Virginia Adds Four More

A busy weekend couldn't have gone too much better for the Virginia football weekend as four commitments came out of a Top Prospect Day held on Saturday in Charlottesville.

Catholic (Belleair Beach, FL) tight end Paul Freedman narrowed his list of schools to three - Duke, Florida and Virginia - prior to his visit to the University of Virginia. The 6-6, 235-pound prospect's first experience in Charlottesville was all he needed to know UVa was the right fit, though, and he committed to head coach Al Groh on Saturday.

He was not alone.

Virginia also added commitments from Camden (N.J.) wide receiver Tyree Watkins and Brunswick School (Greenwich, CT) wide receiver Kevin Royal. The Virginia staff is no doubt excited about the decision from Watkins, who chose the Cavaliers over offers from Iowa, Miami, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Stanford and Tennessee. A 6-2, 180-pound prospect, Watkins recorded 70 receptions for 989 yards and 13 scores last season as a junior. He also performed well on defense, tallying five interceptions on the 2007 season, but projects as a wide receiver at Virginia.

Royal, a 6-4, 205-pound prospect, had pretty much decided to commit to UVa late last month, which was when he landed the offer, but he wanted to seal the deal Saturday. "I'm on cloud nine," said Royal, who only had the one offer but who had serious interest from Boston College, Connecticut and Miami, among others. In his sophomore year at Brunswick, Royal tallied 373 yards receiving and scored eight touchdowns. He would only play three full games his junior season, however, missing most of the year due to a broken collarbone. He will be a team captain his senior year.

Rounding out the weekend's success, UVa landed its 16th verbal commitment - the fourth from Saturday's Top Prospect Day. The Cavaliers latest commitment according to the Charlottesville Daily Progress is 6-6, 265-pound offensive lineman Sean Cascarano, a prospect out of Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Illinois.

Cascarano chose Virginia over offers from Arizona, Cincinnati, Colorado, Duke, Indiana and Michigan State. He also drew interest from Illinois, Michigan and Vanderbilt before pledging to the Hoos. Cascarano is the second offensive lineman to commit to Virginia's 2009 class, joining Centreville (Clifton, VA) standout Luke Bowanko.

For more information and quotes, please see Chris Horne's official reports within Sabre Edge.

• Freedman Pledges to Virginia , by Chris Horne, June 14, 2008
• NJ Star One of Two WR Commits Today, by Chris Horne, June 14, 2008
• Royal Excited to be Part of UVa's '09 Class, by Chris Horne, June 14, 2008
• Report: Another Commit for UVa , by Chris Horne, June 16, 2008

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