game preview: Florida State

Date/Time: Saturday, November 19; 7:30

TV: ESPN2

History against the Noles: 2-14

Last matchup: FSU 34, UVA 14; 10/2/10; Charlottesville

Last weekend: UVA 31, Duke 21; FSU 23, Miami 19

Line: FSU by 17.5

Opposing blogs: Tomahawk Nation

Injury report:

Virginia**

OUT:
S Pablo Alvarez, WR E.J. Scott, WR Bobby Smith, WR Matt Snyder

PROBABLE:
SS Rodney McLeod, RB Kevin Parks, TE Colter Phillips

**I've limited the names that appear on the injury report to those that appear on this site's depth chart; the availability, or lack thereof, of the 3rd-string long-snapper is of questionable impact.

Florida State

OUT:
WR Willie Haulstead, OL Henry Orelus, DT Darious Cummings, OT Andrew Datko, DT Moses McCray, DT Jacobbi McDaniel, RB Chris Thompson

How do you know a big game is at hand?  When it's in prime time, and ESPN Classic runs historical replays of famous games past to get you good and built up for it.  UVA has never won in Tallahassee, and this doesn't look like a great chance to break that streak, but at least UVA is good enough this time to hold out hope for it.  You know the stakes as far as the postseason goes; the best way I've seen it described is that it's tournament time.  Win and you advance.  UVA got past the cupcakey first round and is now in the heat of it.

-- UVA run offense vs. FSU run defense

Top backs:
Perry Jones: 162 carries, 856 yards, 5.3 avg.
Kevin Parks: 125 carries, 616 yards, 4.9 avg.

UVA offense:
187.6 yards/game, 4.56 yards/attempt
42nd of 120 (national), 5th of 12 (ACC)

FSU defense:
85 yards/game, 2.35 yards/attempt
2nd of 120 (national), 1st of 12 (ACC)

FSU fans are extremely confident about their ability to shut down the UVA run game, and they have a right to be; those are scary numbers.  Certainly the best run defense we've faced all year. Outside linebackers Nigel Bradham and Christian Jones make plays.  The defensive line is big and athletic.  And as Dylan from Tomahawk Nation told us, the defensive line rotates a lot of players; at least 10, according to him, where UVA rotates 6 regularly and sometimes 7.

But this is a strength of the UVA attack, as I'm sure you know.  Against UNC, currently the 13th-best run defense in the country, Kevin Parks was able to average 7 yards a carry.  And FSU is tough, but not impenetrable; Oklahoma and Miami were able to grind out between 3.5-4.5 yards a carry for their running backs.  And Wake Forest's Josh Harris went crazy on them for 136 yards.

Any team that has been able to keep it close on FSU, or even beat them, has squeezed some production out of the running game.  This is the strength-on-strength aspect of the game right here, and UVA and Bill Lazor shouldn't fall into the trap of abandoning the run early.  UVA has a big offensive line - a little bigger than what the Noles are used to - and there's nothing wrong with three yards and a cloud of dust.  I don't think UVA will be able to fancify their way to yardage, and if they insist on going back to a huge pet peeve of mine (sweeps and tosses and the like to the short side of the field) they'll be murdered, because FSU's linebackers can get there in a hurry.  Keep it simple and see what happens, I think is the key.

Barring any big plays, you won't see us getting five, six yards a carry.  That's for the crappy defenses like GT.  So how will we do?  Here are some comparisons for you: Oklahoma and Miami are very, very close to UVA in terms of run game prowess.  UVA gets 4.56 YPC; Oklahoma gets 4.67 and Miami gets 4.59.  Miami's Lamar Miller averaged 4.2 last week, and Oklahoma's top two backs combined for 3.7.  Is there a good reason UVA can't get to about those numbers?  After all, we bottled up Miller better than that; he averaged 4.4 against us but was getting 1.5 until UVA backed off to prevent any lightning strikes.  If Lazor commits to the run, I think UVA can make it work.  Nowhere near as well as we're used to, but 4 yards a carry would be good work.  I think Parks and Jones will combine for about that, maybe a little less, and between them have about 130 yards.  That would be good enough to keep this game close.

-- UVA pass offense vs. FSU pass defense

Quarterback:
Mike Rocco: 158/267, 59.2%; 1,910 yds, 10 TD, 9 INT; 7.15 yds/attempt

Top receivers:
Kris Burd: 47 rec., 630 yards, 1 TD
Perry Jones: 32 rec., 354 yards, 2 TD

UVA offense:
232.9 yards/game, 6.8 yards/attempt
73rd of 120 (national), 8th of 12 (ACC)

FSU defense:
194.5 yards/game, 6.4 yards/attempt
20th of 120 (national), 1st of 12 (ACC)

We've been spoiled lately....it's been a while since we went against a good pass defense.  FSU's run defense is really good, but even as good as they are, I think the difference is greater between the pass defenses we've seen lately, and FSU's.  However, that's on the surface - in terms of YPA.  Lurking behind that number is a beatable pass defense.

As Dylan from TN pointed out in the Q&A session, FSU's linebackers are relatively deficient in pass coverage, so FSU goes to the nickel a little more frequently.  But I suspect that what the numbers show is that teams find some success dinking underneath: despite the solid YPA number, FSU allows about a 60% pass completion rate, which is only 69th in the country; not bad, not great.  And they don't pick off a lot of passes.  Safety Lamarcus Joyner has three (and Joyner is also a force in run defense so he's a lot like Duke's Matt Daniels in terms of type of player) but nobody else has more than one, and FSU only has nine INTs on the season.

To me, the biggest concern in this aspect of the game is defensive end Bjoern Werner.  Werner is a pass rush force with six sacks and six pass knockdowns.  He'll go against Morgan Moses, and Oday Aboushi will work on Brandon Jenkins, who has 4.5 sacks.  You're looking at another strength-on-strength matchup here; FSU's 32 sacks mean only two teams in the country have more, and UVA's 8 sacks allowed is 10th best nationally.  UVA has neutralized opposing pass rushes by not running slow-developing routes and having Rocco be quick about delivering the ball; it helps that the O-line is pretty good, too.

We have a true sophomore quarterback and the game atmosphere will be rowdy.  Rocco has done well on the road, but in front of sparse crowds.  Given that, I hesitate to say that UVA will find consistent success here.  The key is not converting third downs; the key will be to convert before it gets to third down.  Or at least set up a third and short that can be run for.  However, what we do have going for us is that the UVA passing game style tends to play into how you want to attack the Seminole defense.

Rocco's been playing well of late, and I think he'll continue to boost that TD/INT ratio.  He started the season, what, 1-to-6 or 7?  And now he's in the black.  But we need a big game from Kris Burd.  That means no drops; there have been too many of those this season from a guy whose reputation is of better hands than that.  And no balls bouncing off Darius Jennings' face mask, either.  On-target passes have to become receptions.  Because of the athleticism in FSU's linebackers, I don't think we'll see much success in the passes-that-are-runs game, meaning screens and the like, so the receivers need to step up.

