Is Hagans the Key for Virginia?
Quarterback's leadership may unlock Cavs' championship potential
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 28, 2005

Marques Hagans has an abundance of tattoos on his body.
Some provide inspiration for Virginia's fifth-year quarterback, like the tattoo on his back of an alien trapped in a television.
"The TV is representing my life. [It's like I am] trapped in a TV, with no easy way out," Hagans said. "You have to find a way out. There are no shortcuts. That is how life is."
Other tattoos on Hagans' body are in memory of childhood friends that have been killed.
Over the past six months, two of Hagans' closest friends were killed. Both had kids.
Those events, as well as past tragedies, have continually proved to Hagans that life indeed, has "no shortcuts."
One of his friends, Donald Smith, was killed just prior to the start of spring drills. He actually missed the opening practice to attend the funeral.
The other, a friend whose nickname was "Freddie Cash," died over the summer.
"It is hard, especially when you are talking about people that you loved and cared about and that you grew up with," Hagans said. "Both of them ? they had children. That is tough.
"It lets you know that nothing in life is for certain. You can't take anything for granted."
And that is exactly how Hagans is approaching his final season at Virginia - taking nothing for granted.

"When I play [football], I play for people like that. I play for them," Hagans said. "They are not here to see me, so I just play for them. Now [with the loss of Freddie and Donald], this is going to give me more reason to go out there and play hard."

Straighten up and fly right
Hagans also had a personal experience to draw motivation from.
In April of 2004, Hagans was arrested for disorderly conduct after his former teammate Jamaine Winborne was shot in the leg.

Although Hagans was found not guilty on the charge, he said his brush with the law "straightened me up."
"I learned my lesson when Winborne got shot," Hagans said. "They locked me up. I said if they lock me up, they will lock anybody up. It didn't really set in until they were booking me in. I was like 'Ya'll are really doing this.' They said 'You are going to jail tonight.' I learned my lesson."
Hagans also admitted that during the 2002 season, Virginia coach
Al Groh had to get on him for failing to get his textbooks.
Prior to Virginia's September road game at Wake Forest that season, Groh gave Hagans one option - get his books or don't travel.
"I really wasn't even going to class," Hagans said. "I was just sleeping and playing Madden [a video game] until practice."
At a later point in the year, Hagans received word from an academic advisor that his grades needed
to improve or he would face a year-long
suspension.
"They gave me a second chance and I took advantage of it," Hagans said. "Once I got that letter and they said I could be kicked out ? I buckled down and got serious."
In May, Hagans delivered proof of that when he received his bachelor's degree in anthropology. He is currently enrolled in the Curry School of Education.

More inspiration
For Hagans, the off-the-field inspiration has been plentiful during his career. Other reasons to play hard surfaced after last season on the gridiron.
One of the driving forces is the taste of defeat.
Virginia won eight games, some because of Hagans, but they also lost four games last year, something Hagans takes the blame for.
Those setbacks include a season-ending overtime loss to Fresno State, 37-34, in the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
"You hate to lose any game but especially the last game because you don't get to go back and play the following week," Hagans admitted. "For me personally, it was like lighting a fire. I had played hard but in the end we lost. We can't get it back, but to me it lit a fuse."
That burning desire to win carried over into the offseason for Hagans.
He set up and led 7-on-7 drills throughout the summer months. He lifted weights with his workout partner - tailback Cedric Peerman. He also watched countless hours of film.
All of it done in an effort to get himself and more importantly, his team better prepared for the season.
The 23 year-old also graciously embraced the role of being a team captain, something Groh said has been beneficial from the start.
"He has done a terrific job here in being one of the leaders of the offense. He is very comfortable with that," Groh said. "You can tell that the players respect him and definitely listen to what he says.
"It is not about giving speeches and doing a lot of yelling and shouting necessarily for one of your team leaders, it is do the players listen to what the guy has to say. It is very apparent in watching the teams' reaction to Marques and to other kids ? they listen to Wali [Lundy]. They listen to [Tony] Franklin and [Brennan] Schmidt. They listen to what these guys say."

Leadership
That leadership will be important throughout the season, especially when faced with adversity.
Hagans' quarterback coach Mike Groh can vouch for that.
Mike Groh was the starting quarterback at UVa in 1995, when the team lost four games by an average of 3.5 points. In all four of those contests, the Cavaliers led in the fourth quarter.
Yet despite losing to Texas and Michigan by one point on game-ending scores and contests against North Carolina and Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers managed to win a share of the ACC Championship with Florida State.
"I think any time that you have a guy who is a fifth-year and he's your quarterback, you have an advantage," said Mike Groh, who played QB at UVa from 1991 to 1995. "[Hagans] has been in the wars and this young man has played a lot of football for Virginia and he has made a lot of plays in a variety of ways and we are going to count on him to make a lot of plays and even more than that, we are going to count on him to be the captain of the ship.
"It doesn't matter how rough the seas may get, he has to be that calming influence and put everybody on his back if need be."

Randall-like
Hagans progression into a leader has been commonly compared to that of former Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall.
Throughout his career in Blacksburg, Randall was criticized. Everyone seemed to want another Hokie starting at quarterback.
Last November, after Randall led the Hokies to a 24-10 win over Virginia and share of the ACC title, something the team captured a week later, he was asked by a reporter about the criticism, which included that he did not have a strong enough arm.
"That's the rap on me.
I heard 'He's too small. He doesn't have the poise to play quarterback. He runs too much. We'll move him to strong safety.' Everything," Randall answered.
While Hagans has never played defense at UVa, the other comments have been thrown his way too.
Hagans has tried using his best juke move to avoid letting them bother him, instead trying to use them and Randall as motivating factor.
"I grew up playing against Bryan Randall since I was like eight or nine," Hagans said. "We always played against each other in
AAU basketball and I knew him then. His brother [Brandon] and I played on the same AAU team when I was like 15, 16 and 17.
"I always knew his family and I always knew him. He has always been a great athlete ever since he was young and I was happy to see that he was able to take and get his team a [Championship] ring last year."
Hagans would like nothing better than to follow in the footsteps of Randall and Mike Groh, and deliver Cavalier fans with what he called a "storybook ending."
"I hope so, but it isn't guaranteed. Just because it happened for him, it doesn't mean it is guaranteed to happen for me," Hagans said. "I still have to go out there and work hard and prepare everyday. That is definitely my goal. I could really care less about any individual stats.
"I just want to get my team a ring."

