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This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

It's very much a waiting game in 2011 football recruiting. Virginia has 24 commitments in total, with two of those prospects - Hampton (VA) quarterback David Watford and Phoebus (Hampton, VA) linebacker Daquan Romero - set to enroll next month. And I'll check back this week with H.D. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) tight end Darius Redman, who wanted to enroll in January as well, for the latest on his status.

At this point, head coach Mike London and company are in wait-and-see mode with respect to the remaining top targets in the class. Gilman (Baltimore, MD) athlete Darius Jennings made his second official visit this past weekend, when he traveled to Ohio State. He took an official to UVa the previous weekend and plans to take official visits to Wake Forest, UCLA and Virginia Tech in January before making his decision.

Bayside (Virginia Beach, VA) cornerback Demetrious Nicholson could be the next to commit, though that's been the case for several weeks. Nicholson, a 5-9, 165-pound shutdown cornerback, is considering taking officials in January. He has already been to Stanford and UVa.

This week, I hope to have more on Irving (TX) defensive end Horace Arkadie, a 6-4, 225-pound senior. Arkadie reportedly was scheduled to have an in-home visit with Mike London last week. He is also considering Arkansas, Kansas and Purdue.

I'll have a "Countdown to Signing Day" article coming up soon, where you can get the latest on these top targets and more as the march toward the Feb. 2 Signing Day continues.

On the 2012 front, I'll have article on Centreville (Clifton, VA) linebacker prospect Ken Ekanum and Northside (Roanoke, VA) tight end Dakota Jackson this week. Ekanum, a 6-3, 230-pound junior, has been offered and is one of Virginia's early top targets.

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 ...

TheSabre.com Postseason Top 40
6-3, 220-pound linebacker Curtis Grant, who helped the Hermitage Panthers (Richmond) reach the Group AAA, Division 6 state championship game in 2010, maintains his spot as #1 prospect in TheSabre.com's In-State Top 40, the Postseason Edition. In fact, the top eight rankings remain the same, and four of those prospects -- including Grant -- have yet to make their college choice.

FB Recruiting Notes
The notion of early enrollment in college first came to Phoebus (Hampton, VA) star Daquan Romero in 2008, when former teammate Tajh Boyd, now a red-shirt freshman at Clemson, did just that. "I've thought since then that I needed to get out of Phoebus early and start on my college years," said Romero, the 2-time Peninsula district Defensive Player of the Year.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Whitmire Reflects On Decision
• David Watford All Set For Early Enrollment
• Taylor Reflects On 3-Peat
• Top Target Update: Jennings Visits UVa

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Blog Banter: Blair's Top Five

Bowl season has officially started (still waiting for the Panera Soup-in-a-Bread Bowl ...) and for the third season in a row, my beloved Hoos are home for the holidays. It's hard not to feel some of that December Depression, watching other ACC teams and random schools compete for the glory of being named the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Champion or any of its equivalents. Although Virginia wasn't bowl eligible this year, the 2010 season had its share of highlights. I'm going to pry myself away from the debacle that is the Washington Redskins game this Sunday afternoon and count down my five favorite moments from this football season.

5) Four Wins!
It may seem a little pathetic, but four wins is indeed an improvement. Virginia beat the three teams they were supposed to, plus one more. It's going to take quite a bit more for the Hoos to get back to bowl-eligibility, but Mike London is going to take us there. Even though the team wasn't exactly a football juggernaut, it was really refreshing to see the players continuing to try hard and getting excited to play each week. There is a change in the attitude around the program for sure; here's hoping that the new year brings changes in play and skill level to match.

4) Terence Fells-Danzer scores on a fake field goal.
Virginia's special teams unit certainly came to play this year. Holder Jacob Hodges, in his first season on the team, played a crucial role in my No. 4 and 3 moments. Against Maryland, Hodges pitched the ball to TFD, who ran off the right side for the score. The Hoos had been eyeing the Terps' kick coverage for some time, and liked what they saw. During a season where they didn't have a lot to work with, the Cavaliers tried to take advantage of every opportunity.

3) Robert Randolph scores on a fake field goal.
I just love this video. The set up, the breakdown, and even the music are just awesome. "I came to dance" pretty much sums up the Cavaliers this season. They might not have executed perfectly at all times (or even some of the time), but Coach London's guys showed up to dance every game. If the Hoos had converted a couple more plays, or if the ball had bounced differently on a couple occasions, they could have easily had a couple more wins this season. Once again, Jacob Hodges was pivotal in the execution of this play; Les Miles would have been proud. Also, tight end Colter Phillips threw a MONSTER block that allowed Randolph to put his track skills to work and sprint into the end zone, nevermind that he fell down and missed his opportunity to do a celebration dance.

