Rams jump at Long
St. Louis makes the UVa All-American defensive lineman the second pick in the NFL Draft.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Virginia has had a player selected higher than Chris Long in the NFL draft, but not in the past 66 years.

Long went to the St. Louis Rams with the second overall pick -- the highest he could be drafted following the announcement Tuesday that Miami, with the first pick, had come to terms with Michigan offensive lineman Jake Long.

By the time the draft started at 3 p.m., ESPN already was reporting that St. Louis had settled on Chris Long, although more than five minutes elapsed before commissioner Roger Goodell announced the choice.

"I was nervous when the clock hit seven minutes to go," Long told reporters on a conference call. "I wanted to go to St. Louis all along. When I knew that I was going to be a St. Louis Rams, it was just a huge adrenaline rush. It's the best moment of my life."

Teams were allotted 10 minutes for their first-round selections, but ESPN analyst Chris Mortensen reported that Rams officials had come to a consensus after taking time Friday for a round of golf.

"I don't want to use the over-used term, 'no-brainer,'" Rams head coach Scott Linehan said. "But I guess I'm going to have to. It's just going to be a great fit for us and a great fit for the city. I'm a little geeked up right now."

Atlanta used the third pick in the first round to select quarterback Matt Ryan from Boston College, marking the first time since 1975 that two ACC players had been chosen in the first three.

For the first time since 1997, Virginia also had a second player chosen in the first round, although offensive guard Branden Albert waited nearly two hours before he went to Kansas City with the 15th pick

Four times, ESPN cameras captured a pensive Albert at his brother's home in Edgewood, Md., as he waited for the call.

"I was projected to go in the top 10 or whatnot," Albert told ESPN News host Rece Davis. "You're expecting one thing and another thing is happening and you're going through a lot of emotions. But, you know it's going to work out for the best, which it did."

Some projections had Albert going to Kansas City as earlier as the fifth pick. Once a run on offensive linemen began, the Chiefs weren't going to let him slip away.

Kansas City's decision to trade up for the 15th pick came moments after ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio said that Philadelphia, which had the 19th pick, was interested in Albert.

Before interviewing Albert, an ESPN News panel said that Albert might have suffered because of comparisons to D'Brickashaw Ferguson, a former UVa offensive tackle who was the fourth player chosen in the 2006 draft.

"I think Branden Albert gets a bad label because D'Brickashaw Ferguson has come into the league and been a little bit soft, if you will," analyst Todd McShay said. "At the end of the day, if you watch Albert on film, he likes to finish blocks. He's a physical football player."

Before Saturday, the only Virginia player who had been selected higher Ferguson was Bill Dudley, a member of the college and pro football halls of fame who was the No. 1 pick in the 1942 draft. Long now occupies the second spot and has the distinction of being picked earlier than his father, Howie, a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.

Howie Long was a second-round pick in 1981, when he was the 48th player chosen overall.

Chris Long was joined at Radio City Music Hall by his parents, including his mom, Diane, and UVa head coach Al Groh.

Longtime NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper had LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey as the top player on his board at the time Long was selected. Dorsey slipped to Kansas City with the fifth pick, but there was little second-guessing from ESPN's myriad cast of reporters.

"Going one-on-one will be something [Long] didn't do at Virginia," Kiper said. "He had to play through a lot of resistance in their 3-4 defense.

"He's instinctive, locates the ball, has great awareness and, I think, is very underrated athletically. This kid, athletically, is as good as most of the defensive ends who have come in the NFL as high picks in the last four or five years."

Linehan immediately elevated Long to the top of the depth chart at defensive end, but Long wasn't having any of it.

"I'm going to have to earn whatever I get," Long said. "When I grew up watching people miss out on camp, I didn't get it. I want to put my best foot forward and I don't want to show up when people already have started working."
 