 

Many factors to determine success
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
August 28, 2005

Practically everywhere I’ve been over the past six months, I have been asked one predominate question: “How are the Cavaliers going to do in football this season?”
Each time, my answer has been consistent and I truly believe that if Marques Hagans can make the strides expected at quarterback and if the secondary can develop into a strength rather than be a weakness, that Virginia can contend for the Coastal Division title of the ACC. If one or neither of those factors comes through, then ’05 could look a lot like ’04 when UVa finished 8-4.

Other questions
Yes, there’s other questions on this team. How will the defensive line perform with two new starters? How effective will the new outside linebackers be? What about the wide receivers? Can the Cavs run the ball as well without All-American Elton Brown leading the way? Will the passing game be the same without All-American tight end Heath Miller?
Certainly those are things that Virginia’s coaching staff has been working on since last season ended.
If Hagans, who played the second half of last season’s schedule with rib injuries, takes the step that most quarterbacks do after their first year starting, then he could be the difference between a good and great season.
Of the seven returning starting quarterbacks in the ACC, only three of them are in Virginia’s Coastal Division: Hagans, along with Georgia Tech’s Reggie Ball and Duke’s Mike Schneider. It is difficult to put a true value on how much an experienced quarterback means to a team, but it may be true that the Cavaliers will go as far as Hagans can take them.
In the offseason, defensive coordinator Al Golden assumed the role as position coach of UVa’s secondary. Should he bring the same intensity to the defensive backfield as he did to the inside linebacker play, then the performance could be
vastly improved.

Depth perception
While Virginia has been getting better over the last three years, the Cavaliers have had difficulty matching the depth of some of the league’s more dominant teams. Groh believes that recruiting will take care of that as he heads into a season that may present him with more playable depth on the roster than he has had in the previous four years.
When UVa has put up its 22 starters against Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech, the Cavs have been pretty competitive. But the lack of depth has shown in some instances against the big dogs.
“It’s been an advantage for some of those teams, an advantage that we didn’t have,” Groh said.
Over the last five years, including former head coach George Welsh’s last season and Groh’s first, the Cavaliers had a 36-27 record, which was only sixth best in the old ACC.
However, over the last three years, when Groh’s recruiting efforts kicked in, the Cavaliers are 25-14, third best (excluding last year’s newcomers to the league Miami and Virginia Tech), behind only Florida State (28-11) and Maryland (26-12).
Now, it’s a brand new ball game in the expanded ACC. The Cavaliers’ focus will be winning the Coastal Division, where they’re picked third behind Virginia Tech and Miami, and picked ahead of Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Duke.
On paper, that prediction makes perfect sense. Most of Miami’s defense returns and it could be one of the best defenses in the country. Virginia Tech returns 14 starters as defending league champion.
But as Groh is quick to point out, “We played the last game last year with the opportunity to play for the conference championship. We’re not happy with the results, we’re just trying to move on. We don’t really have any causes other than winning.”
The Cavaliers were only a few plays away in the Miami and Tech games from sharing the ACC title. Had that happened and the Cavs played in a better bowl game, there wouldn’t be as much skepticism about this season.
While the goal is to win every game they play, there is going to be a lot more emphasis placed on Coastal Division opponents. Groh has been delighted with divisional play, where he has experience as a longtime NFL coach.
“It certainly changes the competitive environment, so I think you have to factor that into your thinking,” Groh said. “It clearly defines who the targets are every year, the principal targets are your divisional opponents.
“If you’re going to win your division, somebody’s got to beat the prime contenders. You have to take the attitude, if it’s going to be anybody, it’s going to be us,” Groh said.
Win the division and anything can happen. As the coach points out, a team has a 50-50 chance in the ACC Championship game, and the winner advances to one of the biggest postseason games in college football.
So, while everybody wants to win ’em all, the only games that really, truly matter in the end are the divisional games. Beating Florida State or Maryland would be nice, but wins over divisional opponents Georgia Tech, UNC, Duke are worth a lot more to Virginia’s cause.
Should the Cavaliers prevail in those three games, then the entire season boils down to how they handle Virginia Tech in Scott Stadium and whether they shake off their horrible past in the Sunshine State and pull off a monumental upset over the Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl.
On paper, Virginia’s third. If you’re Marques Hagans, or Al Golden, or Al Groh, paper doesn’t matter.

 

Cavalier fans ready for season
By John Shifflett / Daily Progress staff writer
August 28, 2005

It has been a long offseason for fans of the Virginia football program. After three tough regular season losses and a heartbreaking defeat to Fresno State in the MPC Computers Bowl last December, the 2005 season couldn’t come soon enough.

“I can’t wait,” said Rob Mozelski, a 1994 Virginia engineering graduate who has been a season ticket holder in section 532 for eight years. “This is the best time of year - getting ready for football and tailgating and coming out and cheering our heads off and bringing my daughters to the game.”

Fellow diehard Cavalier fan Leo Scaggs concurred.

“Oh man, you wouldn’t believe it,” said Scaggs, who traveled five-and-a-half hours from Rock Hill, S.C., with his son, Kyle, to meet the team.

Despite the bitter end to the 2004 season, Virginia fans seem to be as rabid as ever heading into the 2005 campaign. Thousands of fans, including many from outside the Central Virginia area, flocked to Scott Stadiutm last week for Virginia’s “Meet the Team” day.

Since Al Groh became head coach of the Cavaliers in December of 2000, the Virginia fan base has grown and become much more vocal, catching what Groh likes to call “Orange Fever.”

“I am glad to see it,” said Scaggs of the fan base’s transformation in recent years. “I am glad to see the Sea of Orange. I think it was a great idea.”

The growing support for the Cavalier football team is showing at the gate as well. Virginia has sold a record 39,123 season tickets for the 2005 season, an amount that would have nearly filled Scott Stadium prior to its expansion. The season tickets allotment sold out more than three months ago. Five of the Cavaliers’ six home games are sold out. The only game in which tickets are still available is Saturday’s season opener against Western Michigan.

Much of that support can be attested to the success Virginia has had under Groh. Under his guidance, UVa has won 30 games, including three straight seasons with eight wins or more. Virginia has also earned two bowl victories and has produced 30 All-ACC players.

