Recruiting comparisons draw comment from London
Wake and Maryland get players from Virginia
By Doug Doughty

As if I didn't learn my lesson last week, here I go again, writing a Notebook Plus on Thursday that regular readers have been trained to read Friday.
It got me a lot of flak last week, when I reported in a column posted Thursday that Virginia's football recruiting class had not been ranked in the top 25 in the country by ESPN.

Then, while I was at the City-County swim championships on Friday, ESPN posted an update ranking that had the Cavaliers in 24th place.

Virginia Tech's class was 19th on that list, down from 17th on a list posted June 23.

From the swim meet, it was off to Pinehurst, N.C., for the ACC Football Kickoff, where ESPN reporter Heather Dinich asked UVa head coach Mike London for his take on the recruiting battles between the Cavaliers and Hokies.

That was the topic of last week's Notebook Plus, specifically the ongoing website debates as to who had made a scholarship offer to whom.

London made reference to a "scorecard," possibly the one posted by Darryl Slater on his Richmond Times-Dispatch blog.

Of the 16 players who had committed to Virginia at the time, 10 from the state, Slater said that three had offers from Virginia.

Tech had taken 22 commitments at the time, 13 from the state, and Slater wrote that eight had offers from Virginia.

"You see these things about who offered who [or] who didn't offer who," London said Tuesday. "Some of it may be attributed to the fact that, academically, we can’t offer that individual. Postion need-wise, we don't offer that individual. [Because of] the coaches ability to recruit that school and the chances of getting that player me might not offer."

London is proceeding down a slippery slope when he brings up academics because, in the eyes of many, that's a copout. But his other points are valid. Why waste time on a player you have no chance of signing?

A case in point would be Michael Moore, a defensive end from DeMatha Catholic High School and the son of UVa assistant coach Shawn Moore. Moore had more than 25 Division I-A offers before he committed to the Cavaliers in May. The Hokies did not offer the younger Moore a scholarship. Who could blame them?

Maybe they didn't think he was a high-caliber prospect, but I doubt it. It probably would have taken a lot of effort even to get in the top five and I'm guessing they figured they would never get him in the end.

"And that goes both ways," said London, indicating that Virginia might make a similar decision. "You can spin it any way you want. All I know is, some of the best players in Virginia are looking at Virginia once again, and both teams are keeping the best players in the state of Virginia in Virginia.

"Last year and the way it looks right now, some of the best players in the state -- or a dominant number of them -- are pledged to or are looking at both schools."

TWO OF THE top 10 prospects in the state are likely to announce college choices in the next week, including Eli Harold, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound wide receiver and defensive end from Ocean Lakes in Virginia Beach.

Harold, who joins Clover Hill "athlete" Joel Caleb on most designations of the top two prospects in the state, has said he will announce his decision Tuesday. It will be a shock if Harold goes anywhere but Virginia.

Harold recently narrowed his choices to Virginia, Penn State and Florida but has been a strong UVa lean since the spring. Other UVa-bound players from his area, including Bayside wide receiver Anthony Cooper, have implied that some big names would follow.

UVa also is in the picture with Trey Edmunds, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound linebacker from Dan River High School outside Dan River, but my impression is that Tech is the team to beat.

Edmunds, a gifted athlete who potentially could play running back, said in an interview with Brian Mohr of hokiehaven.com that he would like to make a decision by Aug. 1, which is Monday.

Edmunds' father, Ferrell, played tight end at the University of Maryland and for several NFL teams. If I'm not mistaken, Trey is short for Ferrell Edmunds III. Maryland is on his final four, as is North Carolina, but you've got to believe that Wednesday's dismissal of coach Butch Davis will kill the Tar Heels' chances.

Tech assistant Bryan Stinespring has been in on the Hokies' recruiting of Edmunds from the start and has continued on the case despite his reassignment to Virginia Beach. UVa assistant Shawn Moore, a Martinsville product who know Ferrell Edmunds from the NFL, has been one of the UVa recruiters.

Virginia was a major factor in Danville and throughout southwestern Virginia when Danny Wilmer was on the staff but the last UVa signee from west of Charlottesville might have been Lexington's Jon Kirchner in 2004.

