Sintim commits to play for Virginia
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
February 2, 2004

Virginia’s football program hopes that it got a preview of “Momentous Monday” a day early when the Cavaliers received a commitment on Sunday from Clint Sintim, a standout defensive end from Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge.

Sintim, ranked the No. 7 player in the state by The Daily Progress’ Gold List, chose Virginia over Virginia Tech. He also received offers from eight other schools including Tennessee and Maryland.

Three of the top five prospects in the state, No. 1 Olu Hall of Fairfax (Robin-son), No. 4 Jerod Mayo of Hampton (Kecoughtan), and No. 5 Eddie Royal of Chantilly (West-field), will announce their choices today. UVa’s coaches are hoping to land all three of the bluechippers.

“I felt all along that Virginia put forth the most effort to recruit me,” said Sintim, a

6-foot-3, 254-pounder, who received a three-star rating by Rivals. “I like the coaching staff and it’s a school where I can play good football and get a great education.”

Sintim said it was a tough decision between the Cavaliers and Hokies, but in the end he went with his heart.

“It was hard but I’ve always felt more of a connection with Virginia,” said Sintim, who announced his decision before Super Bowl XXXVIII. “When I visited UVa, I especially liked the way the players interacted with the coaches and the way the coaches responded to the players. It seemed like everywhere I went there everybody was nice.”

Sintim made only one visit and that was to Virginia in December. He was scheduled to visit Virginia Tech last weekend but was unable to make the trip after breaking his leg during a Gar-Field basketball game a couple of weeks ago.

The recruit was impressed that UVa’s coaches didn’t think of writing him off after the injury and were quick to show their concern for his future.

“Several of Virginia’s coaches came to see me two days after it happened and signed my cast,” Sintim said. “The were very supportive and quick to let me know they were still interested in me.”

UVa assistants Mike London, Ron Prince, Al Golden, Mike Groh and Corwin Brown all made the visit to see Sintim.

While he played defensive end at Gar-Field, where he had 65 tackles and five sacks, the rush end will play outside linebacker in Virginia’s 3-4 defense.

“Coach [Al] Groh and Coach Golden told me numerous times how I can help their defense out in a lot of ways as outside linebacker, which really excited me,” Sintim said. “It seems I was made for the 3-4 and I think I can do all the things they are going to ask of me.”

Sintim has 4.7 speed in the 40 and bench presses 350 pounds. His defensive numbers were down his senior season because of the great season he had as a junior.

“Some people wanted to know why I wasn’t making as many tackles last season and that was frustrating because I was used to making more plays, more tackles,” Sintim said. “But I knew that because opponents were double- and triple-teaming me when they ran to my side, that somebody else on my defense would be free to make plays. As long as we made plays as a unit was what mattered most.”

His presence was so intimidating that most teams chose to run the other way. It was a sign of respect that when they did attack his side of the field, he was blocked by two or three players.

The fact that he has size and can run impressed college recruiters, particularly when they viewed game film of him as a offensive guard and tight end. His athletic ability and drive was noticeable, particularly due to the fact that as a guard he was moving opponents much bigger than himself.

Doctors may take Sintim’s cast off as early as Friday, which would signal the beginning of his rehab work and return to the weight room.

Virginia would like nothing better than a clean sweep of the remaining three players on the Gold List’s top 10. The Cavaliers have already landed four of the other seven who have committed. Virginia Tech has two and Maryland has one.

Hall is a 6-5, 220 defensive end, who visited Virginia over the weekend. He will choose between UVa, Tech and N.C. State among others.

Mayo is a 6-2, 215 linebacker, who will choose between UVa, Tech and Tennessee, while Royals, the state’s top-rated receiver, will choose between UVa, Tech and Marshall.

Wednesday is national signing day.

