NFL Draft Up This Week

The NFL Draft hits the airwaves this week featuring a new schedule. The first round starts at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night while the second and third rounds will be on Friday beginning at 6 p.m.. The remainder of the draft is set for Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

Rashawn Jackson and Nate Collins are among the Cavalier hopefuls this year. The Washington Post has a story on the Wahoo fullback in Monday's edition. Read it here. Nationalfootballpost.com caught up with Collins. Read that story here.

Stay tuned to The Sabre message boards and next week's SabreMail for information on any Hoos that get drafted or signed as free agents.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Division 1 Football's Evaluation Period is now under way. From April 15 to May 31, the Virginia staff is allowed to call each junior recruit one time. The staff will be able to stop by high schools four out of the six weeks, evaluating recruits, recruiting its top targets and taking another step toward figuring out which high school juniors will be offered before the summer time. TheSabre.com will continue to hit the recruiting trail, following up on those top targets and on those prospects that may be offered by Mike London and company.

This week, I'll have an update that includes info on a prospect with an offer and a prospect seemingly on the staff's radar. I traveled to the Butler (Matthews, N.C.) Shrine Bowl this past Saturday and caught up with Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) running back Nyjee Fleming and Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, N.C.) running back Justus Pickett. Fleming, a teammate of current Virginia commitment Adrian Gamble, has been offered by the Cavaliers and has already received a phone call in the Evaluation Period from primary recruiter Anthony Poindexter.

Fleming names a clear favorite in this race, so read the EDGE update to find out which school has the lead. In addition to Virginia, Clemson, ECU and N.C. State have offered as well.

The 5-10, 200-pound Fleming is built like a rock but showed good speed at Saturday's combine, running the 40 in the 4.4's. A slenderer back, the 5-10, 175-pound Pickett also showed good speed at the combine. He has a handful of FBS offers, but at this point Virginia is not one of them. Primary recruiter Anthony Poindexter has been in contact, though, and plans to stop by Ardrey Kell for spring practice to further evaluate the speedy junior.

Also this week, I hope to catch up with top targets including Dominique Terrell, a star ATH out of Osbourn Park (Manassas, VA), Travis Hughes, a standout LB out of Kempsville (Virginia Beach, VA) and soft commit Clifton Richardson, a RB out of Menchville (Newport News, VA).

I also plan to catch up with Kyrrel Latimer, who committed to the Cavaliers in the 2010 class but has to attend Fork Union before arriving in Charlottesville. Does the DeMatha (Hyattsville, MD) product still remain committed? I hope to find out this week. Also, I plan to reach 2010 running back recruit K.P. Parks, who had a taste of his future when he attended Virginia's Spring Football Festival on April 10.

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 ...

Burbank Is A Hoo
Cox High School (Virginia Beach, VA) standout Ross Burbank told TheSabre.com Sunday night that he could make a decision on his college future this week. He followed through, verbally committing to Mike London and the University of Virginia. The 6-5, 290-pound offensive tackle/nose guard becomes the fifth high school junior to commit to Virginia's 2011 class.

FB Recruiting Notes
In this edition of "Notes," Dunbar (Washington, D.C.) WR Daniel Adams discusses his offer from Virginia and when he may return to visit, Colonial Forge (Stafford, VA) stars Eric and Blake Frohnapfel reflect on the Spring Football Festival Visit and Fork Union postgraduate head coach John Shuman provides the latest on Morgan Moses.

A Big Day For Baron
Billy Baron will sign a letter of intent with the University of Virginia tomorrow, officially becoming a member of Tony Bennett's first full recruiting class as Cavaliers head coach. Three words come to mind for the 6-1, 185-pound point guard, who attended Worcester Academy (MA) this year after a standout 4-year career at Bishop Hendricken High School in Rhode Island. "I can't wait," he said.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• 2-Sport Athlete Heading To UVa
• Busy Taylor Eyeing Spring Camps
• Top 2012 Prospect: ATH Joel Caleb
• Top CB Phelps Making Visits, Plans More
• Whitmire Getting To Know UVa Coaches
• Manchester's Goins Updates Recruiting
• Star LB Grant Recalls Recent Visits
• Watford Says Experience Was "All Positive"
• Top OL Turner Visits Virginia

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Blog Banter: The Orange Is Back!

The Good Ol Blog featured a couple of comments on the football team's new uniforms this week. Check it out ...

When Virginia unveiled its new football uniforms last week, people had mixed reactions. When it comes to fashion, that's expected. One thing almost everyone agrees on, however, is that having orange back in the uniform closet is a great move!

Rest assured, Mike London and the Cavaliers had the fans in mind with the decision.

"We're always asking them to wear orange and The Power of Orange and all that stuff so I think it is important that we be representative of what they wear already in the stands," London said. "Maybe one of the particular games we get the word out that we're having an orange out or a blue out or a white out by what we're wearing. We wanted to bring the orange back for sure."

"I think it's important to get the orange back," cornerback Ras-I Dowling said. "I know the fans wear orange so there will be a lot of orange in the crowd so why can't we wear orange on the field. It's a chance for us to have orange with our fans and just be as one."