I always thought that Wayne Lineburg, since replaced by Scott Wachenheim in southwest Virginia, was a good recruiter with plenty of ties in this part of the state, but it's just not happening in this area for the Cavaliers.

JAMES MADISON has taken an oral commitment from Dylan Stallings, a tight end and defensive end from Grafton High School and Yorktown. Stallings, rated among the top 40 prospects in Virginia according to most evaluations, had Division I-A offers from Ohio U. and Marshall but was unlikely to be recruited at the Tech or UVa level with both schools coming close to filling their slots.

James Madison made an offer to Christchurch offensive lineman Will Smith (6-5, 285) but Smith, a boarding student whose family lives near Winston-Salem, N.C., picked Wake Forest.

Another Virginia prospect headed to the ACC is Avery Thompson, a 6-3, 195-pound linebacker from Grassfields High School in Chesapeake.
 

Teel Time: Is UVa most likely ACC team to stumble against FCS opponent in 2011?
By David Teel
10:22 a.m. EDT, July 29, 2011

In each of the last two football seasons and three of the last five, an ACC team has lost to a Championship Subdivision (the old Division I-AA) opponent.

Two of the offending coaches — Duke’s Ted Roof (to James Madison in 2006) and Virginia’s Al Groh (to William and Mary in 2009) — eventually were fired. The third — Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer (to JMU last year) — is headed for the College Football Hall of Fame.

This season, every ACC team plays a FCS opponent. Not very appealing to season-ticket holders or TV networks, but at least most of the FCS teams are credible.

Eight of the 12 had winning records last season and four — William and Mary, Appalachian State, Wofford and Bethune-Cookman — made the playoffs. Richmond, JMU, Appalachian State and Massachusetts are past national champions.

So to kill some time before training camps open next week, let’s rank the possibility of upsets, from least to most likely.

* Charleston Southern at Florida State (Sept. 10): The Buccaneers were 3-8 last season, and the Seminoles are preseason ACC faves. Jimbo Fisher can rest his starters for most of second half to prepare for titanic game the following week against Oklahoma.

* Towson at Maryland (Oct. 1): New coach Randy Edsall would never live down losing to the Tigers, 1-10 last season and picked to finish last in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2011.

* Western Carolina at Georgia Tech (Sept. 1): Bank on the Yellow Jackets taking out their frustrations over offseason NCAA sanctions in their opener against the Catamounts, 2-9 in 2010 and saddled with five consecutive losing seasons.

* Appalachian State at Virginia Tech (Sept. 3): After last season’s flop against JMU, the Hokies have vowed to overlook no one, and overlooking the Mountaineers would be an XXL mistake. App State has reached the playoffs six straight years and returns quarterback DeAndre Presley.

* Bethune-Cookman at Miami (Oct. 1): Yes, the Wildcats are defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions, and yes, the Hurricanes might be gazing ahead to their Oct. 8 test at Virginia Tech. But the talent gap is too wide.

* Wofford at Clemson (Sept. 10): Dangerous game for the Tigers, who in the following three weeks face Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech. The Terriers won the rugged Southern Conference last season and advanced one round in the playoffs.

* Liberty at N.C. State (Sept. 3): A tale of two quarterbacks. The Wolfpack will be debuting a new starter in Mike Glennon, while the Flames will showcase Mike Brown, the two-time Big South offensive player of the year and last season’s national leader in total offense. Liberty likely to enjoy sixth straight winning season.

* Massachusetts at Boston College (Sept. 24): Nothing would affirm the Minutemen’s readiness for their 2012 upgrade to the Bowl Subdivision like upsetting the Eagles. UMass was 6-5 last season and in 2007 gave BC and Matt Ryan fits in a 24-14 loss.

* Gardner-Webb at Wake Forest (Sept. 17): The Deacons lost nine of their final 10 games last season, but with 16 returning starters and a big-play back in Josh Harris, they shouldn’t lose to the Bulldogs, a middle-of-the-pack Big South team that was 4-7 in 2010.

