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Johnson Poised for Big Senior Year
Dec. 1, 2009
8:12 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The five players who make up Tony Bennett’s first recruiting class — they signed last month — include James Johnson, an American-born big man who later lived in Canada and now attends a high school in San Diego.
Check out this interesting read on Johnson from a California newspaper.
Parkhill Takes One for the Team
Dec. 1, 2009
12:08 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — He’s never been roasted — at least not in such a public setting — but that will change Wednesday night for Barry Parkhill.
He’s ready. Let his brother, Bruce, and friends Tom Brennan, Bob Rotella and Tony Markel fire away at him.
“I’ll take the plug for this anytime,” said Parkhill, the former UVa basketball great who’s now associate director of athletics for development at his alma mater.
Anyway, he added, “I don’t think those guys are going to bust my chops too bad. They’ve got to remember that I get the mike last.”
The occasion is the 18th annual MS Dinner of Champions, and it starts with a reception Wednesday at 6 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena. The dinner’s sponsor is the Blue Ridge Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which will present Parkhill with its highest honor, the Silver Hope Award.
Previous recipients include the late Hovey S. Dabney, Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Gene Corrigan, Carter Beauford, the late LeRoi Moore, Boyd Tinsley and John Casteen.
Parkhill says he’s not sure why the MS Society chose him, but he’s happy to honor the memory of his friend and former teammate Scott McCandlish.
McCandlish, who lettered at UVa in 1970, ’71 and ’72, learned he had multiple sclerosis “right after he got out of school here,” Parkhill said.
After graduating from the University, McCandlish coached under former UVa player Chip Conner at South Florida. McCandlish, who left UVa as the school’s all-time leader in rebounds with 761, later returned to this area and became head basketball coach at Charlottesville High School.
“When I moved back [to Charlottesville], I just saw a slow, gradual deterioration of his health,” Parkhill said.
In 2004, McCandlish and his wife returned to his hometown of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Parkhill visited them there several times before McCandlish’s death in early 2007.
“So I saw the effects [of MS],” Parkhill said. “There are a lot of great causes out there, but this is certainly one of them.”
The MS Dinner of Champions is a major fundraiser for the Blue Ridge chapter. The chapter’s all-time record is $213,300, and the mark may fall this year.
The Blue Ridge chapter serves about 3,000 people with MS in 51 counties in Virginia. Money raised supports MS research as well as local programs to improve patients’ quality of life, chapter president Fay Painter said.
To donate to the Blue Ridge chapter, or for more information about the MS Dinner of Champions, call (434) 971-8010 or visit http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/VAB/index.aspx.
Tucker Returns to Practice
Nov. 29, 2009
4:18 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — He won’t play Monday night against Penn State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, but senior Jamil Tucker is again practicing with the UVa men’s basketball team.
Tucker, a 6-9 forward, went on a leave of absence from the program early this month, during which he didn’t practice or play with the team. He returned to practice Friday, the day after the Wahoos (4-2) returned from the Cancun Challenge.
No word yet on when or if Tucker will be cleared to play in games.
Without Tucker, UVa had only four post players in Cancun: 6-9 senior Jerome Meyinsse, 6-8 junior Mike Scott, 6-9 junior Will Sherrill and 7-0 sophomore Assane Sene.
Tucker averaged 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds last season. For his career, he’s shooting 40.7 from 3-point range.
Spurlock Remains Work in Progress
Nov. 27, 2009
1:58 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — For each of his team’s two games at the Cancun Challenge, first-year coach Tony Bennett had 11 players in uniform. Ten played in the loss to Stanford and 10 in the win over Cleveland State.
The exception each night? Freshman Tristan Spurlock, a 6-8 forward from Woodbridge who was considered the gem of UVa’s two-player recruiting class.
“Right now with our rotation, he’s just not in it,” Bennett said on a teleconference Friday afternoon. “He’s not quite ready. He just needs to keep working and keep improving, and my hope is he’ll just keep battling in practice. Our rotation is not set by any means, but with a lot of young guys, there’s a maturing process, there’s a learning process.
“That’s just part of being a first-year guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s locked into that role. If he can show some signs, certainly I’m open to that. But I hope he’ll keep developing and working hard. That’s the hardest thing for young men that come from high school where they’ve been playing a lot. This is first time where they’ve probably faced some adversity of not being able to be on the floor.
“You just try to encourage them that there’s certainly value in what they’re doing and just to keep working, and you don’t know when their chance will come.”
UVa’s other freshman, point guard Jontel Evans, played six minutes against Stanford and the final 15 seconds against Cleveland State.
Spurlock has played in four games, for a total of 21 minutes, this season. He’s 2 for 6 from the floor — 1 for 3 from beyond the 3-point arc — and 1 for 2 from the line.
Virginia’s next game is Monday at John Paul Jones Arena. UVa (4-2) hosts Penn State (4-2) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at 7 p.m.
Next Man Up: Tucker Windle
Nov. 27, 2009
10:28 a.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — On the injury report UVa released Thursday night, one of the team’s starting inside linebackers, Darren Childs, was listed as doubtful.
That means there’s at least a 75-percent chance Childs, a senior, won’t play Saturday against Virginia Tech in the battle for the Commonwealth Cup.
If Childs isn’t available, Al Groh said Friday morning, the job will go to Tucker Windle, “a very promising young player for us.”
A 6-3, 220-pound true freshman from Charlotte, N.C., Windle has appeared in six games for UVa. In all, he’s been in for 95 plays — 36 on defense and 59 on special teams.
In Virginia’s loss at Clemson last weekend, Windle was in for 20 plays on defense, a career high.
“He’s done a real good job in practice,” Groh said, “and we expect he’ll step up and do a real good job in the game if that’s the circumstance.”
Windle’s father, Al, played linebacker at UVa in the ’70s.
UVa Injury Report for Va. Tech Game
Nov. 26, 2009
5:18 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE – In the regular-season finale for both teams, UVa hosts Virginia Tech in football Saturday at Scott Stadium. Below is the injury report Virginia released Thursday, as per ACC policy.
