The Hawk’s Nest Articles

The time has come for another great season of college football and what better place to be than in Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia Cavaliers. The Cavs will be looking to build off the great season they had in 2007 where they finished with a 9-4 record while also posting an impressive 6-2 record in conference play. In this edition of "The Hawk's Nest", we'll take a brief overview of the challenges facing the team in 2008. READ MORE

The Virginia Cavaliers have accepted a bowl bid to play in the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl on Jan. 1 against Texas Tech. The Cavs will have more time than usual to prepare for this game as opposed to preparing for a regular season game. The fact that Texas Tech has a very powerful offense that is averaging more than 400 yards passing a game means that the Cavs will be more than happy to receive extra weeks to prepare. READ MORE

In the last edition of The Hawk's Nest, we discussed the important steps that have to take place en route to producing a successful punt return. In this week's edition, we will discuss how to block a punt. As you know, Virginia Tech excels in this category and Virginia's Josh Zidenberg has blocked three punts in his career so it could be an area to watch this weekend. READ MORE

In last week's edition of The Hawk's Nest, we discussed how to shed blocks. In this week's edition, we will discuss what has to take place in order to have a successful punt return. The key factors are the hold-up by the defensive line group, the blocking by the stingers versus the gunners, and fielding the punt as the returner. READ MORE

In last week's edition of "The Hawk's Nest" we discussed wide receiver trick plays. This week, let's turn our focus back to the defensive side of the ball and discuss shedding blocks. I will discuss three topics that pertain to shedding blockers: How to shed a block, how to apply shedding a block to a called defense, and drills that help players learn how to shed a block. READ MORE

In last week's edition of The Hawk's Nest, we discussed the keys to running an effective play-action pass. This week we will continue to talk about ways to deceive the defense while on the offensive side of the ball by including the wide receiver position. The two trick plays that I will discuss are the wide receiver reverse and the hook and lateral play. READ MORE

In the game of football, the team with the most points wins. But as players, we are taught that football is based upon seconds and inches. A prime example of this theory is the game between Florida State and UVA in 1995 when UVA gave Florida State its first loss in the ACC. Warrick Dunn of Florida State was one inch away from a game winning touchdown and a couple of seconds too late. There is one play that is designed to give an offense the valuable seconds and inches they need to create a big play, and that is the play-action pass. READ MORE

This season, the NCAA passed a rule change to help speed up the game and add more excitement. The NCAA chose to move kickoffs back 5 yards to the 30-yard line. This would mean less touchbacks and more opportunities for big returns. With the rule being passed, teams with good kick returners became more valuable. But what makes a kick returner a good one? READ MORE

Most wide receivers feel that they are on the field to catch passes and score touchdowns. In most cases, that is the true description of what a receiver is supposed to do during a football game. But there are times in the game when a running back is what we call "one block away" from a touchdown. This is where blocking as a receiver is essential. READ MORE

In recent editions of "The Hawk's Nest", we have focused on specific positions. This time around, I will talk about one of the more popular zone defenses played in today's game. This popular zone defense is called Cover 2. Any football fan has heard that term. But what does it mean and what are the basic responsibilities? READ MORE