Groh Not Surprised By Albert's Rise

When Virginia junior Branden Albert declared for the NFL Draft in January, it wasn't too surprising. After all, at 6-7, 315 pounds, he had the physical build to be ready for professional football. He displayed the ability to pass block and get out in space as a pulling guard as a Cavalier. Plus, Albert had already shown the ability to handle both the guard and tackle position during the season.

In the weeks since the announcement, Albert's decision certainly has looked like a good one. He is now projected as a likely first round pick by most draft pundits. That's not too surprising to at least one person: UVa coach Al Groh.

"There are some underclassmen that everybody all can see it coming, that this player is probably not going to be back for his fourth year so there's a buzz around that player from the start. There are other players that make that decision at the end of their season so as a result, if we want to use this phrase, the establishment of their stock value is really starting from scratch at that point so it's going to rise. That was the case with Branden," Groh said Monday. "As teams do more study of him and become more aware of him, either through study of his tape or personally working him out or watching his workouts, his skills clearly show and the upside he has as a player is becoming very evident to teams. As a result, yes there seems to be increasing interest in him."

In an EDGE article from Jed Williams last week, Todd McShay of ESPN & Scouts Inc. says Albert "could be the top interior offensive lineman selected in 2008 draft" while Eric Edholm, Pro Football Weekly Senior Editor, says he "could see him going as high as 15, but definitely first round."

Kris Wright
Editor
TheSabre.com

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

UVa football added another 2009 class commitment Sunday, when Sherando (Stephens City, VA) junior quarterback Ross Metheny pledged to the Cavaliers while in attendance for a spring practice. The 6-3, 190-pound signal caller is the fifth player to commit to the Cavaliers in this class.

Through March, the staff is having recruiting success on two fronts - recruiting the state and recruiting the offensive side of the ball. Four of the five commitments hail from the Commonwealth (with Wheaton, MD/Good Counsel ATH Caleb Porzel being the exception) and all five of the players are projected to play on the offensive side of the ball.

Metheny, who has led the Warriors to a 33-5 record in his time as varsity starting quarterback, is the first true quarterback commitment. Orange (VA) star athlete Quintin Hunter will get a shot at quarterback, though wide receiver is likely his ultimate position. An exciting athlete, Hunter was a standout wide receiver and defensive back his sophomore year before compiling about 3,000 yards of total offense from the quarterback position this past season.

Porzel, a wide receiver/running back/return man prospect, has blazing speed at 4.38 in the 40-yard dash. We'll check in soon with the 5-8, 180-pound junior, who reportedly plans to visit other schools in the near future. If he stays committed to the Hoos, he brings excellent speed and big-play ability on offense and special teams.

UVa started off its recruiting with a bang in the offensive backfield, landing two of the state's top running back prospects in 5-11, 170-pound Harrisonburg star Alex Owah and 6-1, 225-pound Chancellor star Dominique Wallace. Owah, who was the first player to commit to Virginia's '09 class, has rushed for more than 2,000 yards each of the past two seasons. He has 4.44 40 speed.

Wallace, who is also a standout linebacker, is a bigger back but he can run as well, having been timed in the 40 in less than 4.5 seconds. He rushed for 1,752 yards on 245 carries last season as a junior. EDGE subscribers can view video of Wallace's junior season performance. Stay tuned this week for video on newest commit Ross Metheny, who completed 62-percent of his passes for 2,207 yards with 24 touchdowns and only seven interceptions this past season.

UVa's coaches hope for more success in this spring practice period. Several recruits have mentioned a junior day on April 5, and of course the Spring Game is on April 12. Stay tuned for an update this week on Liberty (Bealeton, VA) safety Corey Lillard, who is one of several recruits I've spoken with that plans to be in attendance for the Spring Game. The 5-11, 208-pound recruit talks about unofficial visits to Duke, Rutgers, and N.C. State this past week, as well as when a decision could come.

Ohio linebacker recruit Dan Fox was hoping to take in a spring practice recently, and we'll check in with the 6-4, 215-pound standout to see if he made the trip and how his experience went. We'll also continue to follow up on other potential visitors and other recruits that UVa has offered or is showing interest in. Fox, a star out of St. Ignatius High School out of Cleveland, has been offered by Groh and company.

