I'm dreaming of a ...
UVa right guard dressed as Santa
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
December 24, 2004

When the Virginia football team gathers today to celebrate Christmas, Elton Brown will don his uniform for the final time.

No, it will not be in his football uniform. Brown will wear that uniform for the final time on Monday when he and his teammates suit up against Fresno State (8-3) in the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho.

The uniform Brown says farewell to today will be his Santa Claus outfit.

Tom Sherman, an administrative assistant for the football team, approached Brown two years ago prior to Virginia’s first trip to the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., with the idea.

“I was shocked,” Brown said of being told he was soon to be Santa. “It wasn’t a question. It was like you’re Santa. I was like ‘OK.’”

Brown took the role in stride and wore the costume to the team’s Christmas party in Charlotte. Brown passed out gifts and even spent time letting the kids of Virginia’s coaching staff pose on his lap.

As Virginia embarked on a second straight trip to the Continental Tire Bowl, Brown was once again Santa, just like he will be today.

“Coming back the second year, they kind of expected it,” Brown said. “So, I guess I expected it again this year.”

Boasting a big smile, Brown said he takes the job seriously.

“I kind of sit at home in the mirror and practice things,” Brown said with a chuckle.

As his Cavalier career comes to a close on Monday, his days as Virginia’s Santa do as well. Brown is not confident his heir apparent is ready for the big shoes, or better yet, big suit they will have to fill.

“Can’t anybody just be Santa like I was,” Brown chuckled. “Maybe they should give whoever it’s going to be next year, a little practice.”

Virginia coach Al Groh said earlier this week that he had a replacement in mind.

“Actually, I talked to a potential replacement for Elton [as Santa Claus],” Groh said. “This is a true story, I didn’t tell him about Elton. He told me he was supposed be Santa Claus the night before at the elementary school, but the suit didn’t fit. I said, ‘Well, that’s terrific. Not only do I have a position on the line of scrimmage that I think you’ll be an excellent replacement, but we need a new Santa Claus. It looks like you’re going to have a long career here as Santa Claus.’”

Groh did not disclose if the player was currently on Virginia’s roster or a recruited player like offensive lineman Eugene Monroe, a mammoth in his own right and the No. 3 ranked prospect in the country by Rivals. Groh only said the Santa-to-be was a “big player.”

Replacing Brown as Santa may be easier than replacing Brown at right guard.

Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 338 pounds, Brown fills space on the football field. More importantly, Brown has created space - space for Virginia’s running backs to run wild.

Virginia has rushed for an average of 241 yards a game this season, the most in the ACC and 35 yards more than the closest challenger.

Brown was rewarded for his efforts at the end of the regular season.

He won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, which is given to the best blocker in the ACC annually, and was a first-team All-ACC selection.

Brown was also named a first team All-American by the Associated Press, something he said he would have never imagined doing as a senior in high school in Hampton.

When asked if he had been told in high school that he would become a first team All-American, Brown said he would have told the messenger: “You’re crazy. You have lost your mind.”

Like any Santa Claus would do, Brown preferred to pass out credit for his awards to his teammates and coaches.

“It is a great honor. I never envisioned it, but that’s what hard work does,” Brown said. “I can’t take the credit. I have to give the credit to the guys I played with and the coaches, from the classroom to the weight room.”

Brown said he was also thankful that he had a teammate - tight end Heath Miller - join him as a first team All-American.

“Two is better than one. That is the saying,” Brown said. “It says a lot about the program as a whole, not just an individual. It shows you what we are trying to build.”

Building something special at Virginia is something that Brown takes pride in. He also knows that a win over Fresno State on Monday will go a long ways in ensuring that the program continues to move forward.

“Every team’s goal coming into the season is to win the ACC Championship. Unfortunately, we didn’t do it but everything is not lost,” Brown said. “We are 8-3. A win in Boise can take us to 9-3, something the guys around here haven’t done in a while. It’ll take us to three straight bowls wins, something that’s not ever been done around here and finish ranked the highest Virginia has been ranked at the end of the season. All is not lost.

