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Undersized tackle Ferguson will be only UVa offensive lineman to start every game
Girth doesn't measure worth

Despite tipping the scales at close to 245 pounds, freshman D'Brickashaw Ferguson has missed only a handful of plays this year.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The first thing that jumps out about Virginia offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson is his name. The second is his frame.

    Nobody is saying exactly what Ferguson weighs these days. Once listed at 265 pounds, he may be closer to 245, unusually light for a Division I-A offensive lineman.

    At some places, Ferguson might be spending his first college season on the scout team. At Virginia, he will make his 14th consecutive start Saturday against West Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl.

    Ferguson will be the only UVa offensive lineman to start every game - not bad for a player whose feet and lack of mass might have sent him to defense 20 years ago.

    "As much as you'd like to put a great player on defense, you'd have to think long and hard about giving up that rare guy who you have at that position," Groh said. "If you're going to be a left [offensive] tackle, you've got to play left tackle.

    "One, we needed a left tackle. And, two, he was going to be a left tackle. So, why not play him?"

    Many offensive tackles at Virginia's level weigh 300 pounds or more. Michael Mullins, who had started 13 games at right offensive tackle for UVa before he underwent disc surgery this week, is listed at 6-foot-8 and 292 pounds.

    Ferguson, whose mother teaches health at a Long Island high school, doesn't think he will ever weigh 300 pounds and has no intention of getting to 300.

    "It was like having a nutritionist in the family," Ferguson said of his upbringing in Freeport, N.Y. "I was very skinny. I just want to get to a weight where I can be a little more physical, but I wouldn't want to be so big that I lost any of my speed."

    Groh said he changed his thinking about offensive linemen in 1987, his first year as an NFL assistant, when he coached special teams and tight end for Atlanta. The Falcons had a perennial All-Pro in Mike Kenn.

    "He was one of those slim, high-cut offensive tackles," Groh said. "What he excelled at was cutting off the speed rushers. That had never been [publicized] as one of the criteria for that position. For most linemen, that was what they did the least in high school."

    In 2001, the Groh staff inherited a veteran offensive line from predecessor George Welsh but it was not a flexible group. Then-senior Jermese Jones (6-6, 324) manned the left-tackle spot with some distinction but lacked the quickness to stay with speed rushers like North Carolina's Julius Peppers.

    The most trouble Ferguson had this year was with Penn State's Michael Haynes, who victimized Ferguson for three sacks in a 35-14 Nittany Lions victory.

    "That wasn't because of Haynes' size," Groh said. "It had more to do with a senior going against a freshman. It's like hiring a reporter fresh out of college and asking him to write the editorials for five straight months.

    "I think they'll be seeing each other on Sundays one day."

    Groh said that Ferguson may have missed 12 offensive plays all season. Ferguson said that number may have been closer to five or six.

    "Never, never, never did I think it would be like that," said Ferguson, named first-team freshman All-American by The Sporting News. "I thought I'd get some playing time. I knew, coming in, that I wasn't going to be able to muscle people. I've learned that, if you use the correct technique and are very specific, you can be successful."

    Ferguson got his first name from a character in a miniseries, the Thornbirds, that his parents enjoyed. He said his father encouraged D'Brickashaw and his older brother, a 2002 UVa graduate, to pursue a wide range of interests.

    Edwin Ferguson Jr., now in graduate school at UVa, plays the piano. D'Brickashaw played the saxophone and marched in the Freeport High School band when it wasn't at football games.

    "He was accomplished as a saxophone player and accomplished in karate," Groh said. "Those are two activities off the beaten track and show a willingness to take on challenges. I'm sure, when he took up the saxophone, he blew a few sour notes."

    That's what Groh had to say in August, but there haven't been many sour notes in the last four months.

    "This," Groh said, "is the kind of player who doesn't come around very often."

 

 

Victory at Rutgers could be big down the line

Sports-information official shows no remorse

By DOUG DOUGHTY
 Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Fridays
Lost in all of the attention paid to Todd Billet's return to his collegiate basketball roots was the significance of the Cavaliers' 61-57 victory over Rutgers.

If the Cavaliers should make the NCAA Tournament for the second time in coach Pete Gillen's five-year tenure, analysts may well look back at Rutgers as a pivotal opponent.

The Scarlet Knights were favored by five points, a line that was set by oddsmakers who almost certainly were unaware that UVa center Travis Watson would miss the game.

Virginia not only was without its leading scorer and rebounder, Watson, but the Cavaliers' No. 3 and 4 scorers, Devin Smith and Derrick Byars, had three points and one point, respectively.

Add to that a season-high 24 turnovers, including seven by stopgap starting center Nick Vander Laan, and 27.3-percent second-half shooting and it's unfathomable that Virginia could have won the game.

"If we play 10 times here, I don't know how many times we would win." Pete Gillen, the Cavaliers' coach, said afterwards.

Playing the way the Cavaliers did, not more than two or three.

Although the Scarlet Knights committed only seven turnovers, they couldn't have performed much worse in every aspect of the game. Rutgers shot 31.3 percent from the field and was outrebounded 52-36 by a Virginia team that had been outrebounded, itself, in two previous games against low-majors East Tennessee State and Gardner-Webb.

It's not too early to say Virginia has improved defensively, with first-year assistant Rod Jensen deserving at least part of the credit. UVa, which started in a zone against Rutgers and has played zone more frequently than at any time in Gillen's five-year coaching tenure, has held four of its first eight opponents under 40 percent.

For the first time in three years, Virginia won't be undefeated going into the new year, but, at 6-2, the Cavaliers are in better position than they might have been. They certainly were vulnerable at Rutgers, one of four games they have won by eight points or less.

This Saturday, the Cavaliers will entertain Georgetown at 2 p.m. at University Hall in a nationally televised affair on an afternoon when the UVa football team will be playing in the Continental Tire Bowl. The basketball game is technically a sellout but it will take some effort on the part of UVa's marketing department to put some fans in the seats.