Longtime fan Leo Kennon cited several factors for some of the recent success Groh has had at Virginia.

“I think Groh gets out on the road and recruits more than [former coach George] Welsh did at the end [of his tenure] and I think you have to have that presence and it should help put players in the NFL like he did last year,” said Kennon, who has held season tickets for 25 years and travels to a good portion of the Cavaliers’ road games. “I like the way [the program is] going … I think academically, we are probably getting good kids in there who can graduate and make the university look good in that regard too.”

The Cavaliers’ schedule presents some potentially big matchups with Florida State, Virginia Tech and Miami, but Kennon feels another game on Virginia’s slate could be a defining one.

“As far as crucial games, the one I have got marked down is Boston College at BC,” Kennon said. “I think leading up to that game, I would hope [Virginia] would be undefeated. I think when you get to that game, it is going to tell you how good you really are. Tom O’Brien is a great coach who had some tutelage under George Welsh and he is going to have them prepared.

If they can take that step and beat [Boston College], then it is the big three [Virginia Tech, Florida State, Miami] after that.”

Fans are also expecting a big season from particular Cavaliers. Ginger Gibbs, a season ticket holder from Roanoke, expects a great year from senior quarterback Marques Hagans and local product Chris Long. Kennon sees big things for Virginia’s ground attack.

“I really think unless they subsitute a lot at running back, [Wali] Lundy could have a

1,500-yard year,” Kennon said. “I think he is a little upset with his year last year with a few fumbles like that. I think if he can hang on to the ball and not get in Al Groh’s doghouse, he could have a huge year.”

Opinions amongst fans vary on the predictions for the upcoming season.

“Even though I love ’em, I still see at least three losses … I would say 8-3,” Kennon said. “I don’t see where we have improved enough yet with speed and wide receivers and defensive backs to beat the three big ones - Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech.

“Of course I am hoping for a nine- or 10-win season because I want to go to Jacksonville [for the ACC Championship game], that is my ultimate goal, I want to see [Virginia] play in that game. I am tired of listening to all the Virginia Tech fans around here who are talking about going 11-0 or 12-0 already.”

Other fans see one or two more victories for Virginia in 2005.

“I would say we win 9 games if not more,” said Gibbs, who became a fan of the team five years ago while watching the games with her husband.

Said Scaggs: “I think [Virginia will be] a lot better than people expect. I think we are going to surprise some people this year.”

We will find out which outlook is right soon enough.

 

Reasons Virginia will or will not have a great season
August 28, 2005

Pack your bags and the Dr Pepper, UVa is bound for Jacksonville!

Reason's Virginia will have a great season

1. EVERYTHING STARTS IN THE TRENCHES. Virginia features one of the best offensive lines in the Atlantic Coast Conference. D’Brickashaw Ferguson may be the best left tackle in the country after passing up the NFL Draft to return this season. He would likely have been a first-round pick. Ferguson and Brad Butler provide the Cavs with leadership up front on offense, while Brennan Schmidt is a driving force on D.
2. THE LUNDY FACTOR. Senior Wali Lundy has done nothing but score touchdowns since the day he arrived, scoring 41 career touchdowns. In his career, Lundy has 11 multiple-touchdown games and he has eight games with three touchdowns. Coach Al Groh will look to grind out the running game with talented backs like Lundy, Michael Johnson and Cedric Peerman lined up behind a big offensive line.
3. THE EXPERIENCE FACTOR. From quarterback Marques Hagans to cornerback Tony Franklin to defensive ends Chris Johnson and Chris Long, a number of the central pieces on this team have gained valuable playing time. Receiver Ottowa Anderson returns as well to give the receiving corps a veteran presence. The Cavaliers have also felt what losing in big games feels like after faltering in key contests with Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech last season. That will be a driving force and a motivating factor.
4. SPECIAL TEAMS ARE SPECIAL.
Senior Connor Hughes is one of the most accurate kickers in the ACC. Kickoff specialist Kurt Smith is a touchback waiting to happen. UVa finally has a healthy battle to become the starting punter, a weak spot the past few seasons. Michael Johnson will get a chance to show his explosive speed returning kicks. Ottowa Anderson is back and ready to be a special teams force like he was in 2003.
5. THE SCHEDULE SETS UP NICELY.
Virginia opens with an easy slate in September, playing Western Michigan, Syracuse, Duke. Those three combined to win nine games last year. That will allow the new faces on the squad to gain experience in a winning environment. Virginia also plays Florida State, Georgia Tech and rival Virginia Tech at home, making all of those games potential wins. UVa is 16-2 in their last 18 games at Scott Stadium.

Pack your bags but forget Florida, UVa will have a colder bowl climate

Reasons Virginia will have an average season

1. KEY PLAYERS NO LONGER ON LINES.
UVa must replace the services of four linemen who were the heart and soul of the team last year. Elton Brown, Chris Canty, Andrew Hoffman and Zac Yarbrough were among the best players in the conference at their respective spots last year. Canty only played four games, obviously, but UVa went 4-4 without him on the field. The others leave major voids to fill.
2. ONE DIMENSIONAL IS A ONE-WAY TICKET OUT OF THE RACE. If Virginia does not establish some sort of passing game, defenses will crowd eight players into the box. That will make finding running room tougher for Lundy and any other tailback that gets the ball out of the backfield. Can the Cavalier receivers finally emerge as go-to options or does the big-play wideout drought since Billy McMullen’s departure continue? Remember, there’s no ‘Big Money’ Heath Miller at tight end to bail out the passing game.
3. INEXPERIENCE IN SEVERAL SPOTS.
Virginia lost five starters on offense and five starters on defense. And that doesn’t include injured linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Without those playmakers, some first-time starters, including freshmen, will be on the field - maybe even in critical spots. If the older veteran players could not make those plays, what’s to think the younger, inexperienced players can?
4. INCONSISTENCY ON SPECIAL TEAMS. Hughes missed four extra points last season and missed the spring practice period with mono. Smith had troubles last season kicking off against Miami. Chris Gould punted well in three games last season, but can he do it for a full season? What if junior college transfer Ryan Weigand wins the punting job, can he handle the speed of Division I-A football? Johnson fumbled a few two many times for Groh’s liking last year and if he drops a few punts, Groh may go with a more conservative kick returner.
5. TOUGH CONFERENCE SCHEDULE.
Virginia is one of the few teams in the ACC that has to play FSU, Miami and Virginia Tech in the same season. That itself creates a tough task. Throw in road games at Boston College, Maryland and North Carolina and you have a recipe for a few unforeseen losses. The stretch run is brutal as Virginia’s final three games come against teams that played in a bowl game last year.
 

