Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sports columnist Aaron McFarling: Meet the Army of Als
Aaron McFarling
Recent columns
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Last year, Virginia tight end John Phillips was asked about confidence.
Now, a little background here. Phillips is a bright young man, a strong student, but he's also country to the core. His father goes by "Bugs." He played his high school football in Bath County, where it's common for players to go deer hunting the morning of a game and coon hunting after it. Where Skoal rings and work boots are the norm.
In fact, the day Phillips shook coach Al Groh's hand and committed to UVa, he was wearing bloody hunting boots and a flannel shirt with cutoff sleeves.
So anyway, he was asked about confidence.
"Confidence," Phillips said, "is the result of demonstrated performance."
Wait ... what?
They're little Als now. All of them. You can see it in the way they all played along with the quarterback charade this fall -- highlighted by Scott Deke's bizarre statement during "Meet the Team" day earlier this month ("We're really thankful and blessed with a beautiful day here in Charlottesville ...") It became a game for them, just as it had for Groh.
You could hear their allegiance to Groh in their statements at Tuesday's press conference.
Linebacker Clint Sintim: "I have the utmost faith in Coach Groh."
Lineman Zak Stair: "Coach Groh's done a great job at getting us prepared."
Receiver Kevin Ogletree: "The circumstances surrounding this game dictate a near flawless performance will be required for success."
OK, I made that last one up, but the others are real. And this is by no means a bad thing. It actually bodes well for a team that, at least on paper, figures to be embarking on a very long season.
It takes years for a coach to truly put his fingerprints on a program. Spend any time around these players and you'll discover Groh, who begins his eighth season today, has reached that point. If you had a penny for every time the UVa players repeated Groh's "next man up" and "refuse to crack" mantras last season, you could buy a tank of unleaded and have enough left over for a venti latte. They're listening, processing, regurgitating.
And it worked to the tune of a 9-4 record and second place in the ACC's Coastal Division.
Why does any of this matter? Because the Army of Als is probably going to get whacked today. Hard. Southern California is coming to town, bringing All-America linebackers and about 47 skill players who could start anywhere in the country. Asked if the Trojans are the best team to visit Charlottesville during his tenure, Groh did not hesitate.
"With all due respect to those who preceded them, yes," he said.
What's worse, UVa is young, decimated by graduation and issues off the field. As a result, the Cavaliers are listed as nearly a three-touchdown underdog today, their longest Vegas odds at home since a loaded Florida State squad visited in the mid-1990s.
But the players who remain in Charlottesville have bought into the program and its leader. And there is no greater elixir for an overmatched team than solidarity. They'll need it today to compete well. And more importantly, they'll likely need it tomorrow as they patch up their bruises and look ahead to the rest of the schedule.
Groh doesn't deal much in big-picture philosophy. While he freely identified the recurring qualities of a Pete Carroll-coached team -- using terms such as "full-throttle" and "high energy" -- he has a harder time identifying the style that defines his own program.
"We just coach," he often says.
But this week, when pressed, he offered just a little more.
"Last year's team," he said, "and how it played, and what it was about, is a pretty good model that defines our culture."
Next man up. Refuse to crack. Confidence bred through demonstrated performance.
And a whole Army of Als, fighting till the final whistle.
