'Biscuit' hopes to make gravy
By Doug Doughty
Only three of 22 quarterbacks at the combine this year scored higher on the Wonderlic than Marques Hagans.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Marques Hagans had vowed to celebrate his birthday Dec. 29 only if Virginia defeated Minnesota in the Music City Bowl, and he was true to his word.

"I was up till the sun came up," said Hagans, named most valuable player after Virginia defeated Minnesota 34-31.

Apparently, the celebration continued into the New Year. When Hagans visited Arizona for a training session with other 2006 NFL Draft hopefuls, he weighed more than 220 pounds.

Nobody had complained about the way Hagans moved during the regular season, when he was listed at 5-foot-10 and 211 pounds, but the player nicknamed "biscuit" was turning into a roll.

The truth be known, Hagans isn't quite 5-10, as scouts learned Tuesday when he was measured at UVa's annual pro timing day. It turns out, he was only 5-9, but there was some good news that came along with the measurement.

Hagans, who is being scouted as an all-purpose player, weighed 198. In approximately two months, he had lost close to 25 pounds.

And, he didn't have to starve to do it.

"I got to eat," Hagans said. "I had to watch what I ate. My intake was different. I took a class on how to watch my calories and how to shop for groceries. They took me shopping."

Hagans went to Arizona with one-time Hampton High School teammate Jimmy Williams from Virginia Tech. Nutritionists have been trying to put weight on Williams, a cornerback for the Hokies who may play safety in the NFL.

The hardest part was "watching everybody else around me eat hamburgers," Hagans said. "When we'd go out, they'd eat at the buffet and I'd have to stick to the salad bar."

Hagans' roommate at a training session arranged by agent Ethan Locke was Laurence Maroney, who had been across the field from him as Minnesota's tailback in the Music City Bowl.

"He was a big teaser, too," Hagans said. "It was kind of hard, but I did get into a routine after a week."

Besides, Hagans could always come back at Maroney with mention of the bowl game, where Hagans passed for a career-high 358 yards and accounted for 384 yards, the highest total-offense figure by an ACC player during the 2005 season.

Hagans had lost most of his postseason flab by the time he arrived at the NFL Scouting Combine, held Feb. 22-28 in Indianapolis. He weighed in at 202 but the best time he ran for 40 yards was a 4.59.

He subsequently worked on his technique and had clockings in the low 4.5s Tuesday, when he also did a variety of drills -- catching passes, throwing passes and even running the ball.

"Some teams want to see me as a third-down back coming out of the backfield," said Hagans, who caught 28 passes in 2003, when he was also the back-up quarterback to Matt Schaub.

UVa coach Al Groh asked: "How many guys could say, over the course of their careers, that they returned punts, they were the personal protector on the punt team, caught passes out of the backfield, caught passes as a wide receiver, threw the ball and ran with it?"

It doesn't hurt that Hagans correctly answered 37 of 50 questions on the Wonderlic test. That was the aptitude test on which it was first reported that Texas quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up Vince Young had scored a six, a number subsequently revised to 16, then 15.

According to Chapel Hill, N.C.-based researcher Mac Mirabile, only three of 22 quarterbacks at the combine this year scored higher on the Wonderlic than Hagans.

"I see him as a Seneca Wallace type," said Carolina Panthers director of college scouting Tony Softly. "Don't discount him as a quarterback just because he's short. There are 32 flavors in this league and somebody's going to give him a shot at one of those positions."

Wallace, a former Iowa State star who serves as a back-up quarterback for Seattle, is listed at 5-11, 197. An ex-college quarterback with whom Hagans more frequently is compared is 5-10, 192-pound Antwaan Randle El, a wide receiver for the NFL champion Pittsburgh Steelers this past season.

This past week, Randle El signed with the Washington Redskins for seven years and a reported $31 million.

"I think our careers have been very similar," said Hagans, who originally committed to Indiana, which viewed him as a Randle El clone. "If I can get to the Super Bowl and then sign a big free-agent contract, that would be a storybook ending, wouldn't it?"
 

NFL travels to C'ville to see The Brick
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 22, 2006

The Cage could have been renamed "Scouts R Us" on Tuesday when Virginia's football program hosted it's Pro Timing Day, the Cavaliers' Cliff Notes version of the NFL Combine.
With about a dozen players from its 2005 squad and a few more from the '04 team working out, the main attraction was The Brick. He showed up at 6-foot-5, 305 pounds and wowed scouts from practically every NFL team.

