Media to Vote Today on 2006 Predictions

Every summer, the media covering the Atlantic Coast Conference gathers and votes on the predicted order of finish for the upcoming season. That day arrives today at the 35th annual ACC Football Kickoff in Jacksonville, Florida. The results likely will be disheartening for Virginia fans.

After finishing fifth in the six-team Coastal Division a year ago, the Cavaliers won't be pulling in the votes this time around. Not only are they coming off a tough finish in the standings, the Hoos also have some major shoes to fill this season with the departure of headliners like Marques Hagans, Kai Parham, Kurt Smith, and Connor Hughes..

In all likelihood, Virginia will be selected as the fifth-place team in the Coastal Division. The Duke Blue Devils will probably be tabbed sixth as the only team behind the Cavs. Virginia Tech and Miami are expected to be the Coastal favorites.

In the Atlantic Division, Florida State and Clemson likely will be pegged ahead of Boston College.

Stay tuned to the Sabre to see how the media voting actually turns out.

Kris Wright
TheSabre.com
Editor

In what is a big blow to the 2006 recruiting class, Glassboro (N.J.) linebacker George Johnson Jr., elected to sign with Rutgers instead of enrolling in prep school for a year and re-signing with the University of Virginia. Johnson, who was one of the stars of the 2006 class for Virginia, was recently denied admission to UVa despite being academically eligible per NCAA qualifications.

Johnson joins defensive tackle recruit Gavin Smith as UVa 2006 signees who will never play for UVa. Six other 2006 recruits - DT Asa Chapman, OL Billy Cuffee, DB Ras-I Dowling, CB DeAndre Filer, LB Almondo Sewell, QB O.C. Wardlow - will not enroll this year. Five of the six are expected to go to prep school, while Wardlow will likely head to junior college and the chances are very good that he will not ever enroll at UVa.

While the 2006 class took another hit, the staff is hoping to expand the 2007 class in the coming weeks. A decision from Salesianum (Wilmington, DE) tight end recruit Andrew Szczerba is expected very soon, possibly within the next week or two. Szczerba is down to UVa and Penn State. Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh, PA) tight end/defensive end Andrew Devlin could have a decision in the coming weeks as well. He will make a key trip to the University of Michigan this weekend, so stay tuned for more on him.

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Post of the Week

Everyone is geared up for football season. Especially since it is less than 40 days away! Poster JHoo helped Sabre-ites get ready for the season with this week's Post of the Week. Check it out:

Christian Olsen is the starter at quarterback at Virginia.

Subject: Next Year's Outlook -- The QBs
Posted by: JHoo on Thu Jul 20 2006 1:26:31 PM
Message: Yes, it's that time of year again. I am ridiculously busy and so, of course, I add to that workload by making long posts about UVA football. But at this time of year, I cannot seem to concentrate for more than two minutes on anything other than football, so I might as well give in to the obsession. So, with that, let's jump into another year of "Next Year's Outlook" posts.

I thought about starting with the defense this year -- that certainly would be in keeping with my personality -- but there is a lot of focus right now on the QBs, and rightly so. I would say that there are three main indicators regarding UVA success on the field next year: line play, the up-the-middle defense, and QB play. And QB play is always the juiciest subject. So let's jump right in and start there.

The Starter -- Christian Olsen. I really struggle writing that. I know, that is not a great way to start off with a set of UVA reviews, and I know that I probably have been unfairly critical of Olsen in the past and now, for reasons I note below. I know that many well respected followers of UVA football have more confidence in Olsen going into this year than I do, and I would agree that they have justifiable reasons for that confidence. Olsen did look far better this spring than I anticipated, and he certainly is not without skills. He does not have what I would consider to be a strong arm -- yes, I admit, I have been spoiled by Hagans on this point -- but he physically can make most of the throws in our offense. His release is OK. He has the size to stand in the pocket and take advantage of the underneath and crossing routes, routes that were very tough for Hagans. In fact, I think it is fair to say that the short passing game could enjoy a resurgence under Olsen.

On the flip side, my concern is that the short passing game could enjoy a resurgence under Olsen. That is a bit flippant, but my point is that Olsen has always seemed to me to be far too quick to check down to the short or dump-off routes, and far too hesitant to throw passes in the 10-25 yard range. In my book, it is not the deep ball that stretches out a defense (though you do need to employ that, too), but these intermediate passes that force a defense to play the whole field. When a defense senses that you want to play short, you end up playing against a defense that floods the first ten yards of the field. At the skill positions, we have the weapons this year to attack every inch of the field. Whether we have a QB that will use those weapons on that way (and a line that will give him time to do so) is a key question for me.

