Special Features 
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Special Features
Growing up in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a small, peaceful town in the cradle of the Shenandoah Valley, Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. heard it all the time from his parents: Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have. The words would become Ralph's drumbeat. His core. Advice he would cling to from serene asphalt playgrounds all the way to glitzy NBA arenas. Sampson always did his best, where he was, with what he had.
Everything that happened in the last year at Penn State could be labeled shocking. So regardless of one's opinion on the NCAA sanctions, it's clear that the current coaches and players for the Nittany Lions face a challenging 2012 season. When asked how he thinks he would deal with the situation if he were coaching at Penn State, UVa coach Mike London said the only thing he could think of is to focus on football. So with that in mind, the game preview's goal is to focus on the game.
When Virginia released its football schedule earlier in 2012, it knew that Penn State would be playing its first road game of the season in Charlottesville. When the NCAA handed down sanctions for the Nittany Lions' program in July, however, it became clear that the visitors would have a much different look than expected. Read about that, Billy Schautz, and more in this notes article.
It's incredible how running a mere 20 minutes can make you so sore. It's also incredible how short 20 minutes can seem; also how long 20 minutes can drag on; and, even more incredible, how you can experience both these revelations within seconds of each other throughout said 20 minutes. I don't even think I have the mental capacity to handle anything longer than 20 minutes of running at this point.
You know, starting a year with a win is nice. A lot better than starting a year with a loss. Having experienced both, I can definitively say that it is a whole lot better to win. And while there won't be 10 things to discuss here, there still are some things worth reviewing together. Let's take a look back at Virginia's victory against Richmond.
The Virginia football team opened its season with a strong showing on Saturday, easily dispatching Richmond 43-19. The comfortable lead gave transfer quarterback Phillip Sims a chance to make his debut as a Cavalier and he thrived in that opportunity. The Sunday Sampler discusses Sims' first action as a Wahoo and much, much more.
Virginia's offense featured a ton of solid performances in the season opener against Richmond on Saturday. That tends to happen with 545 yards of offense to go around. Sophomores Khalek Shepherd and Darius Jennings, in particular, demonstrated some strong play-making skills in the Cavaliers' 43-19 victory.
Virginia's football team got its season off to a great start by rolling to a 43-19 victory against Richmond on Saturday. The Cavaliers cranked out 545 yards of total offense and allowed just 28 yards rushing against the Spiders in the win. Receivers like Tim Smith and Darius Jennings had big days as Michael Rocco threw for 311 yards, while youngsters like Drequan Hoskey, Anthony Harris, and Henry Coley led the team in tackles. Take a look at some of the day's highlights in this photo gallery featuring 66 images!
Virginia opened the 2012 season in convincing fashion on Saturday, posting a lopsided 43-19 victory against Richmond. The Cavaliers proved superior in every category beyond the score too, dominating the rushing, passing, time of possession columns. Still in the moments following the game at Scott Stadium, the Hoos made it clear that there's a lot of work to be done in the weeks ahead.
The wait is over. Virginia fans eager to see the football team in action for the first time since New Year's Eve get their first chance of the 2012 season on Saturday. That's when Richmond comes to Scott Stadium in the season-opening game for both teams. To get ready for the game each week, TheSabre.com "Watch List" will give fans a sneak peek at a few key areas to keep an eye on for that week's contest. Without further ado, here's the list for the showdown with the Spiders.
Not long ago a writer from Yahoo! Sports provided a feature called, "Virginia Cavaliers Football: The 25 Most Devastating Losses of the Past 25 Years." I linked this feature within Sabre NewsLink fully expecting the author to provide a companion piece listing the Top 25 greatest wins of the past 25 years. He, unfortunately, did not. Never fear, I did. I didn't want to leave the Wahoo fan base hanging, so I made my own list of UVa's greatest wins.
The season-opening game of Mike London's third season as UVa's head coach comes against his alma mater. That's not the only tie between Richmond and Virginia in this matchup, though. In fact, connections between the two schools abound. For example, for Michael Rocco and Richmond head coach Danny Rocco, it's a family outing. Read about that and get Sabre Editor Kris Wright's keys to the game in the game preview.
