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Coach Mike London and the Hoos open practice on Monday. |
When Media Day rolls around every year, it’s a clear sign that football practice is just around the corner. Virginia met with the press on Friday to talk about the start of practice on Monday, the 2012 season, and expectations for the Cavaliers.
UVa captain Perry Jones said the excitement level and expectations are high for a new season to begin.
“I just have high expectations for us, for myself, and the team as a whole,” Jones said. “I think we’re going to do a good job of fulfilling those expectations. And the good thing is that I’m not the only one that has the high expectations. I think the team as a whole has the same expectations.”
Virginia’s workout schedule next week features free open practice sessions for the public Monday through Saturday. The open practices start at 4 p.m. Monday and at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at The Park located at 1015 Massie Road. The final open practice on Saturday is at Scott Stadium at 4 p.m. Practice times are subject to change pending weather conditions.
The shifting locations are part of this August’s preseason challenges for the team as the new indoor practice facility is built, but London sees benefits in the different venues and fields. In addition to the open practices at The Park and Scott Stadium, the team will continue to use the one available McCue Center field and the lacrosse practice field as well.
“For me, being able to take practices and do practices at different places is like going on an away game basically. You have to go to a different field and adjust to the field there,” London said. “When we traveled all over the state to practices, you have to adjust different things. It’s an adjustment for us but the great thing about it is that you can look and see the progress and that’s the indoor facility going up.”
London’s Vote
The USA Today Coaches’ Poll debuted this week and LSU checked in at No. 1 in the nation. ACC teams among the top 25 included Florida State (No. 7), Clemson (No. 14), and Virginia Tech (No. 20). Virginia did receive votes and finished with 9 points in the “others receiving votes” category.
At UVa’s Media Day on Friday, coach Mike London said the Cavaliers don’t get caught up in preseason rankings.
“Our feeling is that it’s an exciting year for us and we’re not going to sneak up on anybody. Our young players are excited to play. The guys that are coming back are excited to play,” London said. “We talk about it all the time – it’s about where you end the season instead of the beginning.”
Did London’s vote give the Hoos any points in the poll? It did not.
“The only thing I can say about that is that my vote last year, the team that I voted for was in the National Championship,” London said. “I did not vote for our team to be in the top 25. We have to earn that.”
The QB Practice Plan
Virginia Offensive Coordinator Bill Lazor spends every summer establishing an early season practice plan for the quarterbacks. So summer 2012 didn’t change much in that regard despite the transfer of Phillip Sims from Alabama to UVa.
“We always spend a lot of time scripting these early practices, not only how the format will go, but for me, I always work hard to get just the right rep for the right quarterback to make sure everyone gets an opportunity with the different concepts. Sometimes when you’re scripting ahead, you’re guessing how well a guy will handle it,” Lazor said. “You don’t always know how they’re going to perform going in, but I spend a lot of time in every year trying to figure that out.”
The difference, Lazor said, is that he’s only seen film on Sims and that means making some educated guesses on the types of looks to give him at the start of practice. He doesn’t want to make assumptions on what Sims can handle and how that will impact practice reps.
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Coach Bill Lazor addressing the media on Friday. |
“There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to a player I’ve never seen throw in person. I’ve seen video of Phillip throw, but I’ve never seen him throw in person,” Lazor said. “Coaching in the NFL, I learned a long time ago that it’s critical to see a guy throw in person to evaluate him. How does that ball come out of his hand? There are a lot of unknowns in that area.”
Later, Lazor added these thoughts: “One of the things that’s really critical when you’re working with a quarterback … is to try to determine how well he can be coached or how well he takes coaching. … You never know how a guy reacts until you’re with him and you’re giving him coaching and you’re watching his body react and what kind of feedback you can get. That’s part of the fun of coaching. We tell guys when we’re recruiting them that to come here to be the quarterback, you’ve really got to like football and like the details and want to work on becoming great at the details. We would tell that to any position player, but I try to be real specific with the quarterbacks about that because I want guys that really want to work hard at getting great at their trade and being an expert at what they do. That’s my personality.”
While fans have debated the potential for competition or controversy at the quarterback slot, it’s not something that Lazor has considered.
“I could see myself being in a situation where you want to play more than one. It’s not the most comfortable thing, but when it’s the right thing for your team, you have to do it,” Lazor said. “We clearly felt at times last year that we had to do it because it made us better. …”
“I think you have to handle it on a case by case basis. I don’t know what will happen. I don’t have an opinion today because I don’t have to so I’ll just let it play,” Lazor added with a smile. “It’s hard enough when you have to decide. When you don’t have to decide yet, just make a great plan on how you’re going to get there and then evaluate as you go.”
However it all plays out, Lazor believes that Coach London really has instilled a team mentality at Virginia and that regardless of any chatter outside the program, the players will back any and all of the quarterbacks until a definitive plan is in place. The long-term process of program-building guards against cliques dividing the team.
“Most importantly, Coach London has already done that with how he’s built the team. It’s not a [pop-up] issue and then deal with it. It’s the kind of thing that happens over a long period of time with great decisions in recruiting and the way that Coach treats the player every single day. He’s built a level of trust,” Lazor said. “I think everyone on the coaching staff including the strength coaches … they talk about team, they talk about leadership, and they talk about we’re doing this together and holding each other responsible and that just builds. A lot of guys that maybe don’t fall in line with that remove themselves or leave, but the guys that are here that buy that, the feeling builds within them. Then some of the guys that maybe by themselves would be a little wishy-washy, they get pulled along and then they get built up. Then you get to a point where you have a team that really cares about the team.”
Injuries
London said that redshirt freshman defensive tackle Marco Jones has an undetermined leg injury and likely would not be in Monday’s first practice but “everyone else, the guys that had surgeries after our last game, after spring practice they should be back.” That includes defensive end Billy Schautz, who broke his leg against Florida State last season. “He’s back. He’s 100%. He’s stronger. He’s faster. He’s ready to go,” London said.
