UVA football goes old school, Sewell working to limit turnovers

Cavs go old school
Last week before the Hoos hit the practice field, they watched some tapes of workouts—from previous years.

Coach Al Groh screened films of former teams going through practices to show good habits that he thought were necessary for a winning team.

“We haven’t always had the most talented teams on the field,“ he said. “But we’ve often played at a very high energy level, with a very good ruggedness and a strong resilience.“

The clips included former players Chris Long and Cedric Peerman going through workouts, as well as other players who had strong practice habits.

For the players, the message was that they needed to have a game-day level of urgency throughout the week.

“We watched a lot of old clips about how Virginia football used to be, and we want to get back to that mentality,“ safety Brandon Woods said.

Cornerback Chase Minnifield added that the team is working to have a more physical presence, and that the practice field was the place to start building those habits.

Sewell working to limit turnovers
When quarterback Jameel Sewell, a Hermitage grad, is handed the stat sheet after a game, his eyes head first to the turnovers column.

“I’m trying to limit those,“ he said. “I’ve had way too many.“

Cutting down on them was one reason Virginia was able to win the time-of-possession battle against North Carolina—as well as maintain several long drives.

It also didn’t hurt that the offense took on multiple dimensions with a 100-yard game from Mikell Simpson and playmaking from the team’s young receivers.

“I’ve got a lot more confidence,“ Sewell said last night after practice. “I’ve thrown up some crazy balls to those guys, and they’ve caught them, so that’s exciting to me.“

He said that adding a healthy Simpson to the backfield has helped split up defensive lines when the two players take off in different directions.

Scouting Indiana
Saturday marks the first time Indiana and Virginia will meet on the football field, meaning that the Cavs spent extra time in the film room this week scouting their unfamiliar opponent.

Linebacker Steve Greer is from the area, but said that he didn’t know much about the program before the week began. He said that every week, the players take it on themselves to hit the computers and do some research into the players they’ll face.

“We want to know everything,“ he said. “From the way they play to their girlfriend’s name.“

Several players also watched the Indiana-Michigan game, which took place during Virginia’s bye week.

Poindexter’s play still remembered
After a distinguished four-year career at Virginia, a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens and several years coaching at U.Va., there’s still only one thing people want to talk about with Anthony Poindexter.

“That Florida State play,“ he said with a laugh.

As a freshman in 1995, he shut down Warrick Dunn on fourth down to preserve one of U.Va.‘s biggest victories.

Saturday, the defensive back will have his No.3 retired in a pregame ceremony. Referring to Charlottesville, he said that “this place is home for me.“ He returned after injuries kept him from fulfilling his promise at the pro level.

“I think I could have been a great player at the next level, but I don’t harp on it,“ he said. “I got a chance to reach one of my goals and play in the NFL.“

Notes
After a strong game Saturday, Brandon Woods has earned the role as a starting safety. . . . Groh said that because of personnel availability, he’s been more inclined to run a dime defense instead of a nickel on third-down passing situations. Dom Joseph is handling the linebacker role in that formation. . . . Virginia has 10 commitments early in this season’s recruiting period. The team likely will finish with at least twice as many. . . . Kicker Robert Randolph has made kicks of 50-plus yards in practice, but Groh said his in-game range is about 47 yards. . . . Guard B.J. Cabbell was held out of Sunday and Monday’s practices because of injury.