ACC hoops worthy of a glance
Published August 28 2005
David Teel

Fans of symmetry, history and the NIT will appreciate ACC basketball this season, especially as it transpires in Blacksburg and Charlottesville.

Oh, stop your griping. Sure, it's late August, time for all red-blooded Americans to prepare for Randy Moss tokes, Longhorn chokes and other football staples. But with the head-knocking, online gambling and fantasy leaguing that counts still a few days or weeks off, the ACC basketball schedule unveiled last week deserves some love and loathing.

Start with Virginia Tech and Seth Greenberg, the reigning conference coach of the year. The Hokies surprised even themselves last season by splitting 16 ACC games and advancing to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Alas, despite returning four starters, Greenberg crafted an uninspired non-conference schedule that, absent double-digit ACC victories, sentences the Hokies to another NIT. Yes, any flavor of postseason is welcome as Greenberg's reclamation project enters its third year, and yes, Virginia Tech plays road games against Ohio State (mandated by the ACC-Big Ten Challenge) and Old Dominion (the Monarchs will crack the national polls for the first time), and a neutral-court game against Stanford in Las Vegas.

But of the Hokies' 10 remaining non-conference opponents, only Bowling Green posted a winning record last season. Worse, eight of those opponents were 230th or lower (the bottom 100) in the Rating Percentage Index calculated by collegerpi.com. Four - James Madison, Mount St. Mary's, Western Carolina and North Carolina A&T - were below 300th.

The NCAA tournament selection committee, chaired this season by Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage, figures to frown on that schedule, presuming Virginia Tech plays its way into postseason contention.

Like Virginia Tech, Virginia's challenging non-conference games are on the road - at Arizona, Gonzaga and Western Kentucky, teams that finished a combined 78-21 last season. Arizona, by the way, comes to Charlottesville next year for the inaugural game at the Cavaliers' new arena.

Of Virginia's 11 outside opponents, three were in the RPI's bottom 100 last season - Hartford, Loyola of Maryland and Longwood. But given the road tests, it's more than a credible schedule for Dave Leitao's first season as head coach.

Virginia closes University Hall (good riddance) on March 5 against Maryland. Brace yourself for Gary Williams' A-list profanity that afternoon, for the Terps' coach undoubtedly will view the referees as sentimental saps giving the Cavaliers every close whistle.

But even Williams should savor the symmetry here. On March 3, 2002, Virginia served as Maryland's designated victim in the Terps' final game at Cole Field House. With senior walk-on Earl Badu scoring his first ACC field goal, Maryland prevailed 112-92 en route to the national championship.

The Terps won't be title material this season, but their schedule may be. Maryland faces George Washington and Minnesota, and competes in the eight-team Maui Invitational.

In between Mai tais and Don Ho encores, the Terps play three games - Gonzaga in the first round, followed by possible matchups with Michigan State, Connecticut, Kansas and Arizona.

Duke will be the league's sole national title contender this season, and the Blue Devils' encounter with Texas in East Rutherford, N.J., is the ACC's marquee non-conference attraction. Moreover, Duke plays at Indiana, where Mike Davis clings stubbornly to his coaching gig, and in the Preseason NIT, where the Blue Devils could face Memphis, Missouri or UCLA.

North Carolina faithful will suggest, gently of course, that a national-championship rematch against Illinois in the Dean Dome and a game at Kentucky (the Wildcats and Tar Heels rank 1-2 in all-time victories) trump anything on Coach American Express' plate. But after bidding farewell to their top seven scorers, the defending champs will be ill-equipped for the program's ambitious-as-usual schedule.

Take note, coaches Greenberg and Leitao.
 

SEC recruit losses outstrip ACC's
Academic casualties rife in '05
By JEFF D'ALESSIO, CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution aThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/28/05

SEC football teams earned higher grades from the recruiting gurus on national signing day, but ACC programs lost far fewer signees because of their grades in the classroom.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of recruiting classes for both conferences revealed that 41 players signed to letters of intent by SEC schools in February didn't make it to campus, mostly for academic reasons. That compares to 21 in the ACC.

Alabama signed eight players who aren't in Tuscaloosa for football drills; five are absent because of academic shortcomings. Mississippi and Kentucky lost six signees apiece. Five Georgia recruits didn't make the grade.

"I think it's sad, but I'm not surprised," said Vanderbilt vice chancellor David Williams, who reviews prospective recruits' transcripts at this time each year, then gives the thumbs up or thumbs down on which ones Commodores football coaches can pursue the following season.

Vanderbilt went 24-for-24 this recruiting season, all of its signees eligible and on campus. But it was alone in the SEC in that department.

The ACC had four schools whose entire recruiting classes are on campus and practicing — Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Wake Forest. The conference's traditional powerhouses had mixed results — Miami had just one recruit not make it; Florida State had four, with a fifth's status still to be determined less than two weeks before kickoff.

"The ACC's number [21 signees who didn't make it to campus] is about what would normally be expected," said Scott Kennedy, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com. "Two players per team for big-time Division I football is about right. Four per team is way too many."

"I agree: That is a number that's too high," Florida President Bernard Machen said. "The institutions need to be more careful in determining who the coaches can recruit."

Florida, which lost one of 18 signees for academic reasons, puts transcripts through a prediction index before coaches "heavily recruit an athlete," Machen said. "It is not 100 percent, but it does help determine who can be successful as a student at the institution."

The Gators were among the SEC teams whose signing classes were rated among the nation's elite. Kennedy's service also ranked two of the Gators' chief rivals among the nation's top four — No. 1 Tennessee and No. 4 Georgia.

But that was before Georgia officials red-flagged the SAT score of linebacker recruit Jamar Chaney, who later was denied admission. Before local products Corey Moon and Brandon Sesay fell short academically. Before wide receiver Jamar Bryant asked out of his letter of intent and Super 11 linebacker Darius Dewberry was forced to go to prep school.

To stay competitive in the rugged SEC, Georgia coach Mark Richt says, coaches need to take calculated risks in recruiting. That includes signing players who may be a few points away on the SAT.

