Wilt Joins Staff; Indiana Joins Schedule

UVa Athletics Media Relations issued a release on Friday that Chad Wilt has been named the football team's defensive line coach. Wilt returns to UVa after working as a graduate assistant coach in 2004 and 2005. Wilt comes back to Virginia after three seasons at Liberty University where he coached the defensive line and special teams under Danny Rocco, a former Cavalier assistant.

"Chad has a solid background in our philosophy and schemes having spent two seasons with us and three with Dan Rocco," Virginia coach Al Groh said in the news release. "He knows us very well, and we know Chad and look forward to the energy and style that he will bring to our program. Our players will appreciate his commitment and expertise."

"It is an honor and privilege for me to join the Virginia program and coach Groh's staff," Wilt said in the release. "I have a great deal of respect for what he has done. Being able to learn and coach under him will be an invaluable experience for me. I'm looking forward to helping push this team toward a championship. The University of Virginia is very special to me since I received my master's degree from there. I have been a part of this football program in the past and I respect and believe in it. I will bring a lot of energy and intensity to my position and I will expect the same out of my players."

In other football news, The Daily Progress reported Monday morning that the final non-conference opponent for the 2009 season will be Indiana. The Hoosiers are expected to travel to Scott Stadium for the game.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Signing Day 2009 has come and gone and the Virginia Cavaliers ended up signing 25 prospects, highlighted by the Signing Day decision of 6-7, 340-pound Morgan Moses. The Meadowbrook (Richmond, VA), TheSabre.com's No. 4 in-state senior and U.S. Army All-American, instantly became UVa's most highly rated recruit and headlines a talented and deep group at offensive line.

Virginia's class includes impressive prospects on both the offensive and defensive lines. The Cavaliers signed six offensive line prospects including Moses, Oday Aboushi (Xaverian H.S. in Brooklyn, N.Y.), Luke Bowanko (Centreville in Clifton, VA), Sean Cascarano (Glenbrook South in Glenview, IL), Hunter Steward (Kellam in Virginia Beach, VA) and Cody Wallace (Moorestown, N.J.).

Will Hill, Justin Renfrow, Jake Snyder and Brent Urban are the four defensive end recruits, and don't be surprised to see at least one of these players on the field next season. Hill, a 6-4, 260-pound prospect out of Lafayette (Williamsburg, VA), enrolled last month and will be part of spring practice.

"Among the defensive ends coming in, at which there's a pretty good group, this will give him a little bit of a head start," Groh said on Signing Day of Hill's early enrollment.

Check out the EDGE later today for more analysis on a class UVa head coach Al Groh called "probably one of our most solid groups." Included in the analysis will be insight into how UVa fared in terms of filling needs and a look ahead to the focuses of next year's class. Later this week, we'll take a look at next year's in-state class and some of the talented players in it.

As we dive into 2010 football recruiting coverage, we'll also focus on 2010 class basketball recruiting. Stay tuned for more on both fronts in the coming weeks.

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 ...

More on Morgan Moses' Decision
Prior to announcing his decision to sign with the University of Virginia, Meadowbrook's (Richmond, VA) Morgan Moses had three hats lying in front of him. The 6-7, 340-pound prospect spoke nicely about the University of North Carolina before removing the Tar Heels hat from the table, leaving only Tennessee and UVa on the table. Moments later, he unveiled a Virginia pullover and put on the Virginia hat, letting everyone know where his college intentions.

Signing Day with Smith, Snyder
Signing Day is a special day for all parties involved including college and high school coaches, student athletes and parents. TheSabre.com was on hand for the festivities at Varina High School and Deep Run High School on Wednesday, when wide receiver Bobby Smith and defensive end Jake Snyder signed on the dotted line with the University of Virginia.

