CHARLOTTESVILLE -- When you've been coaching for more than 40 years, every move has a precedent.

That's how Virginia football coach Al Groh was able to sell redshirt freshman quarterback Riko Smalls on a switch to wide receiver.

"When coach [Groh] presented me with the idea, he also told me that Marques Hagans was a receiver until Matt Schaub left," Smalls said. "After that, Marques Hagans took over the quarterback job.

"If it's better for the team that I play receiver this year, then that's what I'm going to do."

Smalls could do worse than have a Hagans-like career. After catching 28 passes as a sophomore in 2003, Hagans moved to quarterback and passed for more than 2,000 yards in each of his final two seasons. Like Hagans, Smalls (6 feet, 200 pounds) had played quarterback almost exclusively before coming to Charlottesville.

He was Virginia's No. 3 quarterback for much of the 2009 season but the Cavaliers were able to hold him out of action and preserve his redshirt year.

However, the return of 2008 starter Jameel Sewell after a year's academic suspension only added to a logjam that included 2009 passing leader Marc Verica along with Vic Hall, who is expected to start.

Sewell and Hall, a former cornerback who started at quarterback in the 2008 finale, are in their final season of eligibility.

Verica is a fourth-year junior.

"We have a lot of depth at quarterback this year and a lot of experience as well," said Smalls, who passed for 2,985 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2007 as a senior at Plano (Texas) East High School. "We're not as deep at receiver as we are at quarterback."

Smalls, lining up in the slot Friday, showed sure hands as UVa worked on its spread offense against a veteran secondary.

The Cavalier defensive backs had the best of that match-up. Cornerback Chris Cook returned an interception for a touchdown, safety Corey Mosley picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown and safety Brandon Woods returned an interception to the 2-yard line.

On virtually every big play by the defensive backs, new secondary coach Anthony Poindexter could be seen gleefully running after his players. Poindexter, a former All-America safety for the Cavaliers, coached the running backs until assignments were changed following the 2008 season.

Smalls had never played receiver in an organized setting until Groh floated the idea roughly three weeks ago. But, he was comfortable with the routes from his spring work at quarterback.

"My dad played receiver when he was in school," Smalls said.

"I've grown up always catching the ball and throwing the ball. I've got two younger brothers and we played catch all the time. In order to play catch, you've got to be able to catch the ball and throw it back."

New offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon used a variety of players at the inside positions in the spread, with sophomore Jared Green and redshirt freshman Javaris Brown getting much of the work on the outside.

The Cavaliers had six quarterbacks in orange jerseys, including walk-ons Brendan Lane and Kyle McCartin, as well as true freshman Ross Metheny. However, only the three veteran scholarship quarterbacks took part when the offense went against the defense.

UVa released a revised 105-player roster that did not include one of the Cavaliers' 2009 signees, Cody Wallace, an offensive lineman from Moorestown, N.J. Wallace was enrolled in the first session of summer school but declined to return for the start of preseason workouts for what UVa described as "personal reasons."

Another 2009 signee, Parade All-America offensive tackle Morgan Moses from Richmond's Meadowbrook High School, watched in streetclothes.

Moses did not meet NCAA guidelines for initial eligibility and said in a Thursday phone interview that he will enroll at either Fork Union Military Academy or Hargrave Military Academy, postgraduate programs that both begin practice Aug. 17.

UVa practices today and Sunday will begin at 2:30 p.m. and are open to the public, as is next Thursday's practice at the same time.