In light of Virginia football's loss at N.C. State Saturday, let's look back to Sept. 1, aka. GMG (Groh Must Go) Day. Leading up to the Wyoming game that afternoon, sophomore Jameel Sewell was the quarterback of the Virginia football team. With little controversy apparent at the time, it was a nice contrast from last year's quarterback shuffle in the first three games.
It's curious to note that Groh put freshman quarterback Peter Lalich, a prized recruit, in the game with 2:24 remaining. My dad, a U.Va. alum and football fan, has said ever since that it was a mistake to put Lalich in the game. I agreed with him then, and as time has passed, it has become more and more apparent that Groh dropped the ball on this one. Our dissent came from the fact that Lalich apparently would not be redshirted this season.
College athletes have a five-year period to participate in four years of NCAA competition. Though playing in that game did not necessarily prevent Lalich from being redshirted (if he was injured at some point having only played in that game, he could have applied for a medical redshirt), Groh was essentially saying Lalich was going to be a piece to the puzzle this year. Playing Lalich in that meaningless situation seemed harmless and innocent on the surface; however, its repercussions for Lalich's career were anything but.
If he had a redshirt year to develop physically, learn the playbook and get acquainted with the offense, Lalich would have had a better chance to challenge Sewell for the job next year. At that point, one of three things would happen: Lalich wins the job; both quarterbacks play (though perhaps not as consistently); or Sewell wins the job. Even in the third scenario, Lalich is still ready to go and would still have four full years of eligibility -- including two in which the starting quarterback job was his to lose.
After the Wyoming game, Groh decided to use both Sewell and Lalich. Though a two-quarterback system works in theory (sort of like communism), its actual successes are few and far between. The fact that one of those success stories came last year with the Florida Gators (using Chris Leak and Tim Tebow) only fueled the enthusiasm for the move. The only problem was that Leak was an established quarterback and Tebow was an absolute stud in the perfect offensive system. Just because Sewell is better at running and Lalich is better at throwing didn't mean that using both would prove efficient.
Furthermore, using both quarterbacks seemed like a panic move to justify playing Lalich in the Wyoming game. Immediately, it appeared to spark the team in the Duke game. Sewell started, but Lalich came in at the end of the second quarter and then played the entire fourth. In his best performance of the year, Lalich finished 13 of 18 with 131 yards and a TD. Some argue it's a good thing Lalich didn't redshirt; otherwise we would have lost this game. That seems a bit exaggerated given that Virginia never trailed Duke, and if anyone carried the team it was probably Cedric Peerman, who broke out for 137 yards on 19 carries and a TD.
The Duke game stands as the only time Lalich really outshined Sewell. And even then, Jameel finished with 93 all-purpose yards and passing TD in the game. Sewell went on to outplay the freshman in the next two contests and won outright the job he should have held all along. He has since led the team to four straight victories before Saturday at N.C. State. Lalich, on the other hand, is wasting a precious year of eligibility on the bench.
College football is all about managing resources. Coaches recruit players by selling them on the academics, facilities and other assets their schools have to offer. Once they bring those players into a program, they must decide when certain players are used. Determining if and when a player should be redshirted is vital to maintaining the best program a coach can.
Redshirting a player isn't an insult, but a smart tool that coaches use. Some of the best players on both sides of the ball for U.Va. have redshirted, including sophomore Jeffrey Fitzgerald, junior Clint Sintim, junior Cedric Peerman, sophomore Mikell Simpson and freshman Keith Payne. The best example is probably Sewell, who sat out a year as Marques Hagans ran the offense.
Since the dual quarterback system was abandoned, Lalich has been used sparsely. He didn't play against Pitt, Middle Tennessee or Connecticut, and came into the last two games only because Sewell was injured near the end of each contest. Against Maryland and N.C. State, Lalich went 3 for 9 for 20 yards in three series and was sacked 3 times. At this point in time Lalich appears out of sync with the offense, which you can afford to be while redshirting, but not when you're suiting up every Saturday.
I know, I know: Hindsight is 20/20. I also know a lot people are high on Lalich. Obviously Groh is, since he decided to play him as a true freshman. But sometimes, people's perceptions get the best of them and they fail to realize what they are pushing for is not proven, not a sure thing. I don't want to take anything away from Lalich; I'm glad he's here and I think he could be great down the road. I just think a redshirt year would have been a better stepping stone to that end than throwing him into the fire this year.
As Manny Ramirez told media with the Red Sox on the brink of elimination, "it's not like it's the end of the world." But in college sports you have to think long-term about every decision. Let's just hope that in the end I'm proven wrong and that this particular one helps Virginia football in the future.
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