PONTE VEDRA, Fla. -- Four months have passed since Al Groh said his Virginia football program is "rebuilding" and he still does not feel comfortable using that term.

"First of all, if I used the term 'rebuilding' once; it was the only time I used it," Groh said Monday at the ACC Football Kickoff. " I never use the term 'rebuilding.'

"The way I think of it is, every year you've got to put the team back together. Rebuilding? That word is either something you never do or something that you always do. It's not a once-in-a-while thing."

Groh emphasized the departure of more than a half-dozen valued seniors from the 2005 Virginia team that finished 7-5 after a victory over Minnesota in the Music City Bowl.

However, he also got questions about the nearly 20 scholarship underclassmen or recruits who have been lost since the end of the 2004-2005 school year, including eight of this year's 24 signees.

UVa has never lost that many recruits between February's signing day and the start of the season.

All eight had academic issues -- either with the NCAA or the university.

One, prized New Jersey linebacker George Johnson, will enroll at Rutgers after being turned down by UVa's admissions office. Most of the others are headed to Virginia prep schools.

"I wouldn't say [the recruiting class] took a hit," Groh said. "I would say it followed plan. We and each one of the individual players were aware of potential circumstances."

It wasn't just recruits, however. In March, on the eve of spring practice, Virginia released a roster that did not include former All-ACC linebacker Ahmad Brooks, starting safety Tony Franklin and promising defensive end Vince Redd.

Franklin and Redd were among a group of players who were suspended during the 2005 season for a violation of team rules. Brooks, recently chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL's supplemental draft, took five drug tests this spring to try and dispel rumors of his drug use.

Redd transferred to Grambling, along with cornerback Philip Brown and defensive lineman Chris Johnson, who had been on academic suspension for the 2005 season.

To some, it might have seemed that Groh was sending a message.

"I wouldn't be fair to the individuals involved to try to use them to get other players' attention," Groh said. "If the players' attention had been lost to that degree, then nothing would have gotten it back anyway.

"There were situations that had to be addressed and each was addressed in its own circumstance. It just so happened that everybody became aware of them on the same day."

In fact, there is a possibility that Franklin, a 2005 co-captain, could be reinstated this fall. A decision on that could come soon.

Also, Groh said that D.J. Bell, a reserve lineman earlier in his career, has been taking steps toward a comeback. Bell was among the group that became academically ineligible in the summer of 2005.

Some of the attrition could not have been planned, such as the decision by All-ACC linebacker Kai Parham to make himself available for the NFL Draft with a year of college eligibility remaining. He went undrafted before signing with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent.

Groh didn't comment directly on the Parham situation, "but our plans were always such that probably Ahmad would not be playing for the team this year," he said.

"We had one circumstance there that might not have been expected but that happens to almost every team in the country."

In addressing the situation of how a coaching regime could be rebuilding after five years, Groh cited a core of seniors who played early in their UVa careers and completed their eligibility in 2005.

That included offensive lineman D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who was the No. 4 pick overall in the NFL Draft; place-kicker Conner Hughes, the top scorer in UVa history; tailback Wali Lundy, who set the ACC record for TDs in a career, and nose tackle Brennan Schmidt, who set a school record for consecutive starts.

"Frankly, I'd probably rather have Conner Hughes back than almost anybody for what he did for the team," Groh said. "Every one of those guys started a lot more games than Ahmad Brooks ever did."