2003 Review
The past two years belonged to Matt Schaub. With a pair of sensational seasons as Virginia’s starting quarterback, he finished his career as the proud owner of virtually every passing record in school history. Now that he’s in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, the big question for the Cavaliers is: Can they replace him?
Last year UVa had to find fill-ins for Schaub when he missed two games with a shoulder injury. The results were mixed. In Schaub’s stead, Anthony Martinez struggled as the starter at South Carolina and was replaced the following week against Western Michigan by Marques Hagans.
The ‘Hoos throttled the Broncos, 59-16, as Hagans posted 162 passing yards and 68 rushing yards to lead the team to victory. For the rest of the season, though Hagans saw most of his action as a receiver and punt returner, he occasionally lined up at QB. He rushed 16 times for 96 yards and completed 17 of 26 passes (65%) for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
As the 2004 starter, Hagans doesn’t fit the Matt Schaub mold. His way of moving the ball and generating points will be different than Schaub’s.
“Matt produced a tremendous amount of yards for us,” Groh said. “He really kept the chains moving. He had a lot of plays where he would put the throw right in the bull’s eye where if it were six inches right or left it wouldn’t have been caught. There are a lot of yards in there that we’re going to have to find another way.”
2004 Depth Chart
First Team – Marques Hagans, Jr. (5-10, 211)
Career Starts: 2. Career Games Played: 27.
Second Team – Kevin McCabe , Fr. (6-2, 203)
Redshirted in 2003.
Third Team – Christian Olsen, So. (6-3, 226)
Redshirted in 2003.
 Marques Hagans |
It only takes a glance at Matt Schaub and Marques Hagans to know that they are very different quarterbacks. Height is the most obvious difference. Obviously, there are a lot of things that a 6-6 quarterback can see that a 5-10 QB can not. Then there’s the contrast between dropback quarterback and scrambler. Virginia will go from having one of the taller quarterbacks in the nation to having one of the shortest. The question is: How does the Cavalier offense change?
“Everything is based on what you can see,” Groh said. “There’s certain things that Matt [Schaub] can see because of his great height as a quarterback. There are just not that many 6-6 quarterbacks around, so that really put him at a level where he could see things both pre-snap and as the play was developing. There are some of those things that are going to be more difficult for any of the quarterbacks to see.”
Still, Hagans is a proven commodity as a football player and has proven to be a guy you can depend on to make plays.
“He’s not a rookie in terms of going into the game,” Groh said. “He’s made plays as a wide receiver and punt returner. He’s done things that have given his teammates a lot of confidence and enthusiasm for his ability to produce. … He’s had two positive games as a quarterback. He’s made plays in games as a receiver and punt returner. He’s got that type of confidence. Plus he’s demonstrated to everyone else that he’s a playmaker. He’s got a confidence level and you would expect that those around him have a confidence level in him.”
In the final days of open practices, it was evident why Hagans is the starter. His accuracy was impressive, his decisions were solid and he seemed to have a good command of the offense.
 Kevin McCabe |
But fall camp was not just about solidifying the starting quarterback. It was also about finding a dependable backup. As Matt Schaub’s injury reminded everyone, the No. 2 and 3 spots on the depth chart are critical as well.
Kevin McCabe and Christian Olsen finished training camp in a virtual dead heat for the backup job. Groh said that McCabe will enter Saturday’s game if anything happens to Hagans, but it’s clear he is not the definitive No. 2 QB.
“While all the quarterbacks have improved, the situation behind Marques is still essentially the same,” Groh said, “By that, I mean they all play basically the same.”
Nevertheless, McCabe’s status shows that he is out of the “daze phase,” as Groh calls the learning process for a young quarterback. Over the spring and summer, McCabe started to gel with the offense, concentrated on making the correct reads and improved his accuracy.
Olsen did likewise. “Chris understands the offense well,” Groh said. “From both being with us this year” as well as the fact that “there are similarities to what we are doing to what he was exposed to before. He’s a good student of the game. He’s had good exposure. He’s got a pretty good confidence in himself.”
Olsen has a good arm and has demonstrated tremendous poise and excellent decision-making ability. Olsen and McCabe should continue battling it out for a number of years. Whether Anthony Martinez, now the No. 4 quarterback, gets back in the picture remains to be seen, but the future is bright at this position. In my opinion, McCabe looks better than either Matt Schaub, Bryson Spinner or Hagans did two years into their development in the Virginia offense.
All-ACC Candidates
None
All-American Candidates
None
2004 Analysis
 Christian Olsen |
Simply put, Marques Hagans makes plays and has the confidence of his teammates. He’s not the biggest or the fastest or the strongest, but he knows what to do with the football. Hagans is tough and focused, plus he has moves that remind some of a smaller, slightly-slower Michael Vick . He reminds others of Steelers QB-turned-WR Antwaan Randle-El. Ironically, Randle-El hosted Hagans on a recruiting trip to Indiana, where Hagans originally committed before changing his mind and choosing Virginia.
“He is a very agile, mobile quarterback,” said a frustrated Jason Babin after chasing Hagans last season at Western Michigan. “There [were] a couple of plays that I knew they were going to run the bootleg. I was there to make the tackle both times and he was still able to get away.”
Combining the athletic ability of Hagans with the talent that surrounds him at the skill positions, Virginia has a dynamic and dangerous offense to deal with.
One thing is certain: Virginia will run the football but will also spice up the offense to take advantage of Hagans’ speed and running abilities.
“We’ve got a lot of things in the offense to help me,” Hagans said. “The main thing is that within the pocket you’ve got to find passing lanes. They’re out there. You’ve just to find them within the pocket.”
But the temptation for the instinctive playmaker to leave the pocket and rely on his own God-given talents still looms. “I’m learning to stay in the pocket and get my reads and using my running abilities as my last option,” Hagans said.
Hagans adds a dangerous dimension to a Virginia offense already stacked with players who wreak havoc on opposing defenses. Heath Miller is virtually indefensible. Jason Snelling, like Miller, is too fast for most linebackers and too big for corners or safeties. Virginia will spread the offense to create running lanes for Hagans. Broken plays that with Schaub may have led to sacks or throwaways will turn into 15-yard Hagans scampers. The speed and versatility of the Cavalier offense with Hagans at the helm is an offensive coordinator’s dream. The only issue Ron Prince will have is figuring out what fun formation or play scheme he can come up with next.
Neither Olsen nor McCabe add the running dimension that Hagans does, but both are serviceable backups and Virginia fans can feel comfortable that if called upon, they’ll be ready to play.
