Seniors Receive Invites

Virginia Athletics Media Relations official releases

Virginia senior defensive lineman Matt Conrath and senior safety Rodney McLeod have accepted invitations to play in the 2012 East-West Shrine Football Game. The contest will be held Jan. 21 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., kicking off at 4 p.m. EST and televised live on the NFL Network. The game benefits Shriners Hospitals for Children. Conrath is listed on the East team's roster while McLeod is tentatively scheduled to play for the West squad. The East team will be coached by Bobby Ross while Brad Childress will manage the West squad.

Conrath earned first-team All-ACC honors in 2011 and was named the Touchdown Club of Richmond's Defensive Lineman of the Year. He was fourth on the UVa defense with 66 tackles and led the team with 12 tackles for loss. He was second in sacks with three. He also blocked three kick attempts during the year.

McLeod earned honorable mention All-ACC honors. He finished the year with 57 tackles and led the Cavalier defense with four interceptions, including three at Maryland. He broke up seven passes during the season, the second-highest total among UVa players.

Virginia senior defensive lineman Cam Johnson has accepted an invitation to play in the 2012 Senior Bowl. The contest will be held Jan. 28 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., kicking off at 3 p.m. CST and televised live on the NFL Network. The NFL Network will also televise all practices.

"Cam is an intriguing prospect and we're excited about watching him perform in front of the NFL's leading decision makers here at the Senior Bowl," Senior Bowl President and CEO Steve Hale said.

Johnson led the Cavaliers in sacks (4.0) and was second in tackles for loss (11.0) this season. He notched 30 tackles on the season to go along with one fumble recovery and one pass breakup. In 34 career starts, Johnson totaled 130 tackles, including 33.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks.

The three-year starter also tallied three career fumble recoveries and seven career pass breakups.

This is the fourth straight season a Cavalier will represent UVa in the Senior Bowl. In 2011 Danny Aiken and Ras-I Dowling were selected to play in the event. In 2010 Chris Cook and Rashawn Jackson participated in the showcase, while Cedric Peerman, John Phillips and Clint Sintim appeared in the 2009 game.

This Week In Recruiting

The Virginia football staff will have their hands full this weekend, when most of UVa's 2012 recruiting class is expected on Grounds for official visits. At least one remaining 2012 class target, Salem's (Virginia Beach, VA) Divante Walker will make an official visit to Virginia this weekend as well.

A 2011 first-team all-Tidewater selection at running back, Walker is being recruited initially as a cornerback by the Hoos. He is also considering the University of Richmond and reportedly is currently on an official visit to U of R.

TheSabre.com will have more from Walker following this weekend's visit. We'll also have reports on those commitments that make the trek to Charlottesville this weekend.

Another remaining 2012 target, North Hall (Gainesville, GA) running back Imani Cross is planning on making a mid-week official visit to Virginia this week. The 6'1", 225-pound senior was scheduled to visit East Carolina this past weekend and plans to go to Nebraska this coming weekend. ECU, Nebraska and Virginia appear to be the final three for the one-time Tennessee commit.

We'll check in with North Hall head coach Bob Christmas this week for the latest on Cross, so stay tuned.

Jesup (GA) quarterback prospect Greyson Lambert, one of UVa's most prized recruits in the 2012 class, will be at UVa this weekend as well. He'll be there, though, as a student. The 6'5", 210-pound standout graduated from Wayne County High School in December and is enrolling early at the University of Virginia.

Linebacker Daquan Romero and quarterback David Watford enrolled early in the 2011 class. Quarterback Michael Strauss, who is transferring to the University of Richmond, did so in the 2010 class.

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 since the last SabreMail ...

Checking In On Speedy Corner C.J. Moore
Adding to the overall team speed is a goal of head coach Mike London and company. Bringing Buford (GA) product C.J. Moore into the program certainly helps, as the 5'10", 165-pound prospect is the reigning Georgia Class AA 100-meter track champion and boasts 4.3-second speed in the 40. Moore wouldn't be surprised to end up on offense before his time in Charlottesville is up, but he'll enter next summer as a cornerback.

