Thursday, August 23, 2007
Lalich getting crash course
Woodberry Forest standout living up to his name
Doug Doughty
Doug Doughty's UVa Insider is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Thursdays in season.
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It’s easy for me to question how much a reporter can gain from monitoring an open football practice, particularly since I attend so few of them myself, but one aspect of Virginia’s practice Saturday morning jumped out at me.
True freshman quarterback Peter Lalich was getting a lot – a lot – of repetitions.
Junior Scott Deke might be listed as the No. 2 quarterback behind Jameel Sewell, but if Sewell were to be sidelined for any appreciable length of time, nobody should be surprised if Lalich steps in.
In many respects, it’s similar to the situation at Virginia Tech, where Ike Whitaker was moved to wide receiver this week and true freshman Tyrod Taylor was installed as the No. 2 QB. Deke isn’t a candidate to move to another position, but the Cavaliers clearly want to have Lalich ready.
Does Lalich play in a mop-up role? That’s the same question that Virginia Tech faces with Taylor, except that Tech is likely to be in a few more mop-up situations.
As opposed to the Hokies, who open the season as 24 ½-point favorites against visiting East Carolina, Virginia is a four-point favorite against host Wyoming.
Yet, even Virginia coach Al Groh admits that he has never given as many repetitions to a true freshman quarterback.
“He’s done a very good job relative to where he started and what he’s had to deal with,” Groh said Thursday in a teleconference.
“Everyone’s been impressed with his diligence and his study. He’s come in and really worked to get on top of things and made improvement on a daily basis.
“But, how many true freshman quarterbacks do you see around the country who are playing? That’s just a challenge, although he seems for us to be ahead of the curve, but it’s a big curve to be on.”
Matthew Stafford was 6-2 as a starter for Georgia last year as a true freshman. He directed the Bulldogs to victories over No. 5 Auburn, No. 16 Georgia Tech and No. 14 Virginia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
It must be noted, Stafford enrolled at Georgia for the second semester of the 2005-2006 school year, which enabled him to go through spring practice with the Bulldogs.
Few ACC quarterbacks have performed as well as a true freshman as North Carolina State’s Philip Rivers did in 2000, but Rivers was another player who left high school after the fall semester of his senior year.
“That’s not a possibility here,” Groh said. “Those guys had not only 15 days of practice but a lot of time being around the staff and looking at tape. That’s such a big head start for them.”
However, it’s not unprecedented for a true freshman to start without the benefit of spring practice. Thaddeus Lewis was a second-semester graduate from high school in 2006 and started the last 11 games for Duke as a true freshman, passing for 2,134 yards.
Of course, that was a Blue Devils team that finished 0-11, but you can’t pin all of that on Lewis.
In my memory, the last true freshman to start at quarterback for Virginia was Scott Gardner in 1972. By the time his career ended, he was the leading passer in school history and would keep that distinction until passed by Shawn Moore in 1990. Gardner remains third behind Moore and No. 1 Matt Schaub.
GROH HAD AN INTERESTING observation Thursday when asked about Sewell by Laramie (Wyo.) Boomerang Sports Editor Bob Hammond.
“When he took over last year, he just brought an increased level of ability at the position,” Groh said. “However, when he did that, he was also the most inexperienced of the quarterbacks on the roster. That was an issue for quite a while.
“What he brings now – and there’s more to come yet – is the highest level of confidence at the position that we’ve had since Marques Hagans left. That is, his personal confidence. I’m not necessarily speaking of other people’s confidence in him.”
Hammond started out by asking if Groh could remember another time when both starting quarterbacks have been left-handed, as will be the case for the Cavaliers and Cowboys, who will go with sophomore Karsten Sween.
“I’d really have to close the door and take no interruptions and think for a long time,” Groh said.
Actually, the Cavaliers faced a left-hander, Pittsburgh’s Tyler Palko, in the opening game of the 2006 season. However, Sewell wasn’t starting for the Cavaliers at that time.
NOBODY REALLY MENTIONS fullback Rashawn Jackson when talking about Virginia’s offensive weapons, but it was hard not to notice Saturday when Jackson neatly pulled in a screen pass and rambled down the left sideline, only to put an inside move on the last defender.
Jackson has good hands and he was a SuperPrep All-American as a running back at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, N.J. However, Groh didn’t have a flattering first impression when Jackson moved from linebacker to fullback in the spring.
“He was too fat,” said Groh, noting that Jackson and all of his teammates came to camp at or below their required weight.
CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE Dave Melesco, who is big in Rocky Mount and Danville and most other venues he frequents, reports that the star player at Woodberry Forest is sophomore running back Ed Reynolds Jr., whose father, Ed, was a defensive end for the Cavaliers in the early 1980s and also played in the NFL.
Melesco, a UVa law grad and football season ticket-holder, has a 6-foot-5, 245-pound son, John, who will be a junior offensive lineman for Woodberry this season.
