2015 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Preview - Week 10 (UVa - 11/7)

Miami Hurricanes 2015 Opponent Preview

Week 10

Virginia (November 7^th at Sun Life Stadium)

The 2015 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Preview continues with the preview of the Virginia Cavaliers, who come to Sun Life Stadium on November 7^th.  

In Charlottesville, the talk each year is about Mike London’s job status. He did enough to keep his job, but not enough to quiet the critics (see Al with CANES fans).  This year, London needs to have his team go bowling or likely be out. With a trip to Pasadena in the season opener, and Notre Dame the following week, and Boise coming in two weeks later on a Friday night, it could get very ugly in Charlottesville very quickly.

Let’s talk about Virginia’s Offense.

Now that Greyson Lambert is now in Athens, GA, this is now Matt Johns’ job as the Quarterback. A big reason for that was because Johns had a huge Spring. While Johns was ok in relief of Lambert in 2014, because Lambert was hurt, in 2015, this is his job from Game 1. He’s going to have to be the one to step up and be the leader of that offense.  
They will have experience back in the receiving corps. Canaan Severin and Andre Levrone both return at the WR positions. The former was their top receiver stat wise last year with 578 yards receiving, and the latter was their big play threat catching 15 passes for 248 yards.  There is an area were Levrone needs to hone in on. He caught just 35% of his targets in 2014.  To be fair, its not completely his fault here, but still that number needs to get better in 2015.  They will get a lift from UNC graduate transfer T.J. Thorpe. While Thorpe was a top notch played in high school, the same could not be said about his college career, which has been very much injury prone.  
As for the Running backs, they have a legit threat there in Taquan “Smoke” Mizzell, who can be a play maker as a receiver. In 2014, he had 39 passes caught for 271 yards, and in addition, he had 280 yards rushing as their 3^rd back in their rotation. His career has been sub-par in college so far. However, now as the go to guy in the backfield, maybe we’ll see the talent that fans up there haven’t seen yet.
Their O-Line is ok in protecting the passer, but terrible vs the run. They do have three starters and four other players with starting experience back for them in 2015. Eric Smith is going to have to step up and be their leader here on this unit, even though he was listed 2^nd on their depth chart behind RS freshman Jake Fieler, Smith is going to be starting on their line, especially when you consider he’s had twenty career starts, Also back for them at RG is RS Senior Ross Burbank, who has fifteen career starts.

Let’s talk about Virginia’s Defense

Their secondary has some promise here with Quin Blanding back. As a freshman last year, he had 91.5 tackles and three interceptions. He’s one that they hope will be a very good one, if not a great one back there. To help Blanding back here, Cornerbacks Maurice Canady and Tim Harris return. Harris, who played in ten games, had a pick, and broke-up four passes.  As for Canady, he had three picks and twelve pass break ups. The secondary is going to be very good again in 2015.
The same cannot be said for the Linebackers. They will have to fill three spots there. Their three backups from last season return and they added a LB in their 2015 class that they hope will make an immediate impact there. The freshman they’re referring to is C.J. Stalker, who’s a true freshman, and expected to be the man right away.  The other three, that were backups last year, returning are Micah Kiser, Mark Hall and Zach Bradshaw. Each of these players saw action in ten or more games last year.  Kiser, as a true freshman in 2014 had 12 tackles in 12 games.
While Eli Harold, (drafted in the 3^rd round by San Francisco), is the only major loss on their D-Line, it’s a big one though. Consider that Harold had 14.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 2014. That’s going to be tough to replace. It’s going to be up to David Dean and Mike Moore, to each step up and have the production that Harold leaves behind.  While they each had eight tackles for loss last season, they only have four combined sacks in their careers. The one that has to fill Harold’s big shoes is Kwontie Moore. He only had  two sacks, in spot duty last season.

What to expect from Virginia

This is a team that has beaten The U on Al Golden’s watch 3 of the 4 times they’ve played. This team doesn’t blow you away. This is a young team, and with a tough early schedule and add to the fact Mike London is on the hot seat this year, there should be no reason at all why The U doesn’t beat them this year. 

Their 2015 Pump-Up Video

Their 2015 Spring Game (after this game, Lambert would announce he's leaving for Athens)

This is the game from last year up there in Charlottesville

In this game, it’ll be at home at Sun Life. After last year vs UVa after the heartbreaking loss to FSU the week before, the U quit and tanked up in Charlottesville. You know there’s payback on the CANES minds here.  This needs to be a statement game for the U and a CANES comfortable victory over UVa. 

Take on CANES loss at UVa

Part 11 of the 12 part 2014 Miami Hurricane Opponent Video Series - @UVa 11/22

2014 Virginia Cavaliers Football Preview

In Part 11 of the 2014 12 part opponent video series, I’m going to talk a little about the Virginia Cavaliers, our opponent on Nov 22^nd up in Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, VA.   

