the NCAA tourney, like Gonzaga. This program proved it could compete with the big boys.

Herrion brings passion to the table. He has great communication skills and a genuine love that's felt by his players. He has a special enthusiasm and the knowledge that comes from growing up in a basketball family; his brother Bill was the head coach at Drexel and now runs the East Carolina program.

They must have passed more than just the potatoes at the dinner table, baby! They talked and shared strategy and X's and O's. Remember the name: Tommy Herrion ... a lieutenant who was given a chance and is succeeding following the opportunity.

There are so many guys out there today who, if given the chance, could succeed as head coaches. I watched Brian Gregory at Michigan State recently, and he reminds me of Marquette head coach Tom Crean. Remember, Crean also worked under Izzo at Michigan State.

At Maryland, Dave Dickerson has taken on added responsibilities since Billy Hahn left for LaSalle a couple of years ago. Dickerson has the package to succeed.

There are so many good assistants out there. Think about Johnny Dawkins at Duke, Fred Hill at Villanova, Doug Wojcik at North Carolina, former Northern Illinois head coach Jim Rosborough at Arizona, Paul Biancardi at Ohio State, Mike Riley at Georgetown, Sean Miller at Xavier, Larry Hunter at N.C. State (who got a raw deal at Ohio University) and Mick Cronin at Louisville.

Think about the decision Bob Frederick made at Kansas years ago when he gave an assistant coach from North Carolina an opportunity. Roy Williams is approaching his 400th win in Lawrence.

Herrion is proving himself in his first season. Others are capable of getting the job done if given the chance.

 

Cavs' tickets are a hot item
U.Va. sells its share to Continental Tire Bowl in six days
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published December 19, 2002

In the end, Virginia likes where it landed. The Continental Tire Bowl is located in Charlotte, N.C., which doesn't have many sights but is a five-hour drive for most of the team's fan base. The opponent is West Virginia, which like the Cavaliers finished second in its conference.

The date is Dec. 28, after Christmas but before New Year's Eve, and the game sold out in six days. They couldn't have planned it any better.

"This was a game that, from the inception of the agreement between the two conferences and Raycom, I thought it would be a very attractive game to be in," U.Va. coach Al Groh said. "We were hopeful of this location and hopeful of this matchup. It's a quality matchup that has obviously done what was hoped in capturing the interest of all three parties: the two teams and the host city."

But facts are facts: Three bowls passed the Cavaliers by, and but for the grace of good fortune - and Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser's pain tolerance - Virginia might have wound up in Seattle as the ACC's sixth team. The Gator took N.C. State and the Peach opted for Maryland, two teams the Cavaliers defeated in November. The Tangerine went with Clemson, which lost to Virginia and finished two games lower in the conference standings.

That brings us to why Groh and Cavaliers athletic director Craig Littlepage, who plans to bring up the selection process during a February conference meeting, see this appearance as vital to the program's future. Virginia fans have developed a reputation for not traveling well in the postseason. And a simple truth is that bowl executives look at ticket sales and/or television ratings before anything else.

U.Va. did well in its three Peach Bowl appearances (1984, '95 and '98), taking more than 20,000 fans each time. But Atlanta is easily accessible. The Cavaliers did poorly in three trips to the Carquest/Micronpc.com, selling a combined 14,800 tickets. But the Miami-based game routinely drew crowds in the 28,000 range - Pro Player Stadium seats nearly three times that - and folded in 2000.

Other tough sells for Virginia have included the 2000 Oahu Bowl, which was played on Christmas Eve in Honolulu, and the 1994 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

"Our history is the same as other teams who went to those bowls, but unfortunately our history has seemed to follow us," Littlepage said. "It did have an adverse effect on us. Is that unfair and unfortunate? Yes."

Still, the rep lives. Consider this comment by Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen in a recent e-mail to boosters, urging them to buy Peach Bowl tickets: "If you don't think it's important, ask the University of Virginia, (which was) selected to play in the fifth bowl (game) for the ACC."

This year, Virginia hopes it has proved its case. Though the pairings weren't announced until Dec. 8, the Cavaliers sold 20,000 tickets in six days.

"We're still getting calls," said Dick Mathias, Virginia's athletic ticket manager. "They get a message before a live operator and they still hang on and ask, 'Are you really sold out?' "

Neither Maryland nor Clemson are doing well this holiday season at the box office. The Terrapins have sold roughly 12,000 of their 20,000 allotment for the Dec. 31 Peach Bowl, which resulted in Friedgen's e-mail campaign. Clemson's sales for the Tangerine stood at fewer than 10,000 as of Tuesday.

