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self," Hagans said, "where we finished as a team, where we finished in the passing game, and the lack of completions we were able to contribute to the offense. "There's been a lot of thinking in the offseason and they've worked very, very hard this offseason. I will give it to them. Catching balls as constantly and as consistently as they could. Now the next challenge is to show up every day and work hard." But a season ago, Jennings (5‑11, 175), Smith (6‑0, 195) and Dominique Terrell (5‑11, 170) made up the core of UVa's group. Now, the Wa‑ hoos have seven guys in the rotation that are 6‑1 or taller. "One thing about recruiting is that you take them how they come," Hagans noted. "You line up the board and try to go after guys you like and you take who you can get as far as who you like." After being something of a forgotten man the past two years largely because of injuries, Severin, a 6‑2, 210‑pound receiver from Massachusetts, finally seems to be putting it together. He had a "fantastic" spring and fall camp, Hagans said, and showed well in UVa's season‑opening loss to the Bruins with five receptions for 55 yards, includ‑ ing a 32‑yard gainer in the first half that started a key drive to help the Cavaliers score their first touchdown of the year. During that game, there was something writ‑ ten on his cleats. It's the same phrase that got him through the past couple of years when he struggled to return to the field because of knee and hand injuries: "Keep Going." "I've been writing that on my shoes since high school, but it's got a different meaning now," he said. "During offseason workouts or when I was rehabbing, I looked down, there it was. "Keep going. Keep going. Nothing's going to break you. Believe in yourself, in God, in every‑ thing you've been blessed with. Believe in the people that keep believing in you." Severin had a lot of expectations when he ar‑ rived at UVa, but the first couple of seasons didn't live up to them. By the end of the UCLA game, he had as many catches in 60 minutes as he had over his first two seasons combined. "When I came here, I can say I had big ex‑ pectations for myself," Severin said. "You know, I'm the first person in my family to play college football, but someone told me early on, 'Manage your expectations.' And now I can really see what that really means. "I was like every other first‑year when I came here, looking at the record books and talking about breaking this and breaking that," he added. "And then maybe that doesn't happen for you, you get hurt or you have trouble with the offense or someone else is ahead of you. I broke my hand. I tore my meniscus. Those are setbacks. You can't let them define you." No longer would his old No. 84 define him, either. He wanted a new start and chose to wear No. 9 this season. "I feel like now, now I'm the player I'm sup‑ posed to be," he said. "That other guy? I don't know who that was. But he's gone now. He was here for a little while, but he's not here anymore. I just have to keep going." New beginnings come in all shapes and sizes, sort of like they did for Dowling. A 6‑1, 215‑pound first‑year from Richmond, the former Varina star was all‑everything all over the field in his high school days. But he adjusted quickly to life in Steve Fairchild's offense and made it known that he was ready to take the field for the Cavaliers. There would be no redshirt for him. Recruiting services didn't rate Dowling all that high and college coaches didn't give him too many looks. But that didn't stop him from going out and posting five receptions in the opener, the most in a debut by a true first‑year at UVa since 1972. "I really didn't know what to expect with [train‑ ing] camp," he said. "I just decided to go in and