* JMU at North Carolina (Sept. 3): Butch Davis’ firing as the Tar Heels’ coach gooses the probability meter in a big way here. If Carolina rallies around interim coach Everett Withers, its talent should prevail. But if the Tar Heels are still staggered, the Dukes have the chops, especially on defense, to win.

* Richmond at Duke (Sept. 3): The Spiders blanked the Blue Devils in 2006, but with Duke veteran Sean Renfree throwing to receivers such as Conner Vernon, don’t expect a repeat. Still, UR will be a load if USC transfer quarterback Aaron Corp’s knee is healthy.

* William and Mary at Virginia (Sept. 3): The Cavaliers should be better than last season’s 4-8 bunch, but Jimmye Laycock’s Tribe figures to be among the FCS’ best. Whomever Virginia selects to start at quarterback, he’ll encounter a nasty defense led by linebackers Dante Cook and Jake Trantin.

Virginia Places 250 Student-Athletes on ACC Academic Honor Roll
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 07/29/2011

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John D. Swofford released the 55th annual ACC Academic Honor Roll on Friday (July 29). The Honor Roll notes academic excellence by student-athletes for the 2010-11 academic year. Virginia placed 250 student-athletes on the Honor Roll.

The Honor Roll is comprised of student-athletes who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a grade point average of 3.00 or better for the full academic year. The conference recognized a record 2,835 student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom during the 2010-11 academic year.

Two Virginia student-athletes, Stephanie Garcia (cross country/track and field) and Ayla Smith (track and field), were among 23 individuals who were on the ACC Academic Honor Roll for the fifth time.

Three UVa student-athletes who were recognized as ACC Performers of the Year in their respective sports are on the Honor Roll. Those individuals were Emil Heineking (cross country), Danny Hultzen (baseball pitcher of the year) and Lauren Perdue (women's swimming). Also among the honorees was Sarah Borchelt, the 2011 ACC Rowing Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Virginia's 2010-11 ACC Honor Roll

