Blog Banter: Depth, I guess

When you get stuck with 10 pounds of crap, it's an improvement if fate lightens the load by a couple ounces. And that's sort of what this possible news from The Richmond Times-Dispatch about Jameel Sewel and Chris Cook is like.

Al Groh said last week that he expects quarterback Jameel Sewell and cornerback Chris Cook to rejoin the program in 2009. Whether wideout Chris Dalton and linebacker Darnell Carter will be back is unclear.

"I think they're probably less definitive at this time than Jameel and Chris," Groh said.

In January, UVa suspended Sewell, Cook, Dalton and Carter for academic reasons.

So, that's a good thing, I guess. Now, I don't think Jameel will play too much if and when he returns. If Sewell ends up being anything more than a backup to Peter Lalich, that would mean something went disastrously wrong with 2008. I don't expect too much next season, but I certainly don't think we'll be seeing some sort of train wreck unfold at the quarterback position. So, Jameel will likely be holding a clipboard when he gets back. Of course, it would be nice to have an experienced, talented guy on the bench in case of injuries. And it would be nice to have a change-of-pace type weapon on hand. And it would be nice to have a well liked leader back in the locker room. All nice things, but not 10 pounds worth of nice things.

I'm more interested in Cook's return. Again, after a year of being away from collegiate football, he might also find it difficult to supplant younger and experienced talent like Dowling and Hall at cornerback. But, again, it would be nice to have Chris providing solid depth at that position. He was a damn good cornerback, and he provide some key moments off the bench in between studying up for his not-failing-out-again-or-your-really-done-this-time course load.

Read the full entry here. And make sure to check out The Good Ol' Blog for regular posts about your Hoos.

Rob Mahini (Vandy-Hoo)

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Football recruiting ...

UVa was able to seal the deal with two more juniors last week, bringing its total number of 2009 class commitments to 10. Eight of the 10 commitments hail from the state of Virginia.

Last week, the Cavaliers went defensive in scoring 5-9, 185-pound safety prospect Perry Jones and 5-11, 190-pound safety/outside linebacker prospect LoVante' Battle. Jones, a first-team all-state selection in 2007, is Oscar Smith High School's (Chesapeake, VA) all-time leading tackler.

Battle led the Phoebus Phantoms (Hampton, VA) in tackling this past season. Possessing excellent speed, Battle has run the 100 meters in 10.76 seconds. Jones possesses excellent speed as well, having run an electronically timed 4.5 in the 40-yard dash at a recent Nike Combine held at Oscar Smith.

Virginia is off and running in the 2009 recruiting class. The 2005 class was the last time the Cavaliers had double-digit commitments by the end of May, and the class finished with a national ranking (by Rivals.com) of 19. In 2007, nine of Virginia's signees had committed by the end of May, and the national ranking was 25.

Should past history continue, Virginia's 2009 class should be a strong one come Signing Day.

May, a month in which the staff scored four commitments, was a big one for the Virginia coaching staff, but June should be a big month as well. On the 14th, the staff will host an Elite Junior Day, an event that has been a big success for head coach Al Groh and company. Last year, Virginia came away with four commitments from the event.

Later in the month, UVa football will hold a summer camp as well as a 7-on-7 tournament, so there should be plenty of news to report throughout the month. Today, we'll have the latest on Henry Clay (Lexington, KY) offensive lineman Samuel Simpson, who plans to attend the camp and who also plans to narrow his list of schools to "three to five" by the end of the month.

Stay tuned for more on the key targets who plan to be in Charlottesville on the 14th and for the camp and/or the 7-on-7 tournament later in the month. And we'll also continue to check in on those prospects Virginia offered late in the Evaluation Period as well as those top targets.

One of Virginia's top in-state targets, Deep Run (Glen Allen, VA) defensive end Jake Snyder, plans to sit down with his family within the next week or so and there is a possibility a decision could come. For more on Jake, who is also considering offers from Boston College, Colorado, Louisville, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Richmond, and Virginia Tech, check out Saturday's EDGE update.

Top 30

The Top 30 will be released no later than Wednesday, so stay tuned to find out which players made TheSabre.com's Pre-Summer In-State Top 30.

Basketball recruiting ...

The month of June will not only be big for Virginia football, but for Virginia basketball as well. The NBPA Top 100 Camp, which draws top talents from all across the country, is scheduled to take place on the campus of UVa from June 16th-June 21st. TheSabre.com will be on hand to cover the event and to profile Virginia's top targets.

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 ...

Battle Discusses Commitment to UVa
5-11, 190-pound Phoebus (Hampton, VA) standout LoVante' Battle, the University of Virginia's latest verbal commitment, turned in a breakout season in 2007. He "flies" around the field according to head coach Bill Dee, earning second-team all-Peninsula district honors for his junior season performance at inside linebacker.