Again, I accept that I may not be fair to Olsen. He's worked hard, he has skills, and he has earned the respect of his teammates, as demonstrated by his election as team captain for next year. But I have always judged QBs by the "do they look the part?" test. I just feel like I know it when I see it. Call it presence, call it whatever you want, but that's what I look for. And I have never seen it here. I look forward to seeing Olsen prove me wrong this year, but I am in the skeptical category at this point.

Jameel Sewell seems to have a lock on the No. 2 slot.

The Back-Up -- For now, that's Sewell. For the start of the season, that will be Sewell. By midseason, I am not so sure.

Anyone who thinks that Sewell will be behind center for the first snap of the first game is just wrong. He's not ready, period. The question then becomes, when will he be ready? And that is a good question.

Sewell, in some ways, is what Olsen is not. He is a QB with a presence, and he clearly wants to pressure every part of the field. He is not a runner in the Hagans sense, but he is by far the most mobile QB on the current QB depth chart. He moves well in setting up his throws, and he improved noticeably in the last two years in the accuracy of his throws when he was on the move (a real weakness his junior year in high school). He also can hurt a defense when he does have to take off. He has a plus arm, and reminds me a lot of Jeff Blake in regard to his style of throwing and the type of ball he throws.

Sewell still has a ways to go in his understanding and grasp of the offense, and particularly in making his reads. The spring game was a good example of that (and of many of Sewell's positives). What gives me comfort in this area is that Sewell has demonstrated a good development curve in the past (I have said before that Sewell showed me as much improvement between his junior and senior year HS performances as any recruit in recent memory, particularly at the QB position). If Sewell stays on track academically, and continues to develop, I would not be at all surprised to see him pushing for game snaps by a third of the way into the season. Where it would go from there is dependent, in many ways, on wins and losses.

Where does Kevin McCabe fit in this picture?

The Depth Chart -- Much has been made of Kevin McCabe's spot on the depth chart. Does the fact that he is not the starter this year mean that he is a bust? Does it indicate that the staff cannot develop a QB it recruits? I do not think that it means either, at least not in isolation. But I do think that McCabe may now be a square peg trying to fit in a round hole, a point that has been made on the board many times, in that McCabe probably was a better fit for Musgrave's offense than the one we have run since. Still, I think that McCabe is as good a fit for our current offense as Olsen, so I do not think that the change in offensive tendencies alone explains the situation. McCabe's physical tools are as good as Olsen's, and McCabe has had sufficient time in the system to know what is going on. Despite that, he has not been able to win Al Groh's confidence behind center. McCabe has often struck me as the kind of kid that may have a ceiling in practices, but be better in games. Still, a lot of guys like that never get their chance in games, and McCabe may fall into that category.

For some reason, I received a lot of e-mails this spring asking about Deke. In my book, Deke plateaued during his redshirt fall, and I have not seen the progression since then that I would expect. I would not expect to see Deke get game snaps.

On the other hand, I am still not convinced that Vic Hall will never take a snap under center. Are the odds against it? Sure, and I think that Hall could turn into an excellent DB in time. But Hall has the strongest arm on the team, he is the best runner on the team among the ever-was-a-QB crowd, and he's a winner. Groh has shown in the past the willingness to undo a position switch in order to win games -- and thank you for those games, Mr. Hagans -- and I could see a scenario in which Hall ends up back on offense. A slim chance, yes, but Mr. Hall has not given up on it, and neither have I.

Peter Lalich should be in the QB mix later at Virginia.

The Future -- If we assume that Vic Hall is going to remain at DB, the future is in the hands of Mr. Sewell and Mr. Lalich. I can live with that.

I have detailed my thoughts on Sewell above. Lalich is a very different QB, frequently being compared to Schaub. That is not the worst comparison I have seen, though there are differences. Lalich has a stronger arm at the same stage, and is faster than Schaub if he really has to run (though neither is a runner in the traditional sense). Lalich is mobile enough to move in the pocket, and has a good pocket presence. Most of his issues are with technique, particularly an inconsistent release point that can lead to a pretty big gap between his best and worst throws. But Lalich has been working hard on those areas (even hiring a QB tutor in the offseason), and that work ethic is good to see. I certainly am not going to bet against him down the road.

The Outlook -- For the out years, I could not be much more enthusiastic about the talent at the QB position. There is solid talent there now, and solid talent coming in. Missing from the discussion above about the players is any consideration of the coaching changes, and how that will impact the offense and the QB play. That is not really a topic I can delve into in great detail here, lest this post get ridiculously long.

