Recruiting: Virginia gets McCabe as Penn State wavers

Friday, July 12, 2002

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

If Pine-Richland High School's Kevin McCabe had made a college choice a year ago, he would have picked Penn State. But in 12 months, Penn State dropped from his list of favorites and his college decision went South.

McCabe, considered the top thrower among senior quarterbacks in the WPIAL, announced last night he made a verbal commitment to the University of Virginia.

McCabe (6 feet 3, 205 pounds) chose Virginia over Notre Dame and Michigan. The other two in his top five were Georgia Tech and LSU. What happened to the early favorite?

"Last year at this time, Penn State was really high on my list. They were probably my favorite," said McCabe, who won't a sign a binding letter of intent with Virginia until February. "But they just didn't know which way they were going to go with quarterbacks, who they were going to offer and how many quarterbacks they were going to take. ... They couldn't make up their minds on some things and it was too late when they did."

McCabe said Penn State offered him a scholarship, as did more than a dozen other Division I colleges. McCabe's father, Joe, played at Penn State.

"Their recruiting just seemed to be a step behind," McCabe said. "I know Penn State is in my family blood, but things just didn't work out. You have to move on.

McCabe committed to Virginia a week ago but did not want to go public with his decision. After his commitment, Notre Dame turned up the recruiting heat.

"They said they would give me a scholarship if I wanted one," McCabe said. "It was tough, just because it was Notre Dame. I always thought I would like to play for Notre Dame. But it just wasn't the best situation."

Pitt also told McCabe it would give him a scholarship if he wanted. But McCabe wasn't interested in the Panthers because they have two freshmen quarterbacks from the WPIAL -- West Allegheny's Tyler Palko and Steel Valley's Luke Getsy.

McCabe took a liking to Virginia after attending the Cavaliers' camp last summer.

"They were the first school to offer me a scholarship last year," McCabe said. "When I went down there to camp last year, it was love at first sight. As soon as I went down there, it just felt like everything was clicking."

McCabe said one of the main reasons he chose Virginia was the coaching staff. He likes the fact Coach Al Groh came from the NFL's New York Jets. Dan Rocco, an assistant coach who recruited McCabe, is a graduate of Fox Chapel High School. McCabe also is enamored with Virginia offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, who has NFL experience as a player and coach. Musgrave played in the NFL and was a backup to Steve Young with the 49ers and John Elway with the Broncos. He also was the Carolina Panthers' offensive coordinator under George Seifert in 2000.

"I can't find a better guy to be around for the next four years," McCabe said.

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<small>[ July 12, 2002, 10:29 PM: Message edited by: Yawhooos ]</small>