Last week we asked you to describe your best experience as a Wahoo fan. Funny, no one wrote about last week's game at Maryland. Instead, we got flooded with entries that brought back happy memories: the 1995 Peach Bowl triumph over Georgia, the hook-and-ladder win over Georgia Tech, the 1998 comeback at Virginia Tech, beating North Carolina at the DeanDome, and much more.

We also received a bunch of entries describing the 1995 victory over Florida State. The winner, Rob Austin (WahooKnows), had a unique perspective. He wasn't in Scott Stadium. In fact, he was 850 miles away watching on TV, but he got the same goosebumps everyone else did when Warrick Dunn was stopped inches shy of the goal line.

As with many, many Hoos, that win over FSU was the top experience for me. However, I had to witness it on TV in, of all places, Jackson, Mississippi - far away from our beloved Charlottesville, and deep in the middle of SEC country where Virginia is considered a "northern" state (not so much a reflection of the limitations of geography teachers in Mississippi as much as the deep-seated insularity of folks down that way).

Dex also has happy memories of beating FSU 10 years ago.

However, our connection to that game was almost spiritual, as our son was in his first year at the University, and thanks to his cell phone calling addiction, we knew he'd be at the game.

So there we were in our living room, hundreds and hundreds of miles away from Scott Stadium, but linked to the thousands packed into the place by our ties as alumni, our history as long-suffering fans, and knowing our son was somewhere in that mob.

We watched at first in disbelief, and then with growing amazement as the Hoos played their guts out against Pappy Bowden's thoroughbreds. Having lived through so many disappointments, I must confess that the old Hoo paranoia began to seep into our hearts as the Noles started that last drive. We were jumping around, screaming, praying, almost afraid to watch as that last series played out. We called friends in Richmond who were getting the game on the radio and asked them to put their phone by the radio. We then put our phone on speaker. We wanted to hear our guys in the booth.

And then when Warren Swain screamed, "They're gonna say no!" I stretched my mighty 5'9" frame into a massive leap, surely attaining at least a 5" vertical, and let out an "OMIGAWD!" that is still echoing in the deep reaches of the Mississippi night. We ran outside, my wife and I, and sang "The Good Old Song" as loudly as our ravaged throats would let us, and then my cell phone rang:

"Did you see that?! Did you see that?!" It was our son screaming into his phone from somewhere within the teeming mass of students and fans that had streamed onto the field, hugging players, each other, and total strangers in the delirium that was that cauldron of all the hope of generations of Hoos. We had beaten FSU, our son had been right in the middle of it, and all was right with the world.

Sniff, sniff.

Rob gets our thanks for a vivid description of that joyful night as well as a free month of Sabre Edge.

Now for this week's contest: Who is your all-time favorite Wahoo, and why?.

It could be any player in any sport at any time. It will be interesting to see who gets the most votes, but the winning entry will be based on how well-written, moving and persuasive you are in your description.

Please send your entry to [email protected] with the header: SabreMail Contest. Thanks, and good luck!

Football recruiting.

Greg Davis

Virginia should have quite a few prospects on hand next weekend for the Florida State game. Some top remaining targets who have already said they will be there include Granby (Norfolk, VA) wide receiver Chris Bell, Blue Ridge (St. George, VA) defensive back Greg Davis and Phoebus wide receiver/cornerback Brent Vinson.

Bell, who is the top remaining target on offense, will be in Charlottesville on an official visit. The 6-3, 205-pound standout has made official visits to Florida (September 16th) and Penn State (last weekend). He may take all five official visits, with LSU and Nebraska among the schools in contention for those spots. At this point, it's looking like the decision will come down to Penn State and Virginia.

Davis names Nebraska as his new favorite following an official visit to Lincoln last weekend. He would like to take officials to N.C. State and Virginia Tech as well and is considering an official to UVa. He may not make an official to UVa, however, because he has been to Charlottesville so many times before. At this point, he is listing Virginia second along with N.C. State. Davis is UVa's top target at the safety position.

As for Vinson, the 6-1, 185-pound speedster has set an official visit with Tennessee. The Vols recently offered and are a serious contender for Vinson's signature. He was going to make next weekend's UVa visit an official one, but the Cavalier coaches encouraged him to make it an unofficial and make an official after the season is over.

Commitment update.