So if we focus on the talent at QB this year, I think we have to accept that we are dealing with a very, very large question mark. Olsen is not a guy that is going to win games for us, in my opinion, but at his best, he may be a guy that can employ all of the weapons in our offense, and let them win games for us. That is what I am hoping to see, right from the start. If, however, Olsen is slow out of the gate, the calls for Sewell may start to get loud....in a hurry.

Want more of JHoo's thoughts? Check out his post on the running backs.

Newslink - Your One Stop Shop for UVa News

TheSabre.com provides an excellent service for the Virginia fan base that you may not know about: Newslink. Sabre NewsLink provides you with links to the daily news on your Hoos. Our staff checks the Internet each morning to locate and link to articles from various online media sources from around the state and beyond. We even throw some interesting ACC news to let you know what the Hoos' opponents are up to. Sabre NewsLink is updated every morning, 365 days a year!

Check out Sabre NewsLink today!

Random Trivia Giveaways

Staying active on the message boards can be rewarding. From time to time, the Sabre posts a Random Trivia Giveaway question on one of the message boards. The first non-EDGE subscriber to answer the question correctly receives 1 free week. So basically, all you have to do is visit the message boards and answer a trivia question first - then you're in!

Visit the Message Boards today!

The Sabre's Opponent Sites' Directory

Pittsburgh (Official) Panther Lair Panther Digest

With football season approaching fast, many Virginia fans might be interested in what the Cavaliers' opponents are up to this summer. Well, the Sabre has saved you some research time. Much like the Pittsburgh example seen here (the Panthers are the Hoos' opening opponent), all of the Web sites for the football and basketball teams' opponents have been linked in our Other Sites section. That makes it easy to check up on UVa's opponents before the opening kickoff!

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

Lars Mikalauskas and the Hoos will play in the 2006 San Juan Shootout.

• Virginia To Participate In 2006 San Juan Shootout: The University of Virginia men's basketball team will participate in the 2006 San Juan Shootout scheduled for Dec. 19-21 in Puerto Rico. Pairings for the tournament have been announced and Virginia meets Appalachian State University in the quarterfinals on Dec. 19.
• Sargent Shoots 74 to Start Virginia Open: University of Virginia men's golf coach Bowen Sargent shot 2-over 74 during the opening round of play at the 2006 SunTrust State Open at Willow Oaks County Club in Richmond.
• McAnaney, Henry, Miclat Named to NECBL All-Star Game: Virginia baseball players Pat McAnaney, Tim Henry and Greg Miclat were selected to play in the New England Collegiate Baseball League's All-Star Game on Sunday night. Patrick Wingfield played in the Valley League All-Star Game in early July.
• UVa Women's Golf Team Receives ACC Honor: The Virginia women's golf team has been honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference with its Sportsmanship Award for the sport. Teams receiving the award have conducted themselves with a high degree of character and good sportsmanship, as determined by a vote of the league's players and coaches.

To read the full stories or gather more information on Virignia athletics, check out Virginiasports.com.

The Virginia men's lacrosse team completed a perfect 17-0 season with the NCAA Championship. Join the celebration with your own NCAA Championship gear from UVA Bookstores. Selection includes long-sleeve shirts, T-Shirts, and Caps. Hurry and get yours today!

Issue No. 142 - June 10, 2004

Four Cavaliers picked in MLB Draft

Andrew Dobies

A year after no Virginia baseball players were picked in the major league draft, four Cavaliers were selected by pro clubs Monday and Tuesday.

Andrew Dobies, who went 6-2 with a 3.41 ERA, was taken in the third round by the Boston Red Sox, the earliest a UVa player has been picked in seven years. The Colorado Rockies took Joe Koshansky, the ACC player of the year, in the sixth round. Koshansky hit 16 home runs, half of Virginia's total, and went 8-3 with a 2.98 ERA.

Also selected were shortstop Mark Reynolds (16th round, Diamondbacks) and pitcher Jeff Kamrath (36th round, Indians). Kamrath redshirted last season with an elbow injury.

Dobies, Reynolds and Kamrath all have one season of eligibility remaining. Dobies says he plans to sign with the Red Sox, but Reynolds and Kamrath are expected to stick around and play for the Cavaliers next season.

For more information on UVa baseball, please see the link below.

