A Minnesota Blog Q&A

TheSabre.com Editor Kris Wright took a few moments to answer some questions for the Minnesota blog From The Barn. Check out Kris' answer for the first question below and read the rest of the entry on From The Barn.

FTB: Teams have been shooting (and hitting) a lot of threes against the Cavs so far this year. Washington, in particular, had a field day recently. What’s going on with the Virginia perimeter defense?

Kris: Tony Bennett’s preferred defensive system is the Pack-Line, a sagging man-to-man defense. The idea, of course, is to cut down driving lanes, prevent penetration, and force jump shots. The problem there is that if you force jump shots and leave them as uncontested jump shots, then Division I players are good enough to make you pay. Coach Bennett said Washington was basically playing H-O-R-S-E out there because the Cavaliers weren’t closing out and contesting shooters. Long story short: the Pack-Line requires controlled but aggressive close-outs on shooters to force players to hit contested shots. The problem so far is the close-outs haven’t been good enough as a team with 6 freshmen and 1 sophomore in the rotation learns how to execute the system better.

The Hoos take on the Gophers on Monday night at 7 p.m. The game is televised on ESPN2.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Mike London's first season as head coach is in the books, and now he and his staff will turn their attention to the recruiting trail. There certainly will be some work on the 2012 trail, but London and company will focus their efforts on keeping the 2011 class intact and, hopefully, finishing out strong with some top targets.

The "Recruiting Roundtable" will be back this week. Greg Waters, JHoo, Kamikaze Hoo and I will answer questions on Virginia's 2011 recruiting class - as well as one on the 2010 group - for further insight to what is in store in the coming years. What new faces might we see next season? How many new players will see the field? We'll give our takes on those players already in the fold for the Cavaliers.

Last week, I profiled Grafton (Yorktown, VA) junior defensive end/tight end Dylan Stallings. The 6-4, 220-pound prospect is garnering heavy attention from Virginia and Virginia Tech.

"He never stops," Grafton head coach Jared Van Acker said of Stallings, a wide receiver/tight end and defensive end, in last week's EDGE update. "Other kids can't take a play off against a kid like Dylan. A lot of times, two or three guys will be needed to stop him. He is that explosive of a player on defense. On offense, pretty much every team double-teamed him. He helped us out a lot offensively this year. The big-play threat he is earns attention from the other team." I caught up with Stallings on Sunday night for more, including his take on the two in-state ACC programs. EDGE subscribers can read more on this standout junior this week. Other juniors I plan to feature this week on the EDGE include Christchurch (VA) OL Win Homer and Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, VA) athlete Kwontie Moore. Each 2012 prospect has been offered by the Cavaliers.

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 ...

Romero Pleased To Play For In-State Hoos
Phoebus (Hampton, VA) star Daquan Romero verbally committed to the University of North Carolina back in May; however, in what has been months in the making, the 6-1, 215-pound senior withdrew his commitment to the Tar Heels and pledged to the University of Virginia. Romero, the Peninsula district Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010, informed head coach Mike London of his decision in person on Monday morning.

Quick Take: ACCSports.com's Jim Young
In this latest "Quick Take," Jim Young, Editor of ACCSports.com, answers questions regarding the ACC schools and the Early Signing Period, which ended last Wednesday. Young discusses Virginia's 3-recruit haul, which school came out on top in the ACC according to ACCSports.com, and more.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• FB Recruiting Notes
• Grafton's Stallings Receiving Strong FBS Interest
• Reports: Romero Now A Cavalier
• WIR: Croce, Good Counsel Win WCAC Title (blog)

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Issue No. 398 - June 15, 2009

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Stay tuned for a series of updates from this past weekend, which included the successful "Future Wahoo Day" on Saturday. EDGE subscribers can now read updates on most of the recruits that visited Charlottesville over the weekend by clicking on the EDGE message board. I'll have more updates on each of these prospects and more throughout the week.

The weekend went very well for Al Groh and company, who reeled in two commitments on Saturday and added another Sunday. As expected, Don Bosco Prep (Wykoff, N.J.) linebacker Ryan Cobb pledged to the Cavaliers on Saturday. The 6-1, 220-pound rising senior made no secret of his affection for UVa two weeks ago and followed through with a commitment. Cobb, a versatile and athletic prospect, projects as an inside linebacker.

Hopes were high that Good Counsel (Wheaton, MD) wide receiver E.J. Scott would commit as well. The 5-11, 175-pound prospect did just that, pledging to Al Groh on Saturday afternoon. A terrific athlete, Scott runs the 40 in less than 4.5 seconds, the 20-yard shuttle in less than 4.3 seconds and posts a 35-inch vertical leap. A big-time playmaker, he averaged close to 30 yards per catch last season as a junior.

UVa stayed in the WCAC conference for Sunday's recruit, scoring a commitment from 5-11, 192-pound defensive back Kyrrel Latimer. DeMatha head coach Bill McGregor has said that Latimer reminds him of current UVa standout and former Stag Rodney McLeod and believes the Hoos may have found a big-time sleeper. Latimer plays receiver, safety and punt and kick returner for the Stags; he initially is being pursued by the Cavs as a safety.

