For Fitzgerald, 'tis better to receive
Pitt sophomore is nation's premier pass-catcher
By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
December 21, 2003

Over the past week, Virginia’s defensive backs have watched reels and reels of film of Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald. They’ve watched him leap over defenders, contort his body and snatch balls out of the air. They’ve watched him outrace cornerbacks and overpower safeties.

Of course, they had already seen him do that plenty of times before. How? Simply by watching SportsCenter on Saturday nights.

“The dude is in the highlights every week,” said safety Jamaine Winborne. “I remember shaking my head at some of the catches he’s made. Incredible.”

Winborne’s teammates and coaches use similar words - amazing, exceptional, remarkable - in describing Fitzgerald, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound sophomore who will be the focal point of their defensive gameplan when the Cavaliers (7-5) play the Panthers (8-4) in Saturday’s Continental Tire Bowl.

Even in a college football landscape heavily populated by gifted receivers, such as Southern Cal’s Mike Williams, Oklahoma State’s Rashaun Woods and Texas’ Roy Williams, Fitzgerald stands out.

His numbers are dazzling. He leads the nation in receiving yards (1,595) and touchdowns (22). He has caught at least one TD pass in 18 straight games, an NCAA record, and has reached the end zone 34 times in 24 career games.

Beyond the stats, what may be most impressive about Fitzgerald is his ability to remain poised and productive despite frequent double and triple teams. Unlike Oklahoma quarterback Jason White, who edged him out in a close Heisman Trophy vote, Fitzgerald has the burden of carrying an otherwise flawed team.

Pitt has a running game that ranks 98th in the nation and a defense that has given up more than 2,200 yards on the ground. Yet Fitzgerald’s individual brilliance helped the Panthers come within a game of the Big East championship.

“I very well thought he deserved the Heisman,” said Virginia cornerback Almondo Curry. “I think it’s amazing sometimes when you see the type of catches he makes, all the acrobatic catches. You look at it and say, ‘How did he make that catch?’”

Fitzgerald doesn’t have blazing speed, but he more than compensates for that with extraordinary size, strength, hands and body control.

“I haven’t seen many receivers, regardless of what their height is, whether it’s 5-11 or 6-6, who play as well vertically as this receiver does,” said UVa coach Al Groh. “Fitzgerald has got a remarkable eye-to-hand coordination and a sense of how to position his body in order to go up and get the ball often when he’s heavily covered by one or two players.

“I’ve seen a number of times when teams have tried to double him - and it’s been a well-executed double - and the quarterback just kind of throws the ball up. It sounds kind of schoolyard-ish, but he throws it up because over a period of time Larry has given him great confidence that if you put it in a general area, he knows how to go get it.”

Fitzgerald creates obvious matchup problems for Virginia’s cornerbacks, 5-11 Tony Franklin and Curry, who is 5-8. But don’t expect either defender to be left on him in isolation.

“It’s not going to be up to one guy to stop him. It’s going to be up to all four of us,” Winborne said. “The entire secondary is going to get a chance to make plays against him.”

The bowl game may be Fitzgerald’s last as an amateur. There are rumors, which he has not dispelled, that he will join former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett in challenging the NFL’s rule forbidding college players from entering the draft until three years after graduating from high school. Whenever he comes out, he figures to be one of the top picks.

Fitzgerald already knows about the pros. From age 12 through high school, he worked as a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings and often participated in drills with receivers like Randy Moss and Cris Carter. He picked up skills and tricks from them, such as how to run precise routes and set up defenders with subtle body movements.

“He’s a great player. You don’t see many college receivers who can do what he does,” said UVa receiver Ottowa Anderson. “He plays the ball really great in the air. He knows how to get open. He’s made a name for receivers. You have to give him a lot of respect.”

“He’s one of those guys who never ceases to amaze you,” said Cavalier quarterback Matt Schaub. “Guys are hanging on his shoulders, his arms, his legs, and he still makes the catch.”

The Cavaliers can only hope Fitzgerald is a bit weary. Since the end of the regular season, he has traveled the awards circuit, at one point going to three cities in six days. (He won the Walter Camp Award as the nation’s top player.) Because of that, a Pitt sports information spokesman said, he will not give any more interviews until the day before the bowl.

