Hamilton, Snelling Drafted

On Sunday, Virginia's Marcus Hamilton and Jason Snelling joined a long list of Cavaliers who have been selected in the NFL Draft. Both players were picked in the seventh and final round, extending a streak of 24 straight years for UVa players.

The Falcons drafted Snelling with the 244th overall selection, while Hamilton followed immediately at No. 245 when Tampa Bay called his name. Snelling was excited for the opportunity to play in Atlanta.

"I was hoping Atlanta would call me. This is a blessing and I look forward to working for the Atlanta Falcons," Snelling said in a news release. "This is something I've been dreaming of all of my life."

Hamilton was also happy for the chance to continue his football career in the NFL.

"I am happy that the Lord blessed me with the opportunity to play at the next level and that I was able to be drafted," Hamilton told The Daily Progress (read it here). "That's something that very few people get the opportunity to do and I am just truly thankful for the opportunity."

The Sabre plans to catch up with Virginia's players as they attend NFL mini-camps.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Virginia Beach combine

The in-state combines continue to take place, with the most recent being Virginia Beach last week. Honestly, there wasn't as much action for Virginia as there has been in the past as UVa has only extended a scholarship to two players from the Virginia Beach area at this point - Ocean Lakes ATH Marcus Davis and Bayside QB E.J. Manuel.

Both Davis and Manuel are impressive athletes. Davis is very well put together physically and he may be one to watch in terms of breaking out with a number of offers next month. He is a solid 6'4"/6'5", 215 pounds, and he was hand-timed in the 4.4s in the 40-yard dash last Thursday. Clemson, Virginia, and Virginia Tech have offered so far. Virginia likes him as either an h-back or an outside linebacker.

Manuel, a 6'4" quarterback, is now up to 23 scholarship offers. Look for him to end up signing out of state. Right now, he is leaning toward making a decision before the start of his senior season. Miami, his childhood favorite, could be a team to watch. Maryland, a team he has been really impressed with, could be another.

On Monday, Virginia coaches are expected to stop by Lee County (Sanford, N.C.) high school for junior running back recruit Jay Hollingsworth. UVa and Duke continue to be the top two schools for the 5'10" running back, a productive player who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season as a junior despite not being the primary ball carrier. Hollingsworth is another prospect who combines excellent grades with his on-the-field talent and we hear the UVa staff likes him quite a bit. Air Force, Duke, East Carolina, and Virginia are the schools that have offered.

The UVa staff is traveling in teams once again this spring as they visit high schools. It seems to work pretty well. Last week, 6'7", 265-pound offensive line recruit R.J. Mattes seemed very impressed that three Virginia coaches had stopped by his school. Primary recruiter Mike Groh and offensive line coach Dave Borbely were two of the three.

Mattes says that UVa will be one of the schools he makes an official visit to this fall/winter. Clemson, UNC, and N.C. State are also high on his list. Mattes is the son of former UVa football star Ron Mattes.

Q&A

Later Monday, we will release another installment of "Q&A." This time, top defensive tackle prospect Nick Jenkins takes his turn answering questions. The 6'3", 290-pound Jenkins, a 4-star recruit in the 2007 class, discusses his work ethic, his decision to commit to and ultimately sign with Virginia, his position in the 3-4 defense, and more. Jenkins is one of the top incoming recruits in UVa's 2007 class and is a player who could earn playing time as a true freshman.

Check out what Nick had to say later on the EDGE. Our most recent "Q&A" was with another star 2007 signee in Chase Minnifield. Here is a sample portion of his "Q&A" ...

TheSabre.com: Were you pretty solid with your commitment throughout?

Chase Minnifield: I was pretty sure that was where I wanted to go. When rumors started flaring about Coach Groh leaving, other schools started calling and they wanted me to visit. Miami offered me a scholarship and Stanford was still on my tail and Louisville came even harder. As long as Coach Groh was there, I was going to be there so it was cool.

TheSabre.com: When did you ultimately decide to tell other coaches to stop recruiting you?

Chase Minnifield: It was after I got hurt (Minnifield suffered a torn ACL while playing basketball this past season) and talked to Coach Groh. He said, "We are going to stick with you." I was just like why would I want to talk to other schools when I've got a commitment like this from a team and a coach, so it's over.