-- FSU run offense vs. UVA run defense

Top backs:
Devonta Freeman: 86 carries, 443 yards, 5.2 avg.
E.J. Manuel: 77 carries, 145 yards, 2.1 avg.

FSU offense:
120.1 yards/game, 3.65 yards/attempt
93rd of 120 (national), 9th of 12 (ACC)

UVA defense:
117.1 yards/game, 3.46 yards/attempt
31st of 120 (national), 4th of 12 (ACC)

This is the one part of FSU's game that has sputtered some.  It took them a while to settle on a running back; they finally handed the keys to Devonta Freeman about halfway into the season.  Injuries have shuffled the Seminole offensive line more than would be good for them, though they'll be pretty healthy coming into this Saturday.  But most of the individual players haven't been able to settle in to a position and make it their own.

The option is a significant part of the Florida State run game, which could be pretty favorable for UVA; after all, we defended it pretty well against Georgia Tech.  The trick is that against GT, you always know it's coming, and E.J. Manuel is more athletic than Tevin Washington.  Manuel is a tough customer, but when it comes to defending him, it's not the designed runs that I worry about.

As for Freeman, he's built like Kevin Parks: low to the ground and stocky.  I wouldn't call him a home-run threat.  He had a 41-yard carry against Maryland (which is Maryland) but otherwise his longest run of the year is 23 yards.  Freeman is averaging 5.2 yards a carry, but I don't think he'll get there against UVA.  In fact, I think the result here will be that FSU and UVA have very similar rushing totals.

-- FSU pass offense vs. UVA pass defense

Quarterback:
E.J. Manuel: 159/236, 67.4%; 2,152 yards, 15 TD, 8 INT; 9.12 yds/attempt

Top receivers:
Rodney Smith: 29 rec., 507 yards, 4 TDs
Rashad Greene: 29 rec., 476 yards, 6 TDs

FSU offense:
282.7 yards/game, 9.2 yards/attempt
5th of 120 (national); 2nd of 12 (ACC)

UVA defense:
215.1 yards/game, 6.5 yards/attempt
29th of 120 (national), 2nd of 12 (ACC)

FSU's run defense is outstanding, and I'm sure it'll be productive, but it doesn't scare me.  Their pass defense is solid, but it doesn't scare me.  The 82,000-seat stadium will be sold-out and raucous and loud, but that doesn't scare me either.  This scares me.

All season, UVA has not had to deal with a mobile quarterback like E.J. Manuel.  Sure, there was Tevin Washington, but he was an option facilitator, not a mobile, scrambling, strong-armed quarterback.  Manuel is good.  Really good.  And FSU has managed to dig up receivers from everywhere; UVA should be able to neutralize one of them by planting Chase Minnifield on him, but FSU spreads the ball around a lot.

One guy you'll see a lot of is Dom Joseph; a nickel package will be critical here.  Because I'm not sure I trust our linebackers in pass coverage.  Steve Greer and Aaron Taliaferro just don't have the athleticism.  Laroy Reynolds will be called on a lot.

Defending this attack will start with the defensive line.  They'll have the dual responsibility of containing Manuel so he can't take off running, and giving him less time to throw than he'd like, because I suspect that if FSU comes out three and four wide, which they will at some point, those receivers will be able to do the scramble drill and get open after their routes have been exhausted.

Manuel can be both efficient and spectacular when needed.  I just know at some point FSU will be facing third down, and they'll pick it up in a spectacular way.  We need a ton of discipline from the safeties; Corey Mosley did a poor job of that against Duke, falling for play-action time and again.  If he doesn't stay good and deep, at some point he will find himself chasing a Seminole receiver into the end zone.  In order to keep UVA in the game, there can't be any big plays like there were against Duke.  That was the entire Duke offense; FSU is a little more capable and versatile.

Unfortunately, I don't see us keeping them off the big-play scoresheet.  At some point during this game, I think FSU will score from the wrong side of midfield.  If we can keep the FSU passing game in front of the defense, that's a win, but if Manuel gets loose and players lose track of assignments, it'll all go downhill in a big hurry.

-- Outlook

The outlook is that UNC ain't worth shit.  Because UNC is useless, and ACC refereeing crews like to do things like hand VT free bogus pass interference penalties and not penalize them for helmet-to-helmet hits, VT is now in position to clinch the Coastal Division on Saturday - if we lose.  So the division comes down to Saturday.  Unfortunately, I think the Heels were in a much better position than we are.  Tallahassee at night is a tough place to play, and UVA will have its hands full with E.J. Manuel.

Now, here's your silver lining of hope: Last week, Florida State played a tense, perhaps draining game against archrival #1, Miami.  Next week, they will play an even tenser game against archrival #1A, Florida, in Gainesville.  UVA is the dreaded sandwich game, and now they know for a fact that there's something tangible to play for besides just a win and "improved bowl prospects," which are always fluffy and hard to make out.  Florida State is not invincible; there are exploitable matchups.  However, they're also, on paper, much more talented overall.  Not bringing the A-game to Tallahassee isn't an option.  I think the Hoos will, and I like the possibility of being overlooked, but there's too much going against us here.

-- Prediction summary

- Perry Jones and Kevin Parks combine for about 3.8-4.0 yards per carry.
- The UVA rushing game totals about 140 yards.
- Mike Rocco throws more TDs than INTs.....if even any INTs at all.
- Devonta Freeman also gets about four yards a carry.
- Florida State has at least one scoring play of 50+ yards.
- FSU converts a long third down (10 yards or more) by picking up at least twice the necessary yardage.

- Final score: FSU 27, UVA 17

-- Rest of the ACC:

- Virginia Tech 24, North Carolina 21 (Thanks for nothing, Heels. You too, Ron Cherry. Penalty for giving UNC the business.)
- Georgia Tech at Duke, 12:30 (What will happen of course is that Duke will win, meaning we should've been pulling hard for GT all along last week.)
- Maryland at Wake Forest, 3:00 (I got nothing.  This game is pretty much meaningless.)
- Miami at South Florida, 3:30 (USF once put up a billboard telling the big 3 in Florida to move over and make room for a fourth.  I think Miami obliged.)
- Clemson at NC State, 3:30 (If NC State wants to go bowling, they've gotta beat a one-loss team to get there.  Any other team but Clemson, I'd count 'em out, but Clemson has a way sometimes.)
- Boston College at Notre Dame, 4:00 (This is a rivalry supposedly because BC is Jesuit and ND is not.  I think it's really just about helmet rights.)

the recruit: Tyrell Chavis

There's a lot of newsish stuff to catch up on, mainly the highly-anticipated publishing of the depth chart, but I also don't want to get too far behind on the recruit profiles.  So today is a two for the price of one special.