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 ...

Metheny Commits
On Friday, Sherando (Stephens City, VA) quarterback Ross Metheny told TheSabre.com that he was looking forward to today's visit to Charlottesville to see a University of Virginia spring practice. The 6-3, 190-pound standout was excited for good reason, as this afternoon he decided to become the latest high school junior to commit to the University of Virginia's 2009 recruiting class.

Catching up with OL Signee Matt Mihalik
Gilmour Academy (Middlefield, OH) star offensive lineman Matt Mihalik quickly accepted the University of Virginia's scholarship offer and became the first prospect to commit to the Cavaliers in the 2008 recruiting class. Mihalik, who committed to Virginia on September 1, 2006, stuck by his decision and signed a letter of intent on Signing Day last month.

UVa Remains in Running for Star Forward
6-7, 185-pound forward Wesley Witherspoon is one of the top uncommitted prospects remaining in the 2008 recruiting class. Rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com, the Berkmar High School (Lilburn, GA) star is coming off of a terrific senior season in which he averaged 20 points and almost 10 rebounds per contest.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Metheny Updates Recruitment
• Bowanko Drawing Division 1A Interest
• Recruitment Picking up for Zach Thompson
• Which Sport will Miller Choose?
• Star OL Keeping Quiet on Recruiting Front
• Top CB is on a Roll

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Blog Banter: The CBI, in its aftermath

So, was it a good decision to accept the invitation to play in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational? Depends.

But looking at everything in retrospect, paying $150K for three post-season games - including two of the most fantastic finishes in Virginia history - which allowed for some further player practice and development (yes, there was some despite what you saw) might have been an okay price. While it was a decent chunk of change, the loss is just 0.3% of the overall budget (stat brought to you by Percentage Calculator). Another round of $3 tap waters ought to balance it all out.

Most importantly, the CBI extended the career of one of Virginia's greatest players ever by several games. Perhaps this is postgame spin, but Jon Oliver, the Cavaliers' executive associate athletic director expressly listed this part of the reasoning: "It was a chance for Sean [Singletary] and the other seniors to keep playing." Assuming that the coach and players wanted to keep on playing, I guess it would be tough to tell 'em "No! It costs too much! That'll swallow less than half-a-percent of the entire athletic budget!"

In the end, accepting the invitation was probably a decision that had to made. I don't think any of the other schools that rejected their CBI invite had a pantheon-level senior like Sean to consider. (Jamar Nutter doesn't qualify). Teams that have a game changing senior like Singletary usually have bigger fish to fry. Hopefully, the next time we have someone of Sean's level about to end his career, Virginia won't have to worry about the economic calculus of a third-tier tourney either.

Read more from The Good Ol' Blog here.

Robert Mahini (Vandy-Hoo)
TheSabre.com

More On The Hot Topic

The Good Ol' Blog tackled the monetary thoughts on the CBI thanks to a series of articles detailing the finances of the tournament. The Roanoke Times and The Richmond Times-Dispatch, among others, reported that Jon Oliver said UVa is "likely to lose about $150,000" on the tourney (read the Roanoke Times story here | read the RTD story here).

Of course, that alone is not what raised eyebrows. The fact that Old Dominion, Virginia's second round opponent, reportedly got a better deal was what drew attention. The Virginian-Pilot published a story (read the story here) that carried the headline: Monarchs got sizable discount to play in CBI. That story, in part, states that "ODU, knowing it would have fewer than 48 hours to promote the Tuesday night game, was able to negotiate a deal waiving the tournament's gate guarantee of $60,000."

There is apparently more to come on this story, but something doesn't seem quite right does it? While we wait to see if more details develop, The Roanoke Times story caught the CBI's attention. So much so, that Rick Giles, a CBI representative from the sponsoring Gazelle Group, sent a letter to the editor (read it here) saying it didn't "present a more balanced view" of the situation.

Stay tuned.

