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   SabreMail - August 6th, 2004
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Geez. I get back from vacation and what's going on? Al Groh is miffed at the media and is reducing access to his players and assistant coaches. And the main subject of discussion on the message boards seems to be the uniform of the new marching band. Wow, maybe I should have stayed in Texas.

Actually, being in Austin for a week provided a fresh bit of perspective on UVa football. While I was there, the Longhorns gained commitments from two top-50 recruits, including arguably the best quarterback in the country (Ryan Perrilloux). That reminded me how tough it is to become a consistent top-10 program. While Virginia has ramped up its recruiting under Groh, there are still a bunch of programs (Texas, LSU, Southern Cal, Florida State, Miami, etc.) that get more than their fair share of top prospects every year. The Cavaliers aren't in that company yet, though Groh is getting them there. Of course, great recruiting isn't everything. It doesn't keep Mack Brown from getting stomped by Oklahoma.

Anyway, the trip also allowed me to re-energize and get ready for the upcoming season, when TheSabre.com will give you complete coverage of the Cavaliers. Myself, Greg Waters and the rest of the Sabre staff will provide news stories, features, analysis and commentary throughout the fall. It's shaping up as a special season for Virginia football and I can't wait to get started. After all, when the band is the major topic of conversation, the season can't get here soon enough.

John Galinsky
Editor
TheSabre.com
[email protected]


   Recruiting News

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Football recruiting...

UVa made the first cut from West Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) defensive lineman Marques Slocum. Slocum, who has over 25 scholarship offers, whittled his list down to Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland, UNC, UVa, LSU and Oklahoma. His next cut will come mid-September, when he cuts his list down to the five schools he'll officially visit.


Toney Baker
Ragsdale (Jamestown, N.C.) tailback Toney Baker continues to list N.C. State, UNC, Virginia, Tennessee and Virginia Tech as his top five schools. Baker intends to make official visits, but wants to wait until after his senior season to take those. He'll make several unofficial visits for games and we'll be sure to keep you posted on which schools will receive those visits.

Phoebus tailback Elan Lewis will more than likely take his first official visit to Virginia Tech on the weekend of September 11th. UVa has to hope Lewis makes an official visit to Charlottesville.

No potential UVa targets chose other schools this week. It looks like the rest of this month will be quiet on the recruiting front. Early September will mark the beginning of the hectic time known as the contact period, so recruiting will be back in full swing soon enough.

For more recruiting information and updates, please see Sabre Edge.

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   News, Notes and Fan Discussion

Posts of the Week

For some reason, the hot topic on the message boards this week was the marching band uniforms, which, admittedly, look dorky. (But don't all band uniforms?) The larger issue was the trend toward conformity in UVa football. What happened to the traditions that made UVa different -- dressing up for games and having a Pep Band? Having a "Sea of Orange" and a marching band seems too much like every other "State U," according to some posters. Both schools of thought were represented in these two posts Thursday night, with the second poster responding to the first.

Subject: I will buy
Posted by: docuva on Thu Aug 5 2004 7:40:27 PM
Message: some lady or gentleman of the band a tasteful blue blazer (which they may wear to class, the corner, etc.)--and an orange and blue tie, too-- upon assurance that they will be the uniform of our band. Are there others who will join me--old U'ies, students, bandmembers, all? Together perhaps we can turn this thing around while there is still time.

Subject: Doc, I don't mean to pile on but..
Posted by: AshleyHoo05 on Thu Aug 5 2004 9:38:35 PM
Message: Why are you this bothered by a band uniform? No sarcasm, if you are truly this upset by it, I feel bad for you because I don't like to see people upset. I understand completely the longing for tradition and I am actually all for maintaining the better than "state U" feel at UVA. I grew up with two UVA alum parents, I've heard all about. However, if people wanted a group of guys wearing blazers, we would have kept the pep band. We have a MARCHING band now, and a marching band would look awfully foolish dressed in business casual. Also, do you expect girls to wear this ensemble as well, or is this band going to be male only? I know somebody in the past week (I don't recall if it was you or not) mentioned girls in sundresses in the band. Are you kidding me? That would be even more ridiculous than a blazer. Especially in the winter games!

While I love tradition, not all change is bad. All traditions start somewhere, and we are now starting a tradition of being an awesome and nationally recognized football program, as opposed to the football team my parents didn't care much about in the early '70s.

Honestly, I wish that people whining about band uniforms and loud music and people who want to stand up and be raucous at games would just get over it. The players LOVE those people, and isn't that what this is all about? The team? Let's get behind the TEAM, and the BAND, and all things that my fellow classmates are putting their heart and soul and time and dedication into and support them like crazy! Wahoo unity!! Go Hoos! :)

Edge Post of the Week

I also liked this somewhat tongue-in-cheek post on the Edge message board.

Subject: Since there seem to be a lot of new posters, a primer on Sabre Edge etiquette
Posted by: Homer L Ferguson on Thu Aug 5 2004 7:06:52 PM
Message: I think it is great to see a lot of new blood, but if you say the wrong thing, you'll get left out to dry in a heartbeat. Lots of nice people, lots of know it all vultures. So, here are my recommendations:

There are some people you just can't say anything bad about. The list includes: Terry Holland, Wilk Hall, Matt Schaub, any current recruit, any basketball transfer (since they had the good sense to get the hell away from Pete Gillen), Evan Marcus (really, the guy has been darn near flawless), Anthony Poindexter (again, near flawless), Cav91 (hell, he beat the Schwab), Jeff White, the baseball coach.

There are some people you just don't want to say anything good about. This list includes: Ronald Curry, Shane Battier, Frank Beamer, Marcus Vick, Bin Laden, Mark Warner, Lee Corso, Bob Lipper, and especially Pete Gillen.

