UVa notes

CHARLOTTESVILLE — As if they could forget who they opened the season against, the Cavaliers got a daily dose during spring and summer practices as the USC fight song blared over speakers, a reminder that No. 3-ranked Southern California would soon be coming to Scott Stadium.
Now just four days away, Virginia is well aware of what it is up against.
“We’re talking about USC here,” UVa tight end John Phillips said. “There’s nothing to hide. They’re always one of the best teams in the country, year-in and year-out.”
The respect for the Trojans was mutual across the board from the Cavaliers who attended Tuesday’s media session, including coach Al Groh, who has not in any way sold USC short.
“They’ve been a big player on the national scene for a long, long time,” he said. “They’re just the biggest player on the national scene now.”
Virginia is 2-16-1 all-time against teams ranked in the top five. The Cavaliers haven’t hosted a team ranked this high since No. 1 Florida State came to Charlottesville in 1999.
In each of the last six years, USC has 1) qualified for a BCS bowl, 2) won 11 games and 3) won the Pac-10 title. Which begs the question: is this the best team to ever come to Scott Stadium?
“With all due respect to the teams that preceded them, yes,” Groh said.
The genesis for the home-and-home series came out of a conversation between Groh and Jon Oliver, Virginia’s Executive Associate Director of Athletics.
Both of them wanted to step out of the box in non-conference scheduling and invite a challenge. That’s when Oliver, who worked in Washington State’s athletic administration prior to coming to UVa, suggested USC as a potential opponent.
The deal was completed, with UVa agreeing to play in Los Angeles in 2010.
“I’d definitely say that this is an opportunity,” safety Byron Glaspy said. “They’re the stamp of college football. They’re the elite of the class. So playing against them, you know where you stand as a team.”
Just for kicks
Groh came to a decision on his starting place-kicker and punter last week, and neither one has kicked in a college game before. Yannick Reyering, a former all-ACC soccer player, will handle the place-kicking duties, and true freshman Jimmy Howell will do the punting.
Reyering, a native of Germany, picked up football in the spring and beat out redshirt freshman Chris Hinkebein, who was expected to succeed Chris Gould.
“He’s learning a little something every day,” Groh said of Reyering’s understanding of the game, “but it seems like there aren’t too many rules you need to know. Get it kicked before the 40-second clock runs out and don’t grab the guy’s face mask when you tackle him.”
Howell, a 6-foot-6, 238-pound freshman from Florence, S.C., beat out a host of players vying to be Ryan Weigand’s replacement. While consistency has been a problem, he’s looked extremely promising at times.
“When he brings his best ball, it is high and it is far and he’s got a pretty decent sense of direction based on the coverage and the rush where the ball should best be kicked,” Groh said. “And for a young player coming in under his circumstances, he has shown a good sense of calm and presence.”
Depth chart decisions
The Cavaliers made minor changes to their depth chart for the USC game.
Redshirt freshman Matt Conrath is listed as the starter at one defensive end spot, replacing Sean Gottschalk, who is still on a leave from the team for what Groh has termed “personal reasons.” Junior Kevin Crawford is Conrath’s backup.
Austin Pasztor, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound true freshman, has moved behind Zak Stair as the backup left guard, displacing junior Patrick Slebonick. Pasztor, who hails from Ontario, Canada, attended Fork Union Military Academy as an undergrad last year before being noticed by Virginia.
“He’s big in any context,” Groh said. “He could stand in any group of people and you’d have to say, ‘This guy is big.’”