Cavs’ Sewell back in saddle

It happens after every workout. After every practice. And even after every random visit to Virginia’s football facility.
Jameel Sewell, having watched the spot he plays taken away for a calendar year, glances down at Scott Stadium as he passes.
Goosebumps emerge.
Scott Stadium is Sewell’s home away from home.
On Saturday at Virginia’s annual spring game at 2 p.m., Sewell will trot out onto the luscious grass at the venue donning his No. 10 jersey for the first time in 17 months.
Finally, the senior southpaw will be back.
What will that moment be like for a player that was sacked by a university-issued academic suspension?
“I don’t know how to explain that one. I really don’t,” Sewell said Monday with a light-hearted chuckle. “To get home from the McCue Center every day where we practice, I have to pass to the stadium and I look right down into the stadium. Every time I pass it I get a chill.
“I don’t know how I am going to handle myself being back inside that stadium or being back in the locker room or being able to have people out there cheering for the team.”
Initially, Virginia’s starting quarterback for most of 2006 and all of 2007 may let his emotions take over.
“I don’t know how I am going to handle the first couple of plays,” he said. “It is amazing.”
Away from his teammates for a year, Sewell was invited and jumped at the chance to join the coaching staff at Charlottesville High.
It was through the tutelage of Charlottesville quarterback Kevin Leatherwood that Sewell attempted to remain sharp.
“When I would put a quarterback through a drill, I would do the drill with him,” he recounted. “I would try to stay sharp on certain things. I wouldn’t throw it as much as I would in practice at [Virginia], but I was throwing a decent amount.”
Understanding that the opportunity presented itself for his return for his final season in 2009, Sewell followed 2008’s 5-7 campaign closely last year.
In fact, it was Sewell that told Marc Verica before the season that he would finish the campaign as the starter. That happened, of course, after Pete Lalich was dismissed from the team and later transferred to Oregon State.
Sewell even lived last year with members of Virginia’s team (former linebacker Antonio Appleby, senior linebacker Darren Childs and newly-slotted quarterback Vic Hall) and tried to remain positive despite the roller coaster that unfolded.
All the while, Sewell knew things could have been more promising had he been under center.
“Not to take anything away from the team or from Marc Verica, because he did a good job, I feel like things could have been different just having an experienced quarterback back there — it makes a big difference,” said Sewell, who has passed for 17 touchdowns and rushed in another eight in his career. “Experience is a big attribute for a quarterback.”
Sewell longs, however, to leave 2008 as a distant memory.
“That’s in the past and we are not dwelling on that,” he said. “We are just trying to move forward and use that as a stepping stone.”
While fighting with Hall and Verica — for now — to become the No. 1 quarterback on the roster, Sewell received a blessing when former offensive coordinator Mike Groh was replaced by Gregg Brandon and brought in wide-open offense that employs the shotgun.
In essence, all three signal callers went in on a level playing field.
“It is a competition,” Sewell said. “Marc Verica did a pretty decent job last year. He needed some help; he couldn’t do everything by himself. He’s out here competing … he’s doing a great job so far.
“And you have Vic Hall, who has all the state records as a quarterback in high school, who seems like coming back to offense he hasn’t missed a beat. He is competitive on everything.”
And then there is Sewell, back near his playing weight of 227 pounds after losing 15 pounds while away.
“Just me, I’m just trying to keep up,” he said. “I have been gone for a while and I’m trying to keep up with these guys who have been here.
“I am not at a disadvantage at all. This is a new offense and things are different now. Some people say that I am at a disadvantage, but I don’t see it at all.”
While accuracy has been a problem for Sewell at times in the past — he has thrown 15 career interceptions — the Richmond native should provide heart and passion.
And if this spring is any indication, Sewell will cherish every step of the way.
“When I got out there, I didn’t want to leave my first practice,” he said. “When I first worked out, I didn’t want to leave my workout. I didn’t want it to end even though I knew it was going to happen the next day.
“It is just a great feeling to be back out here with my brothers and my coaches.”