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Jameel Sewell passed for 177 yards and 1 TD against Georgia Tech this season. |
The first start of Jameel Sewell ‘s career came against Georgia Tech in 2006. It wasn’t pretty. The Yellow Jackets swarmed the first time starter with a variety of blitzes and pressure schemes, forcing Sewell to struggle throughout and eventually throw two interceptions. The final result was a 24-7 win for Tech.
One year later, Sewell got his revenge. More experienced, more poised, and more confident, the Cavaliers’ starting quarterback helped deliver a 28-23 win against Georgia Tech on Saturday. He completed 16 of 25 passes for 177 yards and 1 touchdown, which proved to be the game-winning connection with Staton Jobe . Sewell also added a rushing touchdown.
“It was very positive for him. … His practice week was a very positive week,” UVa coach Al Groh said. “He was very confident going into the game and certainly his performance reflected that. Some of the throws he made were well decisioned and very accurately thrown.”
“He’s a better quarterback this year than he was last year for sure,” Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said.
What made the difference from the dizzying experience in Atlanta?
“Kind of smarter, that’s all. Last year, sometimes I had no clue what they were doing when they were blitzing – I would just be like ‘oh man’ and starting to freak out,” Sewell said. “I knew they were going to blitz and I knew who I had to get the ball to. It helped me with my experience.”
The turn-around started immediately for Sewell. With his team already trailing 7-0 before he touched the ball, the Richmond native quickly made sure to get the Hoos back in the thick of things. On the second play of the game (after Cedric Peerman ripped of 20 yards on the ground), Sewell delivered a perfect strike to Tom Santi for a 45-yard gain that moved the ball deep in to GT territory. And while the throw was picture-worthy, Sewell’s read was the key.
“I saw that the guy who was covering him had his back turned. They took away my underneath throw so I looked deep and I saw that he had him beat – [Santi] was over the top and [the defender] was running with his back turned so I just tried to put it over top of his head,” Sewell said. “When he turned around, the ball was already dropping down so he couldn’t make a play.”
Sewell said after the game that he believed he could have made another needle-threading throw in the game if the situation developed. In truth, he did with that bullet to Jobe.
“I feel like if the opportunity came where I needed to make another throw like that, I think I could have been able to do it with the job my line has been doing,” Sewell said.
In-Focus Video Highlights
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WCAV (Channel 19 Charlottesville) provides in-focus video from Virginia’s 28-23 win over Georgia Tech. WCAV focused one of their cameras exclusively on Jameel Sewell throughout the game. Interview with Sewell within the video clips.
You will need to click the link below and then choose the proper link (In Focus with Jameel Sewell ) from the VIDEO page.
View Video Highlights
In Focus Analysis
The 2007 version of Jameel Sewell has looked a lot like the 2006 version: a young, physically gifted quarterback who struggles with consistency. From a “tools” standpoint, the package is impressive. Sewell has a plus arm and generally throws a good ball, particularly when a defense is dumb enough to give the offense the post route. Sewell is not particularly fast, but he is elusive as a runner, allowing the staff to incorporate the spread option as a viable threat in the playbook, and Sewell throws well on the run, particularly when moving to his left. Plus, Sewell publicly has handled the quarterback rotation with a lot of grace.
And yet, for all of his tools, Sewell remains mired in a quarterback rotation, in large measure due to consistency issues. Sewell always has been, and remains, a rhythm quarterback. When Sewell gets out of his rhythm – particularly when he appears to be rushing things – Sewell’s accuracy can go out the window in a hurry and he can lose any sense of touch on his passes. For example, Sewell still has to harness his adreneline on the deep ball (and occasionally on the seam routes), getting the necessary air under the ball to give the pass attempt some margin for error. On the other hand, when Sewell is comfortable with the play calls and reads and gets himself into a good rhythm, as was the case early in Saturday’s GT game, his movements are smooth, his mechanics are consistent, and he tends to throw an accurate ball. At his best, Sewell is a tough match-up for a defense. ~ JHoo for TheSabre.com.
In-Focus Photos
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In-focus photos provided by Michael Ingalls. Click each thumbnail to open larger image. Images copyright © TheSabre.com.
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