Sabre Edge Features 
Cavalier Call-in Highlights 2006, Show 1
TheSabre.com
Aug 28, 2006
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Al Groh's first Cavalier Call-in Show on Monday featured a variety of questions. |
Before taking a look at a few of the questions, Groh also names a BB&T Student-Athlete of the Week during each call-in show. Since the season hasn't started yet and the offseason is a full team development period, Groh chose to give the opening honor to “Joe Cavalier” in honor of the Average Joe mentality the team has adopted thanks to the idea of head strength coach Evan Marcus
Groh said that since the team has taken on an identity of Average Joes, he thinks the players would appreciate that “nobody was singled out at this particular time. It's a collective effort and mentality to the offseason program and it was a team effort in training camp. So we'll give it to Joe Cavalier.”
Groh added that Joe Cavalier's last name later this season is yet to be determined, but it could be “Joe Average” or “Joe Champion” and added “We'll see as we go along here.”
Virginia's head coach also had a couple of thoughts on assistant coaches. He said that offensive line coach Dave Borbely really focuses on technique and recalled that earlier in the day, he heard Borbely repeatedly saying “technique baby” during practice, which got moved to The Cage thanks to a passing storm. Groh also joked that Steve Bernstein's hiring means that he “is not the oldest in office anymore” before praising the new secondary coach's knowledge and experience.
Groh also mentioned that Bob Diaco is someone the staff had known of for quite some time. Mike Groh and Diaco played in the same high school all-star game in New Jersey together. Al Groh said Diaco was recruited by Virginia, but ended up going to Iowa. He added that he brings “high energy to special teams. It's not an assignment … it's something he has a great passion for” and that's something he has translated to the players.
A few of the caller highlights:
Carol from Longville, New York called and noted that her family is familiar with the Hoos despite living in upstate New York. Her husband is an alum. Her question came at the “request of her little girl” who loved the nicknames Biscuit and Muffin.
“Who is the player who will be named after a pastry this year?” she asked.
“We had a regular delicatessen there after a while,” Groh joked. “Actually a player on our team, two actually … both are a little chubbier than I sometimes like them to be … so those two are nicknamed Snickers and Moon Pie.” Groh said he would keep the names anonymous, while McDonald joked he would dig into it. Carol said her daughter would have new favorite nicknames.
McDonald asked Coach Groh where he first learned to love the tight end position.
Groh said it dates back to 1989 when he was with the Giants and Mark Bavaro was the tight end. “Ron Erhardt was our offensive coordinator and Ron always featured the tight end in his offense. Then a couple of years later, we were all in New England and Ben Coates was up there and he had a couple of seasons of 100 or more catches. [Those both] brought home the value of that player and it fit our circumstances here,” he said.
Groh once again said that the coaches want to make UVa the place to come play if you're a tight end.
Ginger, a regular caller from Roanoke, asked about fellow Roanoker Jon Copper and what his potential and contributions to the team would be this year.
Groh said that “Jon has done a fine job throughout spring practice and training camp” and that Copper was “really on top of stuff in practice today. He understands his position well, understands the defense, and [is very good at] making calls [on defense].” Groh said he is “very valuable to the team.”
Mike called in from Richmond and asked about the offseason talk radio chatter and specifically Colin Cowherd. He wanted to know what Coach Groh's opinion was on the talk radio chatter?
Groh's response?
“1, until watching news on television couple months ago, I had never heard of Colin Cowherd so I guess that's my response to that,” he said. Groh added that “there are some very knowledgeable people” on the radio, but that part of sports talk radio in today is that sometimes “those people who yell the loudest are the ones who get heard the most, maybe not those who are the most knowledgeable. Perhaps this falls into that category.”
Wayne in Richmond asked about the defense and the “very, very solid” secondary. Can Virginia fans “expect more pressure on the opposing teams' quarterback” and maybe “more blitz schemes than in the past?”
Groh said that “Well Wayne, if we were going to do a lot more, we probably wouldn't say. But you're on the right track that what you're able to do up front is directly related to what you can do on back end [with coverage]. Conversely, the same is true on offense - the number of deep balls you throw is based on what kind of protection you have. You're right that this is perhaps the deepest talent we've had in the secondary, and with either our zones or man, we look to play them in some fairly aggressive schemes.”
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