JHoo Sneak Preview

One of the most popular features here on TheSabre.com is JHoo's "10 Things I Learned" series on the EDGE. Check out a sneak preview of this week's column on the Indiana game and subscribe to the EDGE for the weekly read!

By JHoo

1. Hoos vs. Hoosiers. I know that Indiana has not been a Big Ten powerhouse in recent years. I know that they lost the season opener to Ball State. I know that they are a team in transition. I know all that ... and yet, I still thought going into this game that it was going to be a challenge for the team. Indiana still is a Big Ten team. This still was a road game, the first road game for a lot of the guys on the field on Saturday night. The Indiana offense still was one that would offer a different challenge to the UVa defense, and Edward Wright-Baker was a quarterback who could offer some match-up opportunities for the Hoosiers. Kevin Wilson still was (and is) a coach who knows the game and can put together a solid game plan. In other words, I thought this was a step-up in competition for the Hoos, and certainly not a gimme game.

Of course, the game looked like it could become a laugher early in the third quarter (about half the IU student section believed so because they were long gone). At that point, after all, UVa was following the same script as the week before: a few missed opportunities to score more points but still holding a widening lead while allowing few points. In fact, through six quarters of football in 2011, the Hoos were outscoring their opponents 63-6, which is not half bad ...

... and then, all heck broke loose. Turnovers. Wasted opportunities. Quick possessions by the offense. The defense on the field for what seemed like three straight hours. An oh-my-goodness fumble, quickly followed by a what-was-that? interception. And a 20-point lead became an 8-point deficit, with the fourth quarter winding down and nothing remotely close to momentum on the Hoos' side ...

... and then, something strange happened. Panic was replaced by calm. Execution was cleaner. Mistakes were less costly, and then quickly erased. A razor thin margin for error was margin enough. A quarterback started to emerge, winning players made winning plays, and a kicker who can't seem to miss this year didn't. Defeat became victory.

Unbelievable.

Look for the dark cloud, if you wish, but this win is mostly silver lining to me. A comeback win. On the road. Against a BCS school. From the Big Ten. When the breaks were going against the team. For a 2-0 start.

There is plenty of room for improvement, yes. But you go through that list and end with 2-0 and I can live with it.

This Week In Recruiting

On the basketball recruiting front, the Contact period began last week. College coaches from all across the country are hitting the road, doing in-home visits and watching workouts. Virginia has three commitments in its 2012 recruiting class and could add as many as two more if it so chooses.

Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.) senior Madison Jones remains on the radar as far as point guards are concerned. At last check, Virginia had not extended an offer but was still interested. We'll check back with Madison for the latest on his September workouts and any possible movement with respect to Virginia's recruitment. UVa also remains in the running with 5-star combo guard Rodney Purvis, but at this point the Cavaliers are just vying for a visit from the North Carolina prep star.

Football-wise, stay tuned this week for a closer look at the in-state 2013 class. While Mike London and company were busy collecting 2012 class commitments over the summer, they were also extending offers to in-state juniors. The staff has already offered double-digit prospects in the state's 2013 class. We'll take a look at those prospects and give early odds on Virginia's chances of success.

There are few scholarship spots remaining in 2012, but we'll continue to track those remaining targets this week. Worcester Academy (Worcester, MA) wide receiver Canaan Severin was at Penn State this past weekend and took an official to Boston College the previous weekend, but we'll check in with the talented senior for more on his recruitment. We also hope to check in with Lake Taylor (Norfolk, VA) safety Mike Tyson for the latest on his decision making process.

Cavalier fans, be sure to check the Good Ol Blog every Sunday for the "Week In Review," a look at how Virginia's 2012 class prospects fared on the gridiron.

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 ...

More On B.J. Stith's Commitment
As most now know, B.J. Stith verbally committed to the University of Virginia basketball program this past Saturday. B.J.'s father, legendary Cavaliers basketball player Bryant Stith, said his son committed to Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett before the William & Mary/Virginia football game. It was an exciting time for all involved.

The Latest On Mark And Devon Hall
Senior linebacker/tight end Mark Hall was on hand for the University of Virginia's 40-3 win over William & Mary last Saturday, two days after helping Green Run (Virginia Beach, VA) win its season opener against Cox. Hall's father, Mark Hall, Sr., reflected on last Saturday's experience and his son's development since last season. Hall Sr., also provides the latest on his younger son, Devon, who is a standout basketball recruit in the 2014 class.

Q&A With 2012 ATH Max Valles
With a plus combination of size and athletic ability, Max Valles may be one of the more interesting of Virginia's 2012 class recruits to follow in the coming years. At 6'5", 225 pounds, Valles has seen action at safety, wide receiver, defensive end and tight end at St. Joseph's (Hammonton, N.J.), and the position he'll play at UVa is unclear. The versatile senior discusses his future position and much more in this latest "Q&A."

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Texas Cornerback Commits To Virginia
• Week In Review: A Weekend Of First Wins (blog)

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The third season of "Hoos Talking" is back on the Richmond airwaves on Sportsradio 910 am (WRNL)! The show normally airs from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesdays. "Hoos Talking" is a sports magazine style program that is devoted to University of Virginia sports, athletes, alumni, coaches, and fans. The show's third season plans to run on Wednesdays from August 2011 to March 2012. As always, you can access the live web stream and listen to archived shows as well on TheSabre.com. Just click here for the "Hoos Talking" page on TheSabre.com.

