Class of 2007 filling up with talent
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
April 29, 2006

Virginia is hoping that recent commitments from a pair of preseason top 100 high school football prospects will only enhance its recruiting class of 2007.
When quarterback Peter Lalich and strong safety J'Courtney Williams both committed within three days of one another this week, it gave the Cavaliers a little extra fuel in terms of reaching out to other high-profile prospects. There's plenty of targets out there, such as Durham's Greg Littles, described by one recruiter as a "younger Reggie Bush."

Outside the lines

But Al Groh's recruiters are also known for pursuing players who haven't hit the national limelight, such as Branden Albert, the big offensive lineman from the Baltimore 'burbs. Nobody really wanted Albert, who ended up starting at Virginia as a true freshman.

Veteran Wahoo assistant Bob Price, who was elevated to assistant recruiting coordinator in the offseason, has come up with one of those guys who isn't a high school All-American or five-star prospect. But Virginia believes that Mark Ambrose (no relation to former Wahoo Dick Ambrose) of Mt. Carmel, Pa., can be one of those difference-makers.

Ambrose, who at 6-foot-6, 225-pounds (4.6 speed), has been described as a larger Tom Santi, who has been an effective, playmaking tight end for the Cavaliers for the past two seasons. Price should know all about Ambrose because Price is also UVa's tight end coach and Pennsylvania has been part of his recruiting territory for a long, long time.

Virginia's sixth early commitment, Ambrose said he hung out with Santi and the other tight ends upon his two visits here this spring, including the Spring Game. He liked the way he fit in and how easy it was to talk to Cavaliers coaches.

Tight end U

He also liked the way that UVa uses its tight ends and after having watched Santi and Jon Stupar last season and seeing John Phillips' nice snare in the Spring Game, he could envision himself doing the same somewhere down the road.

"Virginia's coaches believe my potential is at tight end (he currently plays wide receiver and defensive end in high school), and that I can easily add weight to my body," Ambrose said Friday. "I always had thought about being a blocking tight end, but the fact that Virginia throws to its tight ends really excited me."

Coach Al Groh has widely advertised that any tight end prospect in the country should take a look at Virginia before they decide on anywhere else. With the success of Heath Miller and the three ends that have followed him in the Cavalier offense, it's easy to understand why.

Ambrose had already received offers from Syracuse and Temple. Other schools such as Boston College, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Penn State were starting to take a closer look. But Virginia beat them to the punch.

"They were the first school to offer me [before Syracuse and Temple]," Ambrose said.

"But after talking with my coach, he told me that other schools would offer, to think about it for awhile."

That's exactly what the youngster did, but the more he thought about the opportunity at Virginia, the more he didn't want it to slip through his fingers. The Cavaliers have announced they're going to be very selective with this recruiting class, which is already starting to fill up.

So, once Ambrose and his parents toured the UVa campus and met with all the right people, it was pretty much a done deal.

The fact that Lalich, one of the nation's highest-profiled passers, committed a few days ahead didn't hurt either.

"Actually that did have some influence on my decision," Ambrose said of Lalich's commitment. "My decision was still in the air until Saturday when I met [Lalich]. When he committed, I told myself this would be a great opportunity to play with a great quarterback."

According to Ambrose, the UVa coaches like his size and speed and believe that in the Cavaliers' version of the West Coast offense he can put a lot of pressure on defensive backs, just the way Santi, Stupar and Phillips are doing, just the way Miller did.

"I'm honored to be part of such a potentially great recruiting class," the Pennsylvania prospect said. "It's going to be real exciting once this class comes together."

Lalich said earlier this week that his intent is to help recruit as many quality players he can to help Virginia build toward winning the ACC Championship during his career. It was no secret that UVa's coaches had hoped for an early Lalich commitment to spark a strong recruiting class.

The next few weeks or months could be pretty interesting to see just what Lalich's reputation can do for the Wahoos.

 

Virginia's Other Draft Day Hopefuls
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 29, 2006

Former UVa offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson enters today's NFL Draft an almost sure lock to be selected in the first round. Several other former Cavaliers hope to join Ferguson among those selected to fill roles on NFL rosters.
Here's the rundown on the Cavalier players who might get their name gets called today.

Brian Barthelmes

Offensive Guard

6-foot-6, 296 pounds

40 Time: 5.15

THE SKINNY: Few players in the draft can say that they played as many positions on the offensive line during their college careers. Barthelmes, also known as "Bart" around UVa, played tackle and guard before shifting to center for his senior season.

Barthelmes will be a borderline second-day selection, but with his versatility to play multiple positions in a time of need and ability to play through pain should guarantee him a spot on a roster for training camp.

Brad Butler

Offensive Tackle

6-foot-8, 303 pounds

40-yard dash: 5.3

THE SKINNY: Butler could wind up becoming a politician in Virginia. That career will have to wait for now. Butler is chasing a different dream, one that includes prolonging his football career. Butler was overshadowed during his career by D'Brickashaw Ferguson, but always drew raves reviews from Al Groh. He started 31-straight games during his career at right tackle before serving a one-game suspension for a late block against Boston College. Butler, who has a wide wingspan and above-average lateral movement, is considered a lock to be taken on the second day and could go as high as the fourth round. The Carolina Panthers, among other teams, have expressed interest and could take Butler in the fourth, fifth or sixth round.

