Virginia's string of 12 consecutive non-losing seasons came to an end last fall, but really how much different was Al Groh's 5-7 in his first year than George Welsh's 6-6 in his last season?

The thing that got Welsh in hot water with fans was the perception that Virginia wasn't bringing in the best prospects to compete with the upper echelon of the Atlantic Coast Conference or with cross-state rival Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers were stuck in a rut, albeit a winning rut. They won more than seven games just once in Welsh's last five seasons, though they did pile up winning records.

Certainly the taciturn coach who turned Virginia's program around was a victim of his own success.

Enter Groh. Pro-style offenses and defenses. Younger coaching staff. New ideas like names on the backs of jerseys. All the excitement that goes with change.

But when 2000 ACC rushing leader Antoine Womack went down with a knee injury in the first quarter of the first game, Groh's first year turned into a rocky ride.

The Cavalier offense, alternating quarterbacks and without Womack, was inconsistent. On the other side of the ball, the new 3-4 defense proved a tough adjustment and Virginia yielded more than 200 yards rushing and over 200 yards passing per game.

At one point, the Cavs lost five straight games, the longest losing streak in 20 years or since Welsh's first season. They suffered their first losing season since 1986.

The Cavaliers finished with a flourish, though, beating a Penn State squad that had won five of its previous six games. And that victory seemed to carry over into the off-season because Groh and his staff came up big in recruiting.

How big? That's a question that doesn't get answered immediately. The early reviews from the experts, though, are encouraging. College Football News had the class rated the second best in the country. Noted analyst Tom Lemming ranked UVA's haul fifth. None of the major rankings had the Cavs any lower than the 12th best class in the country.

Among the most exciting imports are USA Today National Defensive Player-of-the-Year Ahmad Brooks , a linebacker, four Parade All-Americans (Brooks, linebacker Kai Parham , running back Michael Johnson and defensive end Kwakou Robinson ) and 10 SuperPrep All-Americans, including defensive backs Lance Evans , Marcus Hamilton and Stefan Orange , running back Wali Lundy , lineman D'Brickashaw Ferguson and quarterback Anthony Martinez .

So score one for Groh. He and his staff apparently can recruit. And if the fact that he could keep last year's team interested into that final week is any indication, he can motivate, too.

And while Virginia will be working in a lot of new faces, Groh can also count on some old reliables at key positions. Senior receiver Billy McMullen is one of the top wideouts in the country. Junior quarterback Matt Schaub looks ready to rise to the job that is finally his alone. Senior linebacker Angelo Crowell is a great centerpiece to build the defense around and all four starters return in the secondary.

Everyone thinks things got easier for Schaub (6-5, 235) this spring. The junior entered practices as the uncontested quarterback for the Cavaliers after two years of battling tooth-and-nail with Bryson Spinner.

It was the classic quarterback confrontation, the tall pocket passer against the scrambling, athletic Spinner. So even were the combatants, although in differing ways, that both started six games last year. Schaub finished with the better passing numbers, connecting on 58.3 percent of his passes (140-of-240) for 10 touchdowns and 1,524 yards. Spinner won more games but left school in the winter, saying he needed a change.

For the first time, Schaub entered practice knowing he was the team’s quarterback. He put on nearly 10 pounds of muscle in the weight room and he went into the spring with a new attitude.

With Spinner gone, red-shirt freshman Marques Hagans (5-10, 198) emerged as the backup in spring practices. Coaches like his athleticism and winning attitude but his size may be a problem, particularly in relief of the lanky Schaub.

In the spring practices, the offense took on a different look with Hagans at the helm. There were more sprint-outs and bootlegs to help create passing lanes. Hagans hasn’t mastered the variety of throws Schaub displays, either. He still needs work on his touch passes, and he may be pushed if incoming freshman Martinez (6-3, 217) is as good as advertised.

For the first time in 24 years, the Cavaliers didn’t have a running back rush for at least 400 yards. Filling in for the injured Womack last year, freshman Alvin Pearman (5-10, 195) totaled 371 yards on 88 carries to lead the team.

The shifty Pearman is back and ready to carry more of the load this season. In fact, after Pearman, UVA’s next four top rushers -- Arlen Harris, Womack, Spinner and Tyree Foreman are gone. Harris, who transferred to Hofstra, had the most carries with 92 for 368 yards, and Womack was limited to just five games by his knee injury.

The Cavs came out of spring feeling good about the tailback position, and not just because of Pearman. The rapid development of fellow sophomore Marquis Weeks (5-11, 205) was another plus.

