TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
By now it should be easy for most students to imagine the first day of college classes -- the confusion, the nervousness, the uncertainty.
But for a moment, imagine that on your first day of your first year, still wet behind the ears, you find that all of your classmates are Lawn residents, aspiring Rhodes scholars and future millionaires. Intimidated?
Now you know what it's like to be one of the 12 true freshmen who have played in Virginia's first two football games of the season.
Many of these players, like freshmen tailbacks Wali Lundy and Michael Johnson, were part of the Virginia recruiting class that was widely considered one of the best in the nation.
Lundy, Johnson and their classmates were not only expected to develop into strong players -- they were expected to do it in a matter of weeks, and Virginia Coach Al Groh admitted as early as the spring that he would be looking for significant contributions from the incoming freshman class.
Virginia's last-minute fall to Colorado State and Saturday's 40-19 loss to Florida State might indicate that these freshmen couldn't cut it.
Exactly the opposite -- the new Cavaliers have showed exactly the kind of toughness and potential that, when coupled with a little experience, can put Virginia football in serious contention with even the conference-dominating Seminoles.
Consider a few of the bright spots in Saturday's loss, provided by Virginia's freshmen.
Lundy and Johnson shot right out of the gate, Lundy with an 11-yard run on the Cavaliers' first possession and Johnson right on his heels to keep Virginia on the advance.
Lundy finished the game as the team's lead rusher, with 34 yards on 13 carries. Johnson added 25 rushing yards, the team's second best against a stiff Florida State defense.
Against Colorado State, Lundy was the team's rushing leader with 94 yards, and Johnson put up 37 yards on only five carries.
In a group of tailbacks in which sophomores Alvin Pearman and Marquis Weeks are the most experienced veterans, Lundy and Johnson have helped the backfield make an impression.
"We don't just have ball-carriers in the backfield," Groh said. "We have playmakers."
The Cavaliers' defensive line has only one lineman who can boast any game experience, sophomore nose tackle Andrew Hoffman. So, true freshmen Kwakou Robinson, Braden Campbell and D.J. Bell have stepped up to make contributions in the past two games.
Freshman Darryl Blackstock, who made more than 50 sacks in the two years before coming to Virginia, finished the Colorado State game with seven tackles and started against Florida State, finishing with six tackles and one sack.
The numbers may not be overwhelming, but they are solid, and they are significant in light of Virginia's competition.
We "put four or five of those freshmen linemen out there against five fifth-year seniors," Groh said. "That's what I like about [our] team. Those kids, they didn't back down. They had to deal with it out there. They had to take those guys on, and they kept going out for more, so that's why I feel positive."
The determination of the freshman class is certainly something for Virginia to feel positive about. Faced with a 33-0 deficit at the end of the third quarter against Florida State and with Cavalier veterans falling to injury left and right, the team, even the freshmen, didn't give themselves up for lost.
The Cavaliers' three late touchdowns came from veterans, but Johnson and Lundy both had significant first-down receptions. Freshman cornerback Marcus Hamilton and freshman safety Willie Davis teamed up to slow a late Florida State drive and hold the Seminoles.
"We had heart and we fought back," Davis said of his team. About his freshman classmates, he added, "We did good, but we can do better. Always, always look for improvement."
No doubt Virginia should expect improvement from its freshmen (and veterans as well), especially with two of the toughest matches on the Cavalier schedule behind them. Groh joked with reporters after Saturday's game that he should add a "patience coordinator" to his staff in order to make sure that week-to-week expectations for his new players are realistic. But even now it is not unrealistic to believe that these freshmen are what Virginia needs to rise to the head of the class.
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