It seems like this won’t change at next year’s draft. Two Virginia seniors, offensive tackle Eugene Monroe and outside linebacker Clint Sintim, are projected by many mock 2009 NFL Drafts to go in the first round; Monroe is often listed in the top five. On ESPN analyst Mel Kiper’s “Big Board,” Monroe is listed as the No. 4 prospect in the country, and Sintim No. 18.
Monroe said the draft hype is mostly a distraction.
“It’s unavoidable to hear it each week from teammates,” Monroe said of his high draft prospects. “Or family might see it on the Internet or wherever.”
This response is expected from an athlete like Monroe who is as humble as they come, and who by all accounts works as hard as anyone in his game preparation.
Monroe is “a great example of a kid who, despite kudos that are passed his way by others [and the] successes that he’s had as a student and a player, has absolutely no degree of entitlement,” coach Al Groh said. “He’s got a lot of humility and understands that what he’s able to achieve is a result of his commitment and performance.”
After not allowing a sack all of last season while being graded the top offensive lineman for Virginia in five games by the coaching staff, Monroe has been the top-graded lineman five times already this season. At 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, Monroe is in essence a wall that moves; he is the chief force on the offensive line that has sprung Cedric Peerman to three 100-plus yard rushing games in the last four games.
“My main goal as a leader is to make my performance speak for how I demand my teammates’ performance or focus,” Monroe said. “If I’m not doing my part in that regard, then nothing I say will matter.”
Sintim, meanwhile, has statistics that can be more tangibly appreciated. After tallying nine sacks last year, Sintim has already racked up 9.5 through eight games and has 25.5 on his career. He is just 1.5 sacks behind Darryl Blackstock, Virginia’s all-time leader in sacks at the linebacker position, and is on track for 15.5 on the season, which would bypass Long’s 2007 mark of 14.
What’s even more remarkable about Sintim’s numbers is that he is a marked man. With standout defensive ends Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald gone and all the attention squarely on his shoulder pads, Sintim has still managed to put up the most explosive numbers of his career.
“Sometimes I’d sneak in the back door and make a play or two [last year],” Sintim said. “This year you don’t necessarily have those same type of guys, and I knew that I’d have to step up and be a better pass-rusher.”
Sintim noted that he watched film of Long, among others, in the off-season to improve himself as a pass-rusher.
It also doesn’t hurt to go against Monroe every day in practice.
“Every Wednesday we go into a one-on-one pass-rushing drill, and that’s really my day to try to work him over,” Sintim said. “It doesn’t work as often as I’d like it to.”
Sintim said he had not even looked at Kiper’s Big Board; however, when told of his position on the board, he was cautious about putting too much stock in it at this point in the season.
“That’s exciting, don’t get me wrong, but there are so many other factors that’ll go into that before the end of the year,” Sintim said. “All due respect to Mel Kiper, he doesn’t necessarily pick the picks.”
Of the 20 former Cavaliers active in the NFL, 16 play on the offensive line or in the box.
If Sintim and Monroe continue to perform as they have all season, it does not appear this trend will change.
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