Kwontie Moore Reflects On U.S. Army Bowl
University of Virginia-bound middle linebacker Kwontie Moore is ranked the no. 1 inside linebacker prospect in the country by Rivals.com. At last week's U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the 6'1", 242-pound Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, VA) product was determined to show why he has that distinction.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Hodges Gaining Major Interest
• Teven Jones Joining Hoos This Month
• Season Check-In On UVa's 2012 Basketball Recruiting Class (blog)
• UVa Recruits Play In Army Bowl (blog)

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Hoo Crew Receives Nomination

Virginia Athletics Media Relations official release

Virginia's Hoo Crew is among student sections from 79 schools nominated for the Naismith Student Section of the Year Award.

By visiting www.facebook.com/ILoveCollegeHoops, fans can vote for the student section at any one of the 79 basketball schools that submitted a nomination. The Naismith Student Section of the Year Award, which is presented through a partnership of The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), a division of IMG College, and the Atlanta Tipoff Club, administrators of the Naismith Awards, is dedicated to celebrating fans that love college hoops and provide support to their college basketball team with devotion and passion.

"We are excited that so many Division I basketball schools are touting their student section as the best in college basketball," said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. "Now it's time for students, alumni, and fans of these schools across the country to make their votes count to help their school win this award."

The student sections nominated for the award represent schools in 21 conferences. Eight Atlantic Coast Conference schools submitted nominations for the award.

The Naismith Student Section of the Year Award will be determined through two rounds of public votes, combined with a scoring of finalists by the Naismith Awards Board of Selectors, which will review criteria such as the student section's name and attendance, as well as photos, video, and a write-up submitted by the nominating school. Complete details on the selection process can be found at facebook.com/ilovecollegehoops.

"College basketball student sections love college hoops and bring the emotion, energy, and spirit that defines the home court advantage, and we want to celebrate that," added Tim Hawks, senior director of Brand & Retail Development for CLC. "We need fans to vote now and vote often to help ensure their school-and not their rival-gets recognized for the spirit they pour into supporting their team."

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• London Named 2011 Grant Teaff Coach of the Year: The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has named Virginia head football coach Mike London the recipient of the 2011 FCA Grant Teaff Coach of the Year Award. London was honored by the FCA at the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
• Watson, Morgan Named Men's, Women's Head Cross Country Coaches: Virginia director of track and field/cross country Bryan Fetzer announced that Pete Watson has been named the Cavaliers' head men's cross country coach and Todd Morgan has been hired as the head women's cross country coach. In addition, both will serve as assistant track and field coaches. Combined, Morgan and Watson have helped guide two national champion individuals, three NCAA Championship squads, 11 team podium finishes (NCAA top-four) and 34 All-Americans. Watson had served as the head cross country and assistant head track and field coach at North Carolina since 2009, while Morgan spent the last three cross country seasons as the primary cross country coach and four-and-a-half years as an assistant track and field coach at Florida.
• Cavaliers Top Virginia Tech, 52-39: Senior guard Ariana Moorer netted her 1,000th-career point as the Virginia women's basketball team (14-4, 2-2 ACC) topped Virginia Tech, 52-39, Thursday at John Paul Jones Arena. The victory also marked the 800th win in the history of the Cavalier program.
• No. 21 Virginia Scores 33-12 Win at NC State: The 21st-ranked Virginia wrestling team won eight of the 10 weight classes in posting a 33-12 victory over North Carolina State Friday evening at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C. UVa earned bonus points in seven of its eight individual wins.
• Courtney and Jenkins Win USTA Futures Doubles Title: Virginia men's tennis co-captains Drew Courtney and Jarmere Jenkins won the doubles title at the Plantation Open, a USTA Futures Tour event. It was the second career Futures Tour doubles title for Jenkins and the first for Courtney.
• Five Cavaliers Drafted in 2012 MLL Draft: Five Virginia men's lacrosse players were selected in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse Draft (MLL), highlighted by first round selections Steele Stanwick (second overall) and Colin Briggs (sixth overall). The Ohio Machine selected Stanwick and the Denver Outlaws took Briggs. Attackman Chris Bocklet went in the fourth round, 29th overall, to the Charlotte Hounds. Defenseman Matt Lovejoy also went in the fourth round, selected 31st overall by the Hamilton Nationals. Rounding out UVa selections was long-stick midfielder Chris Clements, selected in the fifth round, 40th overall to the Boston Cannons.
• Jumper Selected 28th Overall by Chicago Fire in MLS SuperDraft: Virginia defender Hunter Jumper was selected by the Chicago Fire on Thursday in the second round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Jumper was picked with the 28th overall selection and the ninth in the second round.