UVa’s Long No. 2 pick in draft
By Jay Jenkins
Published: April 27, 2008

Pending a signature, Central Virginia is gaining its newest multi-millionaire.
On Saturday, with the No. 2 pick of the NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams selected former St.-Anne’s Belfield and University of Virginia star defensive end Chris Long, sending a roar through local eateries and the Foxfield Races.
Another Cavalier, Branden Albert, also went in the opening round. The Kansas City Chiefs took the offensive lineman 15th overall. Former Fork Union Military Academy standout Phillip Merling of Clemson was picked at No. 32, the first pick of the second round, by the Miami Dolphins.
Long, donning a dapper suit and an orange tie, stole the show early, waiting only a few minutes after the draft started to have his name called.
The 6-foot-4, 275-pounder then posed on national television for photo opportunities with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and later with his father, NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long.
“I didn’t know it was going to be me until the commissioner called my name,” Long told reporters. “I knew the Rams were interested in me but as you get closer, crazy things happen. Everybody that was in New York said the Rams were interested in all six of us. In the end it comes down to needs and the way it falls in the building. Luckily enough, I’m so appreciative of the fact that I had enough guys who wanted me to be in St. Louis.”
A hometown hero who even has a sandwich named in his honor at Littlejohn’s Deli near the university, Long became the highest UVa player taken in the draft since 1942, when the school’s first All-American, halfback Bill Dudley, was taken with the top overall selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Yet throughout the process Long remained humble. That was proven by his guest list in the green room, the waiting area for draft picks invited to New York City for the opening day’s festivities.
Long was joined by three of his former mentors — Virginia coach Al Groh, STAB coach John Blake and University of Richmond coach Mike London, his position coach at UVa during three seasons.
The experience for Groh was reminiscent of 2006 when he was invited to the draft by former tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who was taken fourth overall.
“In these two years that I have been flattered to be here, there have been 12 players here and yet only the players from Virginia have had their high school and college coaches there,” Groh told The Daily Progress. “It’s reaffirming with how we talk about this being a football family situation at Virginia.
“What happens good for one of us is good for all of us.”
Saturday’s events proved glorious for at least one Charlottesville resident, as well.
John Raymond, a travel specialist with Grand Classroom, has not only been a Virginia season-ticket holder throughout Long’s career but has been a Rams fan since falling in love with their uniforms in 1974 as a youngster.
“I think Chris Long was a great pick,” Raymond said. “I love it. They are getting the face of the franchise. If they had picked Glen Dorsey from LSU, I think he would have been a great player, but nobody would have ever talked about him again because he was a defensive tackle.
“Defensive ends make headlines.”
Raymond also admitted that he was a skeptic when Long arrived at Virginia out of STAB but has enjoyed the progression.
“I actually thought him going to Virginia was a favor to Howie. I thought this kid is never going to be anything more than a special-teamer, a role player. I had no idea he would be as good as he was.”


 

Long and Albert Go in First Round of NFL Draft
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 04/26/2008

Charlottesville, VA – A pair of Virginia players, defensive end Chris Long and offensive guard Branden Albert, were taken in the first round during the first day of the National Football League’s draft. It marks the 25th consecutive year Virginia has had a player drafted and the second time two UVa players have gone in the first round. The other time it happened was in 1997 when linebacker James Farrior (eighth) and defensive end Jon Harris (25th) were first-round picks.

Long was taken as the second pick overall by the St. Louis Rams. Branden Albert was chosen 15th by the Kansas City Chiefs through a trade with the Detroit Lions. While he played offensive guard at Virginia, Albert is expected to be a tackle on the Chiefs’ offensive line.

Long’s selection was the second highest by a Cavalier. Bill Dudley was the top pick in the 1942 draft.

Combined with Boston College’s Matt Ryan being chosen third by the Atlanta Falcons, the Atlantic Coast Conference became the first conference in the nation to have two of its student-athletes chosen among the top four picks in the NFL Draft for three consecutive years. They joined NC State’s Mario Williams (Houston, 1st) and Virginia’s D’Brickashaw Ferguson (4th, NY Jets) in 2006 and Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson (2nd, Detroit) and Clemson’s Gaines Adams last year (Tampa Bay Bucs, 4th) as top four selections, something no other collegiate conference has achieved in the 71 years of the Draft.

With Long being the first defensive player selected, it marked the third straight year the ACC has had the top defensive player chosen in the Draft following Williams in 2006 and Adams in 2007. It was also the fourth time in the past seven years the conference has had the top defender tabbed in the draft as North Carolina’s Julius Peppers (2nd, Carolina) was the top defensive player chosen in 2002.

The ACC also led all conferences with first round selections having seven players tabbed in the first round including Long, Ryan, Albert, Boston College offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus (17th, Detroit), Virginia Tech offensive tackle Duane Brown (26th, Houston), North Carolina defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer (29th, San Francisco) and Miami defensive back Kenny Phillips (31st, New York Giants). The SEC and PAC-10 were second, each with six players chosen in the first round.

The NFL draft continues Sunday at 10 a.m. with the start of the third round selections.

