2009.11.05
UVa Insider, The Column
Don’t think for a moment that Virginia coach Al Groh’s decision to “pull” redshirts off 14 true freshmen has escaped the notice of the players families and coaches.
One of those players, defensive back Corey Lillard, played on special teams in Virginia’s Oct. 3 game at North Carolina and hasn’t played again.
Lillard played at Liberty High School in Bealeton, located just over an hour’s drive from Charlottesville in Fauquier County. Liberty-Bealeton hasn’t been a pipeline for Virginia, so Lillard was a good “get” for the Cavaliers.
Coach Tommy Buzzo would like to have good relations with the Cavaliers, but he’d also like for Lillard’s eight plays against North Carolina not to cost him a year’s eligibility.
“We talk all the time,” Buzzo said. “He’s a great kid. He keeps in great communication with me. He hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
“I’m not completely up on the rules but, having played eight plays, there’s got to be something the University of Virginia can do to re-attain that redshirt.”
Buzzo said that Lillard had a hamstring injury that limited his work early in the season. The NCAA will accept hardship appeals from players who have not played in more than 30 percent of a team’s games and can document an incapacitating injury before the midpoint of the season.
“I would really hope that they would do that to get him a year of education and a complete year of eligibility,” Buzzo said.
IF YOU WANT TO be a really good second-guesser, sometimes you’ve got to second-guess yourself.
Two judgments that I made following the 2008 college football season don’t look very good in hindsight.
First was my prediction that Virginia wide receiver Kevin Ogletree had received some bad advice when he elected to bypass his final season of college eligibility.
Second was my criticism of former Virginia linebackers and special-teams coach Bobby Diaco for resigning and taking the defensive coordinator’s job at Cincinnati.
In Diaco’s case, it wasn’t so much that he had made a bad career move but that he basically had looked a gift horse in the mouth.
Virginia already had made the announcement that Diaco would be elevated to defensive coordinator, succeeding Bob Pruett, who had retired. To me, Diaco had not distinguished himself to the degree that he merited a promotion of that nature.
I would have thought that leaving the defensive coordinator’s post at Virginia for the same position at Cincinnati was a lateral move.
Shows me how much I know. If Diaco had stayed at UVa, he would have been vacating his office in another month. At Cincinnati, he is one of the top aides on a Bearcats team that is undefeated, ranked No. 4 by The Associated Press and probably headed to a BCS bowl.
Heck, I’ve even heard Diaco’s name in connection with an anticipated Virginia opening. That’s not going to happen but I could see Diaco getting a Division I-A or I-AA head-coaching job somewhere.
Also, if he had stayed at Virginia, Diaco would have been defensive coordinator in name only. Groh basically coordinates his own defense (and, for the most part, has done a good job at that). Presumably, Diaco has more autonomy at Cincinnati, where head coach Brian Kelly has a defensive background but is best known for his teams’ offensive prowess.
AS FOR OGLETREE, I’m still convinced that agent Joe Flanagan sold him a bill of goods. Remember, it was Ogletree who said on the day of his declaration that he wouldn’t have made the move if he didn’t think he would be drafted.
Ogletree wasn’t drafted, but he made the Dallas Cowboys’ opening-day roster and last Sunday had the first catch of his NFL career. Ogletree had a 19-yard reception on the same day that his fellow rookie from UVa, tight end John Phillips, had his first reception (for no gain) in a 38-17 victory over Seattle.
Presumably, Ogletree makes the NFL rookie minimum, which is $310,000. Even if he had stayed at Virginia and been drafted, it’s unlikely that he would have been picked at a level that would have corresponded to a much higher salary.
Virginia, quarterbacked by an occasionally oft-target Jameel Sewell, is 3-5 without Ogletree. Where would the Cavaliers be with Ogletree? A couple more big plays might have made a difference against William and Mary, Southern Mississippi or Duke, but Ogletree wouldn’t have helped the Cavaliers’ blocking.
All he needed was a foot in the door and he got one for one of the NFL’s more elite franchises. If the Cowboys make the playoffs this year, players can expect a five-figure bonus if they don’t win a game.
