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July 29, 2005
University of Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans couldn’t wait to go fishing. Defensive end Brennan Schmidt was trying to catch up on sleep. During the 3 hour radio, television, and print media session Sunday at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia both Cavaliers were drilled about the season ahead, and how this team can get over the championship hump. The three-day annual fest is being held in the midst of mountain views, therapeutic springs, and high priced steaks.
One writer stuck his pocket recorder in Schmidt’s face and asked him if he could name the five other teams in Virginia’s division. (For the record the Cavs are in the Coastal, with Virginia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Duke)
Blank stare.
Okay, how about the name of the division?
Smile.
“No one explained to me,” Schmidt said with a laugh. “But I do know where the title game is and what we have to do to get there.”
UVA’s two captains have been working all summer on a bonding theme…team building, and trust. There have been player cookouts, James River tubing trips, and jaunts to Kings Dominion.
“When you trust each other, and you know someone is there for you, it can make a difference with a football team,” Schmidt said. “We have been talking about everything as a team, except for last year’s bowl game. We think we have a championship caliber team. We’re unselfish, and if we play our cards right we can get there,”
Hagans, who has been working overtime during the summer to gain more speed and flexibility, admitted the loss to Fresno State in last year’s MPC Computer Bowl stung for quite awhile.
“I left all my bowl stuff in the locker room there,” Marques said. “I wanted nothing to remind me of that game. When you lose the last game of the year you think about it for a long time. But we didn’t dwell on it. As we headed into pre season workouts, and the spring we said a lot of things in the locker room. Team stuff. I’m not going to tell you guys what we said. We need to separate ourselves from that game,”
Schmidt returns as a team captain and Hagans will be a captain for the first time and both take their roles seriously.
“It’s not much different,” Marques said. “As the quarterback I’m used to leading anyway. I still know my role,”
“I learned a lot last year about motivation,” Schmidt said. “I think positive reinforcement is the best. The more encouragement, the better; I guess I did a good enough job to get re-elected.”
And learning from last year could be important for this team. Virginia returns 33 letter winners and 6 starters on both sides of the ball. A lot of new kids will get a shot at being impact players and proving you can win the big game would be a giant step forward.
“It’s a big year for us,” Hagans said. We need to win early and keep the momentum.”
And any way it happens is a good way.
“I don’t care about yards rushing, or passing, nothing. It’s all about wins. If we win 13 games I will be the happiest guy in the world.”
Hagans won’t be alone.
Virginia ACC Kick-off Notes:
Brennan Schmidt, who along with left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, have started 39 consecutive games and are on pace to break the record of Mike Frederick who started 47 games in a row. Schmidt had off-season surgery on his left thumb and left shoulder. Hagans is the ACC’s leading returning quarterback this fall and will compete as a graduate student. He is taking 9 hours in the Curry School of Education. After throwing two interceptions in the Miami game last year, the Hampton native went the final three games without a `pick’. (72 passes) Hagans admitted former Cavalier turned Jacksonville Jaguar, Alvin Pearman’s little brother, Andrew Pearman is a “near clone” of his older brother. “I was sitting in the locker room the other day and I heard this voice, I said A.P., what are you doing in here? He (Andrew) looks like Alvin, sounds like Alvin, it’s scary.” Andrew is sitting out a year after transferring from the University of Hawaii. Speaking of clones, Schmidt had a lot of good things to say about his fellow defensive end, sophomore Chris Long. “I’m his biggest fan. He has motor, energy, it’s like looking in a mirror. I know he will deliver.”