Lets first look at their Talent:

Well, I’ll start by saying that there are many questions at the quarterback position for starters, among other vital spots. They have back seven starters on offense, which believe it or not, will be better for them in comparison to last year stat wise. They have back TB Kevin Parks, who was their team leader in Offense,  rushing for 1,031 yards and 11 touchdowns, and earning second-team All-ACC honors in 2013. They do have some depth at QB coming back Junior David Watford (6-2, 205) and sophomore Greyson Lambert (6-5, 225). Think about this, in Watford’s first season as a starter, he completed just over 57 percent of his passes in 2013, for 2,202 yards and eight TDs. On the other hand, Lambert didn’t play that much, but he had a very  strong spring and is now in the driver’s seat for the starting job.
The WR core is led by Senior Darius Jennings (5-11, 175), who led the team in receiving  catching 38 passes, for 340 yards and three TDs in 2013. They also have Parks back. He had 38 receptions, for 329 yards, and one TD out of the backfield.

On the OL, they get back three starters, which includes both guards Connor Davis (6-5, 300) and Jay Whitmire (6-6, 310), however look for Whitmire to move to LT this season. Also back is sophomore Eric Smith (6-5, 295), who got eight starts at right tackle as a freshman.

Defensively, they have back with nine starters. That defense is led by All-American safety Anthony Harris (6-1, 190). He’s one of the best Safeties in the country. In 2013, he had 80 tackles and was tied for the national lead in interceptions with eight. Joining him are fellow seniors Brandon Phelps (44 tackles) and Demetrious Nicholson. who missed half of last year due to injury. They have experience back there.

The line backing corps returns their two top tacklers from a year ago in seniors Henry Coley (91 tackles, 9.0 TFL, one sack) and Daquan Romero (89 tackles, 6.5 TFL).

On the D-Line, the mainstay there is junior DE Eli Harold. As a sophomore last year, the 6-4, 235-pounder had 15 TFLs and 8.5 sacks, both numbers led the team.

On Special Teams, They have Alec Vozenilek back to take care of the kicking duties. Last season took care of both the Kicking and Punting duties. His punts averaged 41.2 yards per attempt on school-record 85 punts and on Kicking, he was 12-of-15 on FG’s, with a long of 40 yards. He was forced to do both because Ian Frye was hurt. With the 6-6, Frye back, it’ll take the pressure off of Vozenilek.

Next, I want to talk about the Coaching:

Let’s make no mistake, Mike London is on the hot seat going into this season. Two straight losing seasons doesn’t help either. He can only go up from there. This guy won a National Championship at Richmond on the FCS level, but it hasn’t translated into much success in Charlottesville. The guy is a very good recruiter, but expect another long season in Charlottesville for London and his crew.

Now, to their 2014 Schedule:

They went 2-10 last year and the schedule in 2014 for the Cavaliers will be brutal from the start, so here’s how I see the schedule play out in 2014:

In their opener, 8/30 vs. UCLA: L

Ouch, this one is one of the tamer teams on their schedule. Many people think the Bruins would win the Pac-12 title in 2014.  And the Cavs will be a huge underdog in this one and correctly so. This one will not be close at all as Brett Hundley should put up monster numbers in this one. UCLA big over the Cavs in this one.

In Week 2, 9/6 vs. Richmond: W

This is a game the Cavs will have their best shot to win all year. Now, London knows the Spiders, very well, as Richmond is his alma mater and he was the head coach there, winning an FCS title, before coming to Charlottesville to run the Cavs. They couldn’t even beat a terrible N.C. State team last year (the Pack went winless in the ACC), so now the Spiders will get another crack at another terrible ACC team in the Cavs. I think the Cavs win this one, However if they were to lose, that seat of London’s which is hot right now, gets even hotter.
In week 3, 9/13 vs. Louisville: W

Louisville comes calling. This is a big game early for London and his crew, knowing he’s on the hot seat up there I’ll go with the Cavs over the Cardinals in this one, even though the Cardinals had only one loss last season and seem to be on the rise, but that was in the AAC. The ACC is a different beast. Yes, Petrino brings a high-powered offense to Charlottesville, in the end, you have to think the Cavs find a way to win that one and cool London’s seat temporarily.

In week 4, 9/20 at BYU: L

Yes, the Cavs beat BYU at home last year, however, with this one being in Provo, look for the Cougars to pummel the Cavs, and London’s seat warms up again. BYU wins comfortably here.

In week 5, 9/27 vs. Kent State: W

I think the Cavs win this one, but after that, OUCH!

In Week 6, 10/4 vs. Pittsburgh: L

They are home again, this time for Pitt, and once again, I can see London’s seat become even warmer after this loss.

In Week 7 BYE

In Week 8, 10/18 at Duke: L

The Cavs head down to Durham to take on the Blue Devils. If London’s seat isn’t blistering hot at this point, it will be after this one. When you consider the fact that Duke went to the ACC Championship Game last season, and the Cavaliers didn’t win a game in the league, and add to the fact that Duke’s head coach David Cutcliffe is moving things in the upward direction is very telling how far the Cavs have fallen. Duke wins BIG here.

