2008.10.16
UVa Insider, the column: Life without Lalich
To me, Virginia’s modest two-game football winning streak is all about closure.
Just think. When was the last time anybody mentioned the name, “Peter Lalich?”
It is not my intention to defend the people responsible for dismissing Lalich from the UVa football team, nor is it my intention to demean Lalich.
I’m just struck by how quickly he’s been forgotten.
Winning will do that, but what came first, the chicken or the egg?
I think it’s safe to say, if Lalich were still going back and forth to Charlottesville General District Court, that he would be a major distraction.
Since it was confirmed Sept. 29 that Lalich had enrolled at Oregon State, his former teammates have been nothing if not focused.
With North Carolina coming to town Saturday, I was hesitant to pitch the “closure” theory to Groh on a teleconference today.
“No, we never felt that we couldn’t move forward, that we were stuck in the mud and had no traction,” Groh said. “Definitely not the case on that.
“But once the issue was resolved and there was clarity to it, clearly we were able to define our circumstances and go ahead at that point.”
It hasn’t bothered Groh that the Lalich questions have ended.
“That’s a nice thing, yes,” he said.
OF COURSE, one reason that people haven’t been talking about Lalich is his successor, Marc Verica. Verica’s 65.9-percent completion percentage is second behind Wake Forest’s Riley Skinner (68.1) among ACC quarterbacks with enough attempts to rank among the league leaders.
It will be interesting to see if Verica continues to play at a reasonably high level and what effect that might have on the 2009 quarterback picture, when Jameel Sewell is slated to return for a fifth year after serving a one-year academic suspension.
At the time of his suspension, Sewell had made 22 consecutive starts and fans couldn’t wait for his return following Lalich’s dismissal. Sewell might be better suited to UVa’s spread offense because of his running ability, but Verica is the more accurate passer.
Verica had 14 straight completions Saturday against East Carolina and was 19 of his last 21.
GOOD TRIVIA QUESTION: Who is Virginia’s all-time leader in all-purpose yardage?
WESTERN BRANCH has sent more than a half-dozen football players to Virginia Tech over the past 15 years, but a commitment from Western Branch wide receiver-defensive back Javanti Spurrow broke a lengthy drought for UVa at the Chesapeake school.
Lew Johnston, who retired in 2006 after 22 seasons as the Western Branch coach, said he believes the last UVa player from Western Branch was Davian Clifton.
Clifton, a 1985 Western Branch graduate, was a redshirt sophomore defensive tackle at UVa when he was awarded his first and only letter in 1987.
Johnston, who has come out of retirement this year to coach at Joliff Middle School in Chesapeake, was a spectator at the recent Western Branch-Oscar Smith game and had the following evaluation of UVa recruit Perry Jones.
“I don’t know where they see him,” said Johnston after watching Oscar Smith race to a 42-6 win, “but he really showed me some things at running back.”
Jones, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound tackling machine, is projected as a defensive back by the Cavaliers.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Frank Quayle, who had 4,981 all-purpose yards between 1966-68.
Alvin Pearman was second, with 4,969 yards between 2001-2004, but I can’t remember writing or hearing that Pearman was approaching Quayle’s record.
In fact, referees did not approve an apparent Pearman reception in the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl that would have given him the school record, but Quayle played during an era when freshmen were not eligible and UVa never played in a bowl.
Pearman also had extenuating circumstances, having missed the last four games of the 2002 season after tearing an ACL.
Pearman suffered a second ACL tear in the third game of the 2007 season, when he was playing for the Seattle Seahawks, and is a free agent. He didn’t turn 26 till August.
DOUG DOUGHTY
