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   SabreMail - August 17, 2009
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Sabre Hoo Preview Rolls On

The Sabre's annual "Hoo Preview" is heating up the internet - the site has already produced 13 articles over the past two weeks to get you ready for football season. And we're not even close to done yet!

The "Hoo Preview" will feature an update nearly every day in August with position previews, schedule analysis, columns, features and more on the schedule. If you're not a subscriber, August is a great month to give our EDGE service a try! Sign up here!

So far, the "Hoo Preview" featured Editor Kris Wright's take on the upcoming season, position previews on quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, and the offensive line, and features on Riko Smalls, Lamar Milstead, Matt Snyder, Javaris Brown, and more!

This week's portion of the "Hoo Preview" features a look at running backs, special teams, and more!


   Recruiting News

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Brewbaker Magnet (Montgomery, AL) guard K.T. Harrell, Lake Chelan (WA) guard/small forward Joe Harris and Nichols (Buffalo, N.Y.) forward Will Regan are the first three players to commit to Virginia's 2010 recruiting class. Coach Bennett and company are off to a great start, but scholarship spots do remain.

California forward James Johnson, rated a 5-star prospect by Scout.com and a 4-star recruit by Rivals.com, is one of Virginia's top remaining targets in the 2010 class. Featured in an EDGE article last week, the 6'9", 225-pound recruit is highly interested in the Cavaliers. He toured UVa following the NBAPA Top 100 Camp in June and had a great time, but there is competition here. Johnson listed two other programs high on his list and also plans to visit Arizona State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State this month.

Johnson told TheSabre.com that he should narrow his list by the end of the month. For more info, check out last week's EDGE update.

This week, we'll have a full update with Provo (UT) guard Kyle Collinsworth. As we reported last week, it appears Virginia remains highly interested in the 6'5" guard. Further, Collinsworth may set an official visit to UVa for next month. We'll check in again this week for the latest on Collinsworth's recruitment.

While Virginia still has work left to do in the 2010 class, there is some action going on in the 2011 class as well. This Thursday, UVa is expected to receive an unofficial visit from top center prospect Marshall Plumlee. Plumlee, a 6'11", 200-pound rising junior, has been offered by Virginia and many other major Division 1 programs. Check out the EDGE profile on Plumlee, who we'll check back with after Thursday's visit as well.


On the football recruiting front, be sure to check out today's update on First Colonial (Virginia Beach, VA) safety/linebacker Nick Dew. Virginia has made up some ground with the 6-2, 195-pound prospect, who is one of the top remaining uncommitted seniors in the state's 2010 class.

In other news, Virginia appears to be out of the running with St. Rita (Chicago, IL) defensive tackle Bruce Tallman Jr.. ESPN.com reported last week that Tallman had narrowed his list to six and UVa was not one of the six. UVa remains strongly in contention with Boston College High (Boston, MA) jumbo athlete target Andrew Tallman, though. Tallman, a 6'6", 260-pound rising senior, has a top three of UVa, Miami and Duke according to his older brother, Alan.


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 ...

Top 2011 Target: C Marshall Plumlee
The University of Virginia was in serious pursuit of Christ School (Arden, N.C.) forward Miles Plumlee in the 2008 recruiting class. Plumlee ultimately headed to Duke and will be followed by his brother, Mason, who signed with the Blue Devils in the 2009 class. Virginia, with new head coach Tony Bennett, is now in pursuit of the youngest Plumlee brother, Marshall. A 6-11 center, Marshall Plumlee is entering his third year at Christ School and is already a highly sought after recruit.

Top 2010 Forward Still High on the Hoos
Image: James JohnsonThe summer basketball season is now over for Elsinore (Wildomar, CA) forward James Johnson, who will now turn his attention to the recruiting front. The 6-9, 225-pound rising senior has only taken unofficial visits to Maryland and Virginia, but that will change this month with scheduled trips to Arizona State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

UVa RB Commit Eyeing a Second State Title
Image: Kevin ParksKevin Parks Jr. has been a stalwart running back for three years on West Rowan's (Mount Ulla, N.C.) varsity football squad, rushing for 1,721 yards and 23 touchdowns as a freshman, 2,536 yards and 33 touchdowns as a sophomore and 2,864 yards last season as a junior. Parks, Virginia's lone running back recruit in the 2010 class, has improved his strength and speed this off-season and eyes a second consecutive Class 3-A state championship for West Rowan.

