the virginia lions

You know how the saying goes.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool me like four or five times in a row into thinking improvement is just around the corner, and I am a Lions fan.  If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a fan of the Honolulu blue and silver, this is pretty much how it goes.  You just have to let the wishful side of you do all the thinking.  Just invent reasons why your football team isn't as bad as everyone thinks it is and then show up on the weekend, or the beginning of the season, with an optimistic smile on your face all set for its violent removal by another wasted day of watching them bumblefuck their way around the field.

At some point you'll show up on Sundays (Saturdays, whatever) with the understanding that instead of expecting anything fruitful, you'll just have yourself a nice cathartic couple of hours complaining about everything.  It's a new kind of fun, albeit somewhat more acceptable when the players are professionals.

No matter.  The only thing I'm disappointed in myself about is not realizing it sooner.  It's not like I haven't had like twenty years of practice - the signs should've been much more obvious.  Undisciplined shit doesn't just fix itself next week, especially when the coaches don't care about it.  The quarterback doesn't suddenly know the offense that he couldn't figure out last week.  During the game I tweeted that a great test of accountability would be whether or not Kyle McCartin played at all after picking up an extremely costly personal foul on our first kickoff.  Guess who played the very next kickoff?  Mike London claimed he should have been benched and it was his (London's) fault that McCartin went out there.  It's too late for that.

This isn't about Kyle McCartin, although that's not to exempt a senior from blame for taking a freshman penalty.  I don't care if it was an oversight on London's part and he meant to bench McCartin.  He didn't.  Meaning he had other things on his mind than fixing the team's most glaring and costly issue.  And apparently so did the guy to whom London has delegated special teams responsibility.  This is why I said we can't afford another week of Anthony Poindexter on special teams duty.  His unit just directly cost his team three points and he didn't give enough of a fuck to hold accountable the guy responsible.  It shouldn't have to be London's call to sit someone down.  Ultimately I think that is London shielding Dex from blame, which is at least more admirable than wringing your assistant out to dry.

So I see no reason why we should ever expect anything but more of the same.  You just got visual confirmation that it's all talk, all bluster and no action.  Week after week it's the same mistakes.  No lane responsibility.  No discipline.  The list of special teams disasters includes at least two penalties, two muffed punts, one 60-yard punt return given up, and one instance of taking the ball out of the end zone again only to trip over the 10-yard line.  The casualty: yet another check mark in the loss column, directly attributable to special teams.  And every week Poindexter is coaching the unit will be another week in which the best you can hope for out of the special teams will be that the margin of loss is so big that their undisciplined bullshit didn't matter.

Further reactions in brief:

-- It feels really good to see my faith in Chris Brathwaite paying off.  Nine tackles, two for loss, is a phenomenal game out of a defensive tackle.  Just a monster game.

-- Actually the defense in general is exempt from the rage machine this week.  Four PBUs for Drequan Hoskey, and 10 for the defense overall, plus Brathwaite's day, and 14 tackles out of Steve Greer; I don't have anything bad to say about the defense.  Obvious caveats about the level of competition apply, but the D played well.  It's a safe bet Wake would never have seen the end zone if they hadn't been set up on our own 16 yard line by you-know-what.

-- Does anyone still believe in the stupidity that is the godawful mistaken belief that whether or not Phillip Sims actually completes his downfield bombs, just the fact that he chucks them will loosen up defenses enough for us to run on them?  For one thing, Wake clearly had no respect for the passing game because they were shooting linebackers and safeties through the gaps all day long and stuffing the run game.  For another, Sims's play-fakes suck, so it's not like there's any good reason to respect the pass regardless.  It is bad for the offense when the quarterback arm-punts.  I feel like I should not have to say that, but then I feel like there are people who still need it said to them.

-- Something that doesn't usually make a blip on any radars but something that I liked: Jeremiah Mathis catches a pass from Sims about 12, 13 yards downfield, and immediately lunges forward.  Almost as immediately he's tackled, but the result of the play is 16 yards.  Watching receivers juke and shuffle immediately after a catch to try and get past a tackler is infuriating because it works maybe once in twenty times.  I watched Perry Jones (maybe it was Parks but I think it was Jones) catch a ball over the middle and immediately stop, with the idea that he was going to juke his defender out of his shorts.  Naturally he got tackled from behind.  Duh, there are other defenders back there and they're chasing you.  Run away from them, which is forward for more yardage.