In Week 9, 10/25 vs. North Carolina: L

This will be an easy win for the Tar Heels, when you add the fact that the Cavaliers will be such disarray, and Mike London’s seat on five-alarm fire, there’s no way the Heels lose this one. UNC’s offense, led by QB Marquise Williams should have things rolling at this point in the season. Add that Carolina was one of the hottest teams in the country in the 2^nd half of the season. Look for Carolina to come to Charlottesville and win BIG here.  

In Week 10, 11/1 at Georgia Tech: L

The Jackets are back home to take on a dreadful Cavalier team, whose coach has a hot seat that will be on 5 alarm fire at this point. It won’t cool after this one either. This game will be closer than the experts think. While thedefense will stuff the option offense for a little while, look for Paul Johnson to adjust and start running that triple-option, down the Cavs throats. The Yellow Jackets should find a rhythm in the second half and defend their home turf. This is going to be the easiest win of the season for GT here.

In Week 11, 11/8 at Florida State: L

My god, if it hasn’t gotten any worse for the Cavs, they get to face the monster that is FSU in FSU’s house. Mike London’s seat is blistering at this point, and it only gets hotter after this one. The Cavs are going to get slaughtered here. It would be a huge shock if they stay within 30 points. It’s not going to happen though. Look for Jameis and the rest of the FSU starters to be out of the game by halftime.  Noles BIG in this one.

In Week 12, BYE 


In Week 13, 11/22 vs. Miami (Fla.): L

Way too many weapons for the Cavs to try and stop here. They will have a difficult time, keeping up with the speed of the CANES. Look for a big game out of Duke Johnson in this one. CANES big over Cavs.

In the season finale, 11/28 at Virginia Tech: L

Here we go, yes, it’s a rivalry game in Blacksburg vs the Hokies. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a defensive battle in this one, considering there was only 22 combined points in this game last season. That said, this will be no contest here, and likely Mike London will be canned a few days after this game is over. VT is still king in that state. VT wins handily here to end the Cavs season at a projected 3-9. 

My prediction on the Game vs. CANES:

We just have way too many weapons for the Cavs in this one and with a projected loss to FSU still in our mouths, this is the game to get healthy and well and we will do just that. I believe Duke will have a huge game and we win easily in Charlottesville.

In the 12^th and final part of the 2014 series, I will talk about the Pittsburgh Panthers, our opponent on November 29^th at Sun Life Stadium in the regular season finale.

Report Card and Game Balls vs UVa

Here's my report card and Game Balls to give out vs Virginia. 

We set the tone with the pick 6 by Tracy 6 seconds into the game. Virginia hung around because of two things:

• They were 11-20 (55%) on 3rd downs
• A balanced offense (243 rushing, 240 passing)

Offensively, we had 304 yards of total offense. 214 yards passing, but just 90 rushing. Dallas Crawford had a decent game with just 55 yards on 16 carries, but 2 big TDs. We had a big game out of Hurns here having 126 yards on 6 catches, with 1 TD. Stacy had a big game as well with 81 yards receiving on 5 catches, with a TD. Decent game from Stephen here going 13-26 214 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. However, that said, we still need to be better and clean up those silly mistakes. Of the 7 penalties yesterday for 70 yards, 2 were on the offense (Both on Brandon, one for holding and the other was a false start). The OL did allow a sack in this game. Bottom line, ok, but this type of performance won't cut it in a bowl game vs a very good opponent, and especially not going 5-14 (36%) on 3rd Down conversions. This unit, especially Stephen, has to play better if we are to win. Grade: C

Defensively, we forced 4 turnovers (1 FF and 3 Picks). The FF was the TD by David. We allowed 483 yards of total offense to a very bad UVa team, and we allowed a 100 yard rushing game from an individual standpoint (Parks with 130 yards on 26 carries and 1 TD). In the 1st half, we allowed 208 yards rushing, but 32 passing and their QBs were gashing our defense. However, In the 2nd half, we allowed just 45 yards rushing, but 218 yards passing. It did step up and make the plays that had to be made. Something that's been disturbing all year, lack of a pass rush. We only had 1 sack, their receivers had nice games as a team. UVa on 3rd downs were 11-20 (55%). However, we forced UVa into 4 three and outs. Of the 7 penalties we had in this game, 3 were on the D (One on Rayshawn for the Targeting, PF on Luther, and a Roughing the Passer call on David). We did allowed a little too many X-Plays yesterday, and if it weren't for the fact that the Cavaliers committed 10 penalties yesterday and were -2 in TO Margin, they maybe win yesterday. Against a good team that we'll face in a bowl game, those types of errors come back to bite you. there were some ME's here as well that need to get fixed before the Pitt game on Friday in a short week. Grade: C

Special Teams wise, of our 7 penalties yesterday, just one on this unit, (the hold on Ronald Ragula in the 1st quarter on a return). Matty had a FG in the 3rd from 33. Another solid return game with 60 yards of total return, all on KR's. What a game from Patty overall. After the long return allowed, it was rock solid with 5 of his 7 punts being inside the 20 and zero touch-backs. On Kickoffs, he was rock solid with all 6 of the 8 KO's he had being Touchbacks. The Return Defense was a little off yesterday. UVa had just 80 yards of returns (41 on KR's, and 39 on PR's). We started drives on Average from our own 35 and UVa started drives from their own 26, which is ok, but we could do better pushing the average back a little more. We have one more game to get this improved. Overall, very good, but need to clean up the penalties here. Grade: B-

Now, to Game Balls. This week, I'm going to give out four game balls. 