 

Notebook: Lescanec coming to Virginia
By Kris Wright / Daily Progress staff writer
February 2, 2004

Western Albemarle senior Bryan Lescanec, who shared Central Virginia’s Offensive Player of the Year award this season, committed to the University of Virginia as a recruited walk-on to the football program. Lescanec made his decision during an official visit to UVa this past weekend.
Lescanec, The Daily Progress Gold List Sleeper of the Year, chose the Cavaliers over scholarship offers from Richmond and William & Mary. The senior rushed for 2,208 yards and 30 touchdowns rushing on 186 carries (11.9 yards per carry). He also set a school single-game rushing yards record against Charlottesville with 323 yards in Western Albemarle’s win.
He earned player of the year honors in the Jefferson District and Region II; he also received first-team All-Group AA recognition from the Virginia High School Coaches’ Association and the Associated Press.
The Daily Progress will be following national signing day for college football on Wednesday. Among the Central Virginia standouts expected to sign national letters-of-intent are St. Anne’s-Belfield’s Chris Long (Virginia), Charlottesville’s Devonta Brown (Virginia) and Fork Union’s Ryan Shuman (Virginia Tech).
Check out Thursday’s edition for a special section on college football recruiting.

 

Road woes continue
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
February 2, 2004

With its 91-78 setback at Wake Forest on Saturday, Virginia has now lost 16 of its last 17 ACC road contests.

Theories on Virginia’s road struggles are boundless and everyone seems to have their own reasons.

What elevates or at least continues the discussions so fervently is that rarely during this current streak has Virginia been competitive on the ACC road. Of course, winning away from home in the ACC isn’t easy and no one said it was. Florida State has lost 19 straight ACC road contests and North Carolina, a top-10 ranked team for much of the season, is 0-3 in ACC road games this season.

Thus, Virginia’s woes are not out of the ordinary. Yet, what differentiates their problems is that the Cavaliers haven’t lost a series of close road games during this stretch. One play here or one play there would rarely have made a difference. Like Saturday, it’s one quick wave from the home team that delivers the early knockout punch that Virginia can’t recover from and makes comebacks a Sisyphean-task.

On the road, the Cavaliers seem to quiver and tremble in a moment of adversity.

“They played great and we were stunned. … We put ourselves in a hole and never recovered,” said Virginia coach Pete Gillen after Wake opened an early 37-10 lead on Saturday.

Again, the theories on Virginia’s woes are numerous. It’s interesting, however, to hear what those actually involved think are the particular ailments.

“It’s just something this team isn’t good at right now. There are no excuses. We have young players but a lot of teams have young players. We just have to learn to win,” said junior Elton Brown. “We have to win a couple big games on the road and we have to win the remaining games we have at home.”

Virginia now gets back off of the road and comes home for games against Maryland and then N.C. State. To call the games season-savers might be premature but with a road game at No. 1 Duke looming next week, their importance is certainly high.

“We need to practice hard and work on our defense. … That’s what we have to work on to get better as a team,” Brown said.

 

Gar-Field standout chooses Cavaliers
Richmond Times-Dispatch Feb 2, 2004

The University of Virginia football team has picked up another commitment from one of the state's top prospects. Clint Sintim, a 6-3, 245-pound senior at Gar-Field High in Woodbridge, chose U.Va. over Virginia Tech, Maryland, Ohio State and Tennessee.

"It was really hard for me to decide what was best for me academically and athletically," Sintim said last night. "I think I found that in Virginia."

Sintim, who turns 18 on Feb. 21, played defensive end at Gar-Field and made The Washington Post's All-Metro second team in 2003. He's expected to play linebacker in Virginia's 3-4 defense.

Two weeks ago, Sintim broke his left leg playing basketball for Gar-Field. His cast is supposed to come off late this week, Sintim said, and doctors have told him he'll make a full recovery.

Sintim, who has qualified academically, knows that few players make it to the NFL and said he understands the value of a college education. "If I'm going to get a degree, I might as well get it from the No. 1 public university."

The NCAA signing period opens Wednesday. The Cavaliers expect to learn today if they will land Robinson High defensive end Olu Hall, perhaps the state's No. 1 prospect. Hall, who visited Virginia over the weekend, also is considering Virginia Tech and N.C. State. - Jeff White
 

Cavaliers land No. 1 recruit Hall
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
February 2, 2004

“Momentus Monday” didn’t start off with the bang that Virginia’s coaching staff would have liked, but by day’s end, the Cavaliers had landed the state’s No. 1 football prospect for the third consecutive year.

