Am I missing something re: Groh’s draft-day picks, Orson? Fourth round best? That’s a link to coverage of the 2005 draft. Didn’t D’Brickashaw go #4 overall in 2006?

Isn’t Ferguson an Al Groh player?

Yeah, the draft article is from last year. After Brick there was a big drop-off this year, but he did go #4.

Generally it’s a bad sign whenever your coach pops up in a headline as the object of a sentence in which the verb is a form of “to perplex.” I’ve already shared with Ian my theory that Groh — who came in with massive expectations, shot up to near-greatness in two seasons only to decline steadily from there, sends truckloads of players to the NFL while not managing to do much with them at the college level, and manages to piss off/alienate everyone within earshot — might be the ACC-optimized Jim Donnan v2.0, and he seemed inclined to agree.

Where we part company, though, is on the Cowgirls. To paraphrase Ron Mexico, I’d still hit it.

Yes, correction due and forthcoming.

What did that chic do to you Orson? Conscience has got to be asking if she turned you down after a Gator-Nole game in the 90’s. I’ve looked at this chic at least 3 times on this site in the last year. Shoot, I’d rather see the K-state Purple bra chics or the Oklahoma chics much more than this FSU handbag. That being said, Al Groh suck ass. He has always sucked ass. I have never understood why he was so hyped. If you are a have assed coach on one level, you will be one on another. You can get away with recruiting to outrun your ineptness. I think it finally caught up with ol’ Al.

She’s fake as fake tits, Brain, that’s what she is.[/Jimmy Stewart]

Even though the Orchid got what it was looking for, I would still rather be the wasp.

Brain,

You back off talking about “The Shovel.”

Actually, I don’t give a shit what you do, because Groh does suck balls. I just love calling him ‘THE SHOVEL" because when he was the Patriots DC that was his motivational schtick – he would walk out with a shovel and dramatically plant it into the turf a la FSU’s Chief Oscieola with the spear.

Maybe that’s what he needs to be doing in Charlottesville.

Oh, and there is only one dude who can wear a sweatshiet and not look like a doofus, and his name id Bill Bellichek. If you can’t go shirt & tie or sweatervest, at least roll over to the bookstore and pick up a golf shirt man.

After going over to Dodgy at Best, one thing is for sure. I may never truely enjoy Proper Football, but I’d go to the game just for the chic’s! They’ve got it all over Leather Tuscadero(pictured above)!

It will be interesting to see what Jenn looks like in ten years, but I have already seen that with the females that mostly occupied space during high school and undergrad. They gain quite a bit of weight since they do not take care themselves and their skin looks and feels like the sandpaper used on the New Yankee Workshop beacuase they are Caucasion and the sun comes out the winner in time. When I moved to Texas a tanning place ad stated that, “Tan fat is better than white fat.”

And unlike Doug, I would not hit that since I would either have to talk to it before or after and somehow I get the feeling that the sex with her would be really boring since she seems that she is just a tease.

Al Groh. What can be said about him that has not already been stated.

UVA just gave Groh a 5 year contract worth 1.7 million per. I’m thinking dude must have some naked pictures of someone.

Orson-
Thanks for the edit. It’s also worth noting that Alvin wasn’t the highest player taken last year either. Super Bowl Champion (and former Mackey winner) Heath Miller went in the first round. Sorry for piling on. 15 yards against me.

That’s not piling on—it’s correction. And proof that despite a muddling kind of style, Groh still gets people in the draft. Much thanks.

Isn’t Groh was the guy who, more than any other, was going to bring the NFL style of play to college football? Let’s hope he continues to go downhill.

UVa – the Cal of the East. Always hyped, rarely pays off.

He’ll make a great DC for Charlie Weis though.

are you all really saying you’d pass on jenn? or jenn in 5+ years??? that’s very important information

Orson, I agree that Sterger is the one of the most overhyped women on the planet in terms of her looks. She ranks up there with Kate Moss(Heroin chic is so 90’s), Cameron Diaz(quirky only works if you’re talented) and Drew Barrymore(fat and ugly and drugged out).

