Here are some of the choisest nugs from Mike London's first few days as UVA's new head football coach, in no particular order...
1) It's official. Coach London is switching the UVA defense back over to the traditional 4-3 scheme. This is great news, as hulking nose tackles and size/speed/strength specimens at outside linebacker are difficult for a school like Virginia to land in the recruiting wars. Operating out of a 4-3, London can now recruit smaller pass rushers at defensive end and big safeties to bring in and develop into outside linebackers. We'll be able to put more speed on the field via recruiting the 2- and 3-star caliber athletes that are typically in our wheelhouse. The initial switch could be difficult, as we lack numbers at defensive tackle, but the change is indeed a good one for the long-term potential of a Londonesque attacking defense.
2) According to the guys at CavsCorner, Noel Mazzone and Jim Reid are the best first-guesses for the offensive and defensive coordinator positions. That being said, it sounds like Mike London might be willing to wait out the Atlanta Falcons' season in attempt to lure Bill Musgrave back to his old post here at UVA. Remember the razzle-dazzle of the 2002 season? It was all Musgrave. No doubt that these coordinator picks are almost as important as the choice of head coach. London is great, but he is woefully inexperienced as a head coach. He needs experienced and effective coordinators supporting his mission.
3) Believe it or not, Coach London has already landed his first recruiting commitment as head coach of the Cavaliers, and it's at a position of dire need. 3-star quarterback Michael Strauss (from Miami, FL) said, "In the first few minutes of talking with him, I knew that I wanted to play for [Coach London]." Strauss is fully qualified and could enroll in January, which would be great as it would give him the spring practice sessions to stake his claim for our wide-open starting quarterback position. Strauss has been described as a heady passer who throws a very accurate ball and who has some wheels with which to scramble. I've heard comparisons to Ken Dorsey, Charlie Frye, and Riley Skinner so far...
4) If you missed Coach London's [impressive] press conference yesterday, bang it here for the full transcript. It's a long but exciting read.
5) It has been confirmed that Anthony Poindexter has been retained by Coach London and will join the new staff. Wayne Lineburg and Bob Price have also been mentioned as having the potential to return. It is expected that London will bring several members of his staff at Richmond with him to Charlottesville, including former UVA standout Byron Thweatt and offensive line coach and former UVA graduate assistant Bill Polin. Vincent Brown (linebackers) and Jeff Hanson (defensive line and associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at U of R) are two others who are being eyeballed. Hanson, a grizzled vet, has been coaching college football for almost 30 years.
6) The 2010 schedule is coming into focus. We already knew about the ACC slate (@ Duke, BC, GT, and VT and home against Maryland, UNC, FSU, and Miami) and the home game against Richmond and on the road against USC. Jeff White just announced that home games against VMI and Eastern Michigan have been added to the mix. It's interesting that we're playing two FCS teams, but we need wins of any sort (see also: "schedule cupcakes!") Only one of the FCS wins can count toward bowl eligibility. And won't it be weird/gut-wrenching for Coach London to face the Spiders in his first game as UVA's head coach?
I can't wait to look back 9 months from now to realize this is when Kendall Jr was conceived :)
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