Olu Hall, the No. 7 defensive end in the nation by Rivals, stunned many recruiting analysts when the Robinson High School star announced at an afternoon press conference that he had committed to Virginia. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound blue-chipper chose the Cavaliers over Ohio State, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Purdue.

“I sat down [Sunday] night and weighed the pros and cons of what all the schools had to offer and Virginia was it,” Hall said.

Hall said he was comfortable with UVa’s players and coaches along with the school’s academic support system. He had been told that it would be difficult to play football and keep up academically, but was assured by UVa’s athletic administration and academic support staff that he could handle the work load.

“There’s one set of very happy coaches in Charlottesville,” said Robinson coach Mark Bendorf. “Likewise, there are some coaches down in Raleigh and Blacksburg and out at the Purdue and Ohio State campuses that aren’t. In talking to the Virginia coaches, they were obviously very pleased.”

The Cavaliers’ staff have enjoyed great success in landing the state’s No. 1 ranked player on The Daily Progress Gold List for the last three years.

Virginia signed Hylton linebacker Ahmad Brooks in 2002, Phoebus cornerback Philip Brown in 2003 and gained Hall’s commitment on Monday. Hall gave the Cavaliers two of the top five players on the Gold List with one player’s decision remaining.

Coach Al Groh had hoped UVa would run the table on Monday after gaining a commitment from the No. 7 player on the Gold List, Gar-Field linebacker Clint Sintim on Super Sunday. However, Kecoughtan linebacker Jerod Mayo announced early Monday that he had chosen Tennessee over Virginia Tech.

The remaining uncommitted player, Westfield High’s Eddie Royal, delayed his announcement. The state’s top wide receiver had planned on committing on Monday, but after visiting his brother at Marshall over the weekend, said he had not decided between the Thundering Herd, UVa and Virginia Tech.

Virginia is yet to land a highly-rated wide receiver in this class, which was one of the main focuses of the recruiting effort.

“A lot of folks liked the potential with Olu’s size,” Bendorf said. “He’s a tall, lanky kid, but the upside is that as he gets bigger and fills out, is going to be a mobile, powerful player. He has a lot of growth potential.”

Rivals national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said that Hall has limitless potential as a rush end or outside linebacker because of his quickness off the ball.

“Once Olu hits a college weight room and adds some bulk, he’ll be a 250-pounder with quickness off the edge,” Farrell said. “Hall also has very long arms that allow him to bat down passes and grab opponents who seem out of reach.”

 

Virginia to open season at Temple
By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
February 2, 2004

Since two of the Big East’s best football teams will join the ACC this season, it seems only fair that Virginia will get to play one of the worst.

The Cavaliers will face Temple in their 2004 season opener, a late agreement made necessary when UTEP recently backed out of a deal to play a home-and-home series with UVa.

The Owls went 1-11 last season and have long been one of the Big East’s weakest programs. Virginia will play them for the first time on Sept. 4 at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

Temple will come to Virginia in 2005.

The ACC released its 2004 football schedule Monday. The opening game will be UVa’s only road trip until Oct. 16 at Florida State.

Before that, the Cavaliers will play at home against North Carolina (Sept. 11), Akron (Sept. 18), Syracuse (Sept. 25) and Clemson (Oct. 7, on Thursday night). They have byes on Oct. 2 and Oct. 30.

Virginia’s 11-game schedule becomes significantly more difficult as the season progresses. After traveling to FSU and Duke (Oct. 23), the Cavaliers play Maryland (Nov. 6) and Miami (Nov. 13) at home, followed by road games at Georgia Tech (Nov. 20) and Virginia Tech (Nov. 20).

Six of UVa’s last seven opponents played in bowl games last season. In the final AP poll, four of those teams were ranked: No. 5 Miami, No. 11 Florida State, No. 17 Maryland and No. 22 Clemson.

Miami, the reigning Big East champion, and Virginia Tech will be playing their first season as ACC members.

