UVa fans have been eagerly anticipating the 2004 season.

If you're like me, you've been looking forward to this football season since 2:19 p.m. on Dec. 27, 2003. That's the precise time last season officially ended with a 23-16 victory over Pittsburgh in the Continental Tire Bowl.

The Cavaliers concluded last year on a three-game winning streak and set the stage for what could be a special season in 2004. Eighteen starters returned from that team, though attrition and injury claimed two of those (Ottowa Anderson and Ian-Yates Cunningham). The loss of Matt Schaub also has created some seeds of doubt, but there are plenty of good reasons to get excited about the current team.

With strong recruiting and superb player development, Coach Groh has assembled the most talented UVa squad since at least 1998. In fact, when all is said and done, this could go down as the most talented Virginia team in history. A strong statement, sure. But in 10 years, we may be shaking our heads that Heath Miller, Elton Brown, Chris Canty, Ahmad Brooks, Darryl Blackstock, Connor Hughes, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Kai Parham and Wali Lundy all played on the same team. All of those guys - and maybe a few others - have a chance to enjoy long careers in the NFL.

That's not to say the Cavaliers ought to win 10 games or claim the ACC championship this year. What's exciting is that those things are possibilities, not pipe dreams, and the possibilities for this team are endless.

So when the 'Hoos finally open the 2004 season tomorrow at Temple with a noon kickoff, it will have been 251 days, 21 hours and 41 minutes since they walked off the field at Ericsson Stadium. (But who's counting?) My guess is that it will end up being worth the wait.

Football recruiting...

UVa landed commitment No. 21 earlier this week when Hermitage defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald chose the 'Hoos over Virginia Tech and Maryland. Fitzgerald, who is ranked the No. 6 prospect in the state by TheSabre.com, becomes the 12th in-state recruit to commit to Virginia.

Including 2004 signees Branden Albert and Olu Hall, who are now at Hargrave Military Academy, Virginia has 23 players in the 2005 class.

The nation's top-ranked player has narrowed his list to 10 schools. Derrick Williams trimmed his list to the following schools - Florida, Florida State, USC, Penn State, Virginia, Maryland, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Texas and Virginia Tech. Williams, who will decide in December, has set up one official visit - to the University of Florida on September 24th. No other visits have been set.

Virginia may be out of the running for wide receiver Josh Briscoe. Briscoe reportedly has chosen his five official visits, and UVa is not one of them.

Safety KItt Pommells will likely make all 5 official visits, and Virginia will probably be one of them, according to Paterson Catholic coach Benjie Wimberly.

Basketball recruiting...

DeMatha Catholic shooting guard Mamadi Diane made an unofficial visit to UVa last weekend. He appeared to enjoy his visit to UVa, which has offered a scholarship. Maryland, Georgetown and Miami (Fl) are the other primary contenders for Diane, and all have offered.

Please show your support and look to Kroger®, our exclusive grocery store sponsor, for all your tailgating needs this football season. Visit their website for more information on their delicatessans and to find a location nearest you. Also, play the "Kroger Ultimate Sports Challenge" trivia game and test your knowledge of UVa sports trivia while the clock is ticking and the crowd is screaming. Record the high score and win cool prizes. Everyone who plays is eligible for the grand prize.

Subject: The Coach's Keys To the Game
Posted by: O-Line_Coach on Thu Sep 2 2004 4:12:09 PM
Message: First off, let me start off by thanking all of those people who have asked about my website. It should be up & running very shortly. I had a few interviews for coaching positions in the off-season that I had to attend to. In addition, I've been working as a technical advisor for that old Burt Reynolds movie they're remaking. Adam Sandman is a great kid, doesn't know hoooey about football, but he is a drinker. So he is alright in my book.

1. We need to take the Temple crowd out of the game. Their crowd one the most intimidating in the nation. Being the first game of the year (and an ESPN game), it will be hard to hear down on the field. Signals between Hagans & the recievers will be key because you will not be able to hear a thing with this crowd.

2. The hurricane will be a factor. There are two types of football: hurricane football and non-hurricane football. People, I've played in hurricanes, coached in hurricanes, and fought in hurricanes. The thing that most people don't understand, the eye of the hurricane can be 453-456 miles away, and it will still have a huge effect on the game. Hydration will be key, I always liked to use a vinegar / caramel / milk concoction to keep my players hydrated. It was called Coach's juice. In the early days, I'd even throw small amounts of bourbon in the coolers for my players'. Kept the pain threshold low, made em feel it. Anyway, look for a lot of screens and draws to counter this hurricane. Hagans had best option to the left also, as the Linc field slopes on .1 degree bevel.