Name: Tyrell Chavis
Position: DT
Hometown: Richmond
School: Varina
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 300

24/7: 83; three stars
ESPN: 78; three stars; #44 OG; VA #16; Atl. Reg. #104
Rivals: 5.5; three stars; VA #24
Scout: two stars; #99 OG

Other offers: Boston College, Vanderbilt

Tyrell Chavis is an important recruit for a couple of reasons.  Actually about 300 reasons.  Chavis is really the only true defensive tackle in the class right now, and unless Korren Kirven comes on board - highly unlikely - it'll stay that way.  There will be others that might grow into DTs, but Chavis is already one, and the only one like him in the class.  So of course, all the sites rate him for his play on the offensive line instead.

Yes, Chavis plays both sides of the line, and his 6'3" height screams guard all the way, but there are plenty of those guys in the class.  So despite any rumblings about the "possibility" he'll play on the offensive side, I expect defense.  Chavis looks like a true nose guard.  I say this from looking at the one highlight film available since all the evaluations are on offense.  He's got one move: go forward regardless of what is in the way.  Technique isn't his strong suit; being physical is.

So I expect Chavis to develop as a middle-clogging zero-tech or one-tech nose tackle.  (Meaning he plays right over top of the center or just a shade over in the gap.)  But not for a couple years.  It's a little bit of an open secret that Chavis will likely end up having to prep for a year, probably at FUMA, the usual designated place for UVA recruits who need a little help making the grade.  Chavis's academic challenges are said not to be the product of laziness or incorrect priorities, rather, a family situation.  The other schools to offer him actual scholarships were Boston College and Vanderbilt, which should give you an idea of the concern level. 

So even if a prep year is in the cards it's not the worst thing.  Chavis needs a year anyway to get rid of some baby fat and turn into a 300-pound person-crusher instead of merely a large obstacle, so he'd have simply spent the year redshirting.  Right now, Chris Brathwaite is the fifth defensive tackle as a redshirt freshman; after Chavis FUMA-shirts, it wouldn't surprise too greatly to see him filling that role in technically his true freshman season in 2013.  It depends on how many other guys move inside to DT.  I don't think Chavis will develop into a major pass-rush threat, as he doesn't really have the quicks for it; he'll probably rotate out during passing situations.  Rather, his potential is as a big run-stuffer who creates those passing situations in the first place.

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Let's talk depth chart.  Actually, no.  Let's save that til the end just to make you crazy.  Let's talk Senior Seasons instead.  High schools around the country got into the game for real this weekend, even here in Michigan as the GP South Blue Devils got off to a fine start with a shutout against U-D Jesuit and ended the week ranked #4 in the Eastern region of Metro Detroit.  A fine start to build on last year's surprise appearance in the state semifinals.  It's my blog, I get to write what I want.

But you're here to read about my other alma mater, so let's see what UVA's recruits did this weekend.  A little under half of them were in action this weekend.  Sort of.  The 757 guys got postponed thanks to Irene.  Norfolk Christian is playing as I type, so, update on that next week.  So really all there is, is the Georgia games again.

Wayne County 28, Windsor Forest 28: Yes, a tie.  Greyson Lambert threw two touchdowns for Wayne but also two picks, and was just 13/27 overall for 127 yards.  Wayne was up 28-6 to start the fourth, but turnovers cost them the win.  Wayne County is 0-0-1.

Also playing:

Buford 49, Gainesville 0 (C.J. Moore. Buford is 2-0.)

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OK, now we can have some sweet sweet depth chart action.  The official two-deep is here, and the FOV depth chart has been updated as well.  The items of interest:

-- Demetrious Nicholson has indeed won the starting position at cornerback opposite Chase Minnifield; the real news, though, is Rijo Walker's surprise move to safety.  That makes Dom Joseph basically the nickel corner and walk-on Drequan Hoskey the fourth cornerback.  (For now; Brandon Phelps may overtake Hoskey in the rotation.)  This is actually excellent news for Walker, whose path to a starting job at corner was going to be very difficult with Nicholson and Phelps around; Walker is now the backup free safety, which means plenty of playing time and a starting job to inherit as a junior.  We'll see how his talents translate to safety.

-- The other backup at safety is true freshman Anthony Harris.  Walker's move and Harris's promotion is bad news for Groh recruits LoVante' Battle and Pablo Alvarez.  Alvarez is still only a redshirt freshman so no big deal yet; Battle is a junior without a spot on the two-deep, which makes it pretty official that he's been passed up.  I think the Nicholson promotion is a good sign and Harris's promotion a bad one; Nicholson beat out someone who'd been establishing a quality rep.  Harris beat someone who's never distinguished himself and has bounced from safety to linebacker and back without hardly ever seeing the field.  Fortunately there's a very strong starter at strong safety in Rodney McLeod, but Harris is probably in for a baptism by fire.

-- Ausar Walcott is working his way back up the depth chart very nicely; now listed as Aaron Taliaferro's backup at Sam linebacker.  It wouldn't surprise me at all to see him overtake Taliaferro by season's end; Walcott is much more physically gifted and needs only to match Taliaferro's mental grasp of the position.  Good to see Walcott recovering from his misstep in January.

-- Conner Davis as the backup right guard gives me more confidence than when that was Billy Cuffee.

-- Good things have been said about Kelby Johnson this fall; even so, his position on the depth chart as backup left tackle is mainly due to Landon Bradley's ongoing injury saga.  (FWIW, I don't think Bradley will be able to make it back, unfortunately.)  There are some very good players at offensive tackle but not a world of depth.

-- It's interesting how Matt Snyder keeps hanging around.  He must be doing something right.  Looks like he, Kris Burd, and Tim Smith are the starting rotation at wide receiver with the wondertwins, Darius Jennings and Dominique Terrell, backing up and sharing kick/punt return duties.

-- Reading the tea leaves from the press conference and the depth chart, it sounds like Mike Rocco and Ross Metheny are interchangeable - that is, Metheny is Rocco's backup - and David Watford has his own specially carved out role.  I think this will be different than when Bryson Spinner and Matt Schaub were on the play-til-you-screw-up schedule in 2001.  I hope I'm right.

-- Lot of freshman types, both redshirt and true, on the two-deep here.  I count 12, not including long snapper Matt Fortin.  Unless injuries start running crazy on our starters, this actually looks like a very promising setup since of those 12, only one is a starter and he's got a very good reason to be there that doesn't involve the suckiness of the competition.  We have veteran starters in most positions with underclassmen being heavily worked into the rotation; I like how that works for both now and the future.

weekend review

Eventful weekend. Always is. Good news, too. Except for the tournament selection show. We got snubbed again. Totally ridiculous. If 16-15 doesn't get you in the tournament, then it's time to expand to 96. Or 128. Whatever it takes. Got my hopes up and everything. To assuage our hurt feelings, let's have our yearly laugh at Seth Greenberg, the whiniest bitch alive:

"Just disappointed. You almost wonder if someone in that room has their own agenda and that agenda doesn’t include Virginia Tech. Just plain and simple. I totally wonder it, if someone in that room has an agenda."

