One of the most pleasant surprises for new coach Al Groh has been the willingness of senior tailback Antwoine Womack to pursue greatness.

Womack, who became the fifth Cavalier to rush for 1,000 yards in the past six years, led the ACC in rushing as a junior, but wasn't satisfied. The Hampton, Va., product is striving to become a more complete back in 2001.

"I've spent a lot of time with him and he listens," Groh said.

"He wants to be the best. This is the leading rusher in the ACC we're talking about here. It is human nature for someone of his ability to say that he doesn't need advice, but I have seen him take information to the field and apply it to his game."

Womack, a bit of a trash talker on the field ("Next play, man, watch me ... watch me," is a favorite line), and a hard worker off it, has worked to improve as a pass blocker and pass receiver, as well as on ball security.

Everything, in fact, except running the ball. He has that down pretty good.

"I don't think I was a complete back last year," Womack said.

"I had about 80 receiving yards, so this year I need to show that I can catch the ball out of the backfield. I want to do everything well so that I can separate myself from every other back in the nation."

Nicknamed "Wo" and "Wotay," the junior showed speed in a 67-yard run against BYU in the season opener and showed toughness with 134 rushing yards on 20 carries against Virginia Tech in the regular season finale.

After backing up Thomas Jones his first two years in the program, he finally has learned the patience as a runner that his role model emphasized.

"My mentality was to break every play for a touchdown," said Womack.

"I learned that if you make the right reads, sometimes 3- and 4-yard plays turn into long runs. Sometimes you're only supposed to get a few yards. Now, I'm just trying to do what the plays asks me to do."

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