Blog Banter: Outsiders Starting To Notice Class

It's pretty well known around the state that Virginia is off to a red hot-start with this football recruiting class. The 2009 list of commitments already sits at 16 members and several of those players are highly thought of prospects. Well, some college football reporters outside of the UVa beat are starting to notice.

This from ESPN's Scouts Inc.:

"The commitment this week from pass-catching tight end Paul Freedman (Clearwater, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic) shows you just how strong this under-the-radar Virginia class is compared to one ranking toward the bottom off the ACC last year with a C-minus ESPN.com grade. The sure-handed, 6-foot-6 tight end has a respectable 75 Scouts Inc. grade, which would have ranked him fourth in last year's Cavaliers class. Conversely, in 2009, that grade places Freedman ninth out of an impressive 15 total commitments already pledged to UVa.

Virginia has failed to sign an ESPN 150 prospect in its past three classes but already has three 150 Watch List candidates headlining its current group of commitments. The top-to-bottom quality is perhaps most impressive, evident by a quality player plucked out of the state of Florida like Freedman sitting in the bottom half. However, it's in the Commonwealth of Virginia where Al Groh and his staff are making the most gains on the recruiting trail in '09. In a year filled with good in-state depth, Virginia has already received verbals from 10 in-state prospects compared to last year's four."

While Scouts Inc. is one commitment behind, it is still nice to see the Cavalier class turning some heads in a national football article.

This blog post about football recruiting appeared during the week. Don't forget that The Good Ol' Blog is an excellent way to keep up with the Hoos! Rob Mahini (Vandy-Hoo) and Sabre Editor Kris Wright bring you the hot topics, relevant links, and more on a daily basis.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Basketball recruiting

As it stands currently, the University of Virginia men's basketball program has two scholarships to give in the 2009 recruiting class. A handful of its targets were on hand in Charlottesville this past week for the NBPA Top 100 Camp, and TheSabre.com provided coverage throughout the week.

Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.) forward Ryan Kelly and Miller Grove (Stone Mountain, GA) point guard Mfon (pronounced Mu-fon) Udofia headlined the list of Virginia targets. EDGE subscribers can check out articles on both prospects from last week's coverage. Kelly, a 6-9, 205-pound prospect, showed good basketball sense and an even better offensive touch en route to earning the honor of Most Promising Prospect at the camp, while Udofia flashed his explosive speed and quickness from the point guard spot. Virginia has made the final nine for Kelly, who plans to narrow his list again next month, and is in contention for the 6-2, 180-pound Udofia as well.

Today, be sure to check out the EDGE for more on another top 2009 class prospect in Rice (New York, N.Y.) guard Durand Scott. Scott, a 6-4, 180-pound two-guard, showed off a nice offensive game this week. He lists Virginia as one of the schools recruiting him the hardest.

From last week's coverage, EDGE subscribers can also check out the latest on Marietta, Georgia, wing forward Ari Stewart and Bel Air, Maryland, forward Isaiah Philmore, each of whom have been offered by the Cavaliers. The coverage does not stop with the 2009 class, though. Be sure to check out articles on top rising junior targets including North Carolina guard J.T. Terrell and Virginia forward Josh Hairston. Virginia has offered both prospects.

In the coming weeks, we'll also follow up with North Carolina rising senior guard Earnest Ross, who performed well at Virginia's Elite Basketball Camp last weekend. Ross also made an unofficial visit the day before the camp and had a great time, but at this time he has not received an offer from the Cavaliers. Last Saturday, Ross visited as well as top 2009 class wing forward target Tristan Spurlock, a wing out of Montrose Christian (Rockville, MD).

Football recruiting

With as many as nine spots remaining in the 2009 recruiting class, one of the focuses of the Virginia football staff will be adding more talent along the offensive and defensive lines. Two of Virginia's 16 verbal commitments are projected as offensive linemen and two more are projected as defensive lineman. I would expect that five or six of the remaining scholarships will be used to continue to shore up the line.

On Saturday, UVa hosted a 7-on-7 passing tournament as well as a one-day camp for linemen. Stay tuned, as we will follow up with those prospects who attended the camp and we will report any new offers that come about from the event. Virginia's regular summer camp lasts from the 22nd through the 25th of June, and we'll check in with the prospects who attended that camp as well.

