9/9/03 - Headscratcher

Why, with freshman Anthony Martinez struggling, didn't the Virginia coaches give sophomore Marques Hagans a shot at playing quarterback?

That was the question thrown around by many Cavalier fans during and after Saturday's 31-7 loss at South Carolina. There was no clear explanation immediately afterward, but UVa coach Al Groh revealed the reason Sunday: Hagans was hurt.

"For all the armchair geniuses who think they know exactly what we should do," Groh said, "the fact is Marques wasn't able to practice last week. So the question of whether he could play [quarterback] in the game was a moot point."

Without describing the injury, Groh said Hagans was able to practice for about 45 minutes all week, not nearly enough time to get ready to play quarterback against the Gamecocks.

Hagans, last year's backup quarterback, did play in the game. But he lined up at receiver, the position he has played since spring practice. He caught two passes for five yards and returned three punts for 21 yards.

Groh, who generally does not discuss injuries, did not mention last week that Hagans was hurt. He implied several times that the Cavaliers were putting together a "Marques-specific" package of plays, probably to make South Carolina's defense waste time preparing to face two quarterbacks with contrasting styles.

In retrospect, it was unfortunate for No. 15 Virginia (1-1) that the threat of using Hagans behind center was just a bluff.

Martinez, a classic dropback passer, had a difficult debut as a starter. He threw for just 54 yards, completing 10 of 20 passes with two interceptions. His longest completion went for 12 yards, and the back-breaking play for the Cavaliers came when Martinez and Alvin Pearman botched an exchange late in the third quarter. South Carolina recovered the fumble at the UVa 11 and scored two plays later to take a 17-7 lead.

Still, Groh did not pin the defeat on Martinez. After watching film of the game Sunday, he reiterated what he said the day before, that there was plenty of blame to go around.

"I didn't think anyone played well at any position on the offensive side," Groh said.

The defense, he said, "played pretty decently" except for several key breakdowns. On a 99-yard touchdown pass from Dondrial Pinkins to Troy Williamson in the second quarter, Groh said the Cavaliers were in a three-deep zone that was played "about as poorly as it could be played" by cornerback Jamaine Winborne and safeties Willie Davis and Jermaine Hardy.

Groh also was irritated by South Carolina's 80-yard touchdown drive that put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks dominated the line of scrimmage, getting all of their yards on 12 running plays.

Before that, the Cavaliers had played the home team evenly for the most part, with the exception of the 99-yard pass and the Martinez-Pearman fumble.

"It really got away on two plays," Groh said. "I thought we could orchestrate a plan to play and win a close game, and with 18 minutes left in the game it was real close. In a lot of respects, we were playing to what we thought, in this particular circumstance, would give us the best chance to win."

Virginia's coaches used a conservative gameplan in an effort to compensate for Martinez's inexperience. The results were dreadful: 170 total yards and seven first downs, UVa's worst offensive output in more than a decade.

Martinez threw wide to Marquis Weeks on his first pass and never got into a rhythm. Still, with senior Matt Schaub recovering from a separated shouder, he is expected to start this week at Western Michigan (1-1), and Groh said he will not judge Martinez harshly on how he performs as a freshman.

"I think you have to look at the big picture," Groh said. "In terms of what the player can become and what it takes to get there, it keeps things in a more realistic perspective."

Of course, the same question will arise this week. Assuming Hagans is healthy enough to practice, will he get a look at quarterback?

"We're certainly going to give that strong consideration, yes," Groh said.