Probably not, but could you blame the committee for submitting the bracket and then starting their traditional when-does-Greenberg-flip-out pool? Hard to see how anyone could have an agenda against such a likable guy.

"I guess they even brought up our non-conference schedule. Kansas State, Purdue, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Penn State, St. Bonaventure that was supposed to be big and Mississippi State that was projected to win the SEC."

You don't get to take credit for the games you lost, you dumb fuck. You gotta love taking credit for beating teams that were supposed to be good but in fact sucked. (I don't know who said St. Bonaventure was supposed to be any good, but whatever.)

"They didn’t beat an Oklahoma State. They didn’t beat a Penn State. They didn’t beat a Mississippi State. We chose to go on the road to Kansas State."

And also chose to lose by 16. I think the committee noticed. God I love that VT isn't in the tournament because of UVA. Twist the knife a little.

Not that there aren't Hokies with perspective and a sense of humor. The comment section here is what you want. You'll know what you're looking for when you see it.

Now for the boring stuff, like all those wins our baseball team piled up this weekend.

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Actually, first lacrosse and Cornell. I did say we needed to shut down Rob Pannell, and not doing so made a closer game out of what didn't have to be. That and the hibernating offense. If the game of lacrosse hinged entirely on individual players making plays, UVA would destroy everything in sight. Defenses are smarter than that, though. I'm going to slap myself for saying this, but this lacrosse team reminds me of a way more talented version of VT basketball. A guy gets the ball and he tries to make an individual play for a goal. If he decides he can't, he passes it to someone else who tries again. And so on. Passing isn't used to set up an offense, it's used so that different players can try for a highlight. I'm not saying the team is selfish, even though it sounds like I am; I'm saying the offense is individualized and stagnant. I wish there were more motion without the ball. If we didn't have phenomenal athletes we'd be 3-3.

Fortunately, the defense is coming together well and Adam Ghitelman continues his frankly outstanding play in net. Ghitelman saved 13 of 21 SOG, bringing his SV% up to .590. Good stuff. Excellent stuff.

The team also won a majority of faceoffs and was actually 12 of 17 in the first three quarters, but I'll wait for that to happen more than once before I call it a trend and get excited about it. Still, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye.

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Even better than the lacrosse result is the baseball result. Three wins for the price of one! Debate exists as to whether Clemson - the victim of the sweep - deserves the top-5 rating they've been given (I lean toward not really) but it doesn't matter. They are a likely tournament team, and the sweep was on the road. The bats were alive; Steven Proscia picked a perfect time to hit the first home run of the season, to give UVA a lead in the Sunday contest and went 6-for-12 on the weekend.

Danny Hultzen had 14 strikeouts on Friday. 14, in 6 2/3 innings. Sheesh. He started this season eighth on the UVA career list with 230; he's now second with 50 more on the season and will pass Seth Greisinger's record of 290 either next Friday or the week after. That record is a goner. But there'll be a Danny Hultzen K Watch in this space anyway, as Hultzen takes aim at Tim Burcham's single-season record of 146. If he keeps racking them up at the pace he is now, he'll beat that easily. He has a shot at 200. Hell, he has a shot at making his 2011 season be good enough for a top-ten career, which would require 214. ACC competition makes it a longshot, but we're gonna find out week-by-week just how long it is.

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Football spring practice begins this week, which is pretty cool, I guess. Don't forget about the roadshow: a practice in Hampton this coming Saturday and in Alexandria the week after. Especially don't forget about them if you happen to be a big-time recruit, OK?

To commemorate, the depth chart has been updated. Spring practice is when I push the graduating seniors off the edge of the map and bump the freshmen into the picture. Keep in mind the only freshmen actually in camp are David Watford and Daquan Romero. Here are the changes, most of which are per the Sabre's press conference tweets:

- Linebackers are shuffled big time. They didn't list Ausar Walcott as a starter like he used to be, presumably because he's suspended so hard for being a punk in Harrisonburg. Nominally, for now, your starters are Aaron Taliaferro, Steve Greer, and Laroy Reynolds, with the backups being Tucker Windle, Henry Coley, and.... Daquan Romero? Though the comment about Romero being "behind" Reynolds might easily have meant "more than one space behind," at least we now know where exactly Romero is ticketed.

- Players who aren't participating fully are in purple. Was gonna make them red but red means out for the season and I didn't want to scare you.

- Miles Gooch is now a WR. Big surprise.

- A few additions: Former academic casualties Billy Cuffee and Buddy Ruff have worked their way back onto the team, but not in a scholarship status.

- And a few subtractions: Academic casualty Torrey Mack, injury casualty Aaron Van Kuiken, and one that I don't think I ever saw mentioned anywhere: Jared Detrick. It's totally possible I spaced out and missed the latter. But he's not on the roster at the moment, so subtracted he is, along with backup punter Logan Spangler, who's also not on the roster. Let's hope Jimmy Howell has a healthy senior season because he's the only one left.

By my count, the team is now three over the scholarship limit of 85. Hmm, there were three players arrested in Harrisonburg. I'd be sweating it out if I were them.

I do really wish, by the way, that Kris Burd were participating in spring drills, which he's not. Not because he needs it, but because there aren't that many veteran receivers in camp, and the quarterbacks will really need consistency from their receivers as they battle for position.

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That would be the end, but I feel compelled to address the wackiness emanating from Utah. Somebody out there got the idea that Tony Bennett was reaching out to Utah expressing interest in their now-vacant coaching job. (Kind of like Jeff Capel was angling so hard to get the UVA job in order to get back to the ACC. Hint - no he wasn't.) I wouldn't bother, because this is dumb, but it's out there so what the hell.

Streaking the Lawn does a pretty good job of laying out why this is a stupid rumor, but they're a little too equivocal for my taste. How about this: There's no fucking way Tony Bennett ends up in fucking Utah, and their fans are delusional as fuck for thinking it's possible. Even Washington State fans think it's nucking futs. I wish I could find where this originated, but supposedly Bennett was even in Utah today. Pretty damn hard to do when you have a radio show all day, which he didn't exactly skip.

This must have been what UVA fans sounded like two years ago. I hope we weren't as ludicrously uninformed as the guy who's never heard of Dulles Airport, but regardless. Remember "Rick Barnes was spotted at a 7/11"? Remember when we were totally, definitely hiring Tubby Smith? Now I know how Minnesota fans felt, except not really because the UVA job is a step up from Minnesota by virtue of being in the ACC and in better recruiting grounds. Among other reasons.