That’s OK. To the Virginia defensive backs, what they have seen of Fitzgerald on film - and on SportsCenter - speaks volumes about the challenges he will present Saturday.

“As a cornerback, you always want to face the best,” Curry said. “And Fitzgerald is the best.”
 

Harris: Fitzgerald ready if he wants to play in NFL
ALAN ROBINSON
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh's Walt Harris sounds like a coach resigned to losing his best player after the unranked Panthers play Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.

Harris, a former NFL assistant coach, says star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is ready to play in the NFL, but only if Fitzgerald really wants to turn pro.

If Fitzgerald leaves Pitt after two seasons, Harris hopes he does so because he wants to play in the NFL, not because he feels pressured to do so.

"If he's ready to be a kid and enjoy college football for another year or two, and he doesn't want to be under the microscope like he will be in the NFL, then he should go for it," Harris said. "I just want Larry Fitzgerald to make the decision, not anybody else. He deserves the right to make the decision and I'll be behind him 100 percent.

"Whatever he decides is great. I just hope he decides it. I hope he doesn't get shoved out the door by what people are writing."

Pitt (8-4) was packing its gear Saturday in preparation for Monday's departure for Charlotte. The Panthers hoped to be preparing for an Orange Bowl trip, but a 28-14 loss to Miami in their final home game last month prevented that.

"I think we're disappointed we didn't do better," Harris said. "We're disappointed that we didn't play as well as we wanted to play."

Despite Pitt's fall from the Top 10 to out of the rankings following four losses in its final nine games, Fitzgerald was the Heisman Trophy runnerup to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. Fitzgerald also was chosen as the Walter Camp player of the year, won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver and made the AP All-America team.

Fitzgerald (1,595 yards, 22 touchdowns) also set the NCAA record for consecutive games with a touchdown catch (18) and tied Randy Moss' record for consecutive games with a touchdown catch in a season (12). He can break that record Saturday.

"The young man did everything he could for us," Harris said. "He not only showed people how to make catches, he showed a respect for the game. I have witnessed video of high school games when people make a play and hand the ball to an official (as Fitzgerald does after scoring). I think he's had a tremendous effect on our program and on players around the country."

Fitzgerald's comments suggest he will petition the NFL to be included in the April draft. He recently emphasized that's Pitt's offense will be in a rebuilding mode next season without quarterback Rod Rutherford and much of the offensive line.

The NFL currently bars players from applying for the draft until three years after their high school graduation. Fitzgerald graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in 2002, but only after he transferred from his Minneapolis high school during the second semester of his senior year in 2001, while on pace to graduate. Fitzgerald made the move to improve his grades before college.

Some pro scouts have projected Fitzgerald as a Top 10 pick, a move likely to earn him millions of dollars in a signing bonus.

"Is he ready for the league? Damn right he's ready," Harris said. "Does he have to go right now? No. He's the one who has to live with it. It's a business, it's a job."

Even though it may be Fitzgerald's final game with Pitt, the school has sold fewer than 4,000 tickets for the Continental Tire Bowl, compared to about 30,000 by Virginia.

Meanwhile, Rutherford, fullback Lousaka Polite, defensive lineman Claude Harriott and linebacker Lewis Moore will play in the East-West Shrine game Jan. 10 in San Francisco. Harris will coach the East team.
 

Just a sophomore, but seasoned
From the outset, D'Brickashaw Ferguson moved to the front of the offensive line for U.Va.
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 22, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE D'Brickashaw Ferguson didn't earn even honorable mention in voting for the all-ACC football teams. That's not surprising, given that Ferguson's name wasn't on the ballot distributed to members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

His coach at the University of Virginia, Al Groh, declined to nominate Ferguson for the all-conference team. But make no mistake: Groh believes his left offensive tackle has the potential to become an all-ACC performer, if not an All-American.

If a healthy Ferguson fails to earn postseason honors in 2004, his coach will be among those disappointed.

"That's his challenge," Groh said, "but if he's not, then probably he's fallen below what he can be. I'm confident that he will be. He wants to be, and he's got the talent to be, so that's a pretty good combination."

