Blog Banter: No Calls A Good Call

Mike Ingalls
From The Good Ol' Blog

Some will claim the recent decision to drop callers from the weekly football radio show is because Coach Groh is afraid to take calls from fans. I don't believe it is. I believe it's in part to prevent fans from damaging the program with ill-advised comments that can be heard from just about anywhere in the world. When you get right down to it, the coaches show is there for one simple purpose, to build support and exposure for the program, particularly in the eyes of recruits and their families, but also to help attract new fans, donors and season ticket holders. It is not about opening up the coach, live and on the air, to mean-spirited comments and accusations of poor coaching.

The call-in segment of the show in recent years has been disgusting and not becoming of the UVa fan base. Even if the coach isn't doing a great job, there's a certain level of respect that should be given when asking a question or providing a comment. It's not like Coach Groh isn't trying to win. The guy eats, sleeps and lives football. While critical or thought provoking questions might be acceptable, many of critical comments were well below the belt. Why should UVa pay for that?

Maybe this is the best thing for all. The new format subtracts the jackass factor from the equation and prevents the boring, 'Great job this week' comments that do nothing but fill up air time. But it does allow for write-in questions and comments that can be read aloud. I don't need to hear four different people say or ask the same thing. Give me just one intelligent comment and question pertaining to an area, answer it, and then move on.

Is this censorship? Hardly. This is a show produced and paid for by UVa. They make the rules and they know the score. Plus, there are plenty of other venting posts for fans who want to have their voices heard: online forums such as the ones on this site, and other on-air talk shows like Best Seat in the House and the new Hoos Talking show that begins the first week of September.

For now, asking the tough questions directly to the coach is reserved for the media. But don't blame Virginia. As fans, we had our chance and we blew it. Now we have this. If Virginia fans want their voice heard directly, fans will have to rely on sending emails, attending special functions like VAF socials, or speaking their minds through monetary means (donations, ticket purchases, etc.).

The days of open mike night for Cavalier football fans are over, at least when the show is a paid program by the University of Virginia. Can't say I blame them.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

UVa scored its 10th commitment of the 2010 football recruiting class last week, when 5-10, 175-pound Bethel (Hampton, VA) standout cornerback Rijo Walker pledged to Al Groh and company. Walker, a highly recruited player, chose Virginia over offers from East Carolina, N.C. State, South Carolina and West Virginia, among others.

Walker, who has tallied 15 interceptions over the course of the past two seasons, is a nice get for the staff. He is the third defensive back in this class, joining probable safety prospects Pablo Alvarez and Kyrrel Latimer. The Virginia staff also had a close look at him at camp in late June, which is when Al Groh extended the scholarship offer.

A 3-star prospect, Walker joins Bayside (Virginia Beach) linebacker Henry Coley and Deep Run (Glen Allen) offensive lineman Conner Davis as in-state rising seniors that have committed to the Cavaliers.

This week, I'll check in with another top cornerback target, Good Counsel (Wheaton, MD) rising senior Louis Young. The 6-1, 195-pound prospect is a top football prospect but also has potential as a point guard on the basketball court. He was slated to visit UVa this past weekend, and I'm scheduled to check in with him today to follow up.

UVa already has a commitment from top Good Counsel wide receiver prospect E.J. Scott in this class.

Stay tuned for more this week.

6-11, 200-pound center Marshall Plumlee is back at Christ School today, beginning his junior year at the Arden (N.C.) private school. But before he made it back, he made a flurry of college visits that included a trip to the University of Virginia last Friday.

I caught up with Plumlee last night for thoughts on his visit to Charlottesville. He said he "thoroughly enjoyed" the experience and especially seemed to have hit it off with the UVa coaching staff. Touring the Grounds and meeting with Athletic Director Craig Littlepage were among the activities on the schedule last Friday.

A full report on Plumlee's experience will be posted on TheSabre EDGE today, so be sure to check it out. In case you missed it, be sure to check out the EDGE profile I wrote on Marshall earlier this month. One of the top big men in the 2011 recruiting class, Plumlee is the younger brother of current Duke basketball players Miles and Mason Plumlee. Under former head coach Dave Leitao, Virginia was a heavy player with Miles.

Also on the basketball recruiting front, the weekend of Sept.12 is shaping out to be an important one. The UVa staff is trying to bring in its 2010 class commits in along with some top remaining 2010 class targets, including DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) guard Jerian Grant.

Grant, a 6-4 prospect, has narrowed his list to Charlotte, DePaul, Notre Dame, Providence and Virginia. He has scheduled official visits to Notre Dame and Virginia for the first two weekends in September. In an EDGE article posted last Friday, Grant, the son of former Oklahoma and NBA player Harvey Grant, discusses why Virginia made the cut and what his expectations are for the weekend of the 12th.

We'll also check in with Provo (UT) guard Kyle Collinsworth again this week to see if he has scheduled his official to UVa, which is one of four schools to make his finalists list. BYU, Stanford and USC are also the finalists.

