Rallying around Sewell

CHARLOTTESVILLE - By the time Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell threw his first incomplete pass Saturday night against Pittsburgh, his abysmal season-opening performance at Wyoming was a distant memory.

The sophomore from Richmond completed his first 10 passes against the Panthers and made it through the first quarter without an incompletion. His 11th attempt hit Jonathan Stupar in the hands, but the tight end dropped it. Oh well. By that time the Cavaliers were on their way to their fourth consecutive victory, a 44-14 domination of the Big East foe.

Sewell's three first-quarter touchdown passes marked quite a turnaround from Week 1 when many Wahoo fans were ready to bench Sewell in favor of freshman Peter Lalich and fire head coach Al Groh. Against the Cowboys Sewell passed for just 87 yards and threw two interceptions without getting Cavs into the end zone. He'd already surpassed that performance in the first 15 minutes against Pitt and led Virginia to 44 points against the nation's 18th best scoring defense.

"Jameel was really sharp and into the flow of the game," Groh said Saturday after the win. "Not just passing, but some of the checks he made at the line of scrimmage. He was getting us into the right play and that's as important as the throwing part of it."

Sewell and Lalich had split time in U.Va.'s first four games, but Sewell didn't give Groh any reason to go to the backup against Pittsburgh. After the fast start he finished 16 of 31 passing for 169 yards, but he was the victim of several dropped passes and much more conservative play calling in the second half. Perhaps most impressive was the fact that Sewell played virtually mistake free football, avoiding any interceptions or sacks.
Sewell said that even though he has the mobility to scramble - he rushed for 64 yards on 12 carries - he's feeling more comfortable in the pocket.

"It isn't something you necessarily work on in practice," Sewell said. "I had a bad habit of looking at the rush in the past. Now I try to just feel it and move around that way, instead of focusing on the pressure."

U.Va. tight end Jonathan Stupar, who caught three passes for 27 yards and a touchdown Saturday, said the offense was much more balanced in recent weeks than it was in the opener and that's created more opportunities for his quarterback to shine.

"With Jameel he's seeing everything a lot better and with our running game Cedric [Peerman] is playing amazing," Santi said.

"When you have that kind of running game it helps in the passing game. Now Jameel is taking command of the offense."
And if the Cavaliers are going to truly compete for a spot in the ACC Championship Game, that's what they need out of their quarterback.

Shane Mettlen can be reached at 825-0771, ext. 127 or