Virginia In The Chick-fil-A Bowl

As announced last week, the Virginia football team is headed to Atlanta for the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome. The Hoos will face Auburn of the Southeastern Conference on New Year's Eve at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

UVa (8-4) and Auburn (7-5) have met two previous times and the series is tied 1-1. Auburn won in Charlottesville in 1997, 28-17, while the Hoos won on the road in 1998, 19-0.

TheSabre.com's longest running sponsor, UVA Bookstores, has all the gear you want for this year's bowl game. Check out the Chick-fil-A Bowl shirts and an exclusive UVA Bookstores football shirt that are available!

As of this edition of SabreMail, 13,402 tickets (out of 18,000 available) had been sold through UVa. For on information on tickets, hotels, bowl events, and more, please check out the Bowl Central page on VirginiaSports.com.

This Week In Recruiting

All remains quiet on the 2012 football recruiting front, as the Virginia coaches continue to wait out decisions from top remaining prospects. Good Counsel (Olney, MD) 5-star wide receiver Stefon Diggs and Brookville (Lynchburg, VA) defensive tackle Korren Kirven top the list of remaining targets, and both could well wait until the February Signing Day to make their respective decisions.

Diggs is considering about eight or nine schools including Virginia. Korren is also considering close to 10 schools and is working on scheduling his official visits.

In January, UVa's big recruiting weekend will be the weekend of the 20-22, when most of the 2012 class will be making official visits to Charlottesville. Whether or not top targets will join that mix remains to be seen, but without question that would be the ideal scenario.

The 2011 season is over for all 24 of Virginia's high school senior commitments. Buford (GA) cornerback C.J. Moore was the only recruit in action this past weekend, when his team met Calhoun for the Class AA State Championship. Winners of four consecutive state titles, Buford forced overtime with two late touchdowns but ultimately fell in an upset, 27-24. The Wolves were undefeated heading into the contest. Calhoun finishes the year at 15-0.

Moore, who also plays running back and wide receiver in addition to his duties at cornerback, rushed six times for 92 yards and had five tackles. His 68-yard touchdown run tied the game at 10, but Calhoun enjoyed a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

In other commitment news, St. Joseph (Hammonton, N.J.) defensive end Max Valles was named South Jersey Defensive Player of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 6'5", 225-pound senior was a big part of a St. Joe defense that allowed only 17 points all season.

Defensive end seems the likely position for Valles at Virginia, though wide receiver and tight end are possibilities as well.

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 ...

Checking In With 2013 QB Ryan Burns
6'5", 220-pound junior quarterback Ryan Burns entered this season with high expectations, having garnered several major scholarship offers before seeing any significant playing time on the varsity level. He guided Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA) to a 10-2 record and a win in the Northern Region Division 5 quarterfinals before the team was eliminated by a red-hot South County squad.

MMA Point Guard's Stock Is Rising
Chad Myers spent three years as Director of Men's Basketball Operations at Radford University before being named the postgraduate boys basketball coach at Massanutten Military Academy in June of 2011. In his time at Radford, Myers knew of Corban Collins, a point guard prospect out of Christ School (Arden, N.C.). Collins transferred from Christ School before the start of this season, and he is off to a great start in Myers' program.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Cavs Showing High Interest In Northside's Ferebee
• UVa, Cal Early Offers For GC's Marshall
• Hodges, Bowens With Multiple Offers
• Senior Highlights: Canady, Johns, Valles (blog)

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Hoos Talking On Sports Radio 910

TheSabre.com is proud to feature a partnership with "Hoos Talking", a sportstalk show geared directly to you, Cavalier fans. "Hoos Talking" airs on Sports Radio 910 in Richmond. Your phone calls are always welcome at (804)-345-0910.

Hosted by Jim Hobgood and Frank Maloney, the show airs on Wednesday nights from 6 to 7 p.m.! The show features expert analysis as well as featured guests from around the world of UVa athletics. Sabre Editor Kris Wright and Sabre Recruiting Analyst Chris Horne often appear as guests on the show. Make sure to check out The Sabre's "Hoos Talking" page where every show is archived!

Give The EDGE As a Gift!

Give the Perfect Gift to your favorite Wahoo fan this year, an annual subscription to Sabre EDGE! TheSabre.com is your one-stop shop for all UVa sports information, commentary and discussion. Read articles from our excellent staff of sportswriters, including TheSabre.com's editor-in-chief, Kris Wright. Our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne, will keep you up to date with recruiting from around the state and beyond. No one covers Virginia's premier sports better than TheSabre.com. Take your fanship to the next level with a Sabre Edge subscription! Scroll to the bottom of the page to see what Sabre EDGE has to offer.

Gift Subscriptions are for a full year and cost $59.99. A gift message can be included and you can request a specific date range for the email notification to the gift recipient. All credit card orders are safe and secured through GoDaddy.com Digital Security. Give the Sabre EDGE as a Gift Today!

