Cavalier Corner

April 2015

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injury for much of his senior season. The Cavaliers also signed one of the Common- wealth's best wideouts in David Eldridge, a 6-1, 175-pound speedster from Bealeton. The three-star pass catcher committed to UVa over offers from Boston College, UConn, East Carolina and Wake Forest, among others. He left Kettle Run High School with 16 school records, including career receptions (91), career receiving yards (1,655) and career TD receptions (15). Between receiving and returning kicks and punts, he scored 29 total touch- downs in his high school career. In addition to Robinson and Eldridge, UVa also signed one of the state's most underrated wideouts in Roanoke native Warren Craft. A standout basket- ball player who at one time was committed to play at Virginia Tech, he chose UVa football in January after a standout senior year at William Fleming. The 6-2, 185-pound two-star caught 42 passes for 833 yards and eight scores in only his second year of playing football. UVa inked three offensive linemen, and Ryan Bischoff (6-6, 300 pounds), R.J. Proctor (6-4, 295 pounds) and early enrollee Grant Polk (6-6, 300 pounds) should help the Wahoos in the trenches. Bischoff, a two-star who had a standout career at Plymouth (Pa.) Plymouth-Whitmarsh, looks to be an interior lineman, while Bealeton, Va., na- tive Proctor, a two-star, and Polk, a three-star who came to UVa from Punta Gorda (Fla.) Charlotte, are tackles. Finally, the Cavaliers also signed two tight ends in Richard Burney and Tanner Cowley. Burney is a 6-4, 230-pound three-star from Chesapeake, Va., while Cowley is a 6-4, 210-pound two-star from Manasquan, N.J. "What we wanted to do with this class was look at where we needed help, go out and find student- athletes who fit the profile for the University of Virginia, and get guys who brought a lot of size and athleticism," London concluded. "We got guys who are multi-sport guys, and I think we added a lot of ability in looking at the places where we had losses. "This is a very good, very reliable group, and like with spring ball, there's a lot of positivity going on right now." ◆ DEFENSIVE QUESTIONS LOOM FOR UVA THIS SPRING Every team goes into spring practice with questions to answer, but for UVa this year the questions asked by the time the Cavaliers opened practice were very different from the ones at the end of last season. Namely: How do the Wahoos revamp a front seven on defense that will be without essentially its entire lineback- ing corps and pass rush? "That's one of the things we didn't expect to have to address so soon," head coach Mike London said. "But so far, the guys have really taken on the challenge of stepping up and answering the call. There's just a real sense of optimism and positivity out there." Gone from last year's team are linebackers Henry Coley and Daquan Romero (both fourth-years in 2014), as well as outside linebacker Max Valles and defensive end Eli Harold (third-years who both declared for the NFL Draft). In coordinator Jon Tenuta's aggressive 4-3 scheme, the Hoos must replace their two best pass rushers as well as the stalwarts in the middle of the defense, not to mention departed fourth-year safety Anthony Harris (who is also likely to hear his name called on draft day). "The great thing about this team is that we have guys who have played in college football games, guys who have contributed at a high level," London explained. "Now it's just about seeing where the pieces fit and I think Jon and Mike [Archer] have done a great job so far."

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