Spring Game Post of the Week

Plenty of Sabre-ites weighed in with their thoughts on the Spring Game (Check out the football board for more posts or to ask questions about the game and/or team.) The Post of the Week is a good recap from the game from VBHOO.

Subject: Re: Spring Game/QB Play
Posted by: VBHOO on Sun Apr 15 2007 8:27:41 AM
Message: Both had their moments in leading their squads. Both were elusive at times and showed some talent and poise under fire. Deke had a bit more swagger, but this was his third time around in Spring Games and Verica's first, so I ended up rating them about even for the game. Hard to tell if there were any "favorite" receivers, go-to guys, on the flanks.

On the flanks, MoCo seemed to be the most solid, getting some separation, but the ball was not on the money. Next were Koch and Jobe who got off the line well and looked their parts, occasionally getting open deep. After them, Manka, Dalton, and Gorham: the latter 2 having difficulty getting off the LoS. There will be some tough calls at WR if we try to only play the best, most ready players. My sense is that we will see MoCo at SE, perhaps paired with Santi or Torchia in the slot. Torchia reminded man y of a young Heath Miller with his play and his manner.

It was interesting to watch us with the different offensive sets and RaRa at FB in the I and the 3 RBs playing their roles. Simpson seems to be in no-man's land as far as his role in the PrimeTime Offense.

Hard to tell much from a Spring Game, but there seemed to be some esprit in the 2nd team OL, which was a surprise. Got some push on our DL at times. It does appear that we have the talent to go to the 40-45 players on the O and D to stay fresh and to build the contingency depth. We've got more football players than I can recall, and then with the added 24 in the '07 class.... I have us with 12 speed-rated players left in the '03, '04, and '05 classes and 17 more in the '06 and '07 classes. The faster that we can get the younger players ready for PT, the faster will be our team speed. Dias and Peerman appeared much quicker than before, same for Olu Hall; then the plethora of young, quick DBs that were on the field yesterday even before the arrival of Joseph, Dowling, and Minniefield. Woods could turn out to be that cover Safety, and there are several new ones as candidates for that slot too, if they can catch up to the speed of the game in time.

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This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

The Spring Game ...

Kyle Long

Despite the bad weather, a number of talented junior prospects showed up in Charlottesville for Saturday's spring game. The following is a list of junior recruits in attendance. These are the ones that have already been offered by Virginia.

• Edison (Alexandria, VA) WR Ben Barber
• Westfield (Chantilly, VA) QB Mike Glennon
• Highland Springs (VA) DL/OLB Antoine Hopkins
• St. Anne's-Belfield (Charlottesville, VA) OL/DL Kyle Long
• Brooke Point (Stafford, VA) LB Donovan Miles
• Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, MD) TE Colter Phillips
• Smithfield (VA) WR Dyrell Roberts
• Norview (Norfolk, VA) DL Klinton "Buddy" Ruff
• St. Anthony's (Long Island, N.Y.) DL Scott Vallone

Hylton (Woodbridge, VA) ATH Morgan Carter, Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach, VA) ATH Marcus Davis, Deep Run (Glen Allen, VA) LB Derek Jackson, Hereford (MD) RB Lonnie Liggins, Harrisburg (PA) LB Adrian Robinson, and Gettysburg (PA) DL Logan Shultz were among the top junior visitors currently without offers from UVa.

A top sophomore - Meadowbrook OL Morgan Moses, a 6-4 282-pound prospect - was also in attendance. Moses has generated quite a bit of buzz and could be a top prospect in the class of 2009. He certainly has excellent size at this point in his career. According to sources at Meadowbrook, Moses drew some college attention from coaches recruiting John Graves in the '06 class.

Updates on Glennon, Hopkins, Roberts, Ruff and Vallone have been posted on the Sabre EDGE Subscriber message board. Articles will follow throughout the week on these prospects and more.

Overall, the spring game seems to have gone very well with respect to impressing these talented juniors. Could a commit come in the near future? That is a possibility, so stay tuned.

The Evaluation Period Is Under Way ...

Sunday marked the first day of the Evaluation Period, which lasts until May 31st. Here is the definition of the Evaluation Period per ncaa.org:

Four weeks (excluding Memorial Day and Sundays) selected at the discretion of the member institution and designated in writing in the office of the director of athletics - (an authorized off-campus recruiter may use one evaluation to assess the prospect's athletics ability and one evaluation to assess the prospect's academic qualifications during this evaluation period).

According to Lee County (Sanford, N.C.) head coach Jody Stouffer, three Virginia coaches are expected to be at his school Monday. Virginia recently offered running back Jay Hollingsworth, a 5-10, 180-pound junior who rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 12 scores this past season. Hollingsworth is a quick, slashing type of running back.

Other Updates This Week ...