“We still have the opportunity to play another game. For me, it’s my last game, so I appreciate the opportunity to play again, regardless of where it may be. Our goal is to just go out there and play ball and try to win another game.”

Brown is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead with Fresno State, a team riding a five-game winning streak.

“I’m pretty sure they have a great scheme, a great plan to stop the run,” Brown said. “Everybody knows that we like to run the ball. We just have to be fundamentally sound in our techniques and come to play.

“What are they? The Bulldogs. They play like it,” Brown said. “It is going to be a tough challenge, but we are up to the challenge.”

As for a present for Cavalier fans, Brown said he might have something special in his Santa sack.

“I might have to get out there on the blue turf,” Brown said with a smile, “and return a punt for a touchdown in my Santa outfit.”

Cavs will take imperfect win
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 24, 2004

An imperfect team walked away from an imperfect win and felt quite relieved on Thursday night at University Hall.

The No. 25 Virginia men’s basketball team some day will look back at its season and say ‘We were lucky to win that won’ and no truer words were spoken.

The Cavaliers needed a J.R. Reynolds layup with 1.5 seconds remaining in overtime to win this game. Will it be a win the Cavaliers hang their hats on? No. Will it be a win for which they are thankful? Absolutely.

Starting power forward Jason Clark didn’t play because of a strained tendon in his right Achilles. Small forward Devin Smith, the team’s best player, missed the last 12-1/2 minutes with a sprained right ankle. Freshman point guard Sean Singletary played the entire game with a left shoulder that popped out as often as Mel Gibson’s - at least in the movies.

Are those excuses? Sure. On this night, they at the very least bordered on being acceptable.

“We will take the win. We were fortunate,” Virginia coach Pete Gillen said.

Yes, yes, they were.

It happens in college basketball. Last season, Richmond defeated Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse and once upon a time, Liberty beat UVa at University Hall. The headline could easily have read, “Loyola Marymount upsets No. 25 Virginia on its home floor.” Actually, some might say that would have been fitting. It didn’t happen.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we stepped up and did the things we need to do to win,” Reynolds said.

Perhaps that would be the bottom line unless for the injury issues.

Senior forward Jason Clark didn’t play Thursday because of a strained tendon in his Achilles in the right foot. Smith, the team’s leading scorer averaging 18.1 points a game, scored 12 against Loyola Marymount but left with a severely sprained ankle. Of the two, Clark is most likely to play against Wake Forest on Jan. 2 while Smith could miss as many as four weeks with the ankle.

“We were happy to win. It was just meant for us to win tonight. I don’t look at it more than that,” Elton Brown said. “Sometimes, it is just how the game is.”

Survival sometimes is the key. That’s an expression usually reserved for March but on this somewhat blustery evening in Charlottesville, it was most appropriate.

“The game is never over. You have to keep playing. We had a long layoff and that might have been part of it but we were just happy to win,” said sophomore point guard T.J. Bannister, who had 11 points Thursday.

This oddity in its schedule might have on the surface seemed a detriment, but given their injuries now, it might be a blessing for the Cavaliers. Bannister was not so sure.

“In a way it is good and in a way it isn’t. We will see. It’s hard to take that next step. We have to keep our focus and make sure no one gets out of shape,” Bannister said.

That’s true for those who are healthy and a hope for those who aren’t.

Ferguson keeps his mind on the present
The UVa offensive tackle will ponder joining the NFL later.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE - For D'Brickashaw Ferguson to understand the buzz that he has created in the past month, it would be necessary to have a command of ESPN programming.

"I'm not a very avid watcher of SportsCenter," Ferguson confided during an interview session prior to Virginia's trip to Boise, Idaho, for the MPC Computers Bowl. Ferguson doesn't have eyewitness knowledge of the SportsCenter report in which NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper had him as one of four UVa underclassmen with a chance to be drafted in the first round.

"I think there were some rumors about it," said Ferguson, a 6-foot-5, 295-pound offensive tackle from Freeport, N.Y., "but, I can't get caught up in that. I just want to keep my focus on winning in Boise."

Ferguson did stop long enough to confirm that he will return for his fourth and final season next year at Virginia.

