The End of The Al Groh Era
Tuesday, December 30 2008 by Tiki - 0 comments
September 2nd 2000 was opening day of the 2000 Cavaliers football season, the first game I would attend as an alum. The opponent was BYU, and we lost 38-35 in OT. The loss hurt, especially considering we led 21-0 at halftime. I don’t remember much about the game, I was probably drunk. What I remember most is this was the moment I lost faith in George Welsh as a head football coach. Looking back, I had begun to lose faith some time before. There were signs that the game was passing him by. There were signs that he had lost touch with recruits. Still...
Release: Gregg Brandon and Latrell Scott Hired
Tuesday, December 23 2008 by Tim - 0 comments
They’ve finally made it official. Al Groh has added Gregg Brandon and Latrell Scott to his coaching staff. Brandon will be the offensive coordinator and Scott will be the wide receivers coach. Wayne Lineburg will move to running backs to make room for Scott. We knew this was happening, but it’s nice to see it made official. Here’s a great quote from Brandon: The UVa offense will be wide open and fun to watch. Our players will find the system unique and creative. I can’t wait to get started. Sounds good to me! There’s still some holes to fill… particularly, who is the QB coach? Here’s the full release...
Daily Press: Gregg Brandon Accepts OC Position
Thursday, December 18 2008 by Tim - 2 comments
According to the Daily Press this morning , Gregg Brandon has accepted the position of Offensive Coordinator here at U.Va. No official word from anyone yet, though. I don’t think this hire qualifies as a home run hire exactly, but its definitely one I’m comfortable with. I’m looking forward to seeing his spread offense on the field next year. Play action, the option, should be an entertaining season!...
Offensive Coordinator Candidates: Gregg Brandon?
Wednesday, December 17 2008 by Tim - 2 comments
As MelbourneHoo mentioned yesterday, former Bowling Green head coach Gregg Brandon is another candidate we’re looking at for the Offensive Coordinator position. If Jerry Ratcliffe is to be believed (and I’m likely to give him the benefit of the doubt), he’s Al Groh’s top choice right now. I’m not as high on Brandon as I am on Borges simply due to the places he’s been and how successful he’s been at each place. Here’s a quick rundown of where Brandon has been: Weber State (1981-1986; Tight Ends, Special Teams, Linebackers, Receivers; Head Coach was Mike Price) Wyoming (1987-1990; Receivers) Utah...
Offensive Coordinator Candidates: Borges?
Monday, December 15 2008 by Tim - 4 comments
I’m intrigued almost as much by the lack of speculation on the candidates as I am by the candidates that are being speculated on. Vandy Hoo seems to be keeping a good catalog of speculation ( Mike Turner , Al Borges , Jeff Rutledge , Ron Prince , Hal Mumme , Chuck Long , Dave Clawson and Ed Zaunbrecher ). But there is very little substance in any of those. Really I would say that only the Al Borges one looks like it has any legs, and even then only because the rumor came from outside our little U.Va. circle. The fact that the Borges rumor has legs is good for me since I also think he’s...
Monroe Named Second Team All-American (Rivals)
Thursday, December 11 2008 by Tim - 0 comments
Eugene Monroe just keeps racking up the accolades . This time, Rivals.com has named him a Second Team All-American. Monroe is the only offensive player from the ACC on either the first or second team. LB Mark Herzlich of Boston College was the only first-team player from the ACC. Interestingly, the second-team defense was loaded with ACC players (DE Everette Brown from FSU, DT B.J. Raji from Boston College, SS Morgan Burnett from Georgia Tech, CB Macho Harris from Virginia Tech and LB Aaron Curry and CB Alphonso Smith from Wake Forest). “Hoogene” is also the fourth offensive lineman from Virginia...
Monroe is Commonwealth’s O-Lineman of the Year
Wednesday, December 10 2008 by Tim - 0 comments
The Richmond Touchdown Club earlier this week tabbed Virginia Senior Offensive Tackle Eugene Monroe as its Offensive Lineman of the Year in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Monroe was already the recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy , presented annually to the best blocker in the ACC and was named first team All-ACC after the 2008 season. He’s expected to be an early pick in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.Al Groh: Mike Groh, Belin and Bernstein Out
Monday, December 08 2008 by Tim - 0 comments
Instead of “sources,” we now have real information from the man himself , confirming everything mentioned earlier (except for the Ron Prince thing which was successfully “un-mentioned” Jeff White as far as I’m concerned): “Since the end of the season, I have done the annual review of every aspect of our program in order to make our plans to move forward to the next season. Part of that moving forward will involve changes in our systems and staff. The change in systems will be made to utilize the player talent available to us from our current roster and incoming players, and the changes in the staff...
Sources: Mike Groh, Belin and Bernstein Out
Sunday, December 07 2008 by Tim - 3 comments
Jeff White of the Richmond Times-Dispatch posted earlier today that he has confirmed that Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh, defensive line coach Levern Belin and secondary coach Steve Bernstein are leaving head coach Al Groh’s staff. He also lists a bunch of speculation in there that’s not confirmed yet: Dex to coach the secondary Pruett to assistant head coach Diaco to Defensive Coordinator Ron Prince to Offensive Coordinator Those first two sound like good ideas to me, especially if it means Pruett can be involved in some of the “head coach” kind of decisions – perhaps that’ll help mitigate some...
Will Hill Commits!!
Friday, December 05 2008 by MelbourneHoo - 3 comments
Woah, How about some unexpected good news and a shocking answer to the Groh issues can hurt recruiting. William Hill from Williamsburg VA committed to the Hoos over offers from Penn State and Tennessee. It is shocking that we were able to steal Will away from the traditional recruiting juggernauts. Will is a 6'4" 260 lbs 3 star recruit projected to play DE. He was Bay Rivers District Defensive Player of the Year this year. Will is important to this class for several reasons. Besides being a talented athlete, Will is a good student and plans on enrolling at UVA in January and to study Biology. Hill...