Some make it between February's signing day and the end of the semester. Others don't.

"Coaches develop relationships with these students, and if they come to believe in them as people, not just athletes, they want to give them the benefit of the doubt if they can," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said. "Not all of them make it. We know that. But we have given them the opportunity."

The NCAA uses a "sliding scale" to determine freshman eligibility. A student-athlete with a 2.0 grade point average, for instance, needs to score higher on the SAT or ACT (1010 or 86) than one with a 3.0 GPA (620 or 52). Athletes also are required to graduate from high school and complete a minimum of 14 core courses.

"If you believe he is a great player and very good person and a hard worker and he is only 20 points away [on the SAT] and not a qualifier on signing day ... if you don't sign him, you probably will have someone else who will," Richt said. "And he'll play against you."

Dewberry, who starred at Peach County High in Fort Valley, has enrolled at Virginia's Hargrave Military Academy, which may have been the biggest winner of them all this past recruiting season. Its 2005 roster features 14 players who signed with SEC and ACC schools in February, including five members of The Journal-Constitution's Super Southern 100.

Players can spend a semester at Hargrave, get their academics in order, then sign again in February. They're open to be re-recruited by any college in between, but many prep school players stick with the program they picked the first time.

Take Georgia, which has used Hargrave as a sort of farm team. Among the recruits who re-signed with the Bulldogs after meeting academic requirements at the Virginia prep school: Terrence Edwards, Reggie Brown, Randy McMichael, Leonard Pope, Charles Grant and Danny Ware.

"If you don't sign those guys on signing day and another team does, they will have a much better chance of having them in one semester from now," Richt said. "It's not a binding situation. It's a relationship thing."

Hargrave awards athletics scholarships for postgraduate students ranging from $2,000 to $10,000, said Frank Martin, the school's director of admissions. Players are put through a regimented schedule, from the 6 a.m. bugle call to "Taps" at 10 p.m. — and the three 1-hour, 25-minute classes they take in between.

"It gets your mind right," said Ware, now a sophomore tailback for the Bulldogs. "It keeps you about what is going, teaches you things, puts your mind in a peaceful place and a happy place. Work hard and you know that it will be over in a little while, so you can give it all you got."

College coaches who've had recruits go the prep school route say they often come out more ready to tackle academic life in college.

"Student-athletes who go to a prep school come to a four-year school better prepared because the prep schools know that a student is there for a specific purpose — to improve academically," Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said.

— Staff writer Tony Barnhart contributed to this article.


SIGNED, SEALED . . . NOT DELIVERED

Duke, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wake Forest have their entire football recruiting classes on campus. Other SEC and ACC schools weren't so fortunate. A school-by-school look at the number of recruits who didn't make it to campus, according to each university:

EIGHT

• Alabama: Five signees failed to meet academic requirements — DL Antonio Forbes, TB Mike Ford, WR Desmond Jennings (taken in 18th round of baseball draft), WR Nick Kyles and DB Michael Ricks. Three others — DB Sam Burnthall, OL Cole Harvey and WR/DB Travis Sikes — aren't on the Tide's 105-man roster but plan to enroll in the spring.

SIX

• Mississippi: All-America DL Jerrell Powe and OL John Jerry will spend the season at Virginia's Hargrave Military Academy after falling short academically. LB Wallace Bates and DB Jabarre Mitchell were dismissed for rules violations. College Park DL Jada Brown left the team three days into practice, and Lance Lee transferred to Northwest CC. Also, RB Marshay Green's eligibility has not been certified, leaving him out of camp.

• Kentucky: The Wildcats signed 31 prospects, six more than the NCAA allows schools to give scholarships to in a given class, knowing that some wouldn't make it to campus. Six didn't — WR E.J. Adams, OL Kalavi Blanchard, DL Mike Cross, RB Corey Goodson (enrolled at Hargrave), LB Jamaal Jackson and LB Sam Maxwell.

FIVE

• Georgia: WR Jamar Bryant was released from his letter of intent and enrolled at East Carolina. LB Jamar Chaney was denied admission and enrolled at Mississippi State. Others who'll try to improve their academics before going to Georgia: LB Darius Dewberry, DE Corey Moon and DL Brandon Sesay.

• Virginia Tech: LB Deveon Simmons enrolled in junior college. DE Steven Friday, S Stephen Virgil and OL Brandon Holland all qualified academically but will wait until January to enroll. WR Todd Nolen will go the prep school route.

FOUR

• Florida State: Three top recruits — DT Callahan Bright, OL Matt Hardrick and DE Justin Mincey — will suit up for Hargrave. LB Dan Foster also didn't enroll. FSU's number could grow to five; LB Matt Dunham's status is yet to be determined, a school spokesman said.

• Mississippi State: Two of Sylvester Croom's three most highly rated recruits — CB Anthony Johnson (Hargrave) and DT Louis Ellis — didn't make it. Nor did DE Tim Holloway and LB Archie Sims.

THREE

• Arkansas: RB Brandon Barnett and LB Kevin Hubbard have enrolled at junior colleges. LB Michael Bibbs hasn't been OK'd by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

• Maryland: DE Melvin Alaeze, the Terps' highest-profile signee, didn't qualify and enrolled at Hargrave with RB Morgan Green, a fellow Maryland recruit. LB Chris Clinton also didn't make it.

• N.C. State: OL Brandon Jeffries, a one-time Tennessee Vol who signed with the Wolfpack after a junior college stint, was a no-show at practice. Others who didn't make it to campus: DE Chad Green and OL Doug Palmer.

• Tennessee: WR Ulysses Alexander was released from his letter of intent and signed with Auburn. Other losses: LB Todd Cox (junior college) and OL Darrius Myers (Hargrave).

TWO

• Auburn: The Tigers lost LB Rex Sharpe to Butler County CC and OL Michael Harness to Hargrave.

• Clemson: WR T.J. Williams did not qualify academically and will enroll at Fork Union Military Academy. Terrell Smith, rated among the nation's top 20 safety prospects, also didn't make it.

• North Carolina: Two Tar Heels recruits are prep school-bound: S Dwight Fluker-Berry (Fork Union) and DE Darius Massenburg (Hargrave).

• South Carolina: OL Jarriel King didn't qualify academically. QB Mychal Belcher chose to sit out the fall and enroll in the spring.

