Cavs, Hokies split Gold List recruits
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
February 5, 2004

So, who won the recruiting battle of the Old Dominion? Virginia? Virginia Tech?

It all depends on who you ask.

Certainly, Coach Al Groh’s UVa staff has evened the playing field within the state borders over the past couple of years and ended Virginia Tech’s domination of the fertile football recruiting ground. Meanwhile, Coach Frank Beamer’s staff has fought hard to continue to bring in some of the state’s top recruiting talent.

Together, UVa and Tech have managed to keep the majority of the state’s talent at home, while fighting off attempts from rivals from bordering state schools to drink from Virginia’s pool.

The 2003-2004 Gold List, a compilation of the state’s top 50 high school football prospects by The Daily Progress and national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell, was a great example of the Cavaliers and Hokies domination.

This is how the Gold List broke down:

Top Five: UVa 2, VT 1.

Top 10: UVa 5, VT 3.

Top 15: UVa 6, VT 6.

Top 25: UVa 7, VT 7.

Top 50: UVa 9, VT 9.

Most likely, Groh and Beamer would be pretty happy to acquire a collective 12 of the top 15 every year in the state.

The two that got away, which bothered UVa and Tech the most were the No. 3-ranked player on the list, Culpeper defensive back Kent Hicks, who chose Maryland over the two state schools, and the No. 4 player, Kecoughtan linebacker Jerod Mayo, who picked Tennessee. In fact, those were the only two of the Top 10-ranked players in the state to slip away.

“We’re trying to get the very best players in the state and not just going out trying to grab numbers,” said Groh. “We feel that happened again. For the third year in a row, we got the No. 1 player in the state.”

The Cavaliers took Fairfax (Robinson H.S.) linebacker Olu Hall, the Gold List’s top-rated player. Hall chose UVa over Ohio State, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Purdue. He will join the List’s previous top-ranked state players, linebacker Ahmad Brooks (2002) and cornerback Philip Brown (2003) in rebuilding the Cavaliers’ defense.

UVa dominated on the defensive side of things, grabbing Hall and No. 2 choice, defensive end Chris Long of Charlottesville, along with outside linebacker Clint Sintim (No. 7) of Woodbridge, and defensive back Jamaal Jackson of Deep Creek H.S. The Cavs are still awaiting the signing of Bluefield defensive back Ahmad Bradshaw (No. 8).

Virginia Tech took the top two receivers and the top quarterback in the state. The Hokies landed wideout Eddie Royal, one of the top-rated pass catchers in the nation (No. 5 overall on the Gold List) of Chantilly, and No. 12 Jeremy Gilchrist of Virginia Beach. Gilchrist is listed as a receiver/defensive back.

Royal will be catching passes from quarterback Sean Glennon (No. 6) in Blacksburg. Both players were teammates at Westfield High in Chantilly.

Both Groh and Beamer believe they signed the top running back in the state. Both make good arguments.

UVa landed William Campbell High’s Cedric Peerman (No. 10), while the Hokies signed Indian River’s Brandon Ore (No. 14). Both are solid backs who should be impact players down the road.

In all, 36 of the 50 players on the Gold List signed or will sign by the weekend (one player, No. 22 Ryan Pond of Chesapeake committed to play baseball at N.C. State). Another player, No. 25 Tyree Evans, a wide receiver from George Wythe in Richmond, is being recruited as a basketball player as well and has delayed his decision.

Our “Sleeper of the Year,” Western Albemarle’s Bryan Lescanec, is a recruited walk-on at Virginia. Another Silver List member, No. 39 Christian Johnson, of Alexandria, may be destined for prep school.

The 6-3, 305-pound offensive guard/nose tackle from West Potomac H.S., has already contacted Fork Union and Hargrave about a year of prep school. He indicated that although he has had interest from Penn State, and Maryland, that his dream is to play at Virginia.