We're talking about D'Brickashaw Ferguson, a sure-fire, Top 10 pick in next month's NFL Draft. The former Virginia All-American is considered a rare commodity as a potential superstar at left offensive tackle in the pros. He's the guy that some team will entrust to literally have their quarterback's back for the next seven to 12 years.

"I don't have a good meter on where I might go, even how high," Ferguson said. "With the recent trades and free agency, you just don't know."

The next Boselli?

There's some speculation the Wahoo could go as high as the No. 2 player in the draft now that the New Orleans Saints have signed free agent Drew Brees and are no longer in the market for a quarterback. There's plenty of logic behind such a choice and the Saints' director of college scouting, Rick Reiprish, was on hand to get a close-up look at Ferguson.

A little research revealed that Reiprish drafted tackle Tony Boselli out of Southern Cal in 1995, making Boselli the Jacksonville Jaguars' first-ever draft pick. So, drafting Ferguson wouldn't be a stretch for Reiprish, it would be a sound investment.

"I think that Coach [Al] Groh is right ? left tackles come along every so often and have the physical size for the position you're looking for," Reiprish said. "Not that he has to be 330 pounds. You can play in our league at left tackle at 300, 295 or 290 because you're not going to face 330- or 340-pound players that guards face, and you're not going to face the bigger defensive ends."

A sleeker player

The Saints scout believes that Ferguson's athletic ability and his upper body strength will allow him to play at less than 300 pounds because he is so athletic and moves his feet so well.

"And, he's one of those guys who can pass block," Reiprish said. "You feel very confident in saying that he's a good pass blocker."

That's a pretty big deal on any level, but an absolute must in the NFL, where the left tackle protects the star quarterback's blind side from the pass rush.

Even the teams that don't have a realistic shot at Ferguson had to come and get a glimpse of what they are missing, including the Carolina Panthers, who pick 27th.

"We had to come see him," said Tony Softli, director of scouting for the Charlotte-based Panthers. "What I do is

judge his DNA and his DNA is what he does on film. Coming out here and watching him move and work out, well,you've just got to see it. He's going to go in the top 10 picks. It's just fun to come out and watch a very good football player."

Ferguson skipped last month's NFL Combine in Indianapolis because it came too soon after the Senior Bowl, the month before. There, Groh said, "Brick was about the highest rated player in years to show up and play. What he showed in Mobile was that when there's competition, he shows up."

Ferguson decided that he wanted to make sure that he gave himself the best opportunity to show his best to scouts and figured the Combine wouldn't allow him to do so. Having graduated early (in only three and-a-half years), he has been free to work out in Orlando recently and has added 10 pounds of muscle.

That showed Tuesday when he performed 26 reps of a 225-pound bench press, ran back-to-back 5.09 times in the 40-yard dash, and tossed in a 30-inch vertical jump. There also was some kind of a shuttle thing that he either did amazingly well in or flubbed, but as one scout looked to another and chuckled, "Hey, it doesn't really matter."

They already knew the guy was primo.

Most of the scouts have been aware of The Brick for a long time, although Tuesday was the first time to see him work out since the Senior Bowl. Tuesday only reaffirmed what they already knew.

"He had really good practices down at the Senior Bowl," Reiprish said. "But if you saw him during the year and watched him in games, it wasn't anything that you didn't expect to see. A lot of coaches, general managers and office people were impressed with him [in Mobile] because it was the first time they saw him. To me, it was another practice. He practiced exceptionally well and what he did was pass protect."

But there's more to Ferguson than just his football ability. The Saints love his character.

"He epitomizes what you're looking for in a college football player," Reiprish said. "When you bring in kids like him, your program is automatically going to be at a higher level. Looking at him at the next level, it's the same way. We have a lot of players in our league that bring a lot to the community and do other things outside of football and this guy fits right into that kind of character mold."

Ferguson said he felt blessed for all the accolades that have come his way and is excited about bringing his family to the NFL Draft event. He's planning on bringing all the family and friends the league will allow.

While he doesn't know exactly where he'll go in the draft, he does know one thing for sure. He has already picked out his suit.

"I'll be looking sharp," Ferguson grinned. "Be sure to tune in because I have something special for all of ya'll."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Mar 22, 2006

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Virginia, which traditionally has held its spring football games on Saturday afternoons, is trying something different this year. U.Va., which begins drills next Wednesday, will play its spring game Friday, April 21, starting at 7:30 p.m.

