The 2011 season saw Virginia set several firsts during the young tenure of coach Mike London. The 2012 season will see another first for the London-led Cavaliers, as it will be the first time we see how this program handles success.
Picked to finish fifth in the Coastal Division in the preseason, Virginia instead reeled off eight regular-season wins and came within a game of appearing in the ACC Championship game for the first time. Along the way, the Cavaliers knocked off Miami and Florida State, reached their first bowl since 2007 and saw London win ACC Coach of the Year honors.
Replicating that finish could be difficult. Virginia has to replace 11 offensive and defensive starters, as well as both the kicker and punter. The good news is that London built up plenty of equity with the fan base after last season's success, a bright spot among several years of under-performing play and ugly losses for the program.
"As crazy as it sounds, this will be the youngest we will have been, but talent-wise, I think we're starting to improve with play on the field and guys who are coming back," coach Mike London told ESPN. "The main thrust of our team will be from the quarterback and running back positions, and our offensive line. ... There's a group of veterans that played in a lot of games and won games for us and their continued development will be crucial. I think people will be pleasantly surprised about some of these younger players who have gotten bigger, stronger, more athletic and have been in the system."
The good news is that Virginia finally feels good about its situation at quarterback. There's no doubt that Michael Rocco is the starter heading into 2012, but rising sophomore David Watford also has shown a commitment to keep working and improving even after Rocco assumed full control of the offense at the midpoint of last season. The Cavs also bring back RB Keith Parks, the school record-holder for rushing touchdowns by a freshmen, along with several key standouts on the offensive line and some solid linebackers.
Bigger questions exist at receiver, defensive back and along the defensive line -- not to mention the search for a new punter and placekicker.
NOTES, QUOTES
--Coach Mike London is taking Virginia on a tour of the state this spring and holding three of the team's 15 spring practices at different spots in the Commonwealth. The Cavaliers either have already held or will hold workouts in Fairfax, Newport News and Richmond before concluding spring drills on April 14 in their spring game at Scott Stadium.
--Linemen typically go fairly unnoticed when a football team is on the field but the line of scrimmage will be under the spotlight as spring practice concludes. There are issues there on both sides of the ball. On defense, Virginia has to replace three starting linemen including first-team All-ACC DT and kick-blocking specialist Matt Conrath. The list of departed along the offensive front includes All-American OG Austin Pasztor. Virginia also has to get a new starting center and three of the likely starters in 2012 are sitting out spring practice either because of injury or recent surgeries.
SPRING MOVERS
QB David Watford -- After splitting time with Michael Rocco to open the 2011 season, Watford found finding himself on the bench almost exclusively while Rocco took control of the offense and Virginia reeled off four straight wins. Many players in Watford's position might have transferred, but instead Watford has increased his workload. He's gained about 15 pounds of muscle since the end of last season and continued to do well in the classroom.
CB Demetrious Nicholson -- The rising sophomore and sole returning starter in the secondary suddenly becomes the elder statesman of the defensive backfield. Nicholson started every game and played almost every down of the 2011 season for the Cavaliers. The degree of difficulty increases in 2012; as the new No. 1 cornerback, Nicholson will find himself going against the other team's top receiver on a weekly basis this season.
OL Morgan Moses -- The only returning starter along the offensive front who's healthy this spring, Moses ballooned up to about 350 pounds after Virginia's loss in the Chick-fil-A Bowl but is back down to "about 320-something" according to his coach. Moses, who decided not to try his luck in the NFL draft and instead returned to school, is getting time at both tackle spots this spring with incumbent LT Oday Abdoushi sitting out the spring recovering from surgery.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
2012 OUTLOOK: Even with the question marks with regard to personnel, Virginia could have an easier road to the ACC Coastal Division title. North Carolina is ineligible for postseason play and Miami also could find itself facing a similar ban. Still, the road to the ACC title game runs through Virginia Tech -- and the Cavaliers haven't beaten the Hokies since 2003.
The nonconference schedule does Virginia no favors, with a game against Penn State and a trip to TCU on the 2012 agenda. The good news is that this Virginia team logged some of its biggest wins of the 2011 season on the road, beating both Miami and Florida State on their home fields.
Virginia's big issue? Limiting big plays in the passing game on defense. That was a problem for the Cavaliers last year, and the dilemma could be compounded in 2012 with three new starters in the secondary.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: QB Michael Rocco didn't play well in either the regular-season finale with Virginia Tech or the bowl loss to Auburn, but still completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 1,485 yards and a 141.0 QB rating. The coach's son is a student of the game and should continue to improve in 2012. Everyone knows about the absence of All-American OG Austin Pasztor up front but replacing Anthony Mihota at center is just as important to a Cavaliers team that ranked fourth in the ACC in rushing in 2011. The big question is who will replace departed senior Kris Burd, the most productive receiver on the team last season.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Losing Chase Minnifield, a two-time first-team All-ACC selection at cornerback, is a huge blow. Sophomore Demetrious Nicholson is the only incumbent in the entire secondary, but the good news is that Virginia has some players who were touted high-school prospects as candidates for the vacant jobs. As part of the new-look secondary, Rijo Walker has moved from corner to safety. DE Jake Snyder and DT Will Hill look to be the go-to guys on the new-look defensive line. The linebacking corps looks solid with both LaRoy Reynolds and Steve Greer back, although Greer is sitting out spring drills while recuperating from a knee injury.
SCOUTING THE SPECIAL TEAMS: Virginia has to replace PK Robert Randolph, P Jimmy Howell and Chris Hinkebein, who handled kickoff duty. On top of that, special-teams play was far from sharp last season. Virginia gave up huge plays in the kicking game in both the regular-season finale to Virginia Tech and the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Auburn, losing both contests. If the season started today, Alec Vozilek would be the punter and Ian Frye the kicker.
TOP NEWCOMERS
DE Eli Harold -- The banner signee in the 2012class, Harold was a member of the ESPNU 150 who was rated as the No. 15 defensive end prospect in the country. Harold totaled 78 tackles with 28 stops for lost yardage and 16 sacks during his senior year of high school.
LB Kwontie Moore--Virginia signed four players from Norfolk Christian in 2012 and, on paper, Moore is the best of the bunch. Rivals considered him a four-star prospect, one of three in the Cavaliers' latest recruiting class.
DE Michael Moore -- A consensus four-star prospect, Moore won all-state honors and posted 95 tackles with 14 sacks and two interceptions as a senior at DeMatha. He's the son of Shawn Moore, a former All-American QB at Virginia and the Cavaliers' current wide receivers coach.
ROSTER REPORT
--QBs Ross Metheny and Michael Strauss have transferred since the end of the 2011 season. Metheny is headed to South Alabama.
--DE Billy Schautz, who broke his leg late last season, is inactive for spring practice. Brent Urban us getting first-team reps at Schautz's position this spring.
--MLB Steve Greer and three prospective starting offensive linemen -- LT Oday Abdoushi, LG Sean Cascarano and RG Luke Bowanko -- are also on the inactive list this spring.
--Senior Ausar Walcott has been moved to DE full-time.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"You don't want to stay the same or go backwards. Our
goal is to win the ACC championship. Those expectations haven't changed.
We want to keep improving and move forward from last year." -- LB Steve
Greer.