If you want to see more free photos of the uniforms, click here!

License Plate section is up in Wahoowa!

A few weeks ago, SabreMail made a request for anyone who had license plates that reflected your status as a Hoo fan. The responses have started to trickle in and the Plates Photos are up and running the Wahoowa! section of the site. The Wahoowa! section of the Sabre is dedicated to all things associated with UVa Fan-dom. There are various fan-related areas including desktop wallpaper, Fan of the Week photos, V-Sabres Worldwide, and more. If you have suggestions for new and interesting things in the Wahoowa! section, please email us at [email protected] with the header: Wahoowa! suggestion.

We'd like to keep adding photos to the section so if your license plate shows that you're a Hoo fan, let us know so we can include you in our gallery. All you need to do is snap a picture of your license plate and email a jpeg version of the photo to [email protected] with the email header: License Plate Photo.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• No. 1 Cavaliers Conclude Regular Season with Wins at GT, Clemson: The top-ranked Virginia men's tennis team completed an undefeated run through the ACC regular season for the fourth consecutive season by winning 7-0 at No. 44 Clemson in the regular season finale. The Cavaliers (32-1, 11-0 ACC) also tied the school record for wins in a season with their 32nd victory of the season. The Hoos also won at Georgia Tech on Saturday. They own a new conference record with their 58th consecutive win against ACC competition.
• Women's Tennis Edged By No. 8 Clemson 4-3, but tops No. 25 Georgia Tech: The No. 31 Virginia women's tennis team concluded the regular season on Sunday with a 4-3 loss to No. 8 Clemson at the Snyder Tennis Center. The team tied a school record with its sixth ACC win of the season as it topped No. 25 Georgia Tech 5-2 on Saturday afternoon, though.
• Cavaliers Rally for Second-Place Finish at ACC Championships: The 13th-ranked Virginia women's golf team finished second at the 22nd-annual ACC Championships. The Cavaliers, behind the second-place finishes of freshman Brittany Altomare and junior Calle Nielson, shot 3-over 287 Sunday to finish the 54-hole tournament at 21-over 873, just four shots shy of winner Wake Forest.
• UVa Take Series Against VT: Thanks to a 4-2 win Friday and an 8-2 victory Saturday, the UVa baseball team took the series win against Virginia Tech this weekend - its fifth over a ranked team this year. Virginia sold out all three games of the series and finished with a program record three-game attendance of 12,657.
• Cavaliers Win Series with NC State After 1-0 Victory: The Virginia softball team (27-18, 9-5 ACC) tied a school record after earning its ninth Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season with a 1-0 victory over N.C. State (25-21, 8-7 ACC) Sunday at The Park. Senior Nicole Koren had the game-winning RBI to score teammate Alex Skinkis in the bottom of the sixth inning. Freshman Melanie Mitchell picked up her 21st win of the season in the circle, the most since Kristen Dennis won 24 games in 2002. That number currently ranks seventh all-time in the Virginia record book.
• No. 1 Virginia Drops Tussle with No. 5 Duke: The No. 5 Duke Blue Devils (11-3, 1-2 ACC) snapped the nation's longest home winning streak as they topped the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (11-1, 2-1 ACC) on Saturday night, 13-9, in front of a capacity crowd of 8,000 fans at Klöckner Stadium. Virginia had won its previous 15 games at home since the last time Duke came to Charlottesville and defeated the Cavaliers on April 12, 2008, 19-9.
• No. 4 Virginia Uses Balanced Attack to Defeat George Mason, 17-8: The No. 4 Virginia women's lacrosse team once again counted on a balanced attack to overcome an opponent, as the Cavaliers defeated in-state rival George Mason, 17-8, Tuesday. All 10 Cavaliers that played on attack for Virginia scored a goal.
• Several Hoos Named Tewaaraton Trophy Candidates: Virginia men's lacrosse players Shamel Bratton, Brian Carroll, Ken Clausen and Steele Stanwick are among 26 players announced as candidates for the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy by the Tewaaraton Foundation. On the women's side, senior All-American midfielders Kaitlin Duff and Brittany Kalkstein have been named official 2010 Tewaaraton Award Nominees as well.
• Roller and Taye Earn Titles on Final Day of ACC Championships: The Virginia track and field team wrapped up competition at the 2010 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday afternoon at Clemson's Rock Norman Complex. Led by ACC Titles from sophomore All-Americans Lance Roller and Sintayehu Taye, the men's squad earned a third-place finish, while senior All-American Meghan Briggs' javelin title on Thursday led the women's team to an eighth-place finish. Throughout the championships, the Cavaliers earned 15 all-conference performances.
• No. 1 Virginia Wins Three Races; Edged In Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight: The top-ranked Virginia rowing team competed in the Eisenberg Cup on Lake Carnegie (Princeton, N.J.) on Saturday vs. No. 4 Yale and No. 6 Princeton. In good conditions with an increasing headwind, Princeton claimed the Varsity Eight and the Second Varsity Eight races, while UVa was victorious in the Varsity Four, the Third Varsity Eight and the Second Varsity Four.
• Christensen Tabbed ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Virginia senior Mei Christensen has been tabbed the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, announced by ACC Commissioner John Swofford.
• Wright Named 2010 VaSID Player of the Year: The Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) released its 2009-10 Women's Basketball University Division All-State Team on Wednesday (April 14), and Virginia senior guard Monica Wright was named the organization's Player of the Year and to the first team.
• Collins, Dowling and Greer Earn VaSID All-State Honors: Three Virginia football players were named to Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) All-State Division I Football Team, announced Thursday. Defensive lineman Nate Collins, cornerback Ras-I Dowling and linebacker Steve Greer all were named to the second-team defense.

