UVA’s Spring football season culminated in the annual Spring Festival yesterday at Scott Stadium. Division One football teams are only allowed 15 practices, and Saturdays practice was #14, so actually Tuesday’s practice will really mark the real end of Spring ball. It was an absolutely perfect day in Charlottesville for football and to me it felt a little like a Fall football day weather-wise. Attendance was not great, as football had to share the day with folks staying home to watch on ESPNU the #1 Hoos beat #2 UNC at the brand-spanking-new Meadowlands Stadium, and also a sold-out crowd headed over to nearby Davenport Field to cheer for the Hoos as they lost to Georgia Tech 9-7. Alabama can get 90,000 paid in attendance for their Spring game, but I’d say the Hoos had only 5,000 fans there Saturday.
Virginia unveiled their new Nike jerseys on Friday, but did not wear them Saturday, opting for the same practice jerseys they usually wear for the
Spring Game. I was told that the new jerseys (which look really cool and have much more orange in them) will not be ready until August. On Saturday Virginia unveiled their new 4-3 defense and their brand-new pro-style offense. The offense did not look very good, but the defense showed a lot of promise.
Before the game the Hoos announced their captains for the 2010 season: QB Marc Verica, tight end Joe Torchia, cornerback Ras-I Dowling and a couple of defensive tackles: Nick Jenkins and John-Kevin Dolce. The captains were voted on and selected by their teammates, not the coaches. I noticed two particularly good pieces of news before then game as wideout Jarvaris Brown and defensive end Tory Allen-Ford were in uniform for the first time this spring. They had been held out of the first 13 practices for not living up the their end of the bargain academically. Javaris Brown is lightning quick!
Several key expected starters did not play at all Saturday due to surgeries. Defensive tackle Matt Conrath (foot), possible starting tailback Dominique Wallace (foot), defensive end Brent Urban (knee), linebacker Steve Greer (ankle), tight end Joe Torchia (shoulder), and safety Corey Mosely (shoulder) all were missed out there Saturday. Conrath is arguably the best player on the team. Probably neck and neck with corner Ras-I Dowling.
Saturday’s game was not really a game at all. It was a controlled scrimmage in which the quarterbacks wore red jerseys and were not allowed to be hit. The teams were split evenly between the orange and the blue squads. To begin the game, there were five fifteen-play series for each squad. The series began at different pre-determined spots on the field, and were followed up by some beat the clock segments in which each team got the ball at the forty yard line.
Virginia’s starting quarterback Marc Verica was sacked numerous times and threw 2 interceptions on the day. He finished 8-23 for 83 yards, and he looked out of sorts at times Saturday. The number two quarterback appears for now to be redshirt freshman Ross Metheny who was 6-10 and had a sweet 57-yard touchdown toss to walk-on wide-out Ray Keys. Metheny was 6-10 for 140 yards. The freshman quarterback from Miami, Michael Strauss, who left high school a semester early to enroll at UVA in January was 3-4 for 39 yards. I call him "Sunshine" because he’s got kind of long hair and an air of confidence like the character in Remember The Titans. Not that it really matters, but for those keeping score, the Orange squad won the game 30-3.
Much-maligned tailback Keith Payne led the running backs with only six carries for 29 yards. From all accounts, Payne has really turned his attitude around and is pushing the other backs for serious playing time. The player that impressed me the most was new fullback Terence Fells-Danzer. Fells-Danzer had previously not seen much time on the field at linebacker and was moved to the fullback position in the spring. Coach London allowed all players to move to what every position they wanted to as long as they presented their case well and worked hard towards the goals of the team. Fells-Danzer recorded a beautifully-caught screen pass that went for 26 yards. Before the game he and middle linebacker Aaron Taliaferro were awarded the "Rock Weir" award by the coaches which represents the most improved player award.
Virginia is going to struggle next year. The Hoos only won three games last season and it’s very possible that Virginia only wins 4-5 games next season. It’s certainly too early to make absolute predictions for the 2010 season, but I like where they are headed. It’s going to take Coach London a couple of seasons to implement his new schemes, and he’s going to have to have some much better recruiting classes if Virginia wants to get back to the 7-8-9 win seasons that were often possible with Coach Welsh. Beat those Hokies…Go Hoos!