In addition to following up on UVa's spring game, look for updates on Hollingsworth, Benjamin (FL) QB Conner Kempe, Gateway (Monroeville, PA) WR/KR Cameron Saddler, and Christchurch (VA) WR Deion Walker. Kempe and Saddler will update us on the latest on their respective recruitments, while Walker answers whether or not Virginia remains seriously in the running. There has been talk of late that Walker is leaning toward leaving the state for his college ball.

Also, stay tuned for an update on 6'10" Mount St. Joseph's (Baltimore, MD) C/PF Henry Sims. The talented junior was expected to make an unofficial visit to UVa this past weekend, so we will check in with him on the latest. The UVa basketball staff was hoping to make a good impression, especially since Sims is already high on Georgetown and Maryland.

Chris Horne, our resident recruiting expert, provides updates throughout the week for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please check out the Sabre Edge Sign Up and Information Page. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting.

Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week ...

Roberts Sees Opportunity at UVa
6-2, 190-pound Smithfield (VA) star Dyrell Roberts liked what he saw at Virginia's spring game over the weekend, and it might not be for the reasons you think. One of the top athletes in the state of Virginia, Roberts has now visited UVa on four occasions. He plans to visit Virginia Tech for the first time this Saturday.

Miles Explodes on the Recruiting Scene
Donovan Miles is one of the hottest names in the 2008 football recruiting class. The 6-1, 225-pound linebacker prospect out of Brooke Point (Stafford, VA) is four for four - he has provided only four Division 1A programs with junior tape, but all four have come back with scholarship offers.

Next Visit Important for Glennon
6-6, 195-pound Westfield (Chantilly, VA) junior quarterback Mike Glennon plans to head to Charlottesville this Saturday for UVa's spring game. He has more on his mind than just watching the game, however, as he will be looking to discover more about UVa's possible future plans for him.

Q&A with Chase Minnifield
Henry Clay (Lexington, KY) star Chase Minnifield verbally committed to UVa over Louisville on May 22, 2006. The 6-0, 185-pound senior, a 4-star prospect rated by some as the top player in the state of Kentucky in 2006, had 630 yards receiving, 509 yards rushing and threw for 365 yards in his senior season. He scored 20 touchdowns on offense and was outstanding on special teams as well, as he had four kick-off returns for scores. Defensively, he earned first-team all-state at defensive back.

More updates since the last SabreMail ...

• Offer Profile: Georgetown Prep TE Colter Phillips
• Highland Springs Star Visits VT, UVa
• Top DB Whitley Adds to Impressive Offer List
• Talented Prospects Expected at UVa Tomorrow
• Ruff Visits In-State School

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V-Sabres Worldwide in Wahoowa! Section

Mike Ingalls at the Parthenon in Greece.

We want to expand our section, though! This week, we're looking for photos to include in the V-Sabres Worldwide gallery. V-Sabres Worldwide is a collection of photos sent to us from Hoos from around the globe. For example, check out our own Mike Ingalls (Boardhost) at the Parthenon on the Acropolis site in Athens, Greece.

For any photo to be accepted, the V-Sabres logo must be visible. It can be on any type of merchandise (i.e. sunglasses, hats, shirts, dog collar, etc). It must also fit one or more of the requirements below:

• Any photo taken outside the continental U.S. For example: You're in Japan and you have a photo taken of you with a V-Sabres hat on. Or, you're in Alaska and you have a V-Sabres banner flag hanging on your house.
• Within the United States, but there must be some sort of landmark in view. For example: You're standing in front of the Statue of Liberty, or on top of the Empire State Building with NYC in view.

Please include some sort of reference to your location in the photo (i.e. standing in front of the Great Wall of China). Also, please include a name that will be visible to all (either your real name or message board username - please specify).

