CHARLOTTESVILLE - Somewhere in a place like Riner or Ridgeway or Meadows of Dan, an eighth- or ninth-grader is learning a craft that one day could give him an upside-down look at Virginia's Scott Stadium.

Southwest Virginia has become a cradle of Cavalier long-snappers, with Shawsville's Ryan Childress having passed the torch to Wytheville's Tyrus Gardner. Gardner was a first-team All-Group A linebacker and the Region C Defensive Player of the Year at George Wythe High School in 2002. He had 187 tackles but did not gain a Division I-A scholarship offer or the hint of much I-AA money.

Because Gardner also had the ability to snap for punts and field goals, he drew the nonscholarship interest of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

"It was a toss-up between [UVa] and Tech," Gardner said. "We're a lot closer to Tech [geographically]. I grew up watching and being around Hokies."

Gardner's mother played in the band at Tech and a younger brother, Jacob, is a walk-on freshman football player for the Hokies.

"My dad liked UVa," Gardner said, "but he didn't really favor Tech or UVa."

As a redshirt, Gardner worked with the Virginia linebackers last year before switching to fullback, catching a pass for 10 yards in UVa's spring game.

"When I first came here as an outside linebacker, I learned the whole defense," said Gardner, a 6-foot-2, 235-pounder. "Then, my second week, when they asked me to move to fullback, I learned the whole offense."

Gardner lifts weights with the UVa fullbacks and linebackers and has seen a dramatic increase in his strength, "but, even if he was in line to play another position, I know they don't want to see him get hurt," George Wythe coach Donnie Pruitt said Tuesday.

Gardner did not go to UVa with any promises and there was stiff competition for the long-snapping job between Gardner, senior Justin Markey and another Southwest Virginian, walk-on freshman Jackson Andrews from North Cross.

Zac Yabrough, who snaps for field goals and extra points, was another possibility. However, Yarbrough also starts at center for the Cavaliers and his fingers and hands frequently require taping.

The competition came down to Gardner and Markey "and Gardner was a little faster," UVa coach Al Groh said. "When Justin started to get the ball back there a little faster, Tyrus rose to the challenge."

Gardner's father, Joe, has been the George Wythe offensive coordinator since the late 1970s ("I don't touch the offense," Pruitt said) and started to work with Tyrus as a deep-snapper in the ninth grade. By the next season, he was a regular.

"I knew it would get me a job," Tyrus said.

When Gardner came to UVa for a visit, he was escorted by star tight end Heath Miller from Honaker, another Group A outpost.

"It's every single-A coach's dream to have a kid play at that level," Pruitt said. "He could be doing that for four years."

Pruitt had been to all of Virginia's home games before the Cavaliers played Clemson on Thursday night, and Tyrus' dad went to UVa's lone road game, at Temple. Even Kathy Gardner, who has battled cancer on and off since her boys were in high school, has found the strength to attend several UVa games.

"I'm sure it's on their minds a lot," Pruitt said. "It's on everybody's up here."

Virginia's offensive dominance in its first five games has been a good news-bad news situation for Gardner and his Wythe County support team. UVa is tied for third among 118 Division I-A teams with fewest punts attempted, 12, and no team has had fewer punts returned, one.

As he continues to point toward his first tackle, Gardner can take small satisfaction in having downed a punt against Akron.

"We had five or six punts against Akron, so I was on the field a lot," Gardner said, "but, really, it's best if you're not punting."

Not if you're a fan of the long-snapper.