Virginia Football
Lazor to the Bucs? Not So Much.
by Tim Mulholland on Feb 7, 2012 9:03 PM EST
in Virginia Football
Rumors are swirling from the media outlets that Virginia Offensive Coordinator Bill Lazor is a leading candidate for the same position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Former Rutgers University head football coach Greg Schiano has taken over the helm of the Bucs and is looking for an offensive mind to complement his defensive prowess.
Given how well the Virginia offense has turned around in two years under Lazor, it should come as no surprise that his name is popping up for these types of job openings. Here's a few of the articles talking about it:
Bucs Nation (also of SBNation)
So where there's smoke, there's probably fire, right? Well... yes and no.
Bill Lazor iswas a candidate for the Tampa Bay job. So we should be concerned, right? I mean, he's clearly a talented offensive coach based on just two years worth of work here in Charlottesville alone.
When I started writing this article a couple of hours ago (sorry, my day job got in the way of getting it out earlier), I was going to tell people not to be too concerned. There was a lot that would have to happen before Lazor would leave for the Bucs. I really didn't think we needed to worry.
Now, it looks like I don't even have to tell you all not to be concerned. Mike London has reportedly told the Daily Progress's Jerry Ratcliffe that Bill Lazor is no longer a candidate for the job with Tampa Bay. So rest easy Cavalier fans. At least for this year.
Giants, Patriots each have a Hoo in Super Bowl XLVI
by Brian J. Leung on Feb 5, 2012 11:09 AM EST
in Virginia Football
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Today is a great day because, regardless of which team you're pulling for, at the end of the day, one former Wahoo will earn his first Super Bowl ring. For the New York Giants, that would be defensive tackle Chris Canty, and for the New England Patriots, we're looking at long snapper Danny Aiken.
So far this season, Canty has recorded career high 47 tackles, 31 of which were all by himself. He has also recorded 4.0 sacks and caused one safety. He has started all 16 games this season. In the last matchup between the Giants and the Patriots, Canty recorded 3 tackles (2 solo).
Canty was originally drafted in the fourth round in the 2005 draft by the Dallas Cowboys, where he spent his first four seasons, earning a starting role his rookie year. In his junior year at Virginia, Canty earned second-team All-ACC honors and was named the Lineman of the Year in Virginia. Canty's senior season was cut short due to ACL, MCL and PCL injuries in his left knee. Through four games, he had 30 tackles, seven tackles for losses, one sack and a forced fumble.
In his rookie season this year, Aiken has played in all 16 games, recording five tackles (2 solo, 3 assisted). It's hard to find much out there on how a long snapper has done on the season -- the answer is, he must be doing alright if there's no news on him. He has snapped on all punts, field goals and extra points in 13 of 16 games.
Aiken went undrafted last year, but eventually signed as a rookie free agent with the Buffalo Bills, where he practiced during the offseason. He was released by the Bills on September 3, before Bill Belichick and company picked him up the next day. While at Virginia, Aiken played in all 49 games of his college career and made four tackles his senior season, against USC, Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech.
Speaking of Virginia Tech, neither the Giants nor the Pats have a Hokie on their roster.
By the way, each team also has a Hoo on the injured reserve list. For the Giants, it's LB Clint Sintim, and for the Patriots, it's the ever-fragile DB Ras-I Dowling.
Have a good time today, stay safe, and as always, Go HOOS!
...and the Giants!
ACC Moves to 9-Game Football Schedule with Yearly UVA-Pitt Matchups, Configures Future Basketball Plans
by Brian Schwartz on Feb 3, 2012 2:33 PM EST
in Virginia Football
In a surprise move, the ACC today announced that it will transition to a 9-game conference football schedule. The current makeup of the conferences will remain the same, with Pittsburgh joining UVA in the Coastal Division and Syracuse heading to the Atlantic. Additionally, Pitt and Syracuse will retain their Big East rivalry as cross-division partners; they will play annualy in the expanded conference.
Commissioner John Swofford made the announcement at the end of the annual Winter Meetings this week. "We have been engaged in discussions on the various options for integrating Pitt and Syracuse since early fall," said Swofford. "It's a tremendous tribute to the leadership at our schools that we will be able to seamlessly add Pitt and Syracuse at the appropriate time when they become full playing members."
