UVA's Chris Cook hits his stride

Chris Cook called his shot.

In the waning minutes of Virginia’s first win of the season, the senior cornerback predicted a game-changing play.

“Before we went out for that last series I told them that I was closing this game out,” Cook recounted. “I told my teammates that I am closing it out.

“I don’t know … I just had that feeling that something good was going to happen.”

Cook, in fact, sealed the 16-3 victory as he played off his wide receiver deep enough to corral a pass intended for a different target from UNC quarterback T.J. Yates.

On television, it would have appeared Cook was in the incorrect coverage as his man was free to haul in a pass and get out of bounds with ease.

Cook was on point, however, based on the coverage that was called.

“That’s how I was supposed to play,” he said. “Unfortunately for [Yates], he made the wrong read and threw it right to me.

“I was in the perfect place and the right time to make sure we ended any threat.”

Despite missing the 2008 season and all but one play against Southern Mississippi with an injured groin, Cook has returned to an All-ACC form.

Earlier this week as he prepared for Saturday’s contest at home against Indiana (3-2), Virginia coach Al Groh was asked if Cook was one of the most improved players on the team from the opening training camp practice to date.

“I wouldn’t want to sit here and predict that would be the case but, yes, going into the season we can see that might be the case,” Groh said, referring to Cook’s time away from the sport. “Will we try to come out of the gate slowly? Clearly not, but we understand there might be mitigating factors in there that in some cases we would have preferred not to be there.

“But that was the reality of it and one of the things we believe in is reality as opposed to fantasy, it was a reality with some of those circumstances.”

It was easy to tell that Groh was referring to the return of quarterback Jameel Sewell, too. Virginia stumbled to a 5-7 record last year without Cook and Sewell in the fold.

Groh would not go as far as to use the rust that both players have shown or the implementation of new systems (offense and special teams) as an excuse.

“Did that reality make us drop some of the balls that we dropped or missed some of the calls that we should have had?” Groh asked. “No, it didn’t so that’s not a full explanation to it, but it probably is there as part of it.”

As for Cook, Groh called him one of the team’s “best” players following the clash with UNC.

“He was on his game very nicely,” the coach said, noting that there was “a measurable difference” in his play of late.

It was near impossible to pass to Cook’s side of the field, something that opposing teams have certainly noticed in scouting.

“That is the ultimate compliment, them not throwing my way,” Cook said. “I just try to prepare the same way and make plays when I can.”

There were scouts from three NFL teams at last week’s game against the Tar Heels. At this point, however, increasing his stock for April’s draft is the furthest thing from Cook’s mind.

“I just want to win games. That’s all that matters, you know,” he said. “It was really hard not playing last year, and now that I’m back, I just want to be there for my teammates.”