So. Dear UVA fans: Stop worrying, because Tony Bennett isn't going to Utah. Dear Utah fans: Hands off our coach, who isn't going to Utah, and yes he'd be a home-run hire but that's what we thought Tubby Smith was going to be and we didn't get Tubby Smith, we got a guy none of us had ever heard of and two years in he's someone else's wishful thinking already. You'll find your prince, just not in Charlottesville.

weekend review

Short update this week as far as the recruiting board goes. Just the addition of WR Timmy Keith and some readability fixes.

The depth chart is a lot more interesting. The bad news there is that I'm not gonna put in the actual changes til later in the week. The good news is that intrigue abounds. It's an intriguing web of intrigue.

- First off, Morgan Moses is now so huge, and awesome at football, that he's the starter at not one, but two positions. The whole right side of the line is his. Tackle and guard.

Lot of ORs running around, as in "Morgan Moses OR Oday Aboushi" at right tackle. Right guard is "Morgan Moses OR B.J. Cabbell," and left tackle is "Oday Aboushi OR Landon Bradley." The interpretation is clear: If Bradley can play and be effective with a huge cast on his hand (following his hand surgery) that turns it into a club, then Bradley will start at LT, Aboushi at RT, and Moses at RG. If not, Aboushi moves to LT, Moses mans the other tackle spot, and Cabbell hangs on to his starting gig for one more week.

Either way, the writing that was on the wall a couple weeks ago is thisclose to collecting on its promise: Cabbell will be a backup sooner rather than later, and Moses is getting his job. Bradley was a whipping boy of mine last year, but his play has improved to a level resembling acceptable. I like Moses better at guard, which is his obvious long-term home. I don't have much of a preference for this week, having not the faintest idea how comfortable Bradley can be without the ability to grip with one hand. It's his right hand, which speeds his return - a left tackle could never protect the edge without his left hand.

- Linebacker is another fun story. Aaron Taliaferro is on the outside now - the strong side backup behind Laroy Reynolds. Is Mr. Lazarus (so nicknamed in camp because of his rise from the dead) headed back to the figurative tomb? Darnell Carter moves over to replace Taliaferro as the half-starter in the middle with Steve Greer.

Editorial: I'd like to see more time for Greer. He wasn't the team's leading tackler as a freshman for nothing. Teams don't run around the edge on Virginia for nothing. The tackles aren't being missed in the middle.

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Newsy stuff this week is one item only: RIP Fran Crippen. Former UVA swimmer and older brother of current UVA swimmer Claire Crippen. His death during a 10K swim race in the UAE is all over the news.

Perhaps a former swimmer who's been to that part of the world (me, if you're unclear) can clarify a few things for curious readers?

First, I'm not going to place as much blame on FINA (the worldwide governing body for swimming) as the media is looking to. Water that's too warm is really hard to come by. Swim meets are typically held in cold-ass water, because cold water is faster. Warm water relaxes the muscles. The temperature of open-water events obviously isn't controlled, but having regulations for swimming in water that's too warm is like having regulations for ski hills that aren't steep enough. Bad for competition, bad for your times, why would you worry about it? It's likely the strongest amount of blame should be placed on the meet organizers for a lack of decent safety procedures.

After all, your average marathon has tons of precautions against health issues. A 10K swim race is eons more demanding than a marathon. It's like an Ironman Triathlon. Blame, if you must call it that, can fall squarely on Crippen's shoulders for continuing despite not feeling well, but besides the shortest of the shortest of sprints, full-body fatigue is par for the course for swimmers. It's not like basketball or football where you can be subbed out. Just you and your body, and if you don't drag yourself out of the pool after an event - especially a distance event - with every muscle burning like hellfire, then you didn't swim hard enough. You get out and never want to move again. Laying on the pool deck in just your swimsuit for the rest of your life sounds just fine. Crippen can't have been expected to know the difference between the extreme fatigue he'd normally feel at the end of a 10K and life-threatening exhaustion.

Which is why FINA and the Emiratis are being total dicks about this. Callously blaming it on "overexertion." Yes, it's probably true. But if they were real swimming officials they'd know overexertion is pretty much normal. The whole field was overexerting themselves.

As for the water temperature, again with the dickitude in insisting the water was "only" 84 degrees. As if there's this huge lifesaving difference in the three degrees between that and the 87 degrees that the swimmers are saying. I've been to the UAE. On a ship, which wouldn't you know, we made it our business to know what the water temperature was. (You have to in order to keep the machinery running properly.) In the Persian Gulf itself, the water temps were in the mid-90s; close to shore and in-port, they never dropped below 100. 102, 103, usually. Granted, I was there in July, not October. Granted, Fujairah, where the event was held (not Dubai, as the reports sometimes claim), is outside the Gulf - that makes a difference, the water is warmer, saltier, and way grodier and jellyfishier inside. All the same, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if an official inquest finds the water was above 90. It's the fucking desert.

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Alright, let's move on and check in on the senior seasons. Here in Michigan, it's already playoff time for the high schoolers. (Go GP South Blue Devils.) One more week of games and that'll be true for Pennsylvania, too. Maryland and North Carolina, two more weeks; Virginia, three. We'll keep you updated throughout, of course.

L.C. Bird 14, Clover Hill 13: Bird puts the ball in the hands of their running backs for the most part (Anthony Harris only threw five passes and completed three), but when they trailed 13-0 in the second half they turned to their best athlete. Harris scored both Bird touchdowns, the winner on fourth down, and Bird pulled out the win with a goal-line stand.

Dinwiddie 33, Petersburg 21: Kevin Green came out on the short end of a good old-fashioned quarterback duel. Green ran for 127 yards and two TDs and completed 17-of-36 for 160 more, plus another touchdown. He was also picked off twice in the loss; the winning QB, whose stats were equally gaudy, is VT commit Chris Hall.

Phoebus 37, Hampton 12: Caleb Taylor's defense held David Watford in check. Watford was just 5-of-18 passing. He ran for an early touchdown to cut the score to 10-6, and threw another one in garbage time.

H.D. Woodson 22, Ballou 20: Darius Redman helped to seal a big upset by intercepting a pass with 90 seconds left. Then he nearly blew it by getting greedy and trying to return it for six; the ball was stripped and Redman had to go back on defense. D'oh. Time for a little coaching moment. Redman also caught an 8-yard touchdown pass.