Marques Hagans

5-foot-9, 215 pounds

Wide Receiver

40 Time: 4.8

THE SKINNY: From quarterback to punt returner to wideout, Hagans did everything he could to help out at Virginia. He even made an interception. That same mentality may make him attractive as a second-day selection in the NFL Draft.

"How many guys can say that during the course of their career they returned punts, were the personal protector on the punt team, covered kickoffs, caught passes out of the backfield, caught passes as a wide receiver, threw the ball and ran with it?" UVa coach Al Groh said. "That says a lot about his versatility, his competitiveness and his willingness to do whatever it takes."

Hagans best chance to make an NFL roster, at least initially, will be as a multi-purpose player. Hagans caught 30 passes for 273 yards during his Virginia career. Several teams appear to be interested in the Hampton native, including the Steelers, who he worked out for.

WORTH NOTING: Antawn Randle El, one of the top wideouts in the NFL, was the host for Hagans during a recruiting trip to Indiana. Hagans was expected to be the heir apparent for Randle El, as QB at IU, but after attending Fork Union, he landed at UVa. Now, Hagans hopes to make a similar Randle El-like splash in the NFL.

Connor Hughes

Placekicker

5-foot-10, 172 pounds

THE SKINNY: Hughes has been rated as one of the top three kickers in the NFL Draft. That does not mean Hughes will get drafted, not many kickers do, but the right-footed star will end up in training camp, one way or another.

"I will be happy no matter what the outcome is this weekend," Hughes said. "I am just excited to find a city that I know I'm going into camp battling for a job. We have had a good deal of interest and I'm excited about what is going on."

The biggest knock on Hughes deals with his ability to kickoff in the NFL. As a senior, Hughes only got one chance to kickoff. That kick, which came in a rout over Temple, turned into a touchback. Hughes, who made 66 field goals at UVa, admitted that he has worked out with Kurt Smith, who handled Virginia's kickoffs the past few seasons.

"I have been working a lot on my kickoffs and it has really helped having Kurt to work out together with all the time," Hughes said.

WORTH NOTING: Hughes said he would spend draft weekend in Williamsburg with his family. On Saturday, he is planning on playing golf. On Monday, Hughes will attend his final class at UVa.

Wali Lundy

Running Back

5-foot-10, 214 pounds

40 Time: 4.55

The SKINNY: A nagging foot injury plagued Lundy during his final season and hurt his stock. Despite the injury, Lundy still managed to set the Atlantic Coast Conference career touchdown record with 52. During his 49-game career, Lundy averaged 4.3 yards per carry, while rushing for 3,193 yards. Draft experts have wavered on where Lundy will be selected, but since he has size and speed and is an above-average blocker, an early second-day selection remains a possibility. A perfect situation for Lundy could be with the Philadelphia Eagles, his favorite team growing up in New Jersey.

Kai Parham

6-foot-3, 256 pounds

Linebacker

40 Time: 5.05

THE SKINNY: Parham left school early with his undergraduate degree in hand and visions dancing in his head of being drafted in the second or third round. After a poor showing at the NFL Combine, Parham may have to wait a little longer. To Parham's credit, linebackers who have played in the 3-4 typically turn heads with NFL teams that use that style. If Parham plays in a 4-3 defense he will likely play as a strong-side linebacker.

Parham was a tackling machine during his career at UVa - he finished 19th in school history with 272 tackles. Parham also had nine sacks as a senior, while playing without fellow inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks for much of the season.

WORTH NOTING: Virginia coach AL Groh remains close friends with New England coach Bill Belichick. Don't be shocked if the Patriots draft Parham if he slips far enough on Sunday.

Kwakou Robinson

6-foot-4, 338 pounds

Defensive Tackle

40 Time: 5.28

THE SKINNY: Robinson entered Virginia with a ton of hype. Unfortunately, he never lived up to that as he struggled to consistently find his way onto the field for the Cavaliers. Robinson has an "NFL-type" body. That should help him occupy multiple running lanes and blockers. Speed, however, may become an issue at the next level. Look for Robinson to go undrafted and get a shot at making an impression at a training camp. One NFL expert ranked Robinson the 34th-best defensive tackle prospect for the draft.

Brennan Schmidt

6-foot-3, 302 pounds

Defensive End

THE SKINNY: Schmidt has been considered as an Iron Man by many and rightly so. At Virginia, Schmidt started 51 games, setting a school record and tying N.C. State quarterback Philip Rivers and Maryland guard C.J. Brooks for the ACC record. Schmidt was a team captain in 2004 and '05 and is considered a player of high character.

Draft experts said Schmidt needed to add bulk. He has done that. They also said that Schmidt needed to become versatile. He has done that as well, working out in the offseason at various positions on the offensive line, including center.

Schmidt said he has talked to a number of interested teams including the Redskins and Patriots, who mentioned that they like the fact that he played in a 3-4 defense. Schmidt said he did not have a preference on being drafted or signing as an unrestricted free agent. "It really is just a matter of pride," he said.

WORTH NOTING: Schmidt originally planned on spending today in Charlottesville. That plan was nixed. "I was thinking about going to Foxfield, but I couldn't do it," Schmidt said. "My parents thought it would be a good idea for me to come home. I thought they were right." Schmidt will watch the draft from his parent's farm.

Kurt Smith

6-foot, 184 pounds

Placekicker

THE SKINNY: One online scouting report summed up Smith accurately. "Kurt Smith is the best kicker in America that you didn't know about," the Sportsrant.com wrote. The reason Smith is flying under the radar? At Virginia he was a kickoff specialist, while Connor Hughes handled the placekicking duties. Smith, who had 38 touchbacks as a senior, scored 43 points as rookie in 2002 before giving way to Hughes.