UVA Bookstores Football Fan T-Shirt

The 2011 UVA Bookstore Football Fan T-shirt features a full-front design. A two-color football with the V-Sabre is "flying" past the stacked Go Hoos Go! imprint and V-Sabre logo. Virginia Football is underneath with a stylized line graphic below.

Get Spotted To Win! Wear your UVA Bookstore Football Fan T-shirt to a home football game for your chance to win a $25 UVA Bookstore Gift Card. Click here for details.

And don't forget about "Orange and Blue Football Fridays" at the UVA Bookstore. Save 25% in-store only on the Fridays before home football games (9/2, 9/23, 9/30, 10/14, 10/21, 11/11, 11/25)! For more information and restrictions, click here.

Issue No. 408 - August 24, 2009

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."

Check Out SabreMail #408.

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:

• Game Week: TheSabre.com prepares you for the Virginia football team's game at North Carolina.
• Greg's Grades and JHoo's 10 Things: The Cavaliers won their first road game under Mike London at Indiana. TheSabre.com continues to give you the most in-depth analysis of anyone on how and why the Hoos won the game with a grades report from Greg Waters and "10 Things I Learned" from JHoo!
• Pro Hoos: TheSabre.com has debuted a new series in August too. Beyond The Lawn" is a 12-month series found exclusively on TheSabre.com that follows three Virginia Cavaliers through a year as a professional athlete. Baseball's Tyler Wilson (Baltimore Orioles), track and field's Stephanie Marie Garcia (U.S. Olympic hopeful), and football's Clint Sintim (New York Giants) share their experiences throughout the year. Stay tuned for the next edition!

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

The Sunday Sampler 2011 - Indiana
The Virginia football team needed every point and every second of Saturday's game to shake Indiana 34-31 in Bloomington. So it's fairly obvious that two touchdown drives late in each half played a key role in such a nip-and-tuck outcome. Both covered more than 60 yards and produced 15 total points. The Sunday Sampler takes a closer look.

Hoos Nab Dramatic Road Win
Mike London couldn't bring himself to watch. After the improbable drama that unfolded in the preceding 25 minutes, who can blame him? The Cavaliers had watched a 20-point lead wither away, somehow pulled themselves together in time to force a tie, and now stared a 23-yard chip-shot field goal in the face with just two seconds to play. So no, it wasn't the easiest way to get there, but the circuitous route to get London's first road win as Virginia head coach set off a Bloomington celebration for the Hoos. Even if London didn't see Robert Randolph's kick perfectly split the uprights to deliver the 34-31 win.

Indiana Watch List
The Virginia football team looks for its first road win under coach Mike London this weekend with a trip to Indiana on Saturday night. The Hoosiers present some unique challenges for the Cavaliers, who will face a variety of offensive formations with a no huddle flair and the potential of a stacked line from IU's defense. Here are a few things to monitor in the Indiana Watch List.

Beyond The Lawn With Tyler Wilson: Blessed With A New Chapter
It's always said that you are the one and only author of the story entitled "My Life," that it remains up to us to distinguish each chapter and provide the vivid, intricate and spontaneously beautiful details. This "in-progress" chapter of my life is filled with long days culminated in bus rides into morning dawns, random hotel rooms fostering newly formed friendships, and above all else pitching every fifth day under a canopy of lights sheltering a barrage of peanut-eating, beer-drinking hecklers who love to watch the game I live to play.

Game Preview 2011: Indiana
Last week, TheSabre.com's storyline tried to steer clear of the "revenge game" theme with William & Mary even though it was the Tribe's first visit to Scott Stadium since winning 26-14 in 2009. UVa coach Mike London didn't avoid that angle completely, however, and the Hoos won big. Does Indiana have similar motivation this week in Kevin Wilson's first home game as Hoosier coach?

Tailgating With Chefhoo - Indiana
I'll admit it ... I've never been to Indiana. I've never driven through it, never flown through one of its airports and never made it a destination. So when thinking of what food says "Indiana," I'm at a loss. Google wasn't much help, nor are any of the 100+ cookbooks I own. So let's just cook something delicious, shall we? This week's tailgating feature is one of my favorites ... "Wing Madness."

JHoo's 10 Things I Learned 2011 ... W&M
Winning a season opener is a wonderful feeling as all of a sudden, hope becomes reality in "maybe we can do it" kind of way. But before we get ahead of ourselves - way, way ahead of ourselves - let's focus on a solid win versus a solid team and just appreciate that. Fortunately, there is much to appreciate as "10 Things I Learned" kicks off for 2011.

Hoos Gear Up For First Road Test
Coach Mike London appears to have a lot of things moving in the right direction for Virginia's football program. Recruiting is booming, interest is growing, and success is beginning. One thing the Hoos haven't done yet in Coach London's tenure, however, is win a road game. That's something the Cavaliers want to change this week with a trip to Indiana on the itinerary for the weekend.

Greg's Game Report 2011: W&M
Three items really stand out from Saturday's 40-3 win against William & Mary: efficiency, patience and line play. There was a lot to like on both sides of the ball in terms of efficiency and production. Let's take a closer look with "Greg's Game Report," a long-time feature here on TheSabre.com that has been revamped and renewed as a new era of UVa football begins to rise.

Photo Gallery: UVa 40, W&M 3
Virginia got its season off to a roaring start Saturday with a 40-3 demolition of William & Mary at Scott Stadium. Games like that give people plenty to cheer about and the Hoos are hoping for more of the same this weekend at Indiana. Get ready for game two with this 115-image photo gallery from the victory over the Tribe!

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