2003 Virginia Fooball Media Day: Cavs Ready to Go

Virginia’s annual fan/media day brought out droves of fans seeking autographs and reporters seeking answers to
their questions as the beginning of the 2003 season is only two weeks away. From the recruiting coordinator to the head
coach to every player in uniform, everyone is excited about the upcoming season and the potential for ACC and national
titles in the near future.

Freshman linebacker Ahmad Brooks summed up the sentiment emanating from all of the players
when he said, “We’re just ready to get out and play some football.”

The topic that garnered the most discussion on Thursday was the loss of senior wide receiver Michael McGrew, who is
out for the season after he broke his leg earlier in the week. While the team was disappointed for Michael heading into
what could have been his breakout season, they were resolved to play well for him and accepted the challenge that will
be put out in front of them.

“We have a lot of talent at the wide receiver position, and talent all over the field really,” said senior
wide receiver Ryan Sawyer, who figures to take over McGrew’s role as the number one receiver. The number one guy
“is something everybody wants to be. I’m not going to change anything about the way I play, though. I am going to
go out and give it my all every play, and do whatever the coaches want me to do. I think that goes for all of us.”

Virginia wide receiver and quarterbacks coach Mike Groh believes that Virginia has enough talented guys at wide
receiver to pick up the slack. He reiterated his father’s point that no one could “replace” McMullen or
McGrew, but the team had plenty of guys who had the potential to be terrific receivers.

“It’s the deepest and most talented group we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Mike Groh said. “It’s
fortunate that they have an experienced guy like Matt [Schaub] to get them the ball. There is no question that Mike will
be missed, because we were all excited about how he looked coming into the season, but we have a good group of guys out
there that can get the job done.”

While the coaches were confident that the wide receivers would step it up with McGrew out for the season, the players
that will have to pick up the slack said they were really pushing it before they even knew he was injured.

“We were playing hard and working real hard before we even knew he was going down,” said senior Art Thomas.
“We’re excited about the season and ready to go out and play good football.”

Another question that had been unclear leading up to media day was the health of Wali Lundy and his hamstring. Lundy
assured the media that his “injury” was nothing serious, only a slight pull, and that the hamstring was 85
percent healthy, which means he should be back on the practice field in a few days.

“Coach was holding me out of practice for a few days just so we don’t take any chances,” Lundy. “I
think I could go if it were a game or a situation where I had to be out there, but we want it to fully heal. I should be
back out there in a few days doing everything. Right now we’re just being cautious.”

Beyond his injury, the sophomore running back is excited about his second season and ready for the games to begin.
Lundy, who has gotten faster and stronger during the offseason, is ready to have a breakout year, but more importantly
help the team win.

“We have to go out with focus and desire,” Lundy said. “All these preseason rankings and stuff don’t
mean anything. We have to go out and become a tough team to beat every Saturday.”

The idea that Virginia needed to become “a team that is hard to beat” must have been drilled into the head
of every player by Virginia head coach Al Groh and staff, as they all repeatedly said this statement was at the top of
their priority list. According to Groh, if the players can accomplish what it takes to be a tough team to beat every
Saturday, then the Cavaliers will be a contender for a long time.

“When we hit the ground running, we’ll be running a lot faster,” Groh said. “Frontline wise, our
talent has certainly gone up, but we’re trying to get much more playable depth for the future.

“Last year that team knew what it had to do to win. They had a tremendous capacity of being able to listen. The
same things need to happen this year.”

Players like freshmen Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham bring that talent to the forefront, and Groh realizes that he needs
more players like that out on the field, so the starters don’t have to play every snap of every game like Angelo
Crowell and Jerton Evans did last season.

If Brooks and Parham and players similar in nature don’t make it out on the field, Groh says, “then the
coaches are crazy.”

The Meet the Team is more or less the official start of the 2003 season for the Cavaliers, and everyone was certainly
raring to go and get the season started. Darryl Blackstock, who led all freshmen in the nation in sacks last season, has
checked in at a beefed up 242-pounds so that he can add plenty of power to his already speedy game.

“I know teams will be after me, but that’s just fine with me,” Blackstock said. “If they try to
double team me, you got Chris [Canty], Ahmad [Brooks], or somebody like that coming free somewhere else. We have a lot
of people on defense this year that are going to do some damage.

“I’m up to 242, and I have gotten faster. I can just feel it whenever I’m out on the field. I had to work
hard with my grades this summer, and I improved with that as well. I just went out and worked all summer on my game and
my grades. I think I’m better in both of them.”

Needless to say, it appears Al Groh’s troops are itching to get back on the field after a long offseason. With only
two weeks to go until the start of the 2003 season, Ahmad Brooks summed up the feelings of the entire team as media day
wound down for another year:

“We’re just ready to go out and play, man. I know the guys are ready to go out and hit somebody on another
team and not our own guys. We are all ready to get the games started.”

Sabre Edge Subscribers: Check back tomorrow for a Notes and Quotes piece featuring more important tidbits from the 2003 media day. If you’re not a Sabre Edge subscriber, sign up now and don’t miss a bit of our coverage of Virginia football 2003!