SAM DEAN The Roanoke Times

Junior strong safety Rodney McLeod (28) will wear Vic Hall's old number, No. 4, this season for Virginia.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Among the first decisions made by Virginia football coach Mike London as he assembled his first staff was the separation of the cornerbacks and safeties.

Take Rodney McLeod's word for it. It makes a difference.

McLeod, scheduled to start at strong safety Saturday against Richmond, is coached by Anthony Poindexter. The UVa cornerbacks are coached by Chip West, previously an assistant at Old Dominion.

Poindexter is a holdover from the staff of former UVa head coach Al Groh, who had Poindexter coaching the cornerbacks and safeties.

In Groh's defense, he had longtime college and NFL secondary coach Bob Trott keeping an eye on Poindexter. Trott nominally was the Cavaliers' linebackers coach in a 3-4 scheme where Groh served as his own defensive coordinator, but Poindexter clearly had a lot to handle.

UVa had 18 cornerbacks and safeties on its 2009 roster, 13 of them scholarship players.

" I feel like, when there was a lot of us, he couldn't take as much time to correct us and we made some mistakes because of the amount of players that we had," McLeod said.

"With him working with the safeties, he's able to give us a lot more attention. Now, he and Chip are able to focus on what they know best."

Poindexter also serves as the Cavaliers' special teams coordinator this year, but the current UVa roster only includes four scholarship safeties -- veterans McLeod, Corey Mosley, Dom Joseph and Trey Womack.

Poindexter coached the UVa running backs for his first five seasons as a full-time UVa assistant, 2004-2008, but he is considered the best safety ever to have worn Virginia's orange and blue.

Poindexter was a two-time All-American and a three-time first-team All-ACC selection who was the 1998 ACC defensive player of the year.

"Coming from Maryland, I didn't know many of the UVa football traditions or who the great players were to come through these doors," said McLeod, a junior from Oxon Hill, Md. "This summer was the first time I'd really seen film of [Poindexter] as a player.

"The energy and passion he had for the game, you can't really describe in words. You have to see it for yourself. It definitely touched me when I saw it."

Poindexter was big enough to play linebacker early in his career and, at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, became a prototypical strong safety.

McLeod, on the other hand, began his UVa career as a cornerback and is listed at 5-10, 185. He can frequently be found in "the box," an area close to the line of scrimmage where linebackers usually roam.

"They moved me to strong safety so I'd be covering the slot receiver," McLeod said. "They thought it was a good fit for me because I had coverage experience as a corner."

The role of the college safety has changed with the proliferation of spread offenses and it has changed at UVa with the switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3.

"In the 3-4, the safeties made most of the calls," McLeod said. " Now, in the 4-3, the linebackers are making calls. That takes a lot of pressure off the safeties in terms of disguising our coverages and focusing on what the receivers are about to do."

McLeod, a product of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., led UVa's defensive backs in tackles last year and was fourth overall with 62. He has caused three fumbles in two seasons but is still looking for his first interception after more than 1,000 career plays.

"These guys have been playing together for a long time," Poindexter said, "and I think, with the change in scheme, our defense will [apply] more pressure and you should see more turnovers."

Odds 'n' ends

UVa's starting secondary of McLeod, Mosley and cornerbacks Ras-I Dowling and Chase Minnifield has been on the field for more than 4,500 plays, topped by Dowling's 1,800. The least experienced, Minnifield, has been in for 800 plays. ... McLeod now wears No. 4, Vic Hall's old number, after wearing No. 28 for his first two seasons. There was a run on single-digit numbers that became available when Hall and his classmates completed their eligibility. Mosley has gone from No. 40 to No. 7. ... An influx of new players after the beginning of school has put UVa's roster at 114, largest in school history. That figure includes more than 30 walk-ons. ... One of the newcomers, tailback Brent Morgan, is one of an ACC-high four Canadians on the team.