Virginia Cavaliers Team Preview 2009

July 18th, 2009 by Jeremy Shory

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2008 overall record: 5-7

2008 conference record: 3-5

QB Marc Verica (thanks ISM.com)

Returning starters Offense: 5, Defense: 6, Punter/Kicker: 1

Top returns C Jack Shields, QB Marc Verica, QB Jameel Sewell, CB/QB Vic Hall, CB Ras-I Dowling, T Will Barker, TB Mikell Simpson

Key losses WR Maurice Covington, WR Kevin Ogletree, WR Cary Koch, T Eugene Monroe, TB Cedric Peerman, TE John Phillips, OLB Antonio Appleby, ILB Jon Copper, OLB Clint Sintim

Fall Fantasy Question

Quarterback. The emphasis this spring was not to determine who the starter was, but to let all of them get enough reps so the coaches could start to judge who best manages the team in the new offense. Just because Hall and Sewell are versatile athletes doesn’t mean the other candidates won’t be involved in the offense in some capacity.

Team Breakdown

Quarterback – The Cavaliers have just as many question marks at quarterback as the Clemson Tigers do.

With the Cavs new spread offense, who will the quarterback? Is it Jameel Sewell; back after a one year suspension? He has started 22 games. Is it Marc Verica, who started several games but threw 16 interceptions? Is it converted cornerback Vic Hall? Hall was a tremendous high school quarterback and looks to be the No. 1 guy at the moment. 2008 Stats: Verica – 226 for 354, 2,037 yards, 8 TDs, 16 INT, 32 rushes for -72 yards, 1 TD. 2007 Stats: Sewell – 214 for 364, 2,176 yards, 12 TDs, 9 INT, 126 rushes for 279 yards, 4 TDs.

ACC Rank – 11

Running Back – Cedric Peerman, the Cavs’ 2008 leading rusher, is gone. Much like their dilemma at quarterback, the Cavaliers are left searching for who will start at running back this season. The top candidate appears to be Mikell Simpson, who ran for 570 yards in 2007, but only 262 in an injury filled 2008. The Cavs will be running a new spread attack under recently hired offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon, so it’s a little tricky to say how the running backs of Virginia will adjust. Redshirt freshman Torry Mack and sophomore Max Milien could vie for time as well. 2008 Stats: Simpson – 87 rushes for 262 yards, 3 TDs, 15 receptions for 66 yards.

ACC Rank – 12

Wide Receiver – The Cavaliers receiving crop has a tough challenge ahead; they are young, inexperienced and learning a new offense. The top returning receiver, Jared Green, only had 12 receptions last year. Next on the depth chart are freshman Javaris Brown, junior Staton Jobe (one catch), sophomore Kris Burd (seven catches), and junior Dontrelle Inman (two catches). 2008 Stats: Green – 12 for 144 yards, 1 TD. Burd – 7 for 65 yards.

ACC Rank – 12

Tight End – There is no experienced talent at the TE position. Under the new spread-offense, I’d expect the catches and production for Cavs receivers to go way up. Don’t expect a whole lot from the TE position. Andrew Devlin should be the presumed starter. 2008 Stats: Devlin – 3 for 22 yards.

Cornerback Ras-I Dowling (thanks ISM.com)

Defense - So much has been mentioned about the Cavalier’s offense that the defense is flying under the radar. Virginia lost all three starting linebackers in Antonio Appleby, Jon Copper, and Clint Sintim to the NFL draft. The Cavs are returning about half of the team from last year, which should help ease the growing pains for this team. Watch for cornerback Ras-I Dowling to step up in the secondary and become a vocal leader for this team.

ACC Rank – 11

Kicker/Special Teams – Robert Randolph started late in the season as a freshman replacement for the terrible Yannick Reyering who was in the 50% range for field goals. Randolph did not get a whole lot of action, but was considerably better. He was 100% for extra points and 75% for field goals. Nobody on this team had even a close shot at cracking the end zone on a return. Watch for that to improve in yardage, but they should still struggle to find the end zone on special teams. 2008 Stats: Randolph – 6 for 6 extra points, 3 for 4 field goals, longest field goal was 37 yards.

ACC Rank – 11

2009 Schedule

Sept. 5 William & Mary
Sept. 12 TCU
Sept. 19 at Southern Miss
Oct. 3 at North Carolina
Oct. 10 Indiana
Oct. 17 at Maryland
Oct. 24 Georgia Tech
Oct. 31 Duke
Nov. 7 at Miami
Nov. 14 Boston College
Nov. 21 at Clemson
Nov. 28 Virginia Tech

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