CHARLOTTESVILLE — Since the end of the 2005 football season, Virginia has lost four assistant coaches, eight signees and former Playboy All-American Ahmad Brooks from its prospective 2006 arsenal.

Music City Bowl practices were conducted with a skeleton staff and Brooks didn’t make the trip, but that didn’t prevent the Cavaliers from beating Minnesota 34-31.

Unfortunately, Virginia has sustained some other losses since its trip to Nashville, Tenn., most notably the departure of first-round NFL Draft pick D’Brickashaw Ferguson, UVa career scoring leader Connor Hughes, all-time ACC touchdown leader Wali Lundy, leading tackler Kai Parham and playmaking quarterback Marques Hagans.

“Who amongst the media or the fans knew much about Connor Hughes when he came in?” Groh asked reporters at the ACC Football Kickoff in Jacksonville, Fla. “Who knew about D’Brickashaw Ferguson? Who knew too much about Wali Lundy? Who knew anything about Brennan Schmidt?”

Schmidt, a two-year co-captain, set a UVa record and tied an ACC mark by starting 51 consecutive games in his career as a Cavaliers defensive lineman.

“There are some other players now who nobody knows about,” Groh said, “but they have the potential to be good players. They’re going to have to step up and do that, just as Brennan certainly carved out a tremendous career for himself. Or Connor. Or Wali.”

Virginia needed a victory over Minnesota to finish 7-5 and post its fourth straight winning season. Six UVa players were drafted by NFL teams, including Brooks, who was dismissed by Groh in March and subsequently made himself available for the NFL’s supplemental draft.

Brooks was one of four players left off the spring roster for what Groh characterized as an absence of focus and dedication. One of those players, safety and 2005 co-captain Tony Franklin, was reinstated on the eve of preseason practice.

The return of Franklin and Nate Lyles, who missed the final three games of the 2005 season following neck surgery, has only fortified what was already the deepest unit on the team. Cornerback Marcus Hamilton was a second-team All-ACC choice last season, when he had an ACC-leading six interceptions, including a game-saver against Minnesota.

Defensively, Hamilton will share the marquee with 6-foot-4, 284-pound defensive end Chris Long, whose performance last year started to match up with his bloodline. Long, oldest son of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long, had 26 quarterback hurries as a sophomore and finished with 10 tackles for loss.

“One of the most valuable commodities Chris brings is tremendous passion for football, and that helps infuse everybody around him with that,” Groh said. “He’s a very high-energy, high-motor player, and he’s able to maintain that all afternoon long. We don’t see many circumstances when Chris Long looks like he’s tired.”

The Cavaliers will rely heavily on young players like inside linebacker Antonio Appleby, who was a true freshman when he replaced Brooks for the final two games, and his fellow 2005 signee, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, a 6-3, 279-pound redshirt freshman who will play at the end spot opposite Long’s.

Long and Hamilton are two of the three players on the cover of Virginia’s football media guide. The third is senior Deyon Williams, who had a team-high 58 receptions in 2005 but will miss the season opener as the result of a broken foot that required surgery Aug. 11. Williams has said that he hopes to return in time for the Cavaliers’ Thursday night game at Georgia Tech on Sept. 21.

In Williams’ absence, the team’s top returning receiver will be Fontel Mines (28 receptions in 2005). The top returning rusher is Jason Snelling, now a full-time tailback after dividing his time between fullback and tailback last year, when he rushed for 331 yards.

Gone are three offensive linemen — Ferguson, Brad Butler and Brian Barthelmes — with more than a combined 120 career starts. But the Cavaliers have a pair of sophomore offensive linemen, Branden Albert and Eugene Monroe, who would be the envy of any line coach.

UVa has had some talented tight ends in the past, most notably John Mackey Award winner Heath Miller, but the current threesome of Jon Stupar, Tom Santi and Bath County’s John Phillips would be hard to beat.

A possible area of concern is the kicking game, where Chris Gould, brother of Chicago Bears place-kicker Robbie Gould, will take over field goals and extra points from Hughes and kickoff duties from San Diego Chargers draft pick Kurt Smith. Gould was UVa’s punter last season and for part of the 2005 season, but Groh hopes that Ryan Weigand can take over those duties.

The schedule will not provide much opportunity for on-the-job training. In their season opener, the Cavaliers will visit Pittsburgh, an early five-point favorite.

“It’s the Tony Dorsett national championship team celebration,” Groh said. “The Steelers don’t start till the next week. It’s going to be center stage in Pittsburgh, a big dog-and-pony show. All of that is going to make it very challenging for this team.

“They’re going to have to stand up to some pretty good pitching early. That’s the formula that helped the previous players. In 2002, those other players had to face Colorado State, Florida State and South Carolina. There was no sticking their toe in the water. They had to dive right into the pool.”