Out OG Isaac Cain (foot)
WR Raynard Horne (back)
TB Torrey Mack (ankle)
Doubtful LB Darren Childs (ankle)
Questionable WR Jared Green (shoulder)
TB Mikell Simpson (leg)
Probable LB Daniel Childress (shoulder)
DE Matt Conrath (ankle)
LB Connor McCartin (shoulder)
QB Jameel Sewell (shoulder)
OL Patrick Slebonick (leg)
UVa’s sports medicine staff, under the direction of Dr. David Diduch, compiled the injury report, whose categories are defined as follows:
Probable: Virtually certain to be available for normal duty
Questionable: 50-50 chance will not play
Doubtful: At least 75-percent chance will not play
Out: Definitely will not play
Stop the Presses!
Nov. 26, 2009
11:58 a.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Fog delayed our landing, but the plane that left the Cancun airport around midnight — and then stopped in Corpus Christi, Texas, to refuel and visit with our friends at U.S. Customs — finally touched down here a little after 7 o’clock this morning.
On my way home, I stopped by University Hall to check on a couple of things at the office. Before leaving, I called Jon Oliver, UVa’s executive associate athletics director, to wish him a happy Thanksgiving.
Jon was chuckling when I caught up with him. He didn’t realize, he said, that he and Boise State football coach Chris Petersen “have been good friends for years” until reading that in the Thursday edition of The Daily Progress, which cited anonymous sources in its report.
The Charlottesville paper, which did not attribute this statement to any source, anonymous or otherwise, also reported that it appears that “Petersen is the leading candidate to become Virginia’s next head football coach.”
Oliver didn’t find that as amusing.
“After reading this morning’s story,” he told me, “the air needs to be cleared. First of all, Al Groh is still our football coach. Secondly, although I’m a huge fan of Boise State football, I’ve never met Chris Petersen.”
Oliver grew up in Boise, Idaho, where his mother still lives, and he graduated from Boise State in 1994.
The Daily Progress and former UVa play-by-play announcer Mac McDonald, whose radio show is carried on a Charlottesville station, have pointed to Oliver’s presence at the Sept. 3 football game in Boise between Oregon and Boise State as evidence of his interest in Petersen.
That, Oliver said, is much ado about nothing.
“I went back to that game on a personal trip to see my mom before the season started and to catch a great college football game, and I was able to do that because it was on a Thursday night,” he said. “It was no secret that I did that.”
UVa hosts Virginia Tech at Scott Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams Saturday. Win or lose, the Cavaliers will finish with a losing record for the third time in four seasons.
If this is indeed Groh’s final season as coach at his alma mater — his first was 2001 — then speculation about candidates for the UVa job is likely to spiral out of control in the coming weeks.
It’s worth remembering much of the “reporting” last spring during UVa’s search for a successor to Dave Leitao as men’s basketball coach. There were stories linking Tubby Smith, Rick Barnes, Sean Miller, Herb Sendek, Jeff Capel, Tubby Smith and others to the job.
Nobody said a word about Tony Bennett until March 30, when the news broke that he’d accepted UVa’s offer and was leaving Washington State.
— Jeff White
Live from Cancun
Nov. 25, 2009
6:05 p.m. (Central)
CANCUN, Mexico — No live stats for tonight’s game between UVa and Cleveland State in the Cancun Challenge. I’ll provide statistical updates on Twitter throughout the game.
Check our site.
— Jeff White
Wait and See with Simpson
Nov. 25, 2009
11:28 a.m. (Central)
CANCUN, Mexico — There’s not a lot of buzz in this resort town about American football, as you might imagine. Back home in the Commonwealth, though, the situation is different, with the UVa-Virginia Tech game looming.
The phone connections here have been less than ideal, but I was able to listen to the playback of Al Groh’s segment Tuesday on the ACC coaches’ teleconference.
Among other things, Groh was asked about the status of senior tailback Mikell Simpson, who pulled a hamstring on the touchdown reception that ended the first half Saturday at Clemson.
Simpson had dazzled to that point, but he was unable to play in the second half.
The Cavaliers didn’t practice Sunday, Groh said, because they had “too many players banged-up to make it a worthwhile practice.”
With Simpson, the coaching staff will “have a better idea as we go into the week,” Groh said, “but clearly with a hamstring injury of that nature, it’s going to take him a little while to get back to being able to perform at the level he did last week. Hopefully he’ll get to that level, but we’ll just have to wait and see. We’re as interested in the answer to that as everybody else is.”
Live from Cancun
Nov. 24, 2009
7:35 p.m. (Central)
CANCUN, Mexico — The story of the second half is UVa’s inability to defend Stanford’s best player, Landry Fields.
The 6-7, 210-pound senior has scored inside against Sylven Landesberg and Mustapha Farrakhan and outside against Mike Scott. A fourth Cavalier, Calvin Baker, just fouled Fields in the act of shooting.
With 7:52 left, the teams are tied at 43. Assane Sene will shoot two free throws when play resumes after a media timeout.
— JW
Nov. 24, 2009
7:08 p.m. (Central)
CANCUN, Mexico — At the half, UVa leads Stanford 31-30 before a smattering of fans in the gym at the Moon Palace Resort.
Junior guard Jeff Jones leads the Cavaliers with 14 points, a season high. Senior center Jerome Meyinsse has six rebounds, which matches his season high.
The only Wahoo with two fouls is sophomore swingman Sylven Landesberg (six points).
Virginia’s perimeter defense has been suspect. Stanford is 6 for 8 from beyond the 3-point arc. Jones has accounted for all three of UVa’s treys.
From inside the arc, the Cardinal is 5 for 21.
The winner meets fifth-ranked Kentucky (5-0) at 9:30 p.m. (Eastern) Wednesday.
— JW
Nov. 24, 2009
6:35 p.m. (Central)
CANCUN, Mexico — At the 10:12 mark of the first half, Stanford leads 20-17. Sylven Landesberg has six points and Mike Scott four for UVa.
The Cardinal has hit five 3-pointers, to none for the Wahoos.
— JW
Nov. 24, 2009
6:09 p.m. (Central)
CANCUN, Mexico — Look for Tony Bennett to tinker with his starting lineup against Stanford, inserting junior Jeff Jones for classmate Mustapha Farrakhan at guard.
Jones, who has started 36 games in his college career, is averaging 7.5 points and 1.8 rebounds.
I’m posting updates on Twitter as well.