-- Yes, we got horse-screwed on that fourth-down spot.

-- How do you know your year is going badly?  When the loudest cheer of the second half is for not carrying the ball out of the end zone.  That ought to sting the coaches a little.  On second thought, I bet the first time NC State kicks the ball over the goal line, our returner brings it out.  Things are not being taught.

On to the predictions:

-- Five yards a carry for Kevin Parks.  Uh, or half that.  Either way.

-- Parks both catches the most passes, and has the most carries, of any UVA back.  I should've stuck with most carries, as he had 10 to Jones's 7, but Jones caught five passes.

-- Tim Smith, in his welcome-back party, does not catch many passes (three at most) but one is a big one.  I'm giving myself this one even though he caught four, which is one more than three.  A 56-yarder on one of Sims's best throws of the day certainly counts.  (I continue to beat the drum that there's no such thing as a big YAC play without a very nice throw, and Sims hit him perfectly.)

-- Tanner Price completes fewer than 50% of his passes.  Price (or his receivers) was as bad as I expected, going 7-for-19.  How do you lose when your opposing quarterback goes 7-for-19?  Oh, right.

-- Brandon Terry, not Terence Davis, is Wake's leading receiver.  Terry caught just one pass, but it was for 41 yards and nobody else on Wake, except for one player (Lovell Jackson) caught more than one.  Do I give myself this one?  Yes - the point was that Davis was not a threat to the Hoos, but Terry was, and his big 41-yard catch was the one right after McCartin's PF penalty that set up Wake's first field goal.  People were way down on our safeties for that, but Terry is six-foot-bloody-five, and that play was unlikely to be stopped.

3-for-5 is not bad; it puts me at 16-for-39 for the season, which is 41%.  But my now-dead optimism stupidity has me at 4-4 on the game prediction season and 0-6-2 ATS.  I promise you I will never again pick the Hoos to win another game this season.  You can hold me to that.  They haven't played so as to deserve it.

Note: I've decided to shake things up a tad; for the rest of the season, except for the bye next week, I'll have my game reactions up on Sunday, and then Monday will be more of an everything-else day, including Blogpoll ballots and Senior Seasons.  It used to be more that way anyway, and kind of evolved out of it, and I think it works better this way.

big-picture recruiting

Slow news day today. There's no midweek lacrosse game and baseball is taking on Towson, which is terrible. I thought I'd take the opportunity to take an early stab at projecting the 2011 recruiting classes in both basketball and football. Not with names, mostly, but a big-picture kind of look.

FOOTBALL

There are 14 seniors departing after the 2010 season, and the team is one shy of the limit of 85 after Riko Smalls' departure, so there are 15 for-sure openings. There is always attrition and you can always count on some redshirt juniors not being asked back for a fifth year. I think there are two or three candidates for that. So a class size of roughly 20, plus or minus a couple, is what I'd expect.

On offense, the staff is probably going to be pretty judicious with the offers they send out at the skill positions. Lazor's offense doesn't need a whole lot of receivers; in fact, with Adrian Gamble on board, the staff probably wouldn't have a lot of heartache if he was the only one. There are a couple guys on that board that you take no matter what, like maybe Quinta Funderburke, but the numbers at receiver look about right for now.

Same for running back. Clifton Richardson is basically onboard already and Nyjee Fleming appears likely enough to follow; once those two are in the bank, that'll be all we need. Quarterback too; London scooped up everyone he could find at the end of the last recruiting cycle and the only real reason to take one this year is the principle that you basically want one every year because you never know. They've offered who they like, if they find another they like they'll offer him too, but there's already a whole bunch coming in the fall and there's no need to cram a whole bunch more into that tight a space. One is all we need.

O-line, however, is a place where you always, always want to stack up as much depth as you can, and take three or four in every class. Thus the offer cannon has been readied. Between the Rivals offer list and the recruiting board here, there are probably 10 or 12 linemen already out there for the looking, and maybe one of them will end up at UVA. Offers are going to be flowing out of Charlottesville to offensive lineman all spring and summer.

So on offense: say two running backs, one or two receivers, a quarterback, and 3-4 linemen. Throw in a likely tight end as well, and of the target 20 scholarships, about 9 or 10 for the offense.