We'd like to keep adding photos to the section! All you need to do is email a jpeg version of the photo to us here with the email header: V-Sabres Worldwide Photo.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Men's Tennis Completes Undefeated ACC Campaign: The Virginia men's tennis team became the first team in ACC history to go through the conference regular season with an 11-0 record, as it concluded the regular season with a 6-1 victory over No. 5 North Carolina Sunday afternoon at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club. With the victory over the Tar Heels (21-2, 9-2 ACC), the Cavaliers (23-3, 11-0 ACC) won the ACC regular season crown outright. It marks the fourth consecutive year Virginia has won the ACC regular season, as the Cavaliers won it outright in 2005, shared it with North Carolina in 2004 and shared it with Duke and Miami in 2006.
• Women's Tennis Defeated by No. 4 Georgia Tech: For the second consecutive day, the No. 46 Virginia women's tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss to a top five team, falling to No. 4 Georgia Tech Sunday at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club. With the loss, Virginia ends the regular season with a 10-10 overall record and a 4-7 ACC mark. The Yellow Jackets improve to 20-4 (10-1 ACC).
• UVa Finishes Fifth at ACC Golf: Playing in blustery conditions that included a one-hour delay due to thunderstorms, the 20th-ranked Virginia women's golf team placed fifth at the 19th annual ACC Championships at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte. Seniors Leah Wigger and Rachel Smith led Virginia by finishing fourth and fifth. It was Wigger's second straight top 10 finish at the ACC Championships after being the runner-up in 2006. It was the 24th top 10 performance in her career.
• No. 13 Virginia Sweeps No. 14 Washington State at Windermere Real Estate Classic: The No. 13 Virginia women's rowing team completed a clean sweep during the final day of action at the Windermere Real Estate Classic on Sunday at Redwood Shores. The Cavaliers won all three events against No. 14 Washington State, giving the Hoos a perfect record for the weekend. Of the 10 schools competing, Virginia was recognized by the Classic as the only school to win every race it competed in.
• Virginia Softball Drops Tripleheader To N.C. State: The Virginia softball team lost three games to NC State in the Atlantic Coast Conference action Saturday (April 14) at Walnut Creek Park Softball Complex. The Cavaliers lost the opener 6-2 and the second game 7-2 before being no-hit by Abbie Sims in 12-0 five-inning decision in the third game.
• HEAD: Virginia sophomore Daniel Kefale turned in the best tournament score by a Cavalier this season (215) to finish ninth overall at N.C. State's Courtyard by Marriott Intercollegiate at Devil's Ridge Golf Club in Holly Springs, N.C. Virginia finished the 15-team tournament in eighth place with scores of 286, 296 and 293 for a 54-hole total of 875.

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

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Issue No. 53 - September 13, 2002

Williams Commits to the Cavs
Report by Chris Horne

Deyon Williams, a 6-3, 185-pound wide receiver prospect from Suitland High School in District Heights, Maryland, surprised many, including his coach, by verbally committing to Virginia early this week.

"Two weeks ago, I was under the impression that he was going to Penn State," said Suitland Head Coach Nick Lynch. "But he just felt comfortable with the coach recruiting him, Ron Prince. He is satisfied with getting a chance to play early. The coaches told him they are young and would not hesitate to play him.

"Also, another factor is that Virginia is close to his parents. They can see him play."

With Billy McMullen a senior and Michael McGrew and Ryan Sawyer juniors, there is certainly a need for several standout wide receiver prospects in this year's recruiting class. A star track athlete, Williams consistently runs a 4.4 in the 40, offering the big play potential college coaches are looking for. In addition to speed and athleticism, he will bring a tremendous sense of leadership to the Cavalier program.

"He is our big play threat and we need to get him the ball," said Lynch. "And I like the leadership he brings to our football team. He is the type of person you can build your football team around."

"For instance, Deyon runs indoor and outdoor track. The first day after his outdoor track season was over, he was in the weight room getting ready for football. The first day. Usually, I give my players a whole week to rest their bodies, but Deyon said 'No, coach. I don't want a week. I want to do what I can to help make this a better football team.' That really stood out to me."

Last week, Williams demonstrated his ability to do whatever it takes to earn a victory. Despite the fact that he was double-teamed and didn't catch a pass the entire game, Williams stepped up and made some key plays on defense to help Suitland defeat McNamara 20-18. Coach Lynch was more than impressed.

"He had a big game on defense last week," said Lynch. "He plays safety, and he made a lot of tackles. This one 3rd and 5, he ran up and stuffed the running back, making it 4th and 5. It was a huge play, and they probably would have gotten the first down if not for that tackle."

Despite his previous interest in Penn State, Deyon Williams is solidly committed to Virginia. According to Coach Lynch, he will not take any more visits.

"I don't think so," said Lynch when asked if Williams will take more official visits. "He made a commitment, and I think he will stick to it."

Williams has yet to qualify for freshmen eligibility, although he is very close. He has the necessary GPA, and will take his SAT in November. He becomes the Cavaliers 11th commitment. Earlier this week, Jeff White of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Robert Jenkins will likely choose another destination, giving the Cavaliers one less commitment.

Coming Soon

The Sabre has you covered when it comes to Hoo news. This week, the Sabre looks back at the Spring Game and the spring practice period. Here are a few of the articles to expect on the site in the coming days:

• Time To Use The Hall Not surprisingly, Vic Hall stepped up and made one of the biggest plays of the Spring Game. It's time for Virginia to get creative in its use of the Gretna star.
  
• Don't Dismiss Peerman
  Cedric Peerman responded to the competition of Raynard Horne and Keith Payne in the spring.
• Horne And Payne What did the freshmen backs show in the Spring Game? The Sabre talked to both players after the game to get their thoughts on the spring.
  
• JHoo Returns We know you've all been waiting for it - what did JHoo learn from the spring practice period?
  