Oscar Smith Star Talks UVa Commitment
Oscar Smith High School (Chesapeake, VA) star Perry Jones learned last Friday that the University of Virginia was extending an official scholarship offer. Yesterday, Virginia head coach Al Groh called the 5-9, 185-pound junior to inform him of the news personally, and Jones was ready and anxious to accept the offer.

Snyder to Focus on Decision Making Process
Deep Run (Glen Allen, VA) defensive end/tight end recruit Jake Snyder has closed out the Evaluation Period in style, adding scholarship offers from Louisville, Ohio State and Penn State to bring his total offer number to nine. Within the next few weeks, the 6-4, 235-pound rising senior may take the next step - whatever that may be - in his decision making process.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Top OL Headlines St. John's '09 Class
• In-State Standout Narrows List to Four
• Reynolds Emerging on Recruiting Scene
• Rhodes Enjoys Successful Month
• Cavs Recruiting Roll Continues
• Cavs Continue In-State Roll With Oscar Smith Star
• Brookville H.S. Recruiting Notes

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Cal State Fullerton Ends Virginia's Season With 4-1 NCAA Win: Cal State Fullerton's Cory Arbiso limited Virginia to one run in a complete-game effort as the Titans, the No. 5 national seed in the NCAA tournament, eliminated Virginia from the NCAA Fullerton Regional with a 4-1 win Sunday at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, Calif. Virginia ends its season with a 39-23 record.
• Women's Rowing Finishes Fifth At NCAAs: After the final day of competition at the 2008 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif., Virginia earned a fifth-place finish in the team standings, while its Varsity Four finished second, its Second Varsity Eight finished fourth and its Varsity Eight finished eighth. Virginia finished with 47 points, good for a top five finish for the eighth time in its 11-year history at the NCAA Championships. Brown was the team champion with 67 points, followed by Washington (59), California (53) and Yale (51).
• Five Virginia Rowers Earn All-Region Honors: Five members of the Virginia rowing team have earned All-Region honors, the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) announced. Jennifer Cromwell, Kelsie Chaudoin, Jennifer Hutchins, and Caitlin Mixter were all named to the first team, while Katrin Sydlik earned second team recognition.
• Ayeni, Garcia and Jesien Qualify for National Championships: Juniors Andrew Jesien and Yemi Ayeni, and sophomore Stephanie Garcia earned automatic bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships with top finishes at the NCAA East Regional Championships in Tallahassee, Fla., on Saturday. Jesien, finishing third in the 1500m, clocked in at 3:51.69 to mark the best finish by a Cavalier in the event at the regional meet, while Ayeni took third in the discus. Ayeni finished with a throw of 58.80m, while Garcia finished fifth in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:25.70. Garcia's finish is a best for Virginia since Dawn Cleary took fifth in the event at the 2003 championships.
• Dave Leitao To Participate In USO Tour To The Persian Gulf Region: Virginia basketball coach Dave Leitao is one of six current and former basketball coaches scheduled to participate soon in "Operation Hoop Talk: Talking with the Troops," a tour to the Persian Gulf region sponsored by the USO (United Service Organizations). During the tour, participants will share tips, host basketball clinics and tour military posts. The tour continues the USO's commitment to bringing sports figures and sports-related events to troops stationed overseas. The initiative was created to help boost troop morale and bring a touch of home to those in uniform. "While I am very excited about this trip, I am even more humbled by the opportunity to spend time with the men and women who are protecting our freedom," Leitao said. "It will be an honor and a privilege to talk with and thank those who put themselves in harms way each day so that we can live free here and abroad. I look forward to this trip as much as anything I have ever done."
• Devvarman Repeats as NCAA Singles Champion: Somdev Devvarman concluded his collegiate career by winning his second consecutive NCAA Singles Championship with a 6-3, 6-2 win over J.P. Smith of Tennessee in the 2008 final at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. Devvarman needed barely an hour to win the match and complete a resume that ranks among the greatest in collegiate tennis history. With the victory, Devvarman becomes the 13th player in the 124-year history of the tournament to win consecutive titles, and just the fourth to do so in the past 50 years. The win was also his 18th career NCAA Singles Tournament victory, extending his record for most in the current tournament format. "There was a little bit of a different feel this year than last year," said Devvarman. "Last year there was a bigger crowd and it was No. 1 vs. No. 2 instead of No. 1 vs. an unseeded player. But that didn't change how I prepared for the match. I was focused and played well. This one is probably more special because it came in my last match as a Cavalier."
• Four Cavaliers Earn All-America Honors: Four Cavaliers were named Inside Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and US Lacrosse All-Americans. National runner-up Penn led the way with five honorees, while five schools placed four representatives on the teams. Senior Claire Bordley became a unanimous first-team All-American being named to the first-team. Junior Ashley McCulloch was honored with a second-team pick, while senior Kendall McBrearty and junior Blair Weymouth were selected to the third-team. This marks Weymouth's third straight season in as many years that she has earned All-America status.
• UVa Golfers Finish 26th at NCAAs: The Virginia men's golf team was in 26th place after the third round of the NCAA Championships that were completed Saturday morning after being suspended Friday due to weather. The Cavaliers failed to make the 54-hole cut to advance to the final round.

