CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Before George Welsh became the head football coach at the University of Virginia in 1982, the program was just another extracurricular activity on campus. And not a very successful one, at that.
In the 13 years prior to Welsh's arrival, the Cavaliers had only one winning season. In fact, they had never been to a bowl game. The school, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, has always been known for its academic tradition. But football tradition was in short supply.
Welsh has changed that. Not only have his teams been to 10 bowl games and sent numerous players to the National Football League, but they also have won at least seven games for 13 straight seasons — a feat matched only by Florida State, Michigan and Nebraska.
Yet as the 2000 season opens Saturday against BYU (the game will be televised on Channel 4, and kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. MDT) at their newly expanded stadium, the Cavs are going through a period of transition. After being humiliated by Illinois, 63-21, in the Micronpc.com Bowl last season, Welsh performed an in-depth evaluation of his program in the spring.
"We're going to reinvent the corporation," Welsh said at the time. Making good on that promise, he made like a CEO, giving six of his assistant coaches new responsibilities.
"We took a look at a lot of things in the off-season, personnel techniques, X's and O's and how we're teaching. Every phase of the football operation was examined," Welsh explained. "I thought that at the end of last season it was time for me to take a close look at everything. We've been doing some of the same stuff for a long time, and it was time to take a look at what we were doing."
This self-assessment comes at an interesting time for the Cavaliers, who must replace three All-America players, including running back Thomas Jones, who now plays in the NFL, and offensive linemen Noel LaMontagne and John St. Clair.
Likely to fill Jones' spot in the backfield is junior Antwoine Womack, who didn't play in 1999 but was a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer in 1998.
"Virginia has always had great running backs," said BYU coach LaVell Edwards. "Although they won't have Thomas Jones, there's no doubt they have another feature running back. Whoever it is, he will be very, very good."
The Cavs also return quarterback Dan Ellis, who was eighth in the country in pass efficiency. As was the case a year ago, Virginia's stable of athletic receivers could pose problems for the BYU secondary.
"All their (UVA) receivers are big, tough and gutsy," said BYU safety Jared Lee. "They may not have the big names that Florida State did, but they are big and tall and go up and get the ball."
Defensively, the Cavaliers have two of the top linebackers in the ACC in seniors Byron Thweatt and Ybrenal Isabelle. Thweatt is heading into his fourth season as a starter.
Virginia has only five defensive starters back, and that may be good news considering it finished 90th nationally (out of 114 teams) in total defense in '99.
What worries Welsh the most is his cornerbacks. Virginia was so thin at that position after last season that Welsh turned wide receiver Ahmad Hawkins into a cornerback. What's more, the Cavaliers also have a new punter and field goal kicker.
In other words, changes aplenty going on in Welsh's corporation. Saturday, he will see how successful this reinvention has been so far.
E-MAIL: jeffc@desnews.com