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SabreMail - Dec. 8, 2008 |
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Changes Hit Football Staff (Editor's Note: Shortly after the initial release of SabreMail, an official statement from UVa head football coach Al Groh was delivered to the media. That statement has been added below. We apologize if you are receiving a duplicate copy of SabreMail this week. - Kris Wright, Editor, TheSabre.com) One week after the University of Virginia decided not to extend the contract of head football coach Al Groh, multiple reports have indicated that changes are being made on Groh's football staff. The Daily Progress, Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Daily Press, and Rivals all have reported that offensive coordinator Mike Groh, defensive line coach Levern Belin, and Steve Bernstein will not be retained on the staff. Read the various news reports in Sabre NewsLink. The younger Groh has been a lightning rod for criticism since taking over the offensive coordinator duties before the 2006 season. In three years as offensive coordinator, the Cavaliers have ranked near the bottom of Division I in total offense and have struggled to consistently produce on that side of the ball. Also the quarterbacks coach, Groh had to deal with a rotating cast of starting quarterbacks in Christian Olsen, Kevin McCabe, Jameel Sewell, Peter Lalich, Marc Verica, and Vic Hall (one game) over the course of those three seasons. Mike Groh joined the UVa staff in 2001. Belin and Bernstein, meanwhile, joined the defensive staff midway through Al Groh's tenure. Belin became a Cavalier assistant in 2005 and has coached the defensive line in some capacity throughout his stay. Bernstein has been the defensive backs coach and assistant head coach since coming to the staff in 2006. An official statement from Al Groh was released Monday afternoon. He will not comment further on the staff vacancies until they are filled through a national search: "Since the end of the season, I have done the annual review of every aspect of our program in order to make our plans to move forward to the next season. Part of that moving forward will involve changes in our systems and staff. The change in systems will be made to utilize the player talent available to us from our current roster and incoming players, and the changes in the staff will be made to accommodate those schemes. Accordingly, Michael Groh, Steve Bernstein and Levern Belin will step down from their positions. Steve will retire and Mike and Levern will pursue career opportunities. These men have served Virginia football with commitment, integrity and loyalty and I appreciate them and their efforts. There are no scapegoats here, the head coach is responsible for the team. Bob Pruett will move to the position of assistant head coach/defense with Bob Diaco becoming defensive coordinator. Anthony Poindexter will move from running backs to defensive secondary. We are excited about the options and opportunities open to our team and the positive energy they will generate." With the news hitting the message boards over the weekend, speculation on replacements naturally became the hot topic among the fans. Ron Prince, who worked as offensive coordinator at UVa from 2003-2005, is one of the names often mentioned as a possibility, in large part because he is jobless after a stint at Kansas State. However, Jeff White posted on his blog at The Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning that Prince has not had discussions about the position. Read it here. Stay tuned to The Sabre for more news about the coaching staff situation as it develops.