Smith did not hire an agent and will probably go undrafted, but he has drawn interest from the Chargers and Lions, among others, and should get an invitation to a training camp.

Bryan White

6-foot-1, 237 pounds

Linebacker

THE SKINNY: The chances of White being drafted are very slim. That's just fine with White. All he wants is a chance to enter a training camp with a team to prove that he can play the game and excel on special teams, like Oakland Raiders LB and former UVa player Isaiah Ekejiube did this season in the NFL. White missed the 2004 season with a back injury, but returned for a fifth-year as a graduate student at UVa.
 

Cavs pitch past Terps on road
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 29, 2006

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Sean Doolittle had ample reason to complain. Instead he took the high road.
Pitching with a no-hitter in the sixth inning, Maryland's No. 9 hitter, Dan Benick, dropped down a bunt single.

Doolittle got the last laugh - and the win as he struck out a career-high 13 batters in 6.1 innings and belted a two-run homer in the third inning in Virginia's 6-0 win over Maryland in the opening game of the series.

UVa (36-10, 14-8 ACC) took its 10th straight game over Maryland (20-26, 7-18 ACC) with the win.

Doolittle (8-1) allowed only two hits in the game and set the tone early, striking out nine of the first 12 batters that he faced.

"Sean Doolittle was in complete command in the game from the start," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "The important thing that I saw in the game watching Sean pitch was that he didn't just do it with his fastball. He did it in the first two or three innings, but then he switched to being able to throwing breaking balls for strikes and getting outs and strikeouts with his breaking ball."

Doolittle was spotted an early lead as UVa scored two in the first, including one on a solo homer from Brandon Marsh. It was the first homer of the junior-college transfer's career at UVa.

In the third inning, Doolittle helped his own cause. He blasted the first pitch that he saw from Maryland's left-handed starter Casey Baron (1-5) over Shipley Field's centerfield fence. The blast drove in Greg Miclat, who had doubled to open the frame.

"With a left-hander pitching like that, a side-arm lefty with a little run on his fastball, I'm trying to work the middle and think centerfield and try to hit it right back where it came from," Doolittle said of his third homer of the season. "I just got under it and I felt like I had a good swing on it. I was able to barrel it up."

Doolittle pitched into the seventh before allowing a one-out single to Chad Durakis and a walk to Jordan Wilson.

Virginia reliever Micheal Schwimer pitched out of the jam and joined closer Casey Lambert in pitching the final 2.2 innings. Together, the three pitchers combined for a season-best 16 strikeouts.

Virginia added two insurance runs in the top-half of the ninth. With the bases loaded, cleanup hitter David Adams, who had three hits, delivered a two-run single to left.

The story of the game, however, was Doolittle. The sophomore admitted that he went against the odds in a number of at-bats.

"I was almost pitching backwards from what the scouting report would be," Doolittle said. "I was really concentrating on getting ahead of batters and trying to get two strikes on every hitter. They were swinging through a lot of fastballs and I was able to get ahead and use my slider."

O'Connor said he saw something from his starter that he hopes carries over into a pivotal contest with North Carolina's No. 1 starter Andrew Miller in two weeks.

"I thought he showed a great deal of maturity in his development," O'Connor said.

Virginia will look to take its fourth straight series tonight at 7 p.m.

 

Cavaliers rally to top Heels
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
April 29, 2006

BALTIMORE - There are all kinds of hugs.
There are the ones you give your sister or grandma. There are the ones you give your spouse. Then there are the ones you give a teammate after a huge win.

Those were the kind that were being exchanged by jubiliant University of Virginia players at M&T Bank Stadium on Friday.

Virginia showed incredible mental fortitude as it overcame a two-goal deficit late in regulation to defeat North Carolina in an overtime thriller, 12-10.

Behind seven goals from Tyler Leachman, UVa (14-3) advanced to the ACC Tournament championship game on Sunday against Duke. The Blue Devils defeated Maryland, 19-9, in the other semifinal.

"I'm incredibly proud of my team," said Virginia coach Julie Myers, whose team had lost to UNC during the regular season. "I think the girls on the field created chances and opportunities, and we just believed that the next shot was going to go and we were going to find a way to get the job done.

"I think from the goalkeeper to the line defenders, to the middies and attackers, they never doubted and never gave up hope."

It would have been so easy to give up.

After leading North Carolina the entire game, former St. Anne's-Belfield standout Meg Freshwater scored on a free-position shot with 11:50 remaining to put UNC up 8-7.

The Tar Heels then lulled Virginia to sleep. They stalled on offense for several minutes before Melissa McCarthy scored to make it 9-7 with only 3:37 remaining.

The Cavs looked like they were in serious trouble.

But Leachman stormed down the field and drew a foul. That earned her a free-position from close range, which she converted to pull Virginia to 9-8.

After winning the draw, Nikki Lieb scored on a rush just 13 seconds later to tie the game.

"I think the draw control [was] critical," said North Carolina coach Jenny Levy. "At that point you can't relax and think that you have the game won. I don't think my kids did, but the draws are a dog fight ? It was three straight draw controls that I thought really hurt us."