The Cavaliers have not faced the Hurricanes since a 31-21 loss in the 1996 Carquest Bowl. UVa plays Virginia Tech every season, but it will be their first meeting as conference opponents since played 14 times as charter members of the Southern Conference from 1921-36.

2004 Cavaliers

Football Schedule

Sept. 4 at Temple

Sept. 11 North Carolina

Sept. 18 Akron

Sept. 25 Syracuse

Oct. 2 bye

Oct. 7 (Thurs.)Clemson (ESPN)

Oct. 16 at Florida State

Oct. 23 at Duke

Oct. 30 bye

Nov. 6 Maryland

Nov. 13 Miami (Fla.)

Nov. 20 at Georgia Tech

Nov. 27 at Virginia Tech

 

Virginia nabs top prospect
Robinson DE Olu Hall chooses UVa, while Fork Union's Maurice Reevey picks Virginia Tech.
By Doug Doughty
doug.doughty@roanoke.com
981-3129

Defensive end Olu Hall, rated the No.1 football prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times, has broken the James W. Robinson High School mold and made an oral commitment to Virginia.

Hall is the first player from Robinson, a Fairfax school and Northern Virginia power, to make a football commitment to the Cavaliers since the 1980s.

Hall, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive end, picked the Cavaliers after official visits to Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Purdue and North Carolina. He also had offers from Tennessee, Penn State and Maryland.

"Stun me?" Robinson coach Mark Bendorf said Monday. "I wouldn't say it stunned me. Our kids are spread out all over the country.

"I purposely had not tried to pin him down because it was important that he take all his visits. He did not make his decision until today. I think he was wrestling with it all day, to tell the truth."

Hall, projected as an outside linebacker by Virginia, played defensive end at Robinson and had 93 tackles as a senior, when he also had 11 sacks.

"I think he has a ways to go in terms of development," said Bendorf, who earlier had indicated Hall would benefit from a redshirt year. "He's made progress each year, but he's still got to take some strides before he's ready to compete on Saturday afternoon in that league. I've been consistent in that."

The Hokies received some good news late in the afternoon when 6-3, 235-pound linebacker Maurice Reevey called the Tech office to say he was committing. Reevey, who played at Highland Springs High School, suffered a preseason injury that prevented him from playing for Fork Union Military Academy's postgraduate team.

Highland Springs coach Scott Burton said after the 2002 season that some recruiters felt Reevey might have been the best prospect in the state if he had the academic credentials to be recruited that year.

Reevey, rated the No.10 prospect in Virginia by SuperPrep before the 2003 season, picked the Hokies over Clemson and also took visits to West Virginia and Pittsburgh.

Also announcing his decision Monday was Jerod Mayo, a linebacker from Kecoughtan High School in Hampton who was sixth on The Roanoke Times' list of the state's top prospects. Mayo, who committed to Tennessee, said Tech was second on a list of three finalists that included Virginia.

 

Williams visits Gators; doesn't take the bait
By MANNY NAVARRO
mnavarro@herald.com

Following a weekend trip to Gainesville that featured all you can eat fried chicken, Willie Williams decided he isn't taking the Gator bait.

Williams crossed Florida off his list and has decided he will make a decision between Florida State and Miami within the next 24 hours.

''Florida was real nice to me, but I just didn't feel at home there,'' Williams said Monday. ``It ain't me -- it's too farm like.

``Tonight, I'm going to spend the night in my room. My cell phones are going to be off and I'm pulling the phone line out of the wall. It's going to be me and my rap music. I'll pray. Then I'll make up my mind.''

Williams, a full academic qualifier with a 3.0 GPA and a 1070 SAT score, detailed what he likes most about Miami and Florida State.

''Miami has a great situation at linebacker with only four guys coming back, and they really made me feel like I can be an impact player next year,'' he said.

``Florida State has a little more coming back, but they made me feel the same way about being an impact player.

``I know guys from both teams and I really love the unity all the players have with each other. It's going to be really hard to decide.''