Countdown to Signing Day
Image: Conner DavisSix months remain until National Signing Day for the 2010 football recruiting class. In what will be a monthly feature, "Countdown to Signing Day" takes a look at the overall recruiting picture for Virginia's class, including which players have committed, which positions the staff may focus its efforts on with its remaining scholarships, etc. JHoo also gives his take on the class as it stands now and looks ahead to the final six months as well.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...


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   News, Notes, and Fan Discussion

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

  • Captains Named for 2009 UVa Football Team: Virginia football coach Al Groh announced the captains for the 2009 season. The players, selected by a team vote this week, are OT Will Barker, LB Denzel Burrell, LB Aaron Clark, DT Nate Collins, CB Chris Cook and QB Vic Hall. All six players are seniors on this year's Cavalier team. Hall served as a captain on the 2008 UVa team.
  • Cavaliers Down Georgetown 5-1 in Preseason Finale: The No. 9 Cavalier women's soccer team concluded its preseason schedule Sunday night with a 5-1 exhibition win over Georgetown at Klöckner Stadium. Junior forward Meghan Lenczyk scored a first half hat trick and senior midfielder Jess Rostedt had a pair of assists to lead Virginia to the win.
  • Farrelly Named to Preseason Hermann Watch List: Cavalier women's soccer junior midfielder Sinead Farrelly was named as one of 45 players to the 2009 Preseason Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. Last season Farrelly started all 23 games for the Cavaliers and earned first-team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season.
  • Tony Tchani Named To Hermann Trophy Watch List: Virginia sophomore midfielder Tony Tchani has been named one of the 38 members of the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List. Tchani returns for his second season as the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year and UVa's leading scorer.
  • Mitchell Tabbed Washington Post Player of the Year: Virginia incoming freshman pitcher Melanie Mitchell has been named the Washington Post Player of the Year as well as the Maryland Gatorade Softball Player of the Year. Mitchell led McDonough High School to the Class 2A state championship and was named the most outstanding player of the All-Southern Maryland Athletic Conference in addition to being a first-team honoree. She capped her senior campaign with a 19-0 record and a perfect 0.00 earned run average while tossing 18 shutouts. She recorded 315 strikeouts in just 133 innings, fanning nearly 17 batters per game. Offensively, she hit .463 with 16 RBI and a .667 on-base percentage.
  • Brightwell Wins Charlottesville Tournament: Incoming Virginia freshman Elizabeth Brightwell won the 2009 Reines Jewelers Ladies Championship at Meadowcreek Golf Club in Charlottesville on Sunday. She finished at 3-over 143. Brightwell carded a tournament-low 70 during the final round to hold off the rest of the field.
  • Johnson Reaches ITA Summer Championship Semifinals: Cavalier men's tennis player Milo Johnson reached the semifinals of the ITA National Summer Championship, held at the University of Indiana. Johnson, unseeded in the event, won five matches before falling to the top-seed and eventual champion in the semifinals.

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

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   SabreMail History

Issue No. 339 - April 28, 2008

NFL Draft Features 2 Hoos In Top 15

Virginia defensive end Chris Long and offensive lineman Branden Albert were selected Saturday in the first round of the NFL Draft. Their selection continued a run of 25 straight years that UVa has had at least one player drafted and just the second time two Cavaliers have gone in the first round; in 1997, James Farrior (8th) and Jon Harris (25th) both were first round picks. On Sunday, tight end Tom Santi joined the Cav draftee list when the Colts called his number.

Long became the second highest draft spot by any player in Cavalier history when the St. Louis Rams called his name at No. 2. The only player to go higher was Bill Dudley, who was the top pick in the 1942 draft. Long's selection continued an ACC streak as well. As the first defensive player selected, it marked the third straight year the ACC had the top defensive player selected. Overall, the ACC had seven players taken in the first round.

