Years from now, redshirt junior center Anthony Mihota may join the ranks of NFL greats Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice and Jason Taylor - as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars."
"One day," Mihota quipped about showing off his dance moves on the hit television show.
Mihota, who last spring filled the void on the offensive line left by two-year starting center Jack Shields, took a ballroom dancing class through the University in hopes of improving his footwork in the trenches. He learned that foxtrot and tango lessons did more than just that - the class also fulfilled his desire to find meaning in a college activity other than football.
"It was fun just trying something different because you get stuck in the monotony of just going to class, going to football," Mihota said. "I just thought it'd be a fun experience to do because that's what college is about, different experiences."
Mihota's love of the arts extends far beyond the shiny hardwood dance floor and into the classroom, as well. Like fellow teammate Dontrelle Inman, Mihota hopes to graduate from Virginia with a degree in art with a concentration in new media.
Although he originally harbored aspirations of earning an architecture degree, the intense time commitments of both the Architecture School and the football program pushed Mihota to follow his childhood passion, and he couldn't be happier with his chosen academic path.
"I've taken painting [and] sculpting, [but] I enjoy all forms of art work," Mihota said. "I just think it's a blast."
Although he plans to pursue a career in animation or graphic design, the 6-foot-4 center is currently focused on perfecting a different art as the heart of the offensive line. That is almost difficult to imagine, considering Mihota was originally recruited to be a destructive force on the opposite side of the ball.
Mihota came to the Cavaliers ranked as the 57th-best defensive tackle in the nation and the 30th-best player in Virginia according to Rivals.com. During his junior campaign at Massaponax High School, Mihota helped lead the Panthers to a playoff appearance against Virginia Tech senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Hampton Crabbers. Mihota consistently plowed his way into the backfield and remembers recording four or five sacks against the future Hokie signal-caller. Following his standout performance against Hampton, Mihota became the first player from Massaponax to earn a scholarship from a Division I-A program.
Virginia coaches had different designs on the sturdy lineman, however. They decided he would be better suited to the offensive side of the ball.
Mihota "was behind Jack Shields and now he's the guy," coach Mike London said. "He's the one that's calling protections and things like that. His level has got to accelerate to a position that's going to allow us give us a chance to win, give us a chance to compete."
Although Mihota was not completely sold on the idea of the position swap at first, he now feels at ease in the middle of the line.
"I've grown into the position and I'm comfortable with it," Mihota said. "If they gave me a choice now to go back to defense, I would probably say no."
After redshirting the 2007 season, Mihota received his first opportunity to start the following year against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg when Shields went down with an injury.
"I've never felt so happy being booed by so many people," Mihota said about his first time playing in the hostile road environment of Lane Stadium.
He performed admirably in his role of back-up against the Hokies but Mihota only appeared in a total of 25 offensive plays during the following season. With Shields' departure in spring 2010, however, Mihota knew his time had finally come to assume the reins of a Virginia offensive line that had struggled in recent seasons.
Apart from a disappointing performance against a Florida State defensive line that leads the nation in sacks, Mihota and the rest of the offensive line have held their own up front. The offensive line surrendered only two sacks to a speedy Southern California defensive front four and has helped create gaping holes at times for the Cavaliers' one-two punch of sophomore tailback Perry Jones and senior running back Keith Payne.
Mihota and his men look to rally this Saturday against former Virginia head coach and current Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Al Groh's 3-4 defense.
"Honestly, I've never thought about who the defensive coordinator was when we play other teams," Mihota said. "So I'm not going to start thinking about it now."
Perhaps Mihota is just thinking his fancy footwork from the ballroom might come in handy.
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