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

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Issue No. 190 - May 20, 2005

Directors' Cup

Virginia currently ranks 34th in the Directors' Cup standings for the 2004-05 school year. What does that mean? Is that good enough? And should we even care?

Well, what the Cup measures, so to speak, is a school's performance across the board in NCAA championship competition. Points are awarded based on how teams finish in NCAA tournaments, meets, regattas, football polls, etc. For instance, UVa received 100 points last year for its women's lacrosse national title, 55 for finishing seventh in women's rowing, and so on. The Cavaliers totaled 577 points, good for 30th in the country. Virginia has finished in the top 30 all 11 years of the Cup's existence, with a high of #8 in 1998-99.

Craig Littlepage says one of UVa's goals is a high finish in the Directors' Cup.

Who cares? Well, UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage does...sort of. He points out that the Directors' Cup is just one measurement of the department's success. "It measures only athletic performance in NCAA events. It doesn't measure performance in your conference and it doesn't place any value on academic performance," he told me. "It is limited in its scope. It is only one barometer, one measurement. We don't place any significance in the Directors' Cup other than how it points toward our goal of winning NCAA championships."

But in that respect, Littlepage says, the Directors' Cup means something to him. When asked if finishing in the top 20 was a goal for the department, he said yes. "That is our strategic directive: to be competitive across the board in all our sports."

The good news is that Virginia has an excellent shot of achieving that goal. Despite accumulating just 317 points in the fall and winter, the Cavs are poised for a banner spring. They may add around 400 more points, as I wrote in an Edge column, Spring Sports Should Fill UVa's Cup. The women's lacrosse, men's lacrosse, men's tennis, women's rowing and women's golf teams all figure to be big point producers. Baseball, men's golf and track also may help the Cavalier cause.

Granted, we shouldn't put too much stock in a system that ignores regular-season and conference championships. It's also hard to take something seriously that awards points for women's bowling, water polo, fencing and skiing along with football and men's basketball. Please, give me a football championship over a Directors' Cup any day. But for a department that prides itself on broad-based excellence, as Virginia's does, the Cup ought to carry some water. So if UVa finishes in the top 20, I'll drink to that.

John Galinsky
(Then) 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 soon:

• JHoo's Summer Reading JHoo helps take an in-depth look at the football team starting in June.
• Jed Williams Long-time Sabre contributor Jed Williams returns with a handful of columns in the coming weeks.
• Top 30 Recruiting guru Chris Horne releases his Top 30 ranking for the in-state class of 2009.
• Ask The Experts: The Sabre is planning to bring back "Ask The Experts" in the coming weeks so keep an eye out for question requests on the boards and for the feature to hit the site.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

NCAA Regional Preview 2008
Whether you're a baseball fanatic or a casual Virginia sports fan TheSabre.com has you covered when it comes to the Fullerton Regional. For the stat geeks, we've got everything from ERA to OBP to RPI and for those that just want the down-and-dirty skinny, we've got that also. Let's take a look at the Cavaliers' pod where Cal State Fullerton, UCLA, and Rider join the Hoos.

Take 5: Waiting On Southern Cal
Virginia is wrapping up the sports year with baseball, women's rowing, and men's golf still in competition as May days fall off the calendar. That means it's nearly time for a quick breather before the 2008-09 seasons get under way. Personally, I couldn't wait to "Take 5" though. After all, Southern Cal is waiting in the wings and I've had some football thoughts on the brain.

Around The Horn: Freshmen Playing Well
In our preseason look at Virginia baseball, one of the questions facing the Hoos in 2008 was "Which freshmen will be relied upon to contribute?" The ultimate answer proved to be "all of them." After some regular season struggles, it appears the rookies have arrived. The five freshmen hit a combined .392 (20 of 51) in the ACC Tournament and accounted for 48% of Virginia's runs and 65% of its RBI.

Who Tops The Hoo Coaches List?
The coming and much-too-quick passing of Memorial Day brings with it several annual rites: honoring the memory of those who served, rediscovering the grilling gluttony of the Big Green Egg, and soaking in college lacrosse's crowning weekend. Oh yeah, and beer's usually involved too. For sports fans, it's often a time to reflect. So naturally, certain questions arise. Two in particular always peak my interest when it comes to the Cavaliers. They are "who's the best coach at UVa" and "which is Virginia's top sports program?" Today we'll take up the coaching quagmire.

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