Presumably, Watson will be back in action, but Saturday will be the ninth day since he injured his right ankle and it's possible he may be hobbled. Georgetown has faced only one high-major opponent, South Carolina, in compiling a 6-0 record, but the Hoyas will have momentum on their side.

The victory over Rutgers (5-3) has given UVa some momentum and could loom large at NCAA selection time, but the Cavaliers still aren't playing very well. Smith, a touted junior-college transfer, appears to have hit a wall in the last week, while Byars has been inconsistent, particularly on the road.

Billet demonstrated his toughness at Rutgers, particularly when he drilled two tie-breaking free throws as the Rutgers fans were chanting "Asshole," at him with 13.8 seconds left, and much-maligned Keith Jenifer made all the right moves in the final minute, finishing with nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Readers of this column know that I have been critical of Jenifer, who played 37 minutes against Rutgers, but the Cavaliers simply have nobody else to handle the ball until they can work Majestic Mapp into the rotation.

If Mapp does return, with his twice-rebuilt knee, the Cavaliers will have to play even more zone. This is the least athletic UVa team Gillen has had. Perimeter players Billet and Smith lack quickness and post men Vander Laan and Elton Brown can't jump.

Now that media gadfly Jeff White and I have beaten the Jenifer issue into the hardwood (White is a huge Jenifer fan), we've turned to the Vander Laan vs. Colin Ducharme debate. As I've said on more than one occasion, I felt Gillen erred by not playing Ducharme in 1999-2000 and, in effect, pushing him toward a transfer to Division II Longwood, but Ducharme wouldn't have been around to help this year's team.

On a positive note, sophomore Jason Clark had one of his best games against Rutgers, where he started and had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Clark is the most athletic of UVa's big men and, the more assertive he becomes, the better the Cavaliers will be.

THE CAVALIERS' INVITATION to the Continental Tire Bowl brought back memories of one of the more sordid tales surrounding a previous UVa bowl trip, to the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Micronpc.com Bowl, previously known as the Blockbuster Bowl and the Carquest Bowl, disbanded after the 2001 season and was reincarnated as the Continental Tire Bowl under the leadership of former Micronpc.com Bowl exec Ken Haines.

Haines kept media relations director Frank Kay, who was manning the credential desk in 1999 when UVa associate sports information director Michael Colley and cohort Myron Ripley, known as "the Mayor" to UVa Internet posters, were discovered rummaging through the trash and eating stale doughnuts and bagels.

Ripley, the color commentator on UVa women's basketball broadcasts, did not make the trip to Charlotte, N.C., for this year's bowl. Instead of disavowing his previous actions, Colley spoke proudly of his exploits in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and volunteered Thursday that he was able to find some leftover pizza in the Micronpc.om Bowl trash.

 

 

U.Va.'s strength no secret
Cavaliers favor pass but won't neglect run
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 27, 2002

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - West Virginia passed for 1,538 yards during the regular season. The Mountaineers gained more than twice that total rushing, piling up 3,443 on the ground.

WVU's opponent in tomorrow's Continental Tire Bowl followed a different route to Ericsson Stadium. Of Virginia's 4,608 yards of total offense, two-thirds (3,026) came on passing plays. The Cavaliers had more than twice as many touchdown re- ceptions (30) as rushing touchdowns (13).

The pass will always play a prominent role in offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave's playbook. But the Cavaliers, who had five rushing touchdowns in 2001, more than doubled their output this season. The time is coming, second-year coach Al Groh believes, when his team can play "Northeast football" and run the ball well enough to win on days when rain or wind or snow prove significant obstacles to the passing game.

Groh's starting offensive line against WVU (9-3) will consist of two true freshmen, one redshirt freshman and two sophomores. Virginia's starting tailback, Wali Lundy, is a true freshman, as is its most talented fullback, Jason Snelling.

"We've got good runners, and we've got good young linemen," Groh said yesterday. "Part of what we just need to bring our running game along is the opportunity for some of these players to be in an offseason program or two. Some of the power and explosion that running games of authority have, some of that is just developed."

For now, Virginia (8-5) relies heavily on the passing portion of its offense. That's no secret to opponents. Still, knowing what's coming is one thing. Stopping it is another.

Only once during the regular season was the Cavaliers' passing game shut down. Junior quarterback Matt Schaub threw for 43 yards Nov. 30 in a 21-9 loss to Virginia Tech, which got an assist from Mother Nature on a blustery day at Lane Stadium. Otherwise, however, Schaub passed for more than 200 yards eight times, thrice topping the 300-yard mark.

Schaub, the ACC player of the year, threw for 2,794 yards and 27 touchdowns during the regular season, with only seven interceptions. His completion rate? An astounding 68.7 percent. Schaub passed for 1,524 yards in 2001, when he split time with Bryson Spinner, but he wasn't a quarterback who scared defensive coordinators the way he does now.

"He's brought that thing that all quarterbacks are really aiming to bring to their team," Groh said. "That is, he's given his team the confidence that they have a player at that position who's going to give them a real good chance to win every week."

Schaub can't do it alone, of course. For U.Va.'s version of the West Coast offense to click, he said, the team needs "guys with multiple skills, not just one dimension."

Virginia has plenty of those. Nine Cavaliers had at least one touchdown catch during the regular season. Tight ends Heath Miller and Patrick Estes had nine and four TD receptions, respectively. Lundy caught 53 passes, the most ever by a U.Va. running back. Snelling, an L.C. Bird High graduate, had 31 receptions, including four TD catches. Fullback Kase Luzar also caught a touchdown pass.

"We've got five receivers in the game at most times," Groh said. "Whether we have five wide-receiver types in the game or not, we've got five pass catchers in the game."