Given the choice, albeit with gun to head, I would choose Laura Quinn because I could pretend to be thundering down the back stretch at Churchill Downs using her locks as reigns or a drunk Auburn University student and take her behind the barn because she is a hot piece of equine ass(a good substitute for bovine tail which we love in ALabama!)

Ness, it’s responses like that that make us love our readers.

“Thundering down the back stretch at Churchill Downs?”
High humor, Ness.
If that’s his type of gal, I suggest we all chip in and purchase Ness season tix to the closest WNBA team.

“The WNBA, it’s FANNNNTASS… well OK, it sucks. Please just don’t call us ALL dykes.”

Oh, I’d still tap Sterger.

Orson

Laura Quinn is as one reader put it “Yankee Cute”

Sigh…okay, here it goes.

First off, thanks for the link. I guess? Anywho, let me just say that ANYONE other than Ron Prince is a better choice for O.C. And to be fair, Mike Groh did a great job at the bowl game when he had to step up. Really, it was the first time in ages that I saw the UVA take advantage of a clear weakness (TE pass over the middle, repeatedly, for 20+ yards).

I have a weird sort of cognitive dissonance right now. After all, nearly everything I felt that needed to get done this offseason has; get rid of Prince, get rid of the thug/lazy presence on the team, start Snelling at TB, etc. And more importantly, get VA people on the staff. With Mike London and Anthony Poindexter, UVA’s doing very well right now with its recruiting, getting Lalich and J’Courtney Williams from NoVA. I don’t see things bottoming out just yet because they’re going to dangerous in 2007.

But yeah, Cal sounds about right on all fronts, and that’s fine.

Heath Miller was taken in the first round of that draft, FYI

Must be a GA thing, but I’m with Doug on this

Maybe we should all get to know her before we slaughter her for some new boots.

Sorry, not sure I linked correctly…

There are many more females that are not, in my opinion, such a media whore as Sterger who would be much better girlfriends and do not have the look or feel, an probably the smell, of a leather jacket. There is something to be said about Laura Quinn though, she is rolling in money and will be pumping out scray linebackers in the future. And God only knows what the male offspring will be. I am scared.

Orson,

Is your repeated “post picture of Jenn Sterger then trash her” just your subtle way of looking at a really hot chick without having your wife get onto you about it? You know, sort of like a “hiding in plain sight” sort of strategy? Because I know I’d definitely be doing something that devious if I had a wife.

Try this…

http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1694073/

Watch that enough and you might get your IQ down far enough to be on the level with Georgia fans.

what’s the deal with how Jenn Sterger is going to look in ten years? Is anyone really making long term plans in regards to taking her to bed, as if this decade is just too hectic so maybe we’ll get some drinks and then go to my place to “watch a movie” around 2017?

I’m not taking Jenn home to mom, nor am I interested in a long term relationship, so why not hit it.

I’d take Jenn home to mom. Make my mom happy to know she’d be getting alot of grandkids out of that baby-making machine.

Wooderson—

The COAN has no problem with us looking at cheesecake. The “hot” picture has no appeal to us, since

1. She’s wearing garnet and gold
2. She’s obviously got some purchased ta-tas.

There’s something disingenous about fake boobs that makes her worse than your average scantily clad, sun-damaged FSU fan.

Yeah, it’s probably best you didn’t post on why I explain the problem with fake boobs. Probably workin’ a little too blue.

Not really. It’s about getting the echt and not the ersatz in all things, Ian.

Jenn Sterger’s idea of a longterm relationship is a man that will spend the night. But like all one night stands you leave with the number of the free clinic and “friends” you might carry for life. At least one can eat real cheescake and run the weight off.

Sterger isn’t close to the hottest chick in Tallahassee. No shot. The natural hotties outnumber the fake tans and fake hooters. I don’t give a shit if you rip her, just don’t say she’s the hottest girl on campus. Yes, I would still give her a throw.

I guess the UVA dudes striped tie and blazer didn’t go over to well with the chicks down here during the 2004 36-3 smackdown (Lead by God himself). If you remember UVA came in undefeated lead by the great Al Groh and were poised for a “statement game.”

