Long Agrees To Deal With Rams

Virginia defensive end Chris Long said all along that he would get a deal done before training camp started. Over the weekend, he showed he meant it. Long agreed to a long-term contract with the Rams on Saturday; St. Louis begins training camp on Friday in Wisconsin.

While all the official terms of Long's deal have not been released, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that it is a five-year deal with an option for a sixth year. ESPN's John Clayton also pegs the deal as five years with a sixth year option.

Long was the second overall pick in the NFL Draft, the second highest draft spot ever for a Virginia Cavalier. Bill Dudley was taken No. 1 overall in 1942 by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

This week, we'll have more on Virginia men's basketball's first commitment of the 2009 recruiting class, 5-11, 185-pound Bethel (Hampton, VA) point guard Jontel Evans. Evans verbally committed to the Hoos last Friday, picking Virginia over an offer from Marquette as well as heavy interest from Virginia Tech, among others.

As a junior last season, Evans led the Bethel Bruins to a 30-2 overall record and an appearance in the Group AAA State Championship Game. He averaged 12 points, five assists, and three steals per game. Evans' good play continued on the AAU circuit. Playing for Boo Williams 17-and-under squad, he helped the team to a Nike Peach Jam title last week.

Evans earned an offer from the University of Virginia following his performance at Virginia's Elite Camp last month. He has since made a return trip with his parents before deciding last week to go ahead with a commitment.

In Evans, Virginia gets a quick, athletic, strong point guard who possesses a solid jump shot according to sources. He also brings a tough defensive presence to the point guard position. At this time the Virginia staff only has one more spot to fill for the 2009 recruiting class, but if several top targets - targets such as F Ryan Kelly and WF Tristan Spurlock (Spurlock played on Boo Williams' squad this summer as well) - wanted to come aboard then I'd have a tough time seeing the UVa staff not accepting those commitments.

In case you missed it, check out the latest on Spurlock in an EDGE article last week. The 6-8, 215-pound swingman has narrowed his list to five and has a key unofficial visit lined up for Aug. 6. There is a possibility that he could make his college decision soon after that visit. Georgetown and Virginia appear to be the top contenders right now.

The 6-9 Kelly, a star at Ravenscroft School (Raleigh, N.C.), has turned in a big offseason and is rising fast as one of the top overall players in the 2009 class. Kelly has yet to narrow his list again since narrowing it down to nine originally. Virginia certainly remains in the mix here as well.

On the football recruiting front, we will check in with St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) defensive end Pat Muldoon for another update on his recruitment. Reportedly, the 6-4, 265-pound prospect has narrowed his list of schools to four. With three defensive end recruits in the fold already, defensive end is no longer a huge need in this class. But, look for the staff to take a top target if one wants to commit and Muldoon certainly fits that mold.

We'll also check in with Zack McCray, a top rising junior recruit out of Brookville (Lynchburg, VA). McCray has several offers already - they are verbal offers at this point, but they will be official come September - including Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. McCray is the cousin of top rising senior recruit Logan Thomas, who is the starting quarterback for Brookville.

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 ...

Revisiting the 2009 Class Needs: Defense
Recruiting the defensive side of the ball has gone very well for the Virginia Cavaliers in this 2009 recruiting class. Eight promising prospects project to play on defense, including three defensive ends, two linebackers, two safeties and one outside linebacker/safety. The staff has done well in addressing an important need at defensive end, so are there any remaining big defensive needs to fill in this class?

Norman Talks Senior Season, Recruitment
6-3, 185-pound athlete Theron Norman has yet to narrow his list of schools and he doesn't seem to be in a rush to make a college decision. Instead, the Hermitage (Richmond, VA) standout has spent the majority of his summer preparing for his senior season and his new role as the full-time Panthers starting quarterback.

Tristan Spurlock Names Top Five
Wing forward Tristan Spurlock, one of Virginia's top 2009 class targets for quite some time, could make his college choice by the end of this summer. The 6-8, 215-pound prospect, who attended Montrose Christian (Rockville, MD) each of the past two years, took an unofficial visit to UVa last month and will make an unofficial visit to another high favorite on his list, Georgetown, early next month.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Evans Commits To Cavs
• Is Evans Closing In On A Decision?
• Lafayette's Hill Updates Recruitment
• Exum Impressed With Virginia Tech

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Meet the Team Day Set for Aug. 10

Virginia Athletic Media Relations
Official Release

The Virginia football team will hold its popular "Meet the Team Day" this year on Sunday, Aug. 10. Cavalier fans will have the chance to interact with the players on Virginia's 2008 squad and head coach Al Groh. Meet the Team Day takes place at the Carl Smith Center, home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium. Players will be available for photos and autographs from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Gates to the stadium open at 2 p.m.

