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April 17, 2003
UVa’s wide receiving corps has a big void to fill. Billy McMullen, Virginia’s all-time leading receiver, played his last collegiate game last season and will look to be drafted in the 2003 NFL Draft. So who will be ACC player of the Year Matt Schaub’s favorite target now? This is where senior Ryan Sawyer, a reserve wideout, enters the picture.
Sawyer, who has primarily been used on special teams, hopes to play a bigger role as a passing option for Schaub in order to lessen the blow of McMullen’s departure.
“Losing Billy is a big thing,” stated Sawyer, who backed up McMullen at wide-out last season. “He’s a phenomenal player. Whether or not we’ll replace him I don’t know, but I’ll definitely stand in and play his role, as will [Michael] McGrew and Ottowa [Anderson]. I think we’ll all step in and try to step up our game because he was such a great player.”
Replacing a player who accounted for almost a third of Schaub’s total passing yardage in 2002 will not be easy. But if UVa’s 48-point offensive performance in the Continental Tire Bowl without McMullen is an indication of future success, then his void might not be as big as initially thought. Sawyer, who replaced McMullen after he was injured on UVa’s first series, did an effective job filling in for him by catching four passes for 41 yards.
“Well, I’m sure going into the off season, one of the big questions from all the football analysts would be how are you going to do without McMullen,” said head coach Al Groh, “and we had a good chance to answer that question partially in the bowl game when we had to play the whole game without Billy and subsequently scored 48 points. Ryan Sawyer did a real good job for us all year last year and he will step into that role as a very physical, competitive player.”
An outstanding special team’s performer who had 15 tackles in 2002, Sawyer didn’t see his first action at wide receiver until last season. His biggest game was against Wake Forest, in which he caught a 33-yd TD reception during the first quarter, and then pulled in a tipped Wali Lundy pass meant for Heath Miller, which resulted in a 38-yd TD in the third quarter. The two touchdowns were crucial in the narrow 38-34 victory. The special teams extraordinaire also led the punt coverage unit with three tackles.
Sawyer would like to maintain his “man of many roles” persona by continuing to play on the kickoff and kickoff return teams, punt and punt return units, and kick defense squad, as well as receiving corps. “I think I’m going to play more of a role at wide receiver than I did last year,” observed Sawyer, who caught seven passes for 154 yards during the 2002 campaign. “Hopefully I can keep what I had going on special teams. I’d rather play wide receiver because I like to score. Everyone likes to score. Everyone wants the ball.”
Sawyer should get the ball more often next season, as should McGrew, the Cavaliers’ leading returning wideout. Other young receivers who show promise during spring practice will compete for playing time, as will several talented, incoming recruits. Acclimating the inexperienced players to the gridiron will be necessary for Schaub, a Heisman Trophy candidate, to have another stellar season.
“I think coming together and learning what we need to learn is helping these younger guys out who are going to need to step up too,” commented Sawyer. “A challenge will be forming those younger players into the mold of what we had last year.”