"I'm definitely coming back," said Ferguson, who has started all 38 UVa games since he was a true freshman in 2002.

From all impressions, projected first-round draft picks Ahmad Brooks and Darryl Blackstock also will be back next season, with less certainty attached to All-America tight end Heath Miller, but there never was much doubt about Ferguson, whose older brother is a UVa graduate with designs on entering law school.

"He's [D'Brickashaw] an interesting guy," UVa coach Al Groh said. "He's very accountable to himself and to what he is responsible for, and he expects a lot of himself. You never see 'Brick' when he's sloppy, whether he's in uniform or out."

As one of the nation's top offensive line prospects in 2001, Ferguson had reason to believe his coming-out party as a collegian would not take three years, but it wasn't until last month that he was named first-team All-ACC for the first time.

Perhaps that was to be expected, considering the Cavaliers had the ACC's most prolific offense, but they also had two seniors for voters to consider, All-American right guard Elton Brown and second-team All-ACC center Zac Yarbrough.

"It's a selfish player who looks for accolades and all the time is asking, 'Why me?'" Ferguson said. "It was a surprise to me, honestly. All I focus on is my assignments in the game. How the team does is all that matters to me.

"It's hard to work to be an offensive lineman. I don't need anything deviating - or, excuse me - diverting my attention."

It is a rare college athlete who would make a distinction between the verbs "deviate" and "divert," much less apologize for making the wrong choice, but Ferguson is not trying to impress anybody.

Groh said that Ferguson's development is as easy to explain as a look at his weight increase. He weighed fewer than 250 pounds by the end of his true freshman year, unheard-of for an offensive tackle.

"I knew, if I wanted to keep the weight on, I'd have to be more disciplined," he said, "and I had to be more disciplined on a daily basis."

With the departure of Brown and Yarbrough, Ferguson looms as a possible preseason All-American and he will turn a deaf ear to any outsiders who tell him he needs to "come out."

"I don't let other people set my agenda," he said.

He means it, too.

Feeling right at home
Virginia's talented pool of players is generally content with choosing between UVa and Tech. Read the full list
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

During the period when Virginia and Virginia Tech were attempting to become more competitive in football, supporters spoke longingly of a day when their programs would be able to keep the top Virginia players at home.

If the state's two Division I-A schools could corral most of the home-grown talent, so the theory went, there would be enough good players to sustain both programs.

Almost without notice, that day may have arrived this year.

In its most recent issue, the ACC Sports Journal looked at the 78 players who made first- or second-team All-ACC or who received honorable mention. Twenty of those players went to high school in Florida, 17 were from Virginia and there were no more than eight players from any other state.

Of the 17 players from Virginia, 15 play for either Tech or UVa.

No wonder the Hokies (10-2) are headed to the Sugar Bowl as ACC champions and the Cavaliers (8-3) remained in the race until their final game.

"It's damned hard to recruit in that state any more," said an assistant coach from an ACC program that borders Virginia.

A quick look at The Roanoke Times' annual ranking of the top prospects in Virginia will support that statement. Of the 22 players who have announced a decision, nine have made oral commitments to UVa and eight to Tech. Two of the three uncommitted players could wind up at Tech or UVa.

Of the five committed players who are headed out of state, only one, offensive lineman Pat Sheil from Centreville High School, had an offer from Tech or UVa. In fact, Sheil had offers from both state schools, but made a midsummer commitment to Boston College.

At some point in the late 1990s, Virginia went from being a state that produced 30 to 35 Division I-A players per year to one that had close to 50. Thirteen players off the second 25 already have made I-A commitment this year.

Clearly, respect for Virginia talent has grown - even at the Division I-AA level. James Madison won a national championship and William and Mary got to the national semifinals with in-state players in key roles. William and Mary quarterback Lang Campbell, from Handley High School in Winchester, won the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in I-AA.

At least part of Virginia Tech's success in recruiting the state is head coach Frank Beamer's success in keeping a staff intact and the rapport that his assistants have established with their counterparts at the high school level. The state's top two prospects, all-purpose threat Victor "Macho" Harris from Highland Springs and running back Elan Lewis from Phoebus High School in Hampton, decided to follow former teammates to Blacksburg.

