The first thing big Eugene Monroe noticed when he sat down and looked around the meeting room as Virginia’s football team started training camp was the presence of a lot of fresh faces.

En route to Virginia’s annual Meet the Team Day festivities last week, offensive line coach Dave Borbely looked to his left in amazement.

Vic Hall does a little bit of everything for the Cavaliers — starts at cornerback, returns punts, and was recently named one of the team’s co-captains along with John Phillips, Cedric Peerman and Clint Sintim.

Jimmy Howell, a 6-foot-6, 238-pound true freshman from Florence, S.C., is one of three punters on the UVa roster, joining senior John Thornton and sophomore Nathan Rathjen.

Yannick Reyering — who had exhausted his soccer eligibility — elected to give football a try after talking things over with Virginia soccer coach George Gelnovatch.

Rated a three-star recruit by both Scout and Rivals.com, the Norview High product is a good fit as a nose tackle in the Cavaliers’ 3-4 defense because of his space-eating size (6-foot-4, 290 pounds) and overall athletic ability (he also played high school basketball).

Burrell, now a junior, earned early playing time last year and made his first — and only — sack against Duke. But he could not crack the starting lineup as his close friend, Jermaine Dias, kept first-team status.

Aaron Clark has been waiting three years for his chance to shine at Virginia. Now, entering his senior year with the Cavaliers, he hopes to get that 2,000-watt opportunity.

Coming out of high school in New Jersey in 2004, Byron Glaspy expected to get a shot at BCS football. He had no way of knowing just how far he’d come.

More importantly, Koch is all smiles — and holding his breath — as he has remained healthy for the first time during a training camp.

It was not the impending thunder or lightning that shortened the session, but rather Virginia’s elder statesman at quarterback, Scott Deke, that delivered a booming announcement.

Having been knocked from his football pedestal, junior Kevin Crawford realizes that he is playing on borrowed time.

Virginia coach Al Groh said Deke, who will turn 23 in November, was given the honor based on his “seniority” over sophomores Pete Lalich and Marc Verica.

Former Cavaliers fullback Kevin Bradley, 22, was found dead as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head, Lt. David Sportsman, a Fayetteville, N.C., spokesman announced to reporters on Thursday. It is unclear at this point, investigators said, if the wound was self-inflicted.

Despite having held just three practices, each of which was without full pads, Groh apparently was so tuned into the Cavaliers’ camp that he missed the latest development in the world’s most over-hyped sports drama.

The Byron Glaspy story seems to get better with every newly-written chapter.

Now 17 months removed from the season-ending ACL tear, the wide receiver is officially back in the mix and gearing up for his long-awaited return to the starting lineup.

Slideshow inside

The University of Virginia’s football team kicked off training camp Monday evening at its practice facility.

Jared Green essentially raced from the festivities to Charlottesville to report for the start of Virginia’s training camp. The Cavaliers opened practice last night at 6:30 p.m.

The mass team entrance at the Cavalier Inn on Sunday did not include cornerback Mike Brown. Apparently, that will not change.

The school-issued paraphernalia sent to encourage voting for the 21-year-old graduate student could have included numerous catchy slogans, which now could include: Pastor Peerman. In July, Peerman was ordained as a minister at Charlottesville’s Mt. Zion First African Church.

On the heels of a nine-win season and a trip to the Gator Bowl, Virginia was predicted to finish fifth in the six-member Coastal Division in the ACC’s preseason poll as voted on by members of the media at the league’s annual kickoff in Georgia. UVa, which was picked to better only Duke (85 points), trailed Virginia Tech (383), North Carolina (288), Miami (253) and Georgia Tech (195).

Rampant speculation emerged, however, that once Sunday’s votes are tabulated from the members of the media present that the Cavaliers will land in a spot similar — or worse — to that of the past two seasons, when they were predicted to finish fourth.

ST. LOUIS — Former Virginia defensive end Chris Long agreed to a multiyear deal with the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, leaving plenty of time for the second overall pick in the 2008 draft to report to training camp.

Barker, a junior, joins senior left guard Eugene Monroe as the lone returning starters on one of the units in question heading into the new season. Former incumbents Branden Albert and Ian-Yates Cunningham, both guards, and center Jordy Lipsey must be replaced on assistant coach Dave Borbely’s offensive line.

New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw still could face a suspension from the NFL after being released from jail for a probation violation.

Sean Cascarano, a three-star offensive tackle from Glenview, Ill., gave an oral commitment late Sunday night, becoming the 16th member of the Class of 2009.

Apparently, Virginia’s decision to air out its offense is catching on.

Connor McCartin, an inside linebacker from Fauquier High, became the 10th player to commit to the Cavaliers for the Class of 2009.

Jake Snyder, a two-way standout at Deep Run High in Glen Allen, became the 11th commitment for the Class of 2009, continuing the Cavaliers’ recent in-state dominance. Jake Snyder, who had an ever-growing list of offers, is the ninth recruit from Virginia to offer a verbal assurance.