— JW
Nov. 24, 2009
4:48 p.m. (Central)
CANCUN, Mexico – Kentucky leads Cleveland State 35-27 at halftime, and fifth-ranked UK figures to win.
Which is probably a good thing for the officiating crew.
If there’s security around the officials, it’s keeping a low profile. When the first half ended, officials and fans exited the gym together, and I heard one UK supporter suggest loudly that the crew do a better job.
If the Wildcats were to lose this one? That could make for an ugly postgame scene.
The number of UK fans here astounds. If UVa ends up playing Kentucky on Wednesday night, the Moon Palace Resort gym will be anything but a neutral site for Tony Bennett and Co.
Dispatches from Cancun
Nov. 23, 2009
2:18 p.m. (Central)
CANCUN, Mexico — Remember the scene in The Blues Brothers in which Jake and Elwood careen through a shopping mall in the Bluesmobile, smashing everything in their path?
“This place has everything!” Jake exclaims at one point.
The same could be said of the Moon Palace Resort, the venue for the Cancun Challenge. It has a spa, a beach, a swimming pool, tennis courts, restaurants, bars, shops and much, much more.
It has a laundry operation, too, but the ‘Hoos apparently won’t be able to use it during their stay at the resort. So Tom Jonke, a team manager as well as a practice (and occasional game) player, will catch a ride Monday night with a counterpart from the University of Kentucky.
Their destination: a laundromat in downtown Cancun, about 20 minutes away.
Jonke’s assignment: Wash and dry the Cavaliers’ practice uniforms.
UVa has been designated as the road team in its Tuesday night game against Stanford. Depending on the outcomes of Tuesday’s games, Virginia might be the road team again Wednesday night.
If that’s the case, the other manager on the trip, Andrew Harrison, will be in charge of washing and drying the uniforms before Wednesday’s game.
UVa Injury Report for Clemson Game
Nov. 19, 2009
7:58 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — In ACC football, UVa (2-4, 3-7) travels to Death Valley on Saturday to meet No. 23 Clemson (5-2, 7-3) at 3:30 p.m. Below is the injury report Virginia released Thursday night, as per ACC policy.
Out WR Raynard Horne (back)
TB Torrey Mack (ankle)
WR Tim Smith (back)
QB Marc Verica (head)
Doubtful None
Questionable WR Vic Hall (hip)
Probable WR Kris Burd (shoulder)
LB Darren Childs (neck)
DE Matt Conrath (ankle)
TE Colter Phillips (leg)
QB Jameel Sewell (shoulder)
UVa’s sports medicine staff, under the direction of Dr. David Diduch, compiled the injury report, whose categories are defined as follows:
Probable: Virtually certain to be available for normal duty
Questionable: 50-50 chance will not play
Doubtful: At least 75-percent chance will not play
Out: Definitely will not play
Recurring Theme: Poor Offense
Nov. 19, 2009
1:48 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — There was the 390-yard effort against Southern Mississippi, followed two games later by a 536-yard avalanche versus Indiana.
Unfortunately for UVa’s football team, those offensive performances were aberrations. The Cavaliers have played 10 games this season. In five of them Virginia has failed to total more than 201 yards of offense. Only twice — against Southern Miss and Indiana — have the Wahoos topped the 300-yard mark.
Among ACC teams, Virginia (2-4, 3-7) ranks last in scoring offense (19.8 points per game) and total offense (266.7 yards per game).
Among the 120 teams that compete in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision, UVa ranks 110th in rushing offense, 104th in passing offense, 118th in total offense and 106th in scoring offense.
None of which bodes well for Virginia’s chances this weekend. UVa plays Saturday at Death Valley, and 23rd-ranked Clemson (5-2, 7-3) is stocked with such game-breakers as C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford.
The Cavaliers have lost the time-of-possession battle this season, and “that’ll certainly come into play here on Saturday, yes,” Al Groh said Thursday afternoon.
“The more explosive the other team, the bigger item it becomes.”
If the Wahoos were more experienced in their current offensive system, perhaps the numbers would not be so bleak.
“You’re talking about over 50 practices that clearly would have been beneficial to things we’re attempting to do now,” Groh said.
Virginia’s offense spent those practices trying to master the spread system installed by Gregg Brandon, who’d replaced Mike Groh as coordinator after the 2008 season.
The ‘Hoos ran the spread in spring practice, during training camp and through the first two games this season before Al Groh, unhappy with the team’s lack of offensive production, scrapped it.
Before the Southern Miss game, the Cavaliers returned to a more traditional offense, and they’ve stuck with that, with generally unimpressive results.
“Clearly, 50 more practices in what we’re doing right now [would have been helpful], especially for some of the younger players,” Groh said. “We had some older players, veteran players, that have good recall of what we were doing, but we have some younger players who clearly don’t have the opportunity for any recall.”
Conrath: A Man for Two Sports
Nov. 17, 2009
7:48 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — There are fans who are more knowledgeable about the sport, but it’s probably safe to say there’s no bigger fan of the powerful UVa field hockey team than UVa football player Matt Conrath.
Conrath, a redshirt sophomore defensive end, stands 6-7 and weighs about 275 pounds.
His girlfriend, 5-5 junior Haley Carpenter, is a key player for Michele Madison’s field hockey team, which meets North Carolina in the NCAA semifinals Friday at Winson-Salem, N.C.
“I’ve only been to a couple games, and I’d never seen it played before I came out here,” Conrath told several reporters Tuesday night after practice. “I just know they’re really good at it, and they’re in the final four. That’s about as much as I know.”
As for the rules of the sport, Conrath said, his grasp doesn’t extend much beyond this:
“The ball can’t hit your foot.”
Carpenter, a graduate of Ocean Lakes High in Virginia Beach, plays midfield for the Wahoos. Her sister, Taber, played soccer at Virginia Tech.
Unfortunately for Conrath, he’ll be in South Carolina on Friday afternoon — UVa plays football at Clemson the next day — and so won’t be able to cheer on Carpenter against UNC.
Versatility May Be Hall’s Ticket to NFL
Nov. 16, 2009
4:42 p.m.
TAMPA, Fla. — The men’s basketball team’s first road game of the season is about three hours away, at the nearby Sun Dome, and I’ve been in this city since last night.