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Recruiting News | |||||
This Week In Recruiting Fresh off a commitment from Lafayette (Williamsburg, VA) defensive end William Hill, the Virginia Cavaliers hosted Brooke Point (Stafford, VA) defensive end/linebacker Lanford Collins on an official visit over the weekend. Collins, a 6-4, 240-pound senior, is one of the top remaining uncommitted prospects in the state of Virginia. Besides UVa, Collins is also considering scholarship offers from Boston College, Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, among others. A very good athlete, Collins is being recruited by Virginia to play outside linebacker. Head coach Al Groh and company are no doubt hoping the Brooke Point standout could help take the place of another former Northern Virginia area standout outside linebacker in departing senior Clint Sintim. Like Collins, Sintim played defensive end on the high school level. Stay tuned, as TheSabre.com hopes to reach Collins for more on his visit to UVa. Virginia received some welcomed good news last Friday morning, when 6-4, 260-pound Will Hill announced his pledge to the Cavaliers. Hill chose UVa over Penn State and Tennessee, among others. A two-time all-state performer, Hill turned in an excellent senior season despite being the focus of opposing teams. He finished the 2008 season with 92 tackles, including 24 tackles-for-loss to improve on his junior season statistics. Hill becomes the fourth defensive end prospect to commit to Virginia's 2009 class, joining Penn Charter (Philadelphia, PA) standout Justin Renfrow, Deep Run (Glen Allen, VA) star Jake Snyder, and Canadian standout Brent Urban. Hill will take his production to UVa early, as he plans to enroll next month and will subsequently participate in spring practice. A very good student, Hill as already been approved by Virginia Admissions to enroll in January, something that was an important factor in his college choice. For more on Hill, check out TheSabre.com's article last Friday. Stay tuned for more on one other Virginia defensive end commit, Brent Urban, who discusses his senior season and also looks ahead to his future at Virginia. Last week, TheSabre.com caught up with St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) defensive end Pat Muldoon for comments on his November official visit to the University of Virginia. This week, we'll check in with his teammate, linebacker Luke Kuechly. Kuechly made an official visit to UVa on the same weekend - the weekend of the Clemson game - as Muldoon. He has now taken three official visits in total, and he has one more planned in January before he will make his college choice. Kuechly visited Duke this past weekend, has been to Boston College and Virginia and has Stanford scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 9. Countdown to Signing Day CTSD was pushed back to this week, so stay tuned for the latest overview of Virginia's 2009 football recruiting class. We'll take a look at the class as a whole, analyze how Virginia has done in fulfilling its needs and take a look at the remaining 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 ...
Lafayette's Hill Picks Virginia
Moses Prepares for Recruiting Stretch Run More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...
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Support TheSabre.com's Sponsors | |||||
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News, Notes, and Fan Discussion | |||||
Post of the Week Subject: We owe Mike Groh some thanks and appreciation as he departs Posted by: LeadingEdge on Mon Dec 8 2008 9:00:01 AM Message: Let's remember that he QB'd some great U.Va. football teams and lead us to perhaps the most important victory in U.Va. football history - '95 over FSU. He's spend many long hours working to improve U.Va. football, both as a player and a coach. We lose track of the long hours college football requires. He is an alumnus. Now, due to the brutal, bottom-line orientation of major college football, we have forced him out, and forced his own father to send him on. Now that it is done, I hope we can find the empathy and kindness to wish him the best in his coaching career and to recognize him as a great contributor to Virginia football. Thus: Mike, best wishes for growth and success in your football career as you experience a new coaching setting. I hope you land in a good job and that you benefit from seeing other coaching approaches. Despite the tough outcome, you remain part of the Virginia football family and honored by the fans of the program. Good luck!
Christensen Sets Another Conference Record
Official Release Mei Christensen set an Atlantic Coast Conference record for the second consecutive day as the Virginia men's and women's swimming teams concluded the UVa Invitational Saturday at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The Cavaliers set two ACC records, four school records, and 11 pool records during the three-day meet. "That was probably the best mid-season meet that we have had in at least a decade, maybe longer," Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. "Did it meet our expectations? Yes. Most importantly, the athletes fulfilled what they had hoped to do at this juncture in the season. I can't recall that we have had the level of speed that we are exhibiting right now. A lot of the credit goes to our strength coach, Alissa Goldman. She is doing a great job helping our athletes get stronger, and speed is power. This was a great three days of swimming