CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The Cedric Peerman picture isn't getting any brighter.

Of the Virginia football players who did not play Saturday at North Carolina State, only Peerman did not participate in practice Monday as the Cavaliers began preparations for Saturday's home game against Wake Forest.

Peerman has missed three full games since suffering a foot injury Oct. 6 in a 23-21 victory at Middle Tennessee State.

No timetable has been set for his return.

"I'd say there's a chance that he might not," UVa head coach Al Groh said Tuesday.

Groh has offered few details about the injury, other than to say that doctors tell him that it occurred in a weight-bearing area, which has slowed Peerman's recovery.

No surgery has been planned, "but that remains an option in the future," Groh said.

Peerman was leading the ACC in rushing at the time of his injury and went to Middle Tennessee with three straight 100-yard games.

Tight end Tom Santi, cornerback Chris Cook and fullback Rashawn Jackson took part in practice Monday night, which is more than they had done the previous week.

All three made the trip to Raleigh, N.C., but only would have been available in an emergency, Groh said.

Upgraded role?

Symptomatic of Mikell Simpson's performance over the first half of the season was his one-game stint as a return specialist.

UVa's staff was so underwhelmed by Simpson's 19-yard return in the opening game at Wyoming that he was moved off that unit and most other units.

Simpson re-emerged with a 271-yard outburst at Maryland and added two touchdowns -- one rushing and one receiving -- in a 29-24 loss at N.C. State.

With the Cavaliers averaging fewer than 20 yards on kickoff returns, Simpson could be re-entering that mix.

Groh's first impression of Simpson as a kickoff returner was that he lacked aggressiveness, "but we've seen some things to dispel that," he said Wednesday. "We've got him taking turns on those units again."

Situation stabilized

Virginia wide receivers have had 16 receptions for 200 yards in the past two weeks, quieting some of the speculation about 2006 receptions leader Kevin Ogletree making an early return from reconstructive knee surgery.

"I'll just say the same thing I've been saying since he's been hurt," Groh said. "Almost all of the time, it's a year-long injury. Kevin had his injury in April and it's October.

"Our position on it is exactly the same as it was when he got injured. Wherever the story got started that Kevin was ready to come back is fantasy football."

One of the hidden benefits of Ogletree's rehabilitation is the opportunity he has had to strengthen his upper body. Ogletree was measured at 6-feet-2, 187 pounds before spring practice but should be stronger and much tougher to jam next year, Groh said.

Lalich lesson

Peter Lalich's once-lofty passing percentage dropped to 57.7 after a 2-for-8 relief effort Saturday and Groh hopes that his freshman quarterback learned a lesson. Lalich also got sacked three times.

"Don't hold the ball," Groh said. "How many words is that? Don't ... hold ... the ... ball. That's something that gets said all the time [to all quarterbacks].

"That message has been completely learned by [N.C. State's] Daniel Evans. You'll see on Saturday that that's one of the principles that Riley Sinner has. That ball is gone.

"Matt [Schaub] was that way for us. Nobody could get to Matt. The protection was good; we had some good players there, but it wasn't just the protectors. Matt knew where to go with it and he was getting it out of there."

Dowling defended

Groh expressed few reservations about freshman cornerback Ras-I Dowling, who was beaten for the go-ahead touchdown Saturday but had an interception and tied a school record with five pass break-ups.

"Ras-I has very good technique for this stage of his career," Groh said. "Now, is it a veteran's technique? It is not. Those techniques will come and he'll add those to his ball skills and awareness of the ball.

"There's every expectation he'll be one of the better defensive players around here."

Odds 'n' ends

There were no residual effects of the cramps that sidelined starting quarterback Jameel Sewell for the final 7 minutes Saturday night. Sewell and cornerback Mike Parker (ankle) practiced Monday. ... There was no word on offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, who missed most of the fourth quarter with a balky knee. ... Junior linebacker Jon Copper, who is in his second year as a starter, leads all active Virginia players in tackles with 167. Defensive end Chris Long is next with 163. ... Virginia has not scored a touchdown in 13 consecutive third quarters.