Bob Sura isn’t the greatest basketball player in FSU history either. He wasn’t even the second best player on a couple of teams in the Kennedy era.

I’m not saying that she’s the hottest girl on campus, but that’s generally who people think about when they consider the typical FSU girl. It’s not your fault.

And I can only guess the spiked hair and pooka shell necklaces didn’t go over so well in Charlottesville last year. I know it only happens once a decade, but just tell Weatherford he might want to throw it to the dudes in garnet and gold this time.

Orson, where does one find a wife that lets you enjoy the cheescake?

and for the record, Garnet and gold is the color of that semi-catholic school in chestnut hill, and yet I can still stomach the sight of their XX’s. although they have no augmentation (and could use some)

crap, yellow and gold is the color of that knock-off school in South Central too. is it any wonder that the best teams in the land all have blue in their color scheme?

Hell, I’d hit it for sure. Then again, I’d probably tag Bea Arthur if she got a tit job, as big breasts are my own personal kryptonite. But let’s have some perspective here, people: take out the saline wonder-baggies and Sterger is very mediocre, at best, on the FSU campus.

On a more footbaw-related note, this Al Groh hate fest has reminded me of how utterly incomprehensible it is that Pete Carroll has become regarded as (virtually) the gold standard for college coaches, somehow avoiding the fate of his “washed-up shitty NFL coach” brethren, such as Groh, Gailey, Callahan, Wannstache, et al. Pardon me while I go break something…

As a Virginia Tech alum and Hokie football fan I fully endorse AlGroh’s (one word, say it real fast) continued employment. In fact I regularly make donations to his salary fund.

Vive Le France!

As a lifelong Virginian, and current Hoo, I can’t say I endorse the continued employment of Frank Beamer. This has nothing to do with the fact that Ron Mexico Community College and State Penal Farm pantsed UVa last year, and lots to do with the safety of the Commonwealth. This year’s disappointing Fulmer Cup erformance by the Hokies notwithstanding, we’re safer with anyone else as football coach. Maybe even Dennis Erickson.

Druckenmiller, Tony Morrison, los hermanos Mexico, &c.

Ian,

Mike Groh was not calling the plays during last year’s Music City Bowl, despite a common belief to the contrary (most likely because the announcers repeatedly stated such)—Al was.

As for the Groh-bashing by others, the question I have is what do you people truly expect from UVA football? While the last couple of seasons have been relatively disappointing, does anyone honestly expect UVA to become a perennial powerhouse? Heightened admissions standards and a general emphasis on academics before sports make it very difficult for UVA to establish itself as a dominant program, particularly now that the ACC is loaded with strong programs (many of which are UVA’s antitheses as academic institutions; e.g., VT, FSU). Say what you will about him, but Al Groh: 1) has brought in a respectable level of talent and has, year in year out, fielded solid teams, 2) makes his players go to class and EARN their right to be a student-athlete, 3) refuses to tolerate negative off-the-field behavior, and 4) carries himself with class. As such, he seems like a great fit for a school like UVA.

Rainmaker,

I agree with most of your points there save for one – FSU and Miami might be the antithesis of UVA vis-a-vis academics but lumping VT in with FSU crosses the line into fightin’ words and is patently unfair and demonstrably false. First, one can consult any number of published university rankings and find that both VT and UVA are well regarded universities. True, UVA has the edge in subjects related to French culture such as brie consumption and the execution of hasty retreats upon fields of contest however I’ll gladly put a VT engineering grad up to the Pepsi challenge against a Hoo any day. Second, Virginia Tech actually grants degrees – I have seen no evidence suggesting that FSU does so, having never come across a Florida State graduate. And thirdly, I just used “demonstrably” correctly in a sentence. Let’s see an FSU fan do that!

Burt Reynolds could do it. On the moon. While beating you senseless with a discarded moon rover.

Hokie,

I should’ve been more precise.