1. Pat O'Donnell - 7 punts, 5 inside the 20, no touchbacks. 8 kickoffs, 6 touchbacks.  
2. Allen Hurns - 6 receptions, 126 yards, 1 TD.   
3. Stacy Coley - 5 receptions, 81 yards, TD, 2 KRs, 50 yards. 131 all-purpose yards.  
4. The 2013 Senior class - Thank you for staying around when the times were very bleak. You are the foundation for future classes to measure up against. 

Overall, I felt we were sloppy, however, we again kept grinding and got it done in the end. That being said, there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties, which are still issues that have to be fixed. I'm glad we finally got the UVa monkey off our backs on Senior Day. The penalties are still a problem, and still a little bit too many of those for my liking. Nice to get back on the winning track here. Let's finish strong on a short week vs Pitt on Friday at 3:30 up at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and will be seen on ABC. GO CANES and Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! 

Report Card @ Duke

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, yesterday's performance up in Durham proved me wrong. This is definitely the low point of the Golden era to date. I will dare say, yesterday's performance, to me, rivals that of the 48-0 OB finale in 2007 vs Virginia (by the way, our opponent this week in the Home finale at Noon on ESPNU). Like last week, we score first on Matty's FG, then we stop Duke on the next drive and force a punt, and after Stacy takes a punt back to the house to make it 10-0, we had a real chance to bust this game wide open on Stacy's PR, however, give Duke credit, they responded with the first of 4 Brandon Connette Rushing TD to make it 10-7.

Next drive, Stephen drives us down the field and we finish with 7 on that drive on the TD pass to Herbie. Its 17-7 at that point and I thought to myself, ok, now we're going to blow this sucker wide open. 

However, the mistakes started to come in the 2nd quarter. The pick by Stephen on the tipped ball that was intended for Herbie there, started to turn the game in their favor because 6 plays later, they make us pay for that mistake with the Powell TD, and instead of possibly 24-7 us, its 17-14 us (14 point swing, and mo was on their side at that point). We did stem the tide a bit with Matty's second FG of the day to make it 20-14. Next drive, Duke would get the lead, 21-20, on a 10 play drive, in which they converted on three 3rd downs, all of them short yardage situations, capping with Connette's 2nd of 4 TDs on the day rushing. You can tell that that TD that gave Duke the lead really took the wind out of our sails there because they got the ball first to start the 2nd half and the D really started to fall apart from there. 

Yesterday, like the three weeks, was a very poor excuse of a defense. What I saw again from Mark D'Onofrio's scheme was utterly embarrassing and completely inexcusable. 543 yards allowed (291 yards allowed in the 2nd half, same as last week vs VT. Boone goes 20-27 in the 2nd half for 183 yards, same amount of yards Thomas had against us last week) Of those 543 yards allowed, 358 of those were on the ground and 185 by both Boone and Connette combined passing. We didn't win the TO battle again yesterday (-1) and when you don't win the Turnover Battle, you're not going to win many games. However, yesterday was no excuse not to beat a team you should beat in your sleep 9 out of 10 times. This loss is squarely on the Defense. Duke started their drives from their own 31 on Average, and we started our drives from our own 18 on average. Not going to win many games that way when you have poor field position to start with. 

We had no Three and Outs, which is good, however, we had three 4 and outs, and the fourth was one where we went for it and lost the ball on downs. We did force Duke to have three 3 and outs. The Time of Possession wasn't that big a deal in this game, however, what really showed the ineptness of our defense under D'Onofrio was the fact that in spite of not allowing Duke to convert on 3rd down in the 2nd half (0-6), they were 5-13 overall, on 4th down, we couldn't stop them in those two big spots. On the other hand in those same situations, we were 5-15 in those spots and just 1-7 in the 2nd half. 

I'm going to give the report card and its going again be very simple. 

Offense: C+

Defense: F

Special Teams: C

I don't know where we are right now, but once again, we've gagged away a shot to go to Charlotte to face FSU. Make no mistake, and if you believe Joe Zagaski this morning when he said that Golden will make major changes in the off-season, I tend to believe it. Heads are going to roll from this fiasco in Durham yesterday, that's for damn sure. If we have some pride left, I'd better see it vs UVa on Saturday in the home finale. That team has beaten us three straight years and we need to get back on track very quickly up at home on Saturday at Noon on ESPNU.

Tip of the cap to David Cutcliffe. What an amazing job he's done to turn that program around in Durham. If they get to Charlotte, FSU will have all it could handle from them. Yes, FSU will still win that game, but if they think they're going to steamroll the Blue Devils in Charlotte, they have another thing coming. That's all for this week. 

