Virginia Honors Barber, Long by Retiring Jerseys

Official Release
UVa Athletic Media Relations

Chris Long and his family during his jersey retirement ceremony.

During separate ceremonies at Saturday's home football game against Virginia Tech, the Virginia athletics department retired the jerseys of former standout tailback Tiki Barber and senior defensive end Chris Long. Both players' jerseys will be displayed in the future at Scott Stadium along with the numbers that have previously been retired by six former players.

Barber completed his career in 1996 as UVa's all-time leading rusher with 3,389 yards. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and the ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 1996 after leading the conference in rushing, all-purpose yards and punt returns.

Long has been a mainstay of the Cavaliers' defensive line throughout his career. One of the most dominant defensive ends in school history, he is fifth in the country in sacks this season and third among defensive linemen in tackling. A two-time team captain, he ranks eighth in school history in sacks.

Jersey retirement is a new level of recognition at Virginia to honor players who have significantly impacted the program and Long and Barber are the first football players to be honored in this way. Individuals recognized in this way will have their jerseys retired, but their number will remain active. Last November the UVa athletics department retired the jersey of basketball player Curtis Staples during the halftime ceremonies of the opening of John Paul Jones Arena.

Six Virginia players have had their uniform numbers retired and those numbers will not be worn again. Those numbers honor the most decorated players in the program's history, including Jim Dombrowski (73), Bill Dudley (35), Gene Edmonds (97), Shawn Moore (12), Joe Palumbo (48) and Frank Quayle (24).

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Football recruiting ...

This past weekend was a huge one on the football recruiting front. Virginia played host to three of its top 2008 class targets including Riverdale (GA) offensive lineman Cordy Glenn, Robinson (Concord, N.C.) offensive tackle R.J. Mattes and Eleanor Roosevelt (Greenbelt, MD) safety Okechuckwu Okoroha.

Accompanied by his father according to Riverdale head coach Kevin Jones, Glenn was in Charlottesville a week after making a verbal commitment to the University of Georgia. According to Jones, Georgia and Virginia are the two finalists, though reports indicate that Alabama could still be in this race. We will follow up to see if this weekend's experience swayed Glenn's original decision to commit to Georgia.

Virginia is the second program to host 6-7, 275-pound R.J. Mattes. The son of former UVa standout Ron Mattes, R.J. enjoyed the experience this past weekend. Check out the Sabre EDGE today for more on Mattes' experience, including the one thing Virginia seems to be offering that the rest of his finalists are not.

Mattes will visit UNC this coming weekend and plans to make officials to Clemson and South Carolina in January.

Okoroha, a 6-0, 192-pound prospect, narrowed his list of schools late last week and decided to make Virginia his first official visit experience. He was not the only D.C. area prospect in town, as commit Rodney McLeod was also in Charlottesville on his official visit.

Stay tuned for more with "O" and Rodney.

Gateway (Monroeville, PA) star athlete Cameron Saddler made an official visit to Pitt this past weekend. The 5-7, 155-pound senior has one more official visit scheduled - a trip to West Virginia this weekend - before he is scheduled to announce his college decision. Saddler plans to announce his choice on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.

The finalists here are Pitt, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Basketball recruiting ...

Holy Cross (Flushing, N.Y.) guard Sylven Landesberg, DeSmet Jesuit (St. Louis, MO) center John Brandenburg, and South Kent (CT) center/power forward Assane Sene are officially the newest members of the Virginia men's basketball program. Per VirginiaSports.com, here is what Coach Leitao had to say about the 2008 class haul ...

"We're extremely pleased and happy that we've got three guys who represent not only part of the future of Virginia basketball, but most importantly represent what we know Virginia student-athletes to be about, and that includes being solid citizens and good students," Leitao said. "They also meet the goal of increasing our talent level year to year. We believe John and Assane enable us to fill a need in the front court and adding a guy like Sylven on the perimeter speaks to the versatility we've tried to recruit from day one."

This week, look for analysis on this class on the EDGE from top recruiting analysts Dave Telep and Brick Oettinger. Where does Virginia rank nationally and in the ACC? Stay tuned to find out.

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 ...

Virginia Hosts 4-Star Mattes
Robinson (Concord, N.C.) 4-star offensive tackle R.J. Mattes has been to the University of Virginia many, many times over the years. The son of former Virginia standout Ron Mattes, R.J. grew up a Virginia fan. He had been to many games in the past and, most recently, attended camp in Charlottesville this summer. This weekend's experience was different, though, as the 6-7, 275-pound prospect was on his official visit, so he was able to find out more about the University and how he fit in with the players and coaches.

Holley Ready to Focus on Recruiting
Heading into what will be the final game of his high school career on Thursday, all-everything performer Jarred Holley is appreciative of the opportunities he has had in his four seasons at Easton High School (PA). The 5-10, 170-pound cornerback/wide receiver recruit hopes to turn in one final big-time effort on the high school football stage - against archrival Phillipsburg - before focusing on where he will play his college ball.

Hale Updates Recruitment
Following last Friday's huge win over North Allegheny in the WPIAL Quad A Playoffs, Gateway (Monroeville, PA) 5-star linebacker Shayne Hale had the weekend to celebrate and to rest. He cancelled a previously scheduled official visit to Michigan in order to recover from Friday night's win and also to prepare for the Quad A Championship Game this week. Michigan may not get another shot now, as the resignation of head coach Lloyd Carr may put the Wolverines out of the race for one of the country's top defensive prospects.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Price Gains Another Offer
• Okoroha Plans to Narrow List This Week
• Dunn Names a Favorite
• Three Sign Letters Of Intent With UVA

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Support CavMan In The Mascot Open

Wahoos,

CavMan qualified for the playoffs in the the MASCOT OPEN! Let's help him win the tournament. This week, CavMan is up against Syracuse's Otto. CavMan narrowly defeated Otto in the regular season, winning by less than 200 votes so he needs your support this week. Let's get a sweep over Syracuse!