Way to man up DD ..We will let you slide...Lord, knows Ole Orrie has made his share of wrong doings and had to " eat the crow " more than once .
Comment by Orrie — November 5, 2009 @ 4:26 pm
I wonder if Ogletree also considered what the state of the '09 Hoos team would do to his pro prospects. Catching Verica, Hall, or Sewell's passes probably didn't give him reason to think his draft status would climb with another year in Cville.
Comment by Playball — November 5, 2009 @ 5:16 pm
You were on the money DD with this column. The 09 season is what it is. If the line can"t block, the backs can"t run, the QB can"t pass, and the receivers will not get the ball. The D can"t be on the field for 3/4"s of the game and pull off a win. I"m a UVA fan, always have been and always will be. Been a season ticket holder for over 20 years but the product on the field has fallen to a all time low. At the Duke game from what I saw ( empty seats ) UVA lost somewhere between 150K to 200K in revenue. It may be time for a fire sale because I think I smell samething burning in the kitchen. The one thing that needs to happen this time is that AD needs to get it RIGHT !!!!!
Comment by Big E — November 6, 2009 @ 12:21 am
Big E-
I think you should slightly refine your statement about the product on the field falling to an all time low.
I personally sat through every single home game from 1969-1982, a period during which Virginia compiled 13 losing seasons, 42 wins, 111 losses, and one tie. The one winning season was in 1979 when Dick Bestwick's team managed a shocking 31-0 upset of the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. That one game was the highlight of the era, and was certainly the most suprising result of a VIRginia football game during my watch, which spans 44 seasons. That one winning season was a 6-5 campaign which featured wins over powerhouse teams such as Richmond, VMI, Duke, James Madison, and Virginia Tech (pre Beamer), and losses to NCSU, Clemson, Navy, UNC and of course Maryland. We finished 6th in the 7 team ACC that one winning season.
During that era, Virginia Football was simply not competitive in the conference. The thought of any level of national attention was a pipe dream. During this time the team was coached by George Blackburn, Don Lawrence, Sonny Randle, Dick Bestwick, and finally George Welsh, who put UVa football on the map again.
All this said, even this fourteen year period may not have been the worst era of UVA football. After the famous powerhouse teams of Art Guepe, Virginia football entered a long period of doormat teams. From 1953 until 1967, Virginia suffered yet another 15 seasons of losing teams, including two consecutive years without a win in 1959 and 1960.
While it may be time for the University to make an economic decision to change Head Coaches in football, Mr. Groh's 2009 UVa Cavalier team would have been a bright spot in the darkness of either of these two periods.
I think it is also fair to say that the athletes that Mr. Groh has brought to the University are among the most talented players that have ever competed in the Orange and Blue at Scott Stadium. No coach in UVa history has placed more players into the NFL than Coach Groh. I cannot understand how he manages to prepare these young men for NFL careers, but still not be able to win consistently like other programs. There must be something that we just don't understand about college football.
Comment by Five Decade Hoo — November 7, 2009 @ 11:41 am
Five Decade Hoo, your description of the hoos history is very similar to the Hokies of the past before Beamer. And, the frustration of fans of both schools is as you said, how can future NFL players not produce great seasons at the college level ? Although the Hokies have been very successful and more so than the hoos, the Hokie fans are still frustrated that the big game always gets away each year. The Hokie and hoo coaches just do not have what it takes to get over the hump for whatever reason.
Comment by Tony in Roanoke — November 7, 2009 @ 7:47 pm
Tony, Please don't speak for all Hokie fans. I have been a fan since the early sixties and am an alumi of the seventies. I am not frustrated. I think it's great that Virginia Tech is a consistantly good football team year in and year out. Not many programs in the country can match what the VT football program has accomplished over the last 17 years. UVa fans were frustrated with George Welsh and ran him out of his job. Think they're happy now??
Comment by Justafan — November 9, 2009 @ 10:56 am
Hey, Justafan, maybe if you had gone to college instead of VT you would know that you are an alumnus of VT, not an alumni. But you do have a good football team.
Comment by Joe Wallen — November 9, 2009 @ 2:06 pm
Just wanted everyone to know I didn't major in Latin.
Comment by Justafan — November 9, 2009 @ 3:40 pm