Cavs make big in-state splash

Life as a Virginia fan often entails routine heartache and misery.
Fearing the worst heading into National Signing Day on Wednesday, those diehard supporters were given a pleasant surprise as the state’s top offensive lineman, Richmond’s Morgan Moses, put the final bow on one of the program’s deepest recruiting classes in recent history.
With Moses — the nation’s fifth-rated offensive tackle — on board, Virginia jumped in the national rankings as the class was ranked No. 34 in the country. It was quite an improvement after the Cavaliers’ recruiting class was ranked No. 61 in 2008.
“Cumulatively, we think it is probably one of our most solid groups,” Virginia coach Al Groh said during a press conference inside John Paul Arena. “We judge each class on its own merits. I don’t make comparisons in classes. Just suffice to say, we are very pleased with this particular class.”
The haul, which ranked sixth in the ACC, includes 25 players and has a distinct in-state flavor. In all, the Cavaliers’ coaching staff landed 16 prospects from the state of Virginia. In 2008, Virginia landed just three players from inside the state’s borders, which was magnified by Virginia Tech’s acquistion of 25 in-state targets.
“Overall, if you look at the class and the states and the zip codes, it’s a class based on Virginia high school players, with a strong national flavor,” Groh said. “I certainly don’t think that we are unique in this, but we have some criteria that create a model of what we are aiming for, of what we want to be. Every team, every program determines that on every level.
“Some years provide a greater pool of players [in Virginia] that match your model, but that is only half of it. The other half of finding the players that match your model is their making the decision that they want to join that. This was a year that there were a lot of players who clearly did fit us and we fit them. It goes both ways. We are very comfortable and excited about them coming here, and they feel likewise.”
Groh’s haul, which comes on the heels of a 5-7 season, also boasts size that might even make a Division I basketball coach envious — it includes 12 recruits that stand at 6-foot-4 or taller.
The class also addressed obvious needs in regards to speed, something the program has lacked in the past. Three wide receivers, three defensive backs and pair of players that could be slotted on either side on the perimeter signed a National Letters of Intent.
“It is a class that makes us a lot taller. We have always liked tall players, but it is a class that makes us a lot taller on both sides of the ball,” Groh said. “You will note that there [are] a lot of 6-6, 6-7 players. And it is a class that will make us a lot faster. Speed on the edges has historically not been the cornerstone of Virginia teams.
“What coaches do with their schemes is dictated by what the players can do, and in this particular case it might open the door to do some things that perhaps wasn’t advisable to major in in the past. We are looking forward to what these players can bring.”
Virginia also landed a pair of quarterbacks in Sherando’s Ross Metheny and Orange County’s Quintin Hunter, although the coach said that getting Hunter, one of five four-star recruits, on the field as soon as possible could land the versatile star early playing time at wide receiver.
The biggest splash nationally, however, came with the acquisition of six offensive linemen, including Oday Aboushi (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Moses. Both were rated as four-star prospects, earning the Cavaliers the nation’s ninth-best haul of offensive linemen.
Groh indicated that it was possible that all 25 players in the recruiting class would be enrolled at UVa next fall and the team’s ongoing “roster management” would allow that to occur if warranted.
Defensive end Will Hill enrolled in January, a grey-shirting rarity for Virginia, and will take part in spring practice, which opens March 20. The program’s annual spring game is slated for April 18 at Scott Stadium.