Report Card vs VT

Last night was one of the most pathetic performances I've seen from the Miami Hurricanes since the 48-0 OB finale in 2007 vs Virginia. Last night's game, to me, rivals it. After we get the first TD from Stephen to Stacy for 84, and we stop VT on the next drive and force a punt, we had a real chance to bust this game wide open on Stacy's PR, and was just about to go up 14-0, when he fumbled, and VT recovered, and instead, it was 7-7. (14 point swing and VT had gotten the mo). 

On the ensuing Kickoff, Artie has a big return and possibly take one back to the house, when he loses the ball and VT recovers that. 5 plays later, after Tracy forces a fumble, they take the lead for good at 14-7 on the very next play after Tracy's FF that VT recovered.  Early in the 2nd after we went 3 and out, we have a bad snap, and Patty puts his knee down and VT has a very short field starting at our 17, and score two plays later to go up 21-7. 

One play that told the story about our night was the Stanford TD on 3rd and 17. The tackling was abysmal. On that play, a stop had to be made and at worst, you hold them to a FG, instead, he goes 32 yards for the TD, and instead of maybe 24-14, its 28-14. That's a four point swing right there in Tech's favor. 

Another was the forced fumbles we caused that could have swung mo back our way, instead, VT was Johnny on the spot both times. It seemed the breaks went their way. The second FF that was recovered by VT for the TD, turned out to be the back-breaker. We did the right thing on that, but they were a step faster than we were on those both times. 

Last night was a very poor excuse of a defense. What I saw last night from Mark D'Onofrio's scheme was utterly embarrassing and completely inexcusable. 549 yards allowed last night (291 yards allowed in the 2nd half. Thomas goes 10-12 in the 2nd half for 183 yards) Of those 549 yards allowed, 183 of those were on the ground and 366 by Thomas passing. We didn't win the TO battle last night (-2) and when you don't win the Turnover Battle, you're not going to win many games, and last night vs a Top 10 Defense in Tech, we didn't win and we certainly won't win when you have -8 yards rushing in the 4th quarter like we did last night. This loss is on really two areas: Defense and Special Teams. VT started their drives from their own 28 on Average, and we started our drives from our own 24 on average. 

We had 4 Three and Outs last night, to just 2 for VT. The Time of Possession in the 2nd half was startling, and shows the ineptness of our defense under D'Onofrio. VT had the ball for 21:32 to just 8:28 for our Offense. For the game, VT was 57% on 3rd Down conversions. In the 2nd half, they were 78% on 3rd Down conversions. On the other hand in those same situations, we were 3-12 in those spots. That won't get it done vs a team as stout as VT is, especially on D. 

I'm going to give the report card and its going to be very simple. 

Offense: D-

Defense: F

Special Teams: F

I don't know where we are right now, but let's understand this, we do not control our own fate anymore after that fiasco last night. We have to get back on track very quickly up in Durham on Saturday at 3:30 on ESPNU against a very good Duke team. That's all for this week. 

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 Part Opponent Series - Part 11 (UVa - Nov 23rd Home Finale)

Nov 23^rd – UVa (Regular Season Home Finale)

In Part 11 of the 12 part 2013 Miami Hurricanes opponent series, I will talk about a team that has beaten us the last 3 years, and that’s the Virginia Cavaliers, our opponent on Senior Day, Nov 23^rd at Sun Life Stadium in the Regular Season Home Finale.

Here’s what you need to know about the Virginia Cavaliers:

They are led by Mike London (Richmond '83),who is 16-21 in his three seasons in Charlottesville.  He’s been building that program into a consistent winner, the same way he did at Richmond. On the field, his team some success. In 2011, they won eight games, and almost won the coastal, losing to hated in-state rival Virginia Tech. However, in 2012, they did not make a postseason game and as a result, changes were made. London brought in Tom O’Brien, John Tenuta, and Steve Fairchild to be on his staff.

When he came over from Richmond, he came in knowing the Cavalier program, and how rich the state of Virginia is with H.S. talent. In his final two seasons with the Spiders, his teams went 24-5, which includes an FCS national championship in 2008 and a quarterfinal trip in 2009. While Dave Clawson (now at Bowling Green), rebuilt the Spiders program, London used the talent others wouldn’t take and lead it to great success. Yes, he inherited an enviable position at Richmond, a program already rebuilt by current Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson, but credit London for taking a talented roster and leading it to even greater heights.

He was an assistant under Al Groh from 2001-2004, and again from 2006-2007, (taking a year in the middle as the DL Coach with the Houston Texans in 2005). While in Charlottesville, he was the DL coach, while adding the title of recruiting coordinator from 2002-2004. In 2006, he came back to Charlottesville, this time, as the DC, a position he held before being tapped as the boss in Richmond. What London has done in some parts, has been remarkable: They recruit very well, and  developing young talent for their defense. However, they have misfired a couple of times. The question with London is does he have what it takes to be a consistent force in the ACC? I think they need to beat VT this year to have that question answered.  

