A look at Virginia’s starters on special teams.

Yes, as odd as it looks, soccer balls have made there way back onto the practice fields during the Cavaliers’ training camp sessions for the first time since former kickers Connor Hughes and Kurt Smith dominated in orange and blue uniforms.

A pair of true freshmen who played a major role in Virginia’s win over North Carolina could have easily been standing on the sidelines at other schools if not for their respective gut feelings.

Virginia coach Al Groh said he did not want to risk playing Peerman, who was listed with a leg injury on the team’s injury report on Thursday.

For varying reasons, three Virginia football players found the ability to flash smiles after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Southern California.

The third-ranked Trojans methodically dismantled Virginia, 52-7, delivering the Cavaliers their worst season-opening setback since 1984.

Jimmy Howell, a 6-foot-6, 238-pound true freshman from Florence, S.C., is one of three punters on the UVa roster, joining senior John Thornton and sophomore Nathan Rathjen.

Despite having held just three practices, each of which was without full pads, Groh apparently was so tuned into the Cavaliers’ camp that he missed the latest development in the world’s most over-hyped sports drama.