It's always hard to objectively put together a 'top' list following a loss, but this week is particularly rough after the Cavaliers suffered a major let-down against the visiting NC State Wolfpack - falling to 4-and-3 on the year. With a Thursday night contest against the Miami Hurricanes looming, Virginia needs to regroup and focus on limiting mistakes against a hungry Miami team. This week's list sees very limited changes - with no new names entering nor any current players leaving the top 5. Through 8 weeks of play, here is the updated 'Hoos Hot list:
1. Perry Jones (Last Week - #1)
[caption id="attachment_536" align="alignright" width="244" caption="Perry Jones sits atop the 'Hoos Hot rankings. Photo / Virginia Media Relations / Matt Riley"]
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Jones had another productive outing against NC State, gaining 65 yards on 15 attempts. Play callingwas Jones' toughest defender on Saturday, with the offense failing to get the ball in Jones' hand through the air andlimiting touches hurting his overall statistics. Perry did put the ball on the ground, something this is becoming trend. Luckily, the Cavaliers were able to fall on it before the Wolfpack could snatch it up. Perry needs to be the offenses workhorse against the Hurricanes. I expect Perry will remain at the top of this list come next week.
2. Kevin Parks (Last Week - #2)
KP received very little love from the coaches on Saturday, only getting the ball 7 times on the day (he also had 2 receptions for a very meager 9 yards). Parks has been the Cavaliers toughest runner inside the red zone, so perhaps the limited trips inside of the twenties factored into his lack of carries. At any rate, the coaches need to get him more reps as his power running style is just what the doctor ordered for a team struggling at the quarterback position. It will be a travesty if Parks is unable to own the freshman rushing touchdown record after tying it mid-way throughout the season.
3. Chase Minnifield (Last Week - #3)
[caption id="attachment_537" align="alignright" width="237" caption="Chase Minnifield blocked a FG attempt against the Wolfpack. Photo / Virginia Media Relations / Matt Riley"]
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Chase had another solid outing for the Cavalier defense, racking up 4 tackles (0.5 for loss). Showing his versatility, Chase also blocked a kick which, at the time, shifted the momentum in favor of the Cavaliers after the Wolfpack had driven down the field. Speaking of versatility, it's probably time for the coaches to put Chase back on punt returns. At any rate, Minnifield's play consistent play will continue to benefit a strong Virginia defense.
4. Matt Conrath (Last Week - #5)
Conrathcontinues his climb up the rankings with another outstanding defensive performance against the Wolfpack, notching 10 tackles on the day (1.5 for loss) - marking his personal best outing in the orange in blue that was set just last week after recording 9 tackles against GT. Conrath's play continues to amaze many, including myself, who thought that he was just too lean and tall to effectively play the defensive tackle position in Coach Reid's 4-3 attack. I would love nothing more than for him to continue to silence his doubters over the season's remaining 5 games.
5. Oday Aboushi (Last Week - #4)
Due to the bizarre play calling for much of the day, it's hard to really gauge the performance of Virginia's offensive line. When they decided to run, the Cavaliers were pretty effective - averaging nearly 4 yards a carry. In pass protection, Virginia only gave up 1 sack, though the pocket did break down several times (some blame can obviously be placed on the quarterbacks there as well). Given Coach London's comments Sunday night, it appears that Virginia will go back to the running game against Miami. We'll see where Mr. Aboushi ends up in next week's rankings.
'Hoos Knocking On the Door?
Clifton Richardson (Last Week - 'Hoos Knocking)
[caption id="attachment_538" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Clifton Richardson recorded his first receiving TD as a Cavalier against the Wolfpack. Photo / Virginia Media Relations / Matt Riley"]
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Clifton Richardson's spectacular touchdown catch during Saturday's second quarter of play shows the type of tough, versatile player he will be for the Cavaliers in the coming years. With two strong back-to-back performances, it appears that Richardson has earned more playing time - starting this Thursday, according to Coach London. Richardson has a chance to keep rising up the rankings with additional time. I personally hope he gets to carry the ball more than 5 times against the Hurricanes.
Cam Johnson (Last Week - 'Hoos Knocking)
Cam had another solid performance against State, putting up yet another tackle for loss (his 5.5 of the year). His inability to get to the quarterback is certainly a cause for concern, however, as Virginia was unable to notch a sack on Saturday. It is imperative that Johnson find a way to put pressure Jacory Harris come Thursday night.
Steve Greer (Last Week - Unranked)
[caption id="attachment_539" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Steve Greer is the quietly leading Virginia's defense. Photo / Virginia Media Relations / Matt Riley"]
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Greer has had two outstanding performances in the past two weeks, continue to add up tackles with a total of 65 on the years (which leads the Cavalier defense by a wide margin - fellow 'backer LaRoy Reynolds is 2nd with 49). Greer's heady play in the middle has been the key to a much improved Cavalier defense, who now ranks as the nation's 21st best. Greer may have his toughest challenge of the year coming up, as the Hurricane's combination of speed and size will be very difficult to match up against. Greer will be one to watch on Thursday.
Will Hill (Last Week - 'Hoos Knocking)
Hill was relatively quiet on Saturday with only 3 tackles, Though 7 games, though, Hill is tied for 2nd on the team in tackles for loss (5.5) and 8th in tackles (25) and has served as a much needed spark off the bench in Virginia's defensive line rotation. His play will continue to be counted on in a big way moving forward.
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