CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In rising to No. 3 on Virginia's all-time passing list, Jameel Sewell has joined the company of Matt Schaub and Shawn Moore, both of whom were ACC players of the year.

Sewell's statistics have never led to postseason awards, nor has Virginia's record made him a candidate this year.

His legacy will be his longevity and perseverance.

Sewell, a 6-foot-3 left-hander from Richmond's Hermitage High School, is expected to make the 33rd start of his UVa career when the Cavaliers (3-8) entertain Virginia Tech (8-3) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Hardly any Virginia quarterback has made more career starts and that's with Sewell having missed the 2008 season while on academic probation.

"I was reading the other day where he had moved up to third on the passing list," said Sewell's father, Harry, "and one of my co-workers said, 'Just think if he'd had that other year!' "

Sewell stands to finish his career approximately 2,000 yards behind Schaub, who is No. 1 on the all-time list. Considering Sewell passed for 2,176 yards in 2007 and could go over the 2,000 mark again Saturday, such conjecture is not ridiculous.

On the other hand, who's to say that Sewell would have arrived at this point after flunking out of school following the first semester in 2007?

"Once the violation occurred, we heard from a lot of people," Sewell's father said. "I was in contact with a few of them to see if we could get him in somewhere. Jameel shot that down as soon as he heard about it. He told me, 'This is where I want to be.' I couldn't have been prouder."

Harry Sewell played quarterback and defensive back at Virginia Union and has been a central figure in his son's career. After victories -- and sometimes after losses -- he can be seen standing proudly in the back of UVa's post-game interview area.

"My father has been there for me since Day One," Sewell said. "I had to deal with the separation of my parents but he did everything in his power to make sure I turned out in the right manner."

He's had Jameel's back but he's also been on his back.

"He rides me all the time," Jameel said. "There's definitely been times when I thought he was too tough, especially when I was younger. You've got to deal with it. When a father wants you to be successful, he's going to push you.

"I don't regret him doing that at all. I love him to death for doing that."

Larry Sewell could see that his son lacked confidence.

"At times, he had a lot of doubts," Mr. Sewell said. "He'd get discouraged when he couldn't do something that I knew he could do. My choice of toughness was predicated on preparation, but sometimes I just had to shut it down and go back to nurturing."

Yet, Jameel can be as tough on himself as his father ever was, particularly as the losses have mounted this season.

"I think that bothers him a lot," his dad said. "It makes him feel like he's the cause of it."

An offensive line hasn't offered Sewell much protection. Sewell has been sacked 37 times this season and he didn't even play Nov. 7 against Miami.

He was sidelined by an injured shoulder that day after missing time earlier with a sprained ankle.

Sewell denies that the injuries have limited his mobility and kept him from scrambling as effectively as he did in 2007.

He thinks he could have taken off a little more often "but, there's nothing I can do about that now," Sewell said during a teleconference this week.

"Just got to try and move forward. I can't dwell on the decisions I've made."

Obviously, the low point of Sewell's career was when he lost a year's eligibility. There was no assurance that he would be able to win back the starting job from his previous understudy, Peter Lalich, but head coach Al Groh was confident he would be back.

"I was because he was," said Groh, who ultimately lost Lalich to a school-imposed dismissal.

"He had a very strong conviction from the outset, I mean right from the very early days, when he was very, very down about being out of school and off the team.

"I can remember how soft-spoken he was in talking about it, but also how determined he was that he would be back to play."

Even without the victories, for Sewell there has been triumph.