Parker Boasts ACC Offers
Junior Mychal Parker is pleased with his year at Miller School (Charlottesville, VA), both academically and athletically. The 6-5, 180-pound prospect, one of the top two-guard/small forward prospects in the 2010 class, certainly does not regret the decision to transfer to Miller prior to the 2008/2009 year.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Moses Joins UVa's Class
• Mathis Among Eager Signees
• Notes: Two Commits Down, One More to Come?
• Spurlock Optimistic About UVa's Future

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Blog Banter: Littlepage's email - the why on the when

By Rob Mahini, The Good Ol' Blog

The University of Virginia's athletic director sent out an odd little email on Signing Day to the fan base. (The full text is extended entry, in case you haven't seen it.) It was so odd, that Dan Steinberg actually posted something about Virginia athletics after receiving it, which is sort of like Bill Simmons writing an article talking about sports teams outside of Boston. Of course, Dan couldn't be bothered to spend more than a couple seconds of cutting and pasting, but I guess he strained himself trying to write something about college athletics.

Anyway, it was an odd little email. Didn't say much - mostly "thanks and sorry and we'll do better, I promise." But why on National Signing Day? A reader wondered the same thing:

Who is tone deaf in the adminstration over there?

Signing day should be a day of optimism and excitement, not a day for a mass apology from a barely visible AD. And calling for improvement in Men's Basketball in the middle of the season? You're just undercutting your coach when he needs your support.

Just a horrible, horrible idea.

Yeah, it struck me as odd, at the very least. I was confused: Why on that day of all days? Couldn't they wait a few days to give the football program a moment in the sun? The message board were actually excited for once. So why send out a pessimistic sounding email on one of the Athletic Department's most optimistic days?

And then I went out to my mailbox and saw the answer: a VAF envelope staring back at me. ... Read the full blog post here!

Got some thoughts on the current state of affairs? Write me at [email protected].

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Men's Tennis Blanks Maryland in ACC Opener: The No. 5 Virginia men's tennis team opened ACC player Sunday with a 7-0 victory over No. 74 Maryland at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club. The win kept the Cavalier undefeated on the season (8-0) and extended their ACC winning streak to 32 consecutive matches (regular season and tournament). "It always feels good to open up ACC play with a victory," said Virginia coach Brian Boland. "It was good to keep our momentum going as we head into National Indoors next weekend. It will be a great chance to see how we stack up against the 16 best teams in the country."
• Women's Tennis Falls at Tennessee 5-2: The No. 29 Virginia women's tennis team fell to No. 22 Tennessee 5-2 Sunday afternoon at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center. The Cavaliers fell to 4-2 overall, with both losses coming at the hands of the Lady Vols. Tennessee also defeated Virginia 5-2 last week in an ITA National Indoor qualifier.
• Virginia Signs Six To National Letters of Intent: Virginia coach George Gelnovatch announced the signing of Will Bates, Shane Cooke, Marcus Douglas, Sean Murnane, Ahkeel Rodney and Will Whorton to National Letters of Intent to play soccer for the Cavaliers beginning in the fall of 2009. Included in the class are three US Youth National Team members, an All-American and three players from the state of Virginia. "This class is well-balanced from top to bottom in terms of attacking players, defensive players and a goalkeeper," Gelnovatch said. "Technically and athletically, there is a lot of versatility in this group."
• No. 18 ODU Tops Virginia Wrestling in 21-18 Thriller: The Virginia wrestling team went down to the wire with No. 18 Old Dominion before succumbing late in a 21-18 loss to the Monarchs on Sunday at the Ted Konstant Convocation Center in Norfolk. "I'm so proud of my guys - they wrestled so hard," Virginia coach Steve Garland said. "It was probably the most intense dual meet in which I have ever been associated. We're wrestling as hard as we can, but we're just not getting the end result. We definitely are a lot better than our record shows. But when we step in the gym, people know they have a battle on their hands."
• Virginia Knocks Off MTSU 7-2: The Virginia softball team knocked off Middle Tennessee by a score of 7-2 Sunday at the Pirate Invitational in Greenville, N.C. Junior Nicole Koren belted her first career home run, a three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning. Freshman Stephanie Coates also picked up her first collegiate win in the circle for the Hoos. The Virginia softball team won the 2009 Pirate Invitational on Sunday with a 12-1 victory over East Carolina. Both the Cavaliers and Pirates went 3-1 in the season-opening tournament but Virginia won the tie-breaker, scoring 26 runs in four games. The Cavaliers are off to a 3-1 start in their first four games for the first time since the 2004 campaign.
• Baseball Single-Game Tickets Go On Sale: Single-game tickets for the 2009 Virginia baseball season go on sale Monday at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office. General Admission tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for youth (18 and under), seniors (60 and over) and faculty/staff (limit two with valid university ID). Tickets for groups (20+) are $4 each. Also available is the Sunday Family 4 Package, offering four general admission tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks for $32; additional tickets (including hot dog and drink) are $8 each. Customers may purchase tickets by visiting VirginiaSports.com, calling (800) 542-UVA1 or by visiting the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets will also be sold at the Davenport Field ticket windows beginning two hours prior to each home game.