There's a slightly greater need on defense. Starting with the defensive line, where thanks to the switch from the 3-4 to 4-3, defensive tackles are suddenly in demand, big time. One is already in the house (David Dean), I really like our chances with DE Rob Burns, and we still need more. Ends and tackles alike have been offered with regularity, and my thought is that four, maybe even five linemen is the target.

So you'd think that linebacker would take a corresponding drop in demand, but I'd guess not. The staff moved Ausar Walcott and LoVante' Battle down to linebacker with the idea of increasing the speed at that position, but what that did to the numbers is give us five scholarship sophomore linebackers, and six scholarship linebackers in all the other classes combined. That means two things: one, someone like Battle or Connor McCartin is a prime candidate to put the redshirt back on this year so as to even out the numbers a bit, and two, in the long-term - like, 2012 or 2013 - we're going to be slammed with departures if we don't do something to soften the blow. That means at least two, possibly three linebackers in this class of 2011. Travis Hughes and Curtis Grant are both take-no-matter-what prospects if we can get either one, and there are a couple other LB's in blue on the recruiting board. Offers will continue to roll here.

And hey, we're suddenly thin in the secondary too, thanks to the aforementioned position switches. Plus, one of my biggest heartaches over Groh's recruiting was the near-complete lack of true cornerbacks recently. I think Demetrious Nicholson is one of the biggest must-gets in the class for that reason. Must collect defensive backs - both safeties and cornerbacks. There's already one in Matt Bailey, but five defensive backs is not too many, split about evenly between CB and safety. Four seems like a more likely number.

All told, that's 4-5 linemen, 2-3 linebackers, and 4-5 DBs. No way do we clock in at all three upper limits, but I think UVA takes 10 defensive players at a minimum and probably more like 11, maybe 12.

BASKETBALL

Basketball recruiting is grimy as hell, so I try to avoid it as a topic, but this is big-picture stuff so it's OK. There is an open scholarship in 2010 and it looks like it's going unfilled, except for maybe giving it to Will Sherrill as a senior present. Regardless, it makes four openings in 2011.

Tony Bennett's no dummy, and he knows that tying ten scholarships in two classes (it'd be six in the '10 class and four in '11) makes for some ugly numbers. You don't want your back against the wall when it's time for them to go. So Bennett's actively going for a two-year transfer. This would have a lot of benefits, but one of them is that his scholarship would free up again in 2013, one year before this six-man monstrosity of a class finishes their eligibility. Help spread the schollies around. If he can't get Justin Hamilton, and I hope I hope I hope I hope he can, he'll find someone else.

That leaves three for the '11 class, which is a perfectly normal size. And one of them is a stone-cold lock to go to a big man as long as Tony can find one that can fog a mirror and not be a defensive neanderthal. You know as well as I do that if Marshall Plumlee wants to be that guy at UVA, there's a spot for him.

Two big men would be an even better deal for the class and that's probably what Bennett will press for. Thing is, though, of the six coming in 2010, only two really qualify as big guys. Being as we lose Mike Scott and Sherrill after this season, that'll leave us with - as of now - Assane Sene, James Johnson, and Will Regan to man the interior. Hence the push for Hamilton and Plumlee. If by some miracle we get both, then what we'll need is a 6'8" power forward type. If we don't, then whoever has the best combination of size and skills, whether that be a seven-foot tree or another Scott type that can be asked to bang down low despite being a bit undersized for the job.

Lastly, a point guard. The guard offers out so far are all point guards. About the only true, honest-to-god point guard we'll have going forward is Jontel Evans. Sammy is a two guard with some one-ish abilities, and Billy Baron is a point guard on the same concept of having your best athlete play quarterback: whatever gets the ball in his hands the most. Baron might stick at the one, or shift to the two.

Bottom line here: the 2011 class has some very, very clearly defined needs. A true point guard and a true center. And a pony, while we're asking. We're awfully needy at both positions, but so is 90% of the nation. If Bennett can score one player who perfectly fits the description of a true 1 or a true 5, that'll be pretty good. To make a safe prediction: three guys in the class - two tall and one short. Plumlee tops the wish list; Angelo Chol would look pretty good as Tall Guy #2. I sort of suspect the point guard will be someone we haven't heard of yet. Someone who plays Bennett Ball, whatever that is.

redshirting

In my self-appointed role as Al Groh apologist, even I have to raise my eyebrows at a couple of Al's decisions this year regarding true freshmen. Most people do more than that, of course - a couple folks going all the way to the extent of pointing to the 14 true freshmen used this year as proof positive that Al does in fact hate the University - for why else would he so irreversibly damage our future?

