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Vic Hall (right) made plays happen on U.Va.'s defensive side; now, he wants to do it for the Cavaliers' offense. |
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
GREENSBORO, N.C.
--While growing up in rural Gretna, Vic Hall often listened to his grandmother's advice.Frances Hall always told him to stand behind his leader and be humble.
That came into play when Hall became a football player for the University of Virginia in 2005.
He was a star quarterback who broke several Virginia High School League records at Gretna High, but played cornerback for the Cavaliers for three seasons without showing any discontent toward head coach Al Groh.
"I was always taught, 'That's my coach and I'm going to stand behind his decisions,'" Hall said. "I never questioned it. I never asked him about it."
Now that he's a senior, Hall is getting his shot at quarterback. He's working full-time at the position because the Cavaliers finally have the cornerback depth to make Hall's switch plausible.
Hall admits quarterback is where his heart has been all along, but he didn't want to cause distractions for the Cavaliers (5-7 in 2008), so he remained quiet.
"To be honest, I dreamed about playing quarterback a lot, but that was just something I kept to myself," Hall said. "I never thought I'd be playing it in my last year, but it feels good to have the ball and be able to help my team."
In his senior season, Hall has become the face of the Cavaliers.
He's plastered on billboards in Charlottesville and on the cover of the Cavaliers' media guide.
He and right tackle Will Barker represented U.Va. at yesterday's Atlantic Coast Conference media day.
With all the attention he's receiving, that's where the second piece of advice from Frances Hall comes in.
"Growing up, my grandmother always told me to be humble in whatever I do because any day it can be taken away from me," Hall said. "Even through high school, none of that [attention] ever appealed to me because I feel like it's what you do on the field."
That's where the question remains for Hall.
What type of quarterback will he be for the Cavaliers?
He's in a three-way fight for the starting job with 2007 starter Jameel Sewell and 2008 starter Marc Verica.
Hall has the least experience of the three because he has started just one game--the 2008 season finale against Virginia Tech. He ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the 17-14 loss, but threw just one pass--an incompletion.
"He's a real good athlete. He kind of brought that dual threat," Virginia Tech safety Kam Chancellor said. "Just him back there running the ball, he was a weapon for [Virginia]. He brought a lot to the table."
Still, Chancellor said it's "too early to tell" if Hall can be an effective full-time starting quarterback. He said the Hokies caught on to the Cavaliers' game plan quickly because of the lack of passing plays for Hall.
"We just kind of played more downhill," Chancellor said. "It was kind of the same plays, just different blocking schemes. It was kind of easy to catch on after a while."
But Hall had limited time to work on the Cavaliers' game plan leading up to the Virginia Tech game.
He has had all offseason to hone his passing skills. He said he's not at a disadvantage with the more experienced quarterbacks because Virginia is installing a new spread offense that everybody has to learn.
Hall, who admits he needs to become a more vocal leader, completed 11-of-16 passes for 98 yards in the Cavaliers' spring game.
However, questions still remain.
For one, is he too short for the position at 5-foot-9? And can he see over tall offensive linemen like the 6-foot-6 Barker and 6-foot-7 left tackle Landon Bradley?
Hall said he gets inspiration from former Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans, who started for the Cavaliers in 2004 and 2005 at the same height.
"He had more heart than anybody I've been around," Hall said of Hagans. "To see him do it, I feel like I can do it."
Taft Coghill Jr.: 540/374-5526
Email: tcoghill@freelancestar.com