Nicole Agnello 2 - Golf; Lauren Alwine 1 - Soccer; Robert Amaro 2 - Baseball; Kevin Anding 3 - Track; Robby Andrews 1 - Track/Cross Country; Matthew Armentrout 2 - Track; Isabella Artiles Gonzalez 1 - Rowing; Katya Bachrouche 3 - Swimming; Lauren Baker 1 - Rowing; Marjorie Baker 1 - Tennis; Rosemary Barber 3 - Track/CC; James Barnett 3 - Swimming; Colleen Bauk 3 - Rowing; Hadley Bell 1 - Field Hockey; Tyler Biddix 4 - Baseball; Claudia Blandford 4 - Rowing; Blake Blaze 1 - Football; Liza Blue 1 - FH/Lacrosse; Sarah Borchelt 3 - Rowing; Marcy Bowdren 1 - Softball; Ryan Briggs 2 - Baseball; Elizabeth Brightwell 2 - Golf; Doug Browman 1 - Basketball; Katie Brown 1 - Rowing; Elly Buckley 1 - Field Hockey; Jonathan Buerger 1 - Swimming; Kennedy Byxbee 2 - Softball; Katie Carr 1 - Soccer; Emily Carrollo 2 - Soccer; Kristina Chapman 1 - Track; Cameron Chavira 1 - Soccer; Rachel Clark 1 - Volleyball; Logan Clements 1 - Track; Stephanie Coates 2 - Softball; William Coggins 1 - Wrestling; Liz Colgan 1 - Lacrosse; Ryan Collins 2 - Track/CC; Anna Corrigan 3 - Track/CC; Fred Crawford 1 - Swimming; Claire Crippen 1 - Swimming; Katie Darraugh 4 - Track; Hannah Davis 3 - Swimming; Danielle DeLisle 1 - Soccer; Dino Dell'Orto 2 - Tennis; Lauren Didlake 1 - Softball; Anna Dobben 2 - Swimming; Jeremy Dollin 1 - Football; Liz Downs 3 - Lacrosse; Megan Dunleavy 1 - Lacrosse; Robbie Eckardt 4 - Cross Country; Melissa Edmonson 1 - Golf; Whitny Edwards 2 - Basketball; Simone Egwu 2 - Basketball; Robert Emery 1 - Lacrosse; Maddy Fabiani 1 - Lacrosse; Todd Faiella 1 - Lacrosse; Brian Fang 1 - Tennis; Jonathan Fausey 2 - Wrestling; Charlie Finnigan 1 - Lacrosse; Kelly Flynn 2 - Swimming; Chris Foley 1 - Track/CC; Matthew Fortin 1 - Football; Kathryn Fowler 1 - Softball; Emily Fraser 2 - Tennis; Molly Frear 2 - Rowing; Amber Fry 1 - Soccer; Maria Fuccillo 2 - Tennis; Gregory Gallop 1 - Football; Stephanie Garcia 5 - Track/CC; Julie Gardner 2 - Lacrosse; Kisha Garrick 1 - Track; Peter Geissinger 1 - Swimming; Jacob Ghitelman 1 - Lacrosse; Taylor Gilland 2 - Track/CC; Ali Gillen 1 - Track; Meagan Gillespie 1 - Track; Colette Gnade 2 - Track/CC; Serge Gould 1 - Swimming; Jennings Grant 4 - Swimming; Lauren Greenlief 3 - Golf; Taylor Grey 1 - Swimming; Trevor Grywatch 1 - Football; Jonathan Haldy 1 - Lacrosse; Elizabeth Hanks 1 - Field Hockey; Patrick Harbeson 1 - Lacrosse; Lindsey Hardenbergh 2 - Tennis; Lyndsay Harper 4 - Track/CC; Colin Harrington 2 - Baseball; Shawn Harris 3 - Wrestling; Stephanie Harris 1 - Softball; Nathaniel Hart 1 - Swimming; Jayna Hartig 4 - Basketball; Rachel Harvey 3 - Softball; Emil Heineking - Track/CC; Meghan Helm 1 - Lacrosse; Brandy Herald 1 - Rowing; Tanner Hirstine 1 - Wrestling; Kim Hochheimer 1 - Rowing; Jimmy Howell 1 - Football; Daniel Hultzen 3 - Baseball; Briggy Imbriglia 3 - Swimming; Thomas Inwood 2 - Swimming; Rachel Jennings 3 - Field Hockey; Brett Johnson 1 - Track/CC; Morgan Joseph 2 - Rowing; Hunter Jumper 3 - Soccer; Miriam Kaplan 3 - Rowing; David Karasek 3 - Swimming; Tara Karin 1 - Track; Kim Kastuk 1 - Field Hockey; Sean Keveren 3 - Track/CC; Maggie Kistner 3 - Soccer; Zachary Kohl 2 - Swimming; Natalia Kuhn 2 - Track/CC; Martha Kuzzy 2 - Rowing; Daniel Lantz 1 - Lacrosse; Erin Laschinger 2 - Lacrosse; Alex Leinroth 1 - Swimming; Taylor Levine 2 - Rowing; Bryan Lewis 2 - Track/CC; Jenny Lewis 2 - Swimming; Bryan Lima 1 - Soccer; Cara Linnenkohl 1 - Rowing; Emily Lloyd 1 - Swimming; Kelly Lloyd 1 - Swimming; Matthew