Albert, meanwhile, landed in Kansas City as projected ... but not with the No. 5 pick when LSU's Glenn Dorsey slipped to the Chiefs early in the day. Instead, KC traded up to the 15th slot overall (from 17) to select Albert. While he played offensive guard at Virginia, Albert is expected to be a tackle on the Chiefs' offensive line.

Santi became the third Hoo to be drafted when Indianapolis chose him in the sixth round. An excellent pass-catching tight end, Santi seems to be a good fit for the offensively gifted Colts.

Check Out SabreMail #339.

   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:

  • Hoo Preview: The Sabre's annual Hoo Preview is up and running. This week features the running backs, special teams and more.
  • Soccer Season Nears: The Sabre will try to catch up with Steven Swanson as the women's soccer team prepares to start its season later this week.


In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Hoo Preview '09: Q&A - Lamar Milstead
Image: Lamar MilsteadAsk backup right tackle Lamar Milstead how he's changed since high school, and he'll give a simple, yet telling, answer: "I grew up." From admiring the man playing in front of him at right tackle, Will Barker, to growing up in his neighborhood in a tough part of Washington, D.C., to getting in a rut and coming out of it with a flourish, here is what Milstead had to say in exclusive Q&A sessions with TheSabre.com.

Hoo Preview '09: Receivers
Image: Jared GreenMuch of the offseason chatter for Virginia football has focused on the full-time shift to a spread offense. UVa has featured spread elements on offense previously, but new offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon is taking things to a new level as a long-time coach of the spread. Do the Hoos have enough playmakers and enough depth at receiver to make the spread engine run at an optimal level? Maybe.

Hoo Preview '09: Quick Take - Matt Snyder
Image: Matt SnyderSophomore Matt Snyder is quick to deflect the attention away from himself and onto the UVa football team as a whole. Snyder clearly focuses with a team mentality, hoping the 2009 season will prove to be a good one for the Cavaliers. What does Snyder think his job is for the 2009 season? Is he excited to be on the same team with his younger brother again? Snyder answers that and more in this Quick Take with TheSabre.com.

Hoo Preview '09: What Can Brown Do?
Image: Javaris BrownVirginia receiver Javaris Brown checks in at 5'11", 175 pounds. If you've seen UVa in action lately, though, he's hard to miss. One of the quickest players on the field for the Cavaliers, Brown has been turning heads publicly ever since the Spring Game in April. Brown's teammates and coaches have been impressed for much longer.

Hoo Preview '09: Practice Photos
Image: Vic HallThe Virginia football team started training camp on Friday and opened practice over the weekend to the fans and media. The Sabre took in the action and took some photos so you can see your favorite Hoos as they tune up for the 2009 season. Check out 119 images, including quarterback Vic Hall, linebacker Aaron Clark, coaches like Ron Prince, and many more!

Hoo Preview '09: Offensive Line
Image: Will BarkerFor a unit that was thrown under the bus at this time last year, the offensive line didn't turn out all that bad in 2008 - Virginia finished first in the ACC in sacks allowed for example. This season, Virginia returns essentially the same unit, with one rather large exception, physically and otherwise: Eugene Monroe at left tackle. With coaches and players high on likely replacement Landon Bradley, though, the team consensus is that this year's O-Line can be solid, and perhaps even better than that.

Hoo Preview '09: Tight Ends
Image: Colter PhillipsWhen the Virginia football program made the decision to bring in Gregg Brandon as its new offensive coordinator this fall, one of the first questions to spring to mind was "What will happen to the self-proclaimed Tight End U?" With spring practice in the rearview mirror and fall practice under way, we've gotten a glimpse at the offensive changes and how the tight ends will be used.

Catching Up With Shawn Moore
Image: Shawn MooreEven in this difficult economy, there are jobs available. Maybe not as many as a few years back, but they are out there. It would be hard to find too many for which Shawn Moore isn't qualified. Moore, who turned 41 in April, has done a little bit of everything since his professional football days ended.


   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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