GATOR TALES

Rejecting the Gators was easier. Before his trip, Williams said he had heard lots of good things about coach Ron Zook. But after a few days in Gainesville, Williams said he was turned off.

On Friday, he and Carol City teammate Akeem Robinson boarded a private jet and arrived in Gainesville at 5 p.m.

Upon arrival, the two were greeted by the Florida coaching staff and whisked away to a dinner party at Alumni Hall. Williams ate swedish meatballs but passed on gator tails.

''I ate so many meatballs, the people there started looking like meatballs,'' Williams said. 'Some guy kept trying to get me to eat these alligator tails, but I wasn't having it. I told him `I'm not the Crocodile Hunter.' I don't touch reptiles.''

After dinner, Williams and other recruits were taken to an on-campus beauty pageant.

''They had girls come out, all dressed nice, but it took awhile,'' Williams said. ``It was a weird beauty pageant because there were some people talking about black history the whole time. Then it got worse. They had guy models come out.''

Williams was then dropped off at The Hilton. His hotel room wasn't as nice as the the Paradise Suite in Coconut Grove, but it did come with a special touch.

''There was Gatorade all over the place,'' Williams said. 'I was like `I get it. Gatorade was made at Florida.' ''

The following morning, the recruits toured campus and met with the Florida coaching staff. Later that night, Williams said he was surprised to learn he was eating at the stadium again for dinner.

''The first night I was OK with eating at the stadium,'' Williams said. 'But when they told me were going to eat there again, I was a little disappointed. I was like, `Take us to Red Lobster or something.' Instead, it was the same old fried chicken.

``That's when I pretty much made up my mind. I can't live in a place that don't have any restaurants. What am I going to do -- fly home to eat shrimp?''

Later that night, Williams ran into a few familiar faces at a frat party -- UM cornerback Travarous Bain and UM receiver Darnell Jenkins. Both were in Gainesville for a track meet.

''I was happy to see those guys,'' Williams said. 'They were like, `So Willie, are you going to stay up with these farm people or come home with us?' I told them, 'I'll let you know on Wednesday.' ''

CREEPY ENVELOPES

When Williams returned to his room Saturday night, he found dozens of envelopes on the floor. Each envelope was filled with a written letter or sign, urging Williams to pick the Gators, Hurricanes or Seminoles.

''When I woke up in the middle of the night, there were more,'' Williams said. 'Some of them were like, `Come on Willie, pick UM.' Others had the logos of the Gators and the Hurricanes crossed out and the Seminoles circled. I was really freaked out how they found where I was staying.

``I'm telling you, some people are really going nuts over this whole thing. They're freaking out more than I am.''

 

ACC NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Feb 3, 2004

GO HEELS? Wake Forest's Skip Prosser probably won't be only the ACC coach pulling from afar for North Carolina in its showdown with top-ranked Duke on Thursday night.

Through seven conference games, the Blue Devils are unbeaten and have the inside track on the ACC's regular-season title. Only one other team - N.C. State (5-2, 12-5) - has fewer than three ACC losses.

"I think it behooves Carolina to get everybody a win Thursday," Prosser said, "because Duke could conceivably run away and hide."

In the second half of their ACC schedule, the Blue Devils will play five games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"I think if they come through the first round 8-0, it probably will make them tough to catch," Prosser said, "because they are so good, period, and especially good at home."

SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE: Mike Krzyzewski knows many hoops fans live for Duke-UNC games. That's fine with the Blue Devils' coach, but he doesn't want his players placing too much emphasis on their clashes with the Tar Heels.

"You don't get one-and-a-half games for winning the rivalry game, or two games," Krzyzewski said. "You get one victory or one loss. That's the way I've approached it, because the teams have been so good, and there's such attention.

"We recognize it's a big game, but hey, we had a big game Saturday at Georgia Tech. So every game's a big game, and this one's the next one."

ETIQUETTE LESSON: Maryland played at home Sunday for the first time since Jan. 21, when students at the Comcast Center chanted obscenities at Duke guard J.J. Redick. Also that night, some fans wore T-shirts with an obscene reference to Duke.