Let’s break down the Cavaliers:

Offensively: While the loss of Phillip Sims' hurts them, it doesn’t hurt as much as losing Michael Rocco (transferred to Richmond in the off-season). What they lose in Rocco is his experience and one who likely would have been the starter going into this season. Now, London is going to have to determine whether Sophomore David Watford or RS Freshman Greyson Lambert can fill the big shoes Rocco left behind.

The competition for the QB job has been very close throughout. This won’t be decided until I suspect a few days before their opener. However, had they lost Watford, who got a lot of playing time in 2011 as a freshman, but redshirted last year. Had Sims stayed, Watford would have been gone and went elsewhere to play right away. The fact that he stayed on, gives London two very good and young quarterbacks with unlimited potential and very strong skill sets: What you get with Watford is a QB, that can beat you with both his arm and his legs, while Lambert is the QB that the traditional pocket passer, who would only get better. Don’t be surprised if both see extensive action in 2013.

They might have to see extensive action because the running game lost Perry Jones (Graduation and signed as UDFA by the Baltimore Ravens), and would-be Junior Clifton Richardson (left program on May 16^th). The good news is that Junior Kevin Parks (734 yards) returns, and with Fairchild's new offense, they will go back to their roots and that’s more of a running game that led them to the postseason two years ago. Parks could make a run at a 1,000 yard season in this offense. Look for Junior Khalek Shepherd, RS Freshman Kye Morgan and, true Freshman Taquan Mizzell to see some action as well. The expectation for Mizzell are very high and the staff is going to give him every opportunity to be the main backup in the rotation.

Where Jones' loss is going to really hurt is in the WR core. He was also a very good receiver out of the backfield, where he served as a valuable safety and secondary valve in the passing game. They do have their entire corps back in 2013. However, this is a young core, with only one Senior on that core (Tim Smith {20 receptions for 405 yards in 2012}) holding down one of the starting spots. On the other side, they have Junior Darius Jennings (48 receptions for 568 yards in 2012) returning, The other WRs that will see action are Juniors Dominique Terrell (38 receptions for 475 yards in ‘12) and E.J. Scott (29 receptions for 390 yards in ‘12). They have a stud TE, who’s a Junior as well, in Jake McGee (28 receptions for 374 yards in ‘12). McGee is one of the top TEs in the conference.  When you look at this on paper, the experience is there. However, what’s missing here is consistency, though having another year of experience certainly helps on their two-deep. They don’t dazzle you, but this group is solid and gets the job done. 

As for the Offensive line, this is the only thing that really prevents UVa from really being a 10 win team. They tried in the spring to find the right combination that would work on a consistent basis, which is why only one projected starter, Senior LT Morgan Moses, kept the same spot he had in 2012, going into the spring. What they were pretty surprised about was how RS Freshman Jackson Matteo developed and rose to the starting spot at Center: Matteo, who was a former walk-on, impressed their staff with his instincts and sneaky athleticism. By doing so, it will allow Senior Luke Bowanko to move over to Guard, where he does much better. With Matteo's strong spring, someone gets left out, and that will likely be Junior Conner Davis, though its possibly that he could still start at RG, but only if senior Sean Cascarano moves over to Tackle, which is possible here because Sophomore Jay Whitmire has struggled while being a starter. The leader of that line is Moses, and if he goes down at any point this season, that line takes a huge hit. While they are strongest on the weak side, they do have some depth along the interior and their staff is pretty high on both Matteo and Whitmire. The question is: Can quickly develop into solid starters in the ACC?

Defensively: The buzzword is here is: Youth. When they open vs BYU on 8/31, don't be looking for more than two Seniors in their starting defense and no more than three in key roles; the rest of whole unit are either Sophomores or Juniors, and you can throw in a Freshman or two there.  While it might one that would be worrisome, but at the same time, there is hope here:

1.    The talent is there.

2.    As the season goes on, this talent will develop and only get better.

3.    When you have an aggressive DC like Tenuta is, this talent is going to develop a mean streak. The potential is there to have a D that opponents do not want to face.

However, in the here and now, they are going to need Senior DL’s Jake Snyder (44 tackles, 5.5 for loss), Brent Urban (20 tackles) and Justin Renfrow to step up and carry the load while they get the new starters some experience and into their rotation. Snyder is steady on the interior; while on the outside at DE, you have Sophomore Eli Harold (36 tackles, 7.0 for loss), who they believe is going to be a great one in Charlottesville. The question here is: Is Harold ready to raise his game to the next level as a second-year player? With youth is going to come inconsistency, he's can be an All-American one play and crap on the next. When you see him on tape, the potential of this kid is off the charts. On the interior, Urban and Renfrow are the main players at DT, They will be joined by Sophomore David Dean, RS Freshman Andre Miles-Redmond, Junior Greg Gallop and two incoming freshmen. Think about this, you could see on their DL, as many as seven Sophomores playing big roles there.

As for their secondary, this is going to be a unit that will ultimately be one of the best in the ACC. They have Junior CB Demetrious Nicholson (56 tackles) back, as well as other starters returning and continuing their growth in their roles on the college level. The only real competition here is for the other CB spot, where either Junior DreQuan Hoskey or Sophomore Maurice Canady will win that job. They have back at the safety spot: Juniors Anthony Harris (87 tackles) and Brandon Phelps (48 tackles), while they have coming in two very impressive true freshmen in Kirk Gardner and Tim Harris.

