Canty, Ike Get New Deals

A pair of former Cavaliers signed new NFL contracts over the weekend. Chris Canty left the Dallas Cowboys organization to ink a deal with the New York Giants, an NFC East rival of Dallas. Isaiah Ekejiuba, meanwhile, re-signed with the Oakland Raiders.

Canty's deal checks in at 6 years, $42 million with $17.25 million guaranteed, according to this ESPN report. The former UVa standout recorded 37 tackles and 3 sacks last season, upping his career totals to 148 tackles and 10 sacks. Canty will likely move to defensive tackle in New York.

Ekejiuba's deal is believed to be the league's top contract for a pure special teams player excluding kickers and punters, according to this San Francisco Chronicle online report. The report indicates that the deal is for 3 years for $5.4 million with a $1.25 million signing bonus. In four NFL seasons, Ekejiuba has recorded 33 tackles, but he is considered an important piece of the Raiders' special teams puzzle.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

UVa football hosted another junior day on Saturday and, like the first, there were only a handful of prospects on hand. The Cavaliers extended new offers this weekend, including to Good Counsel (Wheaton, MD) wide receiver E.J. Scott and Woodward Academy (College Park, GA) defensive end Henry Anderson.

Stay tuned today for an article on Scott, a 5-11, 170-pound speedster who has been timed in the 40 at 4.42 seconds. He is a tremendous athlete who projects as a slot receiver/returner on the college level. He is high on the Hoos but does not appear to be in any sort of rush to make a college decision, indicating he wants to go through the process at least through the spring and summer.

Rutgers has also offered Scott, who is receiving interest from Iowa, Maryland and Wisconsin as well.

Anderson's long trip to Charlottesville paid off, as he came away with an offer from head coach Al Groh. The 6-6, 240-pound prospect is a hot recruiting target, having also picked up offers from Central Florida, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Wake Forest. We hope to have much more on this talented prospect this week.

TheSabre.com also expects to have more on other Saturday visitors, including Ohio quarterback Andrew Hendrix, Pennington Prep (N.J.) wide receiver/safety Dontae Johnson and South County (Fairfax, VA) defensive back Andre Simmons.

Other UVa targets attended Virginia Tech's junior day, so stay tuned for more from those prospects as well. We also have posted more on Deep Run (Glen Allen, VA) junior offensive lineman Conner Davis and we hope to have more on Fork Union Military Academy offensive tackle Mark Shuman.

Davis, a 6-5, 255-pound prospect, currently boasts six scholarship offers including Virginia and Virginia Tech. With offers from Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and many others, the 6-7, 270-pound Shuman has established himself as one of the most highly recruited offensive line prospects in the nation.

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 ...

Q&A: Parks Discusses Decision
West Rowan (Mount Ulla, N.C) junior running back Kevin Parks called the Virginia coaching staff to commit, becoming the first high school junior to commit to UVa. This evening, the 5-7 1/2, 190-pound first-team all-state selection took some time to answer questions about his college decision.

Redd a Top RB Prospect
With offers from Boston College, Connecticut, Penn State, Rutgers, Stanford and Virginia, and interest from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas and UCLA, King & Low-Heywood (CT) junior running back Silas Redd is emerging as one of the most highly recruited prospects in the Northeast. The 5-10, 190-pound prospect considered making an early commitment but has decided against doing so and does not plan to make a college decision for quite some time.

Catching up with Tristan Spurlock
2009 Virginia recruit Tristan Spurlock will once again be in Charlottesville this Saturday, when he will support his future teammates as they take on the nationally-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Spurlock, a 6-8, 220-pound wing forward out of Word of Life School in Springfield, Virginia, looks forward to the weekend but is also focused on his current team's upcoming playoffs.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Moeller (OH) QB Looking for UVa Offer
• Deep Run OL Discusses In-State Junior Day
• Offer Profile: Central York TE/DE Kyle Baublitz
• Cavs Reel in First Commit of 2010

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Cavalier Travels is the University of Virginia's travel program for alumni, parents and friends. We offer the high standards of quality and value that you expect from the University.