He's barely 19 months out of Freeport High School in Long Island, N.Y., but Ferguson qualifies as a veteran at U.Va. The 6-5, 270-pound sophomore has started every game since matriculating in the summer of 2002: 14 last season and 12 this year. Among the Cavaliers' other offensive linemen, only junior guard Elton Brown (26) has started as many games as Ferguson.

"It's definitely been a great experience, but there's a lot of expectations that have gone with all the starts," said Ferguson, who turned 20 this month.

Virginia (7-5) closes the season Saturday against Pittsburgh (8-4) in the Continental Tire Bowl at Charlotte, N.C. The Cavaliers rank eighth in the ACC in rushing offense, but their line has allowed only 11 sacks, by far the fewest in the conference. That statistic is especially impressive given the number of passes Virginia has thrown this season: 435.

Ferguson's duties include protecting quarterback Matt Schaub's blind side, and he's done that job well.

"I think from last year to this year, I've improved myself, even though there are areas that always need to be improved," said Ferguson, who made The Sporting News' Freshman All-America first team in 2002. "I think I did a better job of understanding what I need to do and how to execute certain blocks."

Like his team, which won four of its first five games, Ferguson sparkled early in the season. But the Cavaliers later lost four of five, and Ferguson's play declined too, as did that of classmate Brad Butler, the starter at right tackle.

That prompted offensive coordinator Ron Prince, who coaches Virginia's offensive linemen, to have a frank talk with his sophomore tackles. The message: Prince expected more from each of them.

"It wasn't a type of talk that was badgering us or putting us down," Ferguson recalled. "It was more of, 'This is what should you look forward to. This is something I'm confident you can do in the future.'"

With its Nov. 13 loss to Maryland, U.Va. fell to 3-4 in the ACC and 5-5 overall. A team that had been ranked No. 18 in The Associated Press' poll seemed to have lost its way, but the Cavaliers didn't slip out of sight. They whipped Georgia Tech 29-17 on Nov. 22 and then beat Virginia Tech 35-21, their first win over the Hokies in five years.

Virginia's late-season improvement mirrored that of its left tackle. Asked to assess Ferguson's play, Groh said he saw "a significant move forward" late in the season.

"He's had a good year, a very solid year, better than last year, and I think the last two games have been certainly his best," Groh said. "His whole confidence level and assertiveness have jumped up a step.

"He knows it's time. He's started 26 games. Now it's time to move into being a dominant-type player, if that's what he's going to be."

Ferguson is noticeably bigger than as a freshman, when he dropped to about 250 pounds by season's end. Still, he remains light and lean for a Division I-A offensive tackle, and to reach his goals in football, Ferguson knows, he needs to continue adding muscle.

If you can't find him in the library - Ferguson hopes to attend law school - look for him in the weight room this winter.

"I definitely feel that obtaining more size and strength is going to be one of my first priorities," Ferguson said.
 

Cavaliers breeze past CCU
Brown, Byars get double-doubles
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 23, 2003

There is an undefeated ACC team that is not ranked in the national polls and probably won’t be in the immediate future. That’s just fine with Virginia coach Pete Gillen.

Behind 22 points and 11 rebounds from Elton Brown, Gillen’s Cavaliers improved to 8-0 with an 89-74 victory over Coastal Carolina on Monday night at University Hall.

This now marks the third time in four years Virginia has recorded an unbeaten mark by Christmas Day. In only one of those years (2001) did the Cavaliers ultimately reach the NCAA tournament.

“We definitely prefer it [not being ranked]. We are a little under the radar screen and let’s stay under the whole year,” Gillen said. “We’re just trying to get better. I think we have a great upside but we still have a ton of work to do before Sunday’s game.”

Sunday is Virginia’s next game and that will be at N.C. State in the ACC opener for both teams.

Derrick Byars finished with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds while Todd Billet added 16 for the Cavaliers, who were coming off a 76-68 win at Loyola Marymount on Friday. Freshman Gary Forbes chipped in with 13.

The efforts by Brown and Forbes marked the first time since Feb. 12, 2002, that two Virginia players recorded double-doubles in the same game.

For Brown, it was his third double-double in the past four games with a 19-point, nine-rebound effort last Tuesday against JMU keeping that from being four straight.

“I think it’s just a few things. I want to prove that I can be one of the better big men in the country. Rebounding is about heart and desire. I know I can score but it’s all about going down there and scrapping on the offensive and defensive boards,” said the 6-foot-9 junior.

