Seeing as 95 percent of the headlines from the Syracuse game referenced Al Groh's infamous "Risky Business" quote, our football coach may now be under the illusion that he could pose as the next Hollywood hunk.
I guess I'll have to be the one who bursts his bubble, because Tom Cruise, Sr. won't be coming out with his own line of salad dressing anytime soon.
Al Groh is more Rick Moranis than "Last Samurai" -- and you'd have to have your "eyes wide shut" to not see that. After all, some of the biggest contributions this season have come from a group of players I like to call the "Little Giants."
First up is the leader of the pack, the quarterback. Arm strength has never been the issue for Marques Hagans -- nor has athleticism. (He has more than enough of each.)
Hagans' value as a quarterback has always rested upon a very simple question: Can he see over the line well enough to be effective, or will he automatically cut and run out of the pocket the second he feels the heat?
His performance in the third quarter alone against Duke has evened the balance in that debate. After a dismal start to the season, Hagans had as many interceptions (five) through two games as he threw all of last year. But check out his final stats in Virginia's ACC opener: 13-for-21, 174 yards passing and four touchdowns... with no picks.
He even rushed for a net of zero yards yet left everyone singing his praises.
"It doesn't matter if [Hagans] is 5-foot-8," offensive lineman Brad Butler said. "He's become a great leader. That's who he is now."
Now that is a quarterback -- even if Hagans really is two inches shorter than his listed 5 feet 10 inches.
There's another Little Giant -- also named Marcus -- who is a leader on the other side of the ball. Setting the tone for the secondary, this junior cornerback plays like there are five minutes left in recess. He may spell his name a tad differently than Hagans, but Marcus Hamilton had a game Saturday that was equally impressive.
He picked off two passes against the Blue Devils, one from each quarterback who took snaps on Saturday. After a penalty nullified a touchdown return on Hamilton's first interception, his second pick off of freshman quarterback Zack Asack set his teammates up on the Duke 12-yard line.
The 5-foot-11 Hamilton is one of my favorite Little Giants because I'm jealous -- I want to play football at recess again, too.
"It's just the game of football, so we need to have fun as a team," Hamilton said. "If you're not having fun, you're not doing it the right way."
The third Little Giant is the feistiest of them all. Listed as 5-feet-9 inches tall, tailback/return man Michael Johnson has developed some incredibly thick skin over the years. Do so much as breathe on him wrong after he's been tackled and you're going to see his miniature frame all up in your face before you can even start your celebration dance.
"We don't need any of that extra stuff," Johnson said in an incredibly irritated tone of being hit after the whistle. "They think because I'm 5-foot-9, 200 pounds they can push me around. Just play the game, man."
"Kind of like a Napoleonic complex?" I asked.
"Yeah, like that. You're not gonna push me around, man."
I love it.
Rick Moranis would, too, by the way. Forget the Icebox -- Marques, Marcus and Michael alone would have walked all over the Cowboys.
Speaking of the Moranis connection again -- honey, have you seen Keenan Carter's before-and-after picture? Groh definitely shrank that kid.
A mammoth nose tackle listed at 6-foot-1, 324 pounds, Carter insists he's trimmed down to 306 since the 2005 Virginia media guide was printed -- this coming from a man who claims to have weighed 386 a few years back.
"I always ate healthy, but I was probably taking in too much healthy food," Carter said. "Now I eat in smaller portions."
A decrease of 80 pounds by eating less healthy food? All thanks must go to Coach Groh's Own New Fat-Free Ranch.
Or it could have been that Moranis lent Groh some kind of crazy high-tech laser from his attic...
Either way, you're not going to push these Little Giants around -- even if the teachers aren't looking during recess.
Read More
A cavalry of new defensive backs will bolster Virginia’s depleted secondary
By Theo Moll | 2 hours agoVirginia has a pass defense problem. Perhaps it has been fixed.
Is 2025 the program-defining year for Virginia football?
By Theo Moll | 3 hours agoWith great resources, come great expectations.
No. 11 men’s soccer drops testy road match to George Mason
By Mofeoluwa Akande | 6 hours agoThe 4-1 result put a damper on the team's early success.
