Hall is simply golden
James Robinson senior tops 2003 Gold List
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 12, 2003

Any coach in the country would be chomping at the bit to land the top five high school football prospects in Virginia, let alone the 25 members of the annual Daily Progress “Gold List.”
So far, UVa coach Al Groh and Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen are wearing smiles over landing two of those top five, but major recruiting battles are raging as the bowl season approaches. Recruiting will intensify as January approaches prior to the February signing date.
Our annual Gold List is a compilation of the top 25 senior prospects in the state of Virginia as selected by our recruiting guru Mike Farrell, a nationally-recognized analyst who has thoroughly researched the players on the list. In addition, there’s the Silver List of the next 25 prospects, a “Sleeper of the Year,” and an early glimpse at the top five juniors in the state.
But first, the crème de la crème.
Olu Hall, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound defensive end from Robinson High in Fairfax, is the Gold List’s top-ranked prospect. He is followed closely by Charlottesville’s own Chris Long, of St. Anne’s-Belfield, who committed to UVa as a junior in 2002.
Rounding out the top five are Culpeper free safety Kent Hicks, who spurned offers from both of the state’s major schools and committed to Maryland this week; Kecoughtan linebacker Jerod Mayo and Westfield wide receiver Eddie Royal.
Hall, Mayo and Royal are all considering both Tech and UVa along with other schools.
Thus far, 13 of the Gold List players have committed: four to UVa, two to Tech, two to Maryland and one each to West Virginia, Syracuse, Clemson, South Carolina and Pittsburgh. Seven of the Silver List have also committed, two to UVa, one to Tech, and one each to Syracuse, Wake, WVU and Temple.
Here are breakdowns of the top five prospects:

l OLU HALL
Experts have felt from the beginning that Hall is a lean toward the Hokies, which would be good news in Blacksburg.
Hall is interested in engineering, which could help Coach Frank Beamer’s effort to land the big defensive end. Hall definitely is interested in Tech and UVa, while he has hinted recently that he may have gained interest in N.C. State, Ohio State and Tennessee. That means Clemson, Miami and UNC may have fallen from grace.
“We’ve had Olu for four years and he’s worked hard to learn his trade,” said Robinson coach Mark
Bendorf. “He’s not necessarily a flashy player. He understands blocking schemes, offensive schemes and what other people are trying to do to him. Turning the play in so others can make the play is more his forte in our assignment-style defense.”
Hall had 11 sacks at last count, not many for a player his quality. But understand that opponents ran away from him so much that his opportunities were limited. Opponents redirect their game plans to avoid confronting Hall.
“He has limitless potential as a rush end with his quickness off the ball,” said Farrell. “He has great agility and an NFL frame. Once he hits a college weight room and adds some bulk, he’ll be a 250-pound defensive end with quickness off the edge.”
Hall’s long arms bat down passes and prevent opponents from blocking him.
He held his own as a sophomore on Robinson’s state title squad and hasn’t slowed down since.

l CHRIS LONG
“Long would be No. 1 on the list if it weren’t for the competition,” said Farrell, who is a national recruiting analyst for Rivals, ESPN and writes a weekly recruiting column for The Progress. “However, it’s no stretch to say that Chris could end up being the best player the state produces out of this class.
“He has a non-stop motor, a nasty streak and quickness and agility not often found in big players at this level. Long takes angles well on defense and is excellent in pursuit. On offense, he is a pure drive blocker in the run game and has excellent footwork in pass protection,” Farrell said.
Long comes from great stock. His father, Howie Long, is a Pro Football Hall of Famer after a sterling career at defensive end for the Oakland Raiders.
Chris has etched out his own reputation but admitted he prefers offense. After a standout season for the VISFA Division II state champion Saints, Long was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Virginia. He has also been named to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which will be played Jan. 3 in San Antonio, Texas (televised by NBC).
St. Anne’s coach John Blake is perhaps the most grateful that Long decided to commit during his junior season.
“If he hadn’t already committed, I wouldn’t get any work done,” said Blake. “It would be ugly.”
That’s because every college recruiter worth his salt would be knocking at the door.