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 with Rijo Walker
Before one of Bethel's (Hampton, VA) preseason practices, 5-10, 175-pound cornerback prospect Rijo Walker called UVa assistant coach Latrell Scott to verbally commit to the University of Virginia. Walker spoke at length about his college choice as the latest subject of "Q&A."

Morgan Moses, Cody Wallace Enroll at FUMA
Two members of the University of Virginia's 2009 football recruiting class have enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy. FUMA postgraduate head coach John Shuman confirmed this morning that Morgan Moses and Cody Wallace, two of six offensive line prospects to sign with the Cavaliers last February, are in school and in preseason practice.

UVa One of Two Visits Set for Jerian Grant
DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) guard Jerian Grant narrowed his college focus recently, cutting the list of schools he's considering down to five. The 6-4, 180-pound guard has scheduled two official visits for early September, including a trip to the University of Virginia for the weekend of September 12th.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Collinsworth Down to Four, Starts to Set Visits
• Tidewater Standout Commits to Virginia
• Dew Schedules Two Unofficial Visits

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Hoo Preview - Final Week

The Sabre's annual "Hoo Preview" is winding down as August draws to a close. The site has already produced 18 updates over the past two weeks to get you ready for football season. If you're not a subscriber, you don't know what you're missing on the EDGE! Sign up here!

This week's portion of the "Hoo Preview" features a look at the defense and columns from Jed Williams and JHoo!

More Blog Banter: Disappearing Redshirts?

Kris Wright, Sabre Editor
From The Good Ol' Blog

With 15 days remaining until the Virginia football team kicks off the 2009 season, some of the position battles on the depth chart are starting to sort themselves out. No quarterback isn't one of them - at least not one of them that Al Groh gave any hints on. After a scrimmage on Saturday, however, the coaching staff will spend the majority of the day Sunday working out evaulations of the various positions on the team in order to prepare for the final two weeks of preseason practice. That doesn't mean there'll be some big announcement next week about "starters" and such, but the team is starting to take shape in preparation for the opener.

For example, some of the spots on the special teams units are becoming more clear with final auditions coming in this Saturday's scrimmage.

"After Thursday's big special teams practice, a lot of positions have come to solidify themselves. We'll have quite a few more plays tomorrow [at Saturday's scrimmage practice] and that will be the final determinant," Groh said. "We're doing some things specifically to have a final audition, the final competition for some of those spots."

Also of note in terms of depth chart discussion: several true freshmen are likely to be on the list at various positions and will likely see time this season. Groh didn't provide any clues as to who those players may be, but the top two candidates figure to be Will Hill (defensive end) and Tim Smith (receiver) due to the depth needed at those spots. Other candidates could be athletes and speed merchants like Perry Jones, Corey Lillard, LoVante Battle, Quintin Hunter, Laroy Reynolds, and Javanti Sparrow due the potential value they could bring to special teams units.

"There's a pretty good-sized list that I would anticipate are going to help us this year, at least at this stage with two weeks to go," Groh said. "They're showing they certainly could solidly put themselves in the mix."

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Cavaliers Well Represented at U.S. Amateur: Four players on the current Virginia men's golf team and assistant coach Jay Fisher start play at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championships on Monday. The tournament, held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., runs through Sunday. The UVa student competitors include junior Will Collins, junior Amory Davis, sophomore Ben Kohles and freshman Mac McLaughlin.
• Orange Wins Second Annual Blue vs. Orange Scrimmage: The Virginia volleyball team held its annual preseason scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium. The Orange team defeated the Blue team 4-0. Game scores were 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-17. The Cavaliers open the 2009 campaign at 12:30 p.m. Friday against Northern Iowa at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas.
• Virginia Suffers 1-0 Loss at No. 6 Penn State in Season Opener: The No. 11 Cavalier women's soccer team fell to No. 6 Penn State 1-0 in the season opener for both teams as Virginia's streak of nine consecutive season-opening victories was snapped. "We are very disappointed with the loss because I thought for the majority of the game, I thought we played well," said UVa coach Steve Swanson. "We were pleased with our effort and our energy. Maybe a little bit of inexperience showed at times and maybe that cost us. But overall, this kind of game tells us a lot."
• Virginia Drops 1-0 Exhibition Match To George Mason: George Mason forward Parker Walton scored the match's lone goal in the 92nd minute, as the Virginia men's soccer team dropped its first preseason exhibition match to the Patriots, 1-0, Friday at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers out-shot George Mason, 19-5, and held a 4-3 advantage on corner kicks.
• Virginia Picked To Finish Second in the ACC: he Virginia men's soccer team was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as determined by a vote of the league's nine head coaches that was released by the league Wednesday. North Carolina, which ended the 2008 season as the national runner-up, narrowly beat Virginia as the preseason pick for the upcoming season.
• Virginia Picked First in ACC Preseason Poll: The Virginia field hockey team was picked to finish first in the annual Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll, voted on by the head coaches and released Thursday by the league office. Sophomores Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese were two of 11 players named to the preseason all-conference team.
• Wright Named A Preseason Wooden Award Candidate: Virginia senior guard Monica Wright was named one of 31 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the frontrunners for the Women's Wooden Award. Wright, who was on the final national ballot last season for the Wooden Award, is also a preseason candidate for the State Farm Wade Trophy. Her accolades last season included an Associated Press honorable mention All-America nod and a spot on the All-ACC first team.
• Landesberg Named Preseason Wooden Award Candidate: Virginia sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg was one of 50 players named as preseason candidates for the 2009-10 John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy, the Wooden Award Committee announced Wednesday. Last year, Landesberg led the Cavaliers in scoring (16.6 ppg) during his freshman campaign. He was the ACC Rookie of the Year and was a second-team Freshman All-America selection by CBSSports.com and CollegeHoops.net.
• Dowling Named to Nagurski Trophy Watch List: Virginia junior cornerback Ras-I Dowling is one of 62 players named to the 2009 Bronko Nagurski Watch List that was announced by the Football Writers Association of America. The Nagurski Trophy is awarded annually to the nation's best defensive player by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