TheSabre.com: What was going through your mind when you suffered the torn ACL?

Chase Minnifield: I'm not really the kind of person to get hurt. I never really got hurt. The only thing that happened was that I broke my arm freshman year, but I played through that. I've sprained my ankle, but that's about it. Going in to get my knee checked out, I was sure it wasn't anything too major. Then it was an ACL and it was kind of shocking because I thought the ACL was a career ending injury. Obviously, it's not now.

TheSabre.com: How is your rehabilitation coming?

Chase Minnifield: Everything's good. I'm right on schedule, maybe a little ahead of schedule. I've been running a little bit every day. I'm getting back, slowly but surely. I'm probably just as strong in each leg now. When I was at Virginia, they were looking at me physically and I could leg press 300 pounds so I think my leg strength is there again.

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 ...

Is Baseball in Kyle Long's Future Plans?
How serious is Kyle Long about baseball? The answer is...very. The 6'7", 285-pound St. Anne's-Belfield (Charlottesville, VA) star - a first-baseman and a left-handed pitcher who can throw a 91-MPH fastball - has never made a secret that baseball could be an option over football. Right now, baseball looks to be a very serious option.

Phillips Finds Fit at UVa
It only took two visits for Colter Phillips to know the University of Virginia was where he wanted to be. One week after making his second spring football visit to the University of Virginia, the 6'6", 240-pound Georgetown Prep standout verbally committed to the Cavs.

In-State Schools Battle for Ruff
Norview (Norfolk, VA) star Klinton "Buddy" Ruff was able to visit Virginia and Virginia Tech this spring, something significant since these are the only programs to extend written scholarship offers so far. Ruff very much enjoyed his visit for a Virginia Tech spring practice and he seems to have enjoyed his trip to UVa's Spring Game on April 21st.

More updates since the last SabreMail ...

• Three ACC Offers for Marcus Davis
• Virginia Continues to Lead for NJ Star
• Mattes a Top Recruit for Virginia
• Three Running Strong for Gateway's Saddler

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The Sabre is happy to announce that we added a brand new sports message board to the site! Tennis fans now have their own home to talk about the Cavaliers. The highly ranked and National Championship contending men's team and the on the rise women's team receive as much chatter as many of the Hoos' spring sports so it was time to create a home for the discussion.

In the first week, the Tennis Message Board has featured talk about the men's team's ACC Tournament title, recruiting, all-time doubles teams, and bracketology for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Get in the swing of things on the Tennis Message Board.

The Best Seat in the House

TheSabre.com's ongoing relationship with "The Best Seat in the House" continues this spring with new host Jay James. The Best Seat features the best radio discussion of the Hoos and includes guests from every corner of the Wahoo athletic world. The Cavs' coaches and student-athletes are frequent guests on the show along with expert analysts from all across the sports landscape. Learn more about the show by clicking on the logo below!

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To learn more about SportsWar network sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected] and visit the SportsWar media guide www.sportswar.com