That was the word from sixth-year coach Al Groh at the Cavaliers' pro-timing day, which attracted about 25 NFL scouts yesterday.

After U.Va.'s promotions and marketing department pointed out that Friday nights have proved popular with fans of the women's basketball team, Groh recalled, "I said, 'Sure, we'll give it a shot.'"

As was the case last year, the Cavaliers will have less than a full complement of players this spring. Several players are dealing with academic or other issues and won't be allowed to practice. Others are injured, including freshman linebacker Rashawn Jackson, who's coming off shoulder surgery. Also, oft-injured tailback Michael Johnson had his right foot in a boot yesterday and is not expected to participate fully this spring.

AUDITIONING: Tailback Wali Lundy, who tested well at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month, chose not to take part in any drills yesterday. Offensive tackle Brad Butler, who had surgery on his left shoulder Jan. 3, participated on a limited basis.

About a dozen other former Cavaliers, including D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Brian Barthelmes, Marques Hagans, Kai Parham, Brennan Schmidt and Ottowa Anderson, jumped and sprinted and ran shuttle drills for the NFL scouts. Players also were asked to bench-press 225 pounds as many times as possible.

Hagans opted not to lift. Schmidt led the way with 28 repetitions, followed by Ferguson with 26. All-ACC kicker Connor Hughes, who weighs about 170 pounds, didn't have to do the bench press, but he volunteered. Hughes pumped out 12 reps, earning raucous ovations from teammates in the McCue Center weight room.

"I'm just trying to show the scouts that I'm an athlete, just like everybody else," said Hughes, who was a standout quarterback at Lafayette High in Williamsburg. "I figured that would be a good way to show I'm competitive."

Hagans, when apprised of Hughes' performance, said, "I've always said Connor's one of the best athletes on the team, if not the best. Nothing he does surprises me."

GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES: The 6-5, 305-pound Ferguson, a first-team All-American tackle, is considered a lock to be one of the first 10 players drafted next month. He ran the 40-yard dash in about 5.1 seconds, a showing that further impressed the scouts.

Barely faster than Ferguson was all-ACC linebacker Kai Parham, who's about 6-3 and weighs 249 pounds. Parham's average time in the 40 yesterday was around 4.95 seconds, and his lack of speed may cause him to drop into the draft's late rounds.

BUSINESS AS USUAL: The men's lacrosse team is ranked No.1 nationally, but nobody in Dom Starsia's program seems too excited about that status.

"There's a calm satisfaction with what's going on, a very workmanlike atmosphere," Starsia said. "I think that everybody understands it's March. Anybody that's getting too excited about ratings in March, that's fool's gold."

U.Va., 8-0 for the first time in school history, plays host to ninth-ranked Johns Hopkins (3-2) on Saturday afternoon at Klockner Stadium. Hopkins beat Virginia in overtime in last year's NCAA semifinals and went on to win the national title.

INTO THE POOL: In women's swimming and diving, U.Va.'s streak of seven top-20 finishes at the NCAA championships ended in 2005, when coach Mark Bernardino's team came in 26th.

The Cavaliers finished in a tie for 23rd at this year's meet, which ended last weekend in Athens, Ga.

"We thought that [a top-25 finish] was a realistic goal for this team," Bernardino said. "It's a definite step in the right direction. Now, we'll move toward pushing back into the top 20."

The U.Va. men's team, which has won eight consecutive ACC titles, sent nine swimmers to the NCAA championships, which start tomorrow and run through Saturday in Atlanta. The Cavaliers placed 13th at last year's NCAA meet, their seventh consecutive finish in the top 15.

"Our goal is to continue to finish in the top 15," Bernardino said. "In a perfect world, a top-10 finish would be spectacular, but from ninth to 15th it's going to be a very tight race."

WELCOME ADDITION: It didn't take long for junior outfielder Brandon Marsh to impress baseball coach Brian O'Connor.

"He showed signs in the fall of being a very, very good hitter," O'Connor said last week.

Marsh, a transfer from Young Harris Junior College in Georgia, hasn't cooled off. He leads 24th-ranked U.Va. (19-4) with a .517 batting average. In four games last week, including a three-game sweep of Clemson, Marsh hit .600, going 9 for 15. He also scored five runs and stole two bases.

