Mike London is excited about the 2010 season at UVa. |
Virginia football coach Mike London was upbeat and optimistic about the 2010 season, even if the media in attendance at the 2010 ACC Football Kickoff didn’t share his opinion. The media tabbed UVa to finish sixth in the ACC’s Coastal Division, as in-state rival Virginia Tech received the most votes to win the conference championship.
“You take things like that and you try to use it as a motivator,” London said. Although players certainly must hear the preseason chatter, their motivation comes from other sources. London agreed, saying, “I don’t think I need to use that as a motivating factor for our team.”
Senior cornerback Ras-I Dowling, a preseason Nagurski Trophy watch list nominee, echoed his coach’s thoughts on the media’s low expectations for the Cavaliers: “We don’t think too much about it,” he said. “You hear it, of course you hear it, but you use that stuff as energy.”
Rather than focus on the hype, or lack thereof, Virginia’s coaches and players have chosen to concentrate their efforts on off-season preparation. Individual, summertime workouts are especially key this year since brand new systems on both offense and defense were implemented during spring practice. The players are expected to have both retained what they learned and to have progressed with their fitness levels and understanding of their individual roles by the time fall practice opens next month.
“The goal is that when we go in August 6, practice 16 is not redoing practices three, four, five,” London said. “From what I hear about how the players are working, there are a lot of positive things about where we are physically and psychologically.”
In addition to their football responsibilities, many players are taking classes this summer. Coach London has continually emphasized the importance of his players’ performance and focus in the classroom. The results of London’s structured academic support network for the team are encouraging to Cavalier fans. Just two seasons ago, Virginia lost their starting quarterback, Jameel Sewell , for a season due to academic ineligibility. Last semester, the football team posted its highest cumulative GPA in 10 years.
London specifically addressed the issue of incoming freshman OL Morgan Moses, a highly anticipated arrival who had to postpone his enrollment in order to raise his grades and qualifying scores.
Ras-I Dowling and Marc Verica represented the Hoos at the ACC Kickoff event. |
“I know people are concerned about him academically; he got a B in his first semester class [this summer],” London said.
Although London and new defensive coordinator Jim Reid are making the switch to a 4-3 defense, the biggest question marks for the Cavaliers are on the offensive side of the ball. Traditionally, UVa has had a solid defense that has kept the team in contention throughout many games. During the 2007 season, the “Cardiac Cavaliers” won six games by five points or less. Much of the credit for that success goes to Mike London since that was his defense during his days as Al Groh’s defensive coordinator. London’s dynamic defense held strong in contrast to an anemic offense. Meanwhile, it has been a long time since Virginia’s offense had any sort of identity, but having a designated starter for the first time in a few seasons can only help.
Senior quarterback Marc Verica has had a career filled with highs and lows, such as finishing first in the ACC in completion percentage in 2008 while simultaneously having a 1-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. However, he enters this season as the named starter for the first time in his career as a Wahoo.
“That was always my focus during those hard times, just not to get scared or run away,” Verica said of his tumultuous career over the past two seasons. “Now I find myself heading into my final year as a leader on this team. I’m embracing that.”
Verica is the only experienced signal-caller on the roster this season. Behind him are redshirt freshman Ross Metheny and true freshman Michael Strauss , who enrolled at Virginia in January. Several incoming recruits will get a look at QB as well.
“They’re younger guys, but they carry themselves pretty maturely and in a responsible way,” Verica said. “Just being with them day in and day out I can tell they are great players and great teammates.”
A successful running game is a crucial element to any potent offense, and the Cavaliers appear to have the depth and talent, if not a designated go-to guy, to get the job done. Right now, the Cavaliers have several options in the backfield, including burgeoning talents Torrey Mack , Dominique Wallace , and Perry Jones . The competition for the starting spot is wide open this summer.
“We’ve got very good running backs; we’re talented at the RB position,” London said. “Whoever the best RB is, that’s the guy who’s going to play. I wont know until we get into practice from the summer going into camp who’s in shape.”
London and his players faced an onslaught of media attention this weekend, and acquitted themselves well. Verica, Dowling, and their coach all hold a positive outlook for the 2010 season, and a shared sense of determination to improve.
“You can’t listen to the media, the media’s not right at all,” Dowling said, rather emphatically. “We’re having a great summer this year, and we’re looking forward to having a great season.”
Verica agreed with his teammate.
“I’d like this team to be remembered as the first team who got the ball rolling for Coach London,” he said. “We’re hungry; we want to do it.”