Hermitage 48, Douglas Freeman 0 (Diamonte Bailey)
I.C. Norcom 48, Granby 7 (Kameron Mack)
Cox 22, First Colonial 20 (Ross Burbank)
Green Run 34, First Colonial 28 (David Dean)
Bethel 42, Menchville 10 (Clifton Richardson)
Episcopal 19, St. Christopher's 15 (Thompson Brown)
Landon (Md.) 22, St. S/St. A 0 (Darius Lee)
Damascus 35, Northwood 16 (Brandon Phelps)
Stone Bridge 50, Langley 10 (Rob Burns)
Good Counsel 37, St. John's 14 (Vincent Croce)
DeMatha 39, Bishop O'Connell 17 (Jordan Lomax, Kelby Johnson)
Independence 62, Rocky River 17 (Adrian Gamble)
Mt. Lebanon 27, Peters Township 16 (Tim Cwalina)

That is it for now. Later in the week: basketball! That time of year. Weird, huh? Football season announces its presence in such a way that it's impossible to miss, even if you try. Basketball season goes "um, hi."

Wait, no. That's not it for now. Also there is the AP poll study, in which the appearance of bias grows steadily stronger. Teaser: only three of 25 teams did not get any regional help, and the West Coast voters are off the hook this week. See the archive page for the rest.

i guess i can't be angry

I sure was at halftime, and the 50-odd yarder that EMU busted off early in the second half didn't help my mood.

But it's against the rules to be mad at your team for winning 48-21. Just can't do it. After three weeks where nothing went right, watching the team break away and make some plays was refreshing. You're not going to believe me, and that's OK, but I swear I knew Terence Fells-Danzer was going to take that kickoff to the house about seven yards after he caught it. (I wish I could call it a product of vastly improved special teams, but a return like that has a lot more to do with how shitty EMU is.)

So it's Optimism Time, yay. Well, you are allowed to be a little bit concerned for the future even after a win, especially when the run defense is gashed time and time again. Credit where credit's due: if there's such a thing as halftime adjustments, they worked and the defense played up to expectations in the second half. But they're just too....I dunno....blockable, most of the time. I was re-watching the game to see if I could find anyone out of position on some of these long runs. Seems like a likely explanation, what with our OLBs all learning new positions. It didn't seem to be a problem. Tackling and shedding blocks was the problem. On a play that went for 13 yards and let EMU out from the shadow of their own end zone, Aaron Taliaferro was in prime position to make the tackle at the line, and totally whiffed. (Interestingly, on that play he was the outside linebacker.) On the long runs, the problem wasn't so much a lack of pursuit, as a lack of aggressive pursuit. Guys are letting themselves get chopped to the ground, and the line isn't being disruptive.

It's troubling, because these are mostly the same guys that allowed 5 yards per play last year, which was good for 30th in the country. 30th is pretty good for a 3-9 team. Now they're allowing almost a yard extra, good for 82nd. That's despite the presence of two of the country's most godawful teams on the schedule. The revival of the offense is why we might see more wins this year, despite the beating Marc Verica takes from the fans.

No change on the outlook for the rest of the season, really. I mean, did you expect one? Other than if we lost, I mean. A loss would have meant playing out the string to 2-10 in front of family and friends, about 1,500 of them each week. The win gives reporters something to talk about in that UVA can finally say they beat a I-A team.....whatever, EMU barely qualifies. And it means Miami will still smash our face, and then we can finally watch some competitive, winnable games, and no I still don't consider Maryland a "good team" even at 5-2, they're still beatable too.

Stuff that didn't fit:

- Hey, the fake punt again. That's a really cool-looking play, and it was even better to watch Ron English call timeout so he could get busy earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. He must've watched the tape from USC and then forgotten about the aftermath. I don't mind using it against Eastern Michigan, no. I don't think it's a waste of a play, I think it's the coaches looking at the tape, checking out how EMU plays punts, and deciding they're ripe for the fake. They'll keep doing it if teams keep sending the house like that.

- Perry Jones looks decent, but Keith Payne ought to be the feature back.

- Special teams were all-around excellent. Besides earning a QB rating of 900.4, Jimmy Howell had an excellent day punting, averaging 44.3 yards with two inside the 20, zero touchbacks, and only one return for just four yards. The punt team had a banner day.

- Don't forget to take a look at my poll ballot, below. Because, let the record show that that was submitted before the BCS copycats also put Auburn on top of their poll.

the recruit: Caleb Taylor

Name: Caleb Taylor
Position: LB
Hometown: Hampton
School: Phoebus
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 225

ESPN: 75; three stars; #37 ILB
Rivals: 5.5; three stars; VA #24
Scout: three stars, #24 MLB

Other offers: West Virginia, Maryland, Louisville

Despite some questionable fanhood choices growing up, Caleb Taylor was leaning Charlottesville's way almost from the moment he was offered. Taylor missed almost his entire junior year with a serious knee injury, so a potential recruiting showdown with VT never materialized: Tech, careful with their limited scholarships, wanted Taylor to go to camp before they offered, and Taylor was half in UVA's clutches at least since April. When his commitment came the timing was a little strange since it came a few days after a series of June events and visits, but it was one of the least surprising UVA commits ever.

Taylor gets very consistent evaluations from the scouting services. He looks like a middle linebacker all the way (I still have to get used to saying "middle" instead of "inside") - he's stocky and a little slow. Not much for pass coverage. But ESPN cites his "good first-step quickness and short-area closing burst" and it shows on their highlight film, and also in his outstanding broad jump. They also call him "undersized," which here basically means "short" - at 225-sometimes-230 pounds he's already big enough for the college game. Steve Greer is 225 and Aaron Taliaferro is 230. Taylor isn't undersized. If he pans out his reputation will be that of an outstanding run-stopper.

His high school career is easily followed and despite the knee injury, there's a lot of success to talk about: Phoebus is a powerhouse for whom an undefeated season would mean a Virginia state record win streak. They killed Churchland, which is not at all a bad team. They've allowed something like ten points all season, and Taylor pairs up with UNC commit Daquan Romero to lead the defense.

There's early playing time in Taylor's future the way things look right now. (That is to say, no Curtis Grant. That could change things.) Just one linebacker graduates this year (backup Sam backer Darnell Carter) so Taylor's redshirt year will be spent looking up at a stacked depth chart. But the current rotation of Taliaferro and Greer shows no signs whatsoever of ending any time soon, not until Taliaferro graduates which would happen after Taylor's first year. After that, barring some moves there isn't much at MLB, so in Taylor's redshirt freshman year, his appearance on the two-deep behind Greer would be no surprise at all. The starting job could be Taylor's as soon as his redshirt sophomore year. Not a bad situation.

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Some other quick stuff to get to. Depth chart is updated for the VMI game. Not many changes: the two-deep sees only one, with the removal of Tim Smith for injury purposes. Dominique Wallace is also gone. Penny thoughts: Smith would be missed if all the stuff I said in preseason were turning out true, but the passing game has been OK so far. Kris Burd and Dontrelle Inman have been very productive. In the short-term, no worries, as the offense has marched along mostly without the explosiveness he ought to bring. Which is a good case for getting that medical redshirt if need be. In the longer term, this season, it might be something that defenses can adjust to and keep Burd and Inman off the stat sheet.