There are a few who are on the bubble, such as: Craig Littlepage, (basketball) Elton Brown, Coach K, Jeff Jones, Gary Williams, Doug Doughty, the new band, and the soccer coach.

There are a few people who you probably shouldn't say anything bad about but could probably get away with it if you did, including: high school coaches perceived to have an anti-UVA bias (don't do this Dee-liberately at least), John Casteen, Debbie Ryan, people who show up at the games dressed incorrectly (of course, "incorrectly" is a statement where beauty is in the eye of the beholder), the fire department in College Park MD, the current guru of choice (which changes periodically), the current b-ball coach replacement of choice (this won't come up for a couple of more months).

If you want to make recruiting predictions, be vague. If you want to make predictions about beating VT, be specific. Homer L would encourage you to avoid referring to yourself in the third person. Don't act too rough and rowdy and don't make yourself too obvious and everything will be OK.

Cavs ranked No. 19 in coaches' poll

For the second straight year, Virginia will start the season in the top 20 of the coaches' poll. The Cavaliers are ranked No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Today preseason poll released last weekend.

UVa began last season at No. 17 but dropped out after an early loss to South Carolina and never got back in the top 25 of the coaches' poll.

This year Virginia has a good chance to move up in the polls if it can win its first four games against Temple, North Carolina, Akron and Syracuse. Then the schedule gets tough. The Cavaliers face No. 15 Clemson, No. 6 Florida State, No. 20 Maryland and No. 5 Miami in a six-week stretch.

The top three teams in the coaches' poll are Southern Cal, Oklahoma and LSU. The Associated Press preseason poll has not been released.

For the entire ESPN/USA Today top 25, please see the link below.

  • ESPN/USA Today Top 25

    Football media guides available for $20 each

    Why should the media be the only people with media guides? You can purchase a copy of the 296-page UVa football media guide through the athletics business office for $20.

    Media guides have bios of players and coaches, stats, records and all that great information that helps you win bets and be a little bit more knowledgeable than the average fan.

    To access the order form for the UVa football media guide, please see the link below.

  • UVa Football Media Guide

    Cavs prove you can golf and study

    Those Cavalier women golfers sure are smart, aren't they? All six freshmen on the team made the academic All-ACC team and two (Lindsay Robinson and Leah Wigger) were named to the All-American Scholar team this week. Overall, the women's golf team -- in its inaugural season at UVa -- sported the second-higest GPA among Virginia's 25 varsity sports with a 3.35 team average. (Volleyball had a 3.37).

    Oh, and they can also play a little bit. Last week, Robinson won the 2004 Women's West Virginia State Amateur tournament at Stonewall Jackson Resort in Roanoke (W.Va.). Wigger, who made the All-ACC team and led the Cavaliers all season, will compete at the 2004 U.S. Women's Amateur on August 9-15 at the par-72 Kahkwa Club in Erie, Pa., along with teammate Lauren Mielbrecht.

    For more information on UVa women's golf, please see the link below.

  • UVa Women's Golf

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  •    What's New on TheSabre.com?

    Sabre Edge articles and columns from the past week

  • 2005 Recruiting War Room #6: Offense, Chris Horne

    Image: Jameel SewellSix months until Signing Day 2005, and it looks like Virginia has completed most of its 2005 recruiting class. With the recent commitment of quarterback Jameel Sewell, the Cavaliers now have 10 commitments on offense, including two quarterbacks, three receivers, one tight end and four linemen. That doesn't count three other jumbo athletes who could play tight end or offensive line. That leaves running back as the key remaining need on offense for the 2005 class.

  • Alphabetical Guide to ACC Football: N-Z, Greg Waters

    In Part 2 of the Alphabetical Guide to the ACC, we complete your look ahead to the 2004 season with an entry for each letter N through Z. That includes Q for Quarterback Central, U for Under the Gun and Y for Youthful Indiscretion.

  • Alphabetical Guide to ACC Football: A-M, Greg Waters

    What happens when you combine the ABCs with ACC football? You get everything you need to know about the 2004 season in an alphabetical listing. Today we include one entry for each letter A through M, including E for Excessive Noise, G for GrobeBall and J for Judgment Days.

  • The D-Line: Lookin' Mighty Fine, Greg Waters

    Image: Chris CantyFor Virginia this season, stopping the run will be crucial to its title chances in the ACC, a conference laden with talented tailbacks and option quarterbacks. So the play of UVa's defensive line, led by Chris Canty, will be especially important. And of all the team's units, that group may have the most to prove. For two years the line has wrestled with learning a new scheme and dealing with an abundance of youth. But inexperience and the learning curve are no longer plausible excuses.

  • ACC Preseason Poll: Did the Media Get it Right?, Greg Waters

    Despite the additions of Miami and Virginia Tech, the 2004 preseason ACC media football poll had a familiar look at the top. For the 13th consecutive year, the Seminoles were picked to win the ACC. But did the media get it right? In examining the picks, we look at the most overrated team, the most underrated team, the biggest sleeper and the biggest surprise.

    Sabre Edge recruiting updates and videos from the past week

    Our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne, provides updates for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please see the sign-up promotion below. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting.

  • Slocum Narrows List
  • Baker Talks Recruiting
  • Pitts One of Georgia's Best
  • Busy Summer for Parkland Safety
  • Oscar Smith Star Close to Final List?
  • Video: Darryl Gresham
  • Smalls Having Great Summer
  • Briscoe Doing Research

  •    Sabre Edge

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  • Sabre Edge Info and Sign Up

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