At certain positions, Virginia is loaded with experience.
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Brad Butler, Marques Hagans, Wali Lundy, Ahmad Brooks, Kai Parham, Brennan Schmidt...
The list of familiar faces is easy to draw.
But if you dip your bucket into the well looking for experience from the wide receiver position, you're going to find yourself with some pretty parched lips.
Ottowa Anderson may have enough tenure to fill up your glass, but he hasn't played a down of football since the Continental Tire Bowl against Pittsburgh in 2003. Who knows if the water he gives will still be good? After sitting out all of last year due to a suspension by head coach Al Groh, the senior wideout had a long time to sit at home in Norfolk and ponder his future.
"I couldn't watch every game since I had to work, but I tried to," Anderson said. "They were having a great year, and I was at home because of negative circumstances. My plan was to come back [in 2005]. Coach Groh and I stayed in contact, and he said if everything went well, I'd be able to get my scholarship back and return by the beginning of summer. That's what happened."
With a dreadlocked mane flowing out of his helmet, it would be easy to compare Anderson to another player who abandoned a locker room full of teammates before crawling back a year later.
But this is no Ricky Williams.
"I've been waiting for a long time to get back out there," Anderson said. "I'll be ecstatic. When you run out onto the field and see the fans screaming -- that's what I love about football. Every game is a new game, a new experience. It never gets old."
What does get old is a one-dimensional offense, which is what Virginia will bring to the field this year unless someone from the wide receiving corps steps up big. Behind Ferguson and the rest of the Virginia offensive line, Hagans and Lundy will continue to pump out rushing yardage.
It's the aerial attack that everyone is wondering about.
After Anderson's 62 career catches, junior Deyon Williams stands next in line. Williams has pulled down 27 balls as a Cavalier, totaling 383 yards. While he caught only one touchdown pass in 2004, Williams averaged 13.7 yards per catch to lead all Virginia wide receivers.
A sleek 6-feet-3-inches tall, Williams also has developed a reputation amongst his teammates as being the top deep-ball threat on the team.
"Right now, Deyon's been going to get a lot of [deep] balls in practice," Anderson said. "It seems like he catches a deep ball every day."
If Williams has been catching a deep ball every day, it's a good sign for his quarterback. With the loss of Heath Miller to the NFL, Hagans needs new faces to step up. Returning wide out Fontel Mines hopes that he is the one.
Mines had an unfortunate sophomore year, injuring his collarbone in the season opener and missing the next five games. He finished the year with only 70 yards in seven contests
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