Virginia's All-Time First-Round Draft Picks Year Name Pos. Team Overall1942 Bill Dudley B Pittsburgh Steelers 11951 Gene Schroeder E Chicago Bears 121976 Tom Glassic G Denver Broncos 151986 Jim Dombrowski OT New Orleans Saints 61989 Jeff Lageman LB New York Jets 141991 Herman Moore WR Detroit Lions 101992 Ray Roberts OT Seattle Seahawks 101997 James Farrior LB New York Jets 81997 Jon Harris DE Philadelphia Eagles 251999 Patrick Kerney DE Atlanta Falcons 302000 Thomas Jones RB Arizona Cardinals 72005 Heath Miller TE Pittsburgh Steelers 302006 D’Brickashaw Ferguson OT New York Jets 42008 Chris Long DE St. Louis Rams 22008 Branden Albert OG Kansas City Chiefs 15
 

Cavs, Devils make run at ACC crown
By Whitey Reid
Published: April 27, 2008

For the last couple of seasons, the Virginia men’s lacrosse team’s hallmark has been its run-and-gun, up-tempo offense.
This afternoon, in the ACC Tournament finals at Klockner Stadium, UVa will be facing top-seeded Duke - a team that employs the same kind of style and is probably a little better at it.
That begs the question: does Virginia change its approach at all heading into the showdown?
“I don’t necessarily know if we’ll change our style of play,” said UVa senior Ben Rubeor, who scored four goals in the semifinal win over Maryland on Friday night, “but we need to change the way we play - a little bit sharper and a little bit harder.
“We just weren’t sharp the last time we played them, [but] I think we showed at certain points that we could play with them.”
In the April 12 contest at Klockner Stadium, Virginia (12-2) tied the game at nine in the third quarter, only to see Duke run off 10 straight goals en route to a 19-9 win. UVa’s loss was the most lopsided in the 15-year history of Klockner.
On Friday night, Duke (14-1) pulled off a similar kind of victory over North Carolina. UNC pulled to within 6-5 in the third quarter before the Blue Devils scored six straight goals and cruised to a 17-6 win.
Today, one of the keys for Virginia will be its success on groundballs. In the last meeting, Duke seemed like the hungrier team whenever the ball was on the deck.
In addition, UVa will have to be more prudent with its decisions in unsettled situations. That, in turn, will put less pressure on its defense.
“They’re a great team,” said Virginia junior Danny Glading. “We have to keep being smart with a ball because they’re a team that can score so fast. You really have to take care of [the ball] because if you take a bad shot they’ll come right down the field and stuff it down your throat.
“We have to be patient on offense and play smart.”
Glading conceded that Virginia may have to tone its offense down a notch.
“I think if we have good chances when we’re pushing the ball, we’ll take them,” he said. “It’s in our nature to do that. We practice like that every day.
“But we have to know when we’re going too fast and have to slow down because we can’t have turnovers.”
Against Maryland, Virginia did an excellent job of cutting down on its unforced miscues. That was a key to atoning for a loss to the Terrapins earlier in the season.
“We kind of all had a sense that a good game was coming and we were able to play a solid 60 minutes,” Rubeor said. “There weren’t too many periods where we weren’t playing that sharply.”
Freshman Shamel Bratton, who scored two goals on Friday, said every Virginia player wanted to get another shot at Duke. Now, they have it.
“I know a couple kids from high school on their team and they’ve been sending me text messages after they beat us the last time,” Bratton said. “Hopefully it will be a different outcome this time.”

 

UVa seeks revenge against Maryland
By Bart Isley
Published: April 27, 2008

Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team has three losses in 2008, and they’re only guaranteed a chance to redeem one of those defeats.
That chance comes today at 1 p.m. when the Cavaliers and Maryland face off for the ACC tournament championship at Scott Stadium.
The Cavaliers will get that chance after rallying from a 8-3 halftime deficit against Duke Friday afternoon in the semifinals. Virginia exploded out of the half to take a one-goal lead before eventually holding on for a 10-9 victory.
The Cavaliers came into the tournament with a lot of momentum after blowing out both George Mason and Johns Hopkins, and they’ve now proven that they can rally from behind. Part of Virginia’s ability to stay with the game plan and come back is the presence of seasoned veterans on every level, from Megan O’Malley on offense to Claire Bordley in the midfield and Kendall McBrearty back in the cage.
“It doesn’t hurt to have a bunch of older girls on the team who’ve been there before,” said junior Blair Weymouth.
The Cavaliers will have to address the slow start against Duke because that could spell doom against a team like Maryland, which jumped out to a 6-0 lead against North Carolina that the Tar Heels never recovered from. Myers suggested after the game that the first half had a lot more to do with Duke playing well than the Cavaliers really playing poorly.
“I think we worked hard but we just weren’t in the right spots,” Myers said. “It wasn’t a lack of effort.”
Virginia dropped its first contest of the season to the Terrapins back on March 4 in College Park, Md., an 8-5 loss that is currently the only blemish on the Cavaliers’ conference record. Maryland has just one conference loss too, and that one also came early in the season on the road, a 14-13 barnburner against Duke on March 1.
It won’t be easy for the Cavaliers to avenge the loss. Maryland has an array of weapons, with five All-ACC players in the lineup.
Dana Dobbie, the reigning ACC player of the year, is tops in the nation in draw controls and is also the top goal scorer in the ACC and second in points. Dobbie had a hat trick against Virginia in the squads’ regular season meeting while also picking up six draw controls.
Kelly Kasper, who is also a nominee for the Tewaaraton Trophy (awarded to the top player in collegiate lacrosse) along with Dobbie, leads the ACC in assists and points. Laura Cohen and sophomore Caitlyn McFadden round out the Terrapins’ four big-time threats up front.
Virginia counters with All-ACC goalie McBrearty and a host of dynamic offensive weapons including Ashley McCulloch, O’Malley - who scored three goals in the second half against Duke - and Weymouth, who had a pair of goals against the Blue Devils. Jenny Hauser, who had a hat trick in the semifinal, will also challenge the Terrapins’ defense.

