Simpson injury opens door for Perry Jones

CHARLOTTESVILLE

Mikell Simpson entered the season as Virginia's No. 1 running back and its top receiving threat out of the backfield. Saturday, the fifth-year senior didn't play a snap in a 14-10 loss to Boston College.

When the Cavaliers gave starter Rashawn Jackson a break, true freshman Perry Jones from Oscar Smith High got the call. Jones, who did not have a rushing attempt in U.Va.'s first nine games, carried four times for 2 yards Saturday.

Coach Al Groh told reporters Simpson was available Saturday but that Jones' play in practice was responsible for a move up the depth chart.

Simpson hasn't been the same since an Oct. 10 game with Indiana, when he had 149 all-purpose yards before sustaining a neck injury in the third quarter. He didn't play one week later at Maryland. In three subsequent games, he had a total of 18 carries for 39 yards and caught eight passes for 36 yards.

How much Simpson has been affected by the injury is hard to say.

"We thought, in one of the first games that he was back, that he didn't have quite the same abandon that he had before," Groh said.

The Cavaliers' leading ball-carrier for the season - by a wide margin - is quarterback Jameel Sewell. He has 109 rushing attempts (that figure includes sacks), Jackson has 79 and Simpson has 66. Jackson has rushed for 60 yards or more in five of the past six games.