The Sabre's Opponent Sites' Directory

Southern California (Official) WildWestSports.com USCFootball.com SCPlaybook

With football season approaching fast, many Virginia fans might be interested in what the Cavaliers' opponents are up to this summer. Well, the Sabre has saved you some research time. Much like the Southern California example seen here (the Trojans are the Hoos' opening opponent), all of the Web sites for the football and basketball teams' opponents have been linked in our Opponent Sites section. That makes it easy to check up on UVa's opponents before the opening kickoff!

Blog Banter: 2007-2008 Wrap-Up: Men's Golf

The Good Ol' Blog continues to take a look back at last season's results for Virginia athletics. The latest recap belongs to the men's golf team, which made a somewhat surprising late-season run.

While I won't take expectations and past performance into account for ranking the programs after the wrap-ups, I certainly don't mind pointing out in the wrap-ups any context that makes what appears to be a decent season on paper into what was actually a pretty remarkable season given the history of a program.

And that's what has to be done with the men's golf team, which hadn't been setting the world on fire as of late. In fact, most of this past season wasn't exactly Tiger-Tiger-Tiger-Woods-Ya'll either, though the team had some solid finishes (1st place at the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate and the Cavalier Classic, 2nd at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic, and 3rd at the Seminole Intercollegiate). But one last miraculous burst in the final round of play at the NCAA Eastern Regionals earned them an unexpected trip to the NCAA Championships ... their first since 2000.

Read the rest of this entry and find the links to previous wrap-ups too!

Keep in touch with all the hot topics around Virginia athletics on The Good Ol' Blog.

Rob Mahini (Vandy-Hoo)
The Good Ol' Blog

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Wrestling Reels in Third Straight Top 25 Class: Virginia wrestling's incoming freshman class has been ranked No. 19 nationally by InterMat. It marks the third straight top 25 class that head coach Steve Garland and his staff have signed. Last season, the Cavaliers' freshman class was ranked No. 8 nationally by InterMat, while the 2006 class was touted No. 23. "We are very happy with this year's class," Garland said. "Another top 20 ranking is great and I am proud of my staff, but I really feel like the kids we are bringing in this year have been overlooked by a lot of people. Derek Valenti is a New Jersey state champ from one of the toughest states in the country, and Jedd Moore, out of Ohio, is one of the hardest-working kids I have ever seen. Trust me on this, these guys are very good."
• Four Cavaliers Lead Under-19 National Team to World Championship: Four members of the Virginia men's lacrosse program played important roles in leading the United States Under-19 National team to U19 world championship last weekend in Coquitlam, British Columbia. All four players will be sophomores at UVa this coming season. Adam Ghitelman started six of the team's seven games and was named the tournament's top goaltender. He recorded a tourney-high 61 saves, including 19 in the gold medal win over Canada. He finished with a 60.4 save percentage and was also named to the All-World Team. Nick Elsmo was the team's top shortstick defensive midfielder and scored 12 goals in the tournament to lead the US midfielders. Rhamel Bratton was the team's third-leading scorer with nine goals. Defenseman Bray Malphrus appeared in all seven games and helped Team USA hold its opponents to an average of 6.86 goals per game.
• Rubeor Named ACC Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ben Rubeor has been named the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year as announced by commissioner John D. Swofford. Rubeor headlines six Cavaliers named to the conference's all-academic squad. Rubeor is joined on the all-academic squad by teammates Adam Ghitelman, Danny Glading, Peter Lamade, Tim Shaw, and Mike Timms.
• Cavaliers Place Four on All-ACC Academic Team: The Virginia women's lacrosse team placed four seniors - including first-team All-American Claire Bordley and second-team All-American Kendall McBrearty - on the 2008 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Women's Lacrosse team. Classmates Megan O'Malley and Kaitlin Swagart also received all-conference academic recognition.
• Arseneault Wins Stroke Play at North and South: Jennie Arseneault captured medalist honors by one stroke and was awarded the Putterboy trophy after the qualifying stroke play rounds at the 106th Women's North and South Amateur Championship at Pinehurst on Tuesday. The UVa rising senior and Women's Western Amateur Champion carded a 70-71--144 on Nos. 2 and 8 respectively, one less than UCLA rising senior Ryann O'Toole.
• Neuhauser Named to ACC All-Academic Golf Team: Virginia sophomore women's golfer Whitney Neuhauser has been named to the 2008 All-ACC Academic Team as announced by Commissioner John D. Swofford.
• Dziczkaniec and Ballweg Named to Women's Soccer Staff: The Virginia women's soccer team announced the additions of two new members of its coaching staff as Kerry Dziczkaniec was named assistant coach and Jessica Ballweg was named volunteer assistant coach. "We could not be more excited about both Kerry and Jess joining our staff this fall," said coach Steve Swanson. "For Kerry, it is a homecoming of sorts as she has been a member of the Virginia family before. Kerry not only knows Virginia, but she has a tremendous amount of coaching experience especially within the ACC, has an excellent reputation for training and developing goalkeepers at this level, understands the Virginia student-athlete experience and has proven herself as a strong recruiter. We are extremely fortunate to bring someone in with the qualifications, experience and character of Kerry and look forward to a very smooth transition as she becomes part of our program again."
• Devvarman Wins Kennedy Funding Invitational: Former Cavalier tennis player Somdev Devvarman won his third consecutive singles title since turning pro last month, winning the Kennedy Funding Invitational, a charity tournament at the Dellwood Country Club that features top professional players and raises money for breast cancer research.