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

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Issue No. 232 - March 10, 2006

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) defensive back Dom Joseph verbally committed to UVa last Friday, becoming the second player to commit to the Hoos in the 2007 recruiting class.

Joseph is a 6-0, 190-pound prospect who has played safety his sophomore and junior seasons. As a junior, he tallied a total of six interceptions on the year including two in one game. Joseph, who had interest from other schools such as Boston College, Iowa and Pitt, is being recruited by Virginia as a cornerback, which is the position he wanted to play coming into high school.

Joseph excels in baseball as well and hopes to play both football and baseball at Virginia. He plays centerfield for the Roman Catholic varsity squad.

Joseph is not only the second player to commit overall, but he is the second player projected on the defensive side of the ball. UVa's first commitment was from Woodside (Newport News, Va.) inside linebacker prospect Jared Detrick. Detrick is a 6-2, 230-pound player with good athleticism.

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:

• Revisiting Virginia's 10 Key Questions: The Sabre looks back at its key questions for Dave Leitao's men's basketball team this season.
• More On Football Signing Day: The Sabre continues coverage of National Signing Day, including a piece from JHoo.
• Shine Time: Bailey Stephens catches up with UVa freshman Chelsea Shine, a rookie on the Cavalier women's basketball team.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Ryan's Hoos Find Zone In Win Over VT
There aren't many people in women's basketball circles that would call Debbie Ryan a zone coach. Truthfully many would snicker at the thought of UVa's long-time coach being labeled in such a way. In fact, even Ryan chuckled at herself after a switch to zone defense helped propel Virginia past rival Virginia Tech, 69-61, on Sunday at the John Paul Jones Arena.

Carolina Cuts Down UVa Again
Familiar offensive struggles hampered a strong defensive effort as Virginia failed to stop what is now a seven-game skid. The Cavaliers fell at No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday 76-61. For the first time in five games, however, Virginia trailed by under double digits entering halftime. The close margin was thanks in large part to Virginia's impressive first half showing on defense.

No. 4 Blue Devils Battle Past No. 15 Virginia
This was not the same Virginia team who beat up on Maryland last Friday night. Every one of the fans who packed the John Paul Jones Arena to watch the Cavaliers collapse defensively and fall to No. 4 Duke 81-67 Thursday night must have been thinking as much. After the game, coach Debbie Ryan came out and said it.

BC Adds To Virginia's Slide
At halftime of the Virginia-Boston College men's basketball game on Wednesday night, hypnotist Tom Silver barked into the microphone that his subjects would fall asleep on the count of three. It normally may be an impressive feat, but in this case he was late to the show - UVa had rocked the crowd to sleep for most of 20 minutes already with poor offense and frequently porous defense en route to a 20-point halftime deficit. In other words, it was déjà vu all over again. Another sluggish start, another late awakening, and another loss, this time an 80-70 setback against the Eagles.

Studying The Wake Forest Model
Virginia fans are hot. I mean steamed. Incensed. Ablaze. Mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. Each fan has a different way of articulating the anger ... a unique turn of phrase, analogy, or example to sum up the indigestion. However, I've found a different way of expressing my disappointment and dismay with my alma mater: "Wake Forest." How many countless times over the last decade, when Cavalier athletics trudged through a slump, did I wistfully remind myself, "Well, at least we're not Wake Forest." Wait a minute ...

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