CHARLOTTESVILLE – Will Vic Hall ever play quarterback for U.Va.?

If you’d asked me that at this time last year, when Jameel Sewell and Peter Lalich seemed to have the position well-covered, I would have said, ‘Not happening.’ 

Now I’m not so sure.  And I won’t be shocked, based on rumblings I’ve heard, and on Al Groh’s comments Monday night, if Hall takes some snaps tomorrow against Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Hall, as everyone virtually who follows the Wahoos knows, was a record-setting quarterback at Gretna High, and he arrived at U.Va. in 2005 as a quarterback.  Midway through the ‘05 season, however, Virginia found itself running low on cornerbacks.  Depending on which version you hear, Hall, who was redshirting that season, volunteered – or was asked—to move to defense.

Whatever the case, Hall switched sides and has been at cornerback ever since.  Now a redshirt junior, the 5-9, 190-pound Hall is in his second season as a starter, and he’s one of the Cavaliers’ captains.  But he remains a source of fascination for U.Va. fans who’ve seen Groh try quarterback after quarterback in recent years.

Since Marques Hagans departed at the end of the 2005 season, five quarterbacks have started for Virginia: Christian Olsen, Kevin McCabe, Sewell, Lalich and Marc Verica.  Of those five, only Verica is still on the roster, though Sewell is expected back in 2009.

Hall, meanwhile, has often produced memorable plays when he’s had the ball in his hands and some blocking. In 2007, he had a 67-yard punt return against Duke and a 45-yard return versus Pittsburgh; he completed a 35-yard option pass against Connecticut after taking a handoff from Sewell; and he ran for a touchdown on a fake field goal against Pitt.  Against Richmond this month, Hall returned an interception 60 yards for a TD.

On the Cavalier Call-in radio show Monday night – less than a week after Lalich’s dismissal from the team—Hall was a popular topic. 

“Will we ever see him on offense, given his history of offensive explosiveness?,” a caller named Crystal asked Groh.

The coach’s response: “It’s a very good question, Crystal.  It’s a question that we ask ourselves around here quite a bit.  As we discussed at the beginning, not only do we have great respect for Vic as a person, but obviously we have great respect for him as a player. 

“He just adds so much to our team in so many questions.  Frankly, if there was anybody on our team that would be a throwback player to the old triple-threat that they used to talk about, Vic would obviously throw it, catch it.  He’s proven he can run it, he can intercept it, he tackles it, he returns it.  That’s what football players do.  He’s not a specialist.  He does everything that a football player has to do, and he prepares diligently and competes as hard as it’s possible to do.

“As that old saying goes, ‘Never say never.’  At the same time, as I’ve said repeatedly when people ask the question, we sometimes ask ourselves, ‘Are we already doing too much with Vic?’  Because every role that comes up, if you wanted somebody who’s going to do it well and be well-prepared, then the obvious answer is Vic Hall.

“But we’re always interested.  You know, Vic threw a pass for us last year and ran one in on a fake field goal, and so there’s lot of different options that we might have for Vic in the future.”

Later in the show, a caller named Scott asked Groh, “Will there ever be a point where you give in to the fact that maybe Vic Hall can play college quarterback?  Has he ever displayed to you in practice that he can’t?”

Groh: “We’ve never said that Vic can’t play college quarterback.  There was a circumstance early on where we had other candidates that could do a good job there and we needed Vic where we needed him.

“It’s interesting, Scott, the only person – this is really true – the only person who never brings up Vic playing quarterback is Vic.  All he really cares about is, ‘Where do we need him?’ and ‘What can he do for the team?’  Obviously, quarterbacks are very, very difficult to find and the most important player on the team, but corner is one of those spots, too, and he’s done a great job for us.  Maybe the time will come when we can replace him there, but right now that certainly would weaken our team if we didn’t have his services over there.”

Aaron McFarling, a columnist for The Roanoke Times, wrote about Hall this week, and his take, not surprisingly, generated considerable discussion on U.Va. fan message boards.  Check it out:

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/uvafootball/wb/178086