To cut to the chase, Michael Rocco will start his 14th straight game at quarterback for Virginia on Saturday when Richmond comes to town. On the season's first two-deep, Rocco retained his position as starting quarterback with Phillip Sims listed as the back-up option. David Watford holds the No. 3 slot. Read about the quarterbacks and more in this notes article.
Another season is almost upon us and like most seasons, questions abound. Answers to those questions will come in time and so I suppose we could just set aside the questions and allow things to unfold as they will ... but if we did that, could we really call ourselves fans? No, of course not, as it is part of the DNA of any fan that one must ponder the questions. Here are 10 such questions that I am chewing on going into the 2012 season.
As part of TheSabre.com's annual Hoo Preview, the site catches up with some of the program's true freshmen to talk about the transition to college, practice, season expectations, and more. Recruiting analyst Chris Horne and Editor Kris Wright interviewed Maurice Canaday, Trent Corney, Canaan Severin, C.J. Moore, Kwontie Moore, Mike Moore, and Greyson Lambert to talk about their first seasons with the Wahoos.
The Virginia offense made tremendous strides last season and looks primed for big things in 2012. Several key playmakers return, and the Cavaliers welcome in a host of talented newcomers. As is par for the course of preseason camp, there are more questions than answers at certain positions. Fortunately for Cavalier fans, however, one area of certainty with the 2012 squad is the quality and depth of the running back group.
Much of the Virginia football team's offense is based on being physical and running the football. That mindset establishes a tempo for the offense and sets up many of the system's play-action pass routes. If you're going to run the football, of course, it helps to have talented running backs. There are no issues there for the Hoos. Kevin Parks, a sophomore in the RB corps, wraps up the "5 questions" series for the Hoo Preview.
Young gun or proven veteran? That is the question. When contemplating the quarterback situation at Virginia, it got me thinking about the pros and cons of starting an inexperienced, highly touted quarterback over a consistent veteran who might not have nearly the same potential for greatness. It's something that has been talked about in fan circles for ages, and something UVa fans have discussed more times than they would like over the last couple of decades.
When most observers think of rhythm in football terms, they think of quarterbacks who effectively take the snap, go through their drop smoothly and throw the ball comfortably after setting up. The pass easily connects with the target. So with that in mind, while understanding that rhythm is elusive, let's take a look at "How to create quarterback rhythm" in this latest article for the Hoo Preview.
Since his arrival at Virginia the Mike London mantra has been clear - faith, family and football. "My priorities, how I run the program are: Faith, Family and Football," London told the Charlottesville Daily Progress back in November 2011. For the Hoos, quarterback Michael Rocco may well serve as the embodiment of that philosophy.
Who will emerge from the quarterback competition as the starter? Who will be the back-up QB? How many quarterbacks will redshirt? Virginia fans anxiously have waited for depth chart news at quarterback this fall. UVa coaches, on the other hand, simply are not in a rush to make any final decisions. As a result, the Cavaliers' starting quarterback for the opener with Richmond next Saturday remains unknown, but the Hoo Preview breaks down the candidates.
Virginia quarterback Michael Rocco faced a quarterback competition with David Watford last fall as both players battled for the spot left vacant by Marc Verica. In the end, Rocco won the job and he started all 13 games for the Hoos during their 8-5 season. So while the starting quarterback at Virginia for 2012 remains to be seen with Rocco, Watford, and Alabama transfer Phillip Sims in the mix, Rocco answered The Sabre's "5 Questions" for the preseason.
After struggling with a switch in schemes in 2010, Virginia's defense displayed tremendous improvement in the second year of coach Mike London's tenure. Defensive coordinator Jim Reid's unit trimmed the averages for points, total yards, first downs per game, rushing yards, and third down conversions per game. That defensive progress played a huge role in the Cavaliers' 8-5 season. Virginia assistant coach Anthony Poindexter helped break down "How to tackle" for the Hoo Preview.
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