The sighs of disappointment after the Cavaliers were beaten in the Gator Bowl by Texas Tech, the moans of disbelief after five key players left the team because of academic and disciplinary issues, the cheers for Chris Long as he was taken with the second pick in the 2008 NFL Draft: All of the noise and commotion from the end of last season has cleared. Cavalier fans everywhere sit silent. All are anxious about what fortune this football season will bring to U.Va. Then, a sound faintly breaks the silence.
Tick, tick, tick. The clock for Al Groh and his opportunity to bring U.Va’s football program to the ACC’s elite is winding down.
It might be hard to believe Al Groh and his program are in danger right now. After all, Groh was the 2007 ACC Coach of the Year. Virginia’s season last year was a great one, with the Cavaliers pulling off nine wins despite being blown out by Wyoming in their first game.
Groh’s contributions take form through more than just wins, too. He deserves as much credit as anyone for helping to bring U.Va. from a fledgling to a mid-level ACC program.
The coach, however, is in trouble. Last season was deceptive. A combination of chance, leadership by Long, among others, and the icy veins of Jameel Sewell led to an impressive record in a weak division. Give the coach props for keeping the season together, but don’t extend his contract just yet. He still has something to prove: consistency.
Groh’s weakest skill as a coach is recruiting. With tight academic standards, U.Va. will always have some difficulty recruiting, but results have been simply abysmal recently. The Cavaliers’ incoming class ranked 61st in the nation, according to the popular recruiting Web site Rivals.com. To put that into an ACC perspective, these new Hoos ranked only above the newest set of Blue Devils as the second-worst rated recruiting class in the conference. Duke, whose presence in the ACC is mostly just as the punchline of jokes, tied for 65th, a mere four spots behind the Cavaliers.
Recruitment is the building block of success in college football. You can have one solid year while recruiting poorly, but you can never have a solid and consistent program in a major conference unless you place in the top 30 or so without fail. You think USC wins games because Pete Carroll gives good motivational speeches? He gets the players who can win championships, and it’s time we did, too.
That’s not to say I have any problems with Groh as a person or that I think he’s a detriment to U.Va. I’ve listened to him talk, read his interviews and even shaken his hand. He’s a first-class guy, a gentleman and a great speaker. I’m glad to have him as one of the faces of the University. Unless he can get a steady stream of blue chip recruits, though, he’s got to go.
Groh isn’t the only one who has to step up his game. There is another entity discreetly bringing down the Cavalier football program. Want to know who it is? Go look in a mirror.
That’s right, Virginia football fans are pretty lousy — with occasional exceptions. There are a few hundred students who show up early to every game, who paint their faces and deck themselves out in all orange and crank the decibels up on every play. Those of you in that category, keep up the good work. Keep firing up your friends and classmates and keep wearing out your voices every Saturday in Scott Stadium.
Ever been to a Virginia Tech home game in Lane Stadium? How about a home game at Notre Dame in South Bend? Pick any historic football program, go there for a game day and you’ll be able to feel the difference between football programs that are for real and programs that aren’t quite sure how real they are. We fall into the latter category. There’s a certain magic in tens of thousands of people shouting at the top of their lungs, all in one of two matching colors, all staying until the final second. U.Va. has seen flashes of it from time to time, but never for a whole game or a whole season.
In case you don’t believe me, I’ll provide one example. Last season, as the Cavaliers were marching down the field en route to kicking a game-winning field goal against Wake Forest, I saw dozens of fans headed for the exits. If we want to be a big-time football program, we have to act that way.
So as Al Groh’s clock continues to tick and the coach proves whether or not he can, after six years here at the University, really pull us towards greatness, let’s show the world we’re ready for what Groh is trying to accomplish.
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