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UVa Bookstores' 2009 Virginia Lacrosse Pick 'Em

Pick'em is simple. The first contestant who picks the winner and comes closest to predicting the final score wins. In case of ties, the earliest entry will be awarded the prize. Entries must be received by 12:00 a.m. EST game day. Entries received after 12:00 a.m. (midnight the night before the game) are ineligible. Limit one entry per person. Each week the Bookstore picks a new winner, so bookmark the entry page and go back weekly to give it a try. Results will be posted by Noon the Monday following the game (excluding holidays).

Please note that we will not be playing the mid-week games this season. Also please select whether to have a weekly message sent, informing you of each week's results. Just check the 'Do not wish to be on mailing list' button if you choose not to receive our weekly message. Have fun, and cheer those Cavaliers to victory.

Click Here To Enter!

Blog Banter: Since the first staff

By Rob Mahini, The Good Ol' Blog

Thinking about my last question, I thought the easiest way to look for an answer would be to put together a list of Al Groh's first coaching staff:

Head Coach - Al Groh
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks - Bill Musgrave
Defensive Coordinator - Al Golden
Special Teams - Corwin Brown
Running backs - Kevin Ross
Wide receivers - Mike Groh
Offensive line - Ron Prince
Linebackers/Assistant HC/Recruiting Coordinator - Dan Rocco
Defensive Line - Mike London
Defensive Backs - Bob Price

So, how many of those positions have turned over since the first season? All of them. In fact, Bob Price is the only one consistently on the staff, and he's was a Welsh holdover anyway.

Ah, but find me any coach that has kept his entire staff intact, you say? Well, good point. But every single coaching job? And almost every single assistant? ... 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 ...

• Virginia Captures 12th ACC Crown: The Virginia men's swimming and diving team captured its 12th Atlantic Coast Conference crown, including its 10th in the past 11 years, Saturday. Sophomore Matt McLean was named the meet's most valuable swimmer for the second consecutive year with three individual event wins in the 200, 500 and 1650 freestyle events.
• Cavalier Men Finish Third at ACC Championships: Five Cavaliers earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in the final day of the 2009 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships to lead Virginia's men's squad to it's best-ever third-place finish at the conference meet.
• Cavaliers Hold Off Top-Ranked Syracuse 13-12: Second-ranked Virginia scored six third quarter goals to break a halftime tie and withstood a furious fourth quarter rally by top-ranked Syracuse to defeat the Orange 13-12 before a crowd of 16,565 at the Carrier Dome. Virginia moves to 5-0 this season and becomes the first team to ever win three consecutive games at the Dome; the Cavaliers also won in 2003 and 2005. Sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton scored a career-high four goals to lead Virginia. Attackmen Garrett Billings and Danny Glading each scored three times.
• Cavaliers Upset No. 3 Syracuse, 14-11: The No. 4 Virginia women's lacrosse team came out firing in the second half to overcome an even 6-6 halftime score and upset the No. 3 Syracuse Orange 14-11 Friday night in the Carrier Dome. The win keeps the Cavaliers undefeated this season at 4-0. Senior All-Americans Ashley McCulloch and Jenny Hauser led the attack, with McCulloch dishing out a career-high five assists to go with two goals and Hauser notching four goals and two assists for a career-high six points. Junior Whitaker Hagerman proved an offensive threat as well, as she fired five goals and tallied an assist..
• Men's Tennis Posts 6-1 Win Over Virginia Tech: The No. 1 Virginia men's tennis team remained undefeated on the season with a 6-1 victory over No. 31 Virginia Tech Friday night at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club. The Cavaliers improve to 15-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC with the victory.
• Women's Tennis Downs Boston College 6-1: The No. 29 Virginia women's tennis team recorded its fourth consecutive win, defeating Boston College 6-1 Sunday at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club. The Cavaliers improve to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC with the victory.
• Baseball Rams Past Fordham, 7-3: The Virginia baseball team received a strong starting pitching outing from Andrew Carraway in a 7-3 victory over Fordham on Saturday morning at Davenport Field. Carraway tossed eight innings to improve to 2-0 this year. He allowed three runs (one earned), four hits and two walks while striking out five.
• Virginia Downs George Washington in Home Opener: The Virginia softball team improved to 11-5 on the season with two wins over George Washington (2-6) Saturday in the team's home opener at the newly renovated Park. The Cavaliers took the first game, 10-0, in five innings, and won the second contest in six innings, 9-1. Redshirt junior Sarah Tacke contributed five RBI in each game and hit two home runs on the day.
• No. 19 UVa Falls At Georgia Tech, 74-66: he 19th-ranked Virginia women's basketball team fell on the road at Georgia Tech in its regular-season finale, 74-66. Lyndra Littles and Monica Wright led the Cavaliers with 21 and 18 points, respectively. The Cavaliers finish the regular season and will head to the 2009 ACC Tournament (March 5-8 in Greensboro, N.C.) as the No. 6 seed. Virginia will face No. 11 seed Virginia Tech on Thursday at 8 p.m. in the opening round. The winner advances to play No. 3 seed Duke Friday at 8 p.m.

