It was an event for all things early at Scott Stadium Thursday night.
The Virginia football team mixed it up with Colorado State in the earliest season opener in college football history. The smart fans who arrived at the game early didn't have to sit in the worst Charlottesville traffic snarl in recent memory (although their reward was a few extra hours in the 97-degree heat.) And the team that jumped out to a quick start won the game -- while the Cavaliers fought back gamely in a spirited second-half comeback traditionally reserved for Virginia opponents, falling just short on Marques Hagans' desperate scramble for the goal line in the game's waning moments.
But the aspect of the game that the ever-optimistic Virginia faithful focused on was the play of coach Al Groh's highly-touted recruiting class and its early playing time. This year's crop of freshmen is the most decorated bunch in Virginia football history. Ranked in the top 10 by most recruiting analysts, the class took an early hit when it was revealed that its two linchpins, linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham, would not play for the Cavaliers this season due to a lost SAT score and a bad back.
Despite the losses of Brooks and Parham -- for this season, anyway -- Groh bravely soldiered on without his two prize freshmen and went about finding gems among the rest of the group. Ten true freshmen played last night; some were at particularly thin positions, and others were simply too good to be kept out of the lineup. By the end of the night, some of the most promising players in orange and blue were just a few months removed from the prom.
The most visible of the true freshmen were running backs Wali Lundy and Michael Johnson. Each provided a nice change-of-pace from the other and last year's starter, Alvin Pearman. Lundy was the workhorse, rushing for 96 yards on 20 carries and showing the most willingness to drag the pile. Johnson was every bit as fast as his famous name, averaging 7.4 yards per carry and losing about 20 yards to an inadvertent slip in the open field.
"They are guys who can fly," center Kevin Bailey said. "We used those quick runs and quick passes and got up the field. That's going to help us tremendously down the road."
Lundy and Johnson weren't the only true freshmen to see time for the Virginia offense. Fullback Jason Snelling also acquitted himself well, making one catch for five yards despite a punishing hit from a Colorado State defender. And offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, a player sure to make all-name teams for the next four years, jumped right in as the starter at left tackle, assuming his role as the protector of the blind sides of Virginia's quarterbacks. Starting a true freshman at left tackle in his first college game is a rare event, the rough equivalent of Doogie Houser stepping right into the operating room at age 16.
Even Doogie himself might not have been able to help Colorado State quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt after his encounters with linebacker Darryl Blackstock, whose last meaningful action came for Fork Union Military Academy. The play of Blackstock, who rang up six tackles and one sack, should help lessen the blow from the losses of Brooks and Parham this season. Joining Blackstock on the Virginia defense was mammoth defensive end Kwakou Robinson, filling in for the injured Chris Canty, who had two tackles, one for a loss.
The final true freshman starter for the Cavaliers, joining Ferguson, Robinson and Lundy at kick returner, was punter Tom Hagan, who was anointed as the starter the moment he stepped onto Grounds. Hagan did not disappoint, averaging nearly 40 yards per punt and getting off a 51-yarder.
The Cavaliers got off to a slow start last night and couldn't quite make up for it. But despite the loss on the record, the early-starting Cavs appear to have a bright future due to the play of their highly-touted freshmen. The old adage that you lose one game for every freshman starter could still hold true, particularly with Virginia's daunting schedule. But the play of Johnson, Lundy, Snelling, Ferguson, Blackstock, Robinson, Hagan and the rest of their classmates bodes well for the Virginia football program's future. The team is like a good stock portfolio -- the value is on the rise, and we've already seen some quality early returns.
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