2) Colter Phillips scores his first career TD.
What a season for Colter Phillips! He made the tremendous decision to return to the team after a trying family tragedy, and finished the year as the No. 1 tight end. Phillips had to step up his game and lead the tight end corps after the injury to Joe Torchia, but one of the best moments of his season came in the Cavaliers' third game against VMI. It had been a long time coming; Phillips caught a touchdown pass against Richmond, but he was ruled out of bounds. The next week against Southern California, an officiating error wiped out his involvement on a momentum-changing trick play. Finally, back at home in Scott Stadium, Phillips caught the first touchdown pass of his career on a 17-yard strike from freshman QB Michael Rocco in the fourth quarter. The fans were holding their breath as the ball floated toward a wide-open Phillips, who snagged it in the back of the end zone. Wahoo Nation had been waiting and hoping for Phillips' first touchdown catch all season and their faith, as well as Phillips' perseverance, finally paid off.

1) The Miami Game.
Wow. Wow. Wow. You can talk about John Kevin-Dolce's insane, LEGAL, hit on Jacory Harris, the huge effort by the offensive line (keeping the QB clean against the nation's No. 2 sack defense) , or Marc Verica's clutch drive in the fourth quarter to run out the clock on the Hurricanes. The real story is, well, everything. Everything just came together against Miami on Oct. 30. The offense performed outstanding, and the defense did enough to win the game. Five interceptions!

You also have to mention Coach London's first ACC win, and the team's first upset of a ranked opponent since 2008. The students stormed the field after strong urging from the players, and London fell to his knees on the sidelines in jubilation (although he'll tell you it was a result of exhaustion and skipping breakfast). The Miami win was pure magic, and a moment I'll remember as a Hoo fan for the rest of my life.

You can read more on The Good Ol Blog by clicking here.

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Wahoowa: The History Of Virginia Cavalier Football

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"WAHOOWA: The History of Virginia Cavalier Football" is the story of the college program that impacted the sport of football like no other. It is not only a comprehensive look at the history of football at the University of Virginia, but also an exploration into the development of the truly American sport of football through the prism of UVa's players, students, administration, and opponents. Note: TheSabre.com EDGE subscriber 10% discount does not apply to this purchase.

Issue No. 72 - January 31, 2003

Two UVa football players named to ACC All-Academic Team
Official UVa Media Relations release

University of Virginia football players Matt Schaub and Shernard Newby are among 33 players named to the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic football team as announced by ACC Commissioner John Swofford. To be eligible, a player must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the fall semester or have maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.

Schaub was named the ACC Player of the Year last season after guiding the Cavaliers to a 9-5 record and a #22 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. He led the conference in passing efficiency and finished sixth nationally. He set or tied at least 10 UVa single-season records, including touchdown passes (28), yards passing (2976), attempts (418), completions (288), completion percentage (68.9), total offense (3071), total plays (488), 200-yard games (8-tie), 300-yard games (3-tie), and consecutive games with a touchdown pass (14).

Newby led the team with three interceptions and finished his career tied for eighth in UVa history with 11. He made 50 tackles, the second-highest total of his career, this season to finish second among the team's safeties. His 188 career tackles are eighth all-time by a UVa defensive back.

Check Out SabreMail #72.

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:

• Season Wrap-Up: The Sabre will wrap up the 2010 football season and start to look ahead to 2011.
• Basketball Is Back: The men's basketball team is back in action with two more games this week. Stay turned to TheSabre.com for coverage on hoops this week.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Hoos Dispatch Ducks
Virginia coach Tony Bennett loves the feel of the underdog - the Rocky mentality where the size of the fight in the dog matters most. Bennett also loves when his teams control the pace of play and force opponents to labor in search of offense. So you can safely bet that Bennett loved the grit-and-grind nature of the Cavaliers' 63-48 victory over Oregon in the John Paul Jones Arena on Friday.

Scott Out After Ankle Surgery
Just when things started looking up. Ugh. I can't help but think that the collective Cavalier nation had feelings along those lines when the Mike Scott news broke shortly before tip-off on Friday night with Oregon. Scott had arthroscopic ankle surgery on his left ankle on Thursday, Dec. 16 and missed the game, though the Hoos did dispatch the Ducks 63-48.

Cavalier Check-Up: Hoos Back In Action
Coming off of a rough performance in Hawaii and at the end of a long road trip did anyone see the wins at Minnesota and Virginia Tech coming? While the match-ups in each game actually worked out fairly well for this Cavalier team, taking advantage of those opportunities is a sign of a maturing team. Those two unexpected wins vaulted UVa to 6-3 overall and 1-0 in the ACC entering the exam break. With those exams finishing up this week, the Hoos return to action on Friday against Oregon. It's a perfect chance to perform a Cavalier check-up.

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