Big Year For Chris Long?

Virginia defensive standout Chris Long, who now plays with the St. Louis Rams in the NFL, had a big season in 2011 when he piled up 13 sacks. A Rams' Bleacher Report article thinks Long could have an even bigger year this season due to some player additions on the roster. Here's a portion of that article:

"Long led the entire NFL with 41.5 quarterback hurries in 2010. A big reason Long compiled so many hurries with a relatively low number of sacks (8.5) was due to the fact that the interior line rarely provided a good push.

That lack of push allowed quarterbacks to simply step up into wide-open pockets to escape Long's consistent edge rush.

Last year, Long again led the league with 58 quarterback hurries while topping the league with 83 quarterback disruptions, according to this from profootballfocus.com.

Imagine what Long, who compiled 13 sacks in 2011, could do in 2012 with some consistent pocket push via the interior defensive line (and better secondary play)? We could conceivably be talking about 15-plus sacks in his contract year."

Read the full article here.

This Week In Recruiting With Chris Horne

Last weekend was a big one for Virginia football recruiting. Mike London and company hosted stud class of 2014 defensive end Da'Shawn Hand and class of 2013 linebacker/wide receiver Zach Bradshaw on Saturday. On Sunday, the staff played host to an Elite Junior Day event.

This week, we'll have updates from those prospects that were in Charlottesville over the weekend. Cavalier commits Brendan "Whitey" Marshall (QB) and Andre Levrone Jr. (WR), prospects out of Good Counsel (Olney, MD), were on hand as commitments. The rest of the recruits in attendance (about six others) were uncommitted.

On Friday of last week, UVa scored its ninth commitment of the 2013 class when South Iredell (Statesville, N.C.) linebacker LaChaston Smith pledged to the Hoos. The 6'0", 221-pound Smith had a handful of other offers, including one from Florida, before making the call for the Cavaliers. I'll have more on this promising pick-up later in the week.

Also this week, Virginia will host its first one-day camp of 2012 for rising juniors and seniors. Briar Woods (Ashburn, VA) tight end Cam Serigne is one of the top rising seniors to watch out for. The 6'3", 225-pound prospect is anxious to show what he can do in front of the Virginia coaches, and he's hopeful an offer will come.

Serigne attended Wake Forest's camp this past weekend and left with an offer. He also boasts offers from Air Force, JMU, Massachusetts and Ohio.

Basketball recruiting ...

A Strategy Session focused on class of 2013 recruiting is now up for men's basketball. Be sure to check out the piece, which examines Virginia's projected roster in the 2013/2014 season and takes a look at position needs and current targets on the board.

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 ...

Strategy Session: A Look At Linebackers
In our initial examination of Virginia football's needs in the class of 2013, it was clear that linebacker would be a major focus. The 'Hoos are off to a good start in the linebacker department, but there is work left to be done. This Strategy Session takes a closer look at some of the remaining linebacker targets, and which direction the staff may go with their remaining scholarships.

Recruiting News, Notes, And Links
Bayside star tailback Taquan Mizzell is down to 10. The latest on UVa 2012 recruit Anthony Cooper. Virginia is set to host some important recruits this weekend. Check out these stories and more in the latest News, Notes, And Links feature.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• UVa Lands Tar Heel State Linebacker
• A Closer Look At Hipolito Corporan
• The Latest On DaeSean Hamilton
• UVa Heads To Houston For Latest Commit
• 2014 Report: WR Jamil Kamara
• Wingo-Reeves Eyes Camp Season

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Summer Movie Night Schedule

Virginia Athletic Media Relations Offical Release

The Virginia athletics department announced three movie nights at Scott Stadium this summer. This is the second year movie nights will be held at Scott Stadium. Admission to each Scott Stadium movie night is free. Parking is free as well and fans are asked to park in Scott Stadium's west lot. Concessions and UVa merchandise will be sold during each Scott Stadium movie night. Food and beverages are not permitted to be brought into the stadium.

