The injuring of one of this season's captains, senior wide receiver Deyon Williams, left a crucial void to be filled on the Virginia football team. Sophomore Kevin Ogletree took the lead in filling that void.
"He's got excellent athletic ability and very good hand-eye coordination," said Virginia coach Al Groh. "He's kind of got that slithery style that a lot of non-power receivers have, in terms of the ability to cut and get into openings."
Ogletree, ranked as the seventh best player in New York by Rivals.com and eighth by Scout.com coming out of high school, was brought up slowly as a true freshman. He made his college debut in last season's Florida State game and appeared in every game thereafter. His first reception was a five-yard catch against North Carolina, and he then caught five passes for 20 yards against Temple.
Ogletree received a 25-yard touchdown pass fired from Kevin McCabe in Saturday's showdown with Wyoming to give the Cavaliers a six-point lead.
"The other thing that he has to be aware of is that all the players that he will play against now will see him in a different way," Groh said. "He's very definitely on their scouting report."
The rising talent and ever developing skill of Ogletree brings new excitement not only to Cavalier fans, but to the squad itself.
"Anytime a sophomore has that type of awareness and makes those types of plays, you feel a lot more comfortable," McCabe said. "As a quarterback -- to throw it out there -- he'll make a play for you."
Groh expressed his future high expectations of Ogletree with the conclusion of Saturday's Wyoming game. "All the practice work can only amount to so much until they actually see performance in a game," Groh said. "Now he's seen that, and that ought to give him a significant boost. For a young player like that to have done it in a game, that sometimes is what one needs to break through, have the confidence level and have seen it happen."