O.C. Wardlow continues to show why he is rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals.com. Mount Tabor's (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 6-0 dual-threat quarterback had another big day last weekend, leading his team to a 40-7 blowout of Davie County. Mount Tabor is now 7-0 on the year.

In the game, he completed 9 of 17 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He added 51 yards rushing and a score.

An outstanding athlete who could play several positions on the next level, Wardlow is being recruited by UVa as a quarterback.

Basketball recruiting.

Coach Dave Leitao landed his first verbal commitment for the 2006 class when West Side (Gary, Indiana) star Jamil Tucker committed to Virginia. Tucker, a 6-8½, 200-pound recruit rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals and Scout, chose Virginia over Georgia Tech, Indiana and Kent State. He made an official visit to UVa last weekend.

In leading West Side to the 4A state semifinals last season, Tucker averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per game. He played point guard at times and has the ability to play the two, three or four positions on the next level.

Virginia and Georgia are the finalists for 6-5, 225-pound shooting guard Solomon Tat. Tat, a native of Nigeria who plays for Community Christian School in Stockbridge (GA), will announce his decision on Saturday following an SAT test. He made an official visit to UVa last weekend and took an unofficial trip to Georgia last month.

A physical, talented guard who averaged 24 points last season as a junior, Tat is rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals.com. He played point guard last season, but projects as a shooting guard or small forward on the next level.

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Good research and an eye-opening perspective from noted guru Mikeysurf on the Edge board...

Subject: The Impact of Attrition...
Posted by: Mikeysurf on Wed Oct 5 2005 11:17:47 AM
Message: I know Groh would never talk about the level of attrition this program has felt over the past several years, but I certainly believe it plays an important factor in the team's progress over the past couple of years. From my view, if many in the media (not the UVa beat guys because they get it) would do their homework, the image that UVa is backlogging class after class of deep talent would not be perpetuated so often.

The '02 class had 23 recruits (Carter and Brooks went to prep school, with Brooks joining the team the second semester and counting on the '02 total and Carter joined the '03 class). We have lost a total of 10 players from that recruiting class -- 3 OLs, 3 DBs, 1 DE, 1 QB, 1 LB, and 1 Punter. Two recruited walk-on have also contributed from that class (Hughes and Miller).

The '03 class had 20 recruits (Philip Brown went to prep school and arrived with the '04 class). 5 players are no longer with the team -- 2 DBs, 1 FB, 1 LB, and 1 DE.

The '04 class had 16 recruits (Albert and Olu Hall went to prep school and joined the '05 class). 4 players are no longer with the team -- 2 DBs, 1 LB, and 1 NT. This is the smallest class since '98 when we brought in 14 players.

The '05 class had 25 recruits. All are still on the team. This is the first class during the Groh era that we used our full allotment of scholarships. I've never quite figured why we did not recruit larger classes in '03 and '04 since we were already shy on scholarship players?

UVa has lost a total of 19 players from 3 of its last 4 classes. That is more players than we recruited in '04 and only 1 shy of our '03 class. If you assess the impact per position, we have lost a total of 7 DBs, 3 OLs, 3 LBs, 2 DEs, 1 NT, 1 FB, 1 QB and 1 Punter. Anyway you look at it, this is a large number of players and certainly has contributed negatively to the depth chart. Moreover, this high attrition level has forced some young players to see the field far before they were fully prepared. Think for a second if UVa had those SEVEN DBs in the mix last year and this year how that may have changed the dynamics of our pass defense? Half of them would have had several years of experience on the field.

It is for this reason why I continue to challenge the hype surrounding our recruiting classes. While we may have signed them, we're also losing an unprecedented number of players because of various reasons. The football program has yet to get full value from most of these classes because of the continued problems with attrition. Now, when you overlay the impact of key injuries over the past two season (Canty, Mines, Bedesem, Lundy, Cunningham, Brooks, Ferguson, Barthlemes, Dias, etc.) it's not difficult to reconcile certain aspects of our on-field performances.

Now, before all of the Groh bashers start use my post as a Groh-apologists essay. I also feel there are other factors in play, as well. There are still some things I would like to see our coaching staff work a bit differently. But that's a discussion for a different day. The fact that our attrition rate is playing a much bigger role than some fans want to admit or accept. Furthermore, there are some in the media who need to do their homework and stop feeding the perception that UVa is underachieving because we're so well stocked with years of great recruiting. The players have to be here for us to capitalize on their skills!

To read the entire thread, Edge subscribers can click the link below.

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