Draft Recap

               Welcome everyone to the summer edition of the WahooWatch, finals are now over and I can return to hopefully fairly regular coverage of the Wahoos. The 2009 NFL Draft has come and gone and it was full of surprises. We’ll break this down player by player and I’ll give my opinions on the scenarios that the players find themselves in.

Eugene Monroe- 8^th Overall to Jacksonville

                This was a surprise to me. I felt certain that Monroe would go ahead of Andre Smith of Alabama but he is entering a great situation in Jacksonville where he will anchor an offensive line that is in dire need of repair. The Jags also took Eben Britton to play right tackle and turned a weakness of last year into a potential strength.

Clint Sintim- 45^th Overall (2^nd Round) to Giants

                Right about where I thought Sintim would good but I did not expect him to go to a 4-3 defense. Obviously Sintim has proven that he can cover well enough to join a fairly strong linebacking corps in New York, great news for redskins fans.

Cedric Peerman- 185^th Overall (6^th Round) to Baltimore

                This is much MUCH later than I expected Cedric to go. The ravens got a steal in the 6^th round. Peerman will probably return kicks this season but will most likely  not see much time at running back unless Willis McGahee continues to struggle.

John Phillips 208^th Overall (6^th Round) to Dallas

                Phillips comes into a soap opera in Dallas and will probably be a special teamer for a while. Jason Witten is still one of the top tight ends in the league and is probably not going anywhere for a while. Phillips is still a steal in the 6^th round and could find his way onto the field with a strong showing in camp.

Kevin Ogletree- Undrafted to Dallas

                Watching Kevin go undrafted broke my heart. He signs on with Dallas where he could play special teams but it doesn’t look good. Note to every receiver who is not a first round lock, come back to school.

Antonio Appleby- Undrafted to New England

                Great guy going into a great situation. If Appleby works hard he can make the team as a special teamer and possibly grab one of the many open linebacker spots as the pats get older

 

Overall a good draft for the Hoos. Sintim and Monroe will most likely start from day one. I feel terrible for Kevin but this should motivate him to work harder and potential make a team that has a void at receiver.

 

For the rest of the summer look for coverage of baseball, tennis and lacrosse in the post season and profiles of new football coaches and what the spread offense will look like. Thanks for reading!

Spring Football Review

                The UVA Spring Football Festival was this weekend and the WahooWatch was there to take in the action. The game was the first chance to see new offensive coordinator Greg Brandon’s spread offense. While it was expected that not much of the offense would be revealed what was seen was impressive and a nice change of pace.

                The Quarterback battle has been the most publicized competition in camp this season and the game answered some, but not all, of the questions. The game to me separated Jameel Sewell and Vic Hall as the two leading candidates to take snaps for the Hoos this fall. Hall took the first round of snaps during the game and looked good throwing and running with the ball. He also seemed to progress through his reads faster and better than I expected and looked like he’d been playing QB since he’d arrived at UVA. Sewell on the other hand looked sharp as well.  Despite an interception on what looked like a miscommunication in route Sewell looked strong and noticeably larger. Sewell obviously has the stronger arm of the two and is a proven leader on this team. If there is a tie between the two I think you’ll see Vic Hall move to the slot receiver role as Sewell is a QB option only.

                The next thing I noticed was the use of the tight end. First I’d like to congratulate my friend Ryan Shaw who walked on as a tight end this season. But that was not the only reason I watched the tight ends closely. UVA has always produced extremely talented tight ends such as Tom Santi, Jonathan Stupar, John Phillips, and Heath Miller, but Coach Brandon’s offense does not have a tight end in its design. However in the game you saw the tight end in the formations split out wide as a receiver but seemed to be used more as a lead blocker than anything else. While this doesn’t necessarily bode well for receiving tight end it shows that Coach Brandon is attempting to use what he has and is letting his style evolve to fit the ACC. Ryan unfortunately had a pass deflect off his shoulder pad for an interception. But it was still awesome to see him out there.

                On a positive note Chris Cook is back and he looked like a monster out there. Corner is obviously the strength of this team. Between Cook and Ras-I Dowling the Hoos boast probably the best pair of corners in the ACC. Cook, who was suspended last season for academic reasons, looked much larger and stronger and as if he hadn’t missed a beat since he last played. The pair of corners is key to the success of the defense which is breaking in 4 new linebackers this season. At this point the two linebackers that have their spots lined up are Cam Johnson and Denzel Burrell. Johnson looked great during the game and is one of the most athletic players on this team.