Above all, Schaub said, Virginia's passing attack requires "communication and being able to recognize things, because there's a lot of changes that are made on the fly at the line of scrimmage, either with routes or protection. Just being able to get in a rhythm, because when you get in a rhythm, as you've seen this year, it's hard to stop."

Groh stressed the importance of "anticipation, and timing, and repetition. Repetition aids that anticipation and timing so that after a while there aren't that many new looks a quarterback is going to be faced with."

In the end, though, the success of any passing game hinges largely on the quarterback. Witness Schaub's development.

"He knows what he's looking for, and he recognizes it when he sees it, and he makes his decision right now," Groh said. "What that all means is, the ball's coming out a lot faster, and that helps everybody. That helps the guys running the routes, that helps the protection, that helps the quarterback's accuracy."
 

 

 

CONTINENTAL TIRE BOWL NOTES
Dec 27, 2002

MIXED EMOTIONS: This has been a bittersweet holiday season for University of Virginia tailback Alvin Pearman.

The Cavaliers are in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C., to play West Virginia in the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl. But Pearman will be in street clothes tomorrow at Ericsson Stadium.

"Honestly, it's a dream come true that I'm able to be part of a team that plays in a bowl in my hometown," said Pearman, a graduate of Charlotte Country Day School. "Unfortunately, it didn't have the storybook ending. . . . But God has a plan for me, and I know that."

U.Va. coach Al Groh allowed Pearman to leave the team hotel and spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with his family at home. "This is a tough time for me, and it was good to be home," Pearman said.

Pearman, a sophomore, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Nov. 9 against Penn State. Earlier in the season, he'd battled a hamstring injury and a broken hand. He still finished the regular season as the Cavaliers' No. 2 rusher, with 343 yards and four touchdowns on 83 carries.

Another Cavalier from Charlotte, defensive end Chris Canty, will miss the bowl game because of an elbow injury he suffered Nov. 30 against Virginia Tech.

"We've talked about it," Pearman said. "We're both pretty much in the same sort of situation."

Pearman had surgery on his knee and has been begun rehabilitation. A return for spring practice "is not out of the question," he said, "but by no means am I going to push it."

ONE STEP AHEAD: It poured Tuesday in Charlotte, and the Cavaliers practiced Wednesday at nearby Davidson, which has a new turf field. Virginia has done most of its work, however, at Charlotte Country Day, whose facilities are superior to those found at many small colleges.

"I'm proud, more than anything, to look up and see my team practicing on my old stomping grounds," Pearman said.

U.Va. practiced outdoors at Country Day on Monday, then moved into the school's gym Tuesday.

"It's football-field wide," Groh said, "so we really were able to run the full practice, other than kickoff coverage."

Yesterday, under sunny skies, the team was back outdoors at Country Day.

"We kind of were able to have a plan for whatever Mother Nature gave us," Groh said.

EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES: Sophomore Patrick Estes and redshirt freshman Heath Miller entered the season essentially as co-starters. But Miller tightened his grip on the job as the season wore on and was named to the all-ACC second team.

Miller's nine touchdown receptions are a single-season record for an ACC tight end. He started every game and caught 30 passes for 273 yards. Estes, a graduate of Benedictine High, started four of the 12 games in which he played - U.Va. often uses two tight ends at once - and had 13 catches for 97 yards and four touchdowns.

"He's had a good year," Groh said. "He's lost time on about three different occasions" to injuries, including a concussion. "He's lost a little bit of the development time Heath had."

HO, HO, HO: Santa Claus, as expected, dropped in on U.Va.'s team party Christmas night and spread good cheer. The jolly fellow looked suspiciously like offensive guard Elton Brown, according to people who attended the party. Brown is a 6-6, 324-pound sophomore from Hampton High.

AT THE TRACK: The Cavaliers showed varying degrees of interest yesterday afternoon during their visit to Lowe's Motor Speedway outside Charlotte. Neither the coaches nor the players count many NASCAR fans among their numbers, but a tire-tightening contest between U.Va. and West Virginia cranked the energy level up for a while.

It opened with Groh beating his WVU counterpart, Rich Rodriguez, and then all-ACC linebacker Angelo Crowell followed with a victory to make it 2-0, Cavaliers. But U.Va. freshmen Kai Parham and Damian Spradlin each lost, and in the rubber match, Rodriguez edged Groh to give the Mountaineers' a 3-2 victory in the contest.

QUICK FEET: Emmanuel Byers, who committed last month to U.Va., was included in the Charlotte Observer's list of North Carolina's top 25 prospects published yesterday.

The newspaper ranked the state's top five prospects, then listed the others in alphabetical order. Byers, a wideout from Ragsdale High in Jamestown, was among Nos. 6-25. The Observer called him "one of the fastest players" in North Carolina and said he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. - Jeff White


 

Crotty's journey now hits Denver
Scripps Howard News Service
Friday, December 27, 2002
 

After four years of playing in the ACC, John Crotty looked into the stands at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum. This couldn't be the same arena in which he had seen every seat filled for the ACC tournament.

"There must have been 300 people," Crotty said. "I said to myself, 'What am I doing here? I've got to go get a job.' "

Crotty, who was not drafted by the NBA after graduating from Virginia in 1991, was playing in something called the Global Basketball Association for the Greenville (S.C.) Spinners. The league, trying to be different, used a white ball.

It was different, all right. Crotty's team traveled by bus, and money was saved at every turn. It was miles from the NBA --- or even from college ball.

Crotty can be thankful he stuck it out and didn't go get a real job. After one season in the GBA, which would become extinct the next year, he landed in the NBA with the Utah Jazz.

Ten years later, Crotty, 33, still is in the NBA. The veteran point guard signed this week with the Denver Nuggets.

"It's been a great road," Crotty said. "I've been fortunate. I've played in every division. I've played in the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference finals."

