2008 Preview
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By Mike Hogewood for theACC.com
The 2007 Virginia Cavalier squad was a team of remarkable mental toughness. It set an NCAA record by winning five games by two points or less. That team went 6-2 in the ACC and earned a berth in the Konica-Minolta Gator Bowl, led by the league's defensive player of the year Chris Long. In 2008, Long is gone along with five other defensive starters. Head Coach Al Groh is all about the next man in line stepping up and making his own name. Who steps up will go a long way in determining Virginia's success in 2008.
Quarterback was not supposed to be a question mark this season. With last year's starter Jameel Sewell no longer with the team, the Cavaliers head into August with three players in a tight battle for the job: Peter Lalich, Scott Deke, and Mark Verica. Lalich is the only one with any playing experience. Groh is going to wait awhile before naming a starter. "That competition will continue through August. Where you really find out about quarterbacks is in the game. We'll probably have to play the first few games with more than one."
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Running Back
Mikell Simpson
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The running game is solid with Cedric Peerman at full strength after being injured last season. His replacement Mikell Simpson will be pushing him hard for playing time. Simpson played great the second half of the season and finished with a 96-yard touchdown run in the bowl game, the longest in school history.
In the past few years, Virginia's offense has made great use of its tight ends. John Phillips will be at that position after the graduation of Jonathan Stupar and Tom Santi. The receiver position may be better than last year with the return of Kevin Ogletree, who missed last season with an injury. Groh says that Ogletree has become much more than just a gifted athlete. "What he's really learning now and it's a sign of maturity is that talent alone is not enough. He's worked extremely hard and seems ready to have a good season."
It doesn't seem possible for the defense to be as strong as a year ago. The Cavaliers lost not only Chris Long but also the other defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald. Where the team will be solid is at linebacker. Three of the four linebackers are returning starters. Antonio Appleby, Jon Copper, and Clint Sintim are seniors who will be looked to for leadership on the defense.
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Cornerback and
Punt Returner
Vic Hall
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Sintim says he's heard all the preseason talk about not having Long and five other starters, but that Groh's "next man up philosophy" is paying dividends. "Obviously, it's not going to be easy replacing Chris, but I think we have enough young talent that can step up and help this team win some games." While there will be some new faces in the secondary, there is experience returning at cornerback in junior Vic Hall who is also an outstanding punt returner.
Besides the attrition on offense and defense, Virginia heads into this season having to replace both its punter and place-kicker. Chris Hinkebein is expected to take over the place-kicking duties vacated by Chris Gould. It might be tougher to replace punter Ryan Weigand who was fourth in the nation in punting average last season.
Virginia is looking no farther on its schedule than August 30th. The Cavs open the season at home against Southern Cal. Being ready for that game was a major focus of spring practice. Groh even had the Trojans fight song piped in during some of the practices. It won't be easy with new players at key positions, but Groh sees this game as a great opportunity. "Since 2000, USC has been in a league of its own as far as college football is concerned. They're the most talented college football team that I've seen since the Florida State teams of the early and mid 90's."
Virginia will be a heavy underdog in that game, but this is a program that has made a habit of doing the unexpected. If the "next man up" makes the most of his opportunity, Virginia could again be the feel-good story of the ACC.
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2008 Preseason Information
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2007 In Review
Virginia won nine games for the first time since the 2002 season and set an NCAA record with five victories by two or fewer points in posting a 9-4 overall record and 6-2 ACC mark, good enough for second place in the Coastal Division... Two of the Cavs’ losses were by five or fewer points including a 31-28 decision to Texas Tech in the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl... Defensive end Chris Long was named the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year and earned unanimous first team All-America recognition while also being named the winner of the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end... Head Coach Al Groh was chosen the ACC’s Coach of the Year after leading Virginia, which was picked in the preseason to finish 4th in the Coastal Division, to within one game of the Coastal Division title...Guard Branden Albert earned first-team All-ACC and second-team All-America honors...Tight end Tom Santi was named winner of the ACC’s Jim Tatum Award, as the Conference’s top football scholar-athlete.
Who’s Gone
The Cavaliers lose 14 starters (six offense, six defense, both specialists) with 378 career starts, including All-America defensive end Chris Long, second-team All-ACC punter Ryan Weigand, nose tackle Allen Billyk, linebacker Jermaine Dias and safety Nate Lyles on defense... Offensively, the Cavs lose Branden Albert, second-team All-ACC tight end Tom Santi, tight end Jonathan Stupar, guard Ian-Yates Cunningham, center Jordy Lipsey and kicker Chris Gould... UVa suffered further off-season losses with starting quarterback Jameel Sewell, defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald and cornerback Chris Cook unavailable for 2008.
