Sneak Peak: JHoo On TCU

After every Virginia football game, JHoo provides UVa fans with "10 Things" that can be learned from the contest. After the Cavaliers' 30-14 loss to TCU, here's one of the 10 things coming later today in JHoo's column:

1. A Meltdown. This is not what I expected to see. It really wasn't. In the past, when Al Groh teams have had crushing defeats, they often have responded with a quality outing the next week, regardless of whether a win resulted. This week, that was not the case. This week, that was not even close to the case.

To me, this game never had a good feel to it. Given that it was TCU's first game of the year, I felt like UVa might have a chance to get off to a decent start while TCU found its rhythm. On offense, however, Virginia never threatened TCU early, advancing the ball only 15 yards after an early Horned Frog fumble, missing a chance at a field goal at the end of that drive, and then finishing the half with only 11 yards passing and 4 first downs. On defense, the Hoos recovered an early fumble but then only forced one three-and-out for the rest of the half, eventually giving up 14 points when 14 points seemed like a mountain for the Cavalier offense to climb. Couple that with a few mistakes on special teams and it was apparent to all that the team was not clicking in any way, shape, or form.

But here is where things really got upsetting for me: at the end of the game. Why, you ask? After all, that was when we starting scoring, right? Yes, that's true ... but when I see players and coaches jumping around excited when they put up meaningless touchdowns at the end of a game, it generally means one of two things to me. First, they are trying to generate artificial excitement. Second - and even worse - they actually are excited, meaning they need to find excitement in anything at all, even in almost meaningless moments during the worst of defeats. Yes, we were seeing the first career touchdown catches for both Tim Smith and Javaris Brown and yes, that is something for which we can be happy for them. Still ... that kind of team excitement. Whether it was artificial or not, I worry that the team's thinking is not where I think it needs to be. That does not exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling going into week three.

Join life on the EDGE today for all of JHoo's excellent analysis!

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

The Virginia men's basketball program scored one of its top 2010 class targets Sunday, when Elsinore (Wildomar, CA) forward James Johnson pledged to the Hoos. The 6-9, 225-pound senior, ranked a 5-star prospect by Scout.com and a 4-star recruit by Rivals.com, is Virginia's fourth commitment of the 2010 class.

Johnson's finalist list included Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Virginia. He made an official visit to Cal last weekend and had scheduled officials to Oklahoma and Arizona before deciding to end his recruitment following this past weekend's official visit to UVa.

Johnson's father, Ted, spoke with TheSabre.com about his son's commitment Sunday.

"He called me and asked if he could ask me a couple of questions," Ted Johnson said. "He said he felt like he wanted to commit. He asked, 'What do I have to do to let the other coaches know I'm not going to take the other official visits?' I asked him if he was sure. He said, 'I really feel like this is the place for me. Getting to see some of the workouts, seeing Coach Curtis and Coach Bennett in action, I can tell this is the place for me.'"

Stay tuned later Monday for more from James on the decision.

6-6, 200-pound Lake Chelan guard/forward Joe Harris, reigning Class 1A Player of the Year in the state of Washington, also made his official visit this past weekend. Harris, who verbally committed to the Hoos in August, told TheSabre.com late last night that he had a great visit. We'll have more with the standout prospect later this evening, when we catch up with him for a more extensive interview.

Cave Spring (Roanoke, VA) center Josh Henderson had also been scheduled to take his official visit to Virginia this past weekend, but the 6-11, 225-pound senior rescheduled his visit for the weekend of Oct. 10. He'll head to Wake Forest this coming weekend, Davidson the following weekend and then Virginia. He has already taken an official to Vanderbilt.

Henderson, who is also considering Maryland, seems likely to pick from one of the four official visit destinations.

We'll continue to hit the football recruiting trail this week as well. First Colonial (Virginia Beach, VA) safety/linebacker Nick Dew did attend Saturday's game versus TCU, but as a result of the experience it does not appear Virginia will be a major contender here. We'll have more on Dew as well as other prospects that made the trek to Charlottesville over the weekend, including more on several commitments.