Last week, Jeff White presented the breakdown of true freshmen on the field. Who played, and how much. Al's always liked to use them, this year more so than just about ever. 14 is a big, big number, and one of the usual tacks when criticizing Groh is that it's way too many. Often, people point to just the number as evidence. I thought I'd break this down a little further, though. A lot of these are justifiable - you'd have to be just not even thinking about it to claim all 14 shouldn't have played. Let's see who should and shouldn't have been out there.

Not Only Justifiable, But Would Have Been Criminal Not To Use Them:

- Tim Smith. Third-most productive receiver, and could easily be remembered as the best of this bunch when all's said and done. With the unit absolutely desperate for talent, I don't think I ever saw anyone argue that he shouldn't have played, and nobody should.

- Tucker Windle. Don't look at me like that. Another common criticism of Al is that he didn't develop enough playable depth. Actually kind of a problem for the linebackers this year - the previous group was so solid that they played all the time, and now we have seniors and juniors stepping up that really haven't seen much action. Well, here's your playable depth. Granted, our need for ILB's just got cut in half, but Groh can't be assuming that. Windle looked solid enough in his time out there, and he needs his share of reps.

- Oday Aboushi. Left tackle has been a punching bag of mine all season. Not 100% sure how fair that is in the end, but I can't say I was pleased at all by Landon Bradley's play this year. This should be an open competition next year, and Aboushi not only deserves his reps, the team needed him to get them.

- Will Hill. Before the season, DE depth was one of the major concerns. We always really knew we'd need to dip into the true freshman pool at DE, and Hill enrolled early, giving him a leg up. Not only that, though: having Hill on the field is useful proof for the admissions people, should the coaches ever want to make the case (they better), that early enrollment is a big benefit to the program.

Not Essential, But Perfectly Justifiable

- Dominique Wallace. It looked like he was headed for quite a bit of use until he got hurt. And we ended up with not a lot of usable depth at running back. Mikell Simpson is an injury magnet, Torrey Mack proved himself unable to pass-block, and Perry Jones is itty-bitty and not your first choice when the offensive line is average at best at run-blocking. We didn't really need Wallace out there, but I personally was wanting to see more. And we get that year back anyway thanks to a likely medical redshirt.

- Perry Jones. Again with the need for a little rotation at running back. Plus, Jones averaged 16 special teams plays a game - that's basically most of them. Might as well use the best we got, if he's it.

Would Have Preferred Not To See Them, But You Can Still Make An Argument

- Laroy Reynolds. Got some special teams action - about 10 plays a game - but not really enough to say we were using him because he was clearly the best at it. What I'd like to have seen is the breakdown of which special teams plays he was in on. If he was a kickoff/punt coverage regular but maybe not in for the returns, you could waffle him back and forth between here and the above column.

- Connor McCartin. Ended the season on the two-deep. Playable depth would again be a workable argument if he'd gotten more than four plays on defense. Still, when you're on the two-deep, you're on the two-deep - it seems disingenuous to list a guy there and then not play him in situations where you'd play the backup.

- Drew Jarrett. People forget: The guy's a walk-on. Redshirting him is the same thing as telling him he'll need to pay his way through a fifth year of college - and grad school at that, which is much more expensive. I don't think you ask that of a guy, unless you're prepared to offer him that fifth year gratis.

- Paul Freedman. Our tight ends - that is, Torchia and Phillips - were not too spectacular this year, either. Drops were a problem. I can see where you'd want to fire a shot across their bow by putting the third-string in there.

Put The Redshirt And The Matches Down, Coach

- Quintin Hunter. We had enough wide receivers out there. Hunter had one catch all year despite participating in 89 offensive plays. That's not justification to play him.

- LoVante' Battle. The contribution from him just wasn't worth it. Battle is probably not destined for stardom, but you might as well be patient and see what happens.

- Javanti Sparrow. See Battle.

- Corey Lillard. See Battle and Sparrow, times ten, and maybe minus the part about stardom. Lillard was a well-though-of recruit we had to beat a lot of good teams for. Ten plays? If you're going to get angry about redshirt-burning, this is the one to hang your hat on.