Of course, Brown knows there is one area that continues to need work: free-throw shooting.

Brown was just 3 of 11 from the stripe against Loyola Marymount and six of 11 against Coastal Carolina but did make six of his last eight after missing his first three.

“I should be making more of those from the line. Coach Gillen has certainly been reminding me how much more I could be averaging if I were to make some more,” said Brown with a slight grin.

At times, the quick transcontinental turnaround showed, especially at the defensive end where the Cavaliers allowed Coastal Carolina to connect on 10 of its 24 attempts from behind the arc.

“This was a dangerous game for us because we went coast to coast and were playing our third game in seven days. I thought we were a half step slow,” Gillen said. “We were that half step slow and maybe that was because of the travel but we defended when we had to but give Coastal Carolina all the credit in the world. They are a good team.”

E.J. Gallup led the Chanticleers with 17.

The Cavaliers extended their nine-point halftime margin with an 11-0 run early in the second half that was punctuated by a 3-pointer by Gary Forbes that made it 60-45 with 14:35 remaining. The Chanticleer would get no closer than nine the rest of the way, though their perimeter shooting kept Virginia’s lead from growing too large.

Virginia led 47-38 at intermission as it was able to break upon what had been a nip-and-tuck first 20 minutes. The Cavaliers finished the half on a 7-0 run in the final minute, which was highlighted by a Billet 3-pointer, and then a Billet jumper just before the buzzer.

The opening half featured a total of 12 lead changes. Coastal Carolina led by as many as three on three different occasions.

Billet led Virginia at the half with 13.

The Cavaliers’ 60 percent first-half shooting made up for a 1-for-6 performance from the free throw line.

Note. Freshman guard J.R. Reynolds missed the second straight game with a viral infection that Gillen described as “flu-like.” Reynolds is currently recovering in his hometown of Roanoke. … Gillen said that he expects to know the status of junior forward Jason Clark shortly. Clark has not played nor practiced as he’s sitting out because of an apparent academic issue. His availability likely will depend on the processing of his first-semester grades.

 

Bowl signals end for backup
Reserve QB David deLaureal has not played much, but he's had a hand in UVa's efforts.
By Doug Doughty
doug.doughty@roanoke.com
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE - When David deLaureal takes his degree in finance and heads for Wall Street at the end of the year, Virginia will be left with a large headset to fill.

Although deLaureal has seen little action in his four years at UVa, he has been an integral part of the Cavaliers' operation, signaling plays from the sidelines to the field.

As far as backup quarterbacks go, nobody has deLaureal's pedigree.

DeLaureal started only as a senior at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, where previously he had served as the backup to Eli Manning.

Manning, who finished third recently in the Heisman Trophy balloting, visited Virginia in the winter of 1999-2000 before signing with his father's alma mater, Mississippi.

"We were good friends throughout high school and remain good friends," deLaureal said. "I'd try and talk to him throughout the season, mostly on Friday nights when our teams were in a hotel. I'd definitely talk to him every week or two."

Former Virginia coach George Welsh contends to this day that Manning would have signed with Virginia if Mississippi hadn't filled its head-coaching vacancy with David Cutcliffe, who previously had tutored Eli's older brother, Peyton, at Tennessee.

"It was between Ole Miss, Virginia and Texas," deLaureal said. "When Texas took Chris Simms, it was either going to be Ole Miss or Virginia for Eli. He visited up here and really loved it.

"Liked the program, liked the school a whole lot. He fits in really well at Ole Miss, but it would have been great for Virginia if he had come here."

By the time Manning visited Virginia, the Cavaliers already had commitments from a pair of SuperPrep All-America quarterbacks, Bryson Spinner and Matt Schaub. One year later, deLaureal walked on at UVa after throwing 20 touchdown passes in his senior year at Newman.

"The attention I got was from Columbia, Princeton [and] smaller schools like that," said deLaureal, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder. "I knew a lot of people here. If I had decided not to play football, Virginia is a school that I would have wanted to come to academically."

Playing time has been scarce behind Schaub, the first 7,000-yard passer in school history. DeLaureal played a few snaps at the end of the Continental Tire Bowl last year and this year at the end of a 31-7 loss at South Carolina. He also held for kicks when Schaub missed two full games and most of a third.

