Story Links
Oct. 13, 2005
As I walked into Logan airport on Sunday following Virginia’s 28-17 loss to Boston College, Brad Butler’s family was riding the escalator to board the flight back to Richmond. Butler, a senior offensive tackle, was involved in a football version of the Gladiators with the Eagles All American defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka. A third quarter “cut block” began a series of events that may have changed Brad’s life forever.
Brad’s father, Brad Sr, had attended the game and spoke with his son after the game. He told me Brad was very upset about what happened. After two days of interviews, tape sessions, phone calls, and discussions, the 6’8 296 pound tackle was suspended for this week’s game.
“I don’t want to use the word suspension,” Al Groh told his Monday night Cavalier Call In audience. “I would rather just say it is not appropriate that Brad play in this game.”
So instead of a team answering questions about Florida State and its wide- open offense, the guys spent most of media day discussing Brad’s plight and how the offensive line will have to step up and perform well in his absence.
“The other guys are good,” wide receiver Fontel Mines said during a television taping. “It’s a big loss for us, no question, but we are going to come together as a group, and deal with it. We’ve got a lot of good players up front. They’ll perform.”
Butler has been a model citizen as a Cavalier student athlete. A starter of 31 consecutive games, the Lynchburg native turned 22 this past September. A government major that has been very involved in school and state politics, Butler’s football passion runs deep. He loves the game, the atmosphere, his teammates, and the competition.
What many people don’t understand, or didn’t see in the first half, is the battle between Kiawanuka and Butler. Brad was matched up on him most of the day and there was fierce hand-to-hand combat. Boston College players went after linebacker Kai Parham’s lower legs on several occasions. It was football being football. Unfortunately, on one play, with the ball moving downfield Butler heard no whistle and took a shot that was heard around the football world. He later apologized for his actions and said in no way was his intent to hurt Kiwanuka.
And I believe him.
The ABC replay which was shown hundreds of times over the week-end, not to mention the BC video board, (the ACC does have a one replay policy inside conference stadiums, but on that particular play it was ignored) looked worse that it was. Coach Groh said that in the framework of the play, a pass to Deyon Williams, the coach’s copy of the tape didn’t look that bad.
“The game was intense,” Groh said. “All day there were people blocking downfield, being aggressive. It was a competitive game. I think Brad made a bad decision and was over exuberant.”
This past Monday, with the one game dismissal being handed down, Brad’s father waited in his car in the parking lot for him to leave practice. They were going to dinner. Meanwhile Virginia was designing a game plan in order to stop a two-game, ACC slide…without one of its offensive leaders.
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THE CUT BLOCK RULE
I discussed the rule with an ACC official this week. The words “Cut block” don’t even appear in the rulebook. Two years ago, with Al Groh contributing as a member of the American Football Coaches Association rules committee, the chop block, or cut block play was modified. The chop, or cut block is actually legal, if done in the “chop zone”, a 10×6 area from the football…three yards vertically, and five yards on both sides, horizontally. The head of the offensive player has to be in front of the opposite knee from the side they are blocking from. And the ball cannot be in front of the “chop zone” at the time of the block.Groh told the media Tuesday that even before the rule was altered, his staff never taught it.
“What we have always tried to teach is to get in front of the player,” Groh said.
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FLORIDA STATE GAME NOTABLES
Not only is this the tenth anniversary of the Virginia upset of FSU, the Cavaliers’ only win in the series, but it’s the tenth anniversary of UVA’s last ACC championship. That was a magical ride for a team that began the year losing on the last play of the game at Michigan, and winning the Peach Bowl with a dramatic Pete Allen kickoff return for a touchdown in the waning seconds. UVA coaches Mike Groh and Anthony Poindexter were members of that team. When asked if they have been “more up” this week than normal, Al Groh told the media, “They’re cued up every week.”
Fans rush the field in 1995 after the Cavaliers
handed FSU their first loss since joining the ACC.
Linebacker Ahmad Brooks was back at practice this week and taking turns on the inside, for run support. Groh knows he is a lot better there, and that moves Mark Miller to the outside in place of Jermaine Dias who is still nursing a sprained foot.
Tuesday Groh referred to Florida State’s offense as a “NASCAR Offense”. “They send four down the field and throw it up,” Groh said. The `Noles do have an emerging superstar in freshman wide receiver Greg Carr. He caught three passes in the Wake Forest game for 129 yards and a touchdown. Carr hooked up with Drew Weatherford on a 3rd and long and flipped the game around with a 60-plus yard gain.
Speaking of Drew Weatherford, Florida State’s red-shirt freshman quarterback has turned it on as of late. He’s tall, accurate, strong, and hangs tough in the pocket. Wake Forest hit him several times in the backfield but he never flinched. He also throws the deep ball very well.
UVA kicker Connor Hughes is now just 16 points away from the schools all time scoring record. Gene Mayer, who played from 1912 to 1915, set the mark with 293. Following his five point performance against BC, Hughes has 277 points. Connor has 54 career field goals, four of the ACC marks set by UVA booter Rafael Garcia.