I intended to offer FSU and VT as examples of UVA’s antitheses with regard to the academic rigors of “student-athletes.” I realize VT has a very strong engineering program, but don’t tell me either of the Mexicos (or Deangelo Hall, Jimmy Williams, etc.) took legitimate classes which they attended and in which they completed the assigned work.

UVA fans refer to their admissions standards as an excuse for mediocrity more than any other fanbase this side of Notre Dame, pre-Weis-boner era. Let’s do a little comparison of average SAT/ACT scores of similar institutions, with numbers courtesy of Princeton Review:

Virginia: 1319/28
Georgia: 1240/27
Georgia Tech: 1328/28
Clemson: 1225/27
Wisconsin: 1260/28
Cal: 1324/NR
UCLA: 1284/27
Michigan: 1320/28 (est.)

Oh, and good old “Suntan U” Miami, which we all like to make fun of:
SAT – Verbal Range (25-75%): 570-670
SAT – Math Range (25-75%): 590-680
TPR Projected Range SAT Writing: 610-680
ACT Composite Range (25-75%): 25-30

Just some food for thought next time someone from C-ville tries to pull the “holier than thou” attitude re: academic superiority, whilst slugging crappy bourbon and sporting flip flops.

First of all, Merton, I’m no UVA fan.

Secondly, those numbers are altogether irrelevant—the relevant inquiry is to what extent a given school sacrifices its standards in admitting scholarshipped athletes. Or, put more simply (for your sake), what are the school’s admissions standards as applied to scholarshipped athletes. I can assure that UVA’s are significantly higher than those of many of the schools you cited.

For instance, citing the numbers for UGA or Miami is completely pointless, as those schools simply require that athletes meet the NCAA (and SEC/ACC) minimum requirements. Wait…what am I talking about—Quincy Carter and Sean Taylor were National Merit Scholars, no?

Hokie Andrew:
While we’re talking about academics, let’s take the “Dude, Engineering!” argument for a spin. Virginia Tech’s overall graduate engineering program consistently sniffs the USNews top 30. Not a bad little accomplishment, until you realize that the E-School at UVa consistently sniffs the top 40.

So yes, a Hokie engineer graduated from a higher ranked engineering program. Here’s my thing: ten spots higher? Is that a joke? “Tech” is in the school’s name. It’s certainly not “better” enough to make your claim of academic legitimacy anything more than merely colorable.

UVa, university-wide, pwns the holy hell out of the mouth-breathers in Blacksburg.

By the way, as I understand it, UVA also has an academic policy in place which prevents signed recruits from graduating early and participating in spring practice prior to their freshman year—a practice that is becoming more and more common among major programs. I don’t intend to suggest that this is a monumental handicap, but I do believe it significant for several reasons, including recruits lost due to the policy, loss of competitive advantage otherwise gained by having incoming recruits participate in spring practice, and the lost opportunity to have players get ahead academically, lessening their academic burden (to stay eligible) going forward.

I’m no psychic, but I knew this would turn into a “Well, UVA is better than your school” thread.

Nupe: fair point.

Let’s all go back to making fun of Clemson and FSU. It’s been two days now.

Oh yes, I’m sure UVA would never, EVER admit a student-athlete who wasn’t otherwise worthy of admission to the University. You can “assure” me that UVA’s admissions standards for athletes are much higher than those of Cal, UCLA, Michigan, etc.? Way to back up your point with hard evidence; your debate prowess is formidable.

And we can all play the “idiot athlete” game for any school of our choosing, even UVA. How about the recent fraternity house brawl involving several athletes, including three current or former football players? How about Elton Brown, brandishing his pistola, a la Sean Taylor himself?

Former UVa player pleads guilty to weapon charge
  July 15, 2005
AP
 
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) Former University of Virginia basketball and football player Elton Brown pleaded guilty Friday to a concealed weapon charge stemming from an altercation at a mall in May.

Brown, 21, was sentenced to a 10-day suspended jail term and ordered to pay court costs of $66.

A charge of brandishing a firearm was dismissed, because Brown didn’t point the gun at anyone, his lawyer, Larry Woodward, said.