UVa Bookstores' You Pick Em Contest

Lacrosse fans, don't miss a chance to participate in UVA Bookstores' You Pick Em Contest. The game is simple: The first contestant who picks the winner and comes closest to predicting the final score wins. In case of ties, the earliest entry will be awarded the prize. Entries must be received by 12:00 a.m. EST game day. Entries received after 12:00 a.m. (midnight the night before the game) are ineligible. Limit one entry per person. Results will be posted by Noon the Monday following the game (excluding holidays). Please note that there will not be contests for the mid-week games this season. Also please select whether to have a weekly message sent, informing you of each week's results. Just check the 'Do not wish to be on mailing list' button if you choose not to receive our weekly message.

Get the complete rules and enter this week's contest at UVabookstores.com.

History of UVa Football Documentary

Hey there long-time Wahoo fans! Do you have any old photos or memorabilia of UVa football from the 1950s, 40s, 30s, or even earlier? Perhaps your grandfather has an old collection in the attic, or a photo hanging on the wall! Photos of Lambeth Field, players, coaches, or even just the fans! A documentary would love to photograph or scan any items that could be useful in a documentary about UVa's football history, and they promise to not only protect it with their lives, but to return it to you unharmed, and give you credit.

So look through those old dusty boxes, call up old Uncle Frank from the class of '37, and let the documentary know if you have an old photo, newspaper clipping, helmet or uniform, pennant, game ticket, postcard, program, or something else that might help tell the story of UVa football. And maybe you have an amazing story about UVa football's past that not too many people know? Like the fact that President Calvin Coolidge used to attend the season-ending game against UNC because it was THE sporting event of the year! They want to hear your stories!

If you find anything, please contact Lisa Ermatinger [email protected] at the e-mail address to discuss. Thanks and Go Hoos!