                The offensive line did not impress me very much and I’m curious how many of the new freshman will find their way onto the field this fall. Morgan Moses was seen at the game and is even bigger in person than he sounds on paper. In fact when he sat down on the bleacher I was sitting on he almost threw me off. Look for offensive line, along with wide receivers, to be the two possible places where there could be a large freshman contribution.

                Overall I’d give the defense a b+ and the offense a b- just based on what I could see. I assume that once the season starts Coach Brandon will open up the playbook and show us exactly why we’ve pinned the hopes of the football program on his new offense. Also hopefully UVA will get off to a hot start attracting new and faster recruits to improve the team. 

WahooWatch Draft Preview

                So today I’m going to address the 5 main Virginia players that are in the 2009 NFL Draft; OT Eugene Monroe, OLB Clint Sintim, RB Cedric Peerman, TE John Phillips, and WR Kevin Ogletree.  All of the players mentioned are seniors with the exception of Kevin Ogletree who was only a junior. Being from Al Groh’s system these players have the distinct advantage in the draft as Coach Groh is extremely well respected in NFL coach circles. These players also have almost perfect character and have never had a problem in their tenures at UVA. So let’s get into the projections:

 

Eugene Monroe:

Offensive Tackle       6’ 5” 312 lbs

Projected Selection: Top 8 pick

                 Monroe is the latest top offensive line prospect to come out of UVA. At 6-5 312 Monroe is a behemoth of a man and could easily anchor an offensive line for years to come. Along with Branden Albert, Monroe led one of the best left sides in the country during the 2007 campaign, and if Albert’s first round selection was any indication, Monroe will be taken very high in this draft. Monroe may go as high as 2 to the Rams, but is more likely to go 6 to the Bengals or at worst 8 to Jaguars. Pay attention to the Seahawks at 4 as a possibility too.

 

Clint Sintim:

 Outside Linebacker         6’ 3” 253 lbs

Projected Selection: 2^nd-3^rd Round

                 Sintim is without a doubt a tenacious pass rusher coming off the edge in Coach Groh’s 3-4 system. Look for Sintim to go to a team that runs a 3-4 versus a team that runs a 4-3 as his coverage abilities have come into question of late. Sintim reminds me of a Joey Porter type player who can be the emotional leader of the team and has a nose for the quarterback. I’d look at the Dolphins or the Niners in the second round, or potentially the Patriots. If he’s available in the 3^rd round I would love the Redskins to pick him up.  Good thing we traded for Jason Taylor and don’t have a 2^nd rounder, which is probably the pick the dolphins will use to take Sintim, which is a perfect fit.

Cedric Peerman:

 Running Back      5’ 10” 211 lbs

Projected Selection: 3^rd Round

                Peerman turned in the fastest 40 time at the combine, which shocked me. As a prospect I did not expect Peerman to move up the board as fast as he did. Peerman is an ordained minister so character issues are completely out of the question with him. Peerman is probably a strong 3^rd down back option, or a nice speed back to compliment a big bruiser. Here’s looking at you Cincinnati in the late 3^rd round.

 

John Phillips:

 Tight End                    6’ 5” 251 lbs

Projected Selection: 5^th Round

                Phillips is a steal in the 5^th round. UVA’s offensive deficiencies have dropped his stock way way down. As far as a prospect goes however I think teams are really missing the boat on this kid. He catches almost everything thrown his way and blocks very well. While not a monster prospect Phillips will definitely be a serviceable and reliable tight end in the NFL for years to come. As much as I hate to say this, look for the Patriots or Eagles to take a peek at him in the 5^th round if they haven’t already addressed tight end.

 

Kevin Ogletree:

Wide Receiver        6’ 1” 196 lbs

Projected Selection: 4^th Round

                I didn’t quite understand why when Ogletree entered the draft but he has certainly proven me wrong. While I’m sure the 4^th round isn’t quite as good as where he probably wanted to go Ogletree worked hard just to get to that point.  Ogletree is a perfect slot receiver to any team that needs an upgrade in that department. I’d draw comparisons to a Santana Moss type player. I’d look at the Ravens or the Steelers in the 4^th round, with the Titans as a dark horse.

 

Anyway this will all end up being proven wrong in the end but I wish all these players the best of luck. As finals approach these entries might be a little more sporadic but hopefully I’ll be able to keep up. Football talk will start soon, as well as baseball, lacrosse, and yes lyle, tennis.

