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15. Virginia
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A young team with experience counts on senior passer Matt Schaub to lead it to the ACC championship

By Jeffri Chadiha

Fast Facts 2002 Record: 9-5 (6-2, T2 in ACC) Final AP Rank: 22 Returning Starters: 19 Telling Number 357.1 Yards per game of total offense generated by the Cavaliers last season, the lowest average in the ACC and 80th in the nation. Smart Move Shifting sophomore QB Marques Hagans to WR solves two problems: It gives the Cavaliers an added replacement for the graduated Billy McMullen and gets Hagans, a superior athlete, off the bench. Seniors Michael McGrew and Ryan Sawyer are reliable receivers, but Hagans will be an explosive target.

Of all the honors senior quarterback Matt Schaub received over the past 12 months, including ACC Player of the Year last fall, one of the most meaningful to him was the one he wasn't formally awarded. In late April coach Al Groh took Schaub aside and told him that he was one of the most improved players in spring practice. But Groh likes to spread the accolades around, so instead of piling more hardware on Schaub, the coaching staff gave the Rock Weir Award for the team's most improved player to three of Schaub's teammates: junior tight end Patrick Estes, junior safety Jermaine Hardy and redshirt freshman center Phil Sims. "I was honored that the coaches noticed how much I had done," says Schaub. "I worked hard to improve my play and our team."

Already one of the nation's most efficient passers -- 68.9% completion rate, 28 touchdowns and only seven interceptions last season -- the 6'5", 240-pound Schaub focused on sharpening his drops, improving his scrambling ability and developing rapport and timing with an assortment of wide receivers. More than anything, he wants to get off to a good start this season. As a sophomore he went 1-5 as a starter; last year he was booed and then benched in a season-opening 35-29 loss to Colorado State.

Schaub has plenty of talent around him, including sure-handed sophomore tight end Heath Miller, who has All-America potential. Schaub can expect the maturing Virginia defense, which has seven starters returning, to be more formidable than the one that surrendered 24.9 points a game in 2002. "We have a lot of young guys who are ready to break out," says senior cornerback Almondo Curry. "We've started to believe in Coach Groh [entering his third season]. We realize what it takes to win."

Still, Schaub remains the key. His perseverance exemplified Virginia's resilience as a team; the Cavaliers outscored their opponents 260-132 after halftime last season. "All we have to do is focus on the little things and not get caught up in who we're playing," Schaub says. "If we do that, we'll be successful against anybody."

Issue date: August 11, 2003