Cavs aiming higher in recruit race
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progres sports editor
February 5, 2004

When Virginia hit the football recruiting trail this past year, Coach Al Groh’s staff had some new orders. Big Al wanted to run with the big dogs.
You can’t blame him. The new ACC could be the premiere football conference in the nation, which means everyone must kick things up a notch.

Move ahead or fall behind
Groh has no intentions of the latter. So, armed with the knowledge that his program was well-stocked at most positions, he instructed his recruiters to take a shot at some of the finest blue-chippers in the land.
The results were interesting. Virginia managed to lure some to Charlottesville, taking Chicago’s Nate Lyles and Pennsylvania’s Chris Gorham away from Notre Dame and other prominent schools. The Cavs snatched tight end Tom Santi right out from under SEC schools and fought off advances from several powers to keep Virginia products within state borders.
“That’s the course we chose to pursue,” Groh said Wednesday as he announced UVa’s class. “We didn’t have to recruit for the immediacy at most positions, so we targeted certain premium players, national players, who would raise the team a notch or two. We came out ahead on some of those and were right in the fight for some of the others.”
The only sting the Cavaliers felt from this attempt was at the wide receiver position where they were shut out. They lost game-breaker Dwayne Jarrett to national champion Southern Cal. They lost Doug Dutch to Michigan, which played the Trojans in the Rose Bowl.
They lost a big lineman to Miami, which played in the Orange Bowl and played in the national championship the previous two years.
But that’s the chance you take when you ante up with the national powers. They didn’t win their conference horse races with donkeys. It’s all about the Thoroughbreds.
And that’s what Virginia is going to have to do in order to keep up with the Joneses in the new ACC. Check out the national recruiting rankings and you will notice a lot of familiar names in the Top 10 classes.
Some of those names are attached to UVa’s opponents: Florida State, Miami, and Maryland popped up in several Top 10 recruiting lists. If history means anything, the road to the ACC championship runs through Tallahassee and Coral Gables.
If Maryland, an “also ran” a couple of years ago, can vault into the national recruiting picture, then so can the Wahoos.
“We moved into new territory,” Groh said of UVa’s recruiting effort. “The shelf we were picking off of was a little higher.”

Rough at the top
What Virginia discovered was that the higher you climb, the nastier it gets at the top. Recruiting is a cut-throat business and the big boys don’t cotton to upstarts like the Cavaliers moving in on them.
For instance, note that Jarrett was constantly reminded that he shouldn’t go to Virginia because the Cavaliers don’t throw to their wide receivers. They fail to mention that Billy McMullen had more than 80 catches a couple of years ago, but all Jarrett has to go on is what he saw this past season.
The state’s No. 1 prospect, Olu Hall, of Fairfax was bombarded by recruiters telling him that he couldn’t handle the academic demands of the ivy-covered halls of Virginia and still play football. Finally, on his final official visit to UVa, he learned that he could.
That particular tactic was nothing new to Groh, but still irks him just the same.
“Yeah, there’s a scare factor out there,” Groh said of the negative recruiting methods used by schools against Virginia. “When we go out into the [recruiting] field, we know that’s going to be an issue.”
But Groh is amassing weapons to fight back. The Knight Commission did the Virginia football coach a huge favor last month when it’s latest report shed new light on academics and winning football.
The Commission ranked the 56 teams playing in bowl games in accordance to their graduation rates of football players. The results were eye-opening.
Virginia was ranked No. 3 out of those 56 teams with a 76 percent graduation rate. Only Northwestern (83 percent) and Boston College (79 percent), another new ACC school, ranked higher.
Here’s how the big boys made out: USC (61), Michigan (46), Florida State (49), Miami (49), Tennessee (41), Ohio State (41), Kansas State (57), Oklahoma (33), LSU (40), Florida (44), Texas (38).
The rest of the ACC: Georgia Tech (39), Clemson (53), Maryland (50), Virginia Tech (49).
So, Virginia must be doing something right.
“What we’re doing must be working,” Groh said in defense of the Virginia way.
Now, all he has to do is convince the best talent in the land. Winning more football games will help get their attention.
 

