Pearman on just missing UVA record, Hoos Making a Difference, ‘The Jerry & Jerry Show’ podcast

By Jerry Ratcliffe

If only Alvin Pearman had known how close he was to breaking one of Virginia’s longest-standing records when he came out of the Duke game during the 2004 season. Or, maybe, if someone had told Coach Al Groh at the time, UVA’s single-game rushing record would belong to Pearman.

Pearman finished play in that win over Duke with 223 yards rushing on 38 carries … 1 yard shy of tying the Virginia record, still held by John Papit, who set the mark of 224 yards against Washington & Lee during the 1948 season. Kudos to Papit, who carried the ball only 16 times that day (an amazing 14 yards per carry).

“I still remember that,” Pearman said this week during his appearance on “The Jerry & Jerry Show.” Click below to listen to the entire podcast. “I never liked to know what my stats were in the midst of a game. It got me distracted. But no, I did not know at all about [the record] or about where I was with regard to how close I was.

“Moreover, on the last drive I was in the game, we got down, I think, to the 3-yard line and we decided to throw a pass instead of a run, and there was no doubt that we would have scored a touchdown. Any run, giving how dominant the offensive line had been.”

Pearman, now a professor at the Stanford graduate school of education, will return to Charlottesville this weekend as he will be honored by the Virginia Football Alumni Club’s “Hoos Making a Difference” program. The program acknowledges former UVA players or other contributors to the Cavaliers’ football program, who have gone on to make a difference in their communities.

Pearman, who will deliver a lecture at Virginia’s Curry School of Education on Friday morning, will be honored by the Virginia Football Alumni Club during the Cavaliers’ game with Maryland on Saturday night at Scott Stadium.

“I don’t get back to the Grounds often,” said Pearman, a native of Charlotte, N.C. “It’s been a number of years since I got back, so this provided the occasion for me to head across the country and visit with some old friends and reconnect with so many people in the athletics department.

“Overall, honors are cool. I think I see this as much as just an opportunity to be part of this incredible community that meant so much to me so many years ago. That feel of community is really a treasure of mine, and to feel it once again is a distinct honor.”

Pearman was an All-ACC running back in Al Groh’s and Mike Groh’s offense that senior season, and was a versatile weapon for quarterback Marques Hagans, who Pearman still keeps a relationship with.

That season, Pearman rushed for 1,037 yards (5.3 ypc) and 10 touchdowns, plus piled up 402 receiving yards (13.9 per catch) and a score. His 1,439 total yards was the 10th-best in the nation in a backfield that finished No. 8 nationally in rushing with 242.8 yards per game.

Wali Lundy and Michael Johnson, along with Hagans and Pearman, were lethal behind a big, physical offensive line coached by Ron Prince.

Still 10th on UVA’s career rushing list (2,394 yards on 500 attempts, 19 TDs), Pearman also stacked up 3,790 total yards and 27 TDs.

Pearman was a big part of a Virginia program that went 9-5 in 2002, beating four ranked teams and clobbering No. 15 West Virginia (48-22) in the Continental Tire Bowl. In 2003, UVA was 8-5 and defeated Pitt in the Tire Bowl, and was 8-4 in 2004 when the Cavaliers rose to No. 6 in the nation before losing at Florida State.

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