CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Jameel Sewell has spent a lot of time in the classroom this year, though not at the school of his choice. In the spring, he took a business course at Piedmont Virginia Community College -- Sewell received a B+ -- and tutored seventhand eighth-graders at nearby Buford Middle School.

Come fall, the former Hermitage High football star plans to take two courses at PVCC and continue his work at Buford. He'd rather be at the University of Virginia, where he has started the past 22 games at quarterback, but that's not an option for now. In January, Sewell was one of four football players suspended from U.Va. for poor academic performance.

How he's handled his setback has impressed U.Va. coaches and officials, and Sewell will be warmly welcomed back if, as expected, he's readmitted to the university for the 2009 spring semester.

"This is a young man who, over the last few months, has done nothing but try to work hard to get back to the University of Virginia through his interactions with administration, his teammates and his coaching staff," said Jon Oliver, the school's executive associate director of athletics.

Sewell said that other than sitting out two semesters, there are no criteria he must meet for readmission "besides the obvious: Don't get in trouble with the law."

Had Sewell, 20, transferred in January to a school that competes in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA, he would have had two seasons of eligibility left, starting this fall. At U.Va., the 2009 season will be the last for Sewell, who redshirted in'05.

Moreover, he figures to have to battle an incumbent, probably Peter Lalich, for the starting job at quarterback. Still, the 6-3, 225-pound left-hander said he never seriously considered leaving U.Va. for good.

"This is where I started, and I feel I've put too much into this to not see it through," Sewell said. "I want to get that U.Va. degree."

He stops by the McCue Center to see Virginia's coaches periodically. Their message to him?

"Mostly that we're supportive of and we're encouraging of him," coach Al Groh said. "He is kind of the fashioner of his own future."

Sewell has stayed active, playing lots of basketball and lifting weights occasionally, and he said his "endurance is great." His summer workouts are about to start in earnest. Sewell will head home to Henrico County every weekend to train with his father, Harry.

"Going back to my roots," Sewell said.

Playing the role of spectator at Scott Stadium won't be easy for Sewell this season, Hermitage coach Patrick Kane noted yesterday. But this is the path Sewell has chosen, and he's determined to follow it back to U.Va.

"That's where his heart is," Kane said.