Cavaliers' loss to Terps
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
February 5, 2004

A missed opportunity is what junior center Elton Brown labeled Wednesday’s 71-67 loss to Maryland at University Hall.

After opening the season 8-0, the Cavaliers have now lost seven or their last 11 games. In that stretch, some of the losses have been lopsided, some not all that competitive.

This particular setback was especially frustrating and deflating for Brown, junior Jason Clark and UVa coach Pete Gillen himself.

“This one hurts. We had our chances to win but made too many mistakes,” Clark said.

The Cavaliers indeed had their chances to win this contest.

Virginia fell down by as many as 12 in the first half and rallied to get back into the contest. The Cavaliers even briefly took the lead early in the second half only to squander it. Then, having twice fallen behing by six points late in the second half, Virginia cut it to two with 30 seconds remaining only to botch its final possession with a turnover, one of 20 in the game.

“It’s a game that I thought we could have won, but it was lost in several areas. I have to give Maryland credit, they made the big plays when they had to. … Twenty turnovers is not going to get you a win in the ACC,” Gillen said.

Billet made that final and critical turnover as he dribbled into a double-team and then had the ball stolen by Maryland’s D.J. Strawberry. The play was designed to go to Brown eventually but never got that far. Billet finished with five turnovers and just three points as the point guard role continues to be a cumbersome one for him.

“We called a play at the end, but we didn’t execute it properly. Everyone wasn’t in the right spot,” Gillen said. “The point guard has to tell the rest of team what they are running. Todd’s a combo guard - he does his best at catching and shooting and not a pure point guard. But he’s a terrific player.”

Maryland probably won the game because of its point guard, John Gilchrist, who finished with 26 points.

“John Gilchrist was a great leader tonight. He would not allow us to lose this game tonight,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams. “John did a great job the first half with his points, but the second half he did a great job of getting the ball to others.”

Gilchrist, a Virginia Beach native, played AAU basketball with both Brown and Clark.

“He was definitely the key to the game [Wednesday night]. He played well and kept them in it,” Brown said.

Added Clark: “I’ve played with him and this is the type of player he is. I’m not surprised he had a big game because he’s been telling us that he was up for this game.”

The animated Gilchrist seemed to having a running commentary throughout the game.

“No, he doesn’t shut up out there,” Clark said.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Feb 6, 2004

ANOTHER CHANGE? Football coach Al Groh told reporters Wednesday that the newest full-time member of his staff, Anthony Poindexter, would continue coaching U.Va.'s wide receivers, Poindexter's responsibility last season as a graduate assistant.

A moment later, however, Groh added, "I wouldn't necessarily say that's true. I've got some other plans in the works that will become more clear to you here in the ensuing days."

Groh didn't elaborate, but sources yesterday said assistant coach Andy Heck, who coached U.Va.'s tight ends in 2003, might be headed to Florida to join Bill Musgrave on the Jacksonville Jaguars' staff.

Musgrave is entering his second season as the Jaguars' offensive coordinator. He held that position at U.Va. in 2001 and'02.

Heck, 37, spent two years as a graduate assistant at U.Va. before being promoted to tight ends coach after Musgrave left for Jacksonville. It's not clear what role Heck, a former NFL offensive lineman, would fill on the Jaguars' staff.

Poindexter starred at U.Va. for Groh's predecessor, George Welsh. Poindexter has little coaching experience, but he's "got great energy and a great affinity for the university," Groh said.

"Just like some of these players that we have: Do I expect all of these players to be in the starting lineup next year? No, but we see great assets that they're going to bring to the program. It's the same thing with Anthony."