That "appropriate time" is still up in the air. The switch will not take effect until the two Big East teams receive clearance to leave their conference; the Big East requires 27 months notice, hoping to instill maximum awkwardness on all parties. Negotiations have been underway to arrange an early exit, but they are not expected to join until 2013. In that case, Virginia will play its normal 8 game schedule this fall (The 2012 schedule has not yet been released, but is expected this month).
The ACC also decided on the makeup of future basketball schedules, as a new 18-game conference slate will go into effect next year. To accommodate the move, teams will have one permanent partner, rather than the current two. Virginia will lose its annual home-and-home with Maryland but continue to play Virginia Tech twice per season.
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No surprises on National Signing Day; Eli Harold headlines Virginia Football's Class of 2012
by Brian J. Leung on Feb 2, 2012 8:00 AM EST
in Virginia Football
National Signing Day 2012 was nowhere near as exciting for Virginia fans as National Signing Day 2011 was. Heading into the big day last year, Virginia fans were still awaiting decisions from four highly-rated recruits, three of whom were said to be down between Virginia and at least one other school. The Hoos landed two of those four, which made for an exciting afternoon and promising future.
| Service | Ranking |
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| ESPN | Just Missed | 0 | 3 |
18 |
| 247 | 20 | 1 | 6 |
18 |
| Scout | 28 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| Rivals | 27 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
This year was a lot "calmer" by all accounts. At the start of yesterday, there were essentially no outstanding offers on the table that the Hoos were still waiting to hear back from. In fact, by 11:35 a.m., Virginia head coach Mike London and company had already received a fax from every single student they were expecting.
That's a good thing. By comparison, reports circulated the internet today of the Virginia Tech coaching staff giving an earful to a Hokie commit, Ja Wand Blue, who surprised the staff by de-committing from Virginia Tech in favor of the University of Miami instead.
"No surprises," Defensive Coordinator Jim Reid told Virginia beat writer Jeff White yesterday morning. "As long as there's no surprises, we're good."
"Luckily this year," London echoed, "the commitments that were made to us stuck, and hopefully today will show that our early message was consistent, and having the season we had drew them closer in terms of wanting to be here."
Virginia's commits had plenty of time to reconsider. In fact, of the 26 members of the Class of 2012, only three -- Kelvin Rainey, Canaan Severin and Divante Walker -- had not offered a verbal commitment prior to the start of the 2011 campaign.
Coming off the 8-win season and a trip to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Virginia signed what most to be considered the fifth best recruiting class in the conference, behind Florida State as the clear ACC winner, Clemson and Miami as the second tear, and Virginia Tech, who joins Virginia in the third tier of recruiting success in the conference. The rest of the conference had a "meh" recruiting season at best.
| State | No. of Signees |
| Virginia | 13 |
| Tidewater | 10 |
| Richmond | 3 |
| Georgia | 2 |
| New Jersey | 2 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 |
| Florida | 1 |
| New York | 1 |
| North Carolina | 1 |
| Maryland | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 1 |
| Texas | 1 |
| Canada | 1 |
Virginia's recruiting class is headlined by the top prospect in the Commonwealth, defensive end Eli Harold out of Ocean Lakes in Virginia Beach, VA. Kwontie Moore out of Norfolk Christian in Norfolk, VA is also considered one of the top recruits of the state.
The majority of this year's class actually comes from in-state. A couple days ago, Doug Doughty wrote a piece in the ACC Sports Journal about how Virginia and Virginia Tech did a great job this year of protecting the state's borders. In years past, the Tar Heels have had a pretty strong foothold in the Commonwealth, but this year, North Carolina failed to sign a single player from Virginia.
Also worth noting is that, of the Cavaliers' 13 Virginia signees, 10 of them hail from the fertile recruiting grounds of the 757. Oddly enough, there were no commitments from the Northern Virginia region, which is interesting considering that the Hoos held a free open practice in Alexandria, Va. last March.