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Yahoo! Sports Names Minnifield and Nicholson to All-America Teams: Virginia cornerbacks Chase Minnifield and Demetrious Nicholson have both been honored on two separate Yahoo! Sports All-America teams. Minnifield has been named to the third team of the outlet's All-America squad, while Nicholson is a second-team honoree on the Freshman All-America team.
• Minnifield Named an All-American by CBSSports.com: Virginia cornerback Chase Minnifield was honored on the second-team of CBSSports.com's 2011 All-America team. The Lexington, Ky., native's previous All-America nod was as an honorable mention last season by SI.com.
• Minnifield Awarded Pop Warner National College Football Award: Virginia senior cornerback Chase Minnifield has been named the recipient of the second annual Pop Warner National College Football Award. The nation's largest and oldest youth football organization, Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc., announced the award on Monday. The award, established in 2010, recognizes a Pop Warner alumnus who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in his community.
• Conrath, Greer and Minnifield Honored by Touchdown Club of Richmond: Virginia defensive tackle Matt Conrath, linebacker Steve Greer and cornerback Chase Minnifield were honored by the Touchdown Club of Richmond, Wednesday evening, at the Dudley Award banquet. The Touchdown Club of Richmond honored Conrath as its defensive lineman of the year, Greer as its linebacker of the year and Minnifield as its defensive back of the year.
• Nicholson Named a Second-Team Freshman All-American: Virginia cornerback Demetrious Nicholson was honored on the second-team of CollegeFootballNews.com's 2011 Freshman All-America team. He became the first true freshman at UVa to start a season-opening game at cornerback since Kevin Cook did so in 1986.
• Brian and Miller Named NSCAA All-Americans: Two Virginia women's soccer players were named All-Americans as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) announced its 2011 awards on Friday. Freshman midfielder Morgan Brian was named a first-team All-American and junior forward Caroline Miller was named a third-team All-American. Brian becomes the sixth Cavalier to be named a first-team NSCAA All-American.
• Jumper, Ownby Invited to Compete in MLS Combine: Virginia seniors Hunter Jumper and Brian Ownby each have been invited to participate in the 2012 adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine. MLS announced the initial list of 52 college seniors from 31 Division I schools who have been invited to participate in the combine. The combine will be held Jan. 6-10 at Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The MLS SuperDraft then will take place on January 12 in Kansas City. The first round of the SuperDraft will be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at noon.
• Virginia Inks Two Female Divers for 2012-13: Virginia diving coach Rich MacDonald has announced that two divers, Becca Corbett and Katie Warburg will join the Cavalier women's program in 2012-13.
• Seven Swimmers Join Cavalier Women's Program: Virginia head swimming coach Mark Bernardino has announced the signing of seven future Cavaliers who will swim for the women's program in 2012-13. Whitney Allen, Courtney Bartholomew, <>Hanne Borgersen, Haley Durmer, Samantha James, Rachel Moore and Kristin VanDeventer will join the Cavaliers as the class of 2016.

To read the full stories or gather more information on Virginia athletics, check out Virginiasports.com.

Holiday Specials At UVA Bookstores!

UVA Bookstores has a number of really cool gifts for the family this holiday season. There are Hoo specific t-shirts like the "Happy Holidays from Hooville" and "Thomas Jefferson stocking cap" designs seen above. There are great gifts for kids too like the University of Virginia V-Sabre Train, by College Team Trains; it can operate on tracks that are compatible with most of the popular push/pull series of children's trains and can also operate independently on most flat surfaces. Check out UVA Boosktores for your holiday gifts and use promotional code "hotlanta" to get free UPS Ground shipping through Dec. 15!

Issue No. 44 - July 5, 2002

Dex to coach at UVa

Anthony Poindexter

Anthony Poindexter, a.k.a. Dex, is making his return to UVa football. This time, he'll be on the sidelines as on of Coach Al Groh's graduate assistants.

Dex graduated from UVa in 1998 after a brilliant college career that was suddenly cut short by a nasty knee injury. After battling through an intensive rehab program, Dex found his way onto the field with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. Dex played two years, primarily on special teams, and earned a Super Bowl ring just two seasons ago.

With his pro career all but over, Dex has elected to try his hand at coaching in order to keep himself in the game. Poindexter's attitude, enthusiasm and knowledge of the game make him a welcomed edition to an already outstanding coaching staff. Welcome back #3.

Read SabreMail No. 44 here.

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:

• Basketball after the break: UVa basketball is taking a break for exams. TheSabre.com helps you keep up with the Hoos on the Hardwood when they return.
• Pro Hoos: TheSabre.com debuted a new series. 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.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

UVa could set new record for bowl ticket sales
Monday afternoon, immediately following a press conference with Virginia coach Mike London, I got into a discussion with a local sportswriter who suggested "Virginia won't bring 10,000 people to this game." He was, of course, referring to Virginia's Chick-fil-A Bowl matchup with Auburn on December 31st. My response was, "Are you kidding? It's Atlanta, UVa will bring 20,000."

Remembering Bill Dudley
The Redskins led the Philadelphia Eagles 20-14 on Dec. 7 in a late-season game. What made this contest different, though, was that the public address announcer on the loudspeaker kept calling specific fans names in the stadium. A small group of UVa football players, who had driven up from Charlottesville for the game, were sitting in the crowd. They thought it odd, but how often did they get a chance to see a professional football game? Bill Dudley told me this story as I interviewed him for my documentary, Wahoowa: The History of Virginia Cavalier Football.

Virginia Handles George Mason
With the annual exam break looming, the Virginia men's basketball team didn't check out mentally before an important in-state basketball test on Tuesday night. Instead, the Hoos continued their strong play at the John Paul Jones Arena with a 68-48 victory against George Mason in what felt like a blue collar effort for most of the night. UVa has never lost to its neighbors from Fairfax (7-0 all time).

Post Combo Brings Versatility
The Virginia men's basketball team takes the court again Tuesday night when George Mason visits the John Paul Jones Arena. The Hoos hope to remain undefeated at home, which includes the most recent 86-53 win against Longwood. During that victory, an interesting post combination logged minutes for the Cavaliers. Can that post duo provide some versatility going forward?

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