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Al Groh Quotes

Opening Remarks:
I was pleased with our play tonight. The team continues to move forward in many different areas, especially tonight. We improved in a lot of different areas — particularly special teams — that got a lot of work during the course of the week. The players put a lot of time in on and it showed. We took advantage of some opportunities early in the game to go out and get a lead. Once we had that lead, it made it a lot easier to play from in front than from behind.

I’d like to take a moment to cite a player … who is really indicative of the attitude and the morale on the team. That’s Gordie Sammis. He’s in his fifth year here. He petitioned for an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA. He went through the entire offseason program without any assurances that he would even be granted that year, but he just wanted to be a part of what we’re doing here. Other than being in on a couple of field goals, probably over the course of his career Gordie hasn’t been in on 10 plays over the course of his career. He started the game for us tonight at left guard and did an admirable job for us.

On Virginia’s fast start:
It was a great start for us. The first quarter was a story of what field position does during the course of the game. We had tremendous field position. Once it’s there, the players have to go out and execute and take advantage of it. They did a very good job of it. They were very sharp in the beginning.
Some of the things we couldn’t have counted on, starting the game on the [Pittsburgh] 39 yard line. It was a good job on our part of covering the ball, and obviously the illegal touching [penalty] gave us an advantageous spot. We did a good job of reacting to that situation. …Those are things we obviously can’t build into the game plan, but we know they’re so critical in terms of the final outcome. You’ve got to make some of those things happen, too, and tonight we did a good job of that.

On the play of QB Jameel Sewell:
This [game] was very positive. He was pretty sharp there with some of those throws in the beginning real sharp, as sharp as he needed to be to get our team off to a fast start. … He was into the flow of the game, not just in terms of passing but some of the checks we were making at the line of scrimmage. He was getting us into the right play, and that’s as big of a part of that position as the throwing part.

On the fake field goal in the fourth quarter that resulted in a touchdown:
We had gone into the game feeling that on the first field goal [attempt] in a certain field position we were going to call it. So, that was the first field goal in a certain field position and we went with the plan that we had.

On the play of Pittsburgh TB LeSean McCoy:
He had 86 yards. That’s pretty good. He’s a very dangerous runner. I’m very impressed with him. He’s clearly going to gain a lot of yards in his career. He kept us on our toes throughout the course of the game. Fortunately, we kept him from having any very long runs, which he is very capable of doing. He’s had two bust-out runs so far this year. That was a critical thing, and the players on defense were very tuned into the importance of that.

On maintaining focus with a big lead:
We’ve had some struggles here of late and we haven’t found ourselves in a circumstance like that in a long time. We were certainly in new territory, but this team has demonstrated a strong resolve and focus throughout. Hearing what they were saying to each other, it was apparent that nothing needed to be said from the coaching staff. … We were pleased how they took the leadership themselves and recognized the situation.

Virginia Player Quotes

Jameel Sewell, sophomore quarterback
On presence in the pocket:
“It isn’t something you necessarily work on in practice. I had a bad habit of looking at the rush in the past, now I try to just feel it and move around that way, instead of focusing on the pressure.”

On his running game:
“They gave us a lot of looks that left me one-on-one with a defender in a lot of space. The coaches allowed us to take advantage of that, and we were able to make some plays.”

On play of the TEs:
“Any time our tight ends have a one-on-one match-up with anyone, I feel like we have an advantage and I’m going to try and get the them ball. I have so much trust in them and I know that they will always be able to go up and make a play.”

On the Santi TD:
“We were against a good coverage and had a good idea of what they were doing pre-snap. Tom was one-on-one and I wanted to put the ball in a place where he could use his size advantage and ability and go up and get it. Once I got the throw off, I was confident Tom would go up and make a play.”

Tom Santi, senior Tight End
On the mismatch against smaller linebackers:
“When you have smaller players, Jameel [Sewell] is able to put the ball where only John [Stupar] and I can go up and get it. We were able to exploit the mismatch that way.”

On his TD catch:
“Jameel [Sewell] put the ball up top and gave me a chance to go up and get it. He put it in a perfect spot. I was able to make the play, and it got us off to a good start.”

On jumping out to an early lead:
“Getting out to a lead is a big deal. When we are able to get out there and get on the board early, it makes a huge difference and sets a tone for the whole game.”

Chris Long, Senior Defensive End
On playing a non-Conference opponent this week:
“It’s not hard at all to get up every week. We love football and we love winning. We try to do what we did today every week to get a win.”

On a big win:
“We came out with a purpose, and we executed and jumped on them early. We were too much to handle early on, and we play pretty good at home.”

On going back on the road and the teams previous road struggles:
“I can’t wait to hit the road. I love taking the road trips and playing somewhere new. It’s a new challenge every week. I think this team is a little different than in the past, and I hope we can show that.”

Cedric Peerman, Junior Running Back
On the offense effort tonight:
“It was a good overall effort for us. We were able to put some quick drives together and we got the ball in their territory a lot, so we were able to capitalize on that. Special teams did a great job a couple of times in getting us the field position we needed to make those short drives possible, so it was just an overall team effort.”

On the approach to this game:
“It wasn’t any different. It is just another opponent for us, and our focus is just to win the game. So that was the approach we took, and we were blessed to be able to come out with a win today.”

On what the team will work on this week:
“I have no idea. We are just going to celebrate this win a little bit and then get back to getting better. That’s what we try to do every week; get better. That’s our approach and that’s how we are going to do it.”

On Jameel Sewell’s night:
“Jameel was phenomenal today. I think he threw three touchdown passes, so he was on point with his passes. He did a great job on with the plays that were called, and we are just blessed to have that guy as our quarterback.

Vic Hall, sophomore cornerback
On the call to run the fake field goal:
“I’m always excited when I get the call, especially when it gives me a chance to help my team and score a touchdown.”

On what was going through his head before the fake field goal:
“I was just hoping that we would get the right look. If you don’t get the right look then you have to kick it.”

On his feelings after scoring the touchdown:
“It always feels good to score.”

On the success of the return game:
“The punt return team did great work. They created a lot of holes and had a lot of good blocks. They just did a great job. We’ve been working on that all week in practice.”

On the team’s defensive performance:
“We played well. We knew what they were going to do. We knew they were going to run the ball. Our defense stepped up. Coach [Al] Groh had a great game plan.”

On the team’s offensive performance:
“The offense played great. Jameel orchestrated a great offense. Coach Mike Groh had a great game plan and everything flowed well.”

Jonathan Stupar, senior tight end
On scoring so quickly on the opening drive:
“We came out with a lot of energy just like we did last weekend. It’s just something we’ve started to do here and coming out with a lot of energy seems to be paying off. We had a lot to prove and I think we did that.”

On scoring his first touchdown of the season:
“It meant a lot. We’ve got great tight ends here that do a lot of things. It was great to get my first touchdown of the season and hopefully that keeps on rolling.”

On the tight ends’ relationship with Jameel Sewell:
“We have a great relationship with Jameel. You need to have a great relationship with your quarterback. We had classes together over the summer. We were just hanging out and getting that camaraderie that you need with a quarterback. Once you get that, good things will happen.”