Senior Brad Durbin (5-8, 185), who first joined the team as a walk-on in 1998, before hanging up his cleats the next season, was back in spring practice and was impressive in the open scrimmage with nine carries for 41 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Chris Harris (5-10, 200) rounded out the tailbacks in spring workouts.

Junior Jonathan Ward (6-0, 232) is the heir apparent at Foreman’s vacated fullback spot. A big, powerful blocker, Ward must show he can fill the versatile fullback role required in the pro-style I-formation. For example, Foreman had more catches (27) last year than carries (21).

Ward carried the ball three times for three yards and caught two passes for 21 yards. If Ward doesn’t produce, the Cavs may choose to run more multiple tight end formations and line tight ends up in the backfield.

In fact, junior Kase Luzar (6-2, 235), an erstwhile tight end, is also listed as a fullback despite the unlikely backfield uniform number of 86. He was on display in the I-formation at fullback a great deal in the open spring practice, and as little as the fullback carries the ball, it makes sense to have the best blocker and receiver on the field.

Add freshman Jason Snelling (6-1, 221) to the fullback mix in the fall. Snelling, of Chester, Va., was rated the 17th best prospect at the position by Rivals.com. He rushed for 1,444 yards and 14 touchdowns last season at L.C. Bird High School.

The most highly touted of the incoming running backs, though, is Johnson (5-10, 187) of Newport News, Va. Tom Lemming had him rated the seventh-best running back in the country and SuperPrep rated him 12th. Johnson rushed for more than 3,000 yards his last two years at Heritage High and had 27 touchdowns as a senior.

If Schaub is able, the Virginia passing game should take flight. The Cavaliers return a quartet of talented receivers, headlined by All-America candidate McMullen (6-4, 205), a tall, lean, big-play artist in the mold of Herman Moore and Germane Crowell.

McMullen shattered the school record for receptions, snaring 83 passes last year to break Moore’s 1990 record of 54. He accounted for 1,060 yards and 12 touchdowns in his record-setting junior campaign, and he is already Virginia’s career leader with 141 receptions, within striking distance of becoming just the third ACC player ever with 200 catches.

He will likely get the chance to surpass that mark this fall as the focal point of a potentially potent passing attack. And Air Groh should be even more effective this season thanks to the continued improvement of the other starting wide-out, junior Michael McGrew (6-2, 186).

McGrew caught 31 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns last season but he had a mid-season epiphany with a five-catch day, including his first touchdown, at North Carolina. The improvement continued into the spring where he was chosen Virginia’s most improved offensive player.

If McGrew can keep it up, it bodes ill for defenses hoping to get away with double-teaming McMullen. And if that returning duo weren’t enough, sophomore Ottowa Anderson (6-0, 187) and junior Ryan Sawyer (6-2, 200) look ready to make significant contributions, too, if there are enough balls to go around.

Sophomores Jeremiah Chambliss (5-10, 170) and Isaiah Ekejiuba (6-4, 200), and red-shirt freshmen Patrick Arnold (5-10, 177) and Scott Robinson (6-1, 170) lend more depth. Another red-shirt freshman, Stephen Holmes (6-0, 175) missed spring practice playing for Virginia’s powerful lacrosse team, a move fully endorsed by former UVA football/lacrosse letterman Groh.

Track star Ron Morton (6-1, 178) of Hamilton, N.J., was the only receiver among the recruiting class, but he is a good one. A Prepstar All-American, Rivals.com rated him the 38th best receiver in the country after he averaged more than 20 yards per catch at Hamilton West High School and ran a 4.35 40-yard dash.

Junior Kase Luzar (6-2, 215), the younger brother of NFL-draftee Chris Luzar, is the heir apparent at his brother’s tight end spot if he doesn’t spend too much time at fullback. The younger Luzar caught six passes for 49 yards last season but he’s not the towering target his 6-7 brother was.

Some shuffling in the line helped jump-start the Virginia attack late last season and the Cavaliers return three starters and a wealth of players who have been in the program but lack game experience.

Junior center Kevin Bailey (6-6, 300) is the key returnee. He started the first eight games at left tackle last season before the reshuffling by line coach Ron Prince landed him at center. Wherever he lined up, he excelled.

The other two returning starters -- senior right tackle Mike Mullins (6-8, 292) and sophomore right guard Elton Brown (6-6, 340) -- both moved into the lineup after that late-season regrouping. The moves resulted in two of the Cavaliers’ top-four rushing performances and two of their top-three passing efforts in that final month.

