Hall glad to have ball back

Beneath a blazing Virginia sun, a figure in dreadlocks sprinted in the 90-degree heat, the sweat glistening off his well-chiseled frame.
Quarterback Vic Hall — yes, quarterback — was going through only part of his daily summer routine in preparation for his senior season as a Cavalier. Like many of his teammates, he goes to class, works out in the weight room, then practices every day, including about 100 passes on a daily basis.
With a very strong shot at being Virginia’s starting quarterback, Hall wants to be as prepared as he possibly can for the task. He’s in a three-way battle with more experienced QBs, Jameel Sewell and Marc Verica, so he has to be at the top of his game.
Back under center
While most every Wahoo fan is familiar with Hall’s deeds as quarterback at Gretna High School where he rewrote a good portion of the VHSL record book, he has been on the defensive side of the ball for all but one game at UVa. Last November, the Cavaliers surprised Virginia Tech by starting Hall at quarterback and allowing him to engineer most the game from that position.
During that afternoon, Hall displayed many of the same moves that made him a high school legend, rushing for 109 yards, including touchdown jaunts of 40 and 16 yards as UVa threw a scare into the Hokies before succumbing, 17-14 in Blacksburg.
That was on four days practice, so just think what he can do with an entire spring and August training camp under his belt.
In a commercial promoting Virginia football, Hall says how great it is to have the ball back in his hands again.
“I just feel that since I’ve been playing football, it has been the natural side of the ball for me,” he said Monday. “I had to adapt to playing defense. I had minimal snaps on defense in high school and playing defensive back at the college level is hard. Making that transition is something that frustrated me a lot but I fought through it.”
A natural instinct
Now that he’s back in familiar territory, watch out. There’s plenty more of what the Hokies got a sampling of last fall.
“A lot of guys have a knack for escaping tackles and getting through tight spaces,” Hall said.
Well, maybe not a lot, at least not how Hall does it. He exhibits a natural instinct for getting out of or avoiding jams with quicksilver moves that only few possess.
In fact, UVa coaches are trying to teach some other players what comes naturally to Hall.
“I’d say Mikell Simpson (senior tailback) is very good at being naturally elusive,” Hall said. “It’s big at this level if I know I can throw you the ball, and you’re one-on-one with the defender and I know that you can make the defender miss.”
Ever wonder what goes through a player’s mind when the pigskin is in his hands?
When Hall totes the ball, first and foremost, he’s thinking he wants to score. Most of us, sportswriters included, don’t really notice that when he’s running, he’s always looking, head’s on a swivel.
“I like to see what guy is next, what I have to do to elude that guy or get to a certain spot,” he said. “I see a lot of things before they happen just by searching for the next move I can make.”
Against Virginia Tech’s vaunted defense, Hall was elusive and did 99 percent of his damage with his legs and vision because he had little time to hone passing skills. He’s dedicated a lot of time since then to returning to the same form he used to lead Gretna to state titles.
Lots of people say he can’t throw it, that he’s too small at 5-foot-9 to see over linemen or to find receivers.
Well, that’s a bunch of hooey.
“That just gives people something to talk about,” Hall said with a grin. “All I do is keep working. If a throw needs to be made, I’ll make it. I’ll just put it like that. I’m confident in myself more than anyone else that I can make it.”
There’s no question that Coach Al Groh loves Hall’s leadership ability and that was evident at Lane Stadium when the youngster nearly helped the Cavs pull off a significant upset.
When it was over, it was difficult to judge just who was most appreciative of the situation, Groh and the team or Hall.
“Coach gave me an opportunity and I was very thankful,” the QB said. “In the back of my mind and in my heart, I was doing it for the team, the coaching staff, and I was hoping I could give them something to believe in.”
No questions that Hall already had the respect of his teammates and staff, but his effort at Tech earned him much more.
Now, he’s embracing another opportunity to lead Virginia back to glory.
“That’s what summer and training camp are about for me, to be in position to have my team believing in me,” Hall said. “My job, all of the quarterbacks’ jobs, is that we have to make everyone believe in us.”
When those throws need to be made or when three yards is a must or a touchdown drive has to happen, those players need to believe that Hall can come through, that he’s going to make the play whether he runs the ball or throws.
“That’s what I work on in the summer,” he said.
That’s why we found him busting his hump in the late June sunshine.
You gotta believe.