Associated Press

Former Redskins cornerback Darrell Green (left) uncovers his bronze bust with son Jared at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

There was no lag in the NFL Hall of Fame connection that Virginia enjoyed while defensive end Chris Long was the Cavaliers' marquee player.

Long, son of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long, barely had completed his college eligibility before another Cavalier parent was selected for enshrinement.

When ex-Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green was inducted Saturday night, his presenter was his son, UVa redshirt freshman Jared Green.

Jared Green, who joined his Cavalier teammates Monday for the start of preseason practices, laughed when asked if he could give a "timeline" on when he was chosen as a presenter.

"There was none," he said. "My dad appointed me the year before he retired. He had been considered a future Hall of Famer for a while and I asked him one day about his introduction. He told me, 'You'll be the one.' "

The Hall of Fame class of 2008 was made public in early February in conjunction with the Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. Jared began formulating his speech almost immediately, leaving room for some impressions he made after arriving in Canton, Ohio, on Wednesday.

"We got to meet a lot of Hall of Famers," Green said, "and my dad kept talking about the Hall of Fame image. He said, 'Hey, we've got to keep it alive.' "

Darrell Green and his wife, Jewell, have two children, Jared and a younger sister, Joi. Despite his bloodlines, Jared's only Division I-A scholarship offer out of Oakton High was from UVa.

"The surprise came after he let me play as a freshman," Jared said. "I'd been begging him for 16 years to let me play football. Until then, I was a basketball player.

"It's like if your father were a policeman. Who wants his kid to be a cop?"

Darrell Green was listed as 5-foot-8 throughout his career, although he insisted Sunday that he was really 5-8 ³₄. Jared is listed at 6-2, 178 pounds.

"I hit a growth spurt around my 10th- or 11th-grade years," Jared said. "I was a little pipsqueak, shorter than my younger sister. Then, one summer, I must have switched shoe sizes maybe four times."

In his prime, Darrell Green was known as the NFL's fastest man. He turned 48 this winter but, according to his son, was timed at 4.4 seconds for 40 yards in the not-too-distant past.

"I've never really raced my dad," Jared said. "Football was something that never really came up, but my dad saw things. I started working out with him and the time came when he said, 'You've got me now.' "

Jared inherited his dad's speed, but he was a work in progress as a wide receiver and sat out the 2007 season.

"Redshirting was the best thing that could have happened to me," he said. "It gave me time to learn the plays and learn the game."

Father and son were walking off the stage in Canton when Darrell reminded Jared that his holiday would end quickly and that practice would begin shortly.

"Hey, two-a-days aren't that bad, at least for the little guys like me," Jared said. "If you're not motivated by what happened over the last weekend, then football's not your game. After that, you have to want to be something great."