That meant I had to miss Al Groh’s weekly press conference in Charlottesville — a first for me — but I listened in by phone as the Cavaliers’ ninth-year football coach touched on various topics over the course of about 50 minutes Monday.
One question concerned Vic Hall’s NFL stock. At 5-9, 185 pounds, Hall is among the smallest players on the field at any time, but he’s distinguished himself at cornerback, safety, quarterback and wide receiver during his college career.
Hall, who’s competing as a graduate student, also has returned punts and been the holder on extra points and field goals.
Asked at which position NFL scouts are evaluating Hall, Groh said, “Well, probably I would say that they don’t know. Each one’s got a little different idea. Because you’re going to get 32 different, maybe not 32, but a wide-spread different set of ideas on a player like Vic.
“But the range of things that he’s done has certainly helped his circumstances, because it’s provided more options of which he can be evaluated. And that’s those teams’ business. We don’t try to evaluate the players for them. We just answer the questions for them.”
Groh, who spent more than a decade on NFL coaching staffs, added: “One of the reasons that we are so open about letting the NFL personnel people come in — one of the most open teams in the country — is for players like that. You know, when Chris Long’s here, and Eugene Monroe is here, and those kind of guys, [NFL teams are] going to make sure they do their due diligence on those players. But those players a little further down the line that the scouts only have a limited opportunity to be around, they don’t have time to do their work on them. But they know that they can be here as much as they need to be, and that’s when they find out about and can do a more complete report on those players.
“We feel when those players give us everything they have and they still have dreams to go on, the least we can do is open the door and provide them as much opportunity to be evaluated.”
Groh compared Hall to a former UVa standout, Jason Snelling, who now plays running back for the Atlanta Falcons.
“I clearly remember just being able to say [to NFL scouts] about Jason, “Look, he may not be the most spectacular in any way. He’s not the fastest or the tallest or the heaviest running back. He’s just a really good player.’ What team wouldn’t want a really good player?” Groh said.
“So we say the same thing about Vic. He’s just a good player. He blocks, he tackles, he catches, he runs, he covers kicks, he catches kicks. He does what football players do. He’s not a specialist, he’s a good football player.”
A Day to Remember
Nov. 14, 2009
9:10 p.m.
TAMPA, Fla. — On the bus ride to the Charlottesville airport, we got word that Michele Madison’s field hockey team had beaten Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
After landing in the Sunshine State, we learned that the UVa men had received an at-large invitation to the NCAA cross country championships.
It was that kind of day for UVa athletics, which enjoyed a remarkable Sunday. In a span of about five hours, all of this went down:
* The men’s soccer team beat N.C. State 1-0 in the ACC title game at Cary, N.C. The shutout was the eighth straight for the Wahoos, who won the conference championship for the fourth time under George Gelnovatch.
* The women’s soccer team staged one of the most incredible displays of offensive firepower in NCAA tournament history. Steve Swanson’s club, down 2-0 to host Penn State at the break, scored six goals in a 20-minute span of the second half to win 6-2 and advance to the round of 16 for the fifth consecutive season.
* The field hockey team, playing at University Hall Turf Field, beat Michigan State 3-2 in overtime to advance to the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 1998.
* The women’s basketball team got yet another brilliant performance from all-ACC guard Monica Wright, who scored 31 points in an 86-68 rout of Manhattan at John Paul Jones Arena.
* The wrestling team went 3-0 in dual meets at the ACC Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C. The 17th-ranked Cavaliers closed the day with a 20-19 victory over No. 16 American. That was UVa’s first-ever win over a ranked opponent.
* The men’s cross country team learned that it will compete at the NCAA championships for the fifth consecutive year. The ‘Hoos finished 14th in 2008. (The UVa women’s team earned an automatic bid to the NCAAs by finishing second Saturday at the Southeast Regional.)
And for good measure:
* The rowing team swept the varsity races at the Rivanna Romp, in which Penn, Old Dominion, Tennessee and Miami (Fla.) also competed.
Not a bad day for a school bidding for a second straight top-10 finish in the Directors’ Cup competition.
Update on ‘Hoos for Herzlich
Nov. 13, 2009
4:18 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — As Saturday approaches, the ‘Hoos for Herzlich fund-raiser is moving closer to its goal of $9,494.
Not all the donations had been recorded on the official Web site, but as of 4 p.m. Friday the total raised was more than $8,000, with $2,430 coming from the UVa football program.
Virginia hosts ACC rival Boston College at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and before the game a ceremonial check will be presented to Mark Herzlich, the all-ACC linebacker who wears No. 94 for the Eagles.
Herzlich, who as a junior in 2008 was named ACC defensive player of the year, was diagnosed last spring with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in his left leg,.
He hasn’t played football since, but Herzlich recently underwent a final round of chemotherapy, and his doctors say he’s cancer-free.
Schools around the ACC have contributed in Herzlich’s name to Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit organization that works with the college football community to raise awareness and fund research for rare diseases.
At UVa, the ‘Hoo Crew and Student Council, with the support of the football team, started the ‘Hoos for Herzlich campaign last month.
It’s not too late to give. For more information, visit this site.
UVa Injury Report for Boston College Game
Nov. 12, 2009
7:28 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — In ACC football, UVa (2-3, 3-6) hosts Boston College (3-2, 6-3) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Below is the injury report Virginia released Thursday night, as per ACC policy.
Out WR Raynard Horne (back)
WR Quintin Hunter (ankle)
Doubtful None
Questionable LB Darren Childs (knee)
QB Jameel Sewell (shoulder)
QB Marc Verica (head)
Probable WR Javaris Brown (ankle)
LB Aaron Clark (knee)
DE Matt Conrath (ankle)
TE Colter Phillips (leg)
UVa’s sports medicine staff, under the direction of Dr. David Diduch, compiled the injury report, whose categories are defined as follows:
Probable: Virtually certain to be available for normal duty
Questionable: 50-50 chance will not play
Doubtful: At least 75-percent chance will not play
Out: Definitely will not play
Stout Defense Carries Men’s Soccer Team
Nov. 12, 2009
3:28 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — His 2001 team didn’t allow a goal in ACC play, so UVa men’s soccer coach George Gelnovatch is familiar with stellar defense.
