Cavalier Call-In Highlights, 9/15/03

Mac McDonald opened the show by noting the 31 first half points against Western Michigan were the most under Head Coach Al Groh and the most for the Cavaliers since 1998 against Georgia Tech. 5 different players scored their first college touchdown on Saturday. Mac went on to point out how it was a great day, with 9 or 10 “very favorable stories” for the kids and noted the stepped up play of Hagans, the cornerbacks and the defense.

Coach Groh began by commenting that it was a very positive day for many reasons more than just the margin of the game. “We did a lot of the things in the game, at different positions and different units, that all add up to things that teams have to do to make the team win” Groh said. Mac added that it was “a lot of the little things like the way the offensive line blocked Babin, the way you play defense at the corner, the way you bothered Chad Munson, the way Wali Lundy ran, the way the line protected Hagans and the way he sprinted out.”

Groh reported that they watched the film today and pointed out that they only had 3 penalties, had no turnovers, ran the ball with authority, had 3 pressures and 5 takeaways, and got their hands on 2 kicks which he said are the things that if you do them consistently, you give the team a chance every week to add up to more than the other guys. Mac expanded on the takeaways by reporting that the Cavaliers are now thirteenth in the country in turnover margin at +4.

The first call was from Will in Hanover, who wanted to talk about the intangibles. His first question was about the possibility of Onesty Hall being converted into an indoor practice facility, to which Groh responded that that was a project he was interested in pursuing but noted that they would need a lot more square footage. He went on to add that Western Michigan had just built a very nice new facility and indicated that some of the UVA officials had taken a look at it over the weekend.

Will’s second question regarded the possibility of the team coming out in orange jerseys or throwback uniforms for a big game. Groh said that it is a possibility at some time and brought up the 75th anniversary in the NFL where all the teams wore the throwback uniforms. He stated, “they didn’t quite jibe though with all the modern shoes and socks and helmets that didn’t go with the throwback uniforms and looked a little bit strange.”

Mac then took time to remind the listeners that 2500 tickets remain for the Wake Forest game a week from Saturday and that it will be on ABC at 3:30.

Coming back from a break they played the call of Curry’s interception return for the touchdown and Mac stated that he must have known it was coming. Groh commented that it was a basic pattern read in that coverage and that was probably a case where the play was made sometime in August when Curry was getting his reads down. He said that he was real pleased with that play but wasn’t pleased with how they played the 2 minute drill at the end of the first half, but in effect they got in 12 seconds with the defense (a score) what they had hoped to get with the offense in the 2 minute drill.

Rich from Knoxville was next up on the phone and he wanted to know how Groh thought Bill Parcells would do in the game between Dallas and New York and also what he thought of Wali Lundy’s progress so far this season and what he said to him after the TD pass. Mac made the point that Lundy is 2 for 3 passing in his career with 2 touchdowns. Groh stated that Wali had a very good all around game by running the ball well, caught a couple of balls, threw the TD and is becoming a better blocker and is a real multiple threat running back. He said that Wali’s progress has been very good and that he is much stronger, has more burst and although he was slowed somewhat he felt much better Saturday. As for the question about Parcells, Groh stated that he hoped Bill does real well but agreed that it would be hard to picture Bill Parcells standing in the middle of Giant’s Stadium saying, “How about those Cowboys?”

Rob in Norfolk called in and wanted to know if Groh thought Florida State was still the team to beat in the ACC to which Groh responded, “I definitely do.” He said that he had watched some of their games and was very impressed. And while the game against Georgia Tech was very tight, their ability to rally in the end just shows how difficult it is to beat them. Rob said he wanted to see it sold out for the FSU game and Mac confirmed that it is already sold out.

The next call was from Todd in Los Angeles. Groh commented to Mac that in three years this was probably the first call from Los Angeles. Todd said that the big Western Michigan win made all 15 of the Hoos out there really happy. He added that the twelve o’clock eastern games are kind of rough and Groh commented that they have to get the tailgate started early.

Todd wanted to know if this year’s recruiting class is shaping up like the previous two, to which Groh replied that he “likes the players that have verbally committed to us and got us off to a very good start.” He went on to comment that they are in very, very positive position with the players that they have targeted as their prime players and stressed the importance of finishing first with those players instead of second. Groh reiterated again the fact that there are still roster spots that need to be thickened up and that they need at least one more class like the previous two to be able to stay in the hunt for a long time.

Todd also asked about the recruits’ reaction to Virginia Tech and Miami being added to the ACC, to which Groh replied that some of the players in the Northeast that are looking at the Big East schools might be having reduced interest in those schools.