On the baseball front, Coach Brian O'Connor reeled in a top 2009 class. After sweating out the MLB signing deadline - five of UVa's signees, including top pitching prospect Branden Kline, were drafted, but none signed - O'Connor and company were pleased to have all 11 recruits enrolled.

TheSabre.com caught up with Virginia's coach for more on his talented class, so be sure to check out the EDGE later in the week.

"Without a doubt, we feel this is one of our best classes," O'Connor said. "We won't know if it is the best for a few years, until the players develop, but we're really excited about it because, from a baseball standpoint, it met our needs. We have guys who can make a lot of contributions. We think some pitchers can make an impact right away. We think there are prospects that can really shoot up as their career's move along. Most importantly, this class is a great fit for the University and our program. They are great students in the classroom, so they should be successful academically."

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 ...

Cavs Score Star Forward
At nine o'clock this morning, Ted Johnson didn't know his son was even contemplating a commitment to the University of Virginia. James Johnson, a 6-9, 225-pound senior forward out of Elsinore High School (Wildomar, CA), called his father two hours later to discuss a possible decision.

Harrell Recalls Terrific Visit
K.T. Harrell's visit to the University of Virginia this past weekend was his first, but the experience was more than he expected. Harrell, a 6-4, 205-pound guard prospect out of Brewbaker Magnet (Montgomery, AL), entered the visit having committed to Tony Bennett and left feeling great about the decision he made.

TheSabre.com PreSeason Top 30
The in-state 2010 class may not be as talented as the 2009 version, but at this point about 40 prospects have committed to FBS or FCS programs. More remain uncommitted but hold scholarship offers, so from an overall recruiting perspective this year is a solid one for college prospects. For the most part, the Pre-Summer list remains in tact with one significant change at the top of the list.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Cave Spring Center Reschedules UVa Visit
• Junior S/LB Accepts UVa Offer
• Star WR Considering Six

At The Boar's Head, hospitality comes naturally. Nestled in Virginia's Piedmont countryside, The Boar's Head promises world-class amenities in a setting uniquely Southern in character, charm, and natural beauty. An exceptional destination awaits you, with AAA Four Diamond Award-winning dining, attentive service, and first-class accommodations. Our visitors enjoy golf, tennis, bicycling, hiking, fishing, and a fitness club and spa, all within the grounds of our lush 573-acre estate. Add in the many attractions of Charlottesville and picturesque surroundings that always transfix and sometimes even inspire, and you'll find yourself transported to a new place of reflection and discovery.

Changes Coming

Wahoo fans,

We will be working to change the design of TheSabre.com this month. The changes will not affect your ability to use the site and the changes will not all happen at once - we will change each page's design one by one. The new design will be clean and functional and include new navigation elements, including drop down navigation that will allow you to jump to just about anywhere on the site with one click. This new design is a wider format, so you'll need to have your screen resolution set at a minimum of 1024x768 and will need to fully expand your browser. Chances are, 99 percent of you are already doing this if you've visited most news or sports sites on the web (i.e. ESPN, CNN, etc.).

Besides freshening up and widening the site, as well as adding better navigation, one of the primary reasons for this change is to bring the design code up to today's standards. For you technical types, it means we're moving out of our table-based layout and into a full CSS layout that is XHTML compliant for most of the site. While the message boards will adopt the new look, the programming for them will still be the same until we switch over to a new board system hopefully next spring or summer.

We hope you enjoy the changes. If you have any problems with the site or see anything broken or misaligned, please let us know so that we can make adjustments promptly.

Sabre Staff

Buy a shirt for a Boys and Girls Club child today!

The UVA Bookstore and the Central Virginia Boys and Girls Club are partnering to put smiles on the faces of local youth. UVA fans and benefactors may purchase a 2009 UVA Bookstore Football Fan T-shirt online or in-store that will be donated to a kid at the Central Virginia Boys and Girls Club. T-shirts are only $9.99. (Don't forget EDGE subscribers, you get 10% off with your EDGE discount!)

