Virginia football coach Al Groh announced yesterday that senior tailback Antwoine Womack will have surgery on his ankle.
Womack went down with a high ankle sprain during Saturday's season-opening game at Wisconsin.
Womack will undergo surgery as soon as the swelling in his ankle goes down, Groh announced. Womack is expected to be kept off the field for seven to nine weeks.
Groh chooses Spinner as quarterback
At a press conference on Monday, Groh stated that red shirt sophomore Bryson Spinner will be the starting quarterback for the Cavaliers against Richmond, but that both Spinner and fellow sophomore Matt Schaub will see playing time.
Groh was responding to much speculation and criticism surrounding his choice to keep quiet about who would hold the permanent starting position.
"I was probably going to start [Spinner] anyway [for Richmond] regardless of the result of the other game," he said. "I had pretty well decided that last week. I really wasn't ever keeping it a secret for a team like Wisconsin. I just wanted to see the players perform for as long as I could before a decision was necessary.
"Once I made it, I really just wanted to let them cool it and not be bothered with headlines or reading about themselves."
At Wisconsin, Schaub started at quarterback but after he made several critical errors, Spinner relieved Schaub for the remainder of the game.
Schaub admitted that he felt he did not live up to his own expectations of his abilities.
"I try not to make it seem like the end of the world, because you know it's really not," he said. "I expect a lot out of myself and I didn't play up to my potential. I was very angry at myself and I've got to deal with that and what I did wrong."
Groh looks ahead to Richmond
Groh also spoke about the preparation for Saturday's game against Richmond, a I-AA team known for its unusual lines of attack. He said that the Spiders will try to surprise and fake out the Cavaliers with trick plays like fake field goals and fake punts.
"They kill any continuity that we might have had with our systems," he said. "Everything they do with their offense and their defense and special teams are so different from what we got ready for that it's like starting all over ... in the sense that 35 practices worth of training camp have little application in this game."
But, he acknowledged, his coaching mentality revolves around preparing the Cavaliers for whatever any opponents, including the Spiders, may throw their way.
"The way I think of this whole business is that the coach's job is, one, to acquire talent, and two, after the acquisition of that talent, to put your team together," he said. "Then take what team you have and figure out how to beat the other guy's team.
"Another way to say that is every week, you get dealt a new hand of cards. You've got to figure out how to play the hand you have. If the only time you're going to win at cards is when you get the best hand, you're not going to win very often.
"The really good card players are those that can get a number of different kind of hands: good, bad, indifferent and in-between, and still figure out a way to win."
Read More
Virginia baseball boasts the best catcher in the country — a Division III transfer
By Xander Tilock | 3 hours agoFerence has replaced Teel admirably, and will look to lift Virginia back to the College World Series.
Lacrosse defenseman Cole Kastner announces transfer to Stanford basketball
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayKastner is reviving a hoops career that has lain dormant since he graduated high school.
Virginia gets second Notre Dame rematch in a dynamic ACC Tournament bout Friday
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayThe Cavaliers will get a shot at redemption against a vaunted ACC foe, in a game with serious postseason seeding implications.