"We were 15-for-15 when I was the holder," he said. "I would attribute a lot of that to [kicker] Connor [Hughes]."

Nevertheless, he received more than his share of TV time.

"I hear that a lot," said de Laureal, who has been on scholarship for the past two seasons. "My friends and family say they see me all the time. It must be happenstance, me standing near Coach [Al] Groh."

DeLaureal frequently looks across the field and sees another reserve quarterback signaling plays for the other team, but some teams use a coach.

"David frees us up from having to have a coach do that," UVa head coach Al Groh said. "If we had a coach do that, he'd have to immerse himself primarily in that function. He's a very smart, alert kid, who has a very good relationship with - and the confidence of - the other quarterbacks."

Former offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave first came to deLaureal in the summer of 2001 "and said, 'We need somebody to do this,'" deLaureal said.

"I was just starting to travel with the team. It kind of fit. Once the game started, as a backup, I didn't have a lot to do."

Groh developed so much confidence in deLaureal that, when the Cavaliers took three quarterbacks on the road for the middle part of the season, deLaureal went ahead of Game2 starter Anthony Martinez.

"To do everything that everybody else does and not be able to show that on Saturdays is pretty hard," deLaureal said. "Not being on the field is pretty tough mentally.

"But, just being in such contact with Eli and now Matt is an education in itself. To see their work ethic and footwork and their decision-making, it goes beyond coaching."

 

Winning Cavaliers remain under radar
Coastal Carolina makes 10 3-pointers to keep Virginia from pulling away, but Elton Brown responds with 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Virginia 89 Coastal Carolina 74 Next game Virginia at at N.C. State Sunday 8 p.m., CSN
By Doug Doughty
doug.doughty@roanoke.com
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Undefeated and unnoticed. That's fine with Virginia men's basketball coach Pete Gillen.

"We've been under the radar so far and we want to stay under the radar," Gillen said Monday night after an 89-74 victory over Coastal Carolina.

Gillen had feared that unranked UVa (8-0) might be a half-step slow after a cross-country trip to Loyola Marymount. He was somewhat prophetic.

The Chanticleers came into the game shooting 41.1 percent on 3-pointers and proceeded to go 10-for-24 from behind the arc.

Coastal Carolina got as close as 49-45 early in the second half, but the Cavaliers responded with an 11-0 run and preserved the win by making free throws, an area in which they have struggled.

UVa made 15 of 20 free throws over the final 5:20, including a 6-for-8 performance by junior center Elton Brown, who had gone 3-of-14 from the stripe over the previous 1 1/2 games.

Brown finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, including two in a row. Derrick Byars had 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

"My first double-double," said Byars, a 6-foot-7 sophomore whose minutes have been limited by foul trouble. "It was about time."

Coastal Carolina (4-5) was playing for the third time in five days but had some momentum after winning three games in a row. The Chanticleers, a preseason choice for eighth place in the Big South, led frequently during a first half that was marked by 12 lead changes.

The Chanticleers trailed 40-38 before UVa scored the last seven points of the half, including a 3-pointer and another jumper by Todd Billet in the final 19 seconds.

"It was almost in slow motion, which made it even more infuriating," said sixth-year Coastal head coach Pete Strickland, a former assistant at VMI, also one of Gillen's coaching stops. "That prompted my sprint off the floor at the end of the half."

Virginia hasn't been able to bury anybody all season, and Monday was no exception. After stretching its lead to 15 points, UVa watched the Chanticleers get as close as 69-60 with six minutes left.

"There's an old adage that says, if you've got a team that's a favorite under 10 with five minutes to go, the monkey jumps on their back," Strickland said. "I think it was about to, then, good Lord, [Brown] starts stringing them.

"It was a wrestling match in there. We threw four centers at him and he got the better of us. I thought he was going to get plenty of touches and I thought he was going to score, but I thought we were going to keep his percentage down. We can't let him shoot 80 percent [8-for-10] from the field."

For the second game, the Cavaliers were without freshman shooting guard J.R. Reynolds, who has a viral infection that cut short his California trip and had him home in Roanoke on Monday night. UVa is hoping to have Reynolds' services Sunday, when it returns to action at North Carolina State in the ACC opener for both teams.