l KENT HICKS
Much like Hall, Culpeper coach Randy Bove believes it will be scary once Hicks hits the college weight room. Blessed with a good frame and quickness, Hicks is an instinctive player who had 109 tackles this year.
“We walked him up seven yards from the line of scrimmage and from film study, he always knew where the plays were going,” Bove said.
Farrell believes high school was just too easy for the physical defensive back.
“He needs to be more challenged to reach his potential,” Farrell said. “At the high school level he dominates, but often gets bored and takes plays off. His flashes of brilliance certainly outweigh his lapses, but he needs to make sure he’s not picking up bad habits in college. Hicks turns his hips well in coverage and is a sure tackler. He has good ball skills as well.”
Hicks narrowed his choices to Maryland and Tennessee and eliminated the Vols because he wanted to stick closer to home.
“I think that was a factor, plus he felt comfortable at Maryland and he has a chance to play next year,” said Bove. “He liked Coach Friedgen and his philosophy. Virginia, BC and Tech all offered him but they’re all in the ACC now, so he chose Maryland.”
Hicks has another gear that many players don’t possess and knows when to use it. An All-Northwest Region selection, Bove expects his safety to make the all-state squad.

l JEROD MAYO
There’s quite a battle going on for this star linebacker, although he declared N.C. State his new leader after making his first official visit there last weekend.
“If I had to pick a school right now, it would be N.C. State,” Mayo said. “I was just blown away by the visit.”
Other schools are hoping Mayo delays his decision and makes his other scheduled visits to Virginia this weekend, Purdue next weekend, then Tennessee and Virginia Tech after Christmas.
“He’s strong and runs well,” said Kecoughtan coach Tommy Austin. “He brings all 215 pounds when he gets there. I’ve seen him lay some pretty vicious licks on some people. He’s a human highlight film.”
When Austin changed the team’s defense from an eight-man front to a 4-3 this year, Mayo picked it right up.
Mayo had 119 tackles this season in 10 games, including 91 first hits, three interceptions and 11 sacks. Austin chose to blitz Mayo as much as he could.
Not only did he make first team all-district linebacker, but second-team all-district running back, where he rushed for 1,250 yards. After moving from fullback to tailback three games into the season, Mayo recorded seven consecutive 100-yard rushing games, including 200 yards in his final game on only 18 carries.
“An undersized linebacker, Mayo is very quick and plays sideline to sideline,” said Farrell. “He sheds blockers well, although he still has trouble with offensive linemen downfield. Once he adds some weight in college, he’ll be a terrific outside linebacker. Mayo is a very sure tackler and is excellent in pass coverage.”

l EDDIE ROYAL
No one moved up the recruiting lists faster than Royal since his blistering 4.29-second 40-yard dash at Virginia’s summer camp.
He followed it up with a solid senior season and that’s why there’s plenty of interest in this Northern Virginia standout.
“Royal is a gamebreaker with superior speed, good hands and the ability to go up and get the ball,” said Farrell. “He plays bigger than his size, but his strength is stretching the field and outrunning defenders.”
Royal hopes to major in sociology. His sister goes to Tech, his brother to Marshall.
He is visiting Tennessee this weekend, the Hokies on Jan. 23 and is still considering trips to Carolina and Marshall.
While Virginia has offered him, Royal is believed to be leaning strongly toward Virginia Tech, while Marshall is No. 2. Syracuse has also attempted to get a visit from the speedy wideout.
It doesn’t hurt that Royal’s high school quarterback at Westfield, Sean Glennon, is also a Hokie commitment.

l SLEEPER OF YEAR
The Gold List annually picks a “Sleeper,” which is a kid who is sometimes overlooked in the recruiting process but has the potential to eventually make an impact on a college program.
This year’s pick was right under our noses at Western Albemarle in Bryan Lescanec, who is drawing attention as a running back/fullback type and a punter.
Both UVa and Tech have taken a glimpse at this Region II Player of the Year, who rushed for 3,646 yards and scored 50 TDs in his career for the Warriors. He carried a 42.2 punting average as a junior but didn’t hardly have to punt this past season because of Western’s explosive offense.
Lescanec gained a great endorsement this season when after one game, Pro Hall of Famer Howie Long called him up and told him he was “a heck of a football player.”
So far, two other Division I-A schools, Ohio U. and Navy, have shown strong interest as has I-AA’s Richmond, William & Mary and VMI.
If Lescanec had his way, he’d be a Wahoo. He has dreamed of wearing the Orange and Blue since childhood when he used to make his father, a former UVa baseball star, drive him by Scott Stadium, where Bryan predicted he “would run out onto that field some day.”
 

