Cavs

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The embrace Terence Fells-Danzer shared with his grandfather Saturday at Scott Stadium following Virginia's 48-21 victory over Eastern Michigan represented the conclusion of a conversation they began last December.

Previously a linebacker in former coach Al Groh's 3-4 base defense, Fells-Danzer requested a position change during the offseason, hoping to find greater opportunity to get on the field. Seven games into the 2010 season, the fourth-year junior has grown into his role as a reserve fullback and developed into an integral component of a Virginia kickoff unit that leads the ACC in yards per return.

Perhaps most importantly for first-year Coach Mike London as he attempts to rebuild a downtrodden Cavaliers program, Fells-Danzer has become a player he can point to as someone who took advantage of career resuscitation. Against Eastern Michigan - in his first collegiate start - Fells-Danzer caught his first collegiate touchdown pass and also scored on a 70-yard kickoff return.

"Those are the type of things that, when a player has a little bit of success, play by play, game by game, that hopefully it becomes contagious to other players," London said. "And that's what we've got to do. We've got to try to put a string together of successful plays, which will lead to successful games, which leads to winning games, which leads to turning things around."

Changing course was exactly what Fells-Danzer (Culpeper High) had in mind when he called his grandfather, Kenneth Fells, around Christmas last year. First, Fells-Danzer asked his grandfather - who has coached youth football for the past 35 years, including a long stint at the Peppermill Community Center in Landover - what he would think about him changing his uniform number. Fells consented.

Fells-Danzer later called back to say his number had gone from 50 to 34 and that, by the way, he also had switched to the offensive side of the ball. Initially, Fells was not pleased. His grandson had spent three years developing equity at the linebacker position and all of the sudden he wanted to play fullback?

"Then he began to explain his reasoning and his logic," Fells said. "And I must have taught him too well, because his reasoning and his logic made perfect sense."

The new coaching staff was switching from a base defense that included four linebackers to one that utilized three, and Fells-Danzer knew that meant there would be an abundance of options at his position. He also knew the new coaches would not have much film on him, seeing as how he had played sparingly on defense the previous two seasons.

Following Fells-Danzer's redshirt freshman year, he was so discouraged by his lack of playing time that he briefly considered transferring to another school.

"In the 3-4, there were a lot of moving parts," Fells-Danzer said. "To get it down, you have to be very calm and very vocal on what you need to do. And I can say at the time I was very timid on making a few calls and making a few shifts. It was just very difficult to actually even understand at that time why I wasn't playing. But at the same time I also knew why I wasn't playing."

After consulting with his mother and grandfather, Fells-Danzer elected to stay. Fells always had taught his grandson to be coachable, even during times when his relationship with his coach waned.

It also helped that first-year Virginia offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was reintroducing the fullback position into the Cavaliers' offense scheme. Fells-Danzer approached London and asked to switch to fullback.

As Fells-Danzer jogged off the field Saturday following his two-touchdown performance, he saw his grandfather standing underneath the uprights. He wrapped the man who has guided him through his football career in a hug and let the moment soak a little while longer.

"I had been preaching to him the whole time about perseverance," Fells said. "Stay in there; do what you're asked to do. . . . I was more just elated and happy for him because he is realizing why he went there and what he wanted to do."