Crotty's shot came when Nuggets starting point guard Chris Whitney reinjured his ankle, which will sideline him for at least two weeks. At point guard, the Nuggets were down to rookies Junior Harrington and Vincent Yarbrough, who's better suited for a shooting guard. They desperately needed a veteran.

Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik remembered Crotty from 1996-97, when Bzdelik was a Miami assistant and Crotty was a Heat backup.

Crotty has a career average of 12.1 minutes a game. Until Whitney returns, he might play more than that. Harrington has averaged 4.3 turnovers, 4.7 fouls and .240 shooting as a starter the past three games.

"Jeff wants me to help contribute right away, and not just be a peripheral player," Crotty said. "I'm excited to be here."

 

 

'But I'm not living the dream yet'
By Warner Hessler
Daily Press
Published December 27, 2002

Former Hampton High football and basketball star Ronald Curry, who is finishing his rookie season as a member of the practice squad with the Oakland Raiders, is a man without a position.

He was drafted out of North Carolina as a quarterback in the seventh round, spent the first half of the season practicing and going to position meetings with the defensive backs, and is finishing the season as a receiver. He was active for one game, against San Francisco on Nov. 3, and returned three kickoffs for a 22.7-yard average with a fumble.

The national high school football player of the year in 1997 and the Parade All-America first team in basketball in 1998 got to know all of his teammates very quickly as he bounced around from one side of the ball to the other. He expects to settle in at one position next season, but he has yet to be told which one.

Curry hopes he will be able to return to his first love, quarterback. But the Raiders are loaded at the position with starter Rich Gannon and an impressive young backup named Marques Tuiasosopo.

Will it be receiver for the multi-talented, 6-2, 216-pound Curry? For sure, receivers coach Fred Biletnikoff has lobbied head coach Bill Callahan to be allowed to work with him. Or will it be free safety, where defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan has wanted him since training camp?

Q: Sounds like it's been quite a first season?

A: I've learned a lot, but it's not like I want it to be because I'm not playing. Everybody grows up wanting to play in the NFL, but I'm not living the dream yet. I'm at the highest level. I'm here, but I haven't really arrived yet.

Q: Does it really matter to you at which position you make your mark in the NFL?

A: If I had a choice, it would be quarterback. I think if I stay here, though, it will be receiver or safety. I would rather be on the offensive side because I feel that's what I do best. I want to have the ball in my hands and make plays.

Q: If your heart is still set on playing quarterback, what about going to another team that might give you that shot?

A: I love the game and I love playing quarterback, but I'm not one where I'll go somewhere else if I can't play a certain position. I won't be stubborn about it. As long as I can get on the field, I'll be happy.

Q: If you don't come back as a quarterback, will you give up that dream?

A: I can't be away from being a quarterback for another year if I have any hope of playing there. You use different muscles when you throw. It's hard to throw now because I haven't been under center since training camp.

Q: With your athletic skills, didn't the coaches plan to use you as the scout team quarterback earlier in the season when you were preparing to play such multi-dimensional quarterbacks as Steve McNair of Tennessee and Kordell Stewart of Pittsburgh?

A: When we played Tennessee and Pittsburgh, I was hurt and didn't get to play scout quarterback. I pulled my groin in the first practice after the last preseason game.

Q: Have you had much chance this season to follow two other Peninsula natives, Aaron Brooks and Michael Vick?

A: I hear about the things they do, but I don't really keep up with them. I don't really watch much football.

Q: I've seen other situations where athletes came into the league with the skills to play several positions, but they never stayed at one long enough to become good at it. Is there a fear that might happen with you in Oakland?

A: Being such a good athlete has hurt me in a way because the coaches don't know where to put me. In some ways, I'm finding it's not good to be athletic.

Q: How are the veteran players treating you?

A: I thought the veteran players would be harsher to us, but they have treated the younger players like family. I had heard stories that the older guys thought you were out to get their jobs, but I know I'm not a threat to Rich Gannon.

Q: The word in Oakland is that the team will be about $50 million over the salary cap in 2003 and will have to get rid of some high-priced players. Two players I hear could go are (40-year old receiver) Jerry Rice and (37-year old safety) Rod Woodson. You've been practicing at receiver and safety. Could that be interpreted as a sign that they will be released and that you will be given a good chance this summer at replacing one of them?

A: I don't know, but even if we weren't over the cap, I feel I can come in next year and help. The cap situation will help, but I feel I've made a good enough of an impression to be used next year. I feel like I'm in a great situation here and that I can compete for a position next year. It gives me hope. I feel that my future is bright, and I get indications from the coaches that they feel the same way.

Q: What are your plans after the season?

A: I'm going to go home for a while and come back when they ask me to, probably at the end of March or early April. For me, the offseason will be about the coaches telling me where I will be playing next year and what to work on.

 

 

The Battling Virginias
Rivalry was born when West chose to stick with the Union in Civil War
MARK WASHBURN
Staff Writer
 

You can thank a nasty divorce 140 years ago for Saturday's match-up in the Continental Tire Bowl at Ericsson Stadium.

Although the two football teams -- the Virginia Cavaliers and West Virginia Mountaineers -- have never faced one another in a bowl game, they can be excused for a little extra rough-and-tumble on the field. There are some old scores to be settled.

You see, the two states were one until the Civil War broke out. Virginia cast its lot with the South and was thundering toward a pivotal role in the Confederacy when its western half sent word that it wouldn't be joining the party.

Long resentful of Richmond's inattention, the mountain folk west of the Blue Ridge voted to stick with the Union. They had little in common with the plantation society that ruled much of Virginia and had little use for slavery. You go your way, they told Richmond, and we'll go ours.

Thus began one of the strangest political episodes of the Civil War and, to this day, an unprecedented breach of American borders.

And consider this: Whether West Virginia's statehood is truly legal has never been satisfactorily established.

In his post-war memoirs, Jefferson Davis recalled the split bitterly. West Virginians, he wrote, were "disorderly persons" challenging the authority of the state.