U.Va. plays host to Marshall today at 4 p.m. - Jeff White
 

Virginia puts winning streak on line against Herd
After sweeping No. 2 Clemson, Cavs are now ranked in all major national polls; Marshall has won four games in a row
Martin Barna, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

After sweeping three straight games from No. 2 Clemson this weekend, the Virginia men's baseball team continues its 10-game home-stand this afternoon when it hosts the Marshall Thundering Herd (8-7) at Davenport Field.

Though not on the team's original schedule, today's contest was added earlier this week to make up for last night's postponed matchup with Liberty, which was called off because of inclement weather.

The No. 21 Cavaliers (19-4, 4-2 ACC) have been on a tear through the first half of the regular season, winning 11 of their last 13 games and four straight in the conference. As a result of the team's stellar play, Virginia has earned a spot in several of this week's national top-25 polls for the first time this year.

Entering today's matchup with Marshall, however, the Cavaliers appear less concerned with the latest rankings than they are with finding a way to sustain the momentum of this weekend's wins over Clemson.

"I don't think rankings have anything to do with it," junior outfielder Tim Henry said. "We had a good weekend and have something to build on. It's early in the season, and rankings don't really matter -- it's just a bunch of guys voting on teams."

A more pressing concern for Virginia will be slowing down the Thundering Herd, which is currently riding a four-game win streak of its own after sweeping the Cleveland State Vikings this past weekend. Marshall is led by senior southpaw Chris Koutsavlis (3-1, 2.92 ERA) and junior infielder Brendan Murphy (6 HR, 27 RBI).

If the Cavaliers are able to produce a victory in this afternoon's contest, it may be largely because of the contributions of a talent-laden class of freshmen infielders. Second baseman David Adams, shortstop Greg Miclat and third baseman Jeremy Farrell have quickly acclimated themselves to the college game and have been able to play a substantial role in the team's recent success.

"I knew when we recruited [them] that they were very mature young men for 18-year-olds," coach Brian O'Connor said of the young trio. "Farrell grew up in a major league clubhouse, Adams played at the highest level in Florida and Miclat comes from good baseball as well, so they are not in awe of all of this. They proved that last weekend -- they're not backing down from anyone."

In addition to the impressive performances from the squad's younger players, juniors Casey Lambert and Brandon Marsh each garnered individual ACC accolades for their play last week. Lambert was the conference's Pitcher of the Week and Marsh was the Co-Player of the Week.

"People are going to have an eye out for us now," Lambert said. "We're trying to build ourselves up as 'the hunted' but after two weeks in a row of playing against the top teams in the country, I think people are going to see what we're capable of doing."

The first pitch for this afternoon's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Davenport Field.

 

Cavaliers face Hokies in first outdoor match
Virginia brings a three-match winning streak to rival Tech but has not played since Feb. 24
Sam Dreiman, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

With only 11 matches remaining in the regular season, the No. 11-ranked Virginia men's tennis team will kick off the second half of the season on outdoor courts this afternoon when they face No. 56-ranked Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

The Cavaliers return to action after a three-week lapse in match play and bring with them a three-match winning streak.

Although this is the second-longest winning streak for Virginia this year, the indoor season's results were somewhat less satisfying than expected for most of the players.

"It didn't go as well as we expected," senior Rylan Rizza said. "After starting out high in the rankings, we were a little disappointed, and thought we could do much better than we performed."

The Cavaliers posted a 7-3 record prior to the National Indoors Tournament, but won just three of their next five games. Others, however, feel that the team is in great position to finish strong.

"We're right where we need to be," coach Brian Boland said on the first half of the season. "We've had ups and downs, but it put us in a position we need to be in."

The team faced especially tough matches this season and has had several close ones that fell the wrong way by only one or two points. All this has made Virginia a stronger squad, ready to go to the outdoor courts with a deep-seeded will to win.

"The first half of the season needed to happen," senior Nick Meythaler said. "Last year we had a great run, and maybe it was too easy to accomplish our goals -- we needed to experience some adversity. With the record we have, it'll humble you quickly, and we got the fight back. We're not overlooking any team."

The Cavaliers have been working especially hard not only for this afternoon's match against the Hokies, but also for the rest of the season.

"We've improved our focus in practice," said Rizza on what the team has been doing to prepare for a strong finish. "We've realized that there's not much time left and we have the best team we've had in four years -- this is it."

Coach Boland agreed with Rizza, asserting that the practices this past week have been the best the team has had all season and that he is extremely pleased with the chemistry of the team.

While there are some who view this match as just another stepping stone to becoming a better team and working toward a championship, others have a different opinion.

