CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Bronco Mendenhall had never recruited Virginia. Marques Hagans embodies everything about Virginia.
So when it came time to learn about the area, Mendenhall turned to the only person on his staff who could teach him everything he needed to know. But there was no three-ring binder, whiteboard or Power Point presentation.
Nope, Mendenhall wanted to learn the old fashioned way: With a ride along. Scratch that; multiple ride alongs.
For an entire week in January, the new coach from BYU and the veteran Virginia assistant coach from Hampton, Virginia, hopped into an SUV and went up down and all around, from Richmond to Newport News, Williamsburg and the Tidewater and down into North Carolina as well.