CHARLOTTESVILLE – Plans can change quickly.  The U.Va. depth chart distributed Saturday before the Southern California game included only two true freshmen – punter Jimmy Howell and offensive guard Austin Pasztor – both of whom played in the opener.

Virginia faces Richmond this weekend, and on the depth chart released yesterday afternoon are four true freshmen: Howell, Pasztor, inside linebacker Steve Greer and outside linebacker Cameron Johnson.  Howell is a starter, and the other three are listed on the second team.

Al Groh had indicated Thursday that Greer was likely to play this season.  But on the same teleconference, Groh made clear that he hoped to redshirt Johnson.

Johnson, who’s listed at 6-4, 220 pounds but appears to weigh more than that, starred in football and basketball at Gonzaga High in D.C., and he’s “got size, he’s got speed,” Groh said.  But Johnson played wide receiver and safety for Gonzaga, and outside linebacker in Groh’s 3-4 defense is not an easy position to learn.

Just ask Clint Sintim.  Now in his fourth year as a starter on the outside, Sintim redshirted in 2004 after arriving at U.Va. from Gar-Field High, where he played defensive end.

“Clint’s turned into a pretty good player,” Groh said, “and in playing the position for the first time when he came here, it took him a little time to develop.”

Now, however, with Aaron Clark lost for the season, Johnson may have to be fast-tracked.  Clark, who made his first career start against USC, suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the third quarter, and judging from the latest depth chart, U.Va.’s coaching staff is higher on Johnson than on redshirt freshman Aaron Taliaferro at outside linebacker.

On a defense desperate for playmakers on the edge – Where have you gone, Darryl Blackstock?—Johnson might be the top prospect in the first-year class.

“I think his future and our future with him is so bright we have to wear sunglasses,” Virginia’s new defensive coordinator, Bob Pruett, said last month.  “He’s got a chance to be a very, very good football player.”

The same is true for Greer, from all accounts.  At 6-2, 218, he’s small for a 3-4 inside linebacker, and if Virginia had more depth at that spot, he’d be redshirting.  But since the end of last season, two inside linebackers (Darnell Carter and J’Courtney Williams) have left Groh’s program, and a third, John Bivens, is still recovering from knee surgery.

Greer is from Solon, Ohio, where he made 150 tackles and made the all-state first team as a senior.  He’s not as physically imposing as many who have played inside linebacker at U.Va. in recent years – see Ahmad Brooks, Kai Parham and Antonio Appleby, among others – “but what he clearly was from the start was a good player,” Groh said.

U.Va. played five true freshman last season.  Groh’s weekly press conference is this afternoon, and I’m sure he’ll have more to say about his plans for Johnson.  Check tomorrow’s Times-Dispatch for details.

—30—

Posted by Jeff White in • College Sports • University of Virginia
(0) Comments | Permalink