Gillen also hopes to get word by Sunday on the status of forward Jason Clark, who was on academic suspension for the first semester.

 

Strawberry counsels Jackson at Neverland
The Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. -- Pop singer Michael Jackson has found a friend in another celebrity who's had his own brushes with the law -- former baseball star Darryl Strawberry.

Strawberry, a member of the Without Walls International Church in Tampa, ministered to Jackson during a trip to the singer's Neverland Ranch this weekend, said Randy White, the church's head pastor, on Monday.

Strawberry, televangelist Paula White and Associate Pastor Rob Mallan had been invited by Jackson after meeting members of the church at a birthday party earlier this year for his father, Joe Jackson, White said. Strawberry could not be reached for comment Monday and others on the trip did not return calls for comment.

The trio attended a gathering titled "You Are Not Alone" after a Jackson song. The event drew about 600 people, including celebrities such as tennis star Serena Williams, rapper MC Hammer, comedian Eddie Griffin and "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest.

Strawberry, 41, has been making a new career for himself, sharing his experiences and talking about how his faith helped him turn his life around since his release from prison earlier this year.

The eight-time All-Star and member of two World Series winners was released from Gainesville Correctional Institution in Florida in April after serving 11 months of an 18-month prison sentence for violating probation on cocaine possession charges.

Jackson, 45, was charged Thursday with seven counts of performing lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent. He maintains his innocence.

Jackson has been free on $3 million bail since he turned himself in Nov. 20.

Randy White, who was not on the trip, said Strawberry also talked to Jackson about dealing with the media attention to the criminal case. Whether Jackson is guilty of molestation wasn't an issue in the meeting, White said.

"If he is guilty, he needs some type of ministry and counseling," White said. "And if he's not guilty, he needs some kind of ministry and counseling with all he's been through. We are not the judge. We are waiting to see the outcome."

Jackson spokesman Stuart Backerman said Strawberry was at the event, but couldn't confirm he ministered to Jackson when the two met privately. Backerman, a lifelong Yankees fan, said he spent about 20 minutes talking baseball with Strawberry, but wasn't in the room when Strawberry met with Jackson.

"He (Strawberry) is absolutely the greatest," Backerman said.

 

Pitt's offensive line hopes to redeem itself
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
By Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Pitt's offensive line has been beaten up this year, by fans, by media and most of all by opposing defenses. In fact, the line's subpar play is viewed by most as one of the top reasons the Panthers did not reach any of their lofty goals.

Basically, the line never gelled, never found an identity and often looked as if it was overmatched. As a result, Pitt's running game never really got on track and quarterback Rod Rutherford was often left to try and make plays.

That's why the offensive linemen believe the Continental Tire Bowl against Virginia is not just another minor bowl game. They view it as one last chance at redemption.

"This is a big step for us," junior tackle Rob Petitti said. "A lot of people have said we didn't get it done this year, and in a lot of games we didn't. We, starting at the top with [offensive line] coach Tom Freeman and coming to the bottom with us, all want to get it done bad. We've worked hard but we have to have a good week. The heat is on all of us because the O-line hasn't been doing good.

"I don't like when guys talk bad about us because we work hard. And those games when we don't get it done, believe it or not, we are the most upset of anyone. It has been tough this year, so hopefully, this last game we'll get it done because we have the guys to do it."

The offensive line struggles have been well documented, but some of the problems have been beyond its control. Left guard Dan LaCarte has struggled with various ankle injuries. And both players slated to play center were injured throughout training camp, so guard Jon Schall was converted to center and a redshirt freshman, John Simonitis, was inserted as the starting right guard.

Then, just as the line seemed to be coming together, starting tailback Brandon Miree went down with a lower leg injury. Without him, the Panthers' running game faltered and the pressure on the line increased.

"We had a tough year," Simonitis said, "We had a lot going against us. I think we started to get better at the end, but it took us a long time to learn each other's playing styles and things. But Brandon Miree is a big reason for our running game's problems. He's one of a kind. When he's there, I miss a block and he's still going to make a play. He can break tackles. When he wasn't, I miss a block and it is a loss.

"That's why this is sort of one more chance for us."

Simonitis and Petitti said that Virginia will present a challenge like no other team this year because they play a 3-4 defense, much like the Steelers. This is the first time the Panthers have faced a 3-4 team so the linemen's assignments are different than they have been.