By any standard, though, what his current squad has done is undeniably impressive. Virginia (13-3-2) has posted six consecutive shutouts. Overall, the Cavaliers and their starting goalkeeper, junior Diego Restrepo, have allowed only seven goals this season.
“It’s a collection of things,” Gelnovatch said by phone Thursday afternoon from the ACC tournament, where fifth-seeded UVa meets top-seeded Wake Forest in the semifinals Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Cary, N.C.
“It starts, I think, with our goalkeeper, who has done an excellent job for us. But when you look at Diego’s statistics on his saves-per-game in the ACC, they’re not high, because he doesn’t have to make a lot of saves compared to the other teams in the conference. And that is a tribute to our team playing good defense.”
Restrepo, a transfer from South Florida, hasn’t “had a ton of work, which is good,” Gelnovatch said. “But when he’s called upon to make a big save, which is probably once in a big game, he makes it, so that’s has been huge.”
A season ago, Virginia finished 11-9-1, in part because of its suspect defense. In 21 games, the Wahoos allowed 29 goals.
After the season, Gelnovatch said, the coaching staff studied some of the more successful teams in college soccer and learned that “you can’t be scored on more than 20 times in a year and make it to a final four. And so one of our goals was to have less than 20 goals going into the playoffs.
“It’s something we clearly were cognizant of. We had it posted in our locker room. It’s clearly a goal of ours, this goals-against thing.”
In addition to Restrepo, the first-year starters at center back — Mike Volk and Greg Monaco — have been superb, Gelnovatch said.
After totaling five goals in its first two games this season — wins over Portland and Washington — UVa scored only five in its next seven games. That stretch included one-goal victories over Mount St. Mary’s, Wake, George Washington and Virginia Commonwealth.
“The first month of the season, we were getting results, but we had to grind for those results,” Gelnovatch said. “We weren’t in rhythm. We weren’t firing on all cylinders.
“We were doing it, but we were really were swimming upstream. That mentality of grinding it out and blue-collar wins and finding a way to win has carried over. Now that we have some rhythm, we still have that mentality of being able to grind.
“I didn’t plan it this way. I thought we would get off to a smoother, more efficent start to the season, but certainly that first month we developed a workmanlike attitude, just trying to get these results, just trying to plow our way through.”
Virginia advanced to the ACC semifinals with a 1-0 victory over defending NCAA champion Maryland. Sophomore Tony Tchani scored the game-winner for UVa in the 88th minute.
“I told our team this all along: Life is like this. You don’t plan on losing your job. You don’t plan on failing a test. But things happen, and how you respond and how to keep going and keep working and stay the course determines who you are and your character and success,” Gelnovatch said.
“We’ve talked about it all year, and we’ve just found a way to stay the course, stay the course, stay the course, and now guys like Tony Tchani are starting to play much better, and [freshman] Will Bates has come around in the past three weeks.”
If the Cavaliers beat Wake, Gelnovatch said, they might earn one of the top four seeds in the NCAA tourney. Even with a loss Friday, he said, his team probably would be one of the top eight seeds.
‘Hoos Play Waiting Game with Sewell
Nov. 12, 2009
1:48 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Jameel Sewell won’t be completely healthy again until after football season, when his shoulder and ankle injuries have time to heal.
Whether Sewell will be healthy enough to play quarterback for UVa this weekend remains uncertain, according to Al Groh.
Sewell missed last weekend’s game at Miami with a hurt shoulder. The fifth-year senior has been back at practice this week,, but if Sewell will be available Saturday against Boston College, Groh didn’t let on Thursday morning during a teleconference with reporters.
Asked how Sewell has been holding up, Groh said, “Great.”
Does that mean Sewell is good to go against BC?
“No, it just means he’s holding up,” Groh said, to laughter from his audience. “I don’t exactly know what ‘holding up’ means. I’m glad it doesn’t mean [holding up a] 7-Eleven.”
Groh acknowledged, however, that Sewell’s presence could help a struggling offense.
“If it didn’t make a big difference, he wouldn’t have started all those previous games and wouldn’t have been the guy that we won nine games two years ago with,” Groh said. “Clearly it makes a big difference. There’s progress every day. We just hope that it continues.”
Sewell has started seven games this season. He’s had some good moments but overall has completed only 53.3 percent of his passes. And he’s thrown as many interceptions (six) as touchdown passes (six).
In Sewell’s absence, junior Marc Verica played quarterback against the Hurricanes. He completed only 11 of 29 attempts, for 75 yards, in UVa’s 52-17 loss at Land Shark Stadium.
Wanted: Help in the Post
Nov. 11, 2009
2:28 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Tony Bennett opened practice last month with 12 scholarship players. He’s down to 10, only two of whom are post players: 6-8 junior Mike Scott and 6-9 senior Jerome Meyinsse.
Walk-on Will Sherrill, an ever-hustling 6-9 junior, is another option for Bennett in the frontcourt, and 6-8 freshman Tristan Spurlock, a natural wing, figures to see some time at power forward.
Even so, with 7-0 sophomore Assane Sene serving a three-game suspension and 6-9 senior Jamil Tucker taking an indefinite leave of absence, the Cavaliers are perilously thin on the interior as they head into their Friday night opener against Longwood at John Paul Jones Arena.
Bennett put a positive spin on the situation Wednesday in a teleconference with reporters, calling it “an opportunity for other guys on our team.” Not much else he can say at this point.
In its two scrimmages, against Marquette and St. John’s, UVa experimented with lineups that included four perimeter players — often 6-6 Sylven Landesberg, 6-4 Jeff Jones, 6-4 Mustapha Farrakhan and 6-0 Sammy Zeglinski. Expect to see such combinations, at least occasionally, until Sene returns.
He’ll be eligible to play Nov. 21 against Oral Roberts at the JPJ. Sene was suspended Saturday for three games, because of what Bennett called “conduct detrimental to the team,” but he’s allowed to continue practicing.
“The suspension is in place,” Bennett said. “It’s dealt with. We said, ‘You’re back. Now we move forward.’ And that’s what we’re trying to do with Assane. He’s also had a good attitude when he’s been on the court, as far as his effort level and his buy-in factor on being a team player.”