On Saturday, June 16, the movie The Blind Side will be shown starting at 7 p.m. That same day will also feature a 2012 Virginia football season ticket and three-game mini-package Select-A-Seat event at Scott Stadium beginning at 4 p.m. On Saturday, July 14, The Adventures of Tintin will be shown starting at 7 p.m. The gates at Scott Stadium will open at 6 p.m. for this movie night. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax will be shown starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 4. Seating will be available on the field at Scott Stadium for this showing with gates opening at 5 p.m.

Raffle prizes, including tickets to 2012 Virginia home football games, a football signed by head coach Mike London, and an LCD-TV will be given away at each Scott Stadium movie night. To win the LCD-TV, fans must pre-register by sending an email including name, home address, phone number, and email address to [email protected].

Fans will also have the opportunity to tour the Virginia football locker room before the showing of each movie.

London, Minnifield Head UVa's VaSID Honorees

Virginia Athletic Media Relations Offical Release

Nine Virginia football players were named to Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) All-State Division I Football Team, announced Thursday. Highlighting the honorees was head coach Mike London, named the VaSID Coach of the Year and Chase Minnifield, named the VaSID Defensive Player of the Year. Austin Pasztor (OG), Matt Conrath (DE), Steve Greer (LB) and Minnfield (CB) were named to the first-team at their respective positions, while Perry Jones (RB), Kris Burd (WR), Cam Johnson (DE), Demetrious Nicholson (CB) and Rodney McLeod (S) earned second-team honors.

Read the full release with more details here.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Starsia Makes Cameo in Crooked Arrows Movie Now Playing Nationwide: Virginia men's lacrosse head coach Dom Starsia makes a cameo in the major motion picture Crooked Arrows, which is in theatres nationwide. Crooked Arrows is a story centered on a Native American lacrosse team making its way through a prep school league tournament. Starsia and various coaches make a cameo for the movie's climatic final game.
• Fortunato Named a USILA Scholar All-American: Virginia senior goalie Rob Fortunato has been named a USILA Scholar All-American, becoming the 20th Cavalier to earn the honor from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.
• Gardner and Owen Named IWLCA All-Americans: Virginia senior midfielder Julie Gardner and senior attacker Josie Owen have earned All-America accolades from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). Owen was a second-team honoree, while Gardner took home third-team honors.
• Virginia Unveils 2012 Field Hockey Schedule: The University of Virginia announced its 2012 field hockey schedule Thursday. The Cavaliers will face eight NCAA Tournament participants from a year ago and will host at least nine games at the University Hall Turf Field. Virginia's opponents that competed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament include Penn State, New Hampshire, Richmond, Duke, Princeton, national semifinalist Old Dominion, national runner-up North Carolina and national champion Maryland.
• UVa Men's Golfers Finish 22nd at NCAA Championships: The No. 16 Virginia men's golf team turned in its best single-round score during the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Championships to finish in a tie for 22nd place. The Cavaliers shot 6-over 290 Thursday at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., for a three-day total of 36-over 888.
• Kohles, McCarthy and Rusch Named to PING All-East Region Team: The Golf Coaches Association of America announced three members of the Virginia men's golf squad have been named to the PING All-East Region team. That trio includes senior Ben Kohles, sophomore Ben Rusch and freshman Denny McCarthy.
• UVa Golfers Altomare and Mao Qualify for U.S. Women's Open: Virginia women's golfers Brittany Altomare and Briana Mao have qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women's Open. This year's tournament will take place July 5-8 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisc.
• Corrigan Named Capital One Academic All-District: Virginia senior Anna Corrigan has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District Women's Track and Field/Cross Country team for the second year in a row.
• Huey and Inglot Reach Round of 16 at Roland Garros: Former Virginia men's tennis players Treat Huey (Class of 2008) and Dominic Inglot (Class of 2009) advanced to the doubles round of 16 at Roland Garros in the French Open. The duo, which were one of the last doubles teams to get into the main draw, won a pair of matches during the first week of the tournament.
• Virginia Men's Tennis Recruiting Class Named Nation's Best: The Virginia men's tennis team's incoming class was rated the No. 1 class of 2012 by TennisRecruiting.net as the site announced its final rankings. Although annually ranked in the top five by the site, this year marks the first time Virginia has had the No. 1 ranked class.