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Virginia Wins ACC Championship for Second Consecutive Year: The Virginia women's lacrosse team won its second consecutive ACC Championship with a 12-6 decision over No. 5 UNC in Chapel Hill behind a 12-save performance from Tournament MVP Kendall McBrearty. The No. 6 Cavaliers (16-3) shut down the Tar Heel offense, allowing only one goal in the final 30 minutes of play, and that came six minutes into the period.
• Men's Lacrosse Drops 12-9 Decision To Duke In ACC Title Game: Zack Greer had three goals and three assists and Matt Danowski added three goals and an assist to lead Duke to a 12-9 win over Virginia on Sunday afternoon to claim the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.
• UVa Golfers Cruise to Cavalier Classic Title: The only drama associated with the final day of play at Virginia's Cavalier Classic was how much the homestanding UVa squad would win the team title by. The Cavaliers made sure to impress as they shot 3-over 291 to win the 54-hole tournament by 24 strokes at Birdwood Golf Course.
• No. 3 Virginia Baseball Finishes Sweep of Maryland with 4-0 Win: The No. 3 Virginia baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Maryland with a 4-0 victory Sunday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 2,616 at Davenport Field. The shutout was Virginia's ninth of the season and second of the series. Sean Doolittle tied the Virginia career wins record after tossing six solid innings, and he added two hits in the win.
• No. 5 Virginia Wins Four Races at Princeton's Regatta: The No. 5 Virginia women's rowing team won four of five races on Saturday at Princeton's Lake Carnegie. In the varsity eight, No. 6 Notre Dame (6:19.1) edged the fifth-ranked Cavaliers (6:21.9) by two seconds. UVa's varsity eight was manned by Michelle Ellison (coxswain), Jennifer Cromwell, Kerry Maher, Libby McCann, Emelia Colman-Shepherd, Lauren Hutchins, Kelsie Chaudoin, Sara Lippa, and Melanie Kok.
• Virginia Softball Drops Heart-breaker To Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 9-7 deficit and held on for an 11-10 victory over the Virginia softball team Saturday afternoon at The Park. With the loss, UVa falls to 17-37 overall and finishes regular season Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 1-20 mark.
• Cavaliers Take Second at Penn Relays: The Virginia women's 4x200 m relay team took second at the Penn Relays this weekend, running a 1:37.71. The Cavaliers finished just behind champion Connecticut, who ran a 1:36.14. The relay team featured Janne'a Bridgeford, Tomika Ferguson, Tiffany Roberts , and Talia Wise.

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

UVA Bookstore to Host Events in Support of Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

The UVA Bookstore is hosting two separate fundraising events to support Virginia Tech's official memorial fund, the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Donations will be collected at the main UVA Bookstore on 400 Emmet Street atop the Central Grounds Parking Garage and across from Newcomb Hall.

The UVA Bookstore is hosting a Hokie Spirit day at the UVA Bookstore on Monday, April 30th (TODAY!!). A percentage of the store's sales from this day will also be donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. We encourage all local residents looking to help support Virginia Tech to join us on this day.

The UVA Bookstore also held a t-shirt fundraiser last week. So far, the UVA Bookstore has raised more than $2,700 for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.

For more information on how you can participate, please contact Jon Kates or Patrick Perkins 434-924-3721.

For more information on how to suppor the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, please click here.

Issue No. 22 - May 22, 2003

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

UVA ended the week with a bang, getting a verbal commitment from 5-10, 195 pound William Campbell running back Cedric Peerman. Peerman becomes the second verbal commitment of the 2004 class, joining St. Anne's Belfield defensive tackle Chris Long. Both prospects are ranked in the top 10 overall in the state of Virginia, giving the Cavaliers a great start in in-state recruiting.

As a junior, Peerman rushed for 2,048 yards. He scored 50 total touchdowns. Peerman has the breakaway speed needed for Division I running backs and also possesses great hands, which are necessary to be a running back in Al Groh's system.

Following last week's Nike Camp, Virginia received a visit from one of the top quarterbacks in North Carolina, Charlotte Olympic's Antonio Miller. Olympic head coach Maurice Flowers indicated an official offer has not been extended, however he expects the Cavaliers to offer in the near future. Miller, who is 6-1, 190 pounds, runs extremely well but is an accomplished passer. He favors Kansas State, Marshall, and Virginia according to coach Flowers. UVa is recruiting Miller as a quarterback.

Spring Valley (SC) defensive end Mack Frost indicated his plans to attend UVa's summer camp. Frost, who is one of the top defensive ends on the East coast, is an awesome pass rusher with great speed and quickness. UVa has not offered but is extremely interested. The defensive line appears to be a need area for the Cavs, and Frost is one of the best. He has received offers from UNC, South Carolina, Maryland, and Clemson, to name a few.

An in-state defensive end stated that the Cavaliers have made it into his top two schools. Rockbridge's (VA) Jon Kirchner, previously thought to be a Virginia Tech lock, made several positive comments in the Cavaliers' favor. While Tech is still strong at the top, UVa is now "neck and neck" according to Kirchner. He has received offers from UVa, West Virginia, and Stanford.