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

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Issue No. 272 - December 18, 2006

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Last Thursday, UVa was the choice for 6'2.5", 185-pound wide receiver recruit Dontrelle Inman. Inman, who announced his decision to attend UVa during a press conference at his high school, chose the Hoos over Georgia Tech and other offers including Auburn, Kentucky, and South Carolina.

The Batesburg-Leesville (S.C.) star is the 19th high school senior to commit to UVa for the 2007 recruiting class. Virginia now has 22 commitments in total, including three players - OL Billy Cuffee, DB Ras-I Dowling and LB Almondo Sewell - who signed with the Cavs last February. All three players are currently at Hargrave Military Academy.

Inman is the third commitment projected to play wide receiver for the Hoos. As a junior in 2005, he hauled in 31 receptions. As a senior in 2006, he tallied 18 receptions in five games, missing the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. Inman is a long player with good overall athleticism. He doesn't have blazing speed, but can make the big play.

Check Out SabreMail #272.

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:

• ChalkTalk: The Sabre takes a look at some of the men's basketball teams inbounds plays.
• Tunji's Return: The Sabre caught up with Tunji Soroye after a recent surge in playing time and production for the senior center.
• Jed Williams: Jed Williams caught up with former Cavalier coach Danny Wilmer for a two-part "catching up" piece.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Landesberg Slowed By ACC Foes
By most accounts, Virginia guard Sylven Landesberg has not had a normal freshman season. Burdened with carrying a bulk of the offense for a struggling team, Landesberg has responded with resounding success. As the season wears on, however, ACC opponents have begun to structure their game plan around Landesberg, resulting in fewer points and mounting frustration for the young guard.

Wake Adds To UVa's Frustrations
After a two-game respite in the middle of the month provided fans with two home wins, Virginia finished February on the same sour note that has been ringing in ears for months. On Saturday, Wake Forest dominated the rebounding category 42-28 and found enough easy baskets in transition or courtesy of offensive rebounds to pull out a 70-60 victory. The Hoos fell to 9-16 and 3-11 in the ACC with the loss.

UVa Wastes Effort On McClinton
For 39 minutes Thursday night, Virginia had Miami's Jack McClinton on lockdown. But when the visitors needed it most, McClinton had a clutch shot still in his bag. The Hurricanes' star guard came up with a critical 3-pointer in the final minute to turn a nip-and-tuck game into a two-possession affair and the visitors escaped with 62-55 victory.

Miami Slips By Hoos Late
Offensive woes came back to haunt the Cavaliers again on Thursday night. The hosts failed to score in the game's final six possessions and Miami slipped out of the John Paul Jones Arena with a 62-55 win. Three turnovers by three different players down the stretch contributed heavily to the loss as ball-handling issues continued to plague Virginia in the loss.

Q&A-Catching Up With Danny Wilmer, Part I
It's been nearly a decade since Danny Wilmer last paced a college football sideline (eight years and two months to be precise), but it may as well have been yesterday. He tells recruiting tales with lucid detail, still bemoans the ones who got away, even chokes up a bit when reminiscing about his favorite Hoos. And he does a pretty mean George Welsh imitation to boot. Recently, Sabre columnist Jed Williams dialed up the Virginia's longtime recruiting ace for a trip down memory lane.

Photo Gallery: Virginia 75, Virginia Tech 61
It's been almost a week since the Virginia men's basketball team knocked off Virginia Tech, 75-61, in the John Paul Jones Arena, but there's never a bad time to relive a win over the Hokies. Check out 95 images from the Cavaliers' win, including photos of Sylven Landesberg, Tunji Soroye, Mike Scott, and more. The Hoos return to action on Thursday with a home game against Miami.

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