It’s Time For The Very First Installment Of Hootie’s Mailbag…

Bill Millsaps, my writing idol growing up in the business, used to save some of the mail he received and would reply in a column ever so often. ‘Saps was an 11-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, was a Red Smith Award recipient and is in numerous halls of fame.

My business partner, Dave Scarangella, suggested that I answer questions weekly on our site and call it “Hootie’s Mailbag,” which for the unknowing out there in cyberspace, is my longtime nickname.

In honor of ‘Saps, I’m going to start my mailbag off just the way he used to begin his reply, so here we go:

“The reader writes ….”

Question from White Matthews: “Hootie, what is the probability Braxton Key will play for Tony this year? In your opinion is it better for UVa for him to begin his two years of eligibility next season? Thanks, Whitey.”

A: Dear White, I have talked to some UVa people and they don’t know what the timetable is for getting an answer on whether Key will be awarded a hardship waiver and be declared eligible immediately or be declined. It seems the NCAA doesn’t have a timetable for such matters, so everyone is left in the dark until the NCAA makes a decision.

Personally, I think it would be a huge bonus if Key begins play this season. Talk about loaded, he would give the Cavaliers another effective scorer inside. He’s experienced and physical (6-8 forward), adds depth to what should be another solid Tony Bennett team. Perhaps with him onboard, the Cavaliers can go deep into the NCAA Tournament and get the Final Four monkey off their back.”

Question from Von Mosser: “In the past, we have parked and tailgated over at the UHall lot for football season. We understand that UHall will be coming down sometime in the near future. We travel from out of town. Will UHall be available during football season (for facilities) as it has been in the past?”

A: Dear Von: “While U-Hall will be coming down sometime down the road, I haven’t heard anything about it coming down soon, so I expect you can party on dude at your traditional spot. If I hear otherwise, I will let you and all the other Wahoos know, but for now, I think you’re good.

If what you were referring to about facilities such as a restroom inside U-Hall, I guess those are still available. The arena portion of the building has been locked up because of asbestos safety procedures, but the outer ring seems to be OK.

Question from Floyd A. Caul III: “Jerry, of all the coaches UVa has had for its football team, which coach do you think had the biggest impact in regards to wins, losses, recruiting, graduation rate, and attendance for home games.”

A: “Well, Floyd, I think that’s a no-brainer. George Welsh. He’s the winningest coach in school history, was ACC Coach of the Year multiple times, National Coach of the Year, and is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Under his reign, Virginia became one of the most consistent winning programs in the country, recruited tons of All-ACC and future NFL players, grew the attendance to the point that Scott Stadium had to be expanded, and never used UVa’s academic standards as a crutch, but rather embraced them.”

Question from Doug Lewis: “What have you heard about Jeff Lamp lately? How about a “Way Back Machine” look at how he busted on the scene as a first year?”

A: Dear Doug, “I used to hear from Jeff from time to time but have not recently. As far as I know, he still lives in Los Angeles and works for the National Basketball Association Players Association. I will try to check up on him before next week’s Mailbag. And, yes, Lamp would make an excellent Way Back Machine, probably when basketball rolls around again.”

Question from Steven L. Johnson: “Jerry, congratulations on getting the site off to a great start! I’m sending in a question for this week’s Mailbag … Across many years of covering many different sports at UVa, you’ve seen a lot of new coaches arrive and start talking about ‘changing the culture’ of their team. Based on what you’ve seen so far from Bronco Mendenhall, what is your confidence level that there will be an enduring improvement in UVa football?

Do you see signs that he’s been successful in changing players behaviors and expectations? Further, do you think this will translate to improvements in recruiting an on-field results such that UVa will move into, say, the upper half or third of ACC football programs?”

A: Dear Steven: “First of all, thank you for the congratulations. Considering that on May 28, I had no idea exactly what I was going to do with my future, and 90 days later we have built a company from scratch and have a living, breathing, and very popular website, it’s just short of a miracle. We’re gaining steam every day and love the support we’re receiving from Wahoo Nation. We just need more of you guys onboard.

“I think the culture change Bronco felt necessary was two-fold. He sensed a lack of confidence from all the losing the players he inherited had experienced. He talked about that at length and knew that had to be changed. He also wanted to instill into them a ‘fight for every blade of grass’ mentality, so that there was no quit in them, and that they would battle to the end. That pretty much showed up in every game last season until the bowl game, which was inexplicable.

“I believe that whether Bronco succeeds or doesn’t at Virginia is going to be based strongly on whether or not he and his staff can attract talent to the program on a consistent basis. Certainly he emphasizes class attendance and good conduct, but so did Mike London. It all boils down to recruiting, and Carla Williams is doing everything she can to support that part of the program.

The legendary Bear Bryant told me once upon a time when recruiting came up in a presentation he was giving: “Boy, you ever seen a jackass win the Kentucky Derby?” Bear’s point was that no matter how good the coaching is, you can’t win without talent. That is Bronco’s hurdle.

“Many UVa fans have wondered if chiefly an entire coaching staff with no East Coast, and certainly no Virginia connections, can make that transition successfully in recruiting. Marques Hagans is the only holdover with ties to the state and the university as far as coaches go. There are a couple of guys in the football administration who go back to the Welsh days, which probably helps. Some were disappointed that when the NCAA recently allowed programs to add another fulltime assistant coach that Bronco went to Texas to hire rather than hiring someone with links to the state.

“Certainly the behavior has been good overall, and the team believes it can win, which is a turnaround from what Bronco saw when he first arrived. Winning will help recruiting, and so will a new football facility that the team can call home. Those facilities are a huge recruiting advantage in today’s football world. Just ask Oregon, Alabama, Clemson, and Northwestern to name a few.

“Bronco certainly believes he can turn Virginia into a consistent winner, just as BYU was during his time there. He also realizes it takes time. The question remains, will Virginia fans remain patient long enough to give him the required time. George Welsh told me that he believes UVa can win again, but it’s going to take a lot of work in recruiting to make it happen. So, yes, if he and his staff can make recruiting inroads, yes, I believe Virginia can definitely return to the upper half of ACC football programs, but not without updated facilities to help grease the wheels.”

Question from Stowe Perry: “OK JR, lets get your season prediction! And … it’s not fair to wait until you see the Richmond game.”

A: Dear Stowe, “I haven’t shied away from the question and have said on at least two radio shows this month that IF Bryce Perkins remains healthy for the entire season that I believe Virginia will win six or seven games and return to a bowl. IF he doesn’t, then watch out, because the Cavaliers will struggle mightily.

“I predicted last year that Virginia would win five or six games and the Wahoos did just that. The prediction was also based on keeping the QB upright, which they managed to do for the most part.”

Question from Leonard Vail Jr., “Jerry, what do you think the odds are Bronco gets a contract extension after this year if we go .500 or better?”

A: Dear Lenny: “If Virginia manages to win six games or more this season, I would expect Bronco will get at least a one-year rollover of his contract. He has a five-year deal and this is year three. He is making $3.4 million this year.

“Carla Williams has publicly stated that she believes Virginia has the right football coach and she recognizes that UVa was not up to industry standards in various aspects of the program. She has addressed some of those early on and quickly realized that Virginia was behind many of its competitors in the ACC and academically-oriented rivals outside the league in terms of attracting talent.”

Thank all of you for your questions. I hope I gave you decent answers. This will be a weekly feature on our website, so please keep the questions coming. We can’t do it without y’all.