Scott from Charlottesville was next up and he wanted to ask about the fullback position. He stated that on Lundy’s TD run he thought he heard that Parham was lined up at FB and Groh confirmed that fact saying that in the Goal line package they use a three tight end set with Miller, Estes, and Canty at Tight end and Parham at fullback. Scott went on to ask if Brandon Isaiah was at the fullback position when he caught the touchdown pass, and Groh said that he was and that the pattern was fullback in the flat.

Freddie from Lynchburg called in and asked how the game plan for Wake Forest would be affected by Wake’s loss to Purdue. Groh reported that they did extensive research of Wake during the off-season and unless they see something drastically different on the tape of Wake’s first three games, the game plan won’t be affected.

The next segment was the BB&T Student Athlete of the Week. Groh asked how much of it is student and how much of it is athlete, which Mac said is his call. Groh said that with the way the defense played he would like to say that it is a defensive player, but that all teams are quarterback driven, and in this case, the QB gave the team a significant spark in the game both in terms of leadership and performance, and because of this his student athlete of the week is Marques Hagans. He also pointed out that Hagans has done a very good job with his academic work in the last 8 or 9 months and has made a very concerted effort at it.

Kevin from Richmond made the observation that people underestimate the emotional and mental aspect of the game in that good teams think they can win whereas great teams expect to win. He went on to ask about tackling and whether Groh practices and stresses tackling. Groh responded by saying that they tackle every day. From spring practice to training camp as well as practices on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during game weeks. He said that they stress angles because bad angles are the cause of more missed tackles than the physical aspect of the tackle. According to Groh, the three critical aspects are “to be in balance, keep a good base, and club with the arms.” In terms of bad positioning Groh said that a lot of that is due to the skill of the runner. ”Those runners that are easy to tackle don’t stay in the game very long,” Groh said.

Tony from Charlottesville was the next caller, and he asked if it is feasible that once Matt Schaub returns that Hagans could continue to be the backup QB as well as play wide receiver, and whether Groh could talk about Chris Olsen , the transfer from Notre Dame. Groh said that is something that he has already given some thought to, that Marques had distinguished himself at quarterback, and that it is hard to be a part-time quarterback. He said that the reason they moved Marques to WR full time in the spring was because that was the only fair thing to do that would give him the best chance to compete for playing time at the position. He went on to say that it is a tricky question that they will have to give some thought to, because they certainly want to retain the firepower that Hagans brings to the field.

Mac asked if the coaches get together and give their input on situations like this and Groh said that he takes input from anyone. Groh said “I’ll take the input that anybody has, yours, my wife’s, I would venture to say there are probably thousands of people out there who would like to be able to offer their input in terms of how we should handle this particular thing.”

Mac pointed out that D’Brickashaw Ferguson won ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors. He went on to note that UVA opponents have a completion percentage of 45% which ranks the Cavalier pass defense 13th in the NCAA and that Muffin Curry is 12th in the NCAA with 2 interceptions. Groh said that with today’s wide open, spread the field offenses he likes the 45%, because that means they are making plays on some balls. He said “we are making some plays on some balls here, probably the best we have in two years”. The Red Zone Call of the Week was the slant pass from Hagans to Art Thomas, and Groh noted that Marques was very accurate with both his passes and his reads.

From Pensacola Florida came a call from Seth. He asked about the adjustments made during the Wake Forest game last year. Groh said that most of the time the adjustments are made during the course of a half because if you wait until halftime it might be too late, but last year something drastic had to be done. He said that they basically over hauled the entire defensive game plan during the halftime, which is not something he would do on a regular basis.

Jim in Richmond wanted to know what was the biggest difference in going from the pro game back to college. Groh responded by saying that time with the players is the biggest difference. In the pros they don’t have to worry about players academic obligations, so they have more time to acquaint the players with the upcoming opponent. He also noted that it is more of a factor during the season than it is in the spring.

In the Look Ahead segment, Groh stated that they would be working out Monday through Wednesday with specific points of emphasis each day, and that they would take off Thursday through Sunday so that the team can come back next week well rested both physically and mentally.

Scott from Roanoke got the last call of the night. He pointed out how Connor Hughes was doing a good job and Groh agreed. He went on to say that he has people at his workplace who are Tech fans and they are bragging about buying student tickets on eBay and wanted to know if there was anything that could be done about it. Groh replied by saying “I don’t know the answers to any of that except that I will certainly be investigating it as of tomorrow.” Mac stated that they would look into it.