This week featured a summary of the Blacksburg Nike Camp as well as updates on top targets AQ Shipley (Moon Area DT), Butler (PA) linebacker Tyrell Sales, Forest Hills (NC) defensive tackle Marque Hall, and in-state standout linebacker Andrew Bowman of Hermitage High School.

Coming Soon

The Sabre has you covered when it comes to Hoo news. Here are a few of the articles to expect on the site in the coming days:

• A bunch of Huey Virginia's Treat Huey is a key part of the Virginia men's tennis team's success this season - he might be a key figure in the revitalization of American tennis too.
  
• Around the Horn Greg Waters' weekly baseball feature looks at the ACC standings and what the Hoos have to do to wrap up the Coastal Division title.
  
• Championship Form The UVa women's lacrosse team won the ACC Tournament Championship for the second straight season.
  

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

UVa Eyes ACC Tournament Title
The Virginia men's lacrosse team begins its ACC Tournament title defense Friday in North Carolina. There's only one problem with that as far as defenseman Ricky Smith is concerned. These Cavaliers aren't defending. Smith, of course, is right. This year's Virginia team is not a fully intact version of 2006's undefeated National Championship squad. So what do the Hoos have to do to win - not defend - the ACC Tournament title?

The Art Of A Steal
Virginia is an aggressive team on the bases. They run early and often. Kevin McMullan, the recruiting coordinator and the coach that runs the Virginia offense, says the Cavaliers instill that philosophy in the players from day one. Be aggressive, be fearless, and run, run, run.

Around the Horn: Road Warriors Return Home
With a 2-1 series win over the Tigers at Clemson, the Virginia Cavaliers improved to 34-9 overall and 13-7 in the ACC. The loss combined with North Carolina's win in the third game of their weekend series with Florida State dropped the Hoos one-half game behind the Tar Heels in the Coastal Division race. The road series win was the third in four attempts this season by Beau Seabury and the Cavaliers.

Best Seat: Marcus Hamilton, Tony Franklin
The NFL Draft has arrived and several Virginia football players hope to hear their names called this weekend. Two of the hopefuls are Marcus Hamilton and Tony Franklin, who both lined up in the secondary for the Cavaliers. Hamilton and Franklin joined Jay James on The Best Seat in the House to talk about their football futures and UVa's potential next season.

Coach Boland's Sabre Q&A No. 4
The Virginia men's tennis team wrapped up the ACC portion of its schedule by dominating en route to the ACC Tournament title. The results? The third tourney championship in four years, a league winning streak now at 16 matches, and the ACC Tournament MVP in Ted Angelinos. That's what you call a good weekend. The team now gets a break before the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced, which gives coach Brian Boland a chance to tackle some more questions in this Sabre feature.

JHoo: 10 Things I Learned In Spring Practice
Wide receivers, safeties, the offensive line, back-up quarterbacks, and a running back battle. During the spring practice period, UVa had a list of positions to evaluate as the coaches tried to start sorting out the depth chart. Did the spring clear it all up? No, not really. I came out of the spring with plenty of questions still on my mind.

Snelling Excited About NFL Draft
The 2007 NFL Draft rolls on to the calendar this weekend as football players around the country wait to see if their name will be called by a professional team. As many as 11 Cavaliers could be considered among the hopeful, but Jason Snelling is the most likely to be selected over the weekend. After all, Snelling is considered one of the top fullbacks on the board by many draft analysts.

Time For More Hall At Virginia
Spare me the "he still has to learn how to play cornerback" mumbo jumbo. Save the "we don't want to stunt his development" argument for someone else. We don't want to overload him mentally or exhaust him physically. Yawn. That's a coach speak, keep the media at bay excuse if I've ever heard it. Bottom line? Vic Hall is one player in Al Groh's tenure where conventional wisdom does not apply.

Best Seat in the House: Brian O'Connor
The Virginia baseball team wrapped up another ACC series by winning 2 of 3 games at Clemson last weekend. Virginia has won every conference series since losing twice at Wake Forest to open league play. UVa coach Brian O'Connor joined Jay James in studio on Tuesday to talk about the weekend at Clemson, the upcoming JMU and Maryland games, and more.

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