3) EB pulling verus Rian Wallace (simply the best LB in college). Sorry Ahmad and Kai, you've got some work to do to reach his level. Temple likes to run mad dog stunts when they think their opponent is going to run the ball. We have to counter this with traps, and pulling. Like Joe Bugels counter-trey play. Don't be surprised to see the Counter-trey run multiple times.

4) Tidbit to watch out for: if Heath Miller has his arm band up high on his left arm, that means his right hamstring problem is not acting up. This will affect play calling. This is code for Coach Groh et al. to get him the darn ball. IF you see it high, look for more throws to Pearman and the wideouts..............Heath will be used more in a blocking role if thats the case.

5) I'll be up in the suites at the Linc. Coach Bobby Wallace and I go way back from our days at Scranton. Bobby runs the Linc up there. Hell, one day the Owls and Eagles were mistakenly scheduled to use the Linc to practice on the same day. Bobby threatened Andy with a empty gatorade cooler. That pansy Andy Reid and his pretty boy QB bowed down to my boy Bobby. Make no mistake, Bobby Wallace runs the Linc, Andy is a scared fat man.

6) The Kleckos will be there too (PER COACH BOBBY WALLACES' REQUEST FOR MOTIVATIONAL REASONS). Dan is gearing up for his second run with the Pats, but has some time off before his opener on THURS. Joe and I are great friends. AFter I had that fight with Rich Rod for not taking his D-coordinator job, Klecko and I rolled over to Rich Rod's office, two deep to boot. We took out Rich Rod, the o- coord, the d-coord, and the secondary coach with empty flasks.

Well that about does it. I'm currently converting my 28 page interview with Brian Finneran into adobe format. Its been tough learning these darn computers, but I'm definitely getting it down (thanks to my Phoenix online classes). Hope yall enjoy yourselves, get drunk and eat cheese steaks.

O-line_Coach

Are you ready for some football?

Marques Hagans

TheSabre.com has tried to get UVa fans ready for the 2004 season with news stories, player profiles, analysis pieces and opinion columns over the past month, throughout the preseason practice period.

Most of those stories are exclusive content for Edge subscribers, but some of them are free, including Greg Waters' breakdown of each unit (RBs, DL, QBs, etc.). If you want to familiarize yourself with the Cavalier personnel and get a handle on the depth chart, go ahead and check them out.

For a look at the Virginia quarterbacks, please see the link below.

The football season is here! And what better way to show your support than to dress yourself in orange Wahoo attire. We carry tons of orange items so that you can help support the Sea of Orange. Here are just three of the many items TheSabreShop.com has for you to choose from.

click here	Orange V-Sabres Wind Shirt Only $55.99! Our custom designed windshirt will look great on you when you are signaling another Cavalier 1st down or standing at the T-box. The Orange shell features the V- Sabres logo embroidered on the left chest. Navy, white and orange trimmed collar. Ribbed cuff and elastic waistband. Light weight and weather resistant shell.
click here	Orange V-Sabres Oxford Only $36.99! A quality ORANGE oxford from Port Authority embroidered with V-Sabre logo. A great way to fill the sea of orange AND wear a tie. Double rolled hem with french seams. Shoulder and armhole double needle coverseaming. Double faced yoke with box pleat.
click here	Orange V-Sabre Oval T-Shirt Only $15.99! V-Sabre logo set in navy blue oval. Left chest & back imprint. Hanes Beefy-T. 100% Heavyweight ringspun cotton. Full-cut, 6.1 oz, taped neck. Large graded collar, double needle stitching on sleeves and hem.

And don't forget to browse the great selection of items we've got in-stock and ready to ship!

We have updated the site to include the 2004-05 UVa men's basketball schedule. Look to this page for notes, stats and scores throughout the season.

Every month, Sabre Edge provides you with exclusive articles, columns, special features, interviews and recruiting news, including daily recruiting updates. There's even a special message board just for subscribers. And to top it off, you get 10 percent off all of your online purchases through TheSabreShop.com during your subscription.

Still not convinced? Well, we've made it even easier for you to subscribe. We offer three subscription options, including a yearly rate of $34.95, a quarterly rate of $10.95 and a 'what the heck is this thing all about' monthly rate of $4.95. So, if you're unsure, check us out for a month and see what we are offering.

If you're a true Wahoo, then the Sabre Edge is right for you. Check it out!