As for Wallace, personally I'm bummed because I thought he'd be one of the most fun tailbacks to watch as he developed. Depth-chart-wise it's no biggy. There haven't been enough carries to go around anyway.

UNC is slowly getting word on the eligibility status of its players from the NCAA, and probably has plans to appeal every single case when they come back. What that means for UVA is that starting safety Deunta Williams will definitely (barring injury or meteor strikes) be in uniform for the game against UNC, and CB Kendric Burney will not. Unless the appeal is upheld, which actually I can probably see happening.

Lastly, you'll want to head over to BC Interruption, which scored a coup with their interview of the ACC's Associate Comissioner for Communications and Football Operations, Michael Kelly. Teaser question:

BCI: As we approach 2015 -- the last year of the current ACC schedule -- will there be any consideration to realigning the ACC's two divisions? Have there been any conversations about other possible tweaks to the schedule, such as moving to a nine-game conference schedule or adopting a scheduling format different than the current 5+2+1 setup?

Kelly: There have been some blue sky conversations about all of these possible concepts, but nothing indicating any imminent interest of making changes at this time.

The rest is just as enlightening - I don't know about you but I'd be very interested in seeing a nine-game conference schedule and I'm a touch disappointed it's not really a topic of conversation. Other discussion topics include the ACC's ever-frustrating penchant for being the last conference to post its schedule, every year. Go read.

i'm late to the party

Like, really late. Right, normally the blogpoll ballot and game impressions go up on Sunday, not Tuesday and Wednesday, but Delta Airlines doesn't have any planes that fly and every spare part in the world is in Boston, and never the airport I'm trying to fly out of, so there you go. Kids, here's a nickel's worth of free advice: if you like seven-hour delays without being offered so much as a meal voucher, fly Delta!

Anyway, the Richmond game. This is why I don't like playing I-AA opponents. If you schedule a patsy like, say, Akron, or San Jose State, you have a pretty good idea of the level of impressiveness that your win generates. I-AA is less predictable. So UVA beats Richmond 34-13 - is that like beating, say, Middle Tennessee 34-13? Or maybe someone even a little better like a crappy C-USA team? Or is that like letting the Sisters of the Poor score 13 on you?

In a vacuum, though, it was still a lot better than I expected. No, you probably shouldn't be up by just four at the half and then let them engineer a field-goal drive on the opening sequence of the second half. The football team that we want Mike London to build for us, the one that contends for ACC titles, would never let that happen. But this isn't that team. This is the one that just went 3-9 and lost to a worse I-AA team than Richmond is. So, for starters, not bad. Journey of a thousand miles and all that.

The big stars of the game, of course, are running backs Keith Payne and Perry Jones. If they kept a yards-after-contact-per-pound stat, Jones would lead the nation when we're done. If it turns out we have a whole stable of tailbacks who can break tackles like that, the running game will be productive no matter the opponent. Payne had nobody to blame but himself for his disappointing Groh-era career: for some reason he thought he was 175 pounds and should be tiptoeing through holes and moving east-west to find them. This is the Keith Payne that finally uses p=m*v to his advantage.

But you know what my favorite part of the game was? Payne dragging a cadre of Richmond defenders ranks, as does "Richmond: o-for-2 on 4th down," but lemme tell you about something we haven't had since Bill Musgrave was the OC: playcalling. Bill Lazor is an assassin. Richmond's only worth-a-damn defensive lineman (Martin Parker) goes down with a really bad-looking knee or something, and what does Lazor do? He breaks out the heavy guns and sends his 250-pound cannonball directly at the space left behind by Parker. Attacks the newly-opened weak spot in the defensive line with the biggest weapon he's got. That's cutthroat, man. I believe we finally have an OC that knows how to call plays. This guy is not from the Ron Prince school of playcalling where a draw play on 3rd-and-4 into the teeth of a run blitz is the signature move.

As for Verica, he was Verica. Very good game overall, but his lack of interceptions is more the product of Richmond being unable to take advantage of his bad throws rather than the lack of them. He did what Verica does: make some really hideous, what-are-you-thinking throws, and mixed them up with some really gorgeous passes with a touch that'd make Peyton Manning applaud. The bomb to Burd was a thing of beauty. (The deep threat is still basically missing from the arsenal, though. If Burd was a true deep threat he wouldn't have been bagged by the safety. That play was set up by the run game and Verica's excellent pump-fake.) The hope going forward is that, like on Saturday, the good throws will greatly outnumber the bad ones.

On defense, the obvious star of the game is Laroy Reynolds. Three full years of that at linebacker? Yes please. Reynolds was all over. Wish I could say the same about the other linebackers. Ausar Walcott might have had the kind of game that only coaches notice, but his name wasn't called even once during the broadcast, and he wasn't around the ball much. Aaron Taliaferro was more visible than Steve Greer, but not by a lot. I wonder if this is indicative of a more populous D-line that's being asked to make more plays and is doing so, or if it's because we've got a bunch of guys playing linebacker that haven't played a lot of linebacker.

Chase Minnifield also had a terrific game, with that INT and one picture-perfect tackle and generally being in the right place at the right time. That's about it for stars on the defensive side. But that's also about it for bad things to say. About the worst you can say about anyone in that game was that they weren't visible much, but not everyone can be. And though I waffle between calling the 70-yard touchdown run by Kendall Gaskins either unlucky or inexcusable, I lean toward the former. I mean srsly wut? How does that happen? Gaskins proved difficult to tackle most of the game, but I mean, the whole defense was at the ball, which is where you want them.

All in all, very satisfying. And a relief. The final lesson to be learned? This year doesn't have to be a painful 13-week struggle.

weekend review: game face

It was 91 degrees outside in my neck of the woods this weekend and not remotely football weather, but that doesn't stop it from being a game week. And that means it's time to get the blog's game face on. So first: recruiting board. Monday thing during the season. Couple of additions this week as Mike London stretches his recruiting arm to Georgia:

- Added LB Troy Gray to blue.

- Added TE Max Mason and WR Demetri Knowles to yellow.

No, still not much going on in the recruiting world. Wait til this weekend when official visits can start.

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I don't know how often we'll see the depth chart updated on the official site, but they did so this week, which is kind of exciting. So there's a depth chart update here too. Among the highlights:

- I was a dum-dum and forgot to take the decommitted Matt Bailey off last time. So that's done.

- My hunch was correct: Ross Metheny and Mike Rocco are the backup QBs, but in no real order as yet. Odd man out in the rotation is Michael Strauss.

- The top two RBs are Perry Jones and Raynard Horne.

- Tim Smith is listed as a backup WR, with Dontrelle Inman a starter. These last two positions are probably going to be almighty interchangeable though.

- Jake Snyder breaks through as a backup DE.