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Henrich Named ACC Freshman of the Year: Virginia wrestling's Chris Henrich has been named 2008 ACC Freshman of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches. He is the second Virginia wrestler to win the award, joining Eric Albright, who captured the distinction in 2006. Henrich finished the season 26-10 overall and 4-1 in ACC dual-meet competition at 174 pounds. "Chris is one of hardest-working wrestlers I have ever coached," Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. "There's no secret to how you win in this sport, and that is through hard work and discipline, and he exemplifies that."
• No. 2 Rowing Finishes Pac-10 Challenge With Three Victories: No. 2 Virginia won three varsity races to wrap up action at the Pac-10 Challenge in Redwood City, Calif., Sunday afternoon. In races against some of the top crews in the nation, the Cavaliers came up with victories in the one-boat, two-boat and four-boat races. "I thought it was great to see the speed that we saw," head coach Kevin Sauer said. "We had good races today and we are always looking for continued progress and each boat performed well."
• No. 15 Baseball Edges Virginia Tech to Sweep Three-Game Series: Virginia wrapped up a three-game series sweep of Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 victory over the Hokies in baseball action at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers continued their recent dominance over the Hokies with their 12th straight win in the series, including all 10 games since Virginia Tech entered the ACC in 2005. The win also was head coach Brian O'Connor's 200th at Virginia as his teams improved to 11-0 against Virginia Tech.
• Heineking Finishes 26th at World Cross Country Championships: Freshman Emil Heineking, running in the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland Sunday morning, finished the junior men's race in 26th place in a time of 24:16. Of the 109 athletes, Heineking was the second American across the line and just 1:38 behind the winner, Ethiopia's Ibrahim Jellan.
• Virginia Men Place 15th at 2008 NCAA Championships: With standout performances over the past three days totaling 69 points, the Virginia men's swimming team ended the 2008 NCAA Championships late Saturday with a 15th-place finish. The event was held at the King County Aquatic Center and was hosted by the University of Washington. Arizona won the title with 500.5 points while Texas (406) was second and Stanford (344) finished third. The Cavaliers had the highest finish among ACC schools.
• Cavalier Golfers Tie for Sixth at Bryan National: The 24th-ranked Virginia women's golf team finished in a three-way tie for sixth place Sunday at the Bryan National Collegiate in Brown Summit, N.C. The Cavaliers shot 312 during the final round to finish the 54-hole event at 919. The Cavaliers were tied with No. 15 Wake Forest and No. 20 Michigan State. Jennie Arseneault was Virginia's top finisher in 17th place at 229.
• Cavalier Fans Invited To Women's Basketball Postseason Banquet: Cavalier women's basketball fans are invited to attend the program's postseason banquet, being held on Sunday, April 13, in Bryant Hall. A social will begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and the banquet at 6:30 p.m. The cost per person is $25.00 and fans can reserve their spot by emailing Karie Russell in the women's basketball office at [email protected]. Please RSVP by Friday, April 4.
• Five Cavaliers Win Titles at Hurricane Challenge: Five Cavaliers won their events at the Hurricane Challenge Saturday to lead the Virginia track and field team, while senior All-American Billie-Jo Grant broke the school record in the discus. Freshman Marcus Robinson led the squad by winning the long (6.99m) and triple (14.62m) jumps, while senior All-Americans Yemi Ayeni and Grant won the men's and women's discus titles, respectively. Grant threw a personal-best 56.07m and Ayeni threw 59.09m, both regional qualifying marks. Grant also placed third in the shot put, and threw a qualifying mark of 14.96m.
• Maryland Upends Virginia 13-7: Using faceoff dominance and excellent goalie play, Maryland ended Virginia's nine-game winning streak with a 13-7 win before 4,239 fans Saturday afternoon at Byrd Stadium. The Cavaliers lost their ACC opener for the first time in four years to fall to 9-1 overall this season. The loss will almost certainly knock them from the No. 1 ranking after a one-week stay.
• Cavaliers Snap Duke's Home Win Streak with 13-9 Victory: A strong start and solid midfield play on Saturday afternoon led the No. 4 Virginia women's lacrosse team to a 13-9 victory over ACC-rival No. 5 Duke in Koskinen Stadium. The win marks the first for a team visiting Durham in the last 20 tries, as the Cavaliers were the last to beat the Blue Devils on their home turf, an 11-10 win on April 1, 2006.
• Virginia Cruises to 6-1 Win Over No. 10 Florida State: The top-ranked Virginia men's tennis team needed barely two-and-a-half hours to post its seventh top 10 win of the season, downing No. 10 Florida State 6-1 Sunday afternoon at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club. The Cavaliers (21-0, 7-0 ACC) recorded their 24th consecutive win over an ACC opponent, tying the school record set from 2004-2006. "I think with each match we have just continued to play a little bit better," said head coach Brian Boland. "We had a great week of practice and that hard work showed in a pair of wins against two quality conference teams."
• Virginia Women's Tennis Defeats Boston College 5-2: The Virginia women's tennis team improved to 5-2 in the ACC with a 5-2 victory over Boston College on Sunday afternoon. The victory also improves the Cavaliers' overall record at 9-8 this season.
• Cavaliers Rally to Beat NC State 8-7; Take Series: The Virginia softball team (11-23, 4-5 ACC) scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally to beat N.C. State 8-7 Sunday in the final game of the series at The Park. The Cavaliers, who trailed 7-3 in the sixth inning, won their second Atlantic Coast Conference series of the season.

For more Hoo news or to read full releases, check out Virginiasports.com.

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Issue No. 255 - August 21, 2006

Post of the Week

Sean Singletary is locked in at the point guard position. Will the lack of a proven back-up PG hurt the Cavs?

Subject: Breaking the press is as dependent on other players as on the PG
Posted by: TheGrinch on Mon Aug 21 2006 9:08:03 AM
Message: Thinking that press-breaking is all on the point guard is a common misconception, but truly effective press-breaking is probably more dependent on ability of the other four players.

If it's a straight up man press, then the pg is important, but having some ball handling options at the other guard spots will help. Having only two competent ball handlers on the floor at any one time last season hurt us more against this type of press than the individual abilities of any of our point guards. From Harris, Tat, and hopefully an improved Diane, we should have three players on the floor who can handle the ball at any point ... even if SS or JR is on the bench. Good passers are also effective in breaking this type of press, and we should have more effective passers on the floor this year.