• UVa Baseball

Coming This Week

With July days flipping off the calendar at a rapid rate, The Sabre is in full stride with lots of content planned for this week. Here's a sneak peak at some of the articles to expect on the site in the coming days:

Fred Adams (HooKat) has been a Virginia football fan since 1958.

• Sabre FanWatch: HooKat
  Some of the newer Virginia football fans may not remember the days before George Welsh arrived. Fred Adams (HooKat) does. After all, he's been a football season ticket holder off and on for the past 35 years.
• Q & A with Craig Littlepage
  The Sabre sat down with Craig Littlepage to talk about the state of Virginia athletics, the process of hiring coaches, facilities, and more.
• The Forgotten Man: Kevin McCabe
  Kevin McCabe started the spring as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart. Now, everyone talks about Jameel Sewell and Christian Olsen. What happened to Kevin McCabe?
• Recruiting 2002: How did the Heralded Class Do?
  Greg Waters takes a look back at the Cavaliers' 2002 recruiting class that included Kai Parham, Ahmad Brooks, and more.
• Andrew Szczerba Recruiting Update
  Tight end recruit Andrew Szczerba is down to UVa and Penn State with a decision expected soon. Where is Szczerba leaning?
• John Elliott Recruiting Update
  East Meadow (N.Y.) offensive lineman John Elliott. Elliott is a major recruit for UVa, which recently lost out on another big time offensive line target in Lamar Milstead. Milstead committed to UNC.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles from the past week

Nose to the Grindstone? Cavs Need Strong NT Play
Virginia's use of the 3-4 defense is frequently a hot-button topic of debate. Regardless of which side of the discussion you're on, one thing is for certain - the Cavaliers are continuing to run it. With that in mind, the defense needs certain types of players to thrive. One of, if not the most important position in the 3-4? The answer is right under your nose - nose tackle that is.

Athletic Vision Captured in the John Paul Jones Arena
From when the building majestically rose from the Virginia clay to when the University's distinct beauty alluringly formed around the project, the new arena captured the gaze and imagination of all who passed. And now as the John Paul Jones Arena prepares to open its doors, there's a palpable feel in the air. The problem is finding the right words to express the sensation of walking into the building for the first time.

The ABCs of ACC Football, A-M
With Virginia set to start practice in a little more than two weeks and kick off just more than 45 days away, football season is ready to roll. So what does the ACC have to offer this year? What happened to the Peach Bowl? Who were the freshmen foursome? What record is Jim Grobe chasing? Which games are critical on the ACC schedule? Here's Part I of a quick-hitting look at the conference from
A to Z.

The ABCs of ACC Football, N-Z
With Virginia set to start practice in a little more than two weeks and kick off less than 45 days away, football season is ready to roll. So what does the ACC have to offer this year? How many teams are facing quarterback questions? Who are the rookies to watch for? Who wins some superlatives? Here's Part II of a quick-hitting look at the conference from A to Z.

Best Seat in the House: Joe Koshansky
Former Virginia baseball standout Joe Koshansky, the 2004 ACC Player of the Year, is having an outstanding year with the Tulsa Drillers. Through 91 games, the Cavalier product had posted a .301 batting average, 24 home runs, and 76 RBI so far this season. Koshansky joined Jed Williams on the Best Seat in the House this week to talk about this season, his Major League Baseball aspirations, the 2004 UVa team, and more.

Customer Service: Enhancing the Fan Experience
Virginia football games have taken on a new feel in recent seasons with HooVision, the Sea of Orange, a marching band, and more changes in the game day atmosphere. Vandy-Hoo thinks there's always room for improvement from diversified menus to experimental cheers. Check out 10 ideas Vandy has for enhancing the Hoo fans' experience.

Best Seat in the House: Barry Parkhill on the JPJ
With the John Paul Jones Arena set to host events in August, the general public can take their first look at the building this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Barry Parkhill, the Associate Director of Athletics for Development for the Virginia Athletics Foundation, joined Jed Williams on the Best Seat in the House to talk about the new arena and the open house.

Looking Back at UVa's Baseball Season
It is difficult as a Virginia baseball fan to look back on the 2006 season without a tremendous sense of pride. The Cavaliers completed the most successful season in school history by winning the most games ever for the program (47) and the most ACC regular season wins ever (21). The Wahoos also secured a record third consecutive NCAA berth and their second regional hosting opportunity in three years.

Every week, 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 UVa Bookstores purchases during your subscription.

All of the great Sabre Edge content can be yours for the price of $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. Try it for a month and cancel if you like. But we think you'll get hooked on the Edge and find out for yourself why the most knowledgeable Cavalier fans are Edge subscribers.

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

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