Young QBs must mature

Bringing along a young quarterback is a process that coach Al Groh truly understands.
While there’s meetings, film study, weight-lifting, running, practice, and more that goes into the routine of developing a quarterback, there’s one value that towers above all others.
“Patience,” Groh said on a chilly Sunday after watching his quarterbacks go through a two-hour open spring practice. “It’s like no other position.”
That’s why Groh and his son, Mike, who is Virginia’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, are working hard with the Cavaliers’ QBs this spring.
When incumbent quarterback and two-year starter Jameel Sewell was declared academically ineligible after UVa’s loss in the Gator Bowl, the focus turned toward Peter Lalich, one of the nation’s most highly sought-after prospects two years ago, and his fellow quarterbacks.
Up in the air
During Sunday’s practice, the Grohs rotated Lalich, a sophomore, along with another sophomore, Marc Verica, and senior Scott Deke without any indication that one had impressed any more than the other.
“That position has been moving positively on a daily basis,” the head coach said of the quarterback competition. “There’s been a little bit of a popcorn deal in that one of them each day is not quite as sharp as the other two.”
The smart money is on Lalich to win the job, but nothing is automatic in Groh’s system. He normally will go with the player that gives his team the best chance of winning.
Ready for the Trojans?
Lalich, a confident kid by nature, has remained positive and somewhat humble.
“I’m still working on it every day,” the 6-foot-5, 225-pound passer from Springfield said. “I don’t think I’m ready for USC right now, but hopefully this summer.”
Virginia opens the season against Southern Cal, the closest thing to a dynasty that college football has to offer in the last six years or so.
If the Cavaliers are to have a chance against the Trojans, then someone will certainly have to work some magic, and who better than a passing wizard such as Lalich?
He threw for nearly 6,000 yards and 55 TDs his final two years at West Springfield High under Coach Bill Renner. He could have gone to USC, Miami, Florida State, or any number of football factories, but chose Virginia, mostly because of his relationship with Mike Groh, whom he refers to as simply “Coach Mike.”
So far this spring he has focused on making the best decisions on his passes, not necessarily waiting on the home run throw, but checking down to the shorter routes and hitting the guy who is the most wide open.
Coach Mike and other assistants have helped him in the film room.
“I feel like I know the offense pretty well, I just have to work on little things every day, get better on my reads and reading the defenses,” Lalich said. “I want to make good decisions and make fast decisions.”
That, my friends, is often the hard part, the part that prevents or at least delays great athletes from becoming great quarterbacks, and particularly, great passers.
“You think about all the terrific performers in every sport,” Al Groh said. “Very few of them perform at the highest level when there are a number of 250-pound players running at them and, at the same time, trying to hit them.
“Just picture hitting the ball off the tee, or serving, or taking a free throw with a pass rush coming at you,” Groh said.
“That’s what makes that position so much different than any other skill position in sports. Then, not only be able to physically execute, but to make significant decisions as to where the ball goes under those circumstances ...”
The coach explained that it takes a lot of turns for quarterbacks to see that, especially young quarterbacks not accustomed to such pressure.
“Generally, the pass rush pressure they experience on the college level is different than anything they see in high school,” Groh said.
“A lot of times, if you watch top players’ high school tapes, there’s a lot of passes thrown with relatively little pressure on them. Even with the best college pockets, you can hold them out only so long, and that’s what [quarterbacks] have to experience.”
Lalich got a taste of college football as a true freshman, playing in the first four games and the last four, a move that was widely criticized by those who felt it was a wasted year for the youngster.
However, Groh realized Sewell’s academic issues could bite the program at any time, just as the starter’s injured wrist could go at any time. He needed a reliable backup and Lalich seemed like the best answer.
“Playing last season definitely helped,” Lalich said. “I got a chance to see the speed of college football. You can’t really see that in practice. The game is a lot faster than practice.”
Groh believed last season made a dramatic impact on Lalich’s future in terms of the information he absorbed in meetings, the practice routine and game environment.
Now, Lalich has to convert those factors onto the practice field.
“I’m looking at it as that I have to win the job, that I have to come out every day and compete with the other quarterbacks,” No. 7 said. “I think we’re all competing for the job and whoever does the best in the spring is going to have the best shot in the fall.”
Throughout the past few months, he has been joining some of the receivers, specifically Kevin Ogletree, Maurice Covington, and Dontrelle Inman in voluntary passing drills, working on timing.
“I think that’s the No. 1 thing in our offense, the timing,” Lalich said. “Knowing where people are going to be ... the anticipation, what we’re going to do against different coverages. I think the more we get together, the better we will look.”
It’s all part of the process of maturing as a quarterback, something that Lalich must do, and do in a hurry.