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Virginia hasn’t taken a commitment from an Amherst County football player in the last 30 years and, chances are, that situation isn’t going to change in the coming weeks.

Amherst coach Scott Abell said Friday that quarterback/athlete Peter Rose hopes to announce a decision by the start of preseason practice in early August and that he almost certainly will choose from between UVa and Virginia Tech.

Rose, who most likely will play receiver in college, also has offers from Maryland, Syracuse and Marshall. It was his intention to make campus visits this summer to all the schools that have offered him, but so far he has been to only Tech and UVa.

Virginia was the first school to offer Rose a scholarship, which was a wise move on the Cavaliers’ part, according to Abell, because otherwise he would have committed to the Hokies by now.

UVa’s campus is located less than an hour’s drive from Rose’s home, while it would take nearly two hours to get to Tech, but if Rose feels like the Hokies are Amherst’s hometown team, who could blame him?

One of his longtime teammates, wide receiver Derrick McCoy, already has committed to the Hokies for 2008. Barry Booker will be a senior defensive lineman at Tech, where he was preceded by ex-Lancer defensive linemen David Pugh and Tim Sandidge.

“It’s just so hard to ignore that and I think it’s hard for our kids to ignore that,” Abell said.

UVa’s last scholarship player from Amherst was quarterback-turned kicking specialist Russ Henderson in the mid-1970s.

Abell grew up outside Charlottesville and, while he didn’t attend UVa, it wouldn’t bother him to have a player in orange and blue. However, he understands the attraction to Tech and praises the Hokies for their diligence in recruiting.

“It’s kind of uncharted waters for us to have a kid considering UVa,” Abell said. “I think they’ve made an effort in the past year or two to be in our school more.

“I think [UVa assistants] Anthony Poindexter and Wayne Lineburg have done an unbelievable job. I would say, back in the spring, it was like 90 percent Tech and 10 percent UVa. I don’t know how much the gap has closed, but I think it’s closed.

“When they offered first, it was a very smart move. I don’t know who decided to pull the trigger or whether it was coach Groh who pulled the trigger, but it’s made it a much more interesting recruiting process for Peter.”

Abell previously built a strong program at Liberty High School in Bedford, “which had a much-bigger Tech feel to it,” he said. In Amherst, winner of the Group AA Division 4 state championship last year, there’s a much more of an even split in Abell’s eyes.

“It’s a 50-50 shot and I think that’s actually playing a part because Peter grew up and his family grew up watching UVa,” Abell said. “They’d get down there to a game every now and then. I know his dad has been a big UVa fan. I’m not sure that that isn’t what’s held up Peter’s commitment to Tech.

“But, the bottom line is, you can’t overlook the success our kids have had at Tech. We’ve gone down there to camp so much and I know that he’s extremely comfortable with Tech and their staff and their facilities.”

There’s also the connection with McCoy, a longtime target who could be in the same receiving corps if Rose goes to Tech. Rose also could be a defensive back in college.

“They’re extremely tight,” Abell said. “They’ve grown up together. They live just a mile or two down the road from each other. They’ve played football together since they were 6 or 7. I think that’s going to have an impact on it as well.”

Besides, by the time Rose returns from team camp next week, he will have spent a week in McCoy’s company. If Virginia ever wants to get an Amherst player, however, it can’t afford to stop trying.

TECH WILL HAVE its second one-day camp of the summer this Saturday and, if it’s anything like 2006, commitments could be furious for the last half of the month.

Of the 140 prospects or so expected in Blacksburg today, approximately 30 have offers. Biggest names among the rising seniors include wide receiver D.J. Coles from Goochland, quarterback Xavier Boyce from Landstown in Virginia Beach and defensive end Antoine Hopkins from Highland Springs.  

THE MOST RECENT Prep Stars’ basketball recruiting handbook arrived in the mail and listed Tech first among the suitors for Devoe Joseph, a 6-3 Canadian wing guard who previously had been linked with the Hokies by the ACC Sports Journal.

Prep Stars did not include Virginia among six contenders for Elliott Williams, a 6-4 shooting guard from Memphis, Tenn., whom it rates 17th among the nation’s top rising seniors.

Obviously, that list was compiled before Williams narrowed his choices to Duke, Tennessee, Memphis and UVa.