CHARLOTTESVILLE -- On the week that Christian Olsen joined Virginia's football program in 2003, Anthony Martinez was preparing to make his debut as the Cavaliers' starting quarterback.

Martinez was subbing for an injured Matt Schaub, but reporters were already speculating about the future and an anticipated three-way battle between Martinez, Olsen and then-freshman Kevin McCabe.

Nobody was talking about Marques Hagans.

Soon, they would be. After Martinez bombed at South Carolina, Virginia had no choice other than to turn to Hagans, previously being groomed as a wide receiver and return specialist. Hagans was spectacular the next week at Western Michigan.

By the time Olsen became eligible the next fall, the Cavaliers had a quarterback.

What if Olsen had known in September 2003 what he knows now, that Hagans would start 24 consecutive games? Would he have been as quick to enroll at Virginia?

"There's probably places I could have gone and played quicker," said Olsen, who turned 23 this week, "but I've loved every minute I've been at UVa. Why wouldn't I? We've played in three bowl games since I've been here. We beat Florida State. We play in the best conference. I'm going to graduate from the No. 1 public school in the country. I've met some of my best friends here. So, there's really not much more I can ask for.

"I've never thought, 'What would have happened if I hadn't come here?'"

Spectators and some in the media were left to wonder if Olsen would ever get his chance when he and his parents were introduced with the UVa seniors prior to the Cavaliers' final regular-season home game.

"It did create a little bit of a stir," said Olsen's father, Chris. "I had one of the coaches ask me, 'What are you doing here?'"

It turns out, the athletic department sends out invitations to all fourth- and fifth-year players, but coach Al Groh added to the intrigue when asked about Olsen's future in a teleconference on the Sunday after a 52-14 loss to Virginia Tech.

"Really, we haven't addressed that or made any determination," Groh said.

Compare that to Groh's comments in a news conference March 28, one day before the start of spring practice.

"We'll start the spring with Chris Olsen; he'll be the first guy to go into the huddle," Groh said. "Kevin McCabe will follow him in. And that's the way it is and that's the way it's going to stay until performance by any of the quarterbacks determines otherwise. What have we not covered there?"

What had changed in the span of four months?

Olsen isn't sure anything had changed.

"I really didn't think too much about it," Olsen said. "Then when I had my talk with coach Groh when we got back from winter break, he talked about it, too. I think he was thinking of me coming back and I was thinking of me coming back and it was nothing but a misunderstanding."

Nervertheless, it was reassuring to hear from reporters that Groh had given him the nod publicly.

"Just from talking to him and the confidence he showed, I was kind of expecting to be the first guy in the huddle," Olsen said. "But, by no means does that mean I'm the first guy in the huddle for Pittsburgh [in the season's opener]. But, I've kind of felt that it was my turn and we've done everything we can to get to this point."

Olsen played with a torn anterior cruciate ligament for much of his senior year at Wayne Hills High School, where he played for his father, but it didn't prevent him from making SuperPrep's All-America team. He eventually picked Notre Dame over Miami, Auburn, Virginia and others.

As a redshirt, he was named offensive most valuable player in Notre Dame's 2003 spring game and was told he was the No. 2 quarterback behind Carlyle Holiday.

The Irish were also high on another young quarterback, Brady Quinn, who probably will go into the 2005 season as the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Whether Olsen would have held off Quinn is a matter of conjecture; at the time, they were both back-ups.

Once he became eligible at Virginia, Olsen was the No. 3 quarterback for a time before moving ahead of McCabe. In two years, Olsen has completed 17 of 23 passes in mostly mop-up duty.

"He'll do fine," said Olsen's father, who has always worked with quarterbacks in his 30 years as a coach in New Jersey high schools. "He's worked his entire life for this. It hasn't been an easy road, but that goes with the position you play."

In addition to putting up some impressive numbers, Hagans was remarkably durable.

"Marques is a great player," Olsen said. "Anybody who's going to be drafted as a wide receiver and hasn't played receiver in three years is obviously a great athlete and a great player. Sitting behind him is nothing to be ashamed of.

"Maybe I can do some of the same things he did but do them in a different way. Whereas he scrambles for 25 yards when a play breaks down, maybe I can get it to one of our running backs and he takes it 25 yards."

There is another quarterback that Olsen emulates from a style standpoint and the Cavaliers won't object to the comparison.

"If I could play like anybody right now it would be Matt Schaub," he said. "Who wouldn't want to play like him? He ran this offense probably the best it's ever been run. Not saying I am Matt Schaub, but if I could play like that, completing 70 percent of my passes and not making any mistakes, what more could I want?"