"Wahoos don't like losing to Virginia Tech," Meythaler said. "There's a definite rivalry, and it's good for the University to have pride" in beating them.

 

Can Va. avoid trap on top with Hopkins, UM on tap?
Mike Preston

There is a lot of prestige with being declared No. 1 but also a trap door that has swallowed up the top teams within two weeks of earning that distinction. Virginia's lacrosse team became No. 1 on Monday, and Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia is concerned about a quick fall.

Preseason favorite Duke fell in the second week of the season to Maryland, and Maryland's reign at the top was only 8 days old when the Terps fell to Bucknell. Virginia (8-0) doesn't want to suffer the same fate, but this seems like the best time for it to happen.

Guess who is coming to dinner Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.?

It's none other than No. 10 Johns Hopkins, the defending national champion.

"It's like Hopkins wrote the script," said Starsia, in his 14th season at Virginia. "We get the No. 1 ranking, and they're coming in and finally getting healthy again. This is a dangerous situation.

"It would be just as arrogant of me to say the No. 1 ranking means nothing as it would for me to say it means everything," Starsia said. "But I have a senior-oriented team here, and we all understand that you don't win a championship in February or March. That's when you lay the groundwork, but you win the national title in May."

The lacrosse world, though, is looking to see if there is a clear-cut favorite to gain some separation from the rest of the field. People thought Princeton was back near the top until the Tigers lost to Hofstra last week. Another traditional great, Hopkins, has two losses, and No. 16 Syracuse has three.

Navy looked good until last weekend, when the Mids lost to Colgate, of all teams. That was unimaginable, almost as bad as Maryland's losing to Bucknell.

But Virginia has a chance to beat Hopkins on Saturday and No. 4 Maryland the next week.

"You don't coach differently when you're No. 1, but you do talk to the players a little differently," Starsia said. "Right now, we can't be any better than 8-0. But around here, and as long as I've been in this program, we never talk about going undefeated, not with the schedule we play, not with Hopkins this week, and Maryland the next.

"Those scores from last week gave me the perfect pre-game speech before we played Towson Sunday," Starsia said. "I told our kids you don't have to be a genius to figure out what is going on here. There is a lot more talent and parity in lacrosse than ever before. If you don't play hard and take care of your own business, someone can easily bite you."

It's advice that was well taken, but not necessarily needed. The Cavaliers have an outstanding group of seniors who have been through just about everything. They won a national championship as freshmen, but had a down year by Virginia standards as sophomores. Last year, the Cavaliers had a heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Hopkins in overtime in the NCAA semifinals.

The senior class has run the gamut of emotions, so being No. 1 isn't unsettling. The most impressive thing about this Virginia team is that the Cavaliers play the sport the way it was supposed to be played. They play like Syracuse, and run and run and run, similar to the old UNLV basketball teams.

The Cavaliers actually have fast breaks. They actually pressure teams defensively out past the restraining line. They don't make several dozen line changes during the game to slow the tempo like most modern-day teams, and you can watch a Virginia game without falling asleep.

Virginia has the nation's top scoring offense, averaging 15.4 goals. The Cavaliers have outshot opponents by a 428-212 margin and have outscored them 123-55. It's all about philosophy. Starsia doesn't just recruit lacrosse players, but athletes first, lacrosse players second, which is probably why they have that 412-278 advantage in ground balls. The Cavaliers are also unselfish, with 87 of their goals being assisted.

Star players?

There are seniors like attackmen Matt Poskay and Matt Ward, midfielder Kyle Dixon and defenseman Mike Culver. But there are young players like freshman defensemen Matt Kelly and Mike Timms and attackman Garrett Billings, as well as sophomore Ben Rubeor.

When this offense is on, it's show time.

"You should never have every kid back on the team from a year ago," Starsia said. "You need the new faces, the new infusion of blood. Sometimes we move the ball so well, and I see so much of it, I might take that for granted. Sometimes, I hear it [how well the Cavaliers move the ball] from other coaches. I hear the word unselfish used to describe our team. We've been preaching to keep everybody involved. We've got a lot of different weapons, and if you just get away from just being concerned about yourself, we have a chance to be pretty good."

In Virginia's case, it has gotten new athletes to complement the old ones. Combined, the Cavaliers should have enough talent to make a strong championship run. But that's in the future. This week, they're just trying to avoid the trap door that has swallowed up other No. 1 teams very quickly.