Virginia now has five commitments in the 2010 class. The second commit came the previous weekend, when 6-3, 230-pound quarterback Tyler Brosius committed to the Hoos following an unofficial visit. EDGE subscribers can check out last week's update on Brosius and we hope to reach Tyler for more comments this week.

In addition to the commitments, the weekend overall was very positive for the Virginia staff.

Check Out SabreMail #398.

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:

• Virginia Tech: The Sabre's postgame coverage for VT continues with Greg's Game Report and JHoo's 10 Things.
• Season Wrap-Up: The Sabre will wrap up the 2010 football season and start to look ahead to 2011.
• More Hoops: The men's basketball team opened with a win and The Sabre is rolling out basketball coverage throughout the season!

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

The Sunday Sampler - VT
In searching for a topper to the season's final Sunday Sampler, I came across Saturday's leading tackler at Virginia Tech. Sophomore linebacker Steve Greer posted nine tackles in the 37-7 loss to the Hokies. The strong showing in the finale is part of a late-season surge for Greer, something that could be a good sign for the Cavaliers as they embark on an offseason where improving the defense's performance will be among the top priorities for Mike London and company.

Hokies Hand Hoos Season-Ending Loss
Missed opportunities and penalties were two hallmarks of Virginia's first season under head coach Mike London, and both were present in abundance during Virginia's crushing 37-7 defeat at the hands of rival Virginia Tech on Saturday. A late Keith Payne touchdown catch prevented a shutout, but the Cavaliers were manhandled on both sides of the ball.

Staying Positive While Waiting For Progress
The Virginia football season is over after Saturday's 37-7 loss at Virginia Tech. The final 2010 tally: 4 wins, 8 losses with another 0 for November to wrap things up. The Cavaliers have suffered through three straight losing seasons and four in the last five years. At the end of Mike London's first season on the sidelines, the question on many minds is "Are the Hoos headed in the right direction?"

Shockers Send Hoos Home With Loss
On its third day in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, the Virginia men's basketball team once again got off to a hot start as it took a 16-2 lead against Wichita State on Wednesday. That opening surge matched the early-game lead in the win against Oklahoma on Tuesday. Unfortunately for the Hoos, they couldn't sustain the scoring success, particularly during a critical second-half stretch, as the Shockers rallied for a 70-58 win.

Game Preview 2010: VT
The Hokies have owned the series with Virginia in recent seasons, winning six straight match-ups and 10 of the last 11 on the football field. This year's contest looks to be another David vs. Goliath situation. Virginia Tech has won nine straight games after falling to undefeated Boise State in primetime, then floundering against James Madison University. Frank Beamer's team could be the first Tech squad to go undefeated in conference play since the 1999-2000 bunch that went to the National Championship game.

Photo Gallery: Senior Day Vs. Maryland
The Virginia football team wrapped up its home schedule with Senior Day against Maryland. Take a look back at the final game of 2010 in Scott Stadium in this photo gallery. It includes images of Marc Verica, Ras-I Dowling, Raynard Horne, Keith Payne, and more.

Cavaliers Stop Sooners In Maui
Lose the game, but don't lose the lesson - ESPN color analyst Jimmy Dykes had that to say about early season tournament losses for college basketball teams. Virginia took that nugget of wisdom to heart on Tuesday in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. Less than 20 hours after a humbling first-round loss to Washington, the Cavaliers jumped on Oklahoma early and pulled away to a 74-56 victory.

10 Things I Learned 2010 ... BC
Another week, another loss, but this one much different than the last one. This week, instead of a high-scoring affair at home, it was a low-scoring contest on the road ... but in the end, the result was the same. So what did we learn from the trip to Boston College? Let's take a look at 10 Things I Learned vs. the Eagles.

Greg's Game Report: BC
In the judicial system when a criminal commits the same crime over and over they are labeled as a habitual offender. Cavalier football certainly fits that description as Virginia continued its habitual process of committing untimely penalties, hurling inexplicable interceptions, showing an inability to stop the run, self-destructing in the red zone and surrendering game-changing big plays.

Huskies Humble Hoos In Maui
Tony Bennett's three seasons as the head coach at Washington State featured some tenacious scoring defense. Those three seasons the Cougars allowed 59.5, 56.4, and 55.4 points per game. In Virginia's first game in the 2010 Maui Invitational, Bennett's Cavaliers allowed 55 points to No. 11 Washington in the first half and, as one might expect when seeing a number like that, things turned decisively sour in an eventual 106-63 loss.

Press Conference Notes 2010: VT
The talk was mostly about Virginia Tech on Monday at the John Paul Jones Arena for the football team's weekly media outing. Mike London and the Cavaliers are gearing up for their final game of the 2010 season, and the mood around the team is still optimistic, despite what others outside the program might say.

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