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

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Check out UVA Bookstores to find your favorite Virginia cap! Colors include orange, blue, white, gray, khaki, and camouflage. Remember, Sabre EDGE subscribers receive 10% off from UVA Boosktores! Here's how.

Issue No. 49 - August 15, 2002

Ahmad Brooks changes direction

Lately, there's been enough speculation about the future of Ahmad Brooks to make anyone's head spin. Fans were up in arms on whether Brooks would accept a partial scholarship offer at UVa, or go to Fork Union Military Academy instead.

Brooks surprised everyone this week when he decided to attend Hargrave Military instead. Brooks' decision to attend Hargrave was based almost entirely on the fact that he can leave school mid-year and attend UVa in the spring as long as he attains the necessary scores on his SAT or ACT.

Spring enrollment for a first-year student-athlete is rare at UVa, but sources say that if Brooks qualifies in the fall, he will be admitted to Virginia for the spring. This is great news for the UVa football community, because it will allow Ahmad to participate in spring practices in 2003 in order to be ready for the 2003 season.

Read SabreMail No. 49 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 in action: The Hoos have started ACC play. The Sabre keeps you in the loop on the hoops team!
• 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

Duke Holds Off Virginia
Riding the program's longest winning streak since 1981-82 at 12 games, the Virginia men's basketball team couldn't snap a different streak against Duke on Thursday night. The No. 16 Cavaliers dropped a hard-fought 61-58 decision to the No. 8 Blue Devils, marking the Hoos' 15th straight defeat at Cameron Indoor Stadium. UVa fell to 14-2 with the loss.

Beyond The Lawn With Tyler Wilson: Becoming An Iron Cavalier
Through my tenure as a Cavalier, never have I witnessed more emphasis on the inner struggle between greatness and contentment. As a coaching staff, and ultimately a program as a whole, passion and dedication to greatness is law; an acquired characteristic every fortunate alumnus departs with embedded in his soul. Amidst reassuring and motivating methods, the one particular event in the culmination of our fall workouts that coaxes out courage is the Iron Cavalier.

Duke Primer
On Saturday evening, the UVa men's basketball team exorcised last year's demons by hanging on to beat Miami, 52-51, and win its ACC home opener and move to 14-1 on the season. On Thursday night, the Hoos will look to exorcise demons of a different kind: Blue Devils, to be specific. It's almost 17 years to the day since Virginia and current assistant coach Jason Williford entered Cameron Indoor Stadium and left with a win (91-88 in double OT) on January 14, 1995. There are reasons to believe, though, that the losing streak in Durham might not be long for this world.

Photo Gallery: Chick-fil-A Bowl
The Virginia football team's appearance in the Chick-fil-A Bowl didn't turn out in the Hoos' favor as Auburn won 43-24. Still, there were some highlights in the game for the Cavaliers; for example, Michael Rocco set a new Virginia bowl record with 26 completions and Kris Burd ended his career with two touchdown catches. Plus, UVa wore orange helmets for the first time since the 1978 season. Take a look at the helmets and other featured Cavaliers in this free photo gallery that features 75 images.

JHoo's 10 Things I Learned 2011 ... Auburn
In a way, UVa was playing in the Chick-fil-A Bowl with house money, having already cashed in on a season that certainly surpassed the expectations of most. Even playing with house money, however, you want to do well at the table ... but this was a night where the cards were not in the Hoos' favor. Let's take a look at "10 Things I Learned" against Auburn in the bowl game.

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