DEEP FREEZE: In his college debut, swingman Gary Forbes scored 21 points in U.Va.'s win over Mount St. Mary's. The 6-6 freshman followed that with a 16-point performance against Virginia Tech and, later, a 22-point effort against Minnesota.

Of late, however, Forbes has lost his shooting touch. Only once in his past 10 games has the Brooklyn, N.Y., resident made at least half of his field-goal attempts. Forbes played inspired defense against Maryland guard John Gilchrist in the second half Wednesday but again struggled to find his range.

Forbes was 0 for 5 from the floor and 0 for 2 from the line in Virginia's 71-67 loss to the Terrapins.

A prolific scorer in high school, Forbes has seen his average drop to 9.3 points at U.Va. He's shooting 43.9 percent from the floor, 28.6 percent from 3-point range and only 49.1 percent from the line.

WARRIORS: Junior center Elton Brown scored a team-high 24 points against Maryland, but U.Va. coach Pete Gillen reserved his strongest praise for junior forwards Jason Clark and Devin Smith.

Clark had 13 rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals, all game highs. Smith, who hadn't practiced for two days because of back pain, came off the bench to score 12 points in 16 minutes. His 3-pointer pulled U.Va. to 68-67 with 26 seconds left.

"I wish everybody [on the team] had the mental and physical toughness of a Devin Smith and a Jason Clark," Gillen said.

HOMEBOYS: Virginia's football recruits for 2003 included defensive lineman Chris Johnson of Charlottesville High. Groh's incoming class will include three players who've grown up near U.Va. - linebacker Devonta Brown (Charlottesville High), defensive lineman Chris Long (St. Anne's-Belfield) and Bryan Lescanec (Western Albemarle High), a recruited walk-on who's a capable long-snapper, punter and running back.

"This is our home base right here, and there are going to be players produced out of these schools every year," Groh said. "I think these players see the trend now. There's no need to go any further."

Brown, who's listed at 6-2, 225 pounds, wasn't highly recruited, but Groh loves his potential.

"This is a big, strong linebacker who can really run," Groh said. "There was a player in Pennsylvania, a nationally recruited linebacker who we didn't get involved with. But second to that player, I thought [Brown] was the fastest of the inside linebackers that we evaluated."

SCHOLAR-ATHLETES: The ACC's all-academic football team for 2003 includes six players from U.Va. - long-snapper Ryan Childress, wideout Ryan Sawyer, quarterback Matt Schaub, defensive end Chris Canty, kicker Connor Hughes and cornerback Marcus Hamilton.

Childress, Sawyer and Schaub played in the fall as graduate students after receiving their degrees last spring - Childress in government, Sawyer in religious studies and Schaub in economics.

Canty is majoring in African-American studies. Neither Hughes nor Hamilton has declared a major.

COMING ATTRACTION? Linebacker Ahmad Brooks, Virginia's leading tackler as a true freshman in 2003, averaged 12.6 yards per carry and rushed for 10 touchdowns as a Hylton High senior.

When Virginia wants to go with a big, bruising ball-carrier in 2004, fullback Jason Snelling could get the call, Groh said. But then, so could the 6-4, 249-pound Brooks.

"How would you like to see him at tailback?" Groh asked reporters.

Reminded that his roster is stocked with talented tailbacks, Groh countered, "We don't have any that are 249 pounds and amongst the fastest players on the team, though," he said. - Jeff White

 

McGrew's return eases receiver concerns
Clarification on Poindexter imminent?
By DOUG DOUGHTY
Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Thursdays

I'll admit I was curious prior to Al Groh's news conference, wondering what kind of "spin" that UVa's head coach would put on the Cavaliers' recruiting year.

To Groh's credit, he wasn't the least bit touchy or defensive Wednesday, acknowledging that the Cavaliers could have used a marquee wide receiver (or two) to round out their class.

One of Groh's most interesting comments dealt with Michael McGrew, a wide receiver with 63 career receptions who suffered a broken leg in the preseason and missed the 2003 season.

