Tony Haynes: O?Brien Saw Big Picture at Virginia

BY TONY HAYNES

Raleigh, N.C. As he watched his first NC State football team stumble through a 1-5 start, coach Tom O’Brien had one eye focused on the field and another on the future. A big picture’ philosophy has played an essential role in O’Brien’s coaching career and it has served him well.

And based on his track record, no one will remember 1-5’ when NC State (2-5) eventually turns the corner under its veteran coach.

Take the Virginia program that will bring a seven-game winning streak to Carter-Finley Stadium for a 4:30 kick off this Saturday. Ranked 21^st in this week’s A.P. Top-25, Virginia (7-1, 4-0) has been a near fixture in the college football polls for the last 15 years.

For that reason, it’s easy to forget just how dreadful Virginia football was for a 30-year period between 1953 and 1983. Only twice in those 30 years did the Cavaliers post a winning record. Needless to say, the football landscape in Charlottesville was about as picturesque as the Afghan desert before George Welsh did what was thought to be impossible: transforming Virginia from a doormat to a contender.

O’Brien got a first-hand look at the laughing stock that was Virginia football when he followed Welsh from Navy to Uva in 1982.

“It was pretty bad,” O’Brien recalled earlier this week. “We didn’t have a lot of football players and the ones we had were apathetic about the game. They didn’t want to pay the price the way coach Welsh was going to coach them and make them work. It was obviously difficult at the start. I remember at one point we were two or three years into it and George said boy, this is a heck of a lot harder than it was at Navy.’”

Eventually, however, Welsh, with O’Brien’s assistance, brought in the types of players that would pay the price and before you knew, it seemed like Virginia was going to a bowl game just about every year.

Nowadays, winning football is almost a forgone conclusion at Virginia. As for O’Brien, the lessons he learned as an assistant in Charlottesville and then later as a successful head coach at Boston College, have helped him keep that one eye on the big picture. By no means has the NC State program been a world beater the last few years, but it’s not as far down as Virginia was in 1982, nor does it present as many challenges as the scandal-ridden B.C. program that O’Brien started rebuilding in 1997.

“When I went to Navy with coach Welsh in 1975, that wasn’t going well either,” O’Brien recalled. “The thing that you learn is [Welsh] always had a plan, he had a system in place and he kept his staff in tact. That allowed him to accomplish a lot of the things that he did other than the fact that he was a great coach and a very smart man. I tried to do that in my time at Boston College and that’s the plan here. We have a plan, we’re going to stick to it; there are no quick fixes to it. You come to work, you work hard everyday, you believe in your plan, you work the plan, you recruit hard and you get good players.”

Al Groh, now in his seventh season at Virginia, certainly benefited from the foundation laid down by Welsh, O’Brien and the other Uva assistants that came before him. With a win over NC State on Saturday, the Cavaliers would own an eight-game winning streak for the first time in school history. Among other things, the 2007 Wahoos have won five games by six points or less, including back-to-back one-point victories over Connecticut and Maryland.

Virginia fans may be emotionally drained at this point, but Groh and his team are enjoying the ride.

“These kinds of games are fun to be in,” Groh said. “We go into every game expecting it to be a close, hard-fought game that is going down to the very end. Strategically, we plan on it being that way and emotionally we plan on it being that way. When it turns out that way, it’s the way we expected it to be. Being emotional about it isn’t going to help the team win. We have to be clear-headed and to some degree unemotional about it and just do our jobs. We’re probably the least emotional people in the stadium.”

And while Virginia may not be dominant as a team, it does possess one of the most dominant players in all of college football. Senior defensive end Chris Long, son of former Raiders great Howie Long, is indeed a chip off the old block.’ Relentless, powerful and explosive, Long leads the ACC and ranks third in the nation in quarterback sacks with 10. Tackles and guards double-team him and tight ends chip on him, yet Long has continued to put up monster numbers against every team Virginia plays.

When NC State breaks the huddle before obvious passing downs on Saturday, it will have to do a quick survey on Long’s whereabouts in Virginia’s three-four defensive alignment.

“They move him around,” O’Brien said. “Basically, you know where he is on first and second down. They move him around in the third down package. I guess we’ll find out who they think our worst pass protector is because that’s where he’ll line up in third down situations.”

After being torched by Long in the first quarter last year in Charlottesville, NC State countered by sending senior lineman Leroy Harrison to whichever side Long was on. This year, the Wolfpack doesn’t have a lineman as experienced and as versatile as Harris. No matter where Long lines up, centers, guards, tackles and even tight ends will be aware of his presence.

“He’s just 100 percent all the time, every play,” said Wolfpack tight end Marcus Stone. “You can guarantee that every play he’s going to come off the ball and hit you right in the mouth.”

Virginia found a new offensive star last week when receiver turned running back Mikell Simpson put together a stunning performance in the Cavaliers’ 18-17 victory at Maryland. Along with rushing for 119 yards, Simpson also caught 13 passes for 152 yards. On Virginia’s game-winning, 90-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter, Simpson touched the ball on the final 14 plays.

Complimenting Simpson is elusive quarterback Jameel Sewell, who is a threat to either pass or run. When he does tuck it and run, Sewell averages 17 yards per carry.

An improving NC State defense that tallied six sacks and held East Carolina to just 72 yards rushing last week will be dealing with some entirely different challenges on Saturday. Not only is Sewell mobile, he’s shielded by one of the biggest and most experienced offensive lines in the ACC.

“He’s a finesse quarterback,” said NC State defensive end Willie Young. “He plays like a receiver almost because he can make people miss. I’m looking forward to it; it’s going to be a great challenge.”

The Wolfpack will be trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since consecutive victories over Boston College and Florida State last year. The Pack hasn’t notched a conference win since that 24-20 triumph over the Seminoles last October.

“It would be really important, especially on our home field with a ranked team coming in,” said Wolfpack receiver Darrell Blackman. “I think it would be great for our fans and help our spirits a lot.”

Win or lose on Saturday, Tom O’Brien will still have one eye on the big picture.

North Carolina State University Athletics

Tony Haynes: O?Brien Saw Big Picture at Virginia

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