Coaches Scott Burton from Highland Springs and Bill Dee from Phoebus were quick to point out that they do not steer their players to Tech. While Tech has many graduates who are coaching in high schools in the state, Burton and Dee are not on that list.

"I think it was natural for people in the media and fans to speculate that [Harris] was a Virginia Tech 'lean' because of all the connections," Burton said, "but, to be honest with you, that stuff drove him in the opposite direction.

"He said, 'Coach, these people don't think I can think for myself, that they're naturally going to assume I'm going to go there.' It's somewhat disrespectful, if you think about it, to suggest that he's not going to objectively weigh the pros and cons and come up with his own decision."

Harris and Lewis joined Westfield junior Evan Royster as the first-team running backs on the All-Group AAA team, but Harris is expected to play defensive back for the Hokies. He and Lewis spoke cordially at a Tom Lemming photo shoot in Blacksburg last summer but did not subsequently discuss their decisions, Lewis said this week.

The Hokies also landed the No.4 player on the list, linebacker Deveon Simmons from Group AAA Division 5 champion Landstown of Virginia Beach, and are considered the team to beat for Oscar Smith quarterback Greg Boone, who rounds out the top five.

Boone, compared to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper because of his 6-foot-4, 260-pound physique, accounted for 359 of his team's 360 yards in total offense in a one-point loss to Landstown in the playoffs.

UVa's lone Top 5 commitment is from two-time Group AA player of the year Vic Hall from Gretna, whose 13,770 yards in total offense rank fifth on the national all-time list. Hall's relatively small stature (5-10, 175) has caused some to wonder if he can play quarterback at the next level, but no one questions his playmaking ability.

The Cavaliers took another promising quarterback, No.14 Jameel Sewell from Hermitage High School in Richmond, and received commitments from both Timesland players on the Top 25, linebacker Darryl Gresham from William Fleming and tight end John Phillips from Bath County.

Phillips also played defensive end and finished his career with 90 tackles for loss, including 42 sacks. Spread over four seasons, that's an average of 22 1/2 tackles for loss and 10 1/2 sacks per year.

Both contributed to an early Virginia recruiting push that resulted in 22 commitments by the end of July. Gresham subsequently has reopened his recruiting, describing himself as a "soft" Virginia commit while continuing to look at Tennessee, Florida and Virginia Tech. UVa is the only school he has visited.

The above-mentioned ACC assistant stopped short of calling 2004-05 a "banner, banner year" for Virginia recruits, at least partly because a half-dozen Top 25 players have academic issues to resolve. Hampton High School wide receiver Todd Nolen and Phoebus defensive end Steven Friday might have been rated higher than No.10 or 11 if not for some uncertainty over their qualifying status.

Virginia, with 24 commitments, could add one more player if all committed players sign and all meet NCAA eligibility guidelines. The Hokies have 17 commitments and are in the process of evaluating players like unheralded 6-7, 290-pound West Springfield lineman Eric Davis, this year's choice as sleeper of the year.

Lundy in a new position
Junior back has lost his job and a key fumble but still will try to help U.Va.
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Dec 25, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE Virginia's regular season began in Philadelphia, where starting tailback Wali Lundy rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns in a rout of Temple.

Virginia's regular season ended in Blacksburg, where reserve tailback Wali Lundy rushed four times for 9 yards, failed to score and contributed to a costly turnover in a loss to Virginia Tech.

"It's difficult as a player," Lundy, a 5-10, 214-pound junior from Willingboro, N.J., said of his reduced role. "I can't say it's not. But I just try to do whatever I can to help the team out, and when my number's called, I try to do what the coaches ask me to do."

A year after leading the Cavaliers in rushing for the second straight season and making the all-ACC second team, Lundy finds himself back- ing up senior Alvin Pearman, who took over the starting job Oct. 23 at Duke. Yet Lundy still ranks eighth among ACC rushers, averaging 72.8 yards per game, and his 16 touchdowns are five more than any other player in the conference has scored. He's averaging 5 yards per carry, a career high.

