Oct. 26, 2006

By Bill Hass
TheACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Jason Snelling never minded playing fullback, you understand, but he was a tailback at heart.

So, after three years as a fullback at Virginia, he is starting at tailback and making the best of playing his natural position. Snelling carried 19 times and gained a career-high 131 yards as the Cavaliers beat North Carolina 23-0 last Thursday.

"It feels good anytime you get the opportunity to carry the load," he said." I embraced it and look forward to doing that over these last (four) games. I definitely have more games in me like that."

Heading into Saturday's home game against N.C. State, Snelling is fifth among ACC runners with an average of 76.4 yards per game. He has gained 535 yards, almost matching his career total of 552 yards entering this season.

The past four seasons, the Cavaliers were well-stocked at tailback with Alvin Pearman and Wali Lundy, both now playing in the NFL. Groh liked Snelling's talent and saw moving him to fullback as a chance to let him make some plays.

"Even when he was playing fullback, he was doing it in a tailback's body," Groh said.

Snelling had played fullback some at L.C. Bird High School in Chester, Va., but that bore little resemblance to the college position.

"Fullback in college is totally different," Snelling said. "I had to learn pass protections and blocking assignments. As the year went by, I got accustomed to it. As I made plays, they gave me the ball more and more. I always had good hands."

Those hands helped him become an integral part of the passing game. Snelling caught 31 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman in 2002. He remains involved in the passing game as a tailback, with 12 catches for 131 yards this season.

Snelling took a red-shirt season in 2003, started six games at fullback in 2004 and three games there last season. While he still caught passes, he began to get the ball more as a runner, gaining 325 yards and scoring twice last season.

Pearman's last season was 2004 and Lundy's was 2005, opening the tailback position for Snelling this year. At 233 pounds, he gives the Cavaliers the biggest runner they've had there in Groh's tenure.

"He's got a good style about him," Groh said. "He finds the openings and when he takes on tacklers he uses his size. When you first put the ball in his hands, he's looking for the creases."

NC State coach Chuck Amato, whose defense will try to contain Snelling this weekend, is impressed by what he has seen on film.

"Boy, that running back, he's got a big, strong body, strong legs and he just runs through and over people," Amato said. "We can't get our arms around him so much because he's so thick, so we've got to swarm him, got to have great pursuit and people assisting on tackles."

Like all successful runners, Snelling tips his helmet to his offensive line, which struggled earlier this year.

"Early in the season they were going through some growing pains," Snelling said, "but they're getting that chemistry now."

Groh agreed that the line is maturing and developing cohesiveness. But opening holes is the first part of the process. The back has to hit the openings with the right timing so he doesn't, in Groh's term, "leave yards on the field. Jason has certainly done that. There's probably not a player on our offense who has had a better season than Jason has."

Snelling would like a chance to follow Pearman and Lundy into the NFL and, again, is willing to play either position.

"That's my main goal," he said of playing pro ball. "I'll see how it goes. If not, I'll get on with the rest of my life."

A graduate student who majored in Anthropology, Snelling is interested in earning a Master's degree and perhaps going into forensic science work with a police department.

But right now, there is more football to be played and more yards to gain and, Snelling hopes, more games to win.

"We want to get on a little roll and get back to Virginia football, playing with power and authority in the offensive game," he said.

And he'll embrace the chance to lead the way.

Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Plugged in... by Bill Hass" for TheACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

This article can not be copied or reproduced without the express written consent of the Atlantic Coast Conference.