Just 33 seconds later, Leachman blew by defender Katie Brooks and scored to put Virginia back on top, 10-9. After the Cavs won the ensuing draw control, it looked like they would just be able to run out the clock.

However, with 21 seconds left, Kim Connors was trapped by a pair of North Carolina players and lost the ball.

"The ref called an illegal stick check," Connors explained. "Because it came out of my stick and went out of bounds, it was a turnover. I would contest that [call]."

The Tar Heels raced the ball downfield and tied the game up with just five seconds remaining on a goal by Brooks.

The UVa sideline looked stunned.

But in the overtime, Virginia goalie Ginger Miles made a nice save. That led to an offensive possession in which Kate Breslin scored on a free-position to put UVa up 11-10. Leachman tacked on an insurance goal with just a second remaining.

"To be honest, I never thought for a minute we were going to lose," Leachman said. "I think as a team we decided that we were going to come back and I think every single person on the field had some input on our win. We definitely deserved it. I'm proud of everyone on the team."

Leachman's seven goals tied an ACC Tournament record.

"She's a true shooter, a true attacker," Myers said. "I think it was a great way for a fourth-year player on the All-ACC team to really make a statement in the first round. Tyler's been doing it for us all year. We expect maybe a few more on Sunday. She did a great job and really made some gutsy shots there at the end."

One of the happiest people in the stadium was Connors.

"They tied it," she said, "but luckily we came back with a mentality in overtime that we were going to come back and win the game and not go down because of what had just happened in regulation."

 

A pick that makes sense
D'Brickashaw Ferguson is considered a sure bet for his next team.
Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson hopes to make a statement today at the NFL Draft: a fashion statement.

Five weeks ago, when he spoke with reporters during Virginia's pro timing day, Ferguson indicated he already had picked out a suit.

"I definitely will be looking sharp," Ferguson said. "You need to be tuning in because I've got something special for y'all."

If Ferguson's taste in clothes is anything like his playing style, his suit won't be too flashy but it will be of the highest quality.

"He's a no-maintenance, no-baggage player, on top of being a highly skilled player," UVa head coach Al Groh said. "That's quite a package for teams."

Many analysts believe Ferguson will be one of the first five players drafted, which would be the earliest selection for a Virginia player since Bill Dudley was taken No. 1 overall by Pittsburgh in 1942.

Analysts think Ferguson could go to New Orleans as early as the second pick, which might result in some deja vu for Saints fans.

Twenty years ago, the Saints used the sixth overall pick to select Virginia offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski, who spent 11 years in New Orleans and in 2003 was named to the Saints' hall of fame. That was the highest draft selection for a UVa player since Dudley.

A more likely scenario would send Ferguson to the New York Jets with the fourth pick, a selection that no doubt would make his family happy. The Fergusons' home in Freeport, N.Y., is 10 miles from the Jets' Long Island training facility.

No mock drafts have Ferguson lasting past the eighth pick, which belongs to Buffalo.

Ferguson clearly is the top offensive tackle in the draft, with uncommon speed for a large frame. When the scouts were in Charlottesville, Ferguson was timed in 5.08 seconds for 40 yards.

A month earlier, he went to the NFL combine in Indianapolis, where he was measured at 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds. He did not run at the combine, having taken part in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

"My thinking was not so much that I did so well at the Senior Bowl, but that I gave myself the best opportunity to show what I could do," he said.

Before the scouts came to Virginia, Ferguson spent six weeks in Florida with Tom Shaw, who was the strength-and-conditioning coach at Florida State before opening a training facility at Walt Disney World. His clients have included Deion Sanders, Michael Vick and one of Ferguson's fellow first-round hopefuls, Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler.

"The thing that obviously Brick showed in Mobile was that, when there's competition, he shows up," Groh said. "From what we understand, it was well-appreciated [by scouts] that he was the highest-rated player in years to show up and play."

That emulated his career at UVa, where he started his first 42 games, missed two with a sprained knee, then started the last seven.

While other players postponed graduation to train for the draft, Ferguson had no such obligations. Never redshirted, he earned a degree in religious studies in 312 years.

Ferguson, listed at 295 pounds before the season, was down to 289 on an updated list of heights and weights printed in UVa's Music City Bowl guide. He said he added 10 pounds of muscle after the season but isn't sure how much he wowed scouts at the Senior Bowl.

"I don't think people were shocked," he said. "I didn't get that feeling."

Nevertheless, he is viewed as one of the safest picks on the draft board.

"I really don't have a good meter on where I might go or even how high," he said. "Of course, with all the trades and free-agencies, you just don't know. It's so ambiguous right now."

Groh is expected to be at Radio City Music Hall in New York for the draft, as will Ferguson's parents and his older brother, Edwin Jr., a 2001 UVa graduate.

"Close friends, too," Ferguson said. "As many as they'll let me bring because it definitely will be a wonderful occasion, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Of course, the New York Jets fans have been known to make their presence known and hooted in 1989 when the Jets selected UVa linebacker Jeff Lageman with their first pick. New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica wrote Friday that the Jets should select Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart and suggested that Ferguson wouldn't be a "sexy" pick.

Wait till they see the suit.
 

O-linemen coming from familiar territory
All-state punter picks UVa
Doug Doughty

For the third year in a row, it appears that the state’s top offensive lineman will be coming from Northern Virginia.

Maybe this year he’ll stay in state.

In 2003, the state’s top offensive lineman was 6-5, 265-pound Pat Sheil from Centreville High School in Fairfax County. Sheil, rated the No. 6 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times, committed to Boston College after earlier favoring UVa and Virginia Tech at various points.