Farrell has a real knack for eyeing talent
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 12, 2003

Right now, somewhere up in snowy Connecticut, Mike Farrell is knee-deep in video tape. Each year, the national football recruiting analyst watches more than 1,000 such tapes of high school prospects and ranks them by position.
It is a difficult task, an imperfect science where kids slip between the cracks or late-bloomers explode on the national stage that throw rankings completely out of whack. But Farrell is as good as they come in the business.

An eye for talent
His ability to recognize and evaluate talent was noted this season when Rivals promoted him to one of its two national recruiting analysts and when ESPN hired him as its television recruiting expert. His shows can be found on ESPN News, usually simulcast by ESPN2.
For the past two years, The Daily Progress has enjoyed a unique relationship with Farrell, who has written a weekly recruiting column focusing on Virginia and Virginia Tech recruiting. For the second year in a row, The Progress has used Farrell’s expertise to select players for our annual Gold List, the ranking of the state’s Top 25 high school senior football prospects.

Seeing is believing
He is the only national recruiting analyst we know of who actually sees every prospect he ranks. Anything less is a blind guess.
“We try not to rank anybody that we haven’t seen,” Farrell said. “Our rankings are based on film evaluation first, second with college coaching contacts and conversations, and third, conversations with high school coaches. But we make our own evaluations.”
Though he resides in Connecticut, Farrell is publisher of “The WagonOnline.com,” a popular UVa-related Web site that concentrates on Virginia football and basketball. The other Rivals national analyst is publisher of an Ohio State-related site.

The right rating
While Farrell oversees the UVa site, he remains 100 percent unbiased in rankings and reporting. Much of the grunt work is done by new additions Jamie Oakes of Fredericksburg and Greg Waters of Richmond, but the work is paying off.
“When I took over the site two years ago, it was a free site with no subscribers,” Farrell said. “We’ve gone from nothing to quickly approaching 1,000 subscribers in that time and I’m fully confident that anyone who takes advantage of our nine-day free trial we have going will love it. Ninety percent of those who try it, subscribe.”
On his site, Wahoo fans will discover numerous daily recruiting updates, UVa sports news, one of the most popular new features called the ‘War Room,’ video, audio reports, rankings, message boards and the whole nine yards.
Well, enough of the plugs. Many die-hards go to the site for constant recruiting updates. Oakes doesn’t take a day off. Farrell rarely can afford to either. Last year he went Christmas shopping for three hours and returned to find his site buzzing with questions about four players who had committed during his absence.
While his WagonOnline.com site focuses on UVa recruiting, he is responsible for ranking recruits from Maine to Florida as East Coast analyst for Rivals, but oversees the entire national recruiting scene as well for both Rivals and ESPN, where he recently gained national plaudits from GameDay host Chris Fowler.
“That’s as big as it gets for college football,” Farrell said.
His background includes extensive work as recruiting analyst of Big East and Notre Dame prospects, the SEC and Big 10 before he began concentrating mostly on the ACC and Big East.
While ranking potential college recruits has become a business and a national obsession among football fans, even Farrell admits it’s an inexact science.
He rated a prospect from Florida, who eventually signed with a West Coast school, below another receiver who signed with Miami. Since then, both have flourished but the underrated West Coast guy is expected to become a Heisman candidate next season.
“For every miss we have as analysts, college coaches have just as many,” Farrell said.
All of his picks for Rivals, ESPN, the Gold & Silver Lists, are personal evaluations.
“It doesn’t matter where they sign,” Farrell said. “It’s whether I like his potential as a college football player.”
Such is the case with Jeremy Gilchrist of Landstown, ranked No. 12 on this year’s Gold List. While Colorado may be backing off from its recruitment of the wide receiver/defensive back, Farrell is convinced that the kid projects to become a standout collegian.
So, enjoy our annual Gold List, our Silver (the next 25 prospects), and even our sneak peek at next year’s top five prospects.
 

U.Va. crowd wows
Cavs' fans pump up Tire Bowl ticket sales for second year in row
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 12, 2003
CONTINENTAL TIRE BOWL
VIRGINIA VS. PITT
DEC. 27:
11 a.m., Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. TV:
ESPN2

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The Gator Bowl snubbed the University of Virginia football team last season. So did the Peach and the Tangerine.