There's the possibility, by the way, of a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that we fans aren't privy to. Maybe one of the freshmen told Groh, "hey, I don't want to play a fifth year, I want to get my degree on schedule and get moving with my life - play me if I deserve it." Maybe we have a highly motivated freshman class that wanted to get out their and prove their special teams chops - Groh always said that special teams were your gateway to the field.

Still, from a purely analytical standpoint here, I think there are at least four and possibly eight that shouldn't have played, and six that definitely should have. But you have to remember: this isn't irreversible. What's irreversible is the redshirts. If Mike London wants to, he can put the shirt back on these fourteen players.

In particular, I think the following players would be excellent candidates: McCartin, Freedman, Hunter, and one or two of the defensive backs. There's not enough depth at defensive back to redshirt them all again plus the incoming class too. But two tight ends for the year are plenty, and we get back Torchia and Phillips. The 4-3 gives us lots of depth at ILB - we shouldn't need McCartin. We don't graduate any receivers but Hall, and we're never going to see another four- or five-receiver set, so Hunter can sit. And Robert Randolph is certainly capable of kicking extra points if we really want a fifth year out of Jarrett.

Bottom line here: Groh could certainly have run this year without using so many true freshman, but anybody who complains about using 14 without a look at who actually played and how much isn't thinking it through enough. And it's not as if any damage is irreversible. Redshirts aren't only for the freshman year. Myself I am only complaining about four. That's not program-killing stuff.

weekend review

I still have not actually watched the UConn game. I'll most likely do that tomorrow, albeit in fits and starts on the TiVo, and mainly for the purpose of doing my review of Verica's performance. I have no desire to sit there like I don't know what's gonna happen next and watch our defense get gashed for half a mile of rushing yardage.

Let's start this thing off with some good news for once. The soccer team showed signs of life on Saturday by thrashing NC State. They've struggled, but did very well in the ACC opener against a team that isn't exactly an ACC contender. Let's hope there's a parallel there for the football team. What we've seen from the soccer team so far is what you'd expect from a very young team with supreme talent, which happens to be what they are. Of the 14 goals scored this season, just 3 are from non-freshmen: 2 from sophomore Jimmy Simpson and 1 from junior Matt Mitchell. Chris Agorsor and Tony Tchani are bound and determined to have a knock-down drag-out fight (figuratively speaking, thankfully) for the goals lead this season; Tchani leads 5-4 at the moment.

Next up: Central Connecticut State, who has rolled up a 4-1-1 record against largely second-tier competition. Fun fact: CCSU is basically Little Britain, with 6 fellows from jolly old England, and that doesn't count the guy hailing from the Isle of Man.

Now back to football and the gloomcloud that comes with it. The RTD today does a nice job of reminding us who we're missing for whatever reason: academics, shenanigans, injury, transfer to other sports, or some combination of the above. The toll is thus: 2 quarterbacks, 2 defensive ends, 2 cornerbacks, 3 linebackers, and a wide receiver, including at least four players (Cook, Fitzgerald, Gottschalk, and Lalich or Sewell) who'd be starters and more who'd be in the two-deep. I won't expound on this much. You know as well as I do what we're missing here.

Oh looky here. A recruiting board. And it looks much the same as it did last week. Nobody committed or narrowed their list or anything. The updates are:

- Added some actual schools for Bernardo Nunez. He claims no leader (Rivals $) at the moment, but mentioned a number of different places he wants to go on visits to. So those schools are piled up under his name.
- Put Michigan and Duke back in Brennan Williams' top 5.

QB Kevin Newsome
- VT, PSU, Mich., UNC, WVU
RB Tavon Austin
- Md., WVU, UGA, Mich., Neb., Tenn., Ill.
RB De'Antwan Williams
- Bama, VT, BC, Md., Rutgers, WVU
WR Justin Brown
- PSU, VT, NCSt., S.Car, UNC
WR Sean Farr
- Md., WVU, Akron, EMU
WR Timothy Smith
- L'ville, S.Car, WVU
WR Antone Exum
- SCar., VT, WVU, PSU, Md., Tenn., Purdue, L'ville, CU, Wake
TE Logan Thomas
- VT, Clemson, WVU, UNC, Wake, Tenn., FSU, PSU
OT Morgan Moses
- pretty much everyone east of the Mississippi
OT Oday Aboushi
- Iowa, Md., Rutgers, PSU, Mich., BC
DE Brennan Williams
- BC, Wake, Mich., Duke
DE Michael Buchanan
- Purdue, Ill., Cal, Vandy, KU
DE Lanford Collins
- VT, PSU, Tenn., WVU, Md., NCSt., UNC, BC, Ill.
DE Garry Gilliam
- UConn, PSU, Temple, Pitt, Akron
DE Will Hill
- UConn, Mich., S.Car., Tenn., Md.
DE Bernardo Nunez
- OU, Md., Oregon, Pitt, ECU, NCSt., Rutgers
DE DeAntre Rhodes
- VT, Md., Clemson, Tenn.
DE Pat Muldoon
- Cincy, BC, Wisc.
OLB Jelani Jenkins
- everyone and their aunt
CB Travis Hawkins
- who isn't interested?
S Javanti Sparrow
- Clemson, UNC, PSU, VT, WVU
DB Joshua Evans
- 28 other schools. for real.