Last year, Alex Stadler (6-5, 295) from Liberty-Bealeton committed to Alabama. While Bealeton is in Fauquier Country and encroaches on central Virginia, it’s close enough to Washington, D.C., to be considered northern Virginia. And, while Stadler was only 15th on The Roanoke Times list., that was good enough to be the top-rated O-lineman in the state.

Stadler never really considered Virginia, which took its time in extending an offer, and while Virginia Tech was one of his finalists, the Hokies never really were considered his favorite.

That brings us to Andrew Nuss, a 6-6, 290-pounder from Stone Bridge, a rising Group AAA power in Loudoun County, rated one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, by the way.

Stone Bridge reached the Group AAA Division 5 championship game this year before losing to Hampton 15-8. Two of Stone Bridge’s top players were juniors – quarterback Terence Glenn, who was 19-of-31 for 238 yards in the championship game, and Nuss.

Glenn had more than 2,500 yards in total offense, according to coach Mickey Thompson, but is likely to go the Division I-AA route. He is mostly a runner in Stone Bridge’s single-wing scheme and is only 5-11, 170, which makes him a candidate for another position in college, “but I think he could be a pocket passer,” Thompson said.

Nuss, a 3.5 student, is the real thing. Thompson compares him to former Virginia nose tackle Andrew Hoffman, who played for Thompson at Broad Run. Hoffman is now preparing for his second season with the Cleveland Browns.

“He’s a big kid who’s able to get off the ball and just explode through people at the line of scrimmage,” Thompson said. “I know Hoffman was a nose tackle at UVa, but I thought he would be an offensive lineman in college.”

Some of the schools that have made scholarship offers to Nuss are Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia, West Virginia, Maryland, Duke and North Carolina State.

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Thompson said. “I met with him a year and a half ago and told him that he would be sitting on 10 or 11 offers at this point. He was too good an athlete.”

Thompson played at Virginia and Nuss’ parents are Maryland graduates, but neither connection is likely to influence Nuss’ selection, Thompson said.

If Nuss isn’t the No. 1 offensive lineman in the state, that distinction would go to another player from Northern Virginia, 6-5, 305-pound William Alvarez from Hylton High School in Prince William County.

Alvarez was rated the No. 6 junior in Virginia last year by The Roanoke Times (Nuss was unranked, which doesn’t mean anything) and has offers from Tech, UVa and Maryland, according to rivals.com.

IF VIRGINIA IS CONCERNED about its punting situation, it appears that the Cavaliers might have a new option.

Walk-on candidates who have been accepted to school include Nathan Rathjen, a 5-11, 172-pounder from Loudoun Valley in Purcellville. Rathjen was named first-team All-Group AAA by the coaches’ association.

“He’s the best punter I’ve ever been around and I’ve been in coaching for 27 years,” said Bruce Sheppard, who was on the staff for 19 years at James Wood in Winchester before spending six years at Loudoun Valley, which has moved up to Group AAA – just another sign of the Loudoun County population boom.

Sheppard said that Rathjen had five punts of 60 yards or more and that six of his punts were downed inside the 20. Rathjen, who has been invited to play in the Virginia High School Coaches’ Association all-star game, also made first-team All-National District as a linebacker.

Chris Gould averaged 39.3 yards per punt last year in his second season as the Cavaliers’ punter but coach Al Groh wants him to concentrate on field goals, extra points and kickoffs. Junior-college transfer Ryan Weigand showed leg strength in the Cavaliers’ spring game but was inconsistent.

CHRISTCHURCH SCHOOL coach Ed Homer said that wide receiver Kevin Anderson, rated the No. 61 prospect among the state’s seniors, signed with Division II Virginia State.

Homer, who has coached the Christchurch football team for 14 years, got his first Division I recruit this week when J’Courtney Williams committed to Virginia. Williams (6-4, 215) plays safety for Christchurch, but Homer estimates his speed at 4.65 or 4.68 for 40 yards, which means outside linebacker could be a possibility when he gets to UVa.

Two Roanoke-area players rated among the state’s top 100 seniors by The Roanoke Times, running back-defensive back Dwayne Priest from William Fleming and quarterback Danny Aiken from Cave Spring, are headed to Fork Union Military Academy next week for a combine that will enable them to get acquainted with the school. They will be joined by Priest’s Colonel teammate, linebacker Aaron Ward.

Priest was rated the No. 44 prospect in the state and Aiken was 95th. The No. 88 player on that list, Robert E. Lee-Staunton wide receiver Eli Crawford, will play basketball at Central Florida Community College in Ocala, Fla.

 

U.Va.: Cavs’ names may be slow in coming in draft
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 29, 2006

What have you run for me lately?

That’s the question NFL scouts seem to value most as draft day approaches. Forget a player’s body of work. A torpid time on the stopwatch can send him plunging down, or even off, a team’s draft board.

Take the case of former Virginia linebacker Kai Parham. The Princess Anne High graduate led the Cavaliers in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks in 2005 and was voted All-ACC.

Parham was considered a possible first-day selection. Then he clocked a reported 5.03 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, the slowest of 33 linebackers who ran. Seven of the 12 players at Parham’s position, inside linebacker, clocked 4.83 or faster.

“His slow times buried the guy,” said Clark Judge, the NFL columnist for CBS Sports-Line.

