Changes around the Virginia football program continue to occur, but a move this week caught the attention of Hoo fans and generated quite a bit of discussion. Marques Hagans, former star quarterback and long-time assistant, announced that he had accepted the receivers coach job at Penn State. He had been at UVA for the past 12 seasons.
— Marques Hagans (@coachmhagans) January 23, 2023
Hagans became a fan favorite back during the Al Groh era for his electric play as a receiver, punt returner, and ultimately quarterback. He piled up 4,877 passing yards and 5,779 yards of total offense while wearing the orange and blue. During his time as an assistant coach, he has mentored multiple receivers that also won the praise of fans. That list included Olamide Zaccheaus and Dontayvion Wicks, who became the program’s No. 1 career receptions leader and No. 1 season receiving yards leader respectively under his watch.
The coaching change sparked quite a bit of threads on the boards this week. Here are some samples from fans:
- Marques Hagans had to leave sooner or later if he wants to advance his career. ~ 79 Wahoo
- I’m not going to speculate about Coach Hagans’ decision. There are many reasons Coach Hagans may have decided to leave. Some of them would be troubling, some of them would be personal, and some of them would be understandable. ~ SouthPoleElf
- How do we as fans react if the 2023 version of TE’s offense is as bad as last … and BA / NCST explode with big numbers? ~ br549
- One suggestion is to define what is a successful or failed season because that is very subjective topic. For example, there were many on this board who criticized the 7-win seasons we had under Coach Welsh. So, how many wins do we need to have a successful season in 2023 and 2024? ~ LTHoo
- That screen pass to the tackle vs Tek will live in infamy and the domino effect after. ~ MAluHoo
- The Sky is Falling Part 2. ~ KGHoo
- Curious of others’ perspective. Since there are so many assumptions going around right now and especially those that see the current situation as unsalvageable, would your perspective be different if the last 2 games had been played and we won both? ~ Just1More
- Saw a post from @ThatDadgumBiscuit that mentioned a “hard reset” for the football program. ~ Kris
With the departure of offensive line coach Garett Tujague earlier and now Hagans, the only remaining coach from the Bronco Mendenhall era is Clint Sintim. The former Cavalier linebacker did not join the Hoos until 2020, working for just the final two years of Mendenhall’s tenure. Chris Slade, another former Wahoo star, came on board with Tony Elliott in 2022.
Fan(s) Of The Week
Long-time Charlottesville fans cheer on the Hoos!
Student Fan(s) Of The Week
Painted faces for the win.
Feature Photo Of The Week
Have you caught the Wahoos in action at JPJ yet?
Ouch. This’ll leave a mark…