Also this week, we'll have an article on Tate Forcier, who is one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. The Scripps Ranch (San Diego, CA) rising senior signal caller discusses his final 20 schools, a list that includes Virginia, and looks ahead to where his recruitment may head next. We'll also have more on Brunswick School (Greenwich, CT) wide receiver Kevin Royal, who is one of UVa's most recent commitments.

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 ...

Udofia Showing Skill At Top 100 Camp
Point guard Mfon Udofia, a 6-2, 180-pound player from Miller Grove in Georgia, plays the position the way a coach wants it to be played. He passes the ball willingly and gets teammates involved. He takes the open shot when it's there. He hounds the opposing point guard on defense. He dictates tempo. He leads on the floor. In fact, Udofia thinks his on-court leadership ability - he constantly communicated with his teammates and even physically nudged one in the right direction on defense once in Thursday morning action at the NBPA Top 100 Camp - is one of his strongest traits.

Kelly Discusses Latest UVa Visit
Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.) forward Ryan Kelly, one of Virginia's top targets in the 2009 class, is currently in Charlottesville, participating in the NBPA Top 100 Camp. The 6-9, 205-pound prospect arrived at the University of Virginia a day before the camp for another unofficial visit, with the main goal being to spend more time with Cavaliers players.

Academics, Athletics Combination Lures Cascarano
Glenbrook South (Glenview, IL) rising senior Sean Cascarano left Charlottesville on Sunday feeling as though the University of Virginia "was the place I wanted to be." Perhaps he would've committed while on the visit, but his father was back in Illinois and the 6-6, 265-pound offensive tackle wanted to get his blessing first.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Mount Tabor Star Can Play Either Guard Spot
• Courtland's Hairston a Big-Time Prospect
• Philmore Sees NBPA Camp as an Opportunity
• 2010 Star Terrell Considering Summer Decision
• Stewart Enjoying Top 100 Camp
• Panther Creek G Attends UVa's Camp
• Brandenburg Ready to Play
• Oscar Smith WR Reflects on UVa Junior Day
• Wilson Hopes to Narrow List in July
• Trinity Star OL Visiting UVa Today

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Must Read

The Daily Progress caught up with Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage for a question and answer session recently and the articles ran this past week. Sports Editor Jerry Ratcliffe conducted the interview and tackled questions about the goal of making the top 10 in the Director's Cup, academics at UVa and their affect on recruiting, an athletic fieldhouse, reseating, and more. It's an excellent look at many hot topics around Cavalier sports.

Check out the full Daily Progress articles: Littlepage looks for balance | Keeping an eye on the future. And don't forget that you can keep up with all the articles on your Hoos from around the state every day in Sabre NewsLink!

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Twenty-Five Cavaliers Qualify for U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials: The Virginia swimming team will be represented by 25 members, 14 from the men's squad and 11 from the women's squad, at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials, set for June 29 through July 6 in Omaha, Neb. "This very large team of athletes will be well-prepared physically for the challenge that is the USA Swimming Olympic Trials," Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. "They have prepared diligently the past 15 months and our expectation is that multiple athletes will be finalists and semi-finalists. We look forward to this greatest of swim competitions and to representing our university with distinction."
• Virginia Wins VASID Division I All-Sports Championship: Virginia won more than 61 percent of its intercollegiate athletic contests during the 2007-08 athletics year to win the 30th annual Virginia Sports Information Director's Association Division I All-Sport championship. It marks the 10th time the Cavaliers have won the competition. Virginia's 25 men's and women's intercollegiate athletics teams compiled an overall record of 262-160-8 (.619 winning percentage) in 2007-08. Old Dominion was second in the overall competition (177-116-5, .602) and James Madison was third (210-139-4, .601) among 14 Division I programs.
• UVa Teams Receive ACC Sportsmanship Awards: The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the recipients of the 2008 Spring Sportsmanship Awards. Teams receiving the awards have conducted themselves with a high degree of character and good sportsmanship, as determined by a vote of the league's players and coaches. The Virgina women's golf and women's tennis teams were recognized by their peers as the sportsmanship award winners for the league's spring sports.
• Arseneault Wins Western Amateur: Virginia senior Jennie Arseneault won the 108th Women's Western Golf Association National Amateur Championship on Saturday. The six-day tournament, that included 36 holes of stroke play and a 64-person field in match play, was held at Canongate at Summer Grove Golf Club in Newnan, Ga. The Western Am is considered one of the nation's top women's amateur tournaments. The event starts with 144 players from around the country.
• Collins Finishes Runner-Up at USA Jr National Championships: Virginia freshman Ryan Collins placed second in the 5000m run at the 2008 USA Junior National Championships in Columbus, Ohio over the weekend to qualify for the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland in early July. He finished in 14:46.50, just two-seconds behind Matthew Centrowitz's (Oregon) time of 14:44.67 that won the race.