Parham’s plunge, and the problems experienced by his former running mate at inside linebacker, Ahmad Brooks, will make today less of a celebration than it might have been for Virginia. While there’s little doubt that tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson will become the highest Cavalier selection since “Bullet” Bill Dudley went No. 1 in 1942 — Ferguson could be selected as high as No. 2 — many rounds could pass before another Virginia name is called. The Cavaliers had a school record seven players selected last year.

Brooks, booted from the team for disciplinary reasons after the 2005 season, was once projected as a high first-round pick. But he won’t be drafted this weekend. Brooks, who like Parham had a year of eligibility remaining, missed the deadline for declaring for this weekend’s draft and will enter the summer’s supplemental draft.

Scott Wright, president of nfldraftcountdown.com, thinks some team will give up a fifth-round selection in 2007 next year to take Brooks in the supplemental.

Brooks would have been a first-round pick in 2005, after a sophomore season in which he was a finalist for the Butkus Award. But after an injury-plagued 2005 season that culminated with his dismissal from the team, his stock dropped. Brooks has questions to answer about attitude and work ethic, as well as his health. He had knee surgery after the 2004 season and missed the first three games of 2005 while recovering. He missed the final two games of the season with a sore back.

“Teams won’t have a huge investment in him and he’ll have to earn his way on to a team,” Wright said. “He has a lot to prove, but there’s no denying his talent. I thought early in his career he’d be a future top-three pick.”

Similarly, Wright was among many analysts who once thought Parham had second- or third-round potential. But in a world where hundredths of a second can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Parham hurt himself at the combine.

“These underclassmen should know how fast they’re going to run,” Wright said. “And if you’re not going to run real fast, you should probably stay. I think it was a mistake that he came out.”

Speed talks, and after Ferguson, what could have been a banner day will be a slower day for Virginia football.

 

Other programs feel Duke fallout
Recruits, ACC foes are in limbo, too
By Gary Lambrecht
Sun Reporter
Originally published April 29, 2006

Maryland coach Dave Cottle looks at his 2007 men's lacrosse schedule and sees potentially glaring holes. Virginia coach Dom Starsia wonders what will become of the Atlantic Coast Conference and its annual tournament. And, as current players and incoming recruits decide whether to stick with Duke, one of the nation's top men's lacrosse programs could be on the verge of some convulsions.

While Duke figures out what to do with the men's team, as rape charges against two players stemming from an alleged incident involving a stripper at a team party on March 13 hang over the school and the city of Durham, N.C., a state of limbo hovers over the game.

As legal proceedings continue in the case, in which sophomore players Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann have been charged with rape and kidnapping, an internal review of the program requested by Richard Brodhead, the university president, is expected to be submitted by Monday.

Whether the Duke administration decides to leave the program intact - perhaps under restrictions or probationary measures - or discontinue the sport for a year or longer, remains to be seen. But the uncertainty enveloping the fate of Duke lacrosse is causing a ripple effect in the sport.

"It's a different spring," said Starsia, who coaches the top-ranked and lone undefeated team in Division I. "We're 12-0, we're getting ready for the playoffs, there's a lot of pressure. And I feel like no matter what [bad] happens to us, things could be worse, and they are worse someplace else.

"Any discussion of all of this stuff pales in comparison to the issues affecting a lot of people in Durham. But there are other issues that need to be resolved."

Those issues, ranging from looming Duke roster changes to scheduling snafus to next year's ACC men's tournament, which this year includes only Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina at M&T Bank Stadium, are plentiful.

As for the conference tournament, Davis Whitfield, the league's assistant commissioner for championships, said ACC bylaws stipulate it needs at least four teams to hold a tournament, which the ACC is hoping returns to Baltimore next year. With the timing of Duke's decision to drop the rest of the 2006 season, an exemption was allowed this year.

"If we were only to have three teams next year, we would not have a men's championship," said Whitfield, who added he expects Duke to field a team.

The Blue Devils, who won a record 17 games last year and lost to Johns Hopkins in the NCAA title game, then were ranked No. 1 early this year before canceling their season after eight games, do not have a head coach. School administrators accepted the resignation of 16-year coach Mike Pressler on April 5.

Player movement, eligibility questions, and timing issues have yet to be decided. Might players have this year of eligibility reinstated, especially if the rape case yields no convictions? Further, will the university make a ruling on the program's fate based on its own examinations, while the case is playing out?

As for the possibility of losing current players or incoming recruits to other schools, the Duke administration has set that play in motion by granting interested players and recruits a release from their commitment.

Chris Kennedy, Duke's senior associate athletic director, told USA Today that about a dozen players are exploring transfers. Sophomore attackman Zack Greer, who led the nation in goals last year, has contacted Delaware and Penn State. Sophomore attackman Josh Coveleski has called Loyola. Should a player move to another ACC school, league rules would force him to sit out a year, unless a waiver is granted.

The lack of available scholarship funds figures to limit the amount of player movement, in terms of playing in 2007. But the majority of Duke's incoming, seven-man class appears to be heading elsewhere.

"I don't think anybody can afford to lose seniors, not have incoming freshmen and have a couple of kids transfer," Cottle said. "That would hurt any program. You can't fix that in a year."

Among the class of 2010, an Ivy League source confirmed that defenseman Tom Dodge of Manhasset (N.Y) High School, will sign with Penn. Like all Ivy League schools, Penn does not offer athletic scholarships. Sources familiar with the situation also said attackman Max Quinzani of Duxbury (Mass.) High School, will choose Princeton or Cornell, and defenseman Ken Clausen of The Hill School in Downington, Pa., is pursuing Virginia.

