As Brock Berlin picked apart the Virginia secondary last November in Charlottesville and effectively killed Virginia's chances of winning the ACC title, I couldn't help but say to myself 'Phillip Brown was supposed to solve this problem.'
The cornerback was the number one ranked recruit in the state of Virginia coming out of high school in 2003. After initially failing to meet the minimum NCAA academic eligibility requirements, Brown spent a year at Hargrave Military and arrived at Virginia for the 2004 season with high expectations.
Unfortunately, Brown looked nothing like a superstar phenom during his time on the field this past season. He got the starting nod at the end of September, but it only took a couple of games before he was back on the bench playing the role of reserve. Brown didn't even make the trip to Virginia Tech for the Cavaliers' final regular season game for reasons coach Al Groh would not disclose.
Brown won't be making any trips with Virginia this season and once again Groh isn't filling anybody in on the details. But it doesn't take a detective to figure out what's likely going on here.
The sophomore cornerback's name was mysteriously absent from Virginia's 2005 roster when it was released at the ACC Football kickoff earlier this week, along with offensive lineman D.J. Bell, linebacker Devonta Brown and wide receiver Ron Morton. Although I can't say for sure, the overwhelming consensus among the local sports media is that academic problems have left these players ineligible for the 2005 season.
Virginia fans know how much of a nuisance these "academic standards" can be. The absence of starting forward Jason Clark left a gaping hole in the men's basketball starting lineup, a hole coach Pete Gillen and the Cavaliers were unable to fill. Virginia failed to qualify for postseason play for the first time this decade and Gillen is now out of a job.
Brown's absence won't likely have the same kind of impact as Clark's sudden departure did. In fact, there's a good chance that Virginia fans will barely notice that he's missing. But the fact that multiple players failed to meet the academic standards to play raises some questions about what standard student athletes should be held to, especially at a competitive academic university like Virginia.
Groh and his staff were able to land the top ranked recruit in the Commonwealth in 2002 (Ahmad Brooks), 2003 (Brown) and 2004 (Olu Hall). Each year, however, the highly-touted recruit failed to meet the minimum NCAA academic requirements and were forced to spend a year at prep school to get their scores up. It's not just that these players failed to qualify academically to attend Virginia, they failed to meet the minimum standard to play at any Division I institution.
While I don't think this is the case for most athletes, some of the most talented recruits in the big revenue sports are able to come to play at Virginia despite having nowhere near the kind of academic credentials as the average U.Va. student.
As a student here, this is frustrating to me. But I understand that the reality is that these players will continue to matriculate at this university because of their speed and strength, and I accept that as part of the territory here at a big time ACC school. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's the way that things work.
The important thing is that once these student athletes start taking classes here at U.Va., they are held to the same standard as any other Virginia student. And I have no reason to think that this isn't the case here, which is reassuring to me.
When I saw that Jason Clark was going to miss the rest of the basketball season last year I was disappointed -- as a fan. But as a student, it gave me hope that the system is working. Student athletes here are going to be treated like students and if they can't get the kind of grades they need, there will be consequences.
Some big times schools offer classes specifically geared toward student athletes in order to avoid the kind of problem Philip Brown find himself in right now. At Ohio State University, players could get four credits just for being on the football team and can get three more by taking head coach Jim Tressel's Coaching Football class. When running back Sammy Maldonando transferred from OSU to Maryland after playing for the Buckeyes for two years, his new school recognized only 17 credits as legitimate.
Thankfully, no such joke classes exist at Virginia.It may be a small victory, but it's a victory nonetheless.
The Virginia secondary may be one cornerback short for this year, but I can honestly say I will rest easier at night knowing that even a hyped-up recruit like Philip Brown has to meet some sort of academic standards during his time here or face legitimate consequences.
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