Health of Virginia's secondary may push true freshmen into playing time

True freshman right tackle Morgan Moses definitely will see playing time for Virginia this season. That much is clear. Whether any of his other fellow true freshmen get to play for the Cavaliers remains less certain and largely will depend on the health of the team’s roster, Virginia Coach Mike London said in a teleconference Wednesday.

Right now, it would appear the best opportunity for true freshmen to see playing time is in the secondary, which has been beset by a few injuries. Junior cornerback Mike Parker sat out Tuesday afternoon’s practice and, according to London, has missed other workouts due to a dislocated kneecap. London said Parker “should be okay,” but that “he’s been hobbled here a little bit.”

Junior safety Corey Mosley, who recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, “hasn't shown any decline in his ability to hit or anything like that,” London said. “But you've got to continue to watch him.”

“There's a couple of guys that are just on the fringe of whether or not, you know, we need them to play,” London said. “It's a good thing, but it's a bad thing. It's a good thing that you like to take your freshmen and you'd like to redshirt as many of them as you can. It's a bad thing if sometimes your depth situation dictates that you have to play a young man back there in the secondary.

“Those secondary guys, they make up a large part of your special teams run-and-hit units also. So we'll take a close look at where we are with that … If anything, maybe somebody in the secondary may have an opportunity, depending upon the health of the other guys.”

The two true freshmen in position to take advantage of such opportunities are cornerback Rijo Walker and safety Pablo Alvarez.

As for Moses, London said the 6-foot-6, 353-pound true freshman has not yet reached the point where he is pushing sophomore Oday Aboushi for the starting right tackle spot.

“Big Mo is reaching the point where now he's getting lined up correctly,” London said. “He's been doing it on sheer size and mass alone. It's hard to run around a guy that big. And where Oday has Morgan is he's been in the system. He understands the schemes and things like that, so Oday's learning curve is at a point that is beyond Morgan's, but Morgan is learning every day. He's got some football smarts to him ... He'll continue to keep getting the reps. He'll play. And then hopefully his level will rise to a level that will push Oday. Right now, Oday is there, and he's going to be a good player in his own right. And if Morgan can raise his level, then perhaps somewhere else along the line, because he may fit into being the fifth or sixth best lineman, then we find a spot for him.”