Wide receiver Justin Hunter from Ocean Lakes has become the latest highly rated Virginia junior to make a football commitment for the entering class of 2010.

Hunter, rated the No. 5 junior in the state by The Roanoke Times, is one of 13 in-state players in his class to have made oral commitments. He has chosen LSU.

Four have made oral commitments to Virginia Tech, but two of the best, Hunter and quarterback Phillip Sims from Group AAA Division 6 champion Oscar Smith, are headed to the Southeastern Conference.

Sims, rated No. 1 by The Roanoke Times, committed to Alabama in April.

Early commitments have become commonplace in recent years, but seldom have so many of the top prospects made up their minds so early.

Of the top eight prospects, only three remain uncommitted. They are No. 2 Zach McCray, a defensive end from Brookville High School in Campbell County; No. 4 Travis Williams, a linebacker from Lake Taylor in Norfolk, and No. 7 Evan Hailes, a defensive lineman from Oscar Smith in Chesapeake.

Tech has commitments from No. 3 Mark Shuman, an offensive lineman from Fork Union; No. 6 Nick Acree, a defensive lineman from King William, and No. 7 Derrick Hopkins, a defensive lineman from Highland Springs.

Hunter was a second-team All-Tidewater selection as a junior, when he had 34 receptions for 545 yards and 13 touchdowns, but he possibly is more impressive as a track man. Hunter (6-foot-4, 185 pounds) cleared 7-2 in the high jump in a meet last week.

Hunter, rated the No. 1 prospect in the state by Virginia Preps on its most recent list, blocked 100 shots in his career for the Ocean Lakes boys' basketball team.

-- Sporting News Today said McCray indicated that Tech, LSU, UCLA and North Carolina would be hard to eliminate from his list of finalists.

More recruiting

With its decision to take Allan Chaney, a 6-8, 230-pound transfer from Florida, Virginia Tech essentially took itself out of the running for DeShawn Painter, a 6-9 forward from Norfolk by way of Hargrave Military Academy.

Hargrave coach Kevin Keatts said Wednesday that Painter had narrowed his choices to Maryland and North Carolina State after visiting those two schools and Virginia Tech. Painter earlier had been released from a letter-of-intent he had signed with Florida in November.

"I don't think [the Hokies] sensed that they had lost any ground," Keatts said.

"I just think, when you've got two good players on your board and can only take one, you take the first one who's ready to commit."

Tech was able to take Chaney because a scholarship had become available with Hank Thorns' decision to transfer. The addition of Chaney put Tech at the Division I men's scholarship limit, 13, and Seth Greenberg said Wednesday that he believes all of his underclassmen are in good academic standing and prepared to return for the 2009-10 season.

Overshadowed

Duke-bound Seth Curry wasn't the only impact freshman to leave the Liberty University men's basketball team after a 23-12 season. Brolin Floyd, a 6-6, 212-pound guard from Ocala, Fla., left the team following to the Big South tournament and did not play in two postseason games. He started 29 games for the Flames and averaged six points and 4.7 rebounds.

Around the ACC

The Washington Post reported that Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen, 62, weighed 401 pounds in October but has stopped eating bread and has lost 86 pounds.

He did not touch alcohol for three months and has had only one beer since then. Friedgen's goal is to get down to 301.

n North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates was advised that he would need six weeks of rehabilitation after suffering a sprained right thumb in late April. Yates, who missed six games last fall after fracturing an ankle against Virginia Tech, was injured this time while playing Ultimate Frisbee.

Milestone

Radford's Big South Conference championships and NCAA appearances in women's soccer, men's basketball, men's tennis and softball are the most in school history for one school year.

It's also been a good year for Radford graduate and ex-administrator John Montgomery, named university fund raiser of the year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors. Montgomery, a Giles County native, has been at the University of North Carolina since 2001.

Oops

Former Lord Botetourt girls basketball player Sarah Boeren will be transferring from Concord to Bridgewater -- not her Mountain Lions freshman teammate, Holly Bibb, as was reported in last Thursday's College notebook.