Virginia Names 2008 Football Captains
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Charlottesville, VA Prior to the start of Saturday’s annual Spring Football Game, Virginia coach Al Groh announced the four players who will serve as captains for the 2008 season. That group includes senior tight end John Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.), senior tailback Cedric Peerman (Gladys, Va.), senior linebacker Clint Sintim (Woodbridge, Va.) and junior cornerback Vic Hall (Gretna, Va.).
Phillips started eight of 13 games in 2007 and finished fifth on the team with 17 receptions for 193 yards and two scores. He led UVa in receptions with four for a career-high 77 yards in the team’s 48-0 win at Miami. He enters his senior season having played in 37 games with 21 career receptions for 285 yards and three scores.
Peerman is back in uniform after missing the second half of last season due to a foot injury. Despite the setback, he still led UVa in rushing with 585 yards. At the time of the injury, he was the top running back in the ACC with a 97.5 per game average. He rushed for a career-high 186 yards on 30 carries in UVa’s win at North Carolina.
Sintim enters his senior season having started the past 37 games at Virginia. He was third on the team with 77 tackles in 2007 and led the nation for sacks by a linebacker with nine. He finished second on the team with 17 quarterback pressures. Sintim enters his senior season with 175 career tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 16 sacks.
Hall started all 13 games last year at cornerback and was the holder on special teams and also returned kicks. He finished the season with 58 tackles, including a career-high eight in the Gator Bowl. He broke up three passes and grabbed his first interception in the Miami victory. Hall was fifth in punt returns with an average of 10 yards per runback.
In addition to the captains being announced, the coaching staff also named the recipients of the Rock Weir Awards presented to the most improved players during spring drills. Senior tight end John Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.) and redshirt freshman tackle Landon Bradley (Conway, S.C.) were named the most improved offensive players while junior linebacker Denzel Burrell (South Orange, N.J.) was tabbed for the honor among the defensive players.
Virginia opens its 2008 season on Aug. 30 against Southern California.