The weakest link of their Defense is at LB. They have to find replacements for their two leading tacklers in Steve Greer (Graduation and signed as UDFA by the Washington Redskins) and La'Roy Reynolds (Graduation and signed as UDFA by the Jacksonville Jaguars). Its going to be up to underclassmen like Kwontie Moore, Demeitre Brim, Henry Coley (40 tackles, 4.5 for loss) and Daquan Romero (44 tackles) to all step up and take a much bigger role here. The most experience of those three are Coley and Romero. They’ll be the likely starters there (Romero on the weak side, Coley in the middle). They could move Coley back to the strong side if they believe Moore is ready to assume a bigger role as the MLB.

Special teams: This unit is just horrible. They are one of the worst in the ACC. Their kicking game is just terrible, though Sophomore Kicker Ian Frye should get better being the kicker full-time. While the return game does have its moments, for the most part, its just not there.  Their coverage is just pathetic. Hopefully, 2013 has better results for them because it can’t get any worse.

In closing, yes, I understand the fact; they’ve beaten us three years in a row. However, this year, it will not be four in a row. Too much inconsistency, too many question marks and when I look at that schedule, with Oregon coming to Charlottesville on 9/7, it could get very ugly very quickly and could be the start of a long season for the Cavs. This is going to be a year of growing pains, with 2014 being the year we can really judge this team. I’m going to say for the Cavs in 2013: 6-6.

In the 12^th and final part of the series, I will preview the one of the two newest members of the ACC this year and that’s the Pitt Panthers. 

Recruiting for week of 1/21/13

This weekend, we had a few visitors come in for Official Visits. Most of them loved their time here, and hopefully it'll pan out come National Signing Day on February 6th. 

We did get a huge pickup this weekend with the signing of Ufomba Kamalu from Butler CC in Kansas. He's a big boy at 6'5" 280 and the staff expects him to be on the D-Line and move over to DT. Now, what does this mean from a standpoint of Keith Bryant and Jaynard Bostwick? Probably not much at all. We need more depth on the D-Line, especially on the interior, and I think this is the immediate impact player we've been looking for on the JUCO level for months now, since we lost out on Lavon Hooks and Toby Johnson. 

This was the weekend where we're going to start to get an idea oif who's coming and who's not. Next weekend, we have two players coming in, but from the DC area: LB Yannick Ngakoue from Washington DC Friendship Academy and DT Donta Wilkins from Dumfries (VA) Potomac. With Ngakoue, this is his last OV he's taking. I would suspect though that this is a target Florida State is after hard, and more so if they don't get Matthew Thomas from Miami (Booker T. Washington). Keep this in mind, his teammate from last year is Eddie Goldman, who went to FSU last year. Maryland is in the mix too, and they're going to do everything they can to keep him home, especially with the move to the Big 10 in 2014. 

As for Wilkins, this is a kid that is committed to Virginia. However, with the visit here, I would suspect its a free trip for him, but this is a sleeper to watch, especially if we don't end up getting either Bryant or Bostwick. He's 6'2" 305 and a run stuffer and a pass rusher, which we need and like Ngakoue, this is his last OV in the process. 

If Grace goes to Louisville on Thursday, then look for this staff to focus hard on Ngakoue as that 2nd LB with Thomas. This coming weekend is going to be important here. 

Part 10 of 12 part CANE 2012 opponent series

In Part 10 of this series, we're going to take a look at the 2012 Virginia Cavaliers. They are led by Mike London, who will be entering his 3rd year in Charlottesville. They went 8-4 in 2011, losing to Auburn in the Chik-Fil-A bowl after going 4-8 in his 1st year in 2010. 

When you look at the turnaround of this Cavalier team, its not hard to figure out that this team is only going to get better and better and inside Virginia, the Cavaliers are becoming more and more of a force in recruiting there. They're going after top players from the big boys of the BCS conferences, it includes Penn State, their opponent on 9/8 at home. They're going to be dangerous for years.

The 2012 edition is not going to sneak up on anyone. This team is much better overall and they will be a contender again in the Coastal. Offensively, they get Junior QB Michael Rocco (6'3" 225) returning. In 2011, he had 2,671 passing yards, however, he had 13 TDs and 12 picks. He's an accurate QB (61% completion rate in 2011), but if the Cavaliers want to get to the next level, the  interceptions must come down. If he struggles, they have two other QBs that can step up right away in Sophomores David Watford (6'1" 200) or incoming Alabama transfer Phillip Sims (6'2" 215 and is eligible immediately) and could make things a bit more interesting to watch. Their OC Bill Lazor isn't a coach that relies only on the passing game, he's more a balanced type of coach. That's where Senior RB Perry Jones (5'8" 195) comes into play here, in 2011, he was 85 yards short of 1,000 yards (915). When you see the impact Lazor has had on their offense, consider this, from 2010 to 2011, their running game was more efficient as they increase their yards per game from 139 in 2010, to 162 last year. In the passing game, Kris Burd is gone (undrafted FA who signed with the NY Jets), however, they will get potent weapons back in Junior WRs Dominique Terrell (5'11" 170) and Sophomore Darius Jennings (5'11" 170), both of whom were heavily recruited by Penn State, but will have to step up with Burd now gone. When you add in Freshman Canaan Severin (6'2" 210), the potential is there, however, the actual production is spotty at best. Their TEs are very raw: Senior Paul Freedman (6'6" 265) and Jeremiah Mathis (6'3" 245) had just a combined a 71% completion rate in 2011 in limited action.