Because he was never redshirted, McGrew had an extra season at his disposal and will return as a fifth-year senior in 2004.

"Mike is a player we did not anticipate being on the team next year," said Groh, who indicated that McGrew's rehabiliation had proceeded as hoped. "If it's a full return, then, he really is our incoming receiver, and he's an experienced receiver who already knows our system."

Groh tossed that out, almost as an afterthought, at the end of an hour-long session. He covered numerous bases, not all of them limited to recruiting.

REGARDING A POSITION for Anthony Poindexter, whose appointment to full-time status he confirmed, Groh said his current plans were to have Poindexter work with the wide receivers. Poindexter served as a graduate assistant last year under offensive coordinator and receivers coach Mike Groh.

"That's [a full-time position] what we brought Anthony back for," Groh said. "We saw Anthony as being a tremendous resource for us, obviously. [He's] one of the all-time great Virginia players. He's a Virginia native.

"He's tremendously respected as a player and as a person. He has great energy and great affinity for the university. He's like some of these players. Do I expect all of these [recruits] to be in the starting lineup next year? No. It's the same with Anthony.

"He's been with us for two years and he's been well indoctrinated into the organization. That's exactly why we wanted him here, so that, when there was an opportunity, a space to fill, we had our guy right here."

Poindexter fills the spot that opened when running backs coach Kevin Ross went to Army as the offensive coordinator for his father, Bobby. UVa secondary coach Bob Price coached the running backs at one point, and Poindexter and special-teams coach Corwin Brown both played defensive backs.

Presumably, Mike Groh could take on a veteran running-back corps if Poindexter coaches the wide receivers, "but, ah, I wouldn't necessarily say that's true," Al Groh said. "I've got some other plans, too, actually some other things in the works that will become clear to you in the ensuing days."

GROH CONFIRMED THAT Group AA Region II player of the year Bryan Lescanec from Western Albemarle and former All-Group AA defensive lineman John Copper from Northside will report for preseason practice as recruiting walk-ons, but said that no other walk-on candidates have reached that degree of commitment.

Copper played inside linebacker this year at Fork Union Military Academy and joins a recruiting class that was not brimming at that spot. Another walk-on inside linebacker, Mark Miller, received extensive playing time this year and received a scholarship after paying his way for one year.

There is no question that Groh is intrigued by 5-foot-7, 160-pound Larry "L.C." Baker, a first-team All-Richmond Metro selection in football who currently is starring for the Armstrong High School basketball team. Baker, who led the Central Region in receptions and had nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards, visited UVa on a weekend leading up to signing day.

IF THERE WERE any question about the insanity of betting on college basketball, the last two Virginia games have answered them.

On Sunday, the Cavaliers went to Wake Forest as a 14 1/2-point underdog and promptly fell behind 37-10 in the first half and trailed by as many as 28 points, 75-47, in the second half.

Bettors who picked Wake and gave the points had reason to feel good at that point, but Virginia cut the deficit to 15, then scored with 18 seconds left, when J.R. Reynolds tipped in a missed shot by walk-on Hank Nacey.

When Wake declined to hold the ball on its trip upcourt, the game ended 91-78 -- the Cavaliers' least lopsided loss to that point.

Virginia lost by four points Thursday night, 71-67, to a Maryland team that was favored by three. However, if you had Virginia and took the points, you had to feel pretty good with the Cavs down two and holding for a last shot following a missed Maryland free throw with 23 seconds left.

Then, D.J. Strawberry stole the ball from Todd Billet with 11 seconds left. Strawberry missed the ensuing layup but John Gilchrist's tip with five seconds left made Maryland the winner on the scoreboard and with the points.

MEDIA GADFLY Jeff White of The Richmond Times-Dispatch points out that his favorite former player, Nick Vander Laan, recently enjoyed his 12th double-double for Concordia University, an NAIA program in Irvine, Calif.

