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Dominique Patterson, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound running back from King's Fork High School in Suffolk, committed to Virginia Tech on Monday night.

Tech was the first school to offer Patterson, who attended the Hokies' one-day camp this past Saturday. He said Tuesday that East Carolina and Marshall joined Tech in his final three.

Patterson suffered a broken left wrist in the first game of the 2009 season and was limited to defense after that, collecting 60 tackles and eight sacks.

He ran 40 yards in 4.48 seconds at Tech on Saturday

Tyrone Garland, a 6-foot-1 point guard from John Bartram High School in Philadelphia, has become the second men’s basketball player to commit to Virginia Tech for the entering class of 2010.

Garland, who scored 28 points per game this past season, joins 6-5 Jerrell Eddie from Charlotte, N.C., in coach Seth Greenberg’s next class.

NOTE: Look for quotes and more in Tuesday's print edition of The Roanoke Times

the passing of Michael Collley. Here is the news release:

Charlottesville, Va. ­­ Michael Colley, a long-time assistant director in
the University of Virginia athletics media relations office, died Saturday
(July 10) during a walk while vacationing with friends in Virginia Beach. He
was 46.

"Whether it was one of our future professionals or a walk-on, Michael viewed
any student-athlete who wore orange and blue as a friend," said Virginia
Athletics Director Craig Littlepage. "Michael¹s knowledge and respect of the
history of UVa sports was unequaled. Our program has lost a friend, a
colleague and our No. 1 fan."
Read more »

Jeff gave his two week's notice to The Richmond Times-Dispatch on Thursday and will be going to work for the University of Virginia, where he will write for virginiasports.com, UVa's sports Web site.

He will be reporting not to UVa's media relations department but to the athletic department, where senior associate athletic director Jon Oliver will be one of his bosses.

Jeff is a UVa graduate (mid-1980s) who began his 21-year Richmond newspapers tenure as a prep writer for the afternoon News-Leader, then moved to the Times-Dispatch when the papers merged.

I met him during the period in the early 1990s when he covered the UVa women's basketball team in the postseason. He has been the UVa football beat writer throughout the eight-year Al Groh football coaching tenure.

During most of his time on the UVa beat, Jeff has lived in Crozet.

Jeff is a good friend and worthy competitor who told me in the past 2-3 years that he might be gone from the Times-Dispatch within a year. It's likely that the Times-Dispatch's decision not to cover Virginia in the College World Series -- a decision in which it was not alone -- hastened that departure.

Virginia's connections to Holy Cross High School in Flushing, N.Y., paid dividends when the Cavaliers took a football commitment Friday from linebacker Chris Brathwaite.

UVa was the first Division I-A program to offer Brathwaite, according to rivals.com. Holy Cross is the alma mater of UVa basketball player Sylven Landesberg, last year's ACC men's rookie of the year.

Holy Cross also produced wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, leading receiver for the Cavaliers' 2008 football team and a rookie free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. Brathwaite (6 foot 1, 257 pounds) picked up an offer after his performance at a one-day UVa camp last weekend.

He is the fifth player to commit to UVa this week and the ninth overall.

--DOUG DOUGHTY

Offensive lineman Conner Davis from Deep Run High School in Richmond and outside linebacker Henry Coley from Bayside High School in Virginia Beach have become the first two in-state players to commit to Virginia for the class of 2010.

Davis (6 foot 5, 245 pounds) is rated the No. 13 prospect in the state by Virginia Preps and picked the Cavaliers over Virginia Tech. Among the eight Division I-A programs to offer him were West Virginia, Maryland. Boston College and Syracuse.

Davis is the son of UVa season-ticket holders and will join three former Deep Run teammates, including highly rated 2009 recruit Jake Snyder.

Coley (6-2, 230) is the 37th player on Virginia Preps' list. Coley had 93 tackles, including 19 for loss, as a junior. Louisville, Temple and Navy had made offers to Coley, according to rivals.com

Justin Taylor, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive end from Norwood, N.C., has become the 11th football prospect to commit to Virginia Tech for 2010.

Taylor, from South Stanly High School, picked the Hokies over North Carolina State. Coach Luke Little said Taylor also had offers from Auburn, Arkansas, East Carolina, Duke, Virginia and South Carolina.

Taylor never played organized football until he was persuaded to join the team one week before the season started.

He had taken unofficial visits to Tech and State and was planning a return visit to Raleigh, N.C., before deciding his heart was set on Tech.

Taylor's home is roughly 50 miles east of Charlotte.

--DOUG DOUGHTY