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Fan of the Week

Every week, theSabre.com features a Fan of the Week photo on the front page of the Web site. (Archives are available in the Wahoowa! section.) So you want to be the fan of the week? It's easy - be the loudest Hoo at a live UVa event, wear some crazy Cavalier gear, or do something else to catch our attention. If Mike or Kris spot you and take your picture, you'll be in the running for Fan of the Week honors!

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!

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Issue No. 158 - Oct. 1, 2004

Why are fans so bummed about Chris Canty's season-ending knee injury?

Is it because his loss signifies a major blow to Virginia's football team? Sure, that's part of it. Losing Canty, a legitimate All-America candidate, makes the defense less formidable. This is the first real setback in what has been shaping up as a special season.

Chris Canty

But it's more than that. In his five years at UVa, Canty has connected with fans like few players in Cavalier history. His engaging personality has endeared him to fans, teammates, coaches and even jaded reporters, some of whom have encouraged him to get into sports television once his football career is over. And it's easy to see why.

Chris is loud, funny and articulate. More importantly, he's kind, enthusiastic and perpetually upbeat, a guy full of life and joy -- much like Anthony Poindexter, who suffered a major knee injury of his own as a Virginia senior in 1998. Poindexter's injury essentially derailed a promising NFL career, but his optimistic worldview never changed, and he now provides inspiration to the Cavaliers as an assistant coach.

Canty also may be an inspirational leader for Virginia's team this season, as Glenn Pappalardo argues in a well-written Sabre column. No matter how you look at it, the injury is a terrible shame, a sad end to the collegiate career of a great player. But if anyone has the attitude and fortitude to handle this kind of adversity, it's Chris Canty. After all, he's come back from a broken leg and a dislocated elbow, always better than before and always with a smile on his face.

We can only hope the rest of the Cavaliers prove just as resilient.

John Galinsky
Former Editor
TheSabre.com

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:

• UVa Hosts Northwestern The Cavaliers compete in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge this week. The Sabre will be there to provide coverage.
• Looking Back at Virginia Tech The Sabre looks back at the Virginia Tech showdown with JHoo's 10 Things I Learned, Inside the Game, and Greg's Game Grades.
• Key Questions The Sabre will release Part II of the key questions facing Dave Leitao's men's basketball team this season.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Big Pass Plays Make The Difference
This weekend's game between Virginia and Virginia Tech turned out to be a tough battle that was decided by big plays in the secondary. The Hokies came up with several big pass completions, including a huge touchdown play at the end of the first half, and that was enough to shake the Cavaliers.

Hokies Knock Out Hoos
At times this season, Al Groh has used a boxing analogy to describe his football team. Go to the middle of the ring and slug it out has been the refrain. Well on Saturday in Scott Stadium, Virginia Tech landed more punches, threw more staggering knockout blows, and outpointed the Cavaliers 33-21 to capture the Coastal Division title.

UVa Vs. Virginia Tech Scouting Report: VT Offense
With the return of several key injured players, Stella has apparently got her groove back offensively after a sluggish start. The Hokies have averaged 411 yards of offense over the last three games. Following a 395-yard effort against Florida State, offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said, "We knew we'd improve and get better. It was just a matter of when. We got Ed [Wang] back in there and we feel we have our best line-up in there now. That makes a difference up front. And we've been getting good quarterback play from both Sean [Glennon] and Tyrod [Taylor]."

UVa Vs. Virginia Tech Scouting Report: VT Defense
You will hear about Beamerball, flashy quarterbacks, and speedy wide receivers over the next few days but make no mistake, Virginia Tech's success over the years has been predicated on defense. The Hokies are having another successful campaign and it is in large part due to a defense ranked among the top six nationally in rushing defense (#6), pass efficiency defense (#5), total defense (#5), and scoring defense (#4).

The Hawk's Nest - Blocking Punts
In the last edition of The Hawk's Nest, we discussed the important steps that have to take place en route to producing a successful punt return. In this week's edition, we will discuss how to block a punt. As you know, Virginia Tech excels in this category and Virginia's Josh Zidenberg has blocked three punts in his career so it could be an area to watch this weekend.

Pirates Hand First Loss To UVa
The Virginia basketball team lost its first game of the season on Saturday, falling 74-60 to an athletic and scrappy Seton Hall team in The Philly Classic. The Pirates pestered the Cavaliers in to a poor shooting night and came up with numerous key offensive rebounds en route to the 14-point win. In the end, Dave Leitao attributed Seton Hall's success to its assertive play and a healthy dose of confidence.

Cavs Win Defensive Battle With Drexel
It took more than six minutes for Virginia to score. It took more than eight minutes for Virginia to tie. It took more than 15 minutes for Virginia to lead. In the end, however, it took less than five second-half minutes for Virginia to get a working double-digit margin en route to winning a defensive slugfest on Tuesday against Drexel, 72-58.

More recent updates on The Sabre ...

• Cavs Coast To Win Over Penn
• UVa Vs. Virginia Tech Scouting Report: Special Teams
• Wes' Ways To Win - Virginia Tech
• TSL's Take: Virginia Vs. Virginia Tech
• Blog Banter: Virginia Tech Q&A
• WCAV Special: Emotions Of A Rivalry
• Tuesday Press Conference Notes - VT
• Inside The Game: Miami

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