UVa lands trio of pass catchers
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 15, 2008

Kevin Royal summoned Virginia coach Al Groh over for a chat.
Paul Freedman did the same.
Tyree Watkins also followed suit.
One by one, the high-profile offensive-minded recruits told Groh their respective intentions to play football at Virginia following the Blue Chip Recruit Day on Saturday.
“He was really excited,” Royal said. “In fact, he was ecstatic.”
Freedman added: “It felt right for all us and we decided to pull the trigger. The coaches were ecstatic and it was a lot of fun.”
Landing three out-of-state commitments was good reason. Pushing the program’s total to 15 verbal commitments and landing three pass-catching athletes for the Class of 2009 only sweetened the pot for a team seeking to go downfield more in the future.
Freedman and Watkins have been ranked as three-star prospects and while unknown in some recruiting circles, Royal had gaudy numbers as a sophomore in 2006.
A 6-foot-6, 235-pound tight end from Clearwater, Fla., Freedman was mesmerized by his first visit to Charlottesville.
“I knew Virginia was a great program, but when I got here I was blown away,” he said. “I met the team and that was what put it over the top for me. They were so close and they were all like brothers.”
Playing one of program’s most productive positions and following in the footsteps of former Cavaliers Heath Miller and Tom Santi also got Freedman’s attention.
“Virginia has sent a tight end to the league every single year so it was perfect for me,” Freedman said. “Even without them doing it more, they have thrown it to [the tight ends] like 460 times since 2001 and that is the most in the country.”
Freedman picked Virginia over Duke and was also talking with coaches at Florida.
“I had an offer from Duke and I didn’t have one from Florida yet, but they seemed pretty interested,” Freedman said.
“Duke’s a great program and the coaches there were great and it is a great academic school, and they would have been a great choice for me, but there was just something about Virginia when I got here and met everybody.
“It just felt right.”
Watkins and Royal — both wide receivers — were excited to hear the prospects of the Cavaliers’ tweaked offense moving forward. But it was not the defining factor.
“It really didn’t swing me either way because I felt that I was going to come here anyway,” said Royal, “but it topped it off that they were trying to pass a lot more.”
Virginia’s staff was not shy to point out, however, the long-standing need for a game-changing wide receiver after junior Kevin Ogleetree graduates.
“The coaches brought up a good point. They said coming into last year, one of their top receivers had four
career catches coming into the season,” said Watkins, who is from Camden, N.J. “Who else are you going to get the ball to but the playmakers? I am just trying to come down there and make a change to that.
“They said they have an NFL-style offense that they want to run and I want to come down there and catch between 60 and 70 balls a year.”
Watkins, who is 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, has been clocked at 4.5 in the 40-yard dash and boasted at least 10 offers, including ones from Penn State, Pittsburgh and Rutgers.
Royal, standing at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, enjoyed a stellar sophomore season in 2006 (36 catches, 498 yards, nine TDs), before his prep program, the Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn., shifted to a run-oriented offense.
“I try my best not to put myself out there and I was under the radar,” Royal said. “I wasn’t as publicized as a lot of these other guys, but when it comes down to it, I put up the numbers.
“I put in the work and feel that I can play with the best of them.”

 

UVa's Jones get his shot at making the Olympics
The freestyle format used in the games appeals to the Cavs junior.
By Mark Berman | 981-3125

Brent Jones (right) won his weight class in the University National Freestyle Championships, which earned him a spot in the Olympic Trials.
Brent Jones is in Las Vegas, looking to beat the odds.

But he's not trying to win big in blackjack or at the slots. He's hoping to make it to Beijing.

Jones will compete today in the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center. He will be competing in the 96-kilogram class (21112 pounds) of the freestyle division.

Making the Olympics "has been a dream of mine for God knows how long," Jones said in a phone interview from Las Vegas.

This is the final day of three-day trials, which are not only for freestyle wrestling but also for the Greco-Roman and women's divisions.

Jones prefers freestyle wrestling to folkstyle wrestling, which is the style practiced in high schools and colleges. He likes to perform throws, where he lifts his foe and tosses him back down on the mat -- "launching a guy," as Jones puts it.

Throws are emphasized in freestyle more than they are in folkstyle.

"I really have more fun when I wrestle freestyle," said Jones, a former junior national freestyle champ. "I love the throw, and I love big amplitude moves where we're just throwing a guy head over heels.

"I'm a flashy wrestler. ... I'm like an entertainer, I guess, because I hit all the big moves and the high-flyer moves. Freestyle, it's so much easier to get them, and you get rewarded for hitting those throws."