Groh loves Mullins’ aggressiveness, referring to him as a "mauler." Brown became the first freshman to start on Virginia’s line in more than 25 years. Prince brought Brown along slowly, but he could be headed for stardom. The behemoth lineman saw his first action as a member of the goal-line defense.

When Brown missed time this spring in practice with a bad back, little-used sophomore Mark Farrington (6-2, 270) moved in at guard, and when Brown came back former center Farrington got the nod to start at left guard in the open scrimmage.

Juniors Micah Kimball (6-4, 297) and Jay Green (6-2, 275) will both get legitimate shots at starting roles. Kimball, who practiced at several positions last season, could wind up at left guard. Green, the primary backup at center, can also play guard. A promising prospect, Green is one of the strongest players on the team.

Sophomore tackle Zack Yarbrough (6-4, 260) lettered last season but more for his role as snapper on field goals and extra points.

The big surprise in the line during the spring was freshman Brian Barthelmes (6-7, 261), who went from lightly regarded red-shirt recruit to a guy running with the first team at left tackle. With Bailey at center, Barthelmes has as good a shot to nail down that job in the fall.

Others competing for playing time include junior guard Ben Carber (6-2, 294), who played in five games in 2000, sophomore tackles Joe Holt (6-4, 288) and Tom Howell (6-4, 273) and walk-on red-shirt freshman tackle Wesley Wilson (6-4, 290).

The line will enjoy an influx of new faces and big bodies in the fall when six, possibly seven freshmen join the fold. Chief among the newcomers is Ferguson (6-4, 265), considered one of the top line prospects in the nation.

Ferguson, of Freeport, N.Y., was rated the top offensive lineman in New York and listed 36th on SuperPrep’s Elite 50 list.

Red-shirt freshman Kurt Smith (6-1, 153) will take over placement chores with David Greene graduated. Greene had a tremendous leg and hit 12-of-22 field goals last season and all 27 of his extra-point kicks.

Smith is an unproven commodity, though his leg seems strong. He connected on 4-of-6 field-goal attempts in the spring open practice drill, including a long of 47 yards.

Bigger is better. At least that’s what Groh, defensive coordinator Al Golden and defensive line coach Mike London believe.

They’re counting on some increased size up front to make Virginia’s 3-4 defense more formidable. The Cavs yielded 4.3 yards per rush last season, and while the pass rush was improved, Virginia still ranked just sixth overall in the ACC with 23 sacks.

That was a major improvement from 2000, when UVA was last in the league with just 15 sacks, but it’s still not the kind of pressure Golden envisions. Some of the players say the defense will be better this year just because they’ve got a full year under their belts in the 3-4.

The front three of Monsanto Pope, Ljubomir Stamenich and Darryl Sanders is gone from last year and the coaches are counting on filling their void with bigger bodies.

They are particularly high on sophomore defensive end Chris Canty (6-7, 262), an extraordinarily athletic lineman. His 23 tackles last season is the most among the returning linemen and his height makes him a troublesome obstacle for opposing passers.

Canty will first have to come back from a broken tibia suffered in the spring, but he was playing so well before the injury, Groh didn’t seem concerned. He said the injury just gave Canty a chance to get ahead in his upper-body workouts.

Simmons has the most experience, serving as a key reserve the last two seasons, but he also faces one of the biggest challenges, as red-shirt freshman Brennan Schmidt (6-3, 250) came on strong in the spring. Schmidt impressed Groh as a "high motor player. He’s not imposing but he’s always going," the coach said.

Little-used sophomore Andrew Hoffman (6-5, 281) takes over at nose tackle. He also made an impressive showing in the spring. He played a little as a freshman two years ago but red-shirted last season to begin learning the new position.

Junior Justin Walker (6-2, 290) also improved his stock this spring as Hoffman’s backup. Walker will see time somewhere along the line. Red-shirt freshman end Matt Stone (6-5, 253) was the only other defensive lineman in the program in the spring.

And that’s the reason the Cavaliers are welcoming five defensive linemen to fall camp. New York defensive end Robinson (6-4, 303) is the prize of the class. A Parade and SuperPrep All-American, Robinson was the Gatorade Player of the Year in New York at Poly Prep in Brooklyn.

Keenan Carter (6-1, 299) is another big name with a big body. A natural nose tackle, he was a Prepstar All-American and rated the 18th best player in Virginia by SuperPrep at Potomac Senior High School in Dumfries, Va. SuperPrep had Alexandria defensive end Robert Armstrong (6-3, 286) rated the 31st best player in Virginia. Armstrong was also a ranked wrestling heavyweight at Washington & Lee High.