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

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Issue No. 1 - Sept. 6, 2001

Parham narrows his choices to two

Kai Parham

TheSabre.com recently caught up with Kai Parham, the 6-4, 240-pound blue chip linebacker from Princess Anne HS in Virginia Beach. Parham let us know that he has discussed the possibility of committing to the same program as another top linebacker, Ahmad Brooks.

As most of you know, both linebackers recently made an unofficial visit to UVa to discuss the Cavaliers' 3-4 defensive system and how they would possibly fit into it.

"I'm really excited about it," Parham said. "Coach Al Groh and Al Golden spoke to us about how we could play together in that system."

Parham stated that he wants to wait and see how the Cavaliers perform on the field this year before making his decision. He then added that his timetable may change if Brooks commits early.

Recently, Parham narrowed his top choices to Florida and Virginia. Many insiders believe he is strongly leaning to Virginia. Kai told TheSabre.com that UVa doesn't need to become a BCS team to get his commitment; they just need to show improvement and desire. Kai is rated as one of the Top-10 linebacker recruits nationally by most recruiting services, including Prep Star, SuperPrep, Tom Lemmings and Max Emfinger. He is arguably the best overall football recruit in the state of Virginia.

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 eighth article in this series.
• SportsPage: Bailey Stephens caught up with former Virginia football players Zac Yarborough, David Fairbrothers, and Kase Luzar to talk about a business they're running together.
• Ask The Experts: Patrick Kerney joins us to answer some Sabre EDGE subscriber's questions.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Best Seat In The House: Frank Quayle
Virginia football color commentator Frank Quayle joined The Best Seat in the House this week to talk about this year's Cavaliers, the questions surrounding the team, the opener against Southern California, and more. Check out the free audio from the show as well as recent updates with UVa star Sean Singletary, basketball recruit Sylven Landesberg, and Wake Forest football coach Jim Grobe.

Sene Focused On Improving
Ever since he first started seriously playing basketball at age 14, Assane Sene, one of the newest Cavaliers, knew he wanted to come to the United States to play. Now that he's made it to the college level in America, Sene wants to improve every facet of his game from communication to footwork and beyond before hitting the hardwood with his team this season.

Landesberg Eyes Starting Slot
Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg wants to be a starter. And he's going to do whatever it takes to get there as soon as possible. "I can't wait," Landesberg said of the season opener. "I'm going to work hard to do what I have to do to get that starting spot."

JHoo's Summer Reading '08: Linebackers
In 2008, just as in every other year during Al Groh's tenure at Virginia, the linebackers will be a focal point of the defense. That became even more true after some offseason attrition left the defensive line and defensive backfield with holes in need of filling. But while there are few questions - really, only one - about who will start at linebacker in 2008, that does not mean that there are not questions that the unit must answer as a whole, particularly in terms of how the linebackers will fit with the rest of the defense. Put another way, the parts looks good at linebacker, but what will the sum of those parts be?

Adding Some Juice To Gameday
This isn't a column about reflection. This also isn't a column for the columnist's self-amusement and absorption. This is a column about you - and me - the fan. This fall, for the first time, I will venture outside the press box and into a season ticket seat. Your gameday experience becomes my shared experience. Your feedback helps me, and hopefully mine ignites you. Mi casa, su casa. More than anything, this is a column about maximizing our six hours, seven Saturdays a year ... about, for once, asking not what you can do for your athletic department (we're asked that a lot these days), but what your athletic department can do for you.

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