To some, the Cavaliers' trip to Charlotte will be a no-win situation. Travel well, and skeptics will point out the short driving distance and ideal game date. Don't travel well, and you guarantee future bowl snubs.

But as far as Littlepage is concerned, this is chance for vindication.

"Hopefully," he said, "this will go a long way toward dispelling that myth."
 

ACC: Bowling for dollars

12-19-02

By ROB DANIELS, Staff Writer
News & Record

WINSTON-SALEM -- At first, it was easy to puncture holes in the Continental Tire Bowl. A goofy name, an outdoor event in Charlotte in late December and a huge stadium to be filled seemed the perfect combination for a good, old-fashioned public flogging.

Then the thing sold out.

But as is the case with every league in today's bloated bowl system, there are games on the other end of the spectrum. The Tangerine Bowl, set for the day before the day before Christmas in Orlando, isn't drawing the allegedly frothy-at-the-mouth fans of the Clemson Tigers. Wake Forest would be happy to sell 4,000 of its 12,500 tickets to the Seattle Bowl.

Topped by the 16.6-ton cash cow that is the BCS game -- this year the Sugar -- the ACC's postseason football landscape should deliver a record $1.7 million to each of its nine members -- with most of the profit coming from the Sugar.

"Conference-wise, we've got the best situation we've ever had," said ACC commissioner John Swofford, whose nine-school league has seven postseason participants. "And hopefully we'll be able to maintain that and continue to develop the new bowls."

One of them seems to be off to a good start. The Tire, owned and operated by Raycom, is going to draw more than 73,000, and it will come within a few hundred seats of becoming the best-attended debut bowl in college football history.

"I think 40,000 would have been a great crowd for a first-year bowl," said Mike Finn, the ACC's chief football administrator.

The game has gotten the attention of one angry fan base (Virginia's) and an energized group (West Virginia's). Virginia sold 20,000 seats, seeking to dispel the notion that it doesn't "travel well." That notion scared away the Tangerine and dispatched the Cavaliers, who tied for second in the ACC at 6-2 in league play, to the fifth bowl in the conference pecking order.

"I think they've been unduly penalized in the selection pool," Swofford said. "What we know now is that Virginia can sell a lot of tickets."

West Virginia is bringing 30,000 and the citizens of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, unlike some other host areas of new bowls, have embraced the contest as well.

In the end, it means the game will probably pay out more than the $750,000 guaranteed to each participant.

Geography plays a large role in the success of new games, of course, as the Seattle situation attests. That's a long way to go to for a virtually unknown bowl without national implications. If Wake does manage to sell 4,000 tickets -- and that's not certain -- it will have to spend roughly $150,000 to help the ACC buy the remaining 8,500 seats required in the game contract. The league's share would be about $300,000.

The $150,000 will be factored into Wake's $1.1 million bowl budget, which the ACC doles out to teams going to West Coast bowls. So Wake will cut some things rather than fall into the red.

"We like to break even in every game we go to," said David Marmion, Wake's athletics business manager. "We want to reward the players for having a great year, and we want to balance the budget."

Even though the Seattle Bowl missed two NCAA-imposed deadlines to prove its financial solvency, the game is OK financially, executive director Jim Haugh said.

"We're fine," he said. "We've never been in any question. (The deadlines) were because we changed banks. A lot of complicated stuff."

The Deacs will still have a good time. On their itinerary are dinner at the Space Needle and tickets to NBA and minor-league hockey games.

"Everything about going to a bowl game makes the hard work we put in during the summer and during the winter worth it," quarterback James MacPherson said.

The Deacs (3-5 ACC, 6-6) are glad to be going anywhere. They slid into a spot largely because three probationers with superior records -- Alabama, Kentucky and California -- were banned from postseason by the NCAA infractions committee. Texas A&M (6-6) would have probably squeezed Wake out, but the school took the hatchet to coach R.C. Slocum and brought in Dennis Franchione, who didn't have time to assemble a coaching staff, let alone a game plan for another contest.

Swofford ultimately swung a deal that got Wake into Seattle and put Georgia Tech, which would have gone back to the Emerald City for a second straight year if the Deacs hadn't made it, to the Silicon Valley Bowl. Again, not a biggie from the fans' perspective.

Because the game is not affiliated with the league, the contract requires Tech to buy only 5,000 tickets. That's a good thing because as of Tuesday, the school had only sold 1,200 to its faithful. It will absorb about $114,000 in ticket costs into its budget.