"In the run game, my job is much more difficult because I have to block linebackers instead of down linemen," Simonitis said. "In the pass game, there isn't anyone in front of me, so I have to know my assignments very well because I'm helping people. This is a defensive front that is made for the linebackers to make all the plays. So the key for us is to slow down their linebackers, and they're fast."

NOTES -- Pitt coach Walt Harris and Virginia coach Al Groh were assistants under Bill Parcells at Air Force in 1978. Groh was the defensive coordinator and Harris coached the secondary. ... About 10 players, including star receiver Larry Fitzgerald, saw their flights canceled and were not able to get to Charlotte with the rest of the team. ... The Panthers had their first practice in Charlotte yesterday, but did not go in pads and practiced for only about an hour.

 

U.Va. keeps mark perfect
Cavs beat Chanticleers and will enter ACC play with an 8-0 mark
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 23, 2003
VIRGINIA 89 C. CAROLINA 74

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Its flaws are apparent to anyone who watches the Virginia men's basketball team play. The Cavaliers struggle on the boards, surrender too many uncontested shots and misfire often from the free throw line. Their weak nonconference schedule has kept them from cracking the top 25.

Still, while U.Va. isn't perfect, its record is. Things could be worse for sixth-year coach Pete Gillen as his team heads into ACC play.

For the third time in the past four seasons, the Cavaliers will wake up Christmas morning with an unbeaten record. They made sure of that by beating Coastal Carolina 89-74 last night before an announced crowd of 7,185 at University Hall.

"This was a dangerous game for us," said Gillen, whose team played in Los Angeles on Friday night and didn't get home until about 6:45 p.m. Saturday. "I thought we were a half-step slow, but our kids dug down and made the right plays."

Virginia (8-0) visits N.C. State (5-2) on Sunday night in the ACC opener for both teams.

Coastal Carolina (4-5), of the Big South Conference, never got closer than nine points in the final 15:53 last night. But Virginia never led by more than 15. The Chanticleers played most of the second half without their second-leading scorer, guard Brandon Newby (hip pointer), but they sank three 3-pointers in the final 6:20 to keep U.Va. from pulling away.

"We knew they were a tough, scrappy team, and they hung in there," said senior guard Todd Billet (16 points).

In the end, though, Coastal couldn't hang with Virginia center Elton Brown. The 6-9, 250-pound junior from Newport News posted his second straight double-double - and third in four games - scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Brown, who made 8 of 10 shots from the floor, also had two assists, two blocked shots and a steal.

"You can't let him shoot 80 percent," said Chanticleers coach Pete Strickland, who like Gillen is a former Virginia Military Institute assistant. "It was a wrestling match in there. We had four centers we threw at him, and he got the better of us.

"I thought he was going to get plenty of touches, and I thought he would score, but we were hoping to drive his percentage down, and we did not do that. And I tell you what, Virginia does a nice job of just looking for him. It's a real nice anchor to have, and they utilize their anchor. Some teams don't do that."

Brown missed his first three free throws last night, lowering his season's percentage to 53.1. But he made 6 of 8 from the line in the final 5:20 to keep Coastal at bay.

"We sent him to the line, and I said, 'We got a shot now. We got the right guy on the line,'" Strickland said. "Well, he proved us wrong again and hit the big ones."

Sophomore forward Derrick Byars hit double figures in rebounds for the first time and recorded his first career double, with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman swingman Gary Forbes totaled 13 points, four assists, three blocks, three steals and three rebounds. Another freshman, reserve point guard T.J. Bannister, contributed a career-best five points, four assists and one steal.

The first half included 12 lead changes. The Cavaliers led 47-38 at the break, but they didn't take control until late in the half. Billet, who'd hit a trey moments earlier, capped a 7-0 with a pull-up jumper at the buzzer.

Virginia played without J.R. Reynolds (viral infection) for the second straight game, and Gillen isn't sure when the freshman guard will rejoin the team. Reynolds, who had to fly home Thursday from Los Angeles, is recovering at home in Roanoke.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Dec 23, 2003

STEEL-CITY ROOTS: He doesn't remember much about his birthplace, which is understandable. Quarterback Matt Schaub was born in Pittsburgh, but he lived there less than a year.