As I told White and fellow Vander Laan apologist Terry Holland, I never felt that UVa would benefit from Vander Laan's departure, but I felt strongly that Vander Laan was no better than another, misused ex-Gillen big man, Colin Ducharme. That opinion was shared by more than 90 percent of the respondents to a recent UVa Insider poll.

 

Cavaliers just haven't gotten the point
One that got away from Pete Gillen and Virginia comes back to hurt UVa in a loss to Maryland.
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE - In an examination of Virginia's ongoing troubles at point guard, John Gilchrist might be ExhibitA.

Gilchrist was an in-state point guard, maybe the best of his generation, and makes no secret of his early interest in the Cavaliers. Yet, when he took the floor at University Hall on Wednesday, it was in a Maryland jersey.

With the U-Hall crowd trying to rattle him by repeatedly chanting his name, Gilchrist scored a game-high 26 points as the Terrapins rallied for a 71-67 victory over Virginia and two of Gilchrist's former AAU teammates.

Those teammates, Elton Brown and Jason Clark, hardly embarrassed themselves. Brown scored 24 points for the second game in a row, and Clark had a career-high 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.

"Actually, UVa was the first team or the second team to give me a scholarship [offer]," Gilchrist said. "I think it might have been when I was in the ninth grade. I played in a tournament here. They're not allowed to recruit you in the ninth grade, but when you're on campus, the coach can talk to you.

"Coach [Pete] Gillen had me up to his office with my parents and told me, 'You have a full athletic scholarship.' I've never forgotten Coach Gillen for that. He really showed me the ropes of college basketball. It made me want to cry when he said that."

When it came time to make a decision three years later, Gilchrist nearly went to North Carolina State before signing with Maryland. There was no mention of Virginia.

"Early on, I definitely considered them, but they signed a few point guards and that was that," Gilchrist said. "I had to go where the opportunity was."

Now, Gillen probably wants to cry.

When Gilchrist was a senior at Salem High School in Virginia Beach, Roger Mason was Virginia's starting point guard, with freshman Keith Jenifer backing him up. Todd Billet and Majestic Mapp were sitting out, Billet after transferring from Rutgers and Mapp following knee surgery.

Billet and Mapp remain from that group and have been joined by freshman T.J. Bannister, but none of them had an answer for Gilchrist.

Indeed, as Virginia (12-7, 2-6 ACC) was attempting to hold for a shot that could have won the game or forced an overtime, Maryland freshman D.J. Strawberry stole the ball from Billet with 11 seconds remaining.

It was a season-high fifth turnover for Billet, who made one of six shots from the field. He was 1-for-4 on 3-point tries.

It was the fifth loss in seven games for the Cavaliers, who dropped into a tie for eighth - and last - place in the ACC. Maryland (12-7, 3-5) moved to seventh with its second victory in six games.

"I just wanted to come out here and, more than anything else in the world, get a win tonight," said Gilchrist, who had 21 points by halftime. "I've always felt hungry for a win, but the taste of being a loser, that's something I'm not used to."

Gilchrist did not have a more dramatic basket than his 3-pointer from 2-3 steps behind the arc at the halftime buzzer.

"That killed us," UVa's Brown said. "You take away that 3, and we win."

Brown was supposed to get the ball on UVa's final possession of the game, but there was a breakdown in communication. The Cavaliers had used their final timeout with 41 seconds left.

"Coach said he called, 'split stack,'" Brown said, "but the crowd was loud. Nobody heard it. I had a guy on my back, one on one. He backed completely off me. He had four fouls, but the ball just didn't get there. I just felt, if I got it, I would have scored."

UVa's closest loss before Wednesday was 13 points, 91-78, Saturday at Wake Forest.

"We just can't put 40 minutes together," Brown said. "Until we do that, we'll be right back in the NIT again."
 

