One thing that readers have asked me to look into is the number of guys UVA Football has on the ACC Football availability report that gets filed and updated the week of conference games.
My quick analysis has Virginia as the league leader in this department, averaging 18.5 guys on the report per conference game, slightly outpacing the #2 team in the league, Georgia Tech, which averages 18.3.
If that seems like a lot, it is – Virginia Tech, for instance, is averaging 12.0 guys per reporting week.
The 19 guys that Virginia had on the availability report in Week 0 got the attention of a lot of folks – 19 guys on the injured list before the program had even played a game, what the hell is going on there?
This is all speculation, obviously, but it would seem that there are four possibilities at play for explaining why the UVA Football program is having this issue.
One would be: just bad luck.
Two, the idea that maybe practice is being done a bit too aggressively.
Three, is it something with the strength and conditioning approach – maybe overtraining, or training not proper for the sport?
Four, is it something with the training and medical staff, in terms of their approach to treating minor issues that allow minor issues to rise to the level of major issues?
A fifth would be: some combination of the four.
I’d bet that Tony Elliott, who as the head coach is the CEO of the football program, is putting good time into thinking through this one.
You get 105 guys on your roster, and you only get so much money to put toward filling out those roster spots – guys on the injured list take up a roster spot, cost you money, and can’t help you win games.
Share
Chris Graham