for us." Christensen supplemented her 100 back record set Friday with a win in the 200 back, touching at 1:54.71 for an NCAA B time. The previous conference record was set in 2008 by Clemson's Michelle Parkhurst (1:55.33) and the previous school record was held by former Cavalier Brielle White (1:55.67). Christensen broke the Aquatic and Fitness Center pool record (1:56.42) she set earlier in 2008. "She is just having a special season but I don't want her to be comfortable," Bernardino said. "I don't want her teammates to be comfortable. I want them to continue to push each other to higher levels. I want her to dream of higher levels of excellence." The women additionally ended the night with a school record in the 400 free relay. The squad of Kristen Moores, Kristen Wallace, Christensen and Megan Evo also set a pool record in the event, finishing in 3:18.61. Advertise With The Sabre! TheSabre.com has come a long way since its conception in 1996. We are the #1 media source and community covering UVa athletics, producing an average of 95,000 unique viewers and over 4 million page views each month. We reach a coveted demographic (you know Hoo you are) 24/7, 12 months out of the year. Rooting for their team clearly represents one of the big passions in the life of our Sabre community members. This site greatly enhances this never-ending passion through information, analysis, and most importantly through communal dialog/networking.Our advertising approach is different in that we make it abundantly clear in a direct and honest way that your company's commitment of sponsorship dollars is what enables the site to continue existing and improving into the future. To learn more, please contact [email protected]. The Sabre is a vital part of a unique collegiate sports network that reaches nearly 2 million individuals per month. Like the Sabre, each site in the SportsWar network is an organically grown community and the emotional home for its fans. To learn more about SportsWar network sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected] and visit the SportsWar media guide www.sportswar.com To view a list of our sponsors, please visit our Sponsors Page.
Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...
For more Hoo news or to read full releases, check out Virginiasports.com.
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UVa Bookstores - The Place for Wahoo Gear! | |||||
V-Sabre Basketball The composite Baden basketball is an offical size ball (great for indoors or outdoors) with the V-Sabre and Virginia on seperate composite panels. It is one of many items featured in the UVA Bookstores Holiday Sale - check it out. UVA Bookstores certainly appreciates our relationship with The Sabre and everyone who visits the site. It is our goal and our pleasure to be your source for UVA gifts and gear. In order to help you give your favorite UVA fan something special this year without breaking the bank, we're having a special sale for you. Go to www.uvabookstores.com/holiday to save 25% on select merchandise. Don't worry about special codes as the discounts have already been applied for you. We hope that you take advantage of some of these special offers and again, thank you for your continued support. - Patrick Perkins and the UVA Bookstores Staff
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SabreMail History | |||||
Issue No. 231 - March 3, 2006
This Week In Recruiting Virginia is off and running in the 2007 football recruiting class as Al Groh and company have received their first verbal commitment. This Wednesday, Woodside (Newport News, VA) inside linebacker prospect Jared Detrick pledged his commitment to the Hoos. Detrick, a 6-2, 230-pound prospect, has played on the varsity level since his freshman year. His primary positions last season were defensive end and tight end, but he did play some linebacker. He finished the year with more than 60 tackles on defense and had 300 yards receiving on offense. Detrick chose Virginia, which was the first school to officially offer a scholarship, over interest from Michigan and Tennessee among others. Virginia Tech had just received film as well according to Woodside head coach Danny Dodson. Virginia is led here by primary recruiter and new defensive coordinator Mike London.
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What's New on 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:
In Case You Missed It ... Sabre articles since the last SabreMail
JHoo: 10 Things I Learned ... Virginia Tech
Greg's Stock Report '08: Virginia Tech
Jed Williams: Hall At QB Reveals Bigger Picture
Gophers Give Hoos Third Straight Loss
Photo Galleries: Radford, South Florida
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Sabre Edge | |||||
Get your Wahoo fix. Subscribe to Sabre Edge! Every week, Sabre Edge provides you with exclusive articles, columns, special features, interviews and recruiting news, including daily recruiting updates. There's even a special message board just for subscribers. And to top it off, you get 10 percent off all of your UVa Bookstores purchases during your subscription. All of the great Sabre Edge content can be yours for the price of $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. Try it for a month and cancel if you like. But we think you'll get hooked on the Edge and find out for yourself why the most knowledgeable Cavalier fans are Edge subscribers. If you're a true Wahoo, then the Sabre Edge is right for you. Check it out! |
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