That the Cavaliers had fin- ished tied for second in the ACC clearly didn't mean much outside this state. Each of those bowls selected a team U.Va. defeated during the regular season.

Why so little love for Virginia in 2002? Here's why: The school was still saddled with what Athletic Director Craig Littlepage yesterday called "that albatross" - a reputation for not bringing many fans to bowl games.

Even officials in Charlotte, N.C., were wary last December after inviting U.Va. to meet West Virginia in the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl. How much orange and blue, they wondered, would be seen in Ericsson Stadium on game day?

"We were very concerned," Tire Bowl Executive Director Ken Haines said yesterday. "There was the feeling among a lot of bowls that Virginia did not travel well. In my conversations with Craig Littlepage before last year's game, we talked on a lot of occasions about the Continental Tire Bowl being an opportunity for Virginia to dispel that [reputation]."

U.Va. didn't squander its opportunity. The sellout crowd for the inaugural Tire Bowl included at least 20,000 Virginia fans. The school's ticket office sold 18,507 tickets, and U.Va. received credit for another 1,500 from the bowl. So much for not traveling well.

"Obviously, last year's game did dispel those rumors," Haines said.

U.Va. might have deserved a trip to a more prestigious bowl, Littlepage said, but "looking back, it was probably a blessing that things worked out the way they did: A, because of the team's strong performance on the field, and B, because of the phenomenal performance on the part of our fans."

Virginia christened the Tire Bowl by crushing West Virginia 48-22. The Cavaliers (7-5) will meet another Big East team, Pittsburgh (8-4), in the second Tire Bowl on Dec. 27.

By the end of business last night, U.Va.'s ticket office had processed 19,540 tickets. Coach Al Groh wants to see 30,000 U.Va. fans at Ericsson Stadium, and he may get his wish. It helps, of course, that Charlotte is so close to much of U.Va.'s fan base.

"That's one of the reasons we did the game here: Charlotte was within driving distance of so many ACC schools," Haines said. "I think a key for a non-BCS bowl is to make it very accessible and economical, and Charlotte fits the bill for most ACC schools in that respect."

WVU fans outnumbered U.Va. supporters last year, but the second Tire Bowl will probably seem like a home game for Groh's club. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported yesterday that Pitt had sold only 3,000 of its allotted 12,500 tickets.

"We really need to make a statement about how well our fan base travels," Jim Earle, an associate athletic director at Pitt, told the newspaper. "Bowls make their decisions based on numbers, and, if our number isn't a good one, we could get left behind [in the future]."

Just ask Virginia, which suffered after its fans became known for turning out in force for the Peach Bowl in Atlanta but shunning other postseason destinations.

U.Va. sold 20,000 tickets for the 1995 Peach Bowl, Littlepage said, and 21,000 for the'98 Peach. But the school sold only 6,300 for the 1997 Carquest Bowl and 5,500 for the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl - both held in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - and between 1,000 and 1,5000 for the 2000 O'ahu Bowl in Honolulu.

Those figures contributed to U.Va.'s reputation for not traveling well. However, Littlepage said, "I think history would suggest other schools that participated in those bowls had similar struggles [selling tickets]."

In 2000, U.Va. lost three of its last five regular-season games, and its fans had little desire to shell out big bucks to see a mediocre team play on Christmas Eve in Hawaii. The Cavaliers finished 5-7 in 2001, their first season under Groh, so they weren't eligible for a bowl.

In 2002, Virginia was picked to finish eighth in the ACC. The Cavaliers stood 6-4 after losing to No. 19 Penn State but stormed back to win two of their final three regular-season games, upsetting No. 20 N.C. State and No. 18 Maryland.

U.Va. was 5-5 after losing to Maryland this fall but closed the regular season by beating Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers' victory over the Hokies was their first in five years.

Charlotte's proximity has boosted ticket sales at U.Va., Littlepage said, "but I think it's more about the view of the team's performance as the year is winding down. I think our fans feel Al's program is on a positive track, and they want to be part of that."
 

Virginia requests more tickets
Game officials hope for bump if Fitzgerald wins Heisman Trophy
DAVID SCOTT
Staff Writer

Ticket sales for the Continental Tire Bowl on Dec. 27 between Virginia and Pittsburgh at Ericsson Stadium are progressing, so well that the Cavaliers have asked for more.

Both schools received ticket allotments of 12,500 and Virginia has told Raycom Sports, the bowl's organizer, that it needs a couple thousand more.

