What a difference a year makes.
The Virginia football team held its annual spring game Saturday, April 19 marking the end of spring practice and the beginning of an endless off-season for Cavalier fans. Amid the cloudy skies and chilly April air, one aspect of the "game" stood out above everything else: the Virginia football team has gotten very good. . . very fast.
The spring game of 2002 featured a Virginia team with more questions than answers. Fans wondered if Matt Schaub could ever win in a Virginia uniform. They questioned the ability of a young, inexperienced line, and they hoped beyond hope that Virginia's all-world recruiting class could make an immediate impact.
The spring game of 2003 could not have been much different. Here's a short recap of what has changed in the last year.
Matt Schaub: Heisman Candidate
During last year's spring game, Matt Schaub looked uncomfortable in the pocket. His passes were unsteady. His feet were slow. He threw a pass that was picked off and returned for a touchdown. Needless to say Virginia fans were not too excited about the team's offense. This year's scene was hardly reminiscent. Schaub looked poised in the pocket. His passes were laser-sharp, hitting their targets with consistency and ease. As for his feet, they went untested. Schaub had the protection of a virtual red-jersey, the "don't hit the quarterback" jersey.
The fact that coach Al Groh elected to put Schaub under the red-jersey rule speaks volumes about Schaub's importance to the team. Spring games often have provided the venue for serious injuries. Groh was not willing to take the chance of his star quarterback suffering such a setback.
Most strikingly, the program distributed among the fans only had one player on it. You can guess which player. Under his picture, the program text read "Matt Schaub, 2002 ACC Player of the Year, 2003 Heisman Trophy Candidate." My, how far he has come.
Ahmad Brooks: The Real Deal
Virginia fans heard the hype from recruiting analysts around the nation. They waited anxiously as their star recruit attended military school to improve his grades. They received their reward Saturday when Ahmad Brooks said "hello" to Virginia football. Brooks did not disappoint, drawing ooh's and ahh's from the Virginia faithful with his amazing speed and hard-hitting ability. On one play, Brooks took a bad angle and ran down Virginia running back Marquis Weeks, who had attempted to bounce to the outside. Later in the day, he broke through the offensive line and put Schaub in his crosshairs. Luckily, he remembered the red-jersey rule and pulled up short, only to touch Schaub on the shoulder. Schaub later said that if Brooks had hit him, he would still be lying on the field. I don't doubt it.
Last year, Virginia fans marveled at the experience of their linebacking corps, which included seniors Angelo Crowell and Merril Robertson. This year, they marveled at the same unit because of its promise. With Brooks joining sack phenom Darryl Blackstock and fellow freshman Kai Parham, fans have reason to be excited.
Wali Lundy and Marquis Weeks: Untouchable?
Last spring, a Virginia fan had to worry a good deal about the team's running game. Antoine Womack had graduated, severing the final bond to the George Welsh years of Running Back U. Alvin Pearman had shown signs of brilliance, but lacked the consistency to be a feature back. This spring, the situation at running back is, again, indicative of a new era. Virginia not only has one running back with feature back capabilities, it has two. Wali Lundy looked superb Saturday, picking the right holes and hitting them hard. Marquis Weeks ran with more power than Lundy, throwing a vicious shoulder on one play that broke a Lance Evans tackle and allowed the rising junior to go 43 yards for the score. Together, they should provide a one-two unseen in the state since the days of that other power-speed combo. Not Suggs and Jones. Try Womack and Thomas Jones.
Watch out ACC, the 2003 Cavaliers should be a strong to very strong contender for the league title. Considering where they were a year ago, that's an amazing possibility.
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