Virginia Cavaliers

Head Coach

Al Groh	8th year
07-08	9-4
ACC	6-2
FCR	31

Previous Season Wins

Head Coach - Al Groh enters will be entering his 8th at the helm and year in and year out he’s gets the most out of the talent he has on board. The Cavaliers were 9-4 a year ago and this was with the 101st ranked offense in the land. If they find a way to win nine games in 08’ he should go straight into the Hall of Fame, Virginia losses two players to the NFL, two players to the schools academic standards and throw a tough non-conference slate. But in the back of your mind you have to wonder, can Al Groh do it again?

Quarterback - Quarterback Jamal Sewell was one of the casualties to grades and in his place in all likelihood will be sophomore Peter Lalich, he’s got size, a great arm and showed maturity this spring. There will be rowing pains but Lalich has the skills and look for the Cavaliers to give him the opportunity to lead them for the next three seasons.

Running Backs - Virginia has a solid duo at running back junior Mikell Simpson and Cedric Peerman, and they’ll both see significant action this fall. Peerman was the ACC’s leading rusher through xx games until his season was cut shot by injury; he runs well between the tackles and is recovered and ready to contribute again. Simpson got the call when Peerman went down and was outstanding; he rushed for xx yards and led the team with 43 receptions, while scoring xx times, the better breakaway threat of the two. At fullback will be junior Rashawn Jackson, an outstanding blocker who was a big reason Virginia had two 500 yard rushers last season.

Receivers - Good group on the outside made better by the healthy return of junior Kevin Ogletree and senior Maurice Covington, Ogletree missed the entire 07’ season and Covington missed four games. They’re both big receivers and Ogletree has excellent speed and in 06’ he had 52 receptions for 582 yards and four TD’s. At end is senior John Phillips, he has the size and skills to make a big jump in production now that he’s finally getting a chance to start.

Offensive Line - You don’t get better upfront when you lose Branden Allen, a first round draft pick but in left tackle senior Eugene Monroe you’ve got a player to build around. The other returning upfront is junior Will Barker who’ll be at right tackle, the Cavaliers have the best tackle combo in the ACC but the whole interior of the line must be replaced. Looking to fill in the holes will sophomore Jack Shields at center and at the guards will be senior Zak Stair on the right and on the left side sophomore B.J. Cabbell. The play in the middle of the O-Line will go a long way in the success of the team and the development of the new QB Lalich this fall.

Defensive Line - Upfront the losses are huge, the NFL’s number two draft pick Chris Long was a given but losing the other defensive and, Jeffery Fitzgerald to grades is a big loss as well. On the outside will be senior Alex Field and sophomore Sean Gottschalk, Field is a raw talent who will have the chance to shine this fall. At the nose will be junior Nate Collins, he had 31 tackles in a reserve role last year and expect to see his production increase with increased playing time.

Linebackers - UVA uses the 3-4-4 defense and return three starters at linebacker, on the inside seniors Antonio Appleby and Jon Copper both return. They’re All-ACC caliber players and they combined for 169 tackles and 5 ½ sacks last season; Appleby has the bigger upside long-term and Copper simply finds away to be near the ball with great regularity. On the outside senior Clint Sintim returns and he’ll be joined by sophomore Jared Detrick, Sintim posted big numbers a year ago with 77 tackles and he’s a big factor in te pas rush, having gotten to the QB nine times in 08’.

Defensive Backs - Lots of holes to fill in the secondary for the Cavaliers, senior Byron Glaspy returns at one safety spot and he’ll be next to either Brandon Woods of Vic Hall, both juniors. Glaspy is solid and had 71 tackles a year ago while Woods has taken the job coming out of spring but Hall, who was a starter a year ago, will be in the mix. They’ll be two new cornerbacks, Ras-I Dowling and Mike Parker, with both sophomores and will make mistakes but showed the skills this sprig necessary to make the jump.

Special Teams - There will be two new starters handling the kicking, redshirt freshman Chris Hinkebein will be the placekicker and senior John Thornton will be handling the punting. They return junior Vic Hall to handle the punt returns and on the kick returns it’ll be senior Cedric Peerman, both solid options.

Schedule - Brutal, out of conference you’ve got USC, UConn and East Carolina, three schools that all appeared in bowl games last season. You have to play Clemson and Wake from the Atlantic, no break there, if they can upset either UConn or East Carolina they could be .500 entering the meat of the ACC schedule. Look for a big step back for the Cavaliers this year, they won’t be in the ACC hunt and will finish the year with but 2 wins.