 

Their O-Line will have some key players back while losing others. First, three key linemen who had a combined 88 career starts are gone, (that includes all-ACC guard, and four-year starter, Austin Pasztor [drafted 4th overall by the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos]). The good news here is that but three others are back in 2012. One of those back are 2nd team all-ACC tackle Senior Oday Aboushi [6'6" 310]). The three that do return have a combined 58 career starts.

Defensively, though, might have some issues in 2012 as only 5 starters are back from the 2011 team, including 3 from their front 7, and both DTs Matt Conrath (undrafted FA to St. Louis) and Nick Jenkins (Graduation), who vs the run, were tough to block. Trying to fill those shoes are Senior Will Hill (6'4" 280) and Justin Renfrow (6'6" 310), who the staff believes can be very good on the interior.  Hill has some experience on the line and in 2011, was in their rotation and was actually better stats wise than Jenkins. He had 7 TFLs and knocked down 2 passes. There's promise on the edges here with DEs Junior Jake Snyder (6'4" 270), Senior Bill Schautz (6'4" 265) and Brent Urban (6'7" 280),  these three combined for 11 TFLs; with 9 of those coming with just 31 tackles from Schautz and Urban.  They will miss Cam Johnson (who went to San Francisco in the 7th round of the NFL Draft). He was a go for broke type of player (He had just 22.5 tackles, with 11 of those which were behind the line of scrimmage), and it looks like Johnson's replacement is going to be the same type of player. They have two true freshmen, who the staff has high hopes for from day one: DE Eli Harold (6'4" 225) and Michael Moore (6'4" 265).

 

On to the LB position, they have a pretty good group here. Senior Middle linebacker Steve Greer (6'2" 230) had 6 TFLs, and broke up 4 in 2011. Also returning here are Seniors LaRoy Reynolds (6'2" 230) who had 8 TFLs and is a player that never gives up on a play from the weak side, Ausar Walcott (6'4" 240) and Sophomore Henry Coley (6'2" 235) showed potential in backup duty, and they have a four-star freshman coming in Kwontie Moore (6'2" 250). In 2011, they had a very good D-Line to support them, that might not be the case in 2012, but their LBs should be enough to offset the losses up front. The staff is very high on true Freshman LB Kwontie Moore (6'2" 250). This guy could end up being one of the best to ever come out of their program.

 

Now to the secondary. Chase Minnifield (undrafted FA signed by Washington) and both of their starters at Safety from 2011 are gone, so they will regress, let's make no mistake about that. However, they get Sophomore CB Demetrious Nicholson (5'11" 170) back, and in 2011, lived up to the hype of a four-star player coming out of High School. He had two picks, and broke up another eight passes, and not to mention that he had two TFLs. When opponents went to his side, he made them pay. He had 51.5 tackles, Now that Minnefield is gone, he's going to have to step up his game. After that, its very thin experience wise. They get  fellow sophomores Brandon Phelps (6' 175) and Drequan Hoskey (6' 175) back, Phelps and Hoskey competed for the other starting spot opposite Nicholson. Fellow Sophomore Anthony Harris (6'1" 185) was the team leader among the other returnees with just 10.0 tackles in 2011, They get Sophomore safety Pablo Alvarez (6'3" 205) back after missing all of 2011 with an injury. This is by far, the biggest question mark here. 

 

At least, until you see how horrible their special teams were in 2011. They have to replace their kicker, punter and kickoff return specialist. There's going to be a dropoff here as well. 

 

This team doesn't back down from a fight and 2012 will be no different. They get a Penn State team that is in shambles, at home and then has to go to Fort Worth to take on a very good TCU team. In league play, they avoid FSU and Clemson, until Charlotte, if they get that far. They have to go Atlanta to play GT. If they beat TCU on the road, they could be 9-0 before we roll into town on November 10th, which could have major BCS implications for both teams. That VT game in Blacksburg will be huge potentially. In the end though, my prediction for Virginia in 2012 is 9-3. 

 

In Part 11 of the series, the focus will be on a team that might just win the Big East this year and that's the South Florida Bulls. 

2010 CANE opponent preview - @UVa Oct 30th

2009 CANES opponent previews - Nov 7th - UVa

This is the 9th part of a 12 part video series of our 2009 opponents. This video previews the Virginia Cavaliers, our opponent on November 7th at Dolphin Stadium.