Sources also said Georgetown, which typically competes hard with Duke for recruits, is close to landing three original Blue Devils signees - midfielder Scott Kocis, attackman Tom Dowd and midfielder Terrence Molinari. Georgetown coach Dave Urick declined to comment.

Cottle looks at the unknown and wonders what to do.

"Do you tentatively schedule another team [to replace Duke] at that time? There is no good answer to what to do about Duke," Cottle said. "I don't think anybody is comfortable with it. It would be bad for lacrosse not to have Duke around next year."

Added Starsia: "This is the most hurtful situation I've born witness to in 32 years of coaching college sports. Duke lacrosse is an important part of the college lacrosse landscape. I would like to think Duke comes out of this saying we can get this lacrosse thing right."

Sports in crosshairs of campus debates
Jim Nesbitt, Lorenzo Perez and Anne Blythe, Staff Writers

DURHAM - Duke University's lacrosse team crisis has reignited a smoldering argument about whether the institution has a personality split between scholarship and sports.
With the school's image tarnished, some say the time is ripe to question Duke's ambitious pursuit of twin passions -- Ivy League academic excellence and national championships.

"Let's face it, Duke has been trying to have it both ways for 20 years," said Peter Wood, a Duke history professor and former Harvard University lacrosse captain. "That's a difficult task."

Some say Duke can have it both ways and has been a model for excellence in the two realms.

"I think the sad incident that happened is an anomaly and doesn't represent athletics at Duke as a whole," said Calvin Howell, a physics professor and former athletics council member. "Even if this lacrosse situation hadn't happened, I'd say the same thing -- I'm very proud of how we don't compromise in academics at Duke."

Amid a rape investigation that centers on a March 13 lacrosse team party, there's a rising debate among Duke faculty about the cost and wisdom of chasing both aspirations. In e-mail and essays, in casual talks and more formal settings, the tug-of-war between athletics and academics has been renewed with vigor.

Two committees are scheduled to report Monday to university President Richard Brodhead, including a group charged with examining the lacrosse team to see whether it had a long-standing culture of bad behavior. In an April 5 letter to the Duke community, Brodhead said the committee, led by Duke law professor James Coleman, would examine reports of persistent problems with the lacrosse team before the team party, including alcohol abuse, disorderly conduct and the use of racist language.

As these committees and three others continue their formal work, the free-wheeling discussion among professors continues.

"Duke has to do a serious review about what kinds of privileges an athlete gets at Duke -- what do they get away with and what kind of impact does that have on the campus culture?" said Mark Anthony Neal, an associate professor of African-American studies.

Other professors call for nothing less than an end to big-time sports at Duke, a program that spent $39.8 million last year and has won seven national championships, including three in women's golf, three in men's basketball and one in men's soccer. These critics say the pursuit of scholarly excellence should be given unchallenged prominence.

"It's ridiculous to talk about a balance between athletics and academics," said Orin Starn, professor of cultural anthropology, who says his recent News & Observer opinion piece criticizing the role of sports at Duke drew e-mail support from many colleagues. "Athletics should be a subset underneath a university's main mission. ... The idea that athletics should have near-equal weight with academics is just wrong."

Heresy to hoops fans

On a campus noted for blue-faced Cameron Crazies and the mythic status of men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, this debate seems, to some, like rank heresy.

"There is a great sense of community at Duke that is built around the success of athletics, particularly basketball," said university spokesman John Burness. "It is a piece of the culture."

Duke has parlayed the success of its basketball team into a powerful recruiting tool for students. Duke's unofficial slogan -- Work hard, play hard. The pitch goes like this: Sure, you're good enough to go to Harvard or Yale, but you'll have more fun at Duke. "It's what makes Duke unique," Neal said. "Every university is trying to find a way to uniquely present themselves to consumers."

But even staunch defenders of Duke sports say the lacrosse crisis has turned up the flame on the argument about the balance between books and varsity contests.

"The lacrosse situation has heated up a lot of things, and faculty that are skeptical about athletics have used this to argue their point," Kathleen Smith, biology professor and Duke's faculty athletic representative, said in an e-mail message.

Paul Haagen, law professor and chair of Duke's academic council, a faculty governing body, thinks de-emphasizing athletics is unwarranted. He points to Duke and Stanford University as elite, private research schools that play sports at the highest level without compromising academics.

"There are considerable benefits when both can be achieved," Haagen said in an e-mail message. "Duke may do as good a job of balancing the competing demands as any institution, but there are inevitably tensions."

Charges affect debate

With two lacrosse players facing felony charges and investigators hunting for a third suspect in the wake of an escort service dancer's allegations that she was sexually assaulted at the team party, the harsh glare of publicity overshadows the work of Brodhead's ad hoc committees.

Along with a report from the group studying the lacrosse team, Brodhead and leaders of Duke's academic council will also receive a report Monday from the committee examining the student judicial system and how Duke handles student behavior problems.

Brodhead has also brought in William Bowen, a former Princeton University president and co-author of two books critical of the dominant role of athletics on college campuses, to analyze how university officials handled the lacrosse scandal. That committee reports to Brodhead and Duke trustees May 15.