Of the Wahoos’ available post players, Scott is the most experienced and most talented. He averaged 10.3 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds last season and shot 54.4 percent from the floor. He missed the St. John’s scrimmage with a foot injury, but Scott returned to practice Tuesday and should be in the rotation Friday night.
“He’s done a nice job up to this point,” Bennett said. “He’s had some real good moments, and when he’s locked in, and certainly healthy, he has some ability, whether it’s scoring or using his athleticism, and I think he’s a very important part of this year’s team.”
Meyinsse had 10 points and eight rebounds last season in a 73-70 loss at Syracuse. He’s imposing physically but averaged only 8.8 minutes in 2008-09.
Like Sherrill and Spurlock, Meyinsse has “to be ready when called upon, with our current situation,” Bennett said. “He’s a fourth-year. He’s physical and he just has to, again, understand his role when the opportunity presents itself. Play his role and just be steady for us. Sometimes when guys haven’t played a lot and they get a chance to go out there, you just want them to be who they are and not become a different player than what we see in practice.”
So who starts for UVa against Longwood?
Bennett needs a little more time to answer that one.
“I think we’ve got some flexibility, and I think there is parity in this program,” he said. “There’s not clear-cut guys [about whom] you say, ‘This is our dominant starting five, no question about it.’
“We can go a couple different ways. We could play smaller, which we have to look at with Assane and Jamil out — not saying they’re locked-in starters, but looking at our numbers. Or you could be a little more traditional … So that’s what we’ve got to decide as we’re heading into this. Certainly you’ll see both.”
Collins Happy to Support Herzlich
Nov. 10, 2009
8:12 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Nate Collins and Mark Herzlich were going to be teammates at UVa. Collins, in fact, has a photo of himself, Herzlich, Joe Torchia and Sean Gottschalk together at Scott Stadium when they were in high school.
Herzlich, of course, ended up at Boston College, not UVa. But Collins, a senior defensive end, hasn’t lost track of his friend.
“We still chat here and there on Facebook and keep in contact,” Collins said Tuesday night. “I definitely shot him a few texts when he was going through what he was going through with the cancer.”
Herzlich, a linebacker who in 2008 was named ACC defensive player of the year, was diagnosed last spring with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in his left leg.
“Everyone’s been praying for him,” Collins said.
Herzlich won’t play this season, but after undergoing radio and chemotherapy, he’s now cancer-free. He’ll be in Charlottesville this weekend for BC’s game against UVa, and before kickoff he’ll be presented with a ceremonial check from the ‘Hoos for Herzlich fund-raiser.
UVa hopes to raise $9,494 in honor of BC’s No. 94, and Collins and his teammates are contributing about $1,500 toward that goal.
Of Herzlich’s illness, Collins said, “It’s one of those things where you see it on TV and hear about it, and you’re like, ‘What? Are you kidding me?'”
Herzlich’s number is still in Collins’ cell phone, and they’ve had some odd encounters.
“It’s funny, because I used to text him and call him by accident, trying to call [UVa quarterback] Marc Verica sometimes,” Collins said. “I have both of them in my phone as Marc PA, because they’re both from Pennsylvania.
“So I would text him and call him like, ‘Yo, dude, do you have this book for this class?’ And he’d be like, ‘Yo, Nate, this is Herzlich. I think you meant Verica.'”
To avoid further confusion, Collins said, he changed Verica’s entry to Marc VA.
— Jeff White
Greer’s Education Continues at Linebacker
Nov. 10, 2009
2:38 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — At his position in UVa’s 3-4 defense — inside linebacker — Steve Greer is expected to make a lot of tackles, and he hasn’t shied away from contact.
Greer leads the Cavaliers in tackles with 70, and the 6-2, 225-pound redshirt freshman made a career-high 14 stops Saturday in a 52-10 loss to ACC rival Miami at Land Shark Stadium.
In his college debut, Sept. 5 against William and Mary, Greer had 10 tackles, a “pretty positive first outing for a rookie linebacker,” Al Groh said Monday. “Certainly in that context it has continued to be a positive year for him.”
Groh noted, though, that some of Greer’s individual matchups have become more challenging, and his performance has reflected that.
“Clearly, as might be expected — this is not a particularly profound statement — some of the [Hurricanes] that he had to take on … were probably a little more difficult to deal with than some of the players he took on in the first game,” Groh said.
“There were some schemes the other day that created some real conflicts in linebacker reads and were more challenging for a first-year starter than for, say, a player like [former UVa linebacker Jon Copper], who had sifted through 3 ½ years of that. So I think, if I could use another analogy, we’re at the time of the year when the fastballs are faster and a little more difficult to hit some out of the park for [Greer] right now.”
Second on the team in tackles, with 68, is the other starting inside linebacker, senior Darren Childs.
– Jeff White
Brown Sorely Missed on Offense
Nov. 8, 2009
9:18 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — After four games this season, wide receiver Javaris Brown had six catches for 131 yards and one touchdown and seemed poised to become UVa’s No. 1 deep threat.
He’s played in only one game since then, against Georgia Tech on Oct. 24. Brown, a 5-11, 175-pound redshirt freshman, was in for 10 snaps against the Yellow Jackets and caught one pass for 5 yards.
Brown has not fallen out of favor with his coaches, who would love to have him in the lineup. He’s hurt.
“It’s just one of those high-ankle sprains,” Al Groh said on his Sunday night teleconference. “With each guy, it’s just an issue of how long it takes him to come back from it. At his position, you’ve got to really be able to plant and cut. He’s got most of his straight-line speed back. He has not quite yet had the full-speed cuts the way that he needs to have them.
“We look every week. We really ran him through a pretty tough test last Thursday in the hopes that he might be ready to do something. It turned out it might take at least another week.”
Another key offensive player, quarterback Jameel Sewell, missed UVa’s game against ACC rival Miami this weekend. Sewell has a shoulder injury, and his status for Virginia’s game against visiting Boston College on Saturday is uncertain.
Not all the medical news has been bad for the Wahoos. Defensive end Matt Conrath, who hadn’t played since spraining his right ankle Oct. 17 against Maryland, started against Miami.
Conrath, a 6-7, 270-pound sophomore, made three tackles, including one for a 3-yard loss.
