Lalich out, Verica in against UConn
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During a teleconference Wednesday, Virginia coach Al Groh was asked if it would be beneficial to log additional playing time for his reserve quarterbacks.
“That would be nice if the circumstance presents itself,” Groh said.
Apparently, that “circumstance” has presented itself.
Through a university-issued press release Wednesday evening, Groh announced that embattled starting quarterback Pete Lalich would not travel to Saturday’s game at Connecticut and would be replaced by sophomore Marc Verica.
Oddly enough, the new development comes just over 24 hours after the coach defended Lalich and said “there was a rush to pile on” the quarterback.
“We stand by Peter and in talking with him have made a decision which is best in the short term for him, the team, and our University,” Groh said in the press release. “We have a strong set of standards and values on our team that reflect those of the university and we do not compromise those values to win football games.”
Lalich, a sophomore, faces a charge of failure to obey a court order while on probation. A document reviewed by The Daily Progress in Charlottesville General District Court showed that the charge is based on his admission to violating a requirement that he not consume alcohol or other drugs.
On Sept. 26, Lalich will have a hearing on the matter in Charlottesville General District Court at 11 a.m., records show.
Lalich was given a summons for possession or purchase of alcohol while being underage on July 13. Eight days later in General District Court, the 20-year-old was given deferred judgment on the charge, providing he completed supervised probation. Court records also showed that he had his driver’s license suspended until Aug. 8, 2009.
The quarterback denied that he had used drugs during his probation Tuesday, and he indicated that he had followed all requirements of his probation in Wednesday’s press release.
“I love my team and my teammates and the way they have let me know that they trust me and have my back,” Lalich said in the release. “Because I care so much about our team, it is best for me to step back temporarily from my starting position so that my teammates can focus 100 percent on getting ready for the game.
“Coach Groh and I have frequent conversations and we agree on this. I appreciate that Coach sees me first as a person, then as a quarterback. I make mistakes like everyone, but I have followed the terms of my probation and I am committed to our team and the University of Virginia.”
Based on the comments issued by Groh and Lalich on Tuesday, the development appears forced from outside the program, but Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage said the coach and quarterback “came to a decision.”
“Over the past 24 hours I’ve had conversations with both Peter and Coach Groh,” Littlepage said. “The focus of our discussions shifted from due process and fairness and moved toward what would be best for Peter and the team, at least until such time that matters were cleared up about his probation status.”
A timetable was not given for Lalich’s return, but after playing UConn, Virginia has a well-timed bye week. The Cavaliers will return to action at Duke on Sept. 27, the day after Lalich appears in court.
Verica, who made his Virginia debut against Southern California in the fourth quarter, will become that fifth starting quarterback for Virginia since the season opener in 2006.
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Reader Reactions
B. Gates, I agree with you. Times have changed. This whole nation has become regressive, and red states are leading the way. The emphasis is upon law, order and security. Young men can enlist, fight and die for this country, but can’t drink a beer. Charlotteville is crawling with undercover cops who target athletes, and they are enforcing the law to the letter. We cannot emphasize to the athletes enough that this is a dangerous situation for them. All around them other students are partying, but these athletes have too much to lose. And they’re getting nailed left and right. They need to abstain and be squeaky clean. It may be harsh. But that’s just the way it is.
Groh and the players need our support.
Is it just me or does Groh seem to be going the way of Gillen and Jeff Jones when it comes to players making poor choices. How many times have we had players kicked out for grades or trouble with the law. If the only problems were players caught drinking under age it would not bother me that much, but we have also have had players arrested for stealing, a shooting incident, and multiple issues with drugs. To the person who thinks groh is a good coach what exactly is your definition of good. Do all of these issues not bother you?
I’m trying to understand this situation.A 20 yr old Division 1 College QB buys some beer in the summer before his Soph year.He’s busted and can’t play vs UConn that fall not by his Coach but by the Local Law Folks.When I attended Virginia we had a beer machine in the basement of our fraternity house and The Virginian delivered Beer to Emmett Dorm on a phone order.My how times have changed in America!I’m reminded of Art Buchwald,s comments when he learned that he could no longer smoke a cigar in the Upper Deck at Yankee Stadium.He said “there’s some seriously wrong in America”.I think we all know that, the question is are we ready to do something about it.Perhaps I have the facts of this case wrong.I guess time will tell but Pete Lalich won’t get the UCONN game back.Regards,B
What makes this so fishy is the timing. This “news” has been out for over a week. The only change to it was that Lalich made his first official statement Tuesday saying he misunderstood the officer’s question and that in fact he has followed the probation. And further, Coach Groh came out in full support of him and thought that it seemed like people were “piling on” based on rumors. Does anyone truly think that less then a day later Groh would completely contradict his own words and suddenly suspend Lalich? This reeks of very top level pressure (or very big donor pressure). But even then, the timing of it makes no sense. If the fact that he MIGHT have violated his probation is a punishable offense then why wasn’t it dealt with immediately? What makes things different and more punitive a week later, yet still two weeks PRIOR to a court date? (And of course, this doesn’t touch on the whole notion of “guilty until proven innocent”, which is not exactly what the University’s founder would stand for.)
Groh’s a good coach and good man. This was the right decision. Probably should have come earlier, though. There is such intense pressure to win, yet UVA also has very high standards in the area of player misconduct. Personally, I admire these high standards but acknowledge this is extremely difficult in our culture. College students drink. But football players must realize that they risk far more than others and that they are targeted. Sure, we’re talking about 18,19 and 20 year old men who could just as well be fighting in Iraq, but the law is the law. Groh balances these two aspirations as well as anyone I’ve seen. He deserves our support.
Good move, and good timing. Standards of conduct and expectations matter. After two starts, Lalich still looks lost out there. This gives Verica a chance, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he turns Lalich into Wally Pipp. It WOULD surprise me if he’s any worse than Lalich.
Well, the Lalich “situation” is no big deal in itself. I mean, millions of college students use alcohol and (if that’s what he did, smoke pot).
The problem is that the negative publicity associated with Al Groh’s football program never ends. It’s one thing after another.
Al Groh needs to be fired. Just my opinion. What do you all think?
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