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by: Raj Sagar, Virginia Athletics Media Relations
Four games into the 2008 season, things weren’t going as planned for Virginia football. But with the emergence of their young signal caller and the return of a bruising veteran ball carrierVirginia just may have found the spark they were looking for.
Making just his third career start and first at home, redshirt sophomore quarterback Marc Verica could have easily been mistaken for a fifth year starter. Usually the last thing an inexperienced quarterback learns is patience and poise in the pocket. Verica’s learning curve seems to be sharper than most as countless times he stood tall in the pocket, kept his head downfield, and delivered a strike between the numbers.
“A lot of that is coach Mike (Groh) helping me in practice,” said Verica. “We do a lot of drills where I work on moving and sliding in the pocket. We focus on keeping my eyes downfield while making people miss. That preparation really let me feel comfortable back there tonight.”
Verica wasted little time in asserting himself as Virginia took a shot downfield on its second possession. With just under four minutes to play in the first quarter on a first and 10 from the Virginia 49, Verica hit senior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree in stride on a streak route from the seam, giving Virginia a 7-0 lead.
“It was very important for us to be able to open things up a little bit early in the game,” Verica said. “Kevin did a great job to get downfield and haul in the ball. His second effort was crucial as the team really fed off getting in the end zone first.”
This time last year Verica was fourth on Virginia’s depth chart and owned the title of scout team quarterback. His rapid ascension from scout team to starter speaks volumes to his grasp of the offense. Never panicking or forcing a throw, Verica made the right decision time and time again en route to completing 25 of 34 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
“A big focus this week was to take what the defense was giving you,” said Verica. “If you have to come underneath to the backs or tight ends, take it. We focused on not forcing things and just taking what was available. Once we were able to do that and run the ball successfully, it opened up some opportunities downfield and we were able to take advantage and make some big plays.”
Hardly resembling the pass heavy offense of weeks past, Virginia ran the ball 41 times and threw only 34. By establishing the run early, the Virginia offense clicked on all cylinders. After a nagging knee injury kept him out of last week’s contest at Duke, senior tailback Cedric Peerman seemed revitalized against Maryland. Running with purpose all night, Peerman returned to midseason form of a year ago when he tallied 585 yards rushing in Virginia’s first five contests.
“I feel incredible right now,” Peerman said. “Not playing last week was a great decision as I was able to come into this game feeling fresh. Tonight both the offensive line and the receivers downfield made all the blocks and all I had to do was run behind them. The fact that we were able to establish the run early opened up the pass, and Marc took full advantage.”
Peerman saw success in a number of different ways as he was able to get to the edge, run between the tackles, and returned to doing what he does bestfinishing runs strong.
“The big guys up front and the receivers did a great job blocking tonight and I was able to square up to the line and get all my momentum going forward,” Peerman said. “I was able to find some creases tonight, and I tried to focus on staying low and keeping my legs going.”
Peerman set the tone early with 30 first quarter rushing yards, and seemed to wear down the Maryland defense with every carry. With Virginia leading 24-0 in the third quarter, Peerman got the call on a fourth and one from the Cavalier nine. Looking to bounce outside, Peerman used his speed to get to the edge and leaped into the end zone from two yards out, essentially sealing a win for Virginia. His 110 yards on 17 carries was his best outing since the week four match-up last season with Georgia Tech.
“I’m back, I’m ready to go, and I’m excited about the direction we’re headed as a team right now,” said Peerman.