Another committee is steering a broad-based campus culture initiative aimed at promoting responsibility, a more restrained approach to drinking and an exploration of the issues of gender, race and class raised by accusations against the team. This committee, scheduled to file a preliminary report Dec. 1 with a May 2007 follow up, is also conducting a broader inquiry into the social isolation of Duke student athletes, said Burness, Duke's spokesman.

Duke coaches don't expect radical change. They say Brodhead reaffirmed the university's commitment to Division I athletics at a meeting more than two weeks ago to update them on the lacrosse investigation.

Football coach Ted Roof said Brodhead called for a continued pursuit of excellence -- in both sports and academics.

"That's our mission, and ... he wants to be great in every area, not just one or two, including athletics," said Roof, whose team's game days are noted more for raucous tailgate parties outside Wallace Wade Stadium than the rare Duke victories within.

Duke students say they hear little debate about whether the school places too much emphasis on athletics.

"I think there's a media focus on athletics right now because of the sensational story, but the focus here is on academics," said Emily Schmidt, a junior engineering student from Long Valley, N.J.

Nor does Schmidt think athletes are isolated from the rest of Duke's students, noting that she crosses paths with swimmers and track athletes in her classes.

"The ones I see, they work hard and are great students," she said.

Duke earned renown

Unlike older Ivy League schools that have long served as a benchmark for American scholarship, Duke had to elbow its way to prominence, with sports seen as a ready means to raise its profile.

Duke officials pride themselves on their ability to field competitive Division I teams while maintaining a high graduation rate for players. Only the football team has not excelled in athletic competition.

Like two other academically elite private universities -- Stanford and Northwestern -- Duke strikes a "middle course" between state-sponsored powerhouses such as the University of Michigan and their huge athletics department budgets and Ivy League and Division III schools that eschew athletic scholarships and place other restrictions on sports.

Ivy League teams compete in the NCAA's Division I in all sports except football, where schools play at the Division I-AA level, said Carolyn Campbell-McGovern, senior associate director for the league.

Featuring some of the oldest rivalries in college football, the league was formed in 1945, said Campbell-McGovern. One of the Ivy League's first acts was to bar football teams from bowl games.

Last year, Duke finished a best-ever fifth in the Sears Director's Cup standings, in which a national association of collegiate athletics directors ranks schools' across-the-board success in all sports.

During the same time, Duke ranked 22nd among the top 25 Sears Cup schools in athletics budget, spending $39.8 million on sports, according to U.S. Department of Education reports.

Duke athletes also racked up a 95 percent graduation rate, according to the most recent NCAA statistics. Within last year's Sears Cup Top 25, only Notre Dame and Northwestern ranked higher. Because Ivy League schools don't officially have student athletes, their graduation rates aren't tracked by the NCAA.

Starn, the anthropology professor, favors a radical measure -- abandoning Duke's Division I NCAA standing in all sports. Turn Duke into a Division III school, he says.

That would help end the social isolation of 645 Duke student-athletes and shrink their demanding schedules, allowing them more time for study and the college experience, Starn said. It would also reduce the expense of an athletics program that fields 26 varsity teams and cost $10.5 million in athletic scholarships for the 2004-2005 academic year, according to U.S. Department of Education athletics disclosure figures.

"I don't see this problem as unique to Duke," Starn said. "I see this problem as one of the grossly overinflated role of college athletics on campuses across the country."

Keohane explored issue

This isn't the first time Duke has wrestled with this issue. In late 2002, on the threshold of ACC expansion and after deciding to recruit football players with less academic prowess, then-president Nan Keohane issued a policy statement on Duke athletics to the school's academic council.

The 16-page report reviewed three options: increase spending on athletics and lower the academic requirements to attract top athletes; maintain Duke's "middle course" approach of moderate spending, with limited exceptions on academic requirements for athletes; and abandon Division I and compete on the lower rung of the NCAA's Division III.

Duke decided to maintain its middle course, while recognizing the increasingly intense recruiting competitions for athletes in such sports as baseball and lacrosse.

"In short, the arms race, once restricted to football and men's basketball, has now swept up the non-revenue sports," the report said.

The pressures of year-round training, long seasons and road trips and heavy competition for top high-school players now permeate low-profile sports, too, experts say. This increases fears that athletes are socially isolated and have no time to be in a play or to run for student government.

Duke's men's basketball team spent an estimated 22 nights away from campus last season on road trips. The women's golf team has spent 23 days away from Durham so far this season, playing tournaments in places like Nashville, Tenn.; Guadalajara, Mexico; and two North Carolina locations -- Pinehurst and Browns Summit.

But Fred Roland, a sophomore offensive lineman on the Duke football team, doesn't feel isolated.

"I don't feel like I'm sacrificing too much," said Roland, a 6-foot-8 athlete from Hephzibah, Ga. "I'm someone who has a lot of energy, and I do a lot of socializing."

Former UNC President William Friday, who once headed the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, declined to talk specifically about the Duke lacrosse incident. But Friday said he thinks there is anxiety that college athletics are too big and expensive -- and are increasingly inconsistent with the academic mission of universities.

Universities are plunging into debt for fancy sports facilities and scholarships, Friday said, while tutoring programs and academic exceptions for athletes create a double standard. "It's time for the American sports public to take a look and say, 'This has got to turn around,' " Friday said.

But at Duke the twin passions of academics and athletics run strong. "If you're going to have a great university, you need to have good athletics and academics," said Jeff Boyer, a Duke senior. "Who wants to go to a school where all you do is study?"