Return to Traditions

As some of you know the University of Virginia is a very unique place, packed with weird traditions, secret societies, obscure names, and people clamoring to live in rooms with no A/C or bathroom. This extends, or at least used to extend, into athletics. When Coach Groh and Athletic Director Craig Littlepage came to UVA they seemed to start a war on tradition. Previously football games included traditions like “Guys in ties, Girls in Pearls” which meant that student would dress up to go see football games. This tradition dates back to when UVA was an all male school and student would bring dates to football games. Virginia also used to have the pep-band play at home football games. The pep-band was not your generic college football band by any stretch of the imagination, playing modern style music as well as UVA drinking songs such as rugby road. Upon entering the scene Littlepage and Groh quickly put at halt to this. In his attempts to make football into a national power Coach Groh initiated the “Sea of Orange” which was meant to eventually overtake the previous tradition of dressing up for games. Littlepage has also pretty much banned the pep-band from all sporting events in favor of the new, generic, marching band. Now UVA looks pretty much like every other school in the country on a Saturday afternoon.
But this movement toward the generic may be stopping. In the recent elections a referendum was offered that would take the money that is used to fund the free power of orange t-shirts in favor of providing the student with better access to water during the sweltering August and September games. While this seems like an innocent enough vote if you read between the lines it is a call from the students to return UVA sports to their traditional state. While I don’t think the pep band is ever coming back you can see from this vote that the students would like to see the traditions return, and I’m fairly certain the alumni would too. Imagine if you came back to your alma mater and everything was different from when you had been there. If the old traditions are going to die out let them die out naturally, don’t force new ones on fans like raising that stupid power of orange flag.
The reason I’m writing this today is that I think the new coaching hire is also indicative of something along these lines. Look UVA is a strange place with strange customs; it only makes sense to have a strange offensive strategy. The hiring of Coach Bennett, at least I feel, helps to emphasize the uniqueness of this school which has disappeared from the football program. This school prides itself on being out of the ordinary, especially academically, and I feel at least that the sports should reflect that. Bring back the old traditions and you’ll see people in the seats. Football games aren’t just about wins and losses, it’s the entire experience, and part of that is weird traditions that build the community as a whole. Yeah people might think we’re weird for doing all of this stuff, but at least it unifies everyone in our own obscurity.

Introduction to Mike

I figured I’d give you a little insight into who I am just to put some of my points into perspective. I'm actually a transfer student to UVA this year from the University of Miami in Florida. The biggest thing I’ve noticed in coming here is how differently the athletics are handled at this school than they were at Miami, and I’d like to highlight a few of them for everyone. 
          First off in listening to local sports talk radio I learned that the academic support system for the athletes here is a little lack-luster. This was shocking to me as being a tutor of the football players was the highest paying student job on campus at Miami, and let’s faces it that's not exactly Harvard down there. The second glaring difference I’ve noticed is the connection the football team has with the students. I lived in the Pearson Dorms at Miami which hosted the infamous "7th Floor Crew" as well as the rest of the football team. Every day I would eat lunch with one of my best friends down there Chaz Washington, a 6-3 315 pound defensive tackle. That's something that could never ever happen at this school because all the football players live off grounds and eat at JPJ (which says something to the quality of the O-Hill food). The lack of interaction with the team was something I needed to adjust to. I really think that Randy Shannon requiring the football players to live in the dorms the first 2 years of school was one of the greatest ideas he's had down there. You can say all you want about the recruiting classes he can bring in but I noticed it's very hard to boo someone that you eat lunch with every day.
          That connection with the student and even the community that the entire athletic department at Miami had was really a testament to how much the school and its sports team are intertwined. Sure everyone see's the U as a team full of thugs and bad dudes but it really was the unifying spirit of the school. I don't think that Craig Littlepage understands that, or if he does knows how to go about achieving it. Your football and basketball teams in my opinion at an ACC school represent your entire university. Whether Craig likes it or not they need to be given a bit of favoritism. I'd be lying if I told you football wasn't a factor in me choosing to go to Miami. When the teams are nothing special they can't get the national publicity and generate interest in the school from people who otherwise wouldn't think about coming here. Having strong athletics don't just benefit current student and fans, but it also helps generate interest in the university as a whole. I left Miami in the midst of a rapid change in school policy, attempting to move from "Suntan U" to a prestigious university based completely on football money, or money from alumni who became interested in the school because of the success of the football team in the 80's and 90's. I think for Craig to effectively run the athletic department for the benefit of the university he needs to take a peek 1000 miles south of here to a place where I really think they know how to play the game (pardon the pun).