For years, many Cavalier fans have been hoping the Virginia football team would diversify its offense and throw the ball more regularly. If the spring game was any indication, the fans will be receiving their wish this season.
Of the 86 plays run during the game, 70 of them were passing plays. Part of the reason for this is that coach Al Groh wants rising senior running back Cedric Peerman and fellow backfield member rising junior Mikell Simpson to rest up for the season; however, there is also a three-way competition for the starting quarterback job, and Groh wanted to see how each contender performed, though he downplayed the number of passes thrown.
"What we really did was run our offense and hope the quarterback threw to the guy who was open," Groh said. "It's not a complicated deal in terms of [the quarterbacks] throw the ball to the guy that is open. Clearly more of those guys were open."
Rising senior quarterback Scott Deke found a lot of those guys who were open today. In a somewhat surprising performance, Deke completed 17 of 23 pass attempts for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
"Its always fun to go out there, throw touchdowns and move the offense along," Deke said. "People went out there and did their thing. The defense did well, Marc [Verica] went out there and did well; it was a good day."
There was speculation as to whether Deke would come back for his fifth year of eligibility, but Groh clearly wanted Deke to be a member of the team this season.
"He wouldn't have brought me back if he wouldn't give me an opportunity," Deke said. "When he had our meeting he said that he doesn't like to bring people back unless they are going to have a consistent chance of maybe earning some playing time."
Deke got the starting nod because of an unconventional selection method by Groh.
"All we did was let the quarterbacks choose a number between one and 50," Groh said. "Whoever got the number that we had in our head, he got to start, and then we had the next two choose a number in-between one and 20 and whoever got closest to that number, he got to go second."
Rising sophomore quarterback Marc Verica guessed the closest the second time around and got to go into the game after Deke. Verica had a solid day, completing 17 of 25 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Verica downplayed the quarterback competition and focused on the long-term goals of the season.
"We're not really caught up with who's going to be the starter right now," Verica said. "We're just focused on our job and what we can do to move this team forward."
Highly touted rising sophomore quarterback Peter Lalich went into the game third and did not perform as well as the other two quarterbacks, throwing three interceptions. Regardless of the interceptions, Lalich said he is moving on from the game.
"Those things don't matter to the team right now," Lalich said. "This is the spring, and we have a long way to go."
Overall, Groh said he was pleased with the performance of the three quarterbacks.
"It was a positive day for the quarterbacks," Groh said. "They made good decisions. Each one in his own time made some good throws."
Another significant aspect of the spring game was the announcement of the recipients of the Rock Weir Awards, which go to the most improved players during spring drills. The recipients were rising senior tight end John Phillips, rising redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Landon Bradley and rising sophomore linebacker Denzel Burrell. Phillips noted the improvement he and the others made this spring.
"I think I did really well this spring," Phillips said. "I think a lot of guys got better, and that's what its all about: getting better every day."
The 2008 team captains were also announced during the spring game. Phillips, Peerman, rising senior linebacker Clint Sintim and rising junior cornerback Vic Hall were given the honor. Phillips noted how much this distinction meant to him.
"I feel very honored that my teammates selected me," Phillips said. "I'm grateful that they decided to vote [for] me."
Overall, while Groh deemed the game as a positive step for the 2008 season, he noted the challenges that lie ahead for the fall.
"We play a team [in Southern California] that, really in the decade of 2000, is in a league of its own to start the season," Groh said. "All four of our non-conference teams played in the postseason last year. We lose the best player in all of college football [defensive end Chris Long]. That counts for more than one player. So we understand what we are facing"
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