Woodward said Brown had legally purchased the semiautomatic pistol at a gun store, but didn’t get a concealed weapon permit.

Police said Brown pulled the gun from his truck after he and another man agreed to fight over a woman outside the a department store in Albemarle where she worked. When Brown pulled the gun, the man went back into the store and called police.

Brown is the 20th all-time scorer in Virginia’s men’s basketball history and was a co-captain for the 2004-05 season. He also played on the offensive line for the football team and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the NFL draft in May.

Um, anyone else find it odd that Miss Sterger is third-most attractive of her little 3-chick “pussy posse”, and yet gets exponentially more attention? The other two, especially (to me, anyway) the beautiful Fabiola Romero, are much more attractive and natural-looking, but I haven’t seen them get near the amount of publicity. Are other people’s beauty standards that much different than mine, or are the other two just not the ravenous media whores that Miss Sterger is?

Merton,

You need to work on that reading comprehension, pal.

At no point did I say that the student-athletes admitted by UVA all turn out to be saints; rather, I pointed out that the statistics you provided are COMPLETELY irrelevant to the question of whether or not UVA’s admissions standards leave them at a competitive disadvantage—a point you just failed to dispute in any meaningful way. Additionally, I never stated that UVA’s admissions standards for student athletes were significantly higher than EVERY school you listed (nor did I state that said standards were “much higher”). If you intend to dispute my contention, where’s your “hard evidence” regarding each school’s admissions standards as applied to student athletes? I do know that many of the schools you cited merely require that the minimum D-1 standards for eligibility are met, and I also know that is not the case at UVA. That distinction alone suffices to make my statement that UVA’s standards were “significantly higher than those of many of the schools you cited” an accurate one.

Then again, given your past few posts, this is pointless.

Rainmaker – Cite, please, for your bald assertion that UVA’s admissions requirements exceed NCAA/conference minimums, while those of other comparable institutions do not. And no, citing yourself as the authority for such statements does not suffice. Thanks much. Love, Merton.

As you well know, that information is not easily accessed, particularly in light of UVA’s affirmative action program which, after the Court’s decisions in Grutter and Gratz, is and is intended to be highly opaque. I do, however, know for a fact that athletes who are admitted to UVA must meet requirements beyond merely the NCAA minimums, as I have close ties to the UVA athletic department. But, just for your dumb ass, I’ll see if I can’t get some sort official info to which I can direct you.

As for the requirements of other schools, do you honestly mean to suggest that there’s any question as to whether or not UGA, Clemson, Miami, etc., require scholarshipped athletes to exceed NCAA minimums? Good lord, you’re a clown.

Weren’t Ahmad Brooks and Marques Hagans (just a couple off the top of my head) non qualifiers out of high school?

PJ: yes, and both went to prep school in order to get eligible, and did so successfully.

Merton: a couple of links for your consideration. Note that, in the second article, the only reason he listed UVA below the other top schools was because they accept prep school kids (a questionable basis for dropping them, IMO).

http://holmes.acc.virginia.edu/~jbc4m/personal/football/grad.html

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=98914&ran=141707

OK, out of morbid curiosity, I did the research for you. From the article below, it looks like UVA’s “heightened admissions standards,” as applied to football players, comes in the form of (sort of) refusing to take partial qualifiers. Big whoop. I don’t know the ACC’s policy, but as we saw from the recent “Downfall of the Big Red” article (or whatever it was entitled), chronicling the demise of Nebraska and the formation of the Big 12, each Big 12 school is allowed to admit a total of 4 partial qualifiers (2 male, 2 female) each year within the entire athletic program. So it isn’t as if Groh is making a major sacrifice in terms of missing out on a number of recruits.

Besides, UVA’s decision re: Brooks – shipping him off to Hargrave (which offers full merit scholarships) until he could achieve the necessary test score – isn’t exactly what I would call “taking a stand” against prioritizing athletic ability over academics.

Groh well aware of Brooks decision

By DOUG DOUGHTY
Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Thursdays

Reporters accustomed to speaking almost daily with Virginia football coach Al Groh took note Monday when a phone rang in the background and Groh excused himself.