"We have, in their movements, insurrection, revolution and secession ... To admit a state under such a government is entirely unauthorized, revolutionary, subversive of the constitution and destructive of the Union of States," grumbled Davis, without a hint of irony.

Even President Lincoln, a lawyer, wasn't sure the deal was square.

"The division of a state is dreaded as a precedent but a measure expedient by a war is no precedent for times of peace," wrote Lincoln, vexed by the legal tangle of the secession of part of a state from a state already in secession.

Lincoln had until midnight Dec. 31, 1862, to sign the bill authorizing West Virginia's statehood or it would suffer a pocket veto. Historians say Lincoln signed it at 11:59, the last minute of the last hour of the year, deciding in the end to accept the pragmatic view.

"There is still difference enough between secession against the Constitution and secession in favor of the Constitution," he said.

In the decades after the war, the two states pursued divergent destinies.

Virginia remained a major agricultural state, but manufacturing and other industries took hold because of access to the state's ports and transportation corridors.

Naval installations and shipbuilding powered the economy of the Tidewater and the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington turned into some of the nation's richest communities after World War II.

West Virginia, largely isolated by an unyielding terrain, became an exporter of its mineral wealth, mostly coal. Steel and chemical industries were drawn to its major waterways, but the state has never enjoyed the economic success of its onetime partner.

"At one time, wealth would come from natural resources," said Ronald Lewis, who has taught history at West Virginia University for 18 years. "But we became an industrial nation, and West Virginia became a natural resource colony -- a place you extract from to bring minerals to the factories."

About two-thirds of the privately owned land in West Virginia is owned or controlled by out-of-state firms.

While Virginia's population surges, West Virginia's growth is negligible. And West Virginia has passed Florida as the nation's oldest state, per-capita, signaling that its youth continues to drain away to job opportunities elsewhere.

The exportation used to be noted in a joke about the Three R's: "Readin', `Ritin', and the Road to Akron."

Today it is places like Charlotte importing labor from West Virginia, down the Interstate 77 corridor. A slogan among displaced Mountaineers here nowadays: "It's only a tank of gas away."

As for Virginia, it has never officially recognized its neighbor's independence and isn't expected to any time soon.

"Just as Virginia was always contemptuous of North Carolina, it remains supremely contemptuous of West Virginia," says Michael Holt, who has taught history at the University of Virginia for 28 years.

"There's no rivalry," he says. "There's more a sense of smug superiority here."

 

 

Nobody's laughing at city's sad little bowl game now
GREGG DOYEL
 

RALEIGH - Over here in the Triangle, they were laughing at you. Yeah, Charlotte -- you. They were laughing at you.

At least it sounded like laughter. Maybe they were yawning. Maybe they were doing a little of both.

See, when the ACC announced in May that Charlotte had been awarded a bowl game, people here found it amusing. You could hear it the on radio or read it in the newspaper, where Charlotteans were called (oops) Charlatans. It was palpable, the Triangle's condescension.

A bowl game, in Charlotte? At what high school?

See, folks here believe Charlotte isn't much of a sports town. The NFL team is bad, the NBA team fled, etc.

A bowl game, in Charlotte? What are fans going to visit in their spare time, a bank lobby?

Well, Charlotte would have to discover for itself what some in the Triangle already knew. Charlotte was a sad little sports town, and if it took a sad little bowl game to confirm it, fine.

The thing is, Charlotte has embraced its sad little bowl game like Linus embracing his blanket. A local business, Raycom Sports, landed the bowl and will operate it. Another local business, Continental Tire, purchased sponsorship rights.

Area fans started buying tickets as soon as they went on sale in October, two months before teams were announced. In all, more than 12,000 tickets were purchased in the Charlotte area, contributing to this unimagined scenario:

Less than a week after Virginia and West Virginia accepted invitations to the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl, the tickets were gone -- all 73,258 of them.

Only one debuting bowl game, the 1990 Blockbuster Bowl in Fort Lauderdale, sold more tickets. Florida State and Penn State drew 74,021, but Charlotte's sad little bowl would have smashed that record if Ericsson Stadium were bigger.

"We could have sold another 10,000 tickets," says Ken Haines of Raycom. "Easily."

Worse than additional stadium seating, Charlotte needs more hotels. Every room within 20 miles of uptown Charlotte is gone, underlining the biggest obstacle between the city's pursuit of even bigger game -- the Republican National Convention and a Super Bowl.

Like it is all over, even in the Triangle, Charlotte has been leaking money for more than a year. The Continental Tire Bowl will plug some of those leaks by contributing roughly $20 million in fans' pursuit of lodging, food and memories.

The night before the game, a crowd of 60,000 is expected for an uptown block party. It will be celebrating the first Continental Tire Bowl, but it should be celebrating something else, too.

Even if you're not going to the game, go to the block party. Crash it. Celebrate, Charlotte. And celebrate Charlotte. You've earned it.

 

 

Virginia's Schaub wants to end career on high note
 By John Galinsky / Media General News Service
Dec 26, 2002
 
It wouldn't have seemed right for Matt Schaub's season to end that way - in the bitter cold of Lane Stadium, in frustrating defeat and with his worst statistical performance. Not considering the year Schaub had enjoyed up to that point.

Fortunately, thanks in large part to the junior quarterback, Virginia's season didn't conclude nearly a month ago at Virginia Tech. Despite the 21-9 loss in which Schaub threw for a season-low 44 yards, the Cavaliers had done more than enough to qualify for an unexpected bowl trip.

So it is that Schaub will lead UVa (8-5) against No. 15 West Virginia (9-3) in the Continental Tire Bowl on Saturday, seeking to provide a more appropriate ending for himself and his team.

"We're looking forward to it," he said. "We didn't play up to our capabilities against Virginia Tech. We've had such a successful season. We want to finish it on a good note."