A Look Ahead
Virginia enters the 2008 season with a defensive squad that returns three of four starting linebackers and five of the top eight tacklers in linebackers Clint Sintim, who had nine QB sacks last fall, Jon Copper, the Cavs’ leading tackler with 109 hits and Antonio Appleby, safety Byron Glaspy and cornerback Vic Hall. Offensively, Virginia, which returns both starting wide receivers in Staton Jobe and Maurice Covington, will receive an added boost with 2006 starter Kevin Ogletree returning, as well as tackles Eugene Monroe (Honorable Mention All-ACC in 2007) and Will Barker, and two tailbacks in Mikell Simpson and Cedric Peerman, who combined to run for 1,155 yards and 15 TDs in 2007... Sophomore Peter Lalich, who completed 57.4 percent of his passes as Sewell’s backup, is the vying to be the starter at QB.
Numbers and Notes
2 - In his seven seasons as head coach at Virginia, Head Coach Al Groh has twice been named ACC Coach of the Year, grabbing the honor last year and in 2002.
5 -The number of NCAA record-setting wins for Virginia last year that came by two or fewer points. In all, the Cavaliers defeated North Carolina (22-20), MTSU (23-21), Connecticut (17-16), Maryland (18-17) and Wake Forest (17-16) by two or fewer points and three opponents by just a single point.
7 - Tackle Eugene Monroe is one of seven ACC football student-athletes who has been named to the pre-season watch list for the Outland Trophy. The Outland is presented annually to the nation’s top interior lineman.
9 - The number of quarterback sacks for linebacker Clint Sintim last year. Sintim was named to the pre-season watch list for the Nagurski Award which is presented annually to the nation’s top defensive player.
20 - Virginia was ranked 20th nationally in the final BCS Standings which were issued prior to the post-season bowl games.
77 - Virginia Head Coach Al Groh has moved into a tie for seventh place on the ACC all-time coaching career wins list with 77 victories. He trails former Duke head coach Bill Murray (30) for sixth place by three wins.
100 - Five times Virginia running backs topped the 100-yard mark in rushing in 2007 with Cedric Peerman breaking the barrier against North Carolina (186), Georgia Tech (138) and Duke (136), and Mikell Simpson doing it against Texas Tech (170) and Maryland (119).
271 - The number of combined yards from scrimmage for tailback Mikell Simpson against Maryland. In his first extensive playing time of his career, Simpson ran for 119 yards on just 16 carries and caught 13 passes for 152 yards against the Terrapins.
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| 2008 Schedule |
| Aug. 30 | Southern California |
| Sept. 6 | Richmond |
| Sept. 13 | at Connecticut |
| Sept. 27 | at Duke |
| Oct. 4 | Maryland |
| Oct. 11 | East Carolina |
| Oct. 18 | North Carolina |
| Oct. 25 | at Georgia Tech |
| Nov. 1 | Miami |
| Nov. 8 | at Wake Forest |
| Nov. 22 | Clemson |
| Nov. 29 | at Virginia Tech |
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| Head Coach Al Groh |
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Named Virginia’s 38th head football coach on December 30, 2000, Al Groh owns a record of 51-37 in his seven years with the Cavaliers, including a 31-25 record against ACC competition. Virginia set an NCAA standard in 2007 with five victories by two or fewer points in recording its highest win total since 2002 as Groh was named ACC Coach of the Year for the second time (also 2002). UVa earned a bid to the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl, its fifth bowl appearance in Groh’s seven seasons as head coach. In 2002 and 2003 the Cavaliers posted back-to-back Continental Tire Bowl victories, marking just the second time in school history a UVa team won consecutive bowl games.
Prior to his arrival in Charlottesville, Groh was head coach of the NFL’s New York Jets, where he posted a 9-7 mark in his only year at the helm. He was the Jets’ linebackers coach for three seasons (1997-99) before being named head coach. Prior to his tenure with the Jets, Groh was an assistant coach under Bill Parcells with the New England Patriots from 1993 to 1996. He spent the 1992 season as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach on Bill Belichick’s staff with the Cleveland Browns. Groh joined the New York Giants’ staff in 1989, coaching the Giants’ linebackers from 1989 to 1990, and was defensive coordinator in 1991. He got his first taste of NFL coaching when he joined the Atlanta Falcons as special teams and tight ends coach in 1987.
His first collegiate head coaching assignment was at Wake Forest from 1981-86, where his teams compiled a 26-40 overall record. At the time, he was the second-winningest coach in school history. He began his coaching career at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville in 1967. The following year, he moved to Tom Cahill’s staff at Army where he was the defensive coach for the plebe squad and worked with Parcells for the first time in his career. He returned to Virginia in (1970-72) to serve as the head freshman coach and defensive line coach. From 1973 to 1977 he served as an assistant at North Carolina. He joined Parcells at Air Force in 1978 as defensive coordinator before moving to Texas Tech in 1980 as defensive coordinator.
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