CNNSI.com - 2000 College Football Preview - CNNSI.com's Virginia preview

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Virginia Cavaliers

A whole new operation in Charlottesville

College Football: The New Century

'99: 7-5, 5-3 ACC

Coach

George Welsh (19th season, 128-80-3; 183-126-4 overall)

Key offensive players

Antwoine Womack, TB, Sr.
After sitting out a year-long suspension, Womack returns with great expectations. Welsh believes he could be the best tailback in the ACC this year.

Dan Ellis, QB, Jr.
The Cavs hope to work more option into their offense, as they did under offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill in his first stint at the school in the early 1990s.

Billy McMullen, WR, So.
He drew favorable comparisons to former Cavalier wide receiver Herman Moore last year when he caught 28 passes for six touchdowns as a true freshman.

Key defensive players

Byron Thweatt, LB, Sr.
A rare fourth-year starter, Thweatt hopes to be healthy for his final college season.

Ivan Maisel's Player of the Century: Bill Dudley, B, 1939-41
"In '41, he led the Cavaliers in passing, rushing, total offense, scoring, punt returns, all-purpose yards and punting."

Brightest Moment: On Nov. 3, 1990, Virginia was the No. 1 ranked team in the nation after winning seven consecutive games to start the season.

Lowest Moment: From 1958-60, the Cavs lost 28 straight games, which still stands as the most consecutive losses by an ACC team.

Jerton Evans, FS, So.
After drawing much praise during his sensational freshman season, Evans is the old man of Virginia's bare defensive backfield.

Key newcomer

Raymond Mann, LB, Fr.
The Cavs are deep at linebacker, but Mann, rated the No. 2 high school senior in Virginia last year, could get a chance to play in his first year on campus.

Throwback player

Byron Thweatt played with one arm most of last year. How much more throwback can you get?

21st century player

Billy McMullen was lightly regarded out of high school, but he his speed and athletic ability should make the Cavaliers more balanced in the years to come.

Fast fact

The Cavaliers extended their streak of seasons with at least seven victories to 13 by winning four of their last five regular-season games.

Outlook

Veteran coach Welsh went about this offseason trying to prove even an old dog like himself can learn some new tricks. As his Cavaliers try to find a way to survive without All-America running back Thomas Jones, Welsh restructured his coaching staff and spent most of the winter and spring talking about "reinventing the corporation." After their dismal performance in the Micronpc.com Bowl, where it lost to Illinois 63-21, the Cavaliers needed some overhauls. Welsh sent his revamped staff out to study NFL and other college teams. He instituted a more rigorous offseason training regimen to help cut down on some of the injuries that decimated the defense last year. Even with major questions in the secondary, the Cavs have to be better on defense this year. Offensively, Welsh believes the Cavaliers' running game won't suffer without Jones, even though he was one of the top running backs in ACC history.

-- Tim Peeler