KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Virginia's Vic Hall (left) breaks loose from Virginia Tech's Dorian Porch on the way to a 40-yard touchdown run during the first quarter Saturday at Lane Stadium.

BLACKSBURG -- Before Saturday, Virginia head football coach Al Groh had never second-guessed himself for not playing Vic Hall at quarterback.

He still wasn't second-guessing himself Saturday.

"That's not the way I live," Groh said.

Thousands of Virginia fans probably were second-guessing Groh after Hall led the Cavaliers to the brink of an upset victory over Virginia Tech.

It took 49 games for Virginia to use Hall at quarterback, the position at which he had rewritten the state record book for Gretna High School, but he showed few signs of rust.

Hall carried the ball 16 times for 109 yards and had scoring runs of 40 and 16 yards in Virginia's 17-14 loss to its archrival.

He also had a 39-yard run that gave Virginia a late first down at the Tech 24-yard line, an opportunity that was squandered when UVa's other quarterback, Marc Verica, was intercepted in the end zone.

Hall also took a turn at cornerback when Virginia was in its "dime" package and was credited with the Cavaliers' lone sack.

"As you can see, Vic Hall's a great football player, an awesome competitor," Groh said. "To do that on a few days' worth of practices [at quarterback] is unbelievable.

"He held up every end of his bargain. It's a shame that we didn't have a few more points and that his performance today won't be remembered forever. It had to be one of the best performances ever in this series by an individual player."

Hall ran for a touchdown last year as the holder on a fake field-goal attempt, and he also completed a pass after lining up at running back and taking an option pitch.

Hall also has served as the Cavaliers' principal punt-returner and, against Richmond this year, he returned a pass interception for a touchdown.

But, when the idea of playing quarterback was pitched to him earlier this week, he jumped at the chance.

"Ever since I came here, I've dreamed about playing offense," Hall said. "It had definitely crossed my mind. I felt like I was blessed to be a great athlete when the ball was in my hands."

Virginia established a pattern on its first series Saturday, when Hall took the first four plays and then gave way to Verica in obvious passing situations.

Hall threw two passes all day, although he was credited with one official attempt. On his first throw, Tech safety Kam Chancellor was penalized for interfering with Maurice Covington, giving Virginia a first down at the Tech 16. UVa scored one play later on a 16-yard run by Hall that gave the Cavaliers the 14-7 lead they would carry into halftime.

Hall wasn't just a running quarterback at Gretna, where he passed for 8,731 yards and 104 touchdowns during his career (2002-05).

Groh said there were only five or six passes in the package the Cavaliers installed for Hall.

"Obviously, I haven't really thrown a lot over the last few years." Hall said, "But I feel very comfortable throwing the ball. Like I've always said, it's like riding a bike."

One reason Virginia could afford to use Hall at quarterback was the development of redshirt freshman cornerback Chase Minnifield. It didn't sound as if Hall would mind a shot at quarterback next year, when Jameel Sewell returns from a year's academic suspension and Verica will be a junior.

"The proof's in the pudding," Hall said.

Groh sounded as if his interest had been whetted.

"How could you not be impressed by what he did?" Groh said. "He ran those plays all week long pretty much like he did today. He's got quickness, he's got eyes, he's got guts. He's a hell of a player.

"Whether Vic can do that on a four-month basis, who knows? He's not a big man (5 foot 9, 190 pounds). There was one play today when we were told that he wasn't available, but fortunately that didn't last but for a few seconds."

Hall was on the field for almost every first down, except the play after his late, 39-yard run. He had taken off around right tackle, reversed his field and may have run 100 yards before he was brought down by Dorian Porch.

Hall had taken virtually every first down at that point, but he was clearly worn out, or else the Cavaliers might not have replaced him with Verica.

"Had he not been worn out, the ball would have been down at the other end," Groh said.

Like everything else about Hall on Saturday, that was one more what-if.