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

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Issue No. 225 - January 20, 2006

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Football recruiting ...

UVa landed two commitments this week and both project for the safety position. Sunday night, Edgewater (Orlando, FL) 3-star prospect Michael Parker verbally committed to the 'Hoos over Wake Forest and offers from Clemson, Georgia Tech and South Carolina. Parker has good size at around 6-2, 185 pounds, and he was electronically timed at 4.6 in the 40-yard dash at the Nike camp in Miami last year.

"Coach Groh told me he really liked the way I hit," Parker told TheSabre.com earlier this week.

Parker, who attended UVa's summer camp in 2005, earned second-team all-Central Florida honors by the Orlando Sentinel for his senior year performance.

6-1½, 192-pound Winston Churchill (Bethesda, MD) standout Matt Leemhuis camped at Virginia as well, but only received an official offer from the 'Hoos several weeks ago. Leemhuis racked up 100 tackles and had three interceptions his senior season, earning second-team all-metro honors from the Washington Post.

Leemhuis, who also camped at UVa last summer, chose the Cavs over California. He made an official visit to Cal on the weekend of January 6 and had a great time, but felt UVa was in his heart in the end.

"Virginia was always my number one school," Leemhuis said. "It was my gut feeling. I felt comfortable there. My whole family is on the East Coast, so they can all come and watch my games. Cal is just a little too far. And a point that Virginia made was what would I do if I couldn't play football anymore...would I fit in wherever I was? I think I'm a UVa guy. I have a lot of friends who go to UVa. I had a great time at Cal, but I just went with my gut feeling."

The commitments of Parker and Leemhuis bring Virginia's total to 22 for the 2006 class. Virginia could take at least five more players, possibly more.

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 with the fourth article in this series.
• More From NBPA Top 100 Chris Horne continues to bring you prospect interviews from last week's NBPA Top 100 Camp held at the John Paul Jones Arena.
• Jed Williams: Jed is busy working out his next column, which appear in the coming days.
• Baseball Wrap-Up: We'll take a look back and a look forward for the baseball and men's tennis teams.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Best Seat In The House: Sean Singletary
Virginia point guard Sean Singletary will find out his NBA Draft fate in a few days after starring for the Cavaliers the last four years. Singletary joined The Best Seat in the House to talk about the upcoming draft, workouts with NBA teams, the league itself, and more. Also check out recent audio updates with football recruit Paul Freedman, Craig Littlepage, Dave Leitao, and Sabre recruiting analyst Chris Horne. Audio is always free on The Sabre!

Boland Optimistic For Cavaliers' Future
For the past four years, Somdev Devvarman has been the face of Virginia tennis. Devvarman's dazzling résumé, including back-to-back NCAA Singles National Championships and back-to-back ITA National Player of the Year Awards, sets him apart as one of the most accomplished student-athletes ever to walk the grounds at the University of Virginia. Despite losing Devvarman, UVa coach Brian Boland expects the Cavaliers' tradition of success to continue.

JHoo's Summer Reading '08: Receivers
I am not sure I can remember a year during the Al Groh era when it has been more pleasurable to write the column about the wide receivers. Simply put, while I have some concerns about the 2008 passing game, it has nothing to do with the talent Virginia has at the wide receiver position ... and that has not been something I frequently could say in past years.

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