“He held up longer” than expected, Groh said, but Conrath’s “game was noticeably affected by it. Not noticeable during the course of the game, but noticeable in reviewing the video. When you see him in close-line action, where he had the need to be able to put that foot down and really push off it, he wasn’t able to do that.
“He did last longer. I had concerns how long he could last when somebody would fall on the back of his legs or whatever, but he was able to hang in there pretty good.”
Outside linebacker Aaron Clark, who’d sprained his knee against Georgia Tech, also returned to face the Hurricanes. Clark and Conrath had been listed as questionable for the Miami game on the injury report UVa released Thursday night.
Clarification from ACC on Controversial Call
Nov. 8, 2009
3:28 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Just got off the phone with Doug Rhoads, the ACC’s coordinator of football officials. I’d contacted Rhoads to see if he could explain a call that confused UVa coaches, players and fans, as well as media members at the game, Saturday at Land Shark Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Rhoads knows how it looked to some observers, but he said emphatically Sunday afternoon that he doesn’t believe a penalty on Virginia linebacker Cameron Johnson was missed on the field and then called by the official in the replay booth.
On the play in question, Johnson sacked Jacory Harris for an apparent 13-yard loss in the third quarter. In doing so, Johnson grabbed the back of the Miami quarterback’s helmet, which came off.
Referee Tom McCreesh blew the play dead, but Johnson and Harris continued to wrestle for the ball on the ground. It appeared that the tussle might escalate to involve other players, and McCreesh flagged Johnson and Harris for offsetting penalties.
With all that going on, McCreesh wasn’t able to determine where the ball should be spotted, so he asked the official in the video booth for assistance. And over the P.A. system came this announcement from an official: “We will have to go to replay to determine the spot of the ball when he was down. We do have an offsetting dead-ball foul.”
McCreesh never indicated that a facemask penalty had been called on Johnson, but when the officials’ ruling finally was announced, that was part of it. The Miami fans roared with approval, while Al Groh and the Virginia sideline looked on in disbelief.
It appeared that the official in the replay booth had spotted Johnson’s infraction and made the call from upstairs, but that wasn’t the case, Rhoads said several times Sunday.
“After reviewing the officials’ statements and the complete video — by that I mean all the views of it — I have determined that it was administered correctly, in that there were two offsetting personal fouls and a facemask,” Rhoads said.
“However, in reviewing their statements and the play it was determined that on the field, because the referee had to 1, react to the helmet coming off, which by rule makes the ball dead, if it’s the runner, and 2, stop the clock, because you don’t want it to continue to run, and 3, step in to intercede, as did all of those officials, he inadvertently failed to throw a second flag or his hat.
“The replay was used to determine the spot where the ball had become dead, which is where the ball carrier was when his helmet comes off, and to identity the number of all of those offenders.”
“That is a proper use of replay, to determine a spot, but under no circumstances did replay determine the foul or interject the fact that the foul had occurred. That was done from the field.”
McCreesh had immediately detected the facemask on the field, Rhoads said, but in the confusion that followed forgot to signal that the infraction had occurred.
Also, Rhoads said, the call on Johnson was correct. A player may not grab any opening of the helmet or the facemask or the chinstrap.
Rhoads called the play a teaching point and said it will be included on the training video he sends to his officials each week.
UVa Injury Report for Miami Game
Nov. 5, 2009
7:35 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Below is the injury report that UVa released Thursday night, as per ACC policy. Virginia (2-2, 3-5) visits ACC rival Miami (3-2, 6-2) at noon Saturday.
Out None
Doubtful QB Jameel Sewell (shoulder)
Questionable LB Aaron Clark (knee)
DE Matt Conrath (ankle)
Probable DE Nate Collins (hip)
LB Steve Greer (shoulder)
RB Rashawn Jackson (arm)
DL Nate Collins (leg)
DE Zane Parr (knee)
S Brandon Woods (shoulder)
UVa’s sports medicine staff, under the direction of Dr. David Diduch, compiled the injury report, whose categories are defined as follows:
Probable: Virtually certain to be available for normal duty
Questionable: 50-50 chance will not play
Doubtful: At least 75-percent chance will not play
Out: Definitely will not play
Conrath Could Return for Miami Game
Nov. 5, 2009
12:58 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — In about six hours, UVa will release its injury report for Saturday’s football game against ACC rival Miami at Land Shark Stadium.
If defensive end Matt Conrath will be available against the Hurricanes, Al Groh, not surprisingly, didn’t let on during his weekly Thursday morning teleconference with reporters.
Conrath, who’s been back at practice this week, hasn’t played since severely spraining his right ankle in the final minute of the first half Oct. 17 at Maryland. The 6-7, 270-pound redshirt sophomore had been having the best season of any player on UVa’s defense, Groh has said several times.
“As you might imagine, we’re kind of interested in his status, too,” Groh said Thursday, adding that the status “changes every day. We’re hopeful that it changes again today and that we’ll have a chance to get some plays out of him. He certainly would be very helpful to us.”
Conrath has made 26 tackles, including three for loss, broken up three passes, blocked a kick and recovered a fumble in his 5 ½ games this season.
“The strength of his game is on a play-to-play basis,” Groh said. “He does a lot of things really well with his game. I’ve used this term before, and it certainly fits Matt: He’s one of these players that the game really makes sense to him.
“He just has a good idea how blocking schemes indicate whether the ball’s going, and the different leverage that the blocker’s trying to use. He makes very good decisions on his feet and very good reactions.”
Here’s a link to today’s release from the ACC about its bowl lineup for the 2010, ’11, ’12 and ’13 seasons.
Hot Topic: UVa’s Use of True Freshmen
Nov. 5, 2009
12:08 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Among UVa football fans, as well as reporters who cover the team, Topic A this week has been Al Groh’s decision to play Connor McCartin and Paul Freedman against Duke.
McCartin, who played when UVa received kickoffs, and Freedman, a reserve tight end, became the 13th and 14th true freshmen to see action for Groh’s team this season. That’s as many as Groh has used in a season at Virginia. Most years he’s played no more than seven.
UVa (2-2, 3-5) meets Coastal Division rival Miami (3-2, 6-2) at noon Saturday at Land Shark Stadium in South Florida.
