Koehn followed up by asking Groh about his general thoughts on the game.
“It was a very high velocity, very physical game,” Groh said. “It was a more physical game when we had the ball than when Georgia Tech had it just because of the difference in the nature of the offenses. They’re a physical defense and we’re a physical running team so we could see [that] during the game. It was fun to watch and be part of.”
Koehn also asked about the defensive numbers in the game, noting that the tackles were spread out fairly evenly. Eight different Cavaliers had at least four tackles in the contest.
“That’s really caused by the offense because the ball is spread out equally inside and outside, to both sides of the formation,” Groh said. “It’s going to cause lots of players to have to become involved.” He noted the play of Nate Collins and Byron Glaspy stood out when the coaches reviewed the film.
Koehn used that opportunity to ask about Will Barker , a player that was recognized with the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week Award for his play at Georgia Tech. He asked Groh if it was one of the right tackle’s better games of 2008.
“Yes, it was. Will was just one of many on that line,” Groh said. “For our team, when we gave out the offensive player of the game award, the entire offensive line was designated as such. … They had the chance to be recognized and applauded by their teammates.”
After a commercial break, the show returned to take phone calls from the fans.
First up this week: Blair from Clifton Forge. He commented on how far the team had come in the past four weeks; Groh responded that it had been a “collaborative effort” and praised the players for their efforts in making the turn-around. Blair also commented on the play of the defense, which he said played well, and pointed out Vic Hall in particular. Groh said “Vic’s had a tremendous season” for Virginia.
Cathy from Charlottesville was up next. She asked Coach Groh for some education about a penalty for “defensive sideline interference” – she wanted to know what that means. Groh said the penalty was actually called for delay of the game and that the flag was on him for being too far on the field. “I take responsibility for it. I didn’t realize I was that far out there,” Groh said before saying he was instructing Ras-I Dowling to match up directly with Demaryius Thomas from Georgia Tech.
Jamie stepped in to ask the next question from Covington. He asked what the coaches saw in Hall to move him to cornerback when the decision was made.
“We were highly, highly impressed with what Vic did playing quarterback at Gretna, Most particularly we were impressed with the amount of games he won,” Groh said. “So it was our intention when Vic came here for him to play quarterback.” Groh explained that an injury situation came up at corner where there were only three healthy corners at the end of a game so Groh approached Hall about switching just in case an emergency situation came up that season. Hall agreed and started to learn the ropes at DB. Groh continued that they “didn’t plan to use him at corner at that point and really kind of thought we’d have him back at quarterback the next year, but we were well set at quarterback that next year. … Vic’s just a guy you want to get in the game. He’s a winner in every respect and that was going to be the fastest way to get him in the game at the time so we put him over at corner.”
After another break, Matt from Virginia Beach prefaced his question by commenting on the players’ improvement each week and each season. He then asked what coaches do from week to week and season to season to improve their craft. Groh said there are “so many facets to coaching on the college level” such as knowledge, teaching ability, guidance for young players, talent evaluation and salesmanship in recruiting. He said there is no school to learn that profession so it is all “on-the-job training” and that he even after 40 years “learns something from every game” and “from every season.” He also said coaches visit with each other, talk on the phone, watch videos, and other things as enrichment exercises in the offseason.
The next segment featured a look at Miami, who visit Charlottesville on Saturday at noon. Koehn asked what Groh sees in the 2008 Hurricanes. Groh said the coaches and players have to be ready to face a team with a different mentality because UVa has won two games in a row in the series. Groh added that Miami has a lot of young, talented players making an impact at this point in the season.
After another commercial timeout, Kenny from Hampton joined the show to say “Groh must stay.” He praised the team for turning things around. Steve from Salem was up next and he asked about the scout team’s preparation last week for Georgia Tech. “You’ve hit the target on that one. … We brought that up to the entire team.”
Ed was the next caller in line, dialing in from Norfolk. He commented on the success of the offense on third down against Georgia Tech. Groh agreed that it helped the offense sustain drives and score points. He said it also minimized the amount of time GT had the ball, which was important against that talented offense.
That wraps up the highlights from Cavalier Call-in this week. UVa and Miami kick off at noon on Saturday.