“Anybody want to take a guess who that was?” Groh asked when he returned to the teleconference.

“A prospect?” one of the reporters responded.

“Bigger than that,” Groh said.

On Thursday, one day after prize UVa recruit Ahmad Brooks arrived at Hargrave Military Academy, a reporter began Groh’s teleconference with the observation: "So now, we know who was on the line Monday.

“You got it,” Groh said. That was the closest Groh came to identifying the caller and may have explained why Groh’s phone was ringing at a time when his secretary usually holds calls.

Clearly, Brooks’ decision not to attend Fork Union Military Academy came with Groh’s full knowledge. Brooks might have stayed with Fork Union if he didn’t know that Virginia would take him after one semester at Hargrave, provided he has the necessary standardized-test score.

Brooks would be the first scholarship athlete to enter UVa at mid-year since football player Moe Anderson in January 1995.

“Can you tell us what you know as to whether freshmen can enroll at mid-year?” Groh was asked.

“What do I know about it?” Groh said Thursday. “I know everything about it, but I’m not going to disclose any of it.”

In the absence of UVa Dean of Admissions John Blackburn, who was out of town, athletic director Craig Littlepage said Virginia’s practice has been not to admit first-year students at mid-year but he does not know of any written policy.

“To my knowledge, there is no written policy of any sort, one way or another,” Groh said.

GROH HAD SAID AS EARLY as last spring that Virginia was prepared to accept Brooks as a “partial” qualifier. It’s hard to say that was an exception, although the Cavaliers hadn’t taken a partial qualifier in more than 15 years.

I’m sure I will be corrected if I am wrong, but I believe that 1986 signees Johnnie Wilson and Darrell Wynn did not meet NCAA standards for freshman eligibility. (Wilson later gained a fifth year of eligibility on appeal).

In 1987, Herman Moore signed with UVa after being told he would be accepted even if he didn’t qualify. Virginia Tech, his other finalist, was unable to get that issue clarified by signing day. Moore eventually met NCAA standards and graduated, although he played only three years, having sat out the 1987 season as a redshirt.

There may have been other cases, as in Brooks’, where potential partial qualifiers were accepted but then met NCAA standards. UVa fans may remember the case of Kevin Coffey, a 1996 signee whose initial eligibility was not approved by the NCAA Clearingouse until he was already in school. If the clearinghouse had not cleared Coffey, UVa would not have required him to leave school.

On the other hand, 1999 signee Art Thomas was in Charlottesville when he learned he had been rejected by the clearinghouse. Thomas went to Fork Union, stayed an entire year, signed with UVa in the winter of 2000 and is a starting cornerback as a junior.

In 2000, UVa signee Hikee Johnson did not get past the clearinghouse. Johnson was a non-qualifier, which meant he could not play in the ACC, so he paid his way for one year at West Virginia.

Actually, Merton, there’s more to it than that. The school makes individualized determinations, ostensibly using a holistic approach to determine whether or not a given recruit should be offered admission. Exactly how (i.e., the specific criteria used) the admissions department makes those determinations is unclear, as I alluded to earlier (as it’s necessary to ensure the procedures are safe from constitutional challenge), but the numbers I linked to earlier certainly suggest that UVA is requiring more than simply meeting NCAA minimum standards. Hell, I know for a fact that they do—every year there are recruits which Groh knows he either a) is taking a significant risk (of non-admission) by recruiting or, b) should not recruit altogether, regardless of whether those kids might squeak by NCAA minimums.

And, as I said earlier, UVA also has an academic policy which prevents incoming freshman from enrolling in-time to participate in spring practice. Again, I don’t believe such to be a tremendous handicap, but taken in totality, UVA is at a significant competitive disadvantage against some of its intraconference rivals. And since you continue to struggle with basic reading comprehension: I never stated that UVA was “taking a stand”—the issue all along has been whether or not UVA’s academic standards have any impact on their ability to compete with the perennial powerhouses.

By the way, who’s your team?