After defending starting quarterback Jameel Sewell in his Sunday teleconference, Virginia head coach Al Groh on Tuesday sought to rebuild the confidence of the sophomore, who went 14-for-29 for 103 yards and two interceptions in the Cavaliers’ 23-3 loss to Wyoming.
“As with most of us, he is the last person who needs to be told that it wasn’t his best,” said Groh. “He knows that before you tell him. Sometimes to continue with that is just beating somebody over the head with it… We made sure that he understood that we have a lot of confidence and a lot of faith in him.”
Sewell is expected to start in Virginia’s (0-1) home opener versus Duke (0-1), but true freshman Peter Lalich (West Springfield High), who saw time late against the Cowboys, is hardly done for the season. Groh compared his quarterback situation, in an opposite sense, to that of Florida quarterbacks Chris Leak and Tim Tebow last year.
“In our particular case here, the incoming player (Lalich) has had more background and made his mark in throwing the ball,” said Groh. “Jameel has demonstrated on occasion his ability to be effective as a runner. I’m not saying we have fallen into that type of cycle, but it presents that possibility.”
» Virginia Tech began the 2007 season with the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason best running back, Brandon Ore, but with just 33 yards on the ground last weekend against East Carolina, the ninth-ranked Hokies (1-0) have managed just 75 yards rushing in its last two games.
“We saw it in the Chik-Fil-A Bowl,” said Tech head coach Frank Beamer of the year-end 31-24 loss to Georgia in which the Hokies ranthe ball 26 times for 42 yards. “It’s not good situation for us. We’ve got a couple good backs, and we need to get a great jump.”
Tech must shake the rushing woes quickly ahead of a nationally televised showdown against No. 2 LSU (1-0) in Baton Rouge.
“It wasn’t just one person,” said Beamer. “It was one guy this time, and another guy the next time, and wide receiver not blocking the next time, and missing a pass protection the next time. We had a lot of good plays offensively. We just didn’t consistently have good plays. That’s what we’ve got to get to this week.”
