NCAA Football virginia Cavaliers

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Rejoice! Er, potentially rejoice -- Last week the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported speculation that FOX might extricate itself a year early from its BCS coverage commitments. Besides the rarely disputed notion that FOX's BCS coverage is woeful -- thank you, Thom Brennaman and endless band shots -- the network seems to realize they've been dealt a weak hand for their 2010 games.

Was it tough to see Virginia strike out on Kyle Long the first time around when he was being recruited in 2007? Had to -- this was when Chris Long had possibly the most high-profile season for any Cavalier in history while his famous father looked on.

It would only make sense if Kyle followed in his brother's path, but instead, he chose to play baseball at Florida State. For Virginia fans, it was the equivalent of finding out the girl you were pining for turned out to be a lesbian. Sure, it sucks to a certain extent, but there's a comfort knowing it's not really a reflection on you.

Hey, remember those bizarro rumors about Romeo Crennel being next in line at UVA if and when Al Groh gets the heave-ho? We laughed, we cried, we learned a little about ourselves. Of course, most of us sort of knew it was about as much of a pipe dream as you could imagine, and for the UVA fan, that means "a dream where you get repeatedly bashed with a pipe."

So why is the latest addition to Virginia's coaching staff all kinds of cloak and dagger? Is it because Bob Trott's (above) last job was UNDER ROMEO CRENNEL WITH THE BROWNS!?!?! According to the faculty guide at Virginia, Trott is now, well, part of the faculty. The only problem is that no announcement has been made about a hire by the sports information director.

I think Virginia coach Al Groh gets enough done in 2009 to, at the very least, leave on his own terms. Say what you will, but the usual pattern dictates that Virginia surpass expectations a year after falling flat. Once that happens, the inevitable goes down and Craig Littlepage heads down I-20 to Richmond and meets whatever demands Mike London has.

Virginia has already burned through two defensive coordinators in the 2009 offseason. (What's your chump school been up to?) The first time was somewhat surprising, but understandable. The 65-year-old Bob Pruett had been at the helm for one very inconsistent season, but his age and concerns over allegations of academic fraud and player overpayment by local businesses while serving as the head coach at Marshall could've played a huge role in his decision to voluntarily step down.

I don't need a whole lot of reminders that 2005 was a long, long time ago, so imagine seeing Ron Prince already completing his first tour of duty as a head coach and parlaying that experience into a brand new job at Virginia. That may or may not be a worse job, but it's most definitely a more vague one.

While Prince served as Virginia's offensive coordinator during what. in retrospect, are looking like Al Groh's glory days in 2009, (my kingdom for a Marques Hagans QB draw! Or a slow-developing Wali Lundy sweep!) he's looking to add "assistant head coach" to his resume.

Ahmad Brooks. Michael Johnson. Um, Peter Lalich. Do Virginia fans really miss all those days when Al Groh was still that heat in the streets and VIrginia could crack the top 20's of most recruiting rankings? Well, it sure made Signing Day much more fun, as the past couple of years have seen UVA bank solid, if not unexciting classes filled with linemen on both ends and likely a solid tight end prospect.

2009 has been, well, not too much different, however, over the past couple of weeks there had been speculation that mountainous man Morgan Moses, a 6'7", 343 lb. masher from Richmond could be a key pickup for Virginia. On the one hand, you have UVA's reputation as an OL factory, with D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Branden Albert and most likely Eugene Monroe becoming top-15 NFL picks over the past few years. On the other, you have concerns that Moses may not qualify academically for Virginia (especially after the decommittal of Alex Owah, who qualified under NCAA standards, but not UVA's) and a head-to-head competition with the ascendant UNC program.

FanHouse's lead-up to college football's signing day makes like Charles Dickens and looks at the Ghosts of Recruiting -- past, present and future. In the Ghosts of Recruiting Past we note 10 recruiting powers who have hit a dry spell

Completing Part I of our Ghosts of Recruiting series, we discuss the changed recruiting fortunes of Virginia and Michigan State. Like several schools mentioned here, both have been at various times elite programs but certainly not of the level achieved by an Oklahoma or a USC or a Michigan, the so-called traditional powers. Prospects aren't quite Syracuse-level glum for both, but they aren't exactly their old selves either.

Well, the good news for Virginia's long-suffering fanbase is that after years and years of thoroughly unexciting and unproductive offensive schemes under the stewardship of Ron Prince and Mike Groh, deposed Bowling Green coach Mike Brandon is prepared to institute the spread as he takes control in 2009. And yeah, it's likely a good idea considering the ACC is pretty much bereft of that offensive style (perhaps save for the spread option), and it just might be the sort of thing that makes UVA a destination for the kind of speedsters they seemingly miss out on year after year. Awesome!

Now, get prepared for a spread offense ran by an admittedly mobile quarterback with considerable accuracy problems, one year removed from an academic suspension. Or the guy who threw the most interceptions in the ACC despite not even starting all year. Excited yet?!?! Oh, and thanks to leading receiver Kevin Ogletree making an excusable, if not seriously curious leap into the NFL draft, your most accomplished pass catcher hauled in a grand total of 19 balls in 2008, provided inevitable Wes Welker comparison Cary Koch isn't granted a hardship exception.

Ogletree's move is understandable in that he's already graduated, is one season removed from a decimating tendon injury and, I dunno, inspired by the success of Billy McMullen? Ogletree lacks ideal size and gamebreaking speed and is coming off a season nearly identical to that of 2006 (50+ catches, 5-7 record, zero national presence) and could have possibly hooked back up with a QB he has good chemistry with in an offense that's emphasizing the pass more than ever (conceivably). Wish him the best, but let's just hope he made good friends with Eugene Monroe and Clint Sintim.

Virginia OT Eugene Monroe hasn't had an uneven while always promising career in Charlottesville, but in some ways, it's proven how recruiting ranks still can hold sway four years after the fact. Coming out of New Jersey, Monroe was graded by many as the #1 offensive line recruit, if not the top recruit on offense, period, yet injuries and D'Brickashaw Ferguson had stunted his progress until last year. In 2007, a still unhealthy Monroe picked up all-ACC honors (albeit honorable mention) and set himself as a prime prospect in next year's NFL draft. But a #1 pick? Was a possibility at the onset of the year (like, before the USC game). Not no more, not with Michael Oher and Andre Smith generally catching the eye of scouts, but Monroe's road to becoming the next D'Brick or Branden Albert has been helped along by him winning the ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given to the best blocker in the conference. It was voted on by the conference's defensive coordinators, but was he the best, or is it just a "Dear Science" sort of thing, where it gets voted #1 just to justify hype?

And generally, this is a pretty big surprise, not because he's some nobody, but because Virginia somehow allowed the fewest sacks in the conference (16), despite having a mostly rebuilt line and inexperienced QBs. Then again, considering what Marc Verica does with time to throw, maybe they'd be better off letting him take a hit instead.