ONE

• Boston College: CB Andre Jones will spend a year in prep school before joining BC.

• Florida: TE Brian Ellis didn't meet university academic requirements.

• LSU: RB Trindon Holliday will enroll in January.

• Miami: DE Richard Gordon will attend New Jersey's The Hun School and plans to enroll at Miami in January.

— Jeff D'Alessio
 

In the South, only one sport really matters
(Hint: It ain't hockey.)
By MARK BRADLEY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/28/05

Seasons change, but the ritual never varies and the passion never abates. At Georgia Tech's home opener, Taz Anderson will, he says, "walk up to the stadium and see the same ticket-takers and the same security people, and every year we ask each other the same questions: 'What do you think? We gonna win?' "

"Every conversation I have is about college football," says Loran Smith, the longtime sideline voice of Georgia radio broadcasts. "People can't wait."

There are all manner of games and pastimes in the South, but there is only the One True Sport. College football is played well and followed fervently in other regions from sea to shining sea, but only in the South does its carry the feel of a massive rite of renewal.

"I've been to games at Michigan and Michigan State and Notre Dame. Those people are pretty serious about it," says Anderson, an Atlanta entrepreneur who played at Georgia Tech from 1956 through 1960. "But I don't think it means as much to them. In this state, it can't get any bigger than Tech against Georgia. That game controls people's lives. You'll hear people say, 'I can't do business with that guy — he's a Georgia man.' "

It has become convenient to liken college football in the South to old-time religion, and Smith believes the comparison is apt. "In Southern towns, the church was traditionally the center of society," he says. "You'd have log-rollings. Dinner would be served on the church grounds. I think that's why tailgating has gotten so big; it's just an extension of that."

Numbers tell some of the story. Nine of the top 17 schools in football attendance last season are in the Southeastern and the Atlantic Coast conferences. On Saturdays when both Clemson and South Carolina are playing at home, the two massive stadiums — Death Valley and Williams-Brice — essentially become the third- and fourth-largest cities in the Palmetto State.

Where else but in the South do 80,000-seat stadiums rise from towns so modestly sized? The former Georgia Tech safety Ken Swilling, who grew up in Toccoa, used to have the same thought every time he went to a game in rustic Clemson: "Where'd all these people come from?"

Short answer: They come from all over. Says Smith: "It's not just Atlanta lawyers and bankers. It's people in small towns wearing Georgia caps as they walk downtown for lunch. The vernacular might change, but this involves people from all walks of life."

Football in the South offers such powerful images — from Bear Bryant's houndstooth hat to Steve Spurrier's flung visor, from Tennessee's checkerboard end zones to Chief Osceola's flaming spear — that fans often speak less of the games themselves than they do the vivid surroundings.

"I wouldn't walk across the street to see any pro football game because the same flavor is just not there," writes Robert Westmoreland, an Ellijay insurance man and a Georgia grad, in an e-mail. "College football Southern style is a mixture of longtime friendships, gameday color and sights and sounds and smells, and the fans' zeal to support their school and its traditions."

And it's not just one Southern school or one Southern state that feels this way. They all do. The Midwest and the Southwest have a few football strongholds. The South has nothing but. The South is the place where otherwise clear-thinking people rise early on Saturday mornings to affix flags and decals to their cars and sport utility vehicles so other motorists can have no doubt of their allegiance. The South is the place where every game staged on every campus has the feel of a true Big Game.

The South is even the place where a well-heeled businessman and a state's chief executive can speak wistfully in football shorthand. Last week Anderson saw Sonny Perdue, once a Bulldog walk-on, and the Tech man said, "Governor, it's about that time."

Perdue knew exactly what Anderson meant. "Yes," Georgia's governor said, "it's about time to get down in a three-point stance.
 

Will it help or hurt?
Certainly, the ACC has gained money and national prestige with the addition of a conference football title game. Not all coaches, however, agree that it's good for winning national titles
By LUCIANA CHAVEZ AND ROBBI PICKERAL, Staff Writers

The ACC has claimed a spot at college football's big-boy table, alongside the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences, by adding three major schools and a league title game.
That has already brought the ACC more money and a greater sense of national legitimacy in the sport. The only way to keep the latter, however, is to win national titles. That's why the idea of league championship games, both in the ACC and other conferences, is not always greeted warmly by the coaches whose teams must play them.

At least one ACC coach is worried that a league championship game will make it more difficult for an ACC team to win a national title.

"I'm probably in agreement with Bob Stoops now," Miami coach Larry Coker said, referring to the Oklahoma coach. "Bob doesn't think it's fair that some leagues didn't have a playoff and his did. I agree with him now because it does make it tougher."

But any such concern is outweighed by the boost in prestige that a nationally televised title game gives a conference, Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said.

"Either you're getting better or you're getting worse," Gailey said. "Adding a title game has taken the strength of the ACC up to the level with other top conferences. We needed to do that."

ACC Commissioner John Swofford believes the title game -- the inaugural game will be played in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 3 -- also will generate more interest in the regular season by creating divisional races that keep more teams in contention.

"The game will bring the regular season to a tremendous culmination," Swofford said.

It has in the SEC; eight of the conference's 12 teams have played for and six have won the title since the championship game was begun in 1992. Six have played for and won the Big 12 title since the title game was first played in 1996.

The competitiveness of the game helped earn Stoops' dislike. In 2003, Kansas State defeated top-ranked Oklahoma, 35-7, in the Big 12 title game. The Sooners then lost the Bowl Championship Series title game to Louisiana State.

In 2001, Colorado wrecked Texas' national championship chances in the Big 12 title game. LSU then beat No. 2 Tennessee in the SEC title game to keep the Volunteers out of the national championship game.

"If you somehow stumbled and still had a chance to get into that league title game, of course you want to play," Miami player Eric Winston said. "If you're 12-0 and set to play for the national title and all you have to do is win the league title game, of course you don't want to be there."

In fact, Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg said most of the league's coaches oppose the title game. "Many have felt it's a big competitive hurdle at the end. ... But then you ask them what they would prefer as an alternative, and no one can come up with a good alternative."

Hard to find a trend

Aside from examples of national contenders losing league title games, it's difficult to cite a statistical trend indicating whether title games have helped or hurt SEC and Big 12 teams.