Now for the high schools.....

DOMINIQUE WALLACE: Carried 14 times for 113 yards and three touchdowns in Chancellor's 40-13 win over Riverbend. Wallace is the area's rushing leader with 528 yards and 6 touchdowns in four games.

CONNOR MCCARTIN: 4 carries, 28 yards; 2 receptions, 29 yards in 42-14 Fauquier victory over Mountain View. McCartin is a linebacker recruit.

COREY LILLARD: Ran for 69 yards and a TD in Liberty's 41-32 win over Stafford. Lillard is a DB recruit.

ROSS METHENY: Completed 8-of-10 for 89 yards and 2 TD's in Sherando's 55-7 stomping of Warren County. Metheny has yet to play every drive for his team in a full game, because Sherando is 3-0 by scores of 37-10, 49-0, and 55-7.

PERRY JONES: Scored twice in Oscar Smith's blowout win over Great Bridge. 50-14, in case you're wondering. Oscar Smith is a fucking machine.

KEVIN ROYAL: Scored on a 45-yard pass, but Brunswick lost to Hopkins, 27-12. Fun fact! Kevin Royal is from Greenwich, CT, where the local newspaper (from which all Royal links come) is aptly called the Greenwich Time.

The week was a good one for the ACC: UVA did not play, so the conference did not lose any nonconference games. Which is nice.

- Georgia Tech rolled Mississippi State 38-7. Georgia Tech Sports was in attendance and rather obviously liked what he saw.

- NC State beats ECU* 30-24 relinquishes the title of Sorriest-Assed Team In All The ACC (SATIATA), which I would be really happy for them for doing except guess who gets to pick up the crown? And we need only lose to Duke to jam that mother squarely on our head and go streaking. State Fans Nation hates him some ECU fans and loves him some Russell Wilson.

- Maryland crushed Eastern Michigan 51-24. Eastern is the direction-est of all the D-I Directional Michigans, and has a really hard time in football because they share a county with a football behemoth.

- Boston College handled UCF, 34-7. BC Interruption is not mollified by the lopsided score and senses a quarterback controversy a-brewin' in Chestnut Hill.

- Clemson beat SC State. By a lot.

- VT won another 20-17 game, over UNC this time. Gobbler Country wonders how on earth. Tareye or Buckheel didn't seem to notice, because Yates Yates Yates. One can hardly blame the Heel faithful if they're more worried about the next six weeks than the last one.

- Miami did their part against the power conferences (if not exactly the power teams therein) by beating Texas A&M 41-23. It was not a good week for maroon-and-white teams against the ACC.

- Lastly, Wake Forest looked half-assed against FSU (no thanks to three missed FGs from their All-Galaxy kicker) but fortunately for them FSU looked like complete and total ass, as Wake got out of Tallahassee with a 12-3 win. Old Gold & Blog looks on the sunny side and praises the defense, which got three straight picks against two different Seminole quarterbacks to quash any comebacks. Take possession, pickoff. Take possession, pickoff. Take possession, incomplete, incomplete, pickoff. lollerskates. At least Christian Ponder threw two passes into oblivion before his interception; Richardson just got right down to business and threw two straight first-down picks.

