Groh’s decisions with freshmen will have long-term effects

CHARLOTTESVILLE The odds that Al Groh will be coaching U.Va. football in four years are slim. But his decisions this year will still influence the program in 2013.

Groh has played 14 true freshmen this year, matching the 2002 season for the most he's used as a head coach.

The number was increased by two Saturday when tight end Paul Freedman caught a 6-yard pass, and linebacker Connor McCartin joined the kickoff team.

"Connor did a real nice job on kickoff returns -- in fact, better than that position has been manned in previous games," Groh said. "So that was an upgrade for us."

The coach has said all season that his policy remains unchanged -- when the players are ready to play better than the current starter, he's ready to play them, regardless of time of year or other considerations.

Towards the end of his press conference yesterday, he revisited the point when discussing fourth-quarter performance, saying that he's trying to create "playable depth" so that the starters can take a breather occasionally without impacting the game in a negative way.

"Clearly it would be nice to be in a cycle where everybody could sit around for a year and kind of marinate, and get ready to play a little bit the next year, like at Texas or Alabama or those kind of places," Groh said. "But some of these guys here, we would probably be in some difficult circumstances if it weren't for their production."

According to the roster distributed to reporters yesterday, U.Va. continues to retain redshirt eligibility on 14 freshmen, though that number includes some invited walk-on players. Of the 14 who cannot redshirt, running back Dominique Wallace will qualify for a medical hardship waiver and receive an extra year of eligibility.

One of the players who has played is offensive lineman Oday Aboushi, who came highly regarded and could be a pro prospect in four years. He played for a small portion of Saturday's game, saying that he worked out all summer hoping he could play as a freshman.

"I really don't know the plan, but I'm ready whenever the coaches need me," he said. "I'm willing to do whatever."

He also played this summer with team USA at the Junior World Championships in Canton, Ohio, taking the gold medal.

In one of the lighter moment's of yesterday's press conference, Groh joked that his team would benefit by adding France to its schedule, then noted that "I'll probably get all the Frenchmen mad at me" for saying that.

Groh made waves Sunday when he said in a teleconference with reporters that "I know a lot more about the situation than probably anybody. Maybe some day I'll say what that is."

Yesterday he said that his focus remained on coaching the team.

"I don't think that I'm a very hard book to read, because I don't really try to do things with any pretensions," he said. "That's my responsibility, and I try to coach the team the best way I can every day."

He feels the best way to do that includes bolstering U.Va.'s depth by trying to develop the true freshmen into regulars, and the stats back him up -- the Cavs' worst margin on the scoreboard has occurred in the fourth quarter.

That means that Virginia fans will still be discussing Al Groh's tenure, even four years from now.