Virginia's season has been one of the feel-good stories in college football. Picked to finish eighth in the ACC, the Cavaliers came in second and earned their fourth bowl invitation in five years.

Individually, Schaub also has been among the nation's most surprising successes. Coming off an inconsistent sophomore season, he struggled in the opener and found himself on the bench. But he regained his starting spot, tore up the ACC and ended up as the conference's player of the year.

Schaub has completed 272 of 396 passes (68.7 percent) for 2,794 yards and 27 touchdowns, all school records. But UVa coach Al Groh says his value has been about more than stats.

"What he's given us the most is that thing that all quarterbacks are really aiming to bring to their team," Groh said. "He's given his team confidence that they have a player at that position who's going to give them a real good chance to win every week.

"That's a significant thing on a team. There are a lot of teams that have a lot of pieces in place to be a really good team, but if there's a void at that position, everyone knows it. You guys [reporters] know it, the fans know it, the coaches know it and the players know it."

Remarkably, the success has not appeared to go to Schaub's head. Teammates and coaches say he has remained humble and selfless all season, focusing only on team goals. Which, in turn, has made him an ideal leader.

"I think whether it's humility, maturity, just who he is, I think a lot of it comes from his family and the way he was raised," Groh said. "He's not a guy who takes himself seriously just because he's the quarterback. What we try to emphasize to all the players who are coming onto the team is we're trying to take guys who are 'team' guys and not 'me' guys. They're all about winning and not personal agendas. Well, that's Matt."

Indeed, Schaub has a knack for turning questions about himself into answers about the team. That makes it difficult at times to discern his own mood or feelings, but that may be one reason he does it. He wants to create the impression, at least, that he is always on an even keel.

"As Coach Groh says, try to remain the same person every day," he said.

If Schaub didn't get too high after throwing for five touchdowns against Akron, or accumulating 372 passing yards against Georgia Tech, or completing 85 percent of his throws against Maryland, then he didn't get too low after the Virginia Tech loss, played in swirling winds that made passing nearly impossible.

"It didn't affect my confidence," he said, "but I was upset with my performance."

Schaub surely hopes for better against the Mountaineers, though, true to character, he doesn't talk about the game as a chance for personal redemption.

"As a team, we're excited to get another chance to prove ourselves and get that ninth win," he said. "We want to end our season right."

 

 

Do Cavs have one up their sleeves?
WVU wary of UVa's trick plays
Friday December 27, 2002

By Dave Hickman
STAFF WRITER
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The question stumped Jahmile Addae, West Virginia’s starting free safety.

Has he been burned by a trick play this season?

There was a pause, then a quick look of recollection, then another pause.

Oh well, if he’s been burned, at least it was nothing that scarred his psyche.

“Virginia Tech’s tight end got a touchdown against me, but I don’t know if you’d call it a trick play,’’ Addae said, scanning his memory for any particularly embarrassing breakdowns he’s suffered this season. “That was just a delayed release, but how long the delay was made it seem like a trick play.

“I’m checking him and checking him and finally I thought, ‘Well, he’s not going anywhere.’ So I broke off on somebody else and he ended up sneaking out. It was like a six- or seven-second play, and those are hard to cover regardless of what you’re running.’’

A trick play it wasn’t, but at least Addae understands the concept. An offense makes you think it is running one play and then zaps you with another.

And as long as he and his West Virginia teammates understand that, they at least have a clue as to what they will be facing Saturday when the Mountaineers face Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl.

This is Trick Play U. we’re talking about here. You name it and the Cavaliers have run it. And that, more than anything else, is what scares West Virginia’s defense.

Virginia is a young team that has yet to master the art of pounding the ball at opposing defenses, be it on the ground, where the Cavs rank just No. 88 in the country in rushing, or through the air, where they are but No. 57. So second-year coach Al Groh loves to throw in a trick or two every once in a while, and more often than not, they work.

“He’s a really smart guy because he understands they’re young and that they need to do some things,’’ said West Virginia defensive co-coordinator Todd Graham. “They’ll have third-and-3 in the red zone and throw a toss sweep pass when everybody else is just trying to get a first down. They’ll do stuff on any down and distance, just to keep you off-balance.

“And you’re going to see something early because I think they’ve got to get up on us. They’ve got to get up on us because of the way we match up.’’

The matchup Graham points to is actually on the other side of the ball, the one that pits West Virginia’s running game against Virginia’s run defense. The Mountaineers are the No. 2 rushing team in the country, the Cavaliers the No. 105 team against the run.

“If they play from behind, if we get up on them, it’s slow death. I think they’re going to have some problems with our run game,’’ Graham said. “So if we can play from a touchdown or 10 points ahead, that’s going to be a hard game for them. I think that early they’ve got to get something to get some momentum and get ahead. And I think that’s their personality, too.’’

It might not be an offensive trick, either. Graham says to look out for a fake punt, an onside kick, something to grab the momentum early.

“These guys are very, very good at executing trick plays. They’re coached very well,’’ Graham said. “It’s not like they’re going to throw trick stuff at you that they’re just playing around with. They’ve obviously spent some time on the things they do.’’

And Virginia does a lot, from flea-flickers to double passes to halfback passes to reverses and reverse passes. Tailback Wali Lundy, wide receiver Billy McMullen, tight end Heath Miller and punter Tom Hagan all have thrown — and completed — passes this season. Backup quarterback Marques Hagans and safety Shernard Newby have caught passes. McMullen has run reverses.

“You name, they’ve run it. And they love to do it when they get inside your 45,’’ Graham said. “They get from the 45 to the 20, and they try to score. They don’t drive the ball down the field from there — they want to score right there.’’

Watching out and preventing those trick plays is the job of the whole defense, but particularly Addae, the last line of defense at free safety, and cornerbacks Brian King and Lance Frazier.

“It’s a combination of me and the corners. It’s pretty much the DBs,’’ Addae said. “You have to read your keys or they’ll burn you. That’s really what can hurt us because they do just about everything.’’