Folkstyle wrestling emphasizes control over the opponent, while freestyle has a bit more action.

"In freestyle, the rules kind of play into my style of wrestling," he said. "In folkstyle, a lot of the guys I wrestle, they know I'm big on upper-body throws and stuff like that, big moves, so they always run to the out of bounds. In freestyle, if they do that, all I've got to do is push them out and I get a point."

Jones, a rising fourth-year junior from Burke, qualified for the trials by winning the University National Freestyle Championships in April.

But Jones is the bottom seed among the 10 wrestlers in his weight class vying for a spot in tonight's best-of-three finals against Daniel Cormier. Because he took bronze at the 2007 World Championships and won his sixth U.S. Nationals title in April, Cormier clinched a spot in the finals prior to the trials. Cormier, 29, finished fourth in the 2004 Olympics.

The winner of the finals earns the Olympic berth in each weight class.

Jones, 21, is one of only two college wrestlers in his weight class.

"I'm definitely going to be in the Olympics [someday]," he said. "This one, it wasn't top priority. I didn't think I'd get this shot so early. But now that I have it, I've got to run with it.

"But definitely by next Olympics, I hope to see myself on the Olympic podium."

Jones might go to medical school when his UVa career ends in two years. Despite his knack for being an "entertainer," don't look for him to try out for Vince McMahon and the WWE.

"WWE is fake wrestling," Jones said.

Jones was a Group AAA champ at James W. Robinson High School in Fairfax. He picked UVa over Virginia Tech and Lehigh.

He took fourth place at 197 pounds at the ACC championships this year. He went 32-12, and the 14 falls he recorded were the second-highest single-season total in UVa history.

Jones said he makes "foolish mistakes" at times when he wrestles for the Cavaliers.

"Sometimes I don't wrestle strategically [in college]," he said. "I go for the kill all the time.

"I have the tools and stuff to become a national champ in college. I've got to put everything together, and that includes winning that mental battle."

Jones and his family arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday. He wasn't worried about becoming distracted by Sin City before his time to wrestle.

"For a lot of people -- weak-minded -- it could affect them," Jones said. "But you've got to look at it [like] you're here to wrestle; you're not here to gamble or go out.

"Because this is a wonderful opportunity. You've got to capitalize on it."
 

Virginia set to host annual Elite Camp
By Whitey Reid
Published: June 15, 2008

It was at about this time last year when Mike Scott participated in Virginia’s annual Elite Camp.
Shortly after the camp’s conclusion, the big man from Hargrave Military Academy gave a verbal commitment to UVa, despite the fact the Cavaliers’ coaching staff hadn’t been recruiting him very long.
Scott’s commitment illustrated the value of hosting a two-day camp featuring some of the top high school prospects in the nation.
Beginning this afternoon, the Virginia coaching staff will have another chance to reel in some talent when the Elite Camp reconvenes at John Paul Jones Arena. An estimated 75 percent of the campers in attendance will go on to play Division I basketball.
Targets for Virginia include Cadarian Raines, a 6-foot-8 forward/center from Petersburg High; Ernest Ross, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Panther Creek High (Cary, N.C.); Jontel Evans, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Bethel High (Hampton); and Ian Hummer, a 6-foot-7 forward from Gonzaga High (Washington).
Virginia will have stiff competition for all of the aforementioned. Maryland and Virginia Tech have already offered Raines a scholarship, while Evans — also a standout in football — has been offered by N.C. State.
Virginia has yet to offer either player. With only two seniors on its roster next year (Mamadi Diane and Lars Mikalauskas), UVa has to be pretty selective since it only figures to have two scholarships available for the Class of 2009.
Three of Virginia’s top 2009 targets — Ryan Kelly, Tristan Spurlock and Mfon Udofia — will not be at the camp, but will be on hand for the NBA Top 100 Camp that kicks off on Tuesday at JPJ.
The Elite camp, which is open only to campers’ parents and media, will provide the first glimpse of incoming UVa freshmen Sylven Landesberg, John Brandenburg and Assane Sene. All three will be participating in the festivities, which will include a talk from Chicago Bulls guard (and UConn product) Ben Gordon on Monday afternoon.
Of course, the camp isn’t a guarantee Virginia will score. Ed Davis, UVa’s prime recruiting target for 2008, took part in the camp two years ago and wound up committing to North Carolina.
Eric Wallace, a 6-foot-7 swingman, verbaled to UVa after the same session but then changed his mind and committed to Ohio State.