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Aug. 24, 2007
Just over a week remains before the Cavaliers open the 2007 season at Wyoming. Head coach Al Groh continues with the preparations for his seventh season opener. The team finished up training camp on Monday and had Tuesday off before beginning their prep work for the Cowboys two days ago.
Many eyes will be trained on the starting quarterbacks of each team, both of whom will be starting a season opener for the first time. Just because they are making their first start in an opener doesn’t mean they’re inexperienced. Virginia’s Jameel Sewell started the final nine games a year ago and set virtually every freshman passing record for the program, while Wyoming’s Karsten Sween got the nod in his team’s fifth game. Both QBs gave their teams a higher level of performance according to Groh.
“Both quarterbacks enabled their team to progress,” he said. “Both quarterbacks had their `gee whiz’ moments and clearly both quarterbacks had those times where they settled back down again to being in the apprentice stage at their position.”
Sewell isn’t the only Cavalier to benefit from the year’s experience. He will be protected by an offensive line with all five starters returning. This is the second time in the past four seasons Virginia has had all five o-linemen return; the last time was 2004. That group featured Brian Barthelmes, Elton Brown, Brad Butler, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, and Zac Yarbrough, all players who got dramatically better from one year to the next. That season Virginia led the ACC in rushing with an average of 242.8 yards, an improvement of more than 112 yards per game.
With the added experience comes leadership, something that was not a hallmark of last season’s unit.
“Last year there really wasn’t that much direction or cohesion in that respect amongst the five of them,” Groh said, “simply because each one of them was fighting his own battle. Only Branden (Albert) had significant minutes the previous year and that was as a first-time player. He was still trying to put his game together, too.
“All five of them confronted the same circumstance (last year). They were just trying to concentrate on `what the heck do I have to do on this play and how am I going to do it?,’ much less taking care of the guys next to him.
“Each one of them has progressed to the point where they have more confidence in themselves and what to do. There’s a lot more conversation before the snap (and) more confidence and definitiveness in making calls.”
The team practices Saturday and breaks camp later that day, a time all players look forward to. Following the usual day off on Sunday, game week preparations continue on Monday.
Order Your 2007 Fan-Shirt
The official 2007 Virginia football fan-shirt is now available exclusively at the Cavalier Team Shop online and the Cavalier Team Shop at the John Paul Jones Arena. The Virginia athletics department has partnered with Nike to produce this season’s shirt. Click Here to order your shirt today!
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Al Groh, UVa head football coach and member of the Cavalier Nation, sports his 2007 Fan-Shirt |
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