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Continued speculation about the possibility that Vic Hall will play quarterback has added to the suspense surrounding Saturday’s football game between Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Much as I hate to admit, the first time I heard of a Hall-at-quarterback scenario was when Roanoke radio host Greg Roberts floated the idea Monday.

Roberts’ area of expertise is Virginia Tech, but while he is not well-connected at UVa, he is a Western Albemarle High School graduate who still has friends and family in the community.

Any time that a Virginia player gets arrested, Roberts seems to know about it. You could almost say that he lives for it.

In any case, I’ve been skeptical about the Hall rumors because UVa coach Al Groh has for so long resisted the opportunity to use Hall at the position where he set most of the state records for total offense and passing yardage.

Hall was rated the No. 9 quarterback prospect in the country coming out of Gretna High School in 2005, according to SuperPrep magazine. No other Virginia quarterback signee has been ranked higher than Hall in the 25 years or so that SuperPrep has picked All-America teams.

(NOTE: I cover the state of Virginia for SuperPrep but do not participate in the All-America rankings).

Hall, of course, was moved to cornerback on the eve of Virginia’s trip to Boston College in his freshman year and has played only briefly on offense. He held for placements in 2007, when he had a 4-yard touchdown run on a fake field against Pittsburgh, and he lined up in the backfield against Connecticut and completed a 35-yard pass to Chris Gorham.

It’s hard to say that coach Al Groh has mistreated Hall, a redshirt junior who has started games at cornerback over the past two seasons. In addition, Hall has been UVa’s primary punt returner since early in the 2007 season.

Groh has been unfailing in his praise of Hall, almost to the point of going overboard. When Groh continues to point out what a dependable player Hall is, it’s almost as if he’s validating the decision not to play Hall at quarterback.

That’s why I find it difficult to believe Groh will use Hall at quarterback. What if Hall were to account for a couple of touchdowns, running and passing, and generally put on a show similar to his weekly Gretna High School performances. How would Groh look then?

While Groh is well-respected as a defensive gameplanner, he has performed other aspects of his job with such aplomb that he twice has been selected ACC coach of the year. However, in eight years he’s never shown an eagerness to admit, “I was wrong.”.

So, how could Groh use Hall without inviting second-guessing? The most likely scenario would be to give Hall a role similar to the one that 6-foot-3, 280-pound ex-Oscar Smith quarterback Greg Boone fills at Tech. Boone usually lines up at tight end and would never be mistaken for Hall, a 5-9, 190-pounder, but occasionally Boone lines up at quarterback and takes deep snaps.

Boone hasn’t attempted a pass, although the Hokies profess to have some passing plays in his “package.” Tech refers to it as the “Wild Turkey” formation and it’s not uncommon in college football, going by a variety of names. In fact, Virginia running back Mikell Simpson took some direct snaps early in the season and ran the ball from shotgun formation.

Simpson is out for the season with a broken collarbone but Virginia probably has retained the direct snaps in its playbook. It’s not inconceivable that Hall could take some direct snaps but I can’t imagine him throwing the ball. His pass to Chris Gorham in last year’s UVa-UConn game was not a thing of beauty.

Besides, as the Cavaliers’ de-facto defensive coordinator, Groh may not feel he can sacrifice Hall at cornerback. UVa has two promising young corners in sophomore Ras-I Dowling and redshirt freshman Chase Minnifield but the Cavaliers frequently line up in “nickel” and  “dime” packages that  feature Hall, Dowling, Minnifield and true freshman Rodny McLeod.

Count me among those who wouldn’t be surprised to see Hall line up on offense, but I don’t see him impacting the game with his arm.

-- DOUG DOUGHTY

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