Against a trapping-style press (which is usually what people mean when they say "press"), passing is more important than dribbling. Dribbling through this type of press is the least effective method of breaking it. You punish the trap-press with the pass, so you need a few other good passing players for the doubled player to pass to and send it on. Last year, we tended to dribble through the press, which lets the pressing team recover defensively. Throwing over it prevents the trapping players from getting back to the ball and should yield an easy basket on the other end.

Losing TJ hurts against the press because we lose a player who could handle and pass, and we didn't have many of those last year. This year, we should have more, so we won't miss him as much as last year's team would have missed him. Breaking the press is the least of my worries for this season ... effective and consistent play is a much bigger concern.

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:

• CBI Tournament: Mike Ingalls provides a photo gallery look at the men's basketball team in the CBI Tournament.
• Spring football: The Sabre got a chance to attend spring practice for the first time over the weekend. Look for several articles about the Hoos.
• Around the Horn: Fresh off a sweep of Virginia Tech, the baseball team heads to FSU this week. The Sabre's Greg Waters takes his weekly look at the Cavs.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Brattons Emerging As Maryland Looms
When the Virginia men's lacrosse team picked up a thrilling 13-12 overtime win last week against Johns Hopkins, there was an unmistakable buzz in Klockner Stadium from start to finish. The lacrosse stadium record crowd of 7,579 seemed to have a little extra sizzle at times, though. Namely almost anytime Shamel or Rhamel Bratton ended up with the ball in their sticks in a position to make a play. In the end, the words on many observers' lips: coming out party.

Around The Horn: Role Reversal
Six times last season Andrew Carraway came into a game in relief of starter Matt Packer. On March 16, 2008 against Duke, those roles reversed as Matt Packer entered the game in the sixth inning to relieve Carraway in Virginia's 4-1 loss in Durham. This past weekend, Packer again picked up his teammate, this time with a different outcome as the Hoos outlasted Boston College 8-6.

Bradley Ends Cavs' CBI Run
Well, it sure was fun while it lasted. Virginia's run in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational screeched to a halt on Wednesday night as a sharp-shooting Bradley team dumped the Hoos, 96-85, simultaneously closing the curtain on the career of Sean Singletary. The final farewell wasn't the stuff of sugar plum dreams as the Cavaliers finished with a home loss and a 17-16 record.

Cavs' NFL Pipeline Still Flowing
However you feel about Al Groh as a college football coach - and yes, the reviews are very mixed - this one thing is for sure: the ex-Jet, Patriot, Giant, etc. knows what the NFL likes and wants. And he delivers them that product. For the second time in three years, an NFL Commissioner will step to the podium and within the first five picks, utter a name followed by "The University of Virginia." The depth of talent emerging from the Charlottesville pipeline is more top-heavy and less plentiful than three years ago when seven Hoos were called on Draft day (third among all college programs), but it's far from sparse.

ODU Women Stun UVa In OT
NORFOLK - After Monday's heartbreaking loss the Old Dominion men's basketball team suffered at the hands of Virginia, the Lady Monarchs returned the favor in just as devastating fashion, downing Lyndra Littles and the Cavaliers 88-85 in overtime of the NCAA Tournament's second round. With 31.3 seconds remaining in overtime, Old Dominion junior point guard Jazzmin Walters found the ball in her hands and let it fly from beyond the arc to deliver a dagger to the heart of the Hoos as the shot clock expired.

CBI Notes: Tucker, Jones Developing
One of the bigger storylines in Virginia's 80-76 victory over Old Dominion on Monday in the College Basketball Invitational was the play of Jamil Tucker and Jeff Jones. Both players scored in double figures as they combined to can five of UVa's nine 3-pointers. It continues a recent streak of strong play for Tucker and perhaps a sign of growth for Jones, according to Cavalier coach Dave Leitao.

Singletary, Hoos Steal Win From ODU
Virginia's Sean Singletary has maintained all along that he doesn't care what the situation is - even if it's just the College Basketball Invitational - he wants to win. If anyone ever doubted it, Monday's CBI Quarterfinal provided crystal clear proof that he meant it. Singletary pulled off an improbable, unbelievable, shocking - yes even for him - 30 seconds against Old Dominion to raise the Cavaliers from the dead and hand-deliver an 80-76 victory in the John Paul Jones Arena.

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