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March 27, 2003
Quarterback Matt Schaub hasn’t had much time to rest since he walked off the field at Ericcson Stadium after Virginia’s dominating win over West Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl. The 2002 ACC Player of the Year has attended numerous award banquets, while managing his time between classes and 6:00 a.m. winter workouts.
“There were a couple weeks there where it was good to look back and see how far our team had come from the beginning of the season to the end and how much we matured and grew as a team,” Schaub said. “But then from that point on it was back to business as usual and thinking about next year and how we can improve that much more.”
UVa averaged 27 points per game last season, fourth in the ACC. Schaub expects the Cavalier offense to be more productive this fall based on the talent level of the returning players and the confidence gained by those players late in the season. Virginia scored 48 points in two of its last three games.
“It’s really exciting for us to look around and see the amount of weapons we have from linemen to receivers to running backs,” Schaub said. “To have those types of players, it just makes a quarterback’s dreams come true. I want us to become feared by our opponents. We feel like we can score every time we have the ball, every play, every time we come to the line of scrimmage. We just want their team to fear us and to think this team can’t be stopped. How are we going to stop them? That’s how I want other teams to look at us.”
One weapon Virginia won’t have in its arsenal in 2003 is wide receiver Billy McMullen. McMullen finished his career second on the ACC’s career receptions chart. The Cavaliers plan to fill this void with a number of players at several positions. One can expect the orange and blue offense to spread the ball among receivers, tight ends, and running backs even more than it did last season.
UVa will also miss McMullen’s leadership. Head coach Al Groh often said McMullen was “the same guy every day,” meaning he was a constant example to other players as to how working hard in practice directly translated to success in games. Schaub knows he is one of the players who must emerge to lead the 2003 Cavaliers.
“Throughout last season I became more and more of a leader, especially vocally,” Schaub said. “I’m not the most vocal player as far as leadership goes. I usually lead by example. But I inherited that role from a lot of the seniors that left, like Billy and Angelo [Crowell]. I like that role and it’s something I’ve been working on this winter program and it will carry-over to the summer and next season.”
Spring practice begins Friday and Schaub is excited about this phase of putting the team back together and building towards the start of the 2003 season. The quarterback has several specific items he plans to work on in the coming weeks.
“I think footwork is a big key,” Schaub said. “A quarterback can never have perfect footwork and you can always work on that. I will also work on timing with the new receivers, guys that haven’t really played a whole lot. I’ll work with them on routes and getting our timing down. It’s also important for a quarterback to have a good feel for how each of the lineman play. I really need to know their pass sets, how they form the pocket and how they block certain guys so I can move around and find the throwing lanes.”
Since 1990, Shawn Moore, Tiki Barber, and Thomas Jones have all been mentioned as Heisman Trophy candidates. Now you can add Matt Schaub to that list. After completing close to 69 percent of his passes, throwing for 28 touchdowns, and being named the ACC’s best player, Schaub is justifiably a Heisman candidate.
“I think the season that I had last year and the numbers that I was able to put up speak for themselves,” Schaub said. “I think our team has come farther than any other team in the country and people are recognizing us. The award only goes to one player, but I think it’s an award for a team.”
Schaub and his teammates have high goals for the 2003 Virginia Football Cavaliers. They also believed in their ability last season when few others did. However, this team will have to deal with high public expectations. Virginia has already been mentioned as a preseason top 10 team by several publications.
“I think it’s up to the leaders of the team, the guys who have been here for awhile to keep everyone in check with their responsibilities and not let them get too high and too confident,” Schaub said. “Confidence is a good thing, but there’s a certain point where you can have too much confidence. It will be important for us to keep those emotions at bay to be successful. We just need to take each week as it is and find out how we can beat that team and not get worried and caught up in the outside media and all that exposure.”
Despite the individual recognition Schaub has garnered and is likely to receive before the start of the season, he is more concerned about the team’s primary objective: to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Schaub believes this goal is within the Cavaliers’ reach because of Virginia’s talent level and the cohesiveness of the group.
“We’re more a team now than we’ve ever been and last year it definitely showed,” Schaub said. “We had a really close nucleus and all the guys were friends. We all hung out. We had cookouts in the summer at guys’ houses. Everyone would show up and we’re starting that up now with spring ball every weekend. There’s just a great rapport with all the players on our team. There’s really a sense of brotherhood. I think that was one of the main things that was able to carry us through tough times last season and I definitely see that happening again this year.”
Fans can watch Schaub and the 2003 Cavaliers during several open practices and the Cavalier Football Festival. Open practice dates are March 28, March 29, March 30, March 31, and April 6 . The Cavalier Football Festival is Saturday, April 19 at the Carl Smith Center, home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium. The festival starts at 11:00 a.m., with the game following at 12:30 p.m. See the links below for more information.