As the grass at Scott Stadium dried from the rain and hail that hit earlier in the afternoon, the Virginia football team took the field for its annual Spring Game. The Blue team, which featured the first-team offense, prevailed 17-7 against the Orange squad led by the starting defensive unit.
The hail "was the size of ice cubes, [but] you can't control the weather," coach Mike London said. "You got to just play football."
Unfortunately for the football team, the weather cleared out many of the fans who came for the men's lacrosse game beforehand, but London promised the team will "continue to try to do things to get [their] fans involved."
Players on both sides showed glimpses of their potential for the upcoming season, but also gave the coaches plenty of mistakes to analyze for the fall.
The four quarterbacks gunning for a starting job struggled against two dominant defenses.
Each quarterback took snaps for both teams, giving the coaches the opportunity to evaluate the players against each defense. This also allowed the quarterbacks to play with the same offensive units. Sophomore Michael Rocco started under center for the Blue team, completing only 10 of 22 passes, but finished 7 of 10 for the Orange team. Overall, he tossed touchdown passes for both squads, finished with 152 total passing yards and tossed one interception to senior cornerback Chase Minnifield on the opening drive.
Sophomore quarterback Ross Metheny attempted just three passes for each team as he was under constant pressure in the pocket. During one series in the third quarter, the Orange team stopped Metheny three times behind the line of scrimmage.
"Today they allowed us to at least wrap them up," junior defensive end Bill Schautz said. "I'm pretty confident on all of those I would have brought him down [if not for the no-contact rule], but you never know. We showed a couple of good solid hits out there, good tackling and good movement."
Redshirt freshman Michael Strauss did not fare much better than Metheny, completing less than 50 percent of his passes and throwing a pick-six to senior cornerback Dom Joseph. The quarterbacks' lack of familiarity with their receivers may have contributed to their struggles, as Virginia's top three wideouts, senior Kris Burd, senior Matt Snyder and redshirt sophomore Tim Smith, missed the game with injuries.
"Is it easier when you know the route runners are experienced and are going to be in the right spot? Absolutely," offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said.
Highly-touted freshman quarterback David Watford also appeared Saturday, after enrolling in school early this semester to get a jump on learning the college game.
"I've picked up the pace," Watford said. "That's the biggest change - just the speed of the game and then learning the offense."
Watford got off to a rough start when he was called for a delay of game penalty during his first drive and completed only one of five passes overall. The game followed just his second week of college practice, however, and the quarterback knows that advice from his cousin and new graduate assistant coach Marques Hagans, as well as former Cavalier and NFL quarterback Aaron Brooks, will aid his transition.
"Having people like that around you just makes you a better player," Watford said. "They're always looking to make you a better player [and] help push you."
Following the game, London declined to declare a front-runner for the starting quarterback job.
"We'll see where we are [after] one more week of practice," London said. "I'd like to [name a No. 1 and No. 2] by the end if I could."
London's biggest criticism related to two excessive celebration penalties, as redshirt freshman tight end Zachary Swanson and Joseph both drew flags.
Swanson is "a young player, [and] I know he's happy about getting in the end zone, but you have to think beyond just the moment because that's something that can cost you points," London said.\nSwanson's penalty cost him a score, as new college football rules mark the ball dead if a player celebrates before reaching the end zone.
Despite the penalties and offensive difficulties, however, London was pleased with the overall performance of his team.
"We're light-years ahead of where we were when we first started out," London said.
In one of the biggest moments of the day, London named Snyder, junior running back Perry Jones, senior safety Rodney McLeod and senior defensive tackle Nick Jenkins captains for the upcoming season.
"It was kind of weird when he called my name as a captain," Jones said. "I [still] remember my first year when he named the captains."
The Cavaliers will return to practice for a third and final week of the spring session before reconvening as a team during the summer.
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