Here’s a list of the true freshmen who have played for Virginia this season, with the number of games in which each has appeared:
Will Hill — 8
Tim Smith — 8
Perry Jones — 7
Quintin Hunter — 6
LaRoy Reynolds — 6
Drew Jarrett — 4
Tucker Windle — 4
LoVante Battle — 3
Dominique Wallace — 3*
Oday Aboushi — 2
Javanti Sparrow — 2
Corey Lillard — 1
Paul Freedman — 1
Connor McCartin — 1
* Wallace suffered a season-ending foot injury Sept. 19 and is expected to get the year of eligibility back.
Sparrow hasn’t played since the Oct. 10 game against Indiana. Lillard’s only appearance — a total of eight snaps — came Oct. 3 at North Carolina.
Here’s another list, with the number of true freshmen UVa has played in each of Groh’s nine seasons as coach:
2001 — 6
2002 — 14
2003 — 7
2004 — 10
2005 — 11
2006 — 1
2007 — 5
2008 — 5
2009 – 14*
* Through eight games
Home Not So Sweet Anymore for ‘Hoos
Nov. 4, 2009
3:12 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — It seems like an eternity ago, but during one stretch much earlier in Al Groh’s tenure as UVa’s football coach, his team won 21 of 23 games at Scott Stadium. In most of those, the Cavaliers played in front of sellout or near-capacity crowds.
“It’s our 12th man, that Scott Stadium crowd,” tailback Wali Lundy said in November 2005. “They always provide us with energy, and I feel we feed off them and they feed off us, and it’s just a good combination.”
Fast forward to 2009. The Wahoos are 1-4 at Scott Stadium, which means they’ll finish below .500 at home for the first time in Groh’s nine seasons as coach at his alma mater.
Moreover, the crowds are shrinking. The announced attendance for the opener at 61,500-seat Scott Stadium this season was 54,587. The figures since then: 48,336 on Sept. 12 (TCU), 45,371 on Oct. 10 (Indiana), 43,016 on Oct. 24 (Georgia Tech), and 41,713 on Halloween (Duke).
UVa has two home games left this fall: Nov. 14 against Boston College and Nov. 28 against Virginia Tech. The latter is a sellout, in part because Tech fans have gobbled up thousands of seats, but tickets remain for BC’s visit.
The Cavaliers’ home records during the Groh era:
2001 — 4-3
2002 — 6-1
2003 — 5-1
2004 — 5-1
2005 — 5-1
2006 — 4-2
2007 — 5-1
2008 — 4-3
2009 — 1-4*
* Two games remaining.
Simpson Struggling to Regain Form
Nov. 4, 2009
2:18 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Since returning to UVa’s lineup Oct. 24, Mikell Simpson hasn’t looked like the tailback who rushed for four touchdowns in a 47-7 rout of Indiana. Or the one who ran for 100 yards and a TD in Virginia’s win at North Carolina.
That’s probably not surprising, Al Groh acknowledged Wednesday afternoon on the ACC coaches’ teleconference.
Simpson suffered a neck injury Oct. 10 in the third quarter of the Indiana game. He left the field on a back board and was taken to the UVa Medical Center. Doctors released him that night, and after sitting out Virginia’s Oct. 17 game at Maryland, the fifth-year senior was cleared to play again.
In UVa’s loss to Georgia Tech, Simpson finished with only four yards on six carries, though he caught four passes for 30 yards. A week later, in a loss to Duke, he ran five times for 21 yards.
“To our knowledge, there’s no physical aspect of it,” Groh said. “We have had conversations about the fact that, obviously, that’d be a pretty scary circumstance for anybody. For a fan in a car accident, for a player in a football accident, to be put on one of those boards and to think that, you know, ‘What’s the next time on one of these boards going to be like?’
“It’d be foolish to think that there wasn’t the potential for some mental hangover, and we did talk about the fact that it kind of looked on some carries that it wasn’t the same Mikell carrying the ball that it’s gotta be. We just gotta trust what the doctors say, and if the doctors say it’s OK, then we gotta go. We are aware of the possibility of such.”
Virgnia (2-2, 3-5) plays at 16th-ranked Miami (3-2, 6-2) on Saturday afternoon. Raycom will televise the noon game between these Coastal Division rivals.
Sewell Limping Into Last Encounter with ‘Canes
Nov. 2, 2009
7:18 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — As UVa’s quarterback, Jameel Sewell never has lost to the Miami Hurricanes. The fifth-year senior will try to extend that streak Saturday afternoon when UVa meets 16th-ranked Miami at Land Shark Stadium in South Florida.
Sewell was a redshirt freshman in 2006 when he rushed for two touchdowns in Virginia’s 17-7 win over Miami at Scott Stadium. He also completed 23 of 33 passes for 217 yards that day.
As a redshirt sophomore, Sewell was 20 for 25 passing, for 288 yards and one TD, in the Cavaliers’ 48-0 rout of the ‘Canes at the Orange Bowl.
Miami beat Virginia 24-17 in overtime at Scott Stadium last season, but Sewell was out of uniform and out of school, serving an academic suspension.
He’s back in good standing academically, and he’s again the Cavaliers’ No. 1 quarterback, but Sewell has struggled recently. He completed 18 of 32 attempts for a modest 168 yards in an Oct. 24 loss to Georgia Tech, then went 8 for 22 for 86 yards a week later in a loss to Duke.
Moreover, after averaging 15 carries in Virginia’s first six games, he ran only five times against the Yellow Jackets and five against the Blue Devils.
Sewell’s health has a lot to do with that. He’s yet to fully recover from an ankle injury he suffered early in the season. He hasn’t looked eager to run, and the playcalling has reflected that.
“You saw the circumstance with him [Oct. 17] at Maryland when he couldn’t finish the game, because he re-injured an ankle injury that had been plaguing him for a number of weeks leading up to that,” Groh said. “So clearly that has impacted the wisdom of using him too much, or his quickness and willingness to do so.”
Sewell isn’t as effective when he’s not a threat to run, Groh acknowledged, but No. 10 has “spent the better part of the last few weeks kind of limping through the week, so we’ve been happy to have him on Saturdays, actually.”
Asked if the injury has affected Sewell’s passing, Groh said, “I don’t know what it has done as far as Saturday is concerned, but it certainly has had him practicing in a different