There it is - your weekend in review. Your last little tidbit of info: The Maryland game on 4 October will be at 7:00 (night game, yay! I have fond memories of these, which is surprising considering the usual effect of 10 hours of pregaming on one's memory) and will either be on ESPNU or ESPN360, which would mean either I have to shell out for GamePlan, or I just put on my TiVo recording of last year's thrilla in College Pazilla and pretend Chris Long is still in orange and blue, blowing up quarterbacks.

the recruit: Connor McCartin

First, the news. The football team will be down one linebacker and the baseball team will add a player as John Bivens switches teams. Bivens is not in the two-deep at linebacker and is (by all accounts, at least in the linked article) a ferocious hitter, so this is probably a net plus for UVA athletics. Kind of like when Tom Hagan quit punting to focus on the diamond, which for the football team was addition by subtraction. You may remember Hagan as the punter who could not for the life of him send a ball any further than about 35 yards, except with a strong tailwind, and singlehandedly lost an FSU game for us. In case you're wondering, Hagan is playing single-A ball with the Hickory Crawdads, and while he doesn't look a threat to make the majors (though the Crawdads are a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, so you never know) baseball was clearly the right choice over punting, as he was a standout ballplayer in college. Anyway, since we're short a linebacker, now's a good time for another look at an '09 recruit who just happens to be one.

Name: Connor McCartin
Position: MLB
Hometown: Warrenton
School: Fauquier
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 209
40: 4.75

ESPN: 40 (means: "shrug")
Rivals: 5.1, two stars, not ranked at position
Scout: two stars, #55 MLB

McCartin is another one of those guys whose recruiting was over before it really got interesting. It took him all of a weekend to jump on the first offer he got, and it probably helped at least a little bit that his brother Kyle is a walk-on QB on the team. McCartin had every intention of camping at Boston College and at Kansas, but thought otherwise shortly after getting the UVA offer.

So, unfortunately, the usual method of checking out the offer list doesn't really apply, unless you count BC's and KU's verbal promise of one. McCartin was also hearing from other regional schools like Maryland and Duke; this is nice, but getting letters in the mail is not quite the same as getting an offer.

Right now, he's a bit undersized for playing the middle - if you go with the 215 lbs. listed in the CDP article, he's still three pounds lighter than the lightest guy on our roster now, Steve Greer. And I'll wager Greer is bigger than the 218 he's listed at, because 218 was also his high school number listed by Rivals. So while McCartin's not that far off, still, the average linebacker in our two-deep is 234 lbs. Bottom line: Got some growing to do.

But, productivity is no issue. McCartin averaged over 13 tackles a game last year, and for good measure, threw in a few blocked punts, sacks, interceptions, and pass breakups. You know, all that good stuff that a good well-rounded linebacker is supposed to do. And it earned him first-team all-district, all-region, all-whatever.

So, given Groh's propensity for finding good linebackers, and the stats, and the offers that could have come but didn't, just go ahead and chuck the recruiting services' rankings. McCartin anchors a playoff-quality defense at Fauquier, and with three starters departing from the linebacking corps this year, there's little reason why a slightly bulked-up Connor McCartin can't compete for a spot in the two-deep right away.

whoa look i'm already bringin' you the news

If you haven't seen it already, of course.

C-ville Daily Progress

The latest addition to the family of 17 and 18 year old football playin' kids who are likely to fax their signature to Groh 'n' Co. next February is ILB Connor McCartin from Warrenton.

McCartin joins LoVante' Battle as the second recruit ESPN has placed a 40 by; 40 is code for *shrug*. Rivals has no evaluation either. And I'm several hundred miles from Warrenton. So I'm no help there. Yet. But they put a 40 by Keith Payne too, and don't we just love us some Keith Payne. (We still do, right?)

In other, blog-related, areas:

As you may have noticed, it's past 8 PM. It's not likely I'll always be posting this late. Why sometimes, I might slide in as early as 6. Whoa, don't wake the neighbors. So, all you people (yeah, I'm talking to both of you) who've already jumped on board the good ship TGOB, know that weekday posts aren't really going to come in time for you to waste your time at work most of the time. But don't let me stop you from sitting there and refreshing anyway. F5 all you want. I don't mind.

Future posts will entail:

Me telling you what I think of the '09 recruits so far, because I wouldn't be a blogger without it. Besides, it gives me 12 days worth of topics. Keep in mind though: I'm writing entirely from the perspective of a fan who reads things, watches things, and when he can, goes to things. Not the guy whose second cousin's wife's sister's boyfriend hangs out with Al Groh at Chili's on Wednesday nights. Kind of like the Sports Guy before being a fan became his job. I don't get to rationalize my voracious scouring of the Internet with reasons like "it pays the electric bill."