"I think I had a good season," said Lundy, who's carried 161 times for 801 yards and 16 TDs. "I had a better season than I did the past two years. I mean, there's always things you want to change, but you've got to learn and grow as a player. I think I grew as a player."

For all the memorable plays Lundy has made in three seasons at Virginia, during which he's scored 40 touchdowns and started 25 games, some he'd like to have back. Topping that list: his first-quarter fumble against the Hokies on Nov. 27.

"That hurt me," Lundy recalled.

With the score 0-0 and Pearman winded from a 78-yard run, Lundy entered the game and picked up 6 yards on first down. He got the call again on second down and rushed for 6 more, setting up first and goal at the Tech 4. Then came perhaps the game's decisive play. Quarterback Marques Hagans failed to hand off cleanly to Lundy, who lost the ball. The Hokies recovered.

A victory at Lane Stadium would have given U.Va. a share of the ACC title. Instead, the 18th-ranked Cavaliers (8-3) finished in a tie for third and ended up in the MPC Computers Bowl at Boise, Idaho, where they'll meet Fresno State (8-3) on Monday.

Virginia coach Al Groh said last weekend that there's "always dual responsibility [on botched handoffs], but best as can be determined from the angles that we can look at it, probably the ball was not entered in properly."

Lundy, too, has studied videotape of the fumble.

"The play before that, we ran the same play," he said, "and [a Tech defender] came down across my face and I started cutting it back early so I could get out of his way. And I did the same thing the next play, started cutting it back early. We just had a bad exchange. The ball hit my arm that was down and I never really grabbed it."

Virginia lost only five fumbles during the regular season, the fewest of any ACC team.

"But you only have to lose one at the wrong time, as we saw," Groh said. "So five is good, but five wasn't good enough. If it had been four, probably our overall circumstance would be different. That's how important it is."

Ball security generally hasn't been an issue for Lundy during his college career, but he lost a fumble inside Clemson's 10-yard line on Oct. 7. After that third-quarter turnover, Pearman replaced Lundy and rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns to help Virginia pull away for a convincing win.

Lundy started at tailback in U.Va.'s next game, an Oct. 16 loss at Florida State, but Groh went with Pearman a week later. Pearman, who'd backed up Lundy in 2002 and '03, piled up 223 yards rushing against Duke - one shy of Virginia's record - and finished the regular season on the all-ACC first team.

"Coach Groh said it was like a hunch, and I think he did the right thing," Lundy said of Pearman's promotion.

With 2,556 yards, Lundy ranks seventh in career rushing at Virginia, and he's third in career points with 240. His next six-pointer will give him the modern-day record for career touchdowns at U.Va.

Given his statistics and reputation, Lundy figured to merit strong consideration for a spot on the all-ACC second team this season. Groh, however, declined to place Lundy's name on the ballot.

"It was up to him," Lundy said with a shrug. "It was his decision. Obviously he didn't feel like I played good enough to be nominated. But I think that's just going to make me work harder."

Brown's UVa career concludes with MPC Bowl
By Andy Bitter / Lynchburg News & Advance
December 24, 2004

Elton Brown is the perfect Santa Claus, and it’s not just because he fits the suit to a T.

Virginia’s 6-foot-6, 338-pound senior guard, aptly nicknamed “Big E,” has played the role of Santa at the team’s Christmas function for the last two years and will do the same this year.

He’s got the routine down. He makes a grand entrance, reads to the children of the coaches and hands out gifts, all with the jovial attitude one would expect from Kris Kringle, a persona that happens to match the one that has defined Brown throughout his career at UVa.

That’s off the field.

On the field, Brown, who will play his final collegiate game Monday in the MPC Computers Bowl against Fresno State, is a whole different person.

He’s mean, in an if-you’re-in-my-way-you’re-going-to-get-pancaked sort of way. Just ask any number of ACC defenders who have met that particular Elton-induced fate.

It’s a mean streak that has twice earned him the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the top blocker in the ACC. It’s made him a consensus All-American. And it’s made the three-year starter a hot prospect in the upcoming 2005 NFL Draft. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. currently rates him third among draft-eligible guards.