West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez concentrates mostly on the Mountaineers’ offense, but he, too, is well aware of Virginia’s penchant for trick plays.

“I think you always worry about that because we don’t want to give up something cheap. You want them to earn everything,’’ he said. “But they’ve run so many trick plays and had so much success with them. Some people run them and never complete them, just to keep you thinking about them. They complete them.’’

Rodriguez said West Virginia has charted Virginia’s tendencies and are well aware of formations from which the Cavs have run their tricks.

“That being said, with them having two or three weeks to put something in, I would imagine they’ll have some new trick play we haven’t seen yet,’’ he said. “But then again, we might have some, too.’’

 

 

UVa keeping low profile
Bowl notebook
Friday December 27, 2002

By Dave Hickman
STAFF WRITER
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just call this group Team Paranoia. Or at least Coach Secret.

Many reporters covering the Continental Tire Bowl here have simply given up in trying to write or report much at all on the Virginia Cavaliers, who face West Virginia Saturday at Ericsson Stadium. It just isn’t worth the hassle.

While all of West Virginia’s practices this week are open to the media during the last hour, Virginia’s are locked tight.

While West Virginia players, coaches, support staff and virtually anyone else connected with the team are available for interviews, Virginia players are occasionally made available for a few moments, assistant coaches are pretty much off-limits and head coach Al Groh handles most of his media duties by telephone. Even while in Charlotte Monday and Tuesday, Groh conducted his interviews by teleconference. On Christmas Day, the Cavaliers were completely off-limits to the media.

A reporter for the Charlotte Observer wrote a piece on the reaction of team members to being away from home on Christmas, quoting several WVU players and coaches. The only Virginia representative available for the story was sports information liaison Michael Colley.

No wonder very few Virginia media members are in Charlotte yet. They no doubt know how useless it is.

But the best — or worst, depending on the perspective — was Thursday’s Virginia practice session. At 10 p.m. Wednesday, bowl officials issued the event schedule for the next day. For Virginia, the schedule read:

“Virginia will practice at either Charlotte Country Day School or Davidson College. Virginia practice will be closed. Limited media availability. For final practice location and time, contact UVa SID Michael Colley from 9 to 9:50 a.m. at the [team hotel].’’

In other words, if reporters (who, by the way, were at WVU’s open practice at 9 to 9:50 a.m.) can find out where Virginia is practicing and at what time, they can wait outside and maybe someone will talk to them.

Thanks, but no thanks. The mandatory media day for the teams scheduled for today will suffice.

Then again, the only other Virginia player availability this week was at a Tuesday event where selected players from both teams were to hand out Christmas presents to children in the lobby of the Virginia hotel. One Cavalier was sent.

There was a time when West Virginia’s Grant Wiley was not allowed to play football.

“My parents always said that me and my brother couldn’t play football until we were 12,’’ the All-Big East linebacker said. “I suppose they didn’t want us to get hurt.’’

So instead of playing midget league football, Wiley played soccer and basketball. He played so much basketball in the Philadelphia area, in fact, that he even thought about pursuing a future as a point guard.

“Then I realized I wasn’t exactly built like a point guard,’’ said the 6-foot-1, 230-pound junior.

And, as it turns out, he didn’t have to wait until he was 12 to play football, either. He managed to get his parents’ permission to play at 11.

“I was playing soccer, and it was so boring,’’ he said. “So I managed to get in trouble and get myself kicked off the team. Since I couldn’t play soccer anymore, they let me play football.’’

Remember all those years West Virginia’s players and coaches had to deal with the stigma of mounting bowl losses?

Well, that’s history now after the 2000 Mountaineers won the Music City Bowl by beating Mississippi. The win snapped an all-time record-tying streak of eight straight bowl losses. Now there’s not a player on the roster who has ever played in a losing bowl game, although the current fifth-year seniors were being redshirted and standing on the sidelines when WVU lost the eighth game in that dubious streak, the 1998 Insight.com Bowl against Missouri.

Virginia has no such streak, but the Cavaliers haven’t exactly been bowl terrors. Since 1990, Virginia has played in 10 bowls beginning with the Jan. 1, 1990 Citrus Bowl following the 1989 season. The Cavs lost the first four of those and have lost the last four, too. In between, they beat TCU and Georgia in the 1994 Independence Bowl and the 1995 Peach Bowl, respectively.

Georgia has been a nemesis since, though. The Bulldogs beat Virginia in the 1998 Peach Bowl and the 2000 O’ahu Bowl. The Cavs also lost the 1996 Carquest Bowl to Miami, and they were beaten 63-21 by Illinois in the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl.

BRIEFLY: West Virginia’s Avon Cobourne on the advantages of being a 5-foot-9 running back: “Other guys try to get low. I am low.’’

  • West Virginia worked out two hours Thursday morning at the Carolina Panthers’ practice facility. Wide receiver Miquelle Henderson returned to practice after having fluid drained from his knee earlier in the week and safety Jermaine Thaxton (bruised shoulder) was back, as well.
  • West Virginia had full contact drills just once this week, Monday, thanks to Tuesday’s heavy rainstorm. Coach Rich Rodriguez didn’t seem concerned.

    “I’m glad we went four days in pads before we left [Morgantown],’’ he said. “I thought that was good work and had we not gotten those four days in I’d be very concerned.’’

  • And Rodriguez on Jack Whittaker, the 55-year-old Scott Depot man who Wednesday night won the $300 million Powerball jackpot: “I just hope he’s a West Virginia fan.’’

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    WVU confident it can stop UVa quarterback
    Friday December 27, 2002

    By John Raby

    The Associated Press

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One by one, West Virginia’s defensive players were asked to identify Virginia’s quarterback, and the response was the same.

    “Number 7.’’