- John-Kevin Dolce is officially the starter at DT over Matt Conrath, which is, ah, surprising. Dolce is hopefully as strong as advertised, because he's also going to be giving up 50+ pounds to his opponents. DT is always a platoony kind of position anyway - even Groh rotated people pretty frequently here - so it's not like Conrath is suddenly going to go ghost on us.

- Lot of "ORs" at linebacker, as in "Steve Greer OR Aaron Taliaferro", but I still think Greer, if he doesn't start off taking a majority of the snaps, will be doing so eventually. Some are surprised to see Laroy Reynolds sharing the starting job with anyone, but what do you expect from a converted safety who spent most of last year on special teams?

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And college football season means it's also high school football season. It's early yet and not every team started their season this past weekend, but some have. So here's how our recruits have been doing:

- Bayside 21, Green Run 10 in Virginia Beach. David Dean's team lost to Demetrious Nicholson's Bayside, but it was a sluggish affair for the much higher-ranked Bayside. Nicholson, who hasn't committed anywhere but will probably take an official to UVA, played both sides of the ball and caught four passes for 76 yards.

- Cox 30, Kellam 17 in Virginia Beach. Opening season win for Ross Burbank.

- I.C. Norcom 26, Northeastern (NC) 6 in Portsmouth. Kameron Mack's team gets a win over a not-great out-of-state team.

- Petersburg 43, Halifax County 20. Kevin Green will likely be a linebacker or a tight end or something at UVA, but he's Petersburg's quarterback.

- Good Counsel 21, St. Xavier (OH) 6. Big time matchup of two of the nation's power programs. Vincent Croce was in on at least one turnover. The game wasn't as close as it looked; Good Counsel broke it open in the fourth after trailing 6-0 most of the game. Potential recruit Sean Duggan, who has UVA in a smallish list of leaders, is a St. X linebacker.

- Glen Oak 42, H.D. Woodson 2. Darius Redman's team gets squashed.

- Mallard Creek 26, Independence 6. This actually happened two weeks ago. Two of North Carolina's best; Adrian Gamble's team comes out on the wrong end. South Pointe is next week for Independence, home of maybe the top recruit in the country in Jadeveon Clowney.

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Lastly, it's not only football season, it's football season! European football, that is. The Virginia Classic is next weekend with games against UAB and St. John's - both are eminently beatable. Virginia Tech is also in town, but UVA's game with them will wait til the ACC season. They're not good either. Picked 9th of 9 in the ACC preseason coaches' poll.

Speaking of which, weird. UVA is #2 in the preseason national poll, but picked 3rd in the ACC by the coaches. You'd have to figure the coaches know a little better, and are asking questions like where's the offense going to come from without guys like Tony Tchani, who went pro after his sophomore season? But most of the main operators of last season's record-setting defense are back, so let's watch and see if goalie extraordinaire Diego Restrepo can duplicate his incredible two-month shutout streak of last year.

everything update

This is a Virginia blog, right? Just checking. So let's talk a little UVA today. Both the depth chart and the recruiting board get a sprucing up, but the latter is actually a little skimpy. Players are in camp now, meaning high schoolers as well, so it's time for things to die down a little bit. Commitment season cranks up again around mid-to-late September. The only change to the recruiting board is the removal of OT Jake Goins, who to nobody's surprise committed to Tech.

The depth chart is also updated with some of the news out of fall camp. There's actually surprisingly little shuffling for a team with new systems and a new coach. Changes so far:

- Jake McGee moves from QB to TE.
- Hunter Steward moves from OT to DT.
- Pablo Alvarez moves from S to CB.
- Corey Lillard and Quintin Hunter have left the program.

The first two are on the "NCAA is investigating Lane Kiffin's recruiting practices" level of surprise. The first is to alleviate a logjam of too much depth, and the second is to create it at a position of need. McGee had been talked about as a tight end from the day he committed. Alvarez could be at any secondary position and it wouldn't change the fact that the secondary is absurdly, unbelievably thin. The eight scholarship non-freshmen in the secondary are enough - if nobody gets hurt. Which is asking a lot.

Future changes to the depth chart are in order, although nothing earthshaking appears to be in the offing. Miles Gooch will be moved, we just don't know where. I'm guessing WR, but we'll see. That's about it for position moves. And running back aside, we're even a little light on position battles. What needs to be resolved:

- Backup quarterback. Mike Rocco has been making his presence known, and while it'd be a mild surprise if he were to leapfrog into the #2 spot, it'd only be a mild surprise. The order of things behind Marc Verica is way up in the air.
- Running back slots 1 through 7. This'll go all the way to September 4. Keith Payne is officially in, so seven it is.
- I don't think the offensive tackles will change between now and the end of camp, but I do think things will shake up as the season goes on.
- ILB is a little unresolved between Steve Greer and Aaron Taliaferro, but I'm thinking Greer in the end.

Two real position battles, and one of them we hope the winner never has to see the field except against, say, VMI. It's a decidedly drama-free camp, relatively speaking. Enjoy it because next year shapes up like a good old-fashioned quarterback tussle. Probably a four-way fight, at least in the beginning.

Other news:

- Condolences to tight end Colter Phillips and his family; his father was killed in the Alaska plane crash that also killed former senator Ted Stevens.

- It turns out college football players aren't much different from the general population when it comes to the subject of playoffs. The majority want one, but once you start talking about what you'd have to sacrifice to get it, support drops off. An overwhelming majority like their bowl trips. And who can blame them? Free vacation to (usually) somewhere nice, and a goody bag to boot.

They're like the general population in one other respect, too: It appears that most of them have their pet idea, just like the fans. See, fans think a playoff is great, but if you tell them you have to have a playoff that's much different from their gumdrop rainbow vision of it, they don't like the idea as much. Start proposing actual playoff ideas instead of "do you want a playoff" and there are a lot more "no" answers than "yes."

- Fluff articles don't usually tell you much of anything, but I have a strict policy that requires linking to any fluff that informs you when you're rooting for players nicknamed Shrek and Donkey. That'd be big Morgan Moses - who dropped 15 pounds in order to show up weighing 350 - and Kevin Parks. New game plan: Line up Parks and Perry Jones behind Big Mo so nobody can see them (they'll both fit) and make the opponents guess which has the ball. And then it won't matter anyway because Mo will eat them if they get too close to the ball.

Seriously, that is a guy who it will be impossible to keep off the field. Once he gains even a rudimentary knowledge of the offense it'll be way too tempting to avoid just tossing him in there and running behind him.

- UNC is getting deeper into trouble all the time. If this turns out true, the NCAA will likely find the players involved ineligible and make UNC vacate the '09 season and tack on a few scholarship sacrifices for good measure. John Blake is a shady, shady character, the kind that everybody seems to know something about but clams up once the NCAA starts getting serious.