“Obviously, he’s one of the very best,” Virginia head coach Al Groh said. “And, he does all of the things - he gets on the edge, he runs, he can provide movement at the point, he’s a good pass protector. He’s a very complete player. He’s worked very hard to do that.”

It’s hard to imagine that because of a Christmastime incident nearly five years ago, Brown’s Virginia career almost never happened.

It was Dec. 26, 1999. Brown was a junior at Heritage High in Newport News. He and two other football teammates were accused of breaking a classmate’s jaw at a party, an incident to this day in which Brown denies involvement.

A court saw it differently. The 17-year-old Brown was ruled delinquent in a juvenile court on charges of malicious wounding. The sentence was later suspended, and Brown was placed on probation. Brown avoided jail time, but faced a different kind of punishment - school officials wouldn’t let him play football.

That’s when his mother, Robin Brown-Miller, intervened. She fought for him to be able to play, and when that didn’t work, she moved her family - Elton and his younger brother, Scorpio - to nearby Hampton. It was nine weeks into the 2000 season before Brown was finally cleared to play the remainder of the season, which ended up being two games.

Brown claims the ordeal made him stronger. It also brought him closer to his mother. After all, it was she who worked two jobs to provide for him and his brother, who up and moved her entire family just three months after purchasing a home in Newport News, who stood up for him when it seemed everyone else turned their backs.

“All those awards I have are hers,” said Brown, who still writes “I Love You Mom” on his wristbands for every game. “I wouldn’t have them without her.”

Brown still needed to earn the trust of a college in order to get a scholarship. North Carolina stopped recruiting him because of the incident. Brown was set to go to UVa before then-head coach George Welsh stepped down.

Groh was hired in January of 2001 and met in person with Brown that month. It was a feeling-out process on both sides. Groh made a straightforward pitch. Brown gave straightforward answers. That was all it took.

“The answers seemed to be very heartfelt and very genuine about his circumstances,” Groh said. “You could tell there was an integrity about Elton and about his behavior and about himself as a person. That was good enough for me.”

It was the right call. Brown has turned himself into one of the premier players in the ACC and has been a model citizen. He’s also a player that commands the respect of his teammates.

“Elton is one of the players that has been instrumental in fusing passion and intensity into the personality of this team,” Groh said.

That’s why Monday will be difficult. It’s a farewell game of sorts. Brown flirted with the NFL Draft a year ago only to come back for his senior season. He’s imparted some knowledge he gained from the process to several UVa teammates who have a similar choice to make after the season.

“I told them there are a lot of things in your senior season you don’t want to miss,” Brown said. “I told them you can’t get things like that back.”

After the kind of senior season Brown has had, Cavaliers fans know exactly what he’s talking about.
 

Uncommitted top recruits list Virginia, Virginia Tech
Hokies thought to be leading for preseason All-American
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

A Virginia or Virginia Tech football fan had cause for excitement with publication of the All-USA team in Wednesday’s edition of USA Today.

The Cavaliers had more ground for optimism, considering they already have a commitment from first-team offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, a 6-foot-7, 320-pounder from Plainfield, N.J.

Monroe, set to visit Charlottesville over the weekend of Jan. 21-23, has not wavered on a commitment made June 13.

The Cavaliers are also listed with first-team running back Toney Baker from High Point, N.C., while the Hokies are listed first with first-team defensive lineman Melvin Alaeze from Randallstown, Md.

In the graphical information, there is no indication that the first school listed is the leader. Alaeze’s other schools are Maryland, Ohio State, Florida State “or” Penn State and, since he has visited Tech and Maryland, maybe that’s the order of his visits.

A source with knowledge of the Alaeze recruiting said that Miami and Southern Cal are also trying to get visits. If Alaeze visits only Tech and Maryland, then the Hokies could have a good shot.

Alaeze has been selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 15 in San Antonio, Texas. Like several other top players on the invitation list, Alaeze has expressed interest in announcing his college choice at the game. If he does make an announcement at that time, he would not have taken official visits to many of the other schools on his list.