 

UM 4, VIRGINIA 3 (10)
Hurricanes prevail in wild 10th inning
Despite a lack of energy, UM escaped with a 4-3 victory against conference foe Virginia thanks to a wild throw.
Posted on Sun, Apr. 27, 2008Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
By MIKE PHILLIPS
 
Jim Morris was kind, calling it a bad throw. Yonder Alonso said ''it was crazy,'' and Greg Miclat didn't want to talk about it.

He didn't need to say a word. Miclat's body language told the whole story. He slumped down, shook his head and walked off the field, and one by one Virginia players came to him, hugged him and consoled him.

It was Miclat's wild throw in the bottom of the 10th inning that beat Virginia, as the University of Miami won 4-3 at Mark Light Field, where a standing-room-only crowd hung around for the wild finish and the wild throw.

''We'll take it anyway we can,'' said Morris, whose Hurricanes are the consensus No. 1 team in the nation. ``I'd like to be swinging the bats better, and I'd like them to show more energy than we showed tonight.''

That lack of energy might be one reason UM (35-5, 19-2 ACC) blew a 3-0 lead to the 16th-ranked Cavaliers (32-14, 13-10), who have played the Canes perhaps as tough as anyone in two one-run losses this weekend.

The Canes won Saturday on the strength of some early scoring, one of the best bullpens in the nation, Miclat's wild throw and a run off Virginia closer Michael Schwimer, who has a 0.96 ERA.

Jemile Weeks led off the 10th with a double to right, and Schwimer intentionally walked Alonso, who had hit a two-run homer in the first. A passed ball sent the runners to second and third, and Mark Sobolewski hit a hard grounder at a pulled-in infield. Miclat made the play at short, but his throw to first took off and sailed over the fence behind first, giving UM its third (3-0) extra-inning victory.

''It was just kind of crazy,'' Alonso said. 'When he hit it, I was thinking `Uh-oh,' then he made that throw.

``It was a terrible night up until then. We were all in the dugout and we were upset [after blowing a 3-0 lead]. Then we won. It was kind of crazy. But we need to have more energy. Anytime you win, you'll take the win, but we've got to play better. It was a bad night, but good enough to win.''

UM took a 3-0 lead off Virginia starter Jacob Thompson, who was the Atlantic Coast Conference's runner-up for Pitcher of the Year in 2007. Alonso hit a two-run home run in the first inning, and the Canes added a run in the third when Alonso walked, raced to third on Sobolewski's single and scored on a passed ball.

It was the first time this season UM starter Eric Erickson started a game and didn't win. He was 6-0 in his first six starts, but he missed a month with a sore left forearm and was making his second start since coming back from the injury.

He couldn't have looked much better for the first four innings. Erickson took a no-hitter into the fifth. He walked only one and struck out five.

Then came Jeremy Farrell, who led off the fifth with his eighth homer of the season, a shot to left that gave the Cavaliers their first run in the series. Erickson has given up five home runs this season, four in his past two starts since his return.

The Cavs scored twice in the fifth and closed to 3-2 when Jarrett Parker's two-out single brought home John Barr, who walked and reached second on Franco Valdes' sacrifice bunt.

David Gutierrez replaced Erickson and gave up an unearned run in the sixth after a bit of controversy. David Adams, a native of Margate, walked with one out, stole second and raced to third when UM catcher Jason Hagerty's throw sailed into center field.

Morris stormed out of the dugout and argued that Virginia's Dan Grovatt, who was batting, stepped in front of Hagerty.

Replays indicated Grovatt, a left-hander, leaned in front of Valdes, but Morris lost the interference argument, and when Grovatt lined out to left field, Adams scored easily on the sacrifice fly to tie the score at 3.

It stayed that way until the 10th inning.