Groh hopes to emulate Grobe’s use of redshirts

Virginia will get an up-close look today at the Great Redshirting Experiment when the Cavaliers take on Wake Forest in a game that neither team can afford to lose.

UVa is trying to battle its way out of a second-place logjam in the ACC’s Coastal Division race, while host Wake Forest is hoping to hold on to its share of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Deacs are a four-point favorite against a group of Cavaliers that seem to flourish in their role as underdogs.

One of the smartest things that Virginia coach Al Groh has done during his eight-year reign of the program was to start redshirting most of his incoming recruits three seasons ago. While it is starting to show dividends, the long-term effect probably is yet to come.

Wake Forest is a great example of that.

Two Cavs, two approaches

Deacons coach Jim Grobe, a UVa alum just like Groh, is also in his eighth season at his current gig. He has redshirted every class since he arrived at Wake and has already experienced the full benefits of the philosophy.

So far this season, Grobe has played three true freshmen, which ties for the most true freshmen to play for him during any of those eight single seasons (Wake also played three in 2002). He is also playing four redshirt freshmen.

However, if Grobe had his druthers, all of them would sit and get an extra year before they saw any action.

Groh would like to do the same, but felt it necessary several times in the past, particularly his early years in Charlottesville, to thrust those players into action. He has noted on occasion that some of the true freshmen during those early years were better than the veteran talent on hand, leading to Groh’s familiar axiom of “When they’re ready, we’re ready.”

Translated, that means if a freshman is ready to play, then Groh will play him if he needs him.

Patient bosses

Grobe came to Wake Forest under a different set of circumstances. The Deacons had not been a winning program under Jim Caldwell, a great guy and hard worker who simply couldn’t turn the program around in six seasons.

Grobe told the Wake Forest administration that in order to get things going, he was going to need to stockpile players and to have a more experienced, older team to win in the ACC. You might say he was given a blank check by the Wake brass in terms of patience.

He wasn’t expected to win right away, and while he barely recorded winning seasons in two of the first five years, the redshirting really started to show its value in the sixth year, 2006, when the Deacs went 11-3, won the ACC Championship and played in the Orange Bowl.

Last season, the Deacs went 9-4 and currently stand 5-3 heading into this afternoon’s game against Virginia (5-4).

Groh said he is seeing a little benefit from the redshirting policy, but knows the best is yet to come.

“The only reason I say a little bit is not that it’s not going to, it’s just probably a little bit deeper ... this is year six, seven, and eight and these have been the best Wake Forest teams,” Groh said.

The Deacs are the oldest team in major college football and it’s not a coincidence that last year’s senior class was the winningest class in school history ... perhaps until the current senior class finishes up.

Wake will start eight redshirt seniors and one grad student today along with seven redshirt juniors.

“Certainly, that’s a great benefit,” Groh said. “You’d really like to get to that if you can, but it takes a while. Really the benefit is felt when those players are fourth- and fifth-year players, and maybe the third year. But usually when they are fourth- and fifth-year players is when they feel the benefit of it and it makes a difference in the games.”

Through Grobe’s first seven years, only 10 true freshmen played for the Deacs.

By contrast, Groh never played less than six true freshmen in his first five seasons on the job. That halted in ‘06 when the UVa coach redshirted all but one player in that recruiting class, nose tackle Nate Collins.

Since then, Groh has played five true freshmen in both ‘07 and ‘08.

However, at some point down the road, Virginia should gain some rather noticeable advantages by fielding a veteran team.