Raycom CEO Ken Haines said sales are going slower at Pittsburgh and that about 10,000 tickets already have been sold in the Charlotte area. He also hopes for a sales bump if Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald wins the Heisman Trophy on Saturday.

"We'll be very pleased if we sell between 40,000 and 50,000," said Haines of the bowl, which was played for the first time last season and sold out for Virginia's victory against West Virginia.

Haines also said an advertising campaign featuring wrestler Ric Flair, Tammy Faye Messner, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCory and Santa Claus -- each wearing eye-black -- has been successful.

"People are calling to say (the ads) are absolutely hysterical," said Haines.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Dec 11, 2003

SHOOTOUT IN CHARLOTTE? U.Va. (7-5) will meet Pittsburgh (8-4) in the Dec. 27 Continental Tire Bowl at Ericsson Stadium. Expect plenty of scoring.

Pitt's attack, of course, features All-America wideout Larry Fitzgerald, the Big East's offensive player of the year. Two other Panthers, senior quarterback Rod Rutherford and senior tackle Rob Petitti, joined Fitzgerald on the all-Big East first-team offense, and senior tight end Kris Wilson was a second-team choice.

The Panthers are averaging 31.1 points. The Cavaliers haven't been quite as productive - they're averaging 28.4 - but record-setting quarterback Matt Schaub and his offensive mates are no doubt eager to take on Pitt's struggling defense.

In their final four regular-season games, the Panthers allowed 124 points. Only one Pitt player was named to the all-Big East first or second team on defense, and that was punter Andy Lee.

RESILIENT: Virginia finished 9-5 in 2002 after hammering West Virginia in the inaugural Tire Bowl. A victory over Pitt would give the Cavaliers back-to-back seasons with at least eight victories for the first time since 1994 and'95.

After falling to 5-5 with a Nov. 13 loss at Maryland, Virginia didn't figure to be in this position. But U.Va. closed the regular season with wins over Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

The Cavaliers have proven, third-year coach Al Groh said, that "collectively and individually, they can take a punch, and even get staggered a little bit, but you can't knock them out. There are no glass jaws out there. This is two Novembers in a row that, after having been in a positive position earlier in the year, we really had our backs against the wall. You could certainly, if you wanted to think in this vein, see the scenario where things could go south."

FIRST-YEAR PHENOMS: College Football News' Freshman All-America team includes U.Va. inside linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham. Brooks, a true freshman, made the first team, and Parham, a redshirt freshman, was chosen for the second team.

Brooks, who started every regular-season game, leads the Cavaliers with 105 tackles. Parham, who has made six starts, is sixth with 76 stops.

FUTURE CAVALIER: The last chance to see quarterback Vicqual Hall in action this season comes Saturday at Liberty University in Lynchburg. Hall, who has committed to U.Va., is a junior at Gretna High. Gretna (13-0) meets Monticello (13-2) for the state Division 3 title at 4 p.m.

In the Hawks' semifinal win over Graham, Hall completed 17 of 30 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He ran 35 times for 139 yards and a TD.

Monticello's quarterback, Joseph Sanford, also has ties to U.Va.'s football program. His father, Mark Sanford, lettered four times for the Cavs. He's now the successful coach at Covenant School in Charlottesville.

MAKING THE GRADE: Philip Brown, the former all-state Group AAA cornerback from Hampton's Phoebus High, made the dean's list this semester at Hargrave Military Academy and recently received a qualifying score on the SAT.

Brown, who signed with U.Va. last winter, had academic issues to address and enrolled this year at Hargrave, where he's repeating the 12th grade. If he continues to do well in the classroom, Brown is likely to be admitted to Virginia for the 2004-05 school year.

People in Hampton might be surprised to learn he's thriving academically, Brown said Monday, but his family and others who supported him "knew I just had to get in the right situation."

At Hargrave's combine Monday, Brown ran the 40-yard dash in a hand-timed 4.3 seconds.

GIVING BACK: Pete Gillen, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, is a big Yankees fan, but that didn't stop the Cavaliers' basketball coach from teaming up with Boston Red Sox assistant Mike Cubbage. Gillen and Cubbage rang Salvation Army bells and collected contributions at a Charlottesville shopping center Tuesday.

Cubbage, a Charlottesville native, starred in baseball at U.Va.

- Jeff White