Jon Kates, Executive Director of the UVA Bookstore, said: "The Boys and Girls Club is a fantastic organization. It will be great knowing that the kids are wearing our football fan shirts while they root on the Hoos. We want to reach out to as many of them as possible and are confident that the UVA and Charlottesville communities will help us make this happen."

James Pierce, from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia, noted: "We all know that positive role models can influence young people to set goals and achieve them. Here at the Boys & Girls Clubs, we provide our kids with a safe place to go after school, where they can boost their self-confidence, develop a sense of security and reach their full potential. The UVa fans have been great partners in demonstrating to our kids that people care about them and want them to have fun and be great!"

To order online, go to this link or in-store at the main UVA Bookstore located atop the Central Grounds Parking Garage and TJ's Locker, across from Scott Stadium in the Aquatic and Fitness Center.

Advertise With The Sabre!

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].

To view a list of our sponsors, please visit our Sponsors Page.

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• No. 19 Duke Edges No. 16 UVa In Double OT, 1-0: The 16th-ranked Virginia men's soccer team was edged by No. 19 Duke, 1-0, in double overtime on Friday night at Klöckner Stadium. Daniel Tweed-Kent scored the game-winner in the 101st minute to give the Blue Devils the win in the ACC opener for both teams.
• Cavaliers Strike Early to Down Seton Hall 4-0: The No. 16 Cavalier women's soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to six games with a 4-0 victory over Seton Hall in the final game of the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic at Klöckner Stadium. Virginia scored three goals in the first 26 minutes and rolled to their fourth victory of the season (4-1-2). Meghan Lenczyk scored two goals while Jess Rostedt and Lindsey Miller added one each. On Friday, Sinead Farrelly's goal helped UVa tie West Virginia 1-1.
• Cavaliers Take Five Titles at UVa Classic: The Virginia men's tennis team concluded an impressive performance at the UVa Classic by winning five flight titles, three in singles and two in doubles. In the A1 singles final, Sanam Singh defeated teammate Drew Courtney. The A2 singles final was also a battle of Virginia teammates, with Jarmere Jenkins topped Lee Singer 6-2, 6-2. Santiago Villegas (B singles), Singh and Houston Barrick (A1 doubles) and Brian Fang and Dino Dell'Orto (C doubles) also won titles.
• Doubles Team Takes Title at William & Mary Invitational: he Virginia women's tennis team wrapped up play Sunday at the William & Mary Invitational where Jennifer Stevens and Hana Tomljanovic won the A Flight Doubles title.
• Cavaliers Blank Ohio 5-0: Sophomore Paige Selenski tallied her first career hat trick to lead the sixth-ranked Virginia field hockey team (6-0) to a 5-0 win over Ohio (1-4) Sunday at Pruitt Field. Traci Ragukas and junior Haley Carpenter added the other goals.
• Dickson Named to Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament Team: Senior Lauren Dickson was named to the Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament Team. For the tournament, Dickson led Virginia with 36 kills, 30 digs and six blocks. She recorded a double-double in the Cavaliers' win over BYU (16 kills, 13 digs) and had a career-high three solo blocks.
• Kohles Wins Medalist Honors at Maryland Intercollegiate as UVa Places Fourth: Virginia sophomore Ben Kohles tied North Carolina's Henry Zaytoun for first-place honors at the Maryland Intercollegiate at River Marsh Golf Club. Both players finished at 7-under 206. Kohles' score on the par-71 course bettered his previous best 54-hole total by six shots.

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

Nike V-Sabre Cap
Regular: $24.00, Sale: $17.88!

The Nike Pre-Season V-Sabre Cap is a six panel structured cap with mesh accent panels on the sides and bill. The V-Sabre is embroidered in the center of the cap with navy accent piping on the sides.

Issue No. 352 - July 28, 2008

Olympic Connections
Virginia Athletic Media Relations Official Release

Nine individuals with connections to University of Virginia athletics are headed to China for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The group traveling to Beijing includes six former Cavalier varsity student-athletes, one incoming student-athlete, a current Virginia coach and a former club sport participant at UVa.

