Cavalier Call-In Highlights: 9/26/05

Al Groh

On his Cavalier Call-In radio show tonight, Al Groh talked with host Mac McDonald about the Duke victory and the upcoming game at Maryland. He also took questions from fans about Wali Lundy, motivational techniques, fan participation, media relations, jumbo athletes, a killer instinct, and more.

Callers and Questions

1) Ginger in Roanoke said she was impressed with how the team played despite its injuries against Duke.

“If you’re going to have a good season, you’re going to have to have guys step up and do that,” Groh said. “Because it’s rare that you go through a season without losing players.”

2) Henry in Tampa, Fla., asked if the coaches emphasized forcing turnovers during practice last week. The Cavs had three interceptions and a fumble recovery against Duke.

Groh said the coaches always emphasize takeaways but they “put more of a verbal emphasis on it, [saying] ‘We’ve got to get some of those.’ It’s hard to have a good season without changing the course of a game by getting some turnovers. … We made that point and the players did a great job of picking up on it.”

3) Rob in Norfolk asked when Wali Lundy would be back at full strength.

“We have the same question and the same hope that it will be pretty soon,” said Groh, who noted that Lundy “didn’t have all his octane in his tank” against Duke. Because of that, Groh said the coaches cut down on Lundy’s turns during today’s practice to give him more rest.

4) Cathy in Charlottesville asked what techniques Groh uses to motivate his players.

“That’s a big topic right there,” Groh said, saying motivation comes individually and in groups. The position coaches tell their players what they need to hear, and Groh says he talks to individual players and the entire team frequently. “The players are motivated to do well. They want to do well. They need direction for that energy and motivation. Part of that direction is technical direction. Part of that direction is their attitude and what’s in their heart and in their mind.”

5) Matt in Roanoke asked what the program could do to encourage more fan participation during games.

Groh said he liked the Thunderstix in 2002 because they made noise and caused fans to be involved and interactive, but those were outlawed by the NCAA. He said he might like it if UVa used “Terrible Towels” like Steelers fans in Pittsburgh.

6) Will in Hanover noted that a Richmond radio host complained about Groh’s “dictatorship” with the media and about the lack of access to players and Groh’s unwillingness to discuss injuries. Will said he used to work for various media entities and felt “Virginia was very lacking in its media relations” compared to other ACC schools.

“Every coach chooses the offense that he likes and runs the program the way he thinks is in the best interests of the program,” Groh said. “We don’t have any problem with the media. There are certain things that we’re not interested in talking about. We’re not interested in talking about injuries for one particular reason. Because we think a team does not develop a competitively tough mentality until it has a no-excuses attitude. We believe, as do other coaches, that injuries provide a built-in excuse for players.”

As far as player availability, Groh said, “The media request a number of players to talk to every Tuesday. We pass those requests along to the players. We encourage them to attend. We tell them the value to them and to the program. Those players have two principal obligations. One is to go to class here at the University of Virginia. The other one is to be on time for football meetings and football practices. They’re students. Sometimes they have classes that conflict with when these things are held. I think I’d certainly be taken to task by the administration of the school if I was asking players to skip class to attend media sessions. We encourage them to [attend.] We have the upper teens requested by the media to attend tomorrow. We’ve approached each one of them individually and asked them to attend if they can possibly do so. At that point, part of it lies with those guys if their schedule allows it.”

7) Vinnie in Norfolk talked about the “jumbo athletes” in recent recruiting classes, including John Phillips , Aaron Clark and Jason Fuller .

“You’re very observant in what the model is,” Groh said. “We like tall, long guys who are tough and who are versatile.”

8) Calvin in Richmond noted that Virginia gave up 215 yards against Duke, while Virginia Tech held the Blue Devils to 35 yards. He said “the team in Blacksburg goes for the knockout punch” and Virginia doesn’t seem to have the same killer instinct.

“I’d say your observation is made from some place other than where I’m standing,” Groh said. “You know, a lot of people think this comes automatically, and it doesn’t. It’s a challenging process for the players. We’re not the team in Blacksburg. We’re the team in Charlottesville. Each team is different. Each team is doing different things at a different level and each week is a different week. I don’t make comparisons and I think it’s impossible to do so. But our team is what it is. It’s giving the best that it’s got. We’re going to try to win every game that we can by as much as we can. If we can do that eight more times by one more point than the other guy’s got, I think we’ll all be quite satisfied with that.”

Notes and Quotes

  • Groh named Brad Butler the BB&T Student-Athlete of the Week because of his work at right tackle and left tackle against Duke. He also revealed that Butler did not practice last week because of an unspecified injury.
  • Groh named the team’s players of the week on offense (Marques Hagans), defense (Kai Parham), special teams (Kevin Bradley ) and scout team (Ben Parziale).
  • Groh said Maryland is “clearly the most talented team that we’ve played.” He called Sam Hollenbach “the best pocket passer we’ve played this year” and D’Qwell Jackson is the best linebacker. He also praised Terrapin punter Adam Podlesh.

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