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Wigger Shines As Golf Program Grows
Virginia golfer Leah Wigger is not often in the spotlight. But after looking at what she has done over the past four years, it is clear that she should be. The Cavalier senior has established herself as one of the premier young female golfers in the nation and she played a key role in the growth of the program from its infancy to a consistent contender for NCAA Tournament berths.

Blue Wins Spring Game
It certainly was not the most beautiful day to play football, but that did not prevent Virginia from holding its Spring Game and Football Festival on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium. As the rain poured down on a sparse crowd, the Blue team defeated the White team 7-0 in a game in which the offensive play was as sloppy as the weather.

Spring Game Cheat Sheet
The Virginia football team kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Scott Stadium as the Spring Game wraps up the spring practice period for the Cavaliers. I know what you're thinking: "Eh, it's just the Spring Game - what can you really learn from these things anyway?" Yes, the action is controlled and the complexity limited, but there are still a handful of storylines to keep an eye on. The Sabre's Spring Game Cheat Sheet gives you five key things to watch this weekend.

Hoos Put Title Hopes On The Line
The Virginia men's tennis team looks to wrap up the regular season ACC Championship this weekend with a pair of matches against the league's best. Duke and North Carolina are immediately behind the Cavaliers in the standings, but one win clinches a share of the title for the Hoos, while two gives them the crown outright. Virginia has at least shared the championship for three straight seasons.

Around the Horn: Will 'Soft' Loss Wake Up UVa?
Led by a complete game victory from Jacob Thompson on Friday, Virginia improved to 29-7 on the season and 10-5 in the ACC with a 2-1 series victory over Duke this past weekend. But the lasting impression from this series is how the Blue Devils manhandled Virginia pitching on Saturday. While the series win certainly pleased coach Brian O'Connor, Virginia's collapse in Saturday's 13-9 contest did not make the fourth year skipper happy.

Photo Gallery: Spring Practice 2007
The Virginia football team wraps up its spring practice period with this Saturday's Spring Game at Scott Stadium. Quarterback Scott Deke and the Cavaliers take the field at 2 p.m. Get ready for the weekend with this gallery of 63 images from spring practice.

Clausen, Cavaliers Ready For Duke
Last year, men's lacrosse captured the attention of the entire country. Not only because of the incredible Virginia Cavalier squad that rolled toward a 17-0 record en route to an NCAA Championship, but because of the Duke lacrosse scandal which rocked the community of Durham, N.C., and sent the media into a frenzy. It is something Virginia freshman defender Ken Clausen remembers all too well.

10 Spring Game Questions, Minus 1
As I was pondering my curiosities heading into the Spring Game a few days ago, I nailed the top question right away. I had a surefire number one that should've been on any Wahoo mind that had paid even the slightest bit of attention to the team the past year: How would quarterback Jameel Sewell look during the game? Since Sewell's not playing, however, I have nine questions to ponder entering Saturday's contest.

Kicking Duel Tracked Carefully
Virginia coach Al Groh has spoken frequently this spring about improving the production of the field goal unit, which struggled last season following the graduation of the near automatic Connor Hughes. Last season, UVa converted 12 of 21 field goal attempts with all misses exceeding 39 yards. Still, Groh wants a more consistent feel to the kicking game, meaning Noah Greenbaum and Chris Gould are in competition again this spring.

Coach Boland's Sabre Q&A No. 3
The Virginia men's tennis team continued its extraordinary run in ACC competition with a thrilling come-from-behind victory at Florida State on Sunday. The Hoos rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take down No. 25 Florida State, 4-3. That win improved the Cavaliers to 9-0 in ACC play, marking the third straight season that the program reached the league record of 9 wins. With two matches remaining this weekend at home, UVa could set a new single season record for ACC victories. In this continuing series of Sabre articles, UVa coach Brian Boland joins us to answer your questions.

Weigand Punting Well
Virginia entered spring practice in 2007 with a wealth of returning starters, including both specialists in place kicker Chris Gould and punter Ryan Weigand. Of course, the 2006 season featured a rollercoaster ride on special teams that started with Gould handling everything from kickoffs to punts. Virginia coach Al Groh has said throughout the spring that the kicking operation needs to improve this season, meaning that Gould, Weigand, and Noah Greenbaum are in close competition.

Deke, Verica Battling To Be No. 2
Jameel Sewell's rehabilitation limitations this spring have given redshirt freshman Marc Verica and junior Scott Deke a chance to make an impression in a battle for the second spot on the depth chart. Both of those players will take significant snaps in Saturday's Spring Game, though Al Groh indicated that this week's early practices would probably be more challenging for them in terms of recognizing defenses and reading coverages. That's where both QBs have been focusing this spring: learning to quickly read defenses and make decisions.

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