In hearing the players talk about why they chose Virginia over their other scholarship offers, there are two recurring themes. The first is that the players are committing to Virginia for greater reason other than Mike London and the rest of the coaching staff. Whether it's his faith, his work ethic, or just his ability to relate to players, these signees are excited to work with these coaches and are ready to go all-in on the Virginia system. The second recurring reason is academics. Virginia continues to attract players not only because of its return to relevancy, but because of its commitment to academic excellence. For most of these guys, the dream of reaching the NFL, and the fame and fortune associated therewith, will never be anything more than a dream. They know this. Their families know this. Coach London knows this. Everybody knows this. So it's good to see many of them making these types of decisions on the value of their diploma, and I wouldn't trade that for the world.
Well, maybe. Let's see what our record is next year.
Below you'll find scouting reports, player quotes, ratings, video highlights, UVA-produced videos, and much more on each of the 26 members of the Class of 2012. Even if you were following along with us yesterday as these rolled in, you'll want to click through to the scouting reports, as Tiki has added comments to almost all of them assessing their impact on Virginia. Yesterday, he also assessed the class as a whole.
Virginia Football's Signed Class of 2012
| Demeitre Brim Athlete |
Jamall Brown Wide Receiver |
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| Maurice Canady Athlete |
Tyrell Chavis Defensive Tackle |
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| Anthony Cooper Athlete |
Kyle Dockins Wide Receiver |
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| Ryan Doull Offensive Guard |
Adrian Gamble Wide Receiver |
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| Mark Hall Linebacker |
Eli Harold Defensive End |
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| Matt Johns Quarterback |
Sean Karl Offensive Tackle |
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| Greyson Lambert Quarterback |
Andre Miles-Redmond Offensive Guard |
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(January Enrollee)
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| Michael Mooney Offensive Tackle |
C.J. Moore Cornerback |
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| Kwontie Moore Linebacker |
Michael Moore Defensive End |
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| Kye Morgan Running Back |
Mario Nixon Wide Receiver |
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| Kelvin Rainey Cornerback |
Canaan Severin Wide Receiver |
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| Max Valles Athlete |
Wilfred Wahee Athlete |
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| Divante Walker Cornerback |
Courtnye Wynn Defensive End |
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National Signing Day: How did the Virginia Football Class of 2012 do?
by TikiUVA on Feb 1, 2012 4:00 PM EST
in Virginia Football
For the second season in a row, Mike London's coaching staff has brought in a much heralded freshman class of Wahoos. Last year's class included a handful of blue-chip offensive talents and skill positions players. This year's class focused a little bit more on defense and on the lines. In last year's class, the main focus was improving team speed. While that remains an important goal, this class also helps improve the team's size and strength.
Let's take a look at what the team needs were coming into this recruiting period, and how the team met its goals.
Obviously, when looking at team needs, we need to look at which players will be graduating. Coming off an 8-5 season, the Hoos are losing a lot. Gone from the offense are stars such as Kris Burd, Austin Pasztor, Anthony Mihota, Matt Snyder and Max Milien. Gone from the defense are Chase Minnifield, Matt Conrath, Nick Jenkins, Cam Johnson, Aaron Taliaferro, Rodney McLeod and Corey Mosley. That is more than half of the starting squad leaving due to graduation. That is a scary list for Hoo fans. Especially on the defensive side of the ball, we are losing a ton of talent. We've lost 75% of our defensive line and 75% of our secondary. How well will we be able to replace these players?
We all know that most incoming freshmen are not ready to play right away. Even the ones that are tend to improve a great deal between their first and second years. Darius Jennings, for example, looked like a different player in the Peach Bowl than he did early in the season. So while some of the 2012 recruits will undoubtedly see early playing time, most of them aren't expected to contribute until 2013 at the earliest. Therefore, we also need to look further ahead to see what the teams' needs will be in the future.