Before Sunday's game with N.C. State, Terrapins coach Gary Williams addressed the students at Comcast.

"We cannot have obscene chants. We cannot wear obscene T-shirts to games. We're too good for that," Williams told them.

The result? The notoriously rowdy students behaved well in Maryland's 81-69 loss to the Wolfpack - perhaps too well, Williams said.

"They were a lot more dead than the usual atmosphere," he said yesterday. "Some students didn't come as kind of a protest because they were criticized all week. Everybody jumps in around here - The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun. It was magnified, as usual, around here. And I felt for the students, because there were very few of them involved."

Williams said fans at the Comcast Center are no worse than those at many other arenas.

"Every place we've played on the road so far we've heard obscene things," he said. "Things are yelled everywhere. I've heard everything on the road this year, especially some directed at [freshman] D.J. Strawberry, which I'm not real happy about. But nobody writes about that. They just seem to write about our situation here."

SHINING STARS: The ACC's co-players of the week are Duke's Chris Duhon and N.C. State's Julius Hodge. Duke freshman Luol Deng is the ACC rookie of the week.

Duhon, a senior point guard, led the top-ranked Blue Devils to victories over Florida State and Georgia Tech. Hodge, a junior swingman, scored a season-high 28 points Sunday to lift the Wolfpack to its first win at Maryland since 1989. He made 9 of 18 shots from the floor and 10 of 10 from the line. Hodge also had nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Against Georgia Tech, Deng posted his third career double-double, collecting 22 points and 10 rebounds.

RAISING CAIN: He's skinny and can get pushed around near the basket, but Virginia forward Jason Cain doesn't back down, and his athleticism makes him difficult to defend. The 6-9, 205-pound freshman from Philadelphia is looking more and more like a steal for the Cavaliers, who signed him last spring.

"It was pretty much that the first couple games I was thinking too much," Cain said Saturday at Wake Forest. "Now, it's just like I'm playing and letting things happen."

In U.Va.'s 91-78 loss to No. 16 Wake, Cain scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed three rebounds in 15 minutes. His four field goals included two dunks, one coming off a lob pass from classmate T.J. Bannister. Cain is averaging 2.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 6.7 minutes.

"He's still a year away," Cavaliers coach Pete Gillen said. "He's not strong enough to play consistently in the ACC, but he's very talented, and he's going to be a very good player . . . He's not afraid, he mixes it up. He's a tough kid." - Jeff White
 

One of state's top prep prospects chooses Cavs
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 3, 2004

After struggling in recent years to land football players from Robinson High, whose program has strong ties to Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia finally broke through yesterday.

At a news conference at the Fairfax school, Olu Hall, widely considered the state's No.1 prospect, announced that he's headed to U.Va. The NCAA signing period opens tomorrow.

Hall, who starred at defensive end for the Rams, will line up at outside linebacker in the Cavaliers' 3-4 scheme. The 6-4, 218-pound senior chose U.Va. over Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Ohio State and Purdue.

"It was a tough decision," Robinson coach Mark Bendorf said, "because with the five schools he visited, he didn't have a bad choice. He liked all the coaching staffs, and every visit he took he liked. He just said it felt right [at U.Va.] and pulled the trigger."

Hall was a three-year starter for Robinson, which beat Thomas Dale for the state Group AAA, Division 6 title in 2001. A member of the Washington Post's All-Metro first team in 2003, Hall had 11 sacks for a defense that posted five shutouts and in two other games allowed only a field goal.

Off the field, Bendorf said, Hall is "very well-liked, very polite and well-mannered. He's a good character kid."

Robinson finished 11-1 in 2003 after losing to eventual state champion Westfield in the Northern Region, Division 6 final.

Also yesterday, linebacker Jerod Mayo, a senior from Hampton's Kecoughtan High, chose Tennessee over Virginia Tech. Mayo's other finalist was U.Va.

Tech and U.Va. are finalists, too, for Westfield High senior Eddie Royal, the Washington Post's offensive player of the year in 2003. The 5-10, 170-pound Royal also is seriously considering Marshall.