Lovejoy 1 - Lacrosse; John Maghamez 2 - Football; Jeremy Martin 1 - Football; Alexa Martinez 1 - Softball; Allison Mayberry 1 - Rowing; Whit Mayberry 2 - Baseball; Kevin McCarthy 1 - Swimming; Kyle McCartin 2 - Football; Lauren McCaskey 1 - Softball; Molly McClintic 1 - Lacrosse; Kaity McCullough 1 - Rowing; Brian McDermott 3 - Lacrosse; Conor McGee 1 - Lacrosse; Andrew Mearns 2 - Track/CC; Molly Menchel 1 - Soccer; Matt Meyer 3 - Track; Charles Miller 1 - Wrestling; Lindsey Miller 3 - Soccer; Reese Milner 2 - Tennis; John Minen 1 - Track/CC; Chase Minnifield 1 - Football; Matt Miscione 1 - Soccer; Elspeth Missel 3 - Rowing; Greg Monaco 2 - Soccer; Kristen Moores 4 - Swimming; Alex Mulchandani 1 - Track; Jane Munro 1 - Swimming; Marelle Myers 3 - Rowing; Edy Ndem 1 - Track; Matthew Nelson 1 - Wrestling; Nicholas Nelson 3 - Wrestling; Dana Nessler 1 - Swimming; Kate Norbo 2 - Soccer; Churchill O'Connell 1 - Soccer; Chad O'Connor 3 - Baseball; Brian Oden 3 - Football; Christine Olson 2 - Swimming; Adrienne Ostroff 3 - Field Hockey; Josie Owen 3 - Lacrosse; Drew Paisley 1 - Track/CC; Nathan Parker 4 - Swimming; Kevin Parks 1 - Football; Lauren Perdue 1 - Swimming; Meredith Perdue 1 - Swimming; Caryssa Peretz 1 - Tennis; Emily Perrin 1 - Soccer; Colter Phillips 1 - Football; John Pickett 1 - Football; Emily Pik 1 - Rowing; Alison Pittman 4 - Softball; Thomas Porter 1 - Track/CC; Tasia Potasinski 1 - Track/CC; Robert Randolph 3 - Football; Ann Reid 2 - Rowing; Andrew Revelle 2 - Track/CC; Casey Ridge 2 - Swimming; Julia Roberts 2 - Soccer; William Roberts 2 - Baseball; Katie Robinson 1 - Field Hockey; Scot Robison 2 - Swimming; Lance Roller 1 - Track/CC; Dallas Rose 2 - Track; Portland Rosen 1 - Golf; Augustus Sako 1 - Wrestling; Billy Schautz 1 - Football; E.J. Scott 1 - Football; Sallie Seiy 1 - Field Hockey; Sarah Shanfield 3 - Rowing; Elizabeth Shaw 3 - Swimming; Ryan Shaw 2 - Football; Kelsey Shea 1 - Rowing; William Sherrill 4 - Basketball; Jenny Shultis 3 - Rowing; Hannah Silver 3 - Rowing; Alexandra Skinkis 2 - Softball; Katie Slater 1 - Lacrosse; Ayla Smith 5 - Track; Judith Smith 1 - Field Hockey; Taylor Smith 4 - Swimming; Matthew Snyder 2 - Wrestling; Matt Snyder 2 - Football; Joseph Spisak 1 - Wrestling; Lucy Spooner 1 - Tennis; Katie Starsia 3 - Soccer; Kathleen Stevens 1 - Track/CC; Erika Stewart 1 - Swimming; Katherine Stewart 3 - Rowing; Morgan Stith 2 - Soccer; Michael Strauss 1 - Football; Barbara Strehler 2 - Track/CC; Hunter Terry 2 - Rowing; Paige Terry 1 - Rowing; Carlin Tettelback 1 - Swimming; Justin Thompson 2 - Baseball; EricThornton 1 - Football; Kika Toulouse 3 - Soccer; Hillary Trebels 3 - Volleyball; William Tribble 2 - Track/CC; Katie Trizna 2 - Track; Liza Tullis 3 - Rowing; Chidi Uche 3 - Track; Tess Udall 1 - Volleyball; James Valeiras 1 - Football; Owen Van Arsdale 1 - Lacrosse; Aaron Van Kuiken 3 - Football; Erin Vierra 1 - Tennis; Santiago Villegas 2 - Tennis; Mike Volk 2 - Soccer; James Vozenilek 1 - Football; Zachary Vrhovac 1 - Football; Katie Walker 1 - Rowing; Margie Walters 2 - Lacrosse; Colleen Warren 1 - Rowing; Jenni Weatherly 3 - Track/CC; Brittany Wengel 1 - Rowing; Catherine White 2 - Track/CC; Matthew White 1 - Lacrosse; Beth Wildermuth 1 - Volleyball; Taylor Williams 2 - Softball; Joseph Williams 1 - Football; Phoebe Willis 2 - Field Hockey; David Wilson 2 - Cross Country; Cody Winiarski 1 - Baseball; Carrie Wisman 2 - Soccer; Mallory Woodridge 1 - Volleyball; Austin Young 1 - Baseball