Schaub's father is a Pittsburgh native too, but Dale Schaub grew up there. Matt Schaub attended high school in the Philadelphia area. Still, he appreciates the matchup for the second Continental Tire Bowl.

Virginia (7-5) takes on Pittsburgh (8-4) Saturday at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., and Schaub won't need a program to identity some of Pitt's players. Neither will U.Va. wideout Art Thomas. In July 1999, after graduating from West Chester East High, Schaub and Thomas practiced and played with about 10 of them, including quarterback Rod Rutherford, on the Pennsylvania all-star team that battled Ohio in the Big 33 game at Hershey, Pa.

Schaub, a fifth-year senior, said he spent "a good, solid week, with all those guys . . . It's kind of nice to have to play them my last game."

Like Schaub, Rutherford redshirted in 1999 and didn't blossom until his junior year. Schaub, a 6-5, 240-pound right-hander, was first-team all-ACC in 2002 and made the second team this season. Rutherford, a 6-3, 225-pound left-hander from Pittsburgh, struggled early in his college career but made the all-Big East second team in 2002 and the first team this season.

"He was kind of in the same boat as me," Schaub said, "and he really fought through those things and kept his head on straight and kept working, and it turned out for the best."

FALLEN FRIEND: Virginia coach Al Groh missed his team's practice yesterday afternoon at Charlotte Country Day. Groh left Charlotte around noon and drove to Columbia, S.C., where he attended the funeral of his friend and attorney Craig S. Kelly.

Kelly, who represented numerous coaches, including Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, died Friday of pancreatic cancer. He was 56.

THE YOUNG AND THE TALENTED: Of the players expected to start on offense or defense Saturday for the Cavaliers, only six are seniors: Schaub, wideout Ryan Sawyer, fullback Kase Luzar, outside linebacker Raymond Mann, cornerback Almondo Curry and safety Jamaine Winborne. Also, Virginia's first-team punter, Tom Hagan, is a sophomore, as is kicker Connor Hughes.

To the list of players who have eligibility remaining, add three Cavaliers who, for various reasons, redshirted this season: fullback Jason Snelling, wideout Michael McGrew and tailback Michael Johnson. Snelling started two games as a true freshman in 2002 and had four touchdown catches. McGrew has started 24 games at U.Va., and Johnson is a former Parade All-American.

"It's pretty scary all the talent that we have coming back next year," said junior Ottowa Anderson, a starting wideout. "We're looking at this game just to see how it's going to be clicking next year. We've already made up our minds that we're going to have to work extra hard in the summer again - even harder than we worked this summer - to reach" the team's goals for 2004.

OUT OF THE BLUE: Virginia offensive lineman Kevin Bailey has seen the film "Brian's Song," so he knows the Brian Piccolo story. Until late last month, however, the fifth-year senior from Lexington, Ky., didn't know the ACC annually honored a football player deemed the conference's most courageous.

"I didn't even know that they had an award for something like that, and then to find out I'd won it was really a surprise and an honor," said Bailey, this year's recipient of the Brian Piccolo Award.

Bailey has started nine games for U.Va. at tackle, eight at center and one at guard. In August 2002, he suffered a knee injury that required season-ending reconstructive surgery. Bailey twice reinjured the knee and needed two more operations before returning this season. He's now a backup.

TOUGH TIMES: Rich Bedesem started the first four games at inside linebacker, alongside true freshman Ahmad Brooks, in Virginia's 3-4 defense. But after suffering a knee injury in late September, Bedesem lost his starting job to redshirt freshman Kai Parham. The junior from Holland, Pa., has had to contend not only with a sore knee but with reduced playing time.

Parham starred late in the regular season and figures to remain a starter as long as he's healthy.

Asked about Bedesem, Groh said, "I'm sure it's been a tough year for him . . . Richie's a real football kid. He really likes to play, he adds a great deal to the team, and he's a good player. And he really had himself stoked and ready to meet the challenge of [Brooks and Parham] and was doing a very good job of it [before he] got hurt."

Bedesem wasn't 100 percent when he returned in October, and he later injured an ankle, "so that slowed him again," Groh said. "So I'm sure it's been a frustrating year for him. I can appreciate his circumstances." - Jeff White