The New Sheriff of Charlottesville

As some of you folks already know, I was never a huge fan of former UVA football coach, Al Groh (currently the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech). I never found him to be a particularly effective recruiter and, even on those occasions when he was able to get the top talent, he often wasn't able to develop it. Of course, the most damning evidence of all against Mr. Groh is his record on the field. While, yes, he did get off to a reasonably good start (leading the Cavs to a spate of decent bowl games), the overall wins and losses just didn't add up (three losing seasons in his final four)...........................................................................................So, yes/damn square, I was exceedingly ecstatic when Virginia decided to can Groh's sorry ass and replace him with a rising star, Mike London (at that time just one year removed from leading Richmond to the FCS championship). It had to be a major-league improvement, no?..........................................................................................Well, folks, here we are. It's been, what now, pretty nearly a year since Virginia made this change? How well is the new coach, Mr. London, doing? Well, apart from the fact that it's obviously way too early to tell, I would probably have to say that he's doing pretty good. Sure, he only won one more game than his predecessor did (4, as opposed to 3). But it was also clear that the toughness and competitiveness of the team were far better. And, yes, in terms of his recruiting ability, a major thumbs up. London, folks, has already landed 13 of the top 30 prospects in the state of Virginia for 2011. Included in this haul are such bell-ringers as speedy running back Clifton Richardson, behemoth offensive lineman Jay Whitmire, coveted quarterback David Watford, sleeper defensive end Thompson Brown (watch this guy, folks - he's 6'4" 225 and runs a sub 4.6 forty), and phenom corner Demetrious Nicholson. And it isn't just in Virginia where he's finding success. He's also landed a slew of Maryland's top 20 prospects; Brandon Phelps (ATH), Kelby Johnson (OT), Vincent Croce (DT), Marco Jones (DE), and Jordan Lomax (ATH)............................................................................................Now, obviously, one recruiting class doesn't a program make. But if Mr. London can continue to recruit like this AND develop the talent, UVA just might become the football power that a lot of us thought they were capable of being. No, not an Alabama or an Ohio State maybe but a consistent top 20/8-9 wins a year type of program -a good enough program for me, in other words.