Clemson got into the Tangerine, the No. 4 game on the ACC's chart of six, because it has a larger fan base than Virginia. But the Dec. 23 date, which means an eight-hour Christmas Eve ride back home, is one of the factors limiting ticket sales to 6,500 so far. Clemson's off the hook if it gets to 8,000; the ACC would make up the difference between 12,500 and 8,000. That should amount to $200,000 off the league's gross revenues.

Thanks to the largesse of a new television deal, the Sugar Bowl will pay each participant $16.6 million this year -- up from about $13 million a year ago. That works out to a $15 million profit after expenses. The Peach and Gator will produce profits of about $1.6 million between them.

On the other side of the ledger, the other bowl games should produce about $1.4 million in losses to the league pot, including ticket costs. The net profit will be equally divided among the nine ACC schools.

So what do you get after all this? Let's say somewhere around $1,688,138.88 per institution. They go from coast to coast, but they all wind up in the same financial place.

Did system fail Mountaineers?
Mike Cherry <mikecherry@dailymail.com>
Daily Mail sportswriter
Wednesday December 18, 2002; 09:51 AM

MORGANTOWN -- When last West Virginia University's players were asked, they expressed excitement at a date in the Gator Bowl.

Minutes after a dramatic 24-17 victory over Pittsburgh at a full Heinz Field, the Mountaineers spoke of their reward for a regular season in which they improved by six wins over 2001's 3-8 horror.

Toy stuffed alligators were held by some players earlier on the field. Star tailback Avon Cobourne was photographed clapping his hands together in an alligator-bite motion.

Tuesday afternoon at Mountaineer Field, WVU conducted its first organized workout since Nov. 29, the day before the game at Pittsburgh. The No. 15 Mountaineers (9-3) are preparing for their Dec. 28 date with unranked Virginia (8-5) in the Continental Tire Bowl at Charlotte, N.C.

Anyone following the Mountaineers knows they are, despite finishing second in the eight-team Big East Conference, not heading toward the league's second-best slot in the Gator. An agreement with the bowl and Notre Dame allows the Irish to sub twice every four years for a Big East team. Out of the Bowl Championship Series because of a late-season rout by Southern California, Notre Dame instead slipped into the Jan. 1 Gator.

Following Tuesday's chilly workout, some WVU players still feel like the system failed them.

"Everyone wanted to go to Jacksonville," quarterback Rasheed Marshall said. "It's something we can't control. At first, it was a disappointment."

Helping soothe some Mountaineers is that the game is a sellout for 73,367-seat Ericsson Stadium, the home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. That means WVU will be playing in its second consecutive sold-out pro stadium. Based on ticket sales, WVU should have the larger cheering section.

"Virginia is not that far from it," Marshall said. "West Virginia is not that far. As far as a lot of fans, it lets us know our fans are supporting us."

Still, the date (New Year's Day), history and warmer climate made the Gator a more-appealing destination.

"I'm not saying the Tire Bowl is not a big bowl, but we should be in the Gator Bowl," sophomore wideout Miquelle Henderson said.

"It's a disappointment. We deserved the Gator Bowl."

Junior cornerback Brian King said thoughts of the Gator left his mind Dec. 8. That was when official word that Notre Dame, not WVU, would play North Carolina State in the Gator was announced.

"We knew going in Notre Dame was a possibility," King said. "Going to Continental Bowl, it is an opportunity for a 10th win. That's more than a bowl game.

"It's not the ho-hum Tire Bowl. We'll play in a sold-out, big-time environment."

* * *
Mountaineer bowl crumbs:

WVU will practice in Morgantown through the week, including a workout Saturday morning that will include a scrimmage with many of the younger Mountaineer players. The team then leaves that afternoon on two charter planes for Charlotte. Practice in Charlotte begins Monday morning.

Two WVU offensive starters nursing late-season ankle injuries performed in practice. They were senior guard Ken Sandor and Henderson.
Asked how his left high-ankle sprain was, Henderson said he is practicing "80 or 90 percent."

Junior wideout Travis Garvin missed Tuesday's practice because of an illness in his family.

WVU Coach Rich Rodriguez said neither senior defensive end Kevin Freeman nor freshman wideout J.T. Perry would participate in the bowl. Freeman took a late- season leave of absence that essentially concluded his career. Perry, Rodriguez said, is still on suspension.

Rodriguez on Cobourne earning Associated Press third-team all-America status: "It's an honor well-deserved. It seems this year there are so many good backs."

Rodriguez on the University of Kentucky, which asked permission from WVU's athletic department to speak with him regarding their open head-coaching position: "I've been so busy with getting ready for practice. I haven't given it much thought."

King on why Rodriguez will stay at WVU: "Because he's home. Because he has the ability to build big things here."