SEC teams have actually gone 51-34 in bowl games -- a .600 winning percentage -- since the first conference title game in 1992. In the 10 years before that, the SEC's bowl record was 27-25-3.

The Big 12 has gone 29-31 in bowls since adding its title game in 1996. In the previous decade, teams now in the Big 12 went 16-16 in postseason play.

The SEC has done better in national championships, winning four in the 12 years since beginning its title game. In the 12 previous years, the SEC produced only one national champion.

But the Big 12 has done slightly worse: two national championships since beginning its title game eight years ago, compared with three in the eight years before that.

Perhaps more telling: An ACC team hasn't played for a national title since 1999, when Florida State won.

Of course, the money

The ACC will manage to motor along regardless of who plays for the conference or national titles thanks to the fat payday it is getting from ABC and ESPN to televise ACC games.

"The title game is good for the ACC because more games mean more money," Virginia Tech player Darryl Tapp said. "I'm in marketing. I know."

The conference signed a new contract with ABC and ESPN in 2004 -- it runs through 2010 -- that would be worth an estimated $37 million to $37.5 million annually. The previous contract, signed in 1998, was worth about $21 million per year.

How much of that increase can be attributed to the new conference title game is unclear.

ACC Associate Commissioner Jeff Elliott said the league's title-game revenue should be "comparable" to that of the SEC and the Big 12. Last year's title game brought the Big 12 about $9 million, including television money. The SEC said its 2004 title game brought $12.4 million, also including TV revenue.

Rick Catlett, president of the Gator Bowl Association, which will put on the ACC title game, said it should generate something "north of" $5.5 million from ticket sales and money from the city of Jacksonville, but not including TV money.

High sales expected

Catlett said Swofford made one thing clear: Alltel Stadium must be full. With 47,000 of 77,000 tickets going to the ACC and Gator Bowl members and sponsors, the remaining 30,000 went on public sale through Ticketmaster on Aug. 1.

"If it is full, it sends a message," Swofford said, adding that he wants to see Jacksonville embrace the event. "It's a different feel when you have a full venue. It gives a stronger perception of the game's importance."

The SEC has fared well by keeping its annual game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Big 12 occasionally has struggled to sell out its championship game, which is moved each year.

The ACC game will be held in Jacksonville the next two years, and the conference has an option to keep it there in 2007 and '08.

The ACC is keeping stride with the SEC and Big 12 in terms of bowl tie-ins. Starting in 2006, the ACC will have eight bowl affiliations, as the SEC and Big 12 do. The ACC is adding the Music City and Emerald bowls.

That means eight bowl games will reserve one spot for an ACC team, which may sound like a lot for a 12-team conference. But Coker said that the ACC's expansion, the increase in bowl affiliations and the title game "legitimize the league. People want to see the teams in this league."

All that's left is see which teams from the ACC's Atlantic and Coastal divisions will play for the championship.

"It will be a great thing to be part of that game," Miami's Winston said. "You'd be able to look back and say, 'I was part of the first ACC title game in history.' "

 

Call to arms
Who will step forward as the ACC's top quarterback?
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Aug 28, 2005

When ballots for the preseason all-Atlantic Coast Conference football team were distributed, some of the positions could have been filled in automatically.

Boston College's Mathias Kiwanuka was a cinch at defensive end. He became the league's preseason player of the year. Virginia Tech's Jimmy Williams was a definite at cornerback, as was Virginia's D'Brickashaw Ferguson on the offensive line. Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson at wide receiver was an easy call.

Some positions required a lot more thought.

One was a complete head-scratcher: Quarterback.

The honor ended up going to Clemson senior Charlie Whitehurst, a decision clearly based on two years ago (21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions) than last year (7 touchdowns, 17 interceptions).

He is the most proven quarterback over a career -- Whitehurst's 7,182 career passing yards are the most of any active Division I-A quarterback.

But there is no clear-cut, rock solid, he's-the-man quarterback in the league.

The teams picked to finish first and second in both ACC divisions all have quarterbacks who didn't play last season. Florida State (first, Atlantic) and Miami (second, Coastal) will be led by rookies. Virginia Tech (first, Coastal) and Boston College (second, Atlantic) have quarterbacks who played in 2003 but not last season.

"How those quarterbacks play will go a long way toward determining how the league goes," Tech coach Frank Beamer said.

A bunch of quarterbacks in the league could be stars.

Which will become stars?

Virginia has senior Marcus Hagans back for his second season as a starter, N.C. State has senior Jay Davis back for his second year.

"North Carolina State's in the same circumstance that we're in, now they're getting their quarterback back for the second year and most likely expect [him to be better]," Virginia coach Al Groh said.

"I think it's to the quarterback's advantage to be playing with experience behind him, and then if it's to the quarterback's advantage, it is certainly going to make it to the advantage of the team to have an experienced quarterback."

Junior Marcus Vick at Virginia Tech was suspended last season, senior Quinton Porter at Boston College sat out as a redshirt. Vick played some in 2003 but will be making his first career start a week from today. Porter started 10 games in 2003 and, rather than waste him behind Paul Peterson last season, BC opted to have him sit out and return this season. Porter went 5-5 as a starter before a hand injury opened the position for Peterson.

"We asked Quinton to go down to the scout team and to have a good time and to throw the football," BC coach Tom O'Brien told the Boston Globe. "The one thing I wanted him to do was to test his arm. He was always trying to be perfect -- and maybe, in my opinion, a little bit too perfect, too cautious and too afraid to force the ball in.

"I think that comes about from never attempting to fail. There's times he'd go out in practice, and I'd say, If you don't throw five interceptions today, you didn't have a good practice.' You have to learn as a quarterback what you can and can't throw."

Another wild card to watch in the quarterback derby is Wake Forest sophomore Ben Mauk. He shared the position last season with Cory Randolph and started the final three games. He's apparently won the job for 2005. Randolph has spent some time working at wide receiver.

"Ben Mauk is having an absolutely great August, but I am most impressed right now with the attitude and work ethic that Cory Randolph has shown. I am not telling you that Cory walks around with a smile on his face all the time, but I could not ask for any better effort than he is putting in right now," Wake coach Jim Grobe told the High Point (N.C.) Enterprise.

At Georgia Tech, junior Reggie Ball is in Whitehurst's class. He fell off some last season after being the ACC rookie of the year in 2003. He threw 18 interceptions last season and his completion percentage was only 49.7.

