As spring football practice ended Saturday with the annual intra-squad spring game, Virginia cornerback Art Thomas let the fans know that he is quickly developing into a defensive playmaker. Thomas excited spectators by intercepting a pass from sophomore quarterback Matt Schaub and returning it 41 yards for a touchdown. Although the defense lost, 76-70, Thomas' touchdown return was the highlight in an otherwise uneventful scrimmage."
Matt just threw the ball a little behind Mike [McGrew], and I was able to break on it and score," Thomas said.
Thomas was named one of the most improved defensive players during spring practice, an honor Virginia coach Al Groh attributed to his increased self-confidence.
"Confidence is a result of demonstrated performance," Groh said. "Now he's got some plays on his resume, he's earned it, his confidence should be high."
Thomas and the secondary will need to step up next season as Virginia's defense remains a question mark. While the Cavaliers return a strong core of linebackers, Virginia lost all three of its defensive lineman to graduation. The Cavaliers will need a big contribution from the secondary if it hopes to be successful defensively.
"I think we have a lot of experience and a lot of cohesiveness," Thomas said. "We're going to use that this year and actually step up and make some plays."
Schaub and running back Marquis Weeks led the offensive effort. Schaub threw for 89 yards on 16 attempts and looked relaxed in the pocket while finding Kase Luzar for an early touchdown pass. He was the better of the two quarterbacks, as freshmen Marquis Hagans performed erratically, showing that he has yet to completely settle into the offense.
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"There were a couple of balls that he threw that it was like 'Whoa, who threw that one?'" Groh said "And then a couple others he threw were like 'Gee, who through that one? Could it be the same guy?"
Schaub performed somewhat inconsistently himself but overall looked comfortable as the team leader.
"I feel that this is my team," Schaub said.
The same cannot be said for Weeks. As an influx of talented freshmen report to camp in July, players who have yet to make their mark on the program will find their depth-chart position in jeopardy. It was clear on Saturday that Weeks has no intentions of getting lost in the shuffle. He ran for 90 yards on 12 carries and showed a good mixture of speed and moves. On the longest play of the day, he bounced to the outside, gaining 22 yards and nearly breaking open a 50-yard touchdown run.
"He's done a good job," Groh said. "He's been more consistent. I think that with this talent level it looks like there's going to be ongoing competition."
While the spring game allowed the current Cavalier players to showcase their talents, the general mood surrounding the event was one of anticipation of better things to come. Groh has said many times that Virginia's greatness is in its future. Much of that future will materialize in late July as Virginia's 25-man recruiting class joins the team. Groh already announced on Saturday that incoming freshman Tom Hagan will begin training camp as the projected starter, and it is possible that at least 10 freshmen will see significant playing time next season.
"We're going to have 25 new players on the team on July 26," Groh said. "A lot of those players will probably be on the field [in our first game] on August 22"
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