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

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Issue No. 312 - Oct. 8, 2007

Tennis Duo Wins Title

In the spring, the Virginia men's tennis team had quite a list of accomplishments. The Cavs became the first ACC team to advance to the Final Four and Somdev Devvarman became the first player in school and conference history to win the individual NCAA Championship.

The program isn't showing any signs of slowing down this fall.

Devvarman and Treat Huey teamed up to win the doubles title at the ITA All-American Championships this past weekend on the campus of the University of Tulsa. They are the first ACC duo to win the doubles title at the prestigious tournament. Huey and Devvarman, the preseason No. 1 team in the ITA doubles rankings, took down 20th-ranked Jonas Berg and Erling Tveit of Mississippi in the final, 6-2, 7-5.

"They have played together for a long time and deserve to have this level of success," coach Brian Boland said in news release. "We are proud of their success and we look to them to continue to develop and be tremendous leaders for our team as the season progresses."

Check Out SabreMail #312.

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 wrapping up soon. This week features the defense and columns from Jed Williams and JHoo.
• Soccer Season Nears: The Sabre will try to catch up with George Gelnovatch as the men's soccer team prepares to start its season.
• Kelsey Wolfe: The Sabre caught up with Kelsey Wolfe, who recently committed to Debbie Ryan's women's basketball program.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Hoo Preview '09: Q&A - Nathan Rathjen
Quick, who is No. 29 on the Virginia football team? No, not standout recruit Corey Lillard, a freshman defensive back. The other No. 29. Nathan Rathjen. Who? Nathan Rathjen is a junior reserve punter and holder. He's also the kind of Hoo fans love to root for. From a typical special teams day to helping start a mission trip to Jamaica, The Sabre caught up with Rathjen for a Q&A session.

Swanson's Club Set To Start Season
The 10 newcomers on the women's soccer 25-person roster indicate one of the team's biggest hurdles for this season. Coach Steve Swanson is quick to recognize the youth of this year's team, but remains optimistic about the outlook for the season. The season opens Friday night at 7 p.m. at No. 6 Penn State.

Hoo Preview '09: Recruiting Impact
UVa football coach Al Groh made recruiting a priority as soon as he stepped on Grounds nine years ago. And while there have been some low points, from eight prospects failing to qualify in the 2006 class to inconsistent in-state efforts, Groh and his staff have demonstrated an ability to reel in talented players. Rankings-wise, Virginia's 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 classes were rated in the top 33 nationally according to Rivals.com. And of the former Cavaliers currently in the NFL, Groh recruited 19. How could the 2009 season impact the Hoos on the recruiting trail?

Hoo Preview '09: Roundtable II
In the first Sabre Roundtable published as a part of this year's Hoo Preview, guest panelists answered some questions about the UVa football team. In Roundtable II, I asked another set of contributors to give their thoughts on more questions as the Hoo Preview rolls on. Does Virginia need a go-to receiver? Who should return punts this season? See the answers to those and more as Jerry Ratcliffe of The Daily Progress, Marc Davis of WCAV and Sabre fan UVAlex29 join me for another Sabre Roundtable.

Hoo Preview '09: Mack Joins Fray
Virginia's lineage at running back has been a recurring success story for nearly two decades. Terry Kirby, Tiki Barber, Thomas Jones, Antoine Womack, Alvin Pearman, Wali Lundy, Jason Snelling and Cedric Peerman have all headlined the position at one time or another. Each shared one thing while wearing the orange and blue: impressive production. Another running back is stepping into the line of ancestry for his first year in the fray in 2009. Can Torrey Mack help continue the tradition in Charlottesville?

Hoo Preview '09: Running Backs
When you look at the running back position on Virginia's roster, you'll find plenty of familiar names. Mikell Simpson and Rashawn Jackson, for example, have been filling roles on the offense for the past two seasons or more. Torrey Mack and Keith Payne, meanwhile, created a steady buzz on the recruiting trail. Regardless of which name you pick, however, UVa's running backs have a lot of promising skills and the potential to be a key element in this season's offense.

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