"He's proven that he can play very well at times, and he's proven he can play very poorly at times. We're looking for that guy to show up week in and week out on a more consistent basis," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey told the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph.

As for Whitehurst, there's a chicken-egg question. Did his poor play affect the team as much as the team's poor play affected him?

Only seven Division I-A quarterbacks in the past five years have had a lower efficiency rating than Whitehurst had last season. The Tigers have a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Rob Spence.

The aim everywhere at Clemson is to restore the confidence Whitehurst admits he lost last season.

"I think I messed Charlie up last year, and he's too good of a person, too good of a talent not to be more productive than he was last year," coach Tommy Bowden told the Columbia (S.C.) State. "I take sole responsibility for him not being productive."

Among the newcomers, quarterbacks at the league's two Florida schools are intriguing.

Kyle Wright, a ballyhooed sophomore from Danville, Calif., takes over for Brock Berlin at Miami.

He's said to be the first Hurricanes quarterback since Vinny Testaverde to have first-round draft potential. Testaverde was the Heisman Trophy winner in 1986.

At Florida State, Wyatt Sexton's health problems opened the way for redshirt freshmen Xavier Lee and Drew Weatherford to fight for the job. Both are considered terrific prospects. Weatherford appears to have pulled ahead. A shoulder injury kept Lee out of a scrimmage this week. Weatherford threw for 401 yards.

Senior Matt Baker at UNC has the task of replacing three-year starter Darian Durant. Baker has played in 12 games. He hasn't started one.

"In the spring we added things to our defense. That was multitasking," UNC coach John Bunting told the Winston-Salem Journal.

"We wanted to not only help our defense, but we wanted to help Matt Baker in our offense. We will be blitzing Matt Baker all through training camp. It will be extremely important that everybody is confident when they go to the line of scrimmage. And that's not just the quarterback but the offensive line, the receivers, the tight end and the running backs."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Aug 28, 2005

FREE FOR ALL: Coming out of spring football practice at Virginia, sophomore Kevin McCabe stood second on the depth chart at quarterback, slightly ahead of junior Christian Olsen. Olsen has pulled ahead of McCabe, however, and will begin the season as senior Marques Hagans' backup.

"It's over," Virginia coach Al Groh said Friday when asked about the competition for the No. 2 job.

That doesn't mean Olsen is assured of replacing Hagans as the starter in 2006. U.Va.'s roster includes five scholarship quarterbacks who will have at least one season of eligibility remaining after 2005: Olsen, McCabe, redshirt freshman Scott Deke and true freshmen Jameel Sewell (Hermitage) and Vic Hall.

"Obviously, somebody will be ahead to start with, based on fall performance and so forth," Groh said, "but it probably will be an open horse race here in the spring."

NO PICNIC: Tackle Brad Butler was named the offense's most improved player at the end of the spring drills. Groh noted Friday, however, that Butler didn't have to face defensive end Brennan Schmidt, who was recovering from shoulder surgery, during spring practice.

Schmidt, a four-year starter, is healthy again, and he battles Butler every day.

"Nobody has had a better training camp than Brennan," Groh said.

GOOD AS ADVERTISED: During his senior season at Robinson High in 2003, Olu Hall was considered by many recruiting analysts to be the state's No. 1 college prospect. After spending a postgraduate year at Hargrave Military Academy, the 6-3, 230-pound freshman is finally at U.Va., and he's pushing for playing time at outside linebacker.

"Olu's got a real good football aptitude," Groh said. "Football comes naturally. He sees the game very quickly and very clearly, and he understands the game very well."

The Cavaliers open the season Saturday against Western Michigan at Scott Stadium. Virginia's starters at outside linebacker are redshirt freshman Clint Sintim and sophomore Jermaine Dias. The most experienced reserve is sophomore Marvin Richardson, but true freshmen Hall and Aaron Clark could overtake him this season.

FRONTCOURT POSSIBILITIES: The men's basketball roster at U.Va. includes one player from Nigeria: sophomore center Tunji Soroye. Another Nigerian, Abdullahi Kuso, has drawn the interest of U.Va. coach Dave Leitao and his staff.

Kuso is a 6-9, 220-pound sophomore at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College, where he averaged 11.6 points and 8.8 rebounds in 2004-05. Kuso, who knows Soroye, was an excellent student in high school and signed initially with Rutgers. But the NCAA had questions about Kuso's transcript, and he ultimately left Rutgers and transferred to TCC. He'll have two years of eligibility at a Division I school, starting in 2005-06.

"I think in a couple years he's going to be first-round [NBA] pick," Tallahassee coach Eddie Barnes said.

Bethel High senior Duke Crews, a 6-7 forward, announced Friday that he's cut the list of schools he's considering to four. Virginia isn't one of them. The Cavaliers' targets in the Class of 2006 still include two post players from New York: Jonathan Mitchell (6-7, 235), a senior at Mount Vernon High, and Brad Sheehan (6-10, 200), a senior at Shaker High. Mitchell and Sheehan are scheduled to visit U.Va. the weekend of Sept. 24.

ON THE DIAMOND: In June, four members of the U.Va. baseball team's well-regarded recruiting class were selected in the Major League Draft. Classes started Wednesday at Virginia, and all four players matriculated, to the delight of third-year coach Brian O'Connor.

Of the 34 players on his roster, O'Connor said Friday, 16 are new, including 12 freshmen. Three of those freshmen could end up starting in the infield in 2006: David Adams (Margate, Fla.) at second base, Greg Miclat (Concord, N.C.) at shortstop and Jeremy Farrell (Westlake, Ohio) at third.

O'Connor said that "between the pitchers and position players, I think there are probably going to be eight or so [newcomers] that contribute" next season.

IN THE CREASE: Two of Dom Starsia's starting attackmen will be back in 2006, but the U.Va. men's lacrosse coach must replace John Christmas, who was the team's second-leading scorer as a senior last season.

The leading candidate to start alongside sophomore Ben Rubeor and senior Matt Ward is probably freshman Danny Glading, whose brother Billy starred on the U.Va. team that won the NCAA title in 2003.

Glading also played midfield at Georgetown Prep in Maryland, but Starsia said, "I've always looked at Danny Glading and thought, 'Boy, what a great attackman.'" - Jeff White