    A swagger? Probably not. Just a confident unit bent on stopping opponents rather than knowing them by name. The Mountaineer defense shook off three poor performances early in the season to finish with four straight victories, including back-to-back road wins over ranked teams.

    No. 15 West Virginia (9-3) hopes that momentum carries over to Saturday’s Continental Tire Bowl against Virginia (8-5).

    “They should respect our defense. They’ve seen how we play,’’ said West Virginia linebacker James Davis. “Our defense stepped up to another level each game.’’

    So has Virginia’s Matt Schaub.

    The 6-foot-5 junior rebounded from an early-season benching to throw a school-record 27 touchdown passes — the same as Washington State’s Jason Gesser and one more than Miami’s Ken Dorsey and Marshall’s Byron Leftwich.

    Schaub had just seven interceptions, including two over the final six games. His 68.7 completion percentage ranked second in the nation.

    Even if Schaub’s name doesn’t stick with opponents, respect for him has. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

    “Number 7, he’s tall and has got a good arm,’’ said West Virginia linebacker Ben Collins. “His name doesn’t matter much. We’ve just got to stop him out there on the field.’’

    Overall, the Mountaineers weren’t dominant on defense this season. It ranked 28th in Division I-A in total defense at 330 yards per game and allowed 15 passing touchdowns.

    It was the way the unit came together after being embarrassed by Wisconsin and Maryland and allowing top-ranked Miami to take over in the fourth quarter for a 40-23 win. Over the final four games, West Virginia allowed 20 or fewer points. It made two late goal-line stands against Virginia Tech on Nov. 20.

    A week later, Pittsburgh drove from its own 7 to the West Virginia 11 as time wound down. But the defense got a sack and forced Rod Rutherford to throw three straight incompletions into the end zone.

    “We’ve got each other’s backs,’’ said Collins, whose pass breakup on fourth down against Pitt ended the threat. “If somebody will mess up, our attitude’s going to help make sure somebody else is going to be in the right spot,’’ he said.

    If the Mountaineers fall into their earlier habits against Virginia, the bowl game could land Schaub among the nation’s top returning quarterbacks next season.

    “I think certainly Matt’s reputation will spread,’’ said Virginia coach Al Groh. “Now the challenge is there to meet that performance one again.’’

     

     

    Freshman Already Is an Old Hand
    Cavs' Ferguson Starts at Tackle and Plays With Skill Beyond His Years
    By Jim Reedy
    Special to The Washington Post
    Friday, December 27, 2002; Page D06

    CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Like most of Virginia's celebrated freshman class, offensive left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson arrived with the expectation he would get a chance to play at some point this season. He never expected this.

    When Ferguson takes the field in Charlotte on Saturday for the Continental Tire Bowl against No. 15 West Virginia, he will become the first Virginia offensive lineman to start 14 games in a season. He estimates he has played all but five or six of the Cavaliers' offensive downs this season.

    "I thought maybe I'd have an opportunity to get some plays, but never just to take over and play like that," said Ferguson, who was the first Virginia freshman offensive lineman to start a season opener. After training camp, the coaches "just came up front and let me know the deal, that I was going to play left tackle for the season. That was definitely a surprise."

    Virginia Coach Al Groh had been considering that scenario since Ferguson signed with the Cavaliers in February. He said he expected Ferguson's ascent to the starting lineup would be a question of when, not if.

    "A new challenge finds him every week, something he hasn't encountered before, but he's got very good poise about him," Groh said. "He doesn't let it shake him. He deals with it and seems to eventually get it solved."

    Ferguson's talent is no secret to West Virginia.

    "We knew when [Virginia] signed him they had signed a good one," said Coach Rich Rodriguez, who briefly recruited Ferguson for the Mountaineers. "Now he's proving that by starting, which is amazing. It's amazing to start at any position as a true freshman, but especially up front. Obviously he's going to have a great career for them. He's an outstanding player."

    Ferguson's play this season earned him a spot on the freshman all-American teams of the Sporting News and CollegeFootballNews.com. At 6 feet 5 and a shade over 260 pounds, the 19-year-old out of Freeport (N.Y.) High School looks more like an athletic tight end than a lineman. But he has excellent quickness with his hands and feet, honed by years of practicing martial arts, giving him what Groh called "the ability to get in front and stay in front" of defenders.

    "I've learned that if you use the correct technique, no matter how big the person is, you'll be able to become successful," Ferguson said. "But you have to be very consistent with your technique. When that fails, you will fail too."

    It helps to have an 87-inch wingspan. When Ferguson rests his hands on his hips, he ends up placing them somewhere around mid-thigh.

    "Those things are ridiculous. Dude's got, like, eight-foot-long arms," joked left guard Brian Barthelmes, a 6-7 redshirt freshman.

    On Saturday at Ericsson Stadium, the Cavaliers' starting offensive line -- including tight end Heath Miller -- will consist of two freshmen, two redshirt freshmen and two sophomores. (Fifth-year right tackle Mike Mullins will not play after having back surgery this week.) But Ferguson, like his linemates, has not been fazed by being thrown into the fire so quickly.

    "He's a goal setter," explained his father, Edwin. "He says, 'I've got a job to do and that's what I'm expected to do.' I don't think he pays much attention to the fact that he's moving from high school to the college level."

    Ferguson said he tries to focus on his performance on individual plays, not on entire games, and that commitment is reflected in his demeanor on the field.

    "He's enthusiastic about what he does, but he doesn't really show it," quarterback Matt Schaub said. "He stays calm and relaxed and doesn't get overanxious too much."

    Growing up on Long Island, Ferguson and his older brother, Edwin Jr., who graduated from U-Va. in May, learned about discipline and focus through martial arts. The boys attained first-degree black belts in karate, following the example of their parents, who are second-degree black belts.

    "We've always done things together as a family," said Edwin Sr., who runs his own karate school. "Way back, I saw the martial arts as a discipline that would help us stay together. It teaches a sense of unselfishness."