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

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Issue No. 438 - March 22, 2010

Blog Banter: London On January Enrollment

January enrollment is frequently a hot message board topic on The Sabre; it particularly fell under debate during the final years of the Al Groh era for the football program. Virginia did not appear to lean too favorably toward the mid-year enrollment route for freshman athletes. As pointed out frequently, however, there is not a UVa rule preventing January enrollment and each decision comes on a case-by-case basis. The key for the football program (or any Cavalier program for that matter) is to present strong candidates for mid-year admission and then prove that your program can successfully help those recruits through the transition to college and ultimately graduate.

New UVa football coach Mike London addressed the January enrollment issue at a media session earlier this month. London believes that it is important to produce successful student-athletes through mid-year enrollment in order to earn the privilege of admitting future January recruits.

"The important thing to me is the ones we do get in mid-year that they do well. Because that may lend itself to having more opportunities later on down the road," London said. "Will Hill is one of those guys that got in mid-year and he's doing real well. Michael Strauss, if he does well, then if the situation presents itself and we present the academic credentials to those that make the decisions, then maybe they'll look upon us favorably."

London pointed out that there is not a rule or restriction on January admission for student-athletes at UVa.

"It can [make an impact]. Again, you look at the different schools and their profiles and what they allow in or what their admissions process is. Currently, right now there is not a roadblock that says we can't. Obviously, you've seen a couple that are here," he said. "I think it's important for us for the ones that do come in, that we continue [to show that] they are good students, they can handle the rigors of being a college student-athlete mid-semester, and make that transition. If they can do that and we can prove that, then hopefully the doors are open for other opportunities."

Read more posts on The Good Ol Blog!

Read SabreMail No. 438 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:

• Better Days: Editor Kris Wright checks in with a column on UVa's improved fortunes in football and basketball.
• Catching Up With Cornel Parker: Cornel Parker provided the Hoos' hoops program with a lock-down defender in his career. What's he up to now?

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles and blog posts since the last SabreMail

Virginia Takes Down Army
Top-seed Virginia advanced to the winner's bracket of the Charlottesville Regional with a 9-1 win over No. 4 seed Army on Saturday. All-ACC pitcher Branden Kline claimed the win by holding the Academy to one earned run over 5.2 innings. UVa faces No. 3 Appalachian State on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Mountaineers squeaked out a 5-4 win over No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday evening.

Q&A - Coach Tony Bennett
Virginia's first trip to the NCAA Tournament under coach Tony Bennett sparked excitement for Cavalier fans and the renewed interest still hasn't worn off. TheSabre.com men's basketball message board continues to buzz with talk of the Hoos, recruiting, hoops strategy, Mike Scott's shot at the NBA, and more. What could be better for enthusiastic basketball fans in the offseason than a conversation with Bennett about the Wahoos and some of his coaching beliefs? Sabre Editor Kris Wright sat down with Coach Bennett for a one-on-one interview last week.

Ingalls: Conference Title Aspirations For UVa? Not So Fast
Optimism and Virginia football fans. It's a pair we haven't heard mentioned together in quite some time. Like many fans, I always look forward to a new year which offers a clean slate and injects a sense of hope for the upcoming season. It's good to have optimism, and it's great to finally hear it coming from the Wahoo fan base. But when forecasting UVa's football chances for 2012, some fans are suggesting a conference championship is possible. Is it?

Beyond The Lawn With Stephanie Marie Garcia: My First Diamond League Meet
In the world of track and field, the biggest regular season meet (topped only by championship meets including, of course, World Championship or Olympic races) is a Diamond League meet. A handful of international races are deemed part of the "Diamond League" before the outdoor season starts and they are the most sought-after races to get in to compete. I had the opportunity to race my first major steeplechase of the season in the second Diamond League meet this year - in Shanghai, China.

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