Ryan Doull to Virginia: FUMA OG Signs with Cavaliers | National Signing Day 2012
by Brian J. Leung on Feb 1, 2012 11:39 AM EST
in Virginia Football
| Ryan Doull | Offensive Guard | Fort Union Military Academy |
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Photos: Rivals.com |
6'3" / 305 lbs Rankings: Other Offers: Connecticut Notes: Canadian. Do we need to say more? Yes? Okay fine. "flashes the playing strength to dominate as a run blocker" ... "Comes off the ball aggressively but a little too high" ... "arm length, quick hands and nimble feet should be assets in pass protection" ... "a red shirt year may be necessary to polish his skills" Quotables: "We're talking about lacrosse player that scored 15-20 goals last season. He's an explosive, fast-twitch, powerful player. He can stop on a dime, turn, and run. Ryan's the total package in many regards. He has size, presence, power, speed, quickness, and he's smart. And he's strong. Ryan is a 25-plus rep guy with 225 on the bench." --Fork Union Head Coach John Shuman |
Video highlights follow the jump.
Tyrell Chavis to Virginia: Richmond, VA OG Signs with Cavaliers | National Signing Day 2012
by Brian J. Leung on Feb 1, 2012 10:52 AM EST
in Virginia Football
| Tyrell Chavis | Offensive Guard | Varina HS (Richmond, Va.) |
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Photo: Rivals.com |
6'3" / 303 lbs Rankings: Other Offers: Boston College, Vanderbilt Notes: "able to dominate as a run blocker" ... "this guy will punish opponents " ... "only beginning to tap into his full potential" ... "some lower body stiffness when lined up in a three point stance" ... "perhaps a red shirt year to polish his skills" ... "Does a good job when asked to pull and trap" ... "shows flashes of the athleticism necessary" ... "tough nasty finishing attitude" ... he and his 19-year-old brother are the primary caregivers for their mother, who suffers from polyneuropathy, a nerve disorder that causes pain, numbness and weakness in her arms and legs. Quotables: "I'm just glad that I can be close to home. It was always something I was thinking about." |
Video highlights follow the jump.
Kyle Dockins to Virginia: Virginia Beach, Va. TE Signs with Cavaliers | National Signing Day 2012
by Brian J. Leung on Feb 1, 2012 10:17 AM EST
in Virginia Football
| Kyle Dockins | Tight End | Landstown HS (Virginia Beach, Va.) |
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6'4" / 200 lbs / 4.6 Rankings: Other Offers: Boston College, ECU, Georgia, JMU, Norfolk State, Virginia Tech Notes: Most originally thought he'd be a tight end, but Rivals reported a couple weekends ago that the coaches told him he'd be playing wide receiver ... "a kid with solid muscle mass" ... "will need a red-shirt" ... "good length and flashes the ability to go up for the ball" Quotables: "I had a meeting with Coach (Shawn) Moore and the wide receivers. We went over the route tree and a couple of other things and it's going to be receiver. I'm pretty positive." "UVa is just a beautiful, beautiful place to be. I really like it because it feels like home." |
Video highlights follow the jump.
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Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
(updated 2.23.2012 at 2:12 AM EST)
| Conf | Overall | |||
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| W | L | W | L | |
North Carolina Tar Heels
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11 | 2 | 24 | 4 |
| Duke Blue Devils | 10 | 2 | 23 | 4 |
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Florida St. Seminoles
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10 | 2 | 19 | 7 |
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Virginia Cavaliers
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8 | 5 | 21 | 6 |
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N.C. State Wolfpack
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7 | 6 | 18 | 10 |
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Miami Hurricanes
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7 | 6 | 16 | 10 |
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Maryland Terrapins
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6 | 7 | 16 | 11 |
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Clemson Tigers
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6 | 7 | 14 | 13 |
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Virginia Tech Hokies
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4 | 9 | 15 | 13 |
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Wake Forest Demon Deacons
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3 | 10 | 12 | 15 |
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Boston College Eagles
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3 | 10 | 8 | 19 |
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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
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2 | 11 | 9 | 18 |
Cavaliers Basketball Schedule
Next 5 Games
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North Carolina
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Sat 02/25 | 4:00 PM EST |
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Florida St.
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Thu 03/01 | 7:00 PM EST |
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Maryland
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Sun 03/04 | 2:00 PM EST |
Last 5 Games
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@
Virginia Tech
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Tue 02/21 | W 61 - 59 |
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Maryland
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Sat 02/18 | W 71 - 44 |
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@
Clemson
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Tue 02/14 | L 48 - 60 |
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North Carolina
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Sat 02/11 | L 52 - 70 |
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Wake Forest
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Wed 02/08 | W 68 - 44 |
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