Williams' status in limbo because of legal troubles
Court records show Carol City star Willie Williams has been arrested 10 times and has been on probation since July 2002.
BY MANNY NAVARRO AND SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN
mnavarro@herald.com

Carol City High linebacker Willie Williams' controversial recruiting trip to Gainesville last weekend might have violated his probation, which could affect his status with the University of Miami.

According to court records provided online by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Williams has been arrested 10 times, and his involvement in three separate incidents in Gainesville last weekend might have violated his probation for a burglary that took place in Pembroke Pines in July 2002.

Williams, now 19, was a juvenile in every case, mostly theft related. He was tried as an adult at 17 for his last burglary arrest, when he pleaded no contest to a charge of stealing stereo equipment valued at $3,800 from Pembroke Pines Seńor Stereo. He was set to finish his 18-month probationary period next Wednesday.

His future with UM, for which he signed a letter of intent Wednesday on national signing day, is unclear.

''The fact that he was involved in three incidents in a span of a few hours is serious trouble,'' said Gainesville state attorney Bill Cervone. ``If you combine the three incidents, he could get up to seven years [in jail]. As a first-time offender, that definitely wouldn't happen. But if he has a prior history, that's another thing. It would affect what we do.''

WILLIAMS QUIET

When reached by phone at his house Thursday evening, Williams said his lawyer had advised him not to talk. However, on Wednesday, Williams denied wrongdoing.

Public defender Paul Lazarus, who is representing Williams, said: ``Right now, he hasn't been charged or arrested. It assures that his [probation] hasn't been broken. The fact somebody has made an allegation against him doesn't mean it's a violation of [probation]. He's a fine young man, and I expect him to have a fine career at UM.''

UM spokesman Mark Pray said football coach Larry Coker was unavailable for comment Thursday. Athletic director Paul Dee said, ``We're still in the process of gathering information.''

Pray told The Herald that UM was ``not aware of any probation.''

''We do background checks, but they are limited because for the most part we are dealing with juveniles,'' Pray added. ``All prospective student-athletes are checked through their schools and the people who deal with them on a day-to-day basis.

``The reports on Willie were all very positive.''

Cervone, who noted it would take at least two weeks to press charges should his office decide to do so, said two complaints were filed against Williams on Wednesday and another is on its way. Two involve misdemeanor battery -- one for allegedly hugging a female against her will late Friday night and the other for allegedly punching a Gainesville man about three hours later at a downtown night club early Saturday.

The third complaint, according to police reports, involves Williams allegedly discharging three fire extinguishers at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center and classifies as a felony. The police reports say Williams was identified in photographs by Joanna Braganza and her boyfriend David A. Cohen, as well as by Akeem Thompson, the man he allegedly punched at the nightclub. Police said Williams admitted to hugging the girl and discharging the extinguishers.

It is unknown how much UM coaches know about Williams' legal history or if they are aware Williams attended Bay Point, a boarding school for teenage juvenile delinquents, for one year.

Williams, 6-2 and 230 pounds, is a Parade All-American listed by recruiting analysts as the nation's No. 1 outside linebacker. The Carol City coaching staff confirmed he is a full academic qualifier with a 1070 SAT score and a 3.0 GPA.

''Our admissions office does have a lot of confidence in what the athletics department is doing in recruiting students,'' said Ed Gillis, UM director of admission. ``Obviously, [coaches are] very concerned with the character of young men and young women they have to work with for four or five years. It's not in their best interest to bring in people who are trouble.''

Gillis said if it is known a student or potential student has been convicted of a crime, an investigation is done through the dean of students office. ''We always have the right to withdraw an offer of admission for the right reasons,'' he said.

This is not the first time a UM recruit has run into trouble after signing day. In 2002, Miami Edison linebacker Nate Harris was charged with a first-degree felony for his involvement in an armed robbery. He served six months in a boot camp, lost his scholarship and now plays at a junior college in Oklahoma.