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

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Issue No. 24 - February 14, 2002

Words from Tony Franklin

TheSabre.com caught up with Tony Franklin recently and got his impressions on his recruiting process and his thoughts on playing at Virginia next season. Franklin, 5-11, 175 (St. Peter Chanel HS, Bedford, OH), is one of the top running backs from the state of Ohio. Here's what he had to say .

On Head Coach Al Groh

"When I talked with Coach Groh, we had real good conversations and he pretty much is the reason I committed to Virginia. He came off to be a pretty fair and honest guy. He was pretty aggressive in the recruiting process and I liked the way he recruited me."

On committing to the Hoos so early (June, 2001)

"I didn't want to make this a long process. I only had three top schools: Ohio State, Georgia Tech and Virginia. Once I visited Ohio State and Virginia, I pretty much made my decision where I wanted to go. [With] Ohio State, I really didn't want to stay that close to home. Plus, they have a large stable of running backs, whereas at Virginia, they were not as deep at running back. [I liked] the quicker opportunity to be able to play at Virginia.

"I sent [Virginia] a highlight tape of me before they actually came after me. I pretty much went after them. Once I committed, I was pretty sure and I never really thought about changing [my decision]."

On Virginia

"I liked the campus and on my official visit [Dec. 7], I felt really comfortable with a lot of the players that are on the team: Jonathan Ward, Antwoine Womack, Marques Hagans. They're pretty cool guys. They showed me around a good time when I was down there on campus. It seemed like a place I can fit in."

Check Out SabreMail #24.

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:

• Baseball/Lacrosse/Tennis: The Sabre covers some of the Hoos' most successful teams as well as anyone. Stay tuned to the site!
• JHoo: The Sabre wraps up coverage on the football team's spring practices with a column from JHoo!

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Cavaliers Fall To Duke Again
On Saturday night at Klockner Stadium, 8,000 fans packed the house for the Virginia-Duke men's lacrosse showdown. A different eight became the story of the night, though. As in the Cavaliers' eight straight losses to the Blue Devils. UVa's head-scratching losing streak against the Devils continued as the visitors from Durham dominated the second half to win 13-9.

Can Cavs Stop The Curse?
No one on the current Virginia lacrosse roster has ever beaten Duke. No one on last season's Virginia lacrosse roster ever beat Duke. The last Cavalier victory over the Blue Devils came in 2004. Six years, five seasons (Duke cancelled the 2006 season), seven straight losses to Duke. It's enough to make any Virginia fans', or players', blood boil.

Photo Gallery: Spring Game 2010
The Virginia football team made its final public outing for spring football practice with the 2010 Spring Game last weekend. The Sabre sent two cameras down to the field to catch the action between players like Marc Verica, Bobby Smith, Cam Johnson, Ras-I Dowling and more. Check out 118 images from the game and the festivities around Scott Stadium.

As Good As It Gets?
Last season the Virginia baseball team played its best baseball in the later part of the season, leading to a berth in the College World Series. But that was last year. The question is have we seen the best of the 2010 edition of Virginia baseball? That's a question skipper Brian O'Connor is somewhat reticent to answer.

Jones Makes Spring Progress
It may be a rather sizeable exaggeration to compare Perry Jones to Barry Sanders. But, when Virginia coach Mike London made such a comparison, Jones had to know he was doing something right. Jones did indeed do a lot of things right during spring practice and carried four times for 24 yards in the Spring Game.

Barrick Boosts Hoos With Leadership
If you asked the Virginia men's tennis team about Houston Barrick, players and coaches would tell you that he is the emotional leader of the group. It is a sentiment that tickles his parents, Steve and Jan Barrick. "It's funny when people say that, because all through junior tennis, people would think he didn't even have a pulse," Jan Barrick said. As Houston Barrick wraps up his Cavalier playing career this spring, he would be more aptly described as the pulse of the top-ranked team in the nation.

Keys Enjoys Big Moment At Spring Game
Shortly after Saturday's Spring Game at Scott Stadium, receiver Ray Keys stood surrounded by reporters in the south end zone. Nearby, two children waited patiently as fans to add Keys' name to their ink-filled posters. Before answering some additional questions, Keys took time to sign his autograph for the young fans. And why not? He once stood in their shoes.

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