The same goes for Baker, who has emphasized his interest in the Cavaliers at every opportunity, but has not visited UVa. Baker also has Tech on his list, but, if he makes an announcement in San Antonio, chances are that he will not have visited Tech or UVa.

Another All-USA team choice, 6-3, 230 linebacker Brian Cushing from Bergen Catholic, had the Cavaliers at the top of his list until two months ago. Now, he’s listing Miami, Southern Cal or Notre Dame, according to USA Today, but not UVa.

When Virginia defensive coordinator Al Golden was being mentioned in connection with the new staff at Notre Dame, Cushing said the Cavaliers would be “out” if Golden and/or fellow assistant Mark D’Onofrio left. Now, it appears the Cavaliers may be “out” anyway, although five New Jersey players committed to UVa are seeking to get Cushing to visit with them on Jan. 21-23.

I KEEP HEARING THAT the Hokies are the team to beat for Greg Boone, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound quarterback from Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake and that quarterback-rich Tech is serious about giving him a look at quarterback.

Tech is still involved with the players rated No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 in North Carolina by SuperPrep before the season. They are Baker; Winston-Salem linebacker Derek Nicholson, Hope Mills tight end Jonathan Hannah and Wilson defensive lineman Everette Brown.

Tech may have a better shot with Stephen Virgil, a 6-foot defensive back from Rocky Mount, N.C., who was 31st on SuperPrep’s preseason North Carolina list; Atlanta running back James Davis, who is 25th on the Georgia list; and preseason SuperPrep All-American Hivera Green, a 6-5, 271-pound defensive lineman from Conway, S.C., outside Myrtle Beach.

VIRGINIA, WHICH HAS been stuck on 24 since jumbo running back Rashawn Jackson from Jersey City, N.J., became the last player to commit to the Cavaliers on Oct. 3, would like to hold onto the players it has.

Among the players committed to UVa who have visited other schools or indicated a willingness to visit other schools are Durham, N.C., wide receiver Brandon Woods; Salem, N.J., linebacker Lamont Robinson, and linebacker Darryl Gresham from William Fleming in Roanoke.

Gresham did not visit Virginia Tech last weekend but has indicated to the Hokies that he still wants to take a look around Blacksburg. Robinson has visited Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State “and I think it says a lot that I’m still committed to Virginia,” he told Jamie Oakes of thewagononline.com, part of the rivals100 network.

It will be interesting to see if the Cavaliers will wait on Baker if they can get a commitment from Harrisburg, Pa., running back Mikell Simpson, who said he is down to UVa and Alabama. Preseason All-American Simpson was rated 12th on SuperPrep’s list of the nation’s top running backs -- three spots behind Baker and two behind Virginia Tech-bound Elan Lewis from Phoebus High School in Hampton. Simpson may be the fastest of the three.

WEST VIRGINIA correspondent Rick Hefner alerts me that the Mountaineers have taken a commitment from 6-6, 285-pound offensive lineman Jon Walko, a first-team All-Washington Metro selection from Seneca Valley (where rugby was the sport of choice for future media gadfly Jeff White). At this point, I’m still trying to determine the level of involvement for Virginia Tech, listed as one of the finalists for Walko.

STEVE WHITNEY, who won raves for his coverage of the Hargrave combine while yours truly was in Ames, Iowa, reports that none of the three Tech recruits or two Virginia recruits at Hargrave had made the necessary academic progress that would have made them candidates to enroll at mid-year. Of course, Ahmad Brooks in 2002 was the last player to enroll at UVa after one semester in prep school.

CENTREVILLE HIGH SCHOOL coach Mike Skinner, who has two players committed to Syracuse, said he was concerned after hearing an interview with new Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross at the Champs Sports Bowl, where the Orange lost Georgia Tech 51-14.

While Syracuse seemingly had committed to coach Paul Pasqualoni for next year, Gross’ comments left some uncertainty in the mind of Skinner and others. “I just hope they make it to signing day,” said Skinner, fearful that a new coach might not honor offers made to defensive back Derek Bailey and defensive end Andrew Lewis.