The former Cavalier student-athletes competing at the games include Angela Hucles (women's soccer), Melanie Kok (women's rowing), Vanja Rogulj (men's swimming), Ruby Rojas (softball), and Lindsay Shoop (women's rowing). In addition, former Cavalier basketball standout Dawn Staley is traveling to China as an assistant coach with the U.S. women's basketball team. Erika Stewart (incoming first year on the women's swimming team), Adam Nelson (graduate student at the Darden School of Business and a volunteer assistant coach with the UVa track and field team), and Wyatt Allen (a graduate of the University and former rower with the UVa men's rowing club team) will also compete in Beijing.

Check Out SabreMail #352.

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:

• Postgame Coverage: The Sabre's postgame looks at William & Mary continue with JHoo's 10 Things and Greg's Stock Report.
• Soccer: The Sabre was on hand for the men's soccer team's game against Duke. Stay tuned for photos.
• 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

O-Line Play Contributing To Struggles
As the final few seconds ticked off the clock at the end of the first half Saturday, a loud thud rose from the Virginia's coaches' box in Scott Stadium. The frustrated reaction followed a series that featured two sacks. In the end, it was just part of another long day for the Cavaliers' offense and offensive line as TCU rolled to a 30-14 win.

TCU Tags UVa With Another Loss
In several years during Virginia coach Al Groh's tenure, when a dismal performance has left the football program in its darkest hour, the Cavaliers have bounced back with a series of wins. After losing to William & Mary a week ago, the Hoos did not bounce back against TCU on Saturday, falling 30-14 to the Horned Frogs.

Priorities, Picks, & Power Players - TCU
For each game this season, The Sabre will present a final peek at the week's match-up with a new feature called Priorities, Picks, and Power Players. In the "Priorities" section, we take a look at the keys to a Virginia victory. In the "Picks" section, Sabre Editor Kris Wright and another Sabre representative make a case for who will win and give you a final score. In the "Power Players" section, The Sabre predicts who some of the key players could be for that Saturday's showdown. Take a look at TCU!

Game Preview 2009 - TCU
If you are a Virginia fan looking for reasons why the Cavs might pull off an upset over No. 16 Texas Christian University this Saturday, numbers won't help much. When UVa faces the Horned Frogs on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., it will be against an opponent that led the nation in total defense, was 8th in the country in turnover margin (+1.0 per game), and scored 33.6 points per game in 2008.

Photo Gallery '09: W&M
Virginia football team opened its season last Saturday with more than 57,000 fans cheering the Cavaliers at home. Vic Hall, Steve Greer, Jimmy Howell and more all contributed positive plays for the Hoos. Check out 91 photos from the game in this EDGE gallery.

What Are Virginia's Options?
After George Welsh's rebuilding project carried the Virginia football program to new heights, Al Groh came to the scene with a plan to, and belief that he could, elevate Virginia football even higher. The process has hit a snag in recent seasons, resulting in a record hovering near .500 the last five years. This week, Wahoos are left to ponder a most uncertain future after the embarrassing loss to William & Mary on Saturday night. Where does the program go from here? Let's examine five different scenarios UVa's football program may confront from this point forward.

Greg's Stock Report '09: W&M
Jimmy Laycock and his staff deserve a great deal of credit for a game plan that maximized his team's strengths and minimized its weaknesses. Virginia, on the other hand, didn't do a very good job at all with the plan or the execution. Check out the "Stock Report" for what's trending up, what's trending down, and Greg's Game Grades.

Press Conference Notes '09: TCU
Stick together. Don't crack. Bounce back. Don't worry about negativity from the outside. These are the phrases that Virginia coach Al Groh is telling his players this week as they come off a loss to FCS opponent William & Mary and prepare for this Saturday's contest with Texas Christian University, who some have said is the best non-BCS conference team in the country.

10 Things I Learned From W&M
UVa has had plenty of rough season openers - Wyoming, anyone? - but this one was as bad as any of them. This one hurt. This one started a season that had to get off on the right foot on the wrong one. And this one revealed issues that may make it hard to turn things around. There was a lot to learn from this weekend's game ... and very little of it was pleasant.

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!

• Sabre Edge Info and Sign Up