Linebackers coach Dan Rocco had to completely rebuild the unit last season after Virginia lost its three leading tacklers to graduation the previous spring.

Crowell (6-1, 234) emerged as a star and he is back for his senior season. He set a school record with 144 tackles and enters this season as the fourth-leading returning tackler in the nation.

Fellow senior Merrill Robertson (6-1, 244) joins Crowell inside. He got off to a great start last season before a series of nagging injuries derailed him. Robertson started four of the nine games he played and had 28 tackles, including two sacks. It was his first full season at linebacker, his natural position, after working previously at fullback and defensive end.

Coaches said Robertson was playing with a "palpable intensity" this spring heading into his final season.

Junior Raymond Mann (6-1, 232), a returning starter at outside linebacker, has also stepped up his intensity.

Dennis Haley (6-1, 230) took over the other starting outside linebacker spot this spring. The third-year sophomore has to keep his intensity up game-to-game to fend off a challenge from sophomore Bryan White (6-2, 218), who has a little bit more experience after playing last season as a true freshman.

The Cavaliers return all four starters and their top reserves at both safety and cornerback. The unit should be much improved.

Groh and defensive backs coach Bob Price think the inexperienced cornerbacks of a year ago have gained confidence. In particular, junior Art Thomas (6-2, 205) seems to be coming into his own. He shared the Rock Weir Most Improved Player award on defense with Mann this spring and continued the improvement that began late last year.

A real war has developed at the other corner. Starter Almondo "Muffin" Curry (5-8, 175), a junior, is back but he lost his job to sophomore Jermaine Hardy (5-11, 202) and before the end of spring practice, Hardy had been displaced by junior Jamaine Winborne (5-10, 206).

The undersized Curry made big plays last season, starting six games and registering three sacks on corner blitzes, three fumbles forced, two pass break-ups and an interception. It’s no secret the coaches want more size on the field, though, and enter Hardy, who battled injuries last season and then had hamstring problems this spring.

Winborne started six games and had a big interception against Penn State, one of three he collected on the year. He falls into that building confidence category, too.

The Cavaliers are even more set at safety, where senior starters Jerton Evans (5-11, 200) and Shernard Newby (6-1, 210) return. Senior Chris Williams (6-3, 208) also returns to complete a solid three-man rotation at the two spots.

Evans, the strong safety, made a career-high 83 tackles last season and is the second-leading returning tackler behind Crowell. Free safety Newby was second team All-ACC after intercepting five passes to rank second in the conference. Williams had three interceptions and is one of the hardest hitters in the secondary.

The Cavaliers don’t have a returning punter with any game experience. Sophomore Sean Johnson (6-1, 190) was the back-up last fall but didn’t get any kicks behind second team All-ACC Mike Abrams.

Johnson got most of the work this spring, but he won’t be in school next fall, off on a Mormon mission sabbatical. He will return in 2003. Junior Bryce Coffee (5-11, 185) is available but Groh has already said his punter will be incoming freshman Tom Hagan (6-2, 175).

The Prepstar All-American was rated the 25th best player in Virginia by SuperPrep after a star-studded career at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke. He averaged over 43 yards per punt last year.

Former NFL special teams standout Corwin Brown got his first coaching assignment last year handling all the UVA special teams. It was trial by fire for the young coach, something not wholly unexpected by veteran Groh.

"It’s similar to a rookie player that comes in that’s got a lot of promise," Groh said. "One of the things that you had to do with your roster [in the NFL], that the coach is challenged with, is, are you going to keep your security blankets on the team or are you going to go with young talent?

"The security blanket being the veteran player who knows what to do and has been around, but is maybe on the decline. Then you have the promising young rookie. That was just one of a number of spots [on the coaching staff] where we had that circumstance."

Well before the ink was dry on the 5-7 record that would go next to Groh’s name in his first season as UVa coach, Groh and his young coaching staff were already winning battles in the recruiting war.

The class was a consensus top 15 selection among the experts, and ranked in the top five by at least three national services.

While the results weren’t what anyone wanted last season, it appears the Cavaliers just graduated a terrific senior class. Nine of the 17 players who finished up their eligibility went to NFL camps, as did wide receiver Mason, who passed up a year of eligibility to turn pro.

There is obviously a great class coming in to replace those players, but coaches often get fired depending on too many freshmen. Fortunately, the Cavaliers need only a few of the freshmen to step in and sway the scales to make a more talented team.

"Our team is very much evolving," Groh said "We’re going to have 25 new players on August 1st. A major issue for us will be to integrate the new players with the veterans on the team so we have a smooth cohesive operation. We’re going to rework the formula when they come in."