Despite NFL success, UVA remains a step too slow

By Chris Preston  |   Monday, July 07, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Virginia Cavaliers
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When defensive end Chris Long and offensive guard Branden Albert were both among the first 15 names called at this year’s NFL draft, it was far from a surprise. University of Virginia football has produced more than its fair share of pros. In the last decade alone the Hoos have churned out Jets offensive lineman D’Brickashaw Ferguson (fourth overall pick in the ’06 draft), Steelers tight end Heath Miller (30th overall in ’05), Jets running back Thomas Jones (taken seventh by the Cardinals in 2000), All-Pro defensive end Patrick Kerney and current or former starting quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Aaron Brooks.

But all of those names have one thing in common: None played wide receiver, cornerback or safety – positions where speed is a prerequisite. And therein lies the reason why, for all its alums who have worked their way onto an NFL depth chart in recent years, Virginia has yet to join the ever-exclusive ranks of college football’s elite. The way college football is played today (and to an even greater extent, the NFL), speed has become the game’s most valuable commodity. For proof look no further than the last two BCS national championship games. Two teams from the lightning-quick SEC – Florida and LSU – ran circles around an Ohio State team from the plodding, comparably tortoise-footed Big Ten.

These days, speed rules. In-state rival Virginia Tech has it. The Hokies had three receivers and one cornerback taken in last year’s draft, including second-round picks CB Brandon Flowers and WR Eddie Royal. Tech alum D’Angelo Hall has emerged as one of the league’s top defensive backs. And we all know how fast Michael Vick is, er, was. This year the Hokies will welcome 17 of the top 30 high school prospects from the state of Virginia to their program (while the Cavaliers claimed just one, a defensive tackle). Ten of them have position listings of either cornerback, safety, wide receiver or “athlete." Virginia Tech has dominated the last decade of the Commonwealth Cup – winning eight of the past nine meetings against Virginia – simply by running past them.

The Heath Millers and Matt Schaubs of the world are essential building blocks for any college program, but they need to be flanked by a few Percy Harvins and Early Doucets – roadrunners who confounded opposing defenses for Florida and LSU, respectively, with blinding speed. Perhaps more importantly, Virginia needs to be better equipped to slow the likes of Harvin and Doucet – or at least the Royals and the Josh Morgans, Tech wideouts who routinely torched the UVA secondary in recent meetings.

The fact of the matter is that Virginia has not featured a big-play, NFL-type receiver since Herman Moore in the early ‘90s. What’s worse is the Cavs have not produced a shutdown, defensive secondary player since All-American Anthony Poindexter played safety for them in the late ‘90s. Ronde Barber is the only non-running back speed position UVA player – on either side of the ball – currently starting in the NFL.

So head coach Al Groh can recruit all the pass-catching tight ends, 350-pound offensive linemen, and strong-armed quarterbacks he so covets and, more often than not, gets. But until he starts bringing in some top-flight playmakers on either side of the ball, Virginia football will continue to be a step slow when it goes head to head with the fleet-footed big boys.
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