Former U.Va. standout has bounced around the NFL and eyes final receiver spot for Skins
ASHBURN – The style evolved from his early days, when trying to slither his way around a football field meant survival. Not yards. He was a pipsqueak of a quarterback, a 6-year-old who fudged his age so he could play the older kids.
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His team won every game.
And Redskins receiver Marques Hagans developed his slippery ways.
“It came from running from guys who were a whole lot bigger than me,” Hagans said. “I was scared of getting hit. I was playing against older guys, not wanting to get crushed.”
The style served him well as a quarterback at the University of Virginia. And it’s why several NFL teams have deemed him worthy of a look at receiver. Hagans has been cut four times and served on the practice squads for St. Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis and, for the last three weeks of 2008, the Redskins. Hagans, a 2006 fifth-round pick by the Rams, has nine catches for 108 yards in six NFL games.
And now he’s in a familiar spot: fighting for one of the last roster spots. He has a chance to land the No. 5 receiver’s role, especially if he shows he could return punts in a pinch. He’ll get that chance vs. Baltimore in Thursday’s preseason opener.
“He has very good hands,” Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. “When he gets into the open field, he’s dangerous with the ball.”
Said Redskins receivers coach Stan Hixon. “Those guys are hard to find.”
In many ways, Hagans is a clone of slot receiver Antwaan Randle El. In fact, Randle El hosted Hagans during his recruiting visit to Indiana University. Hagans was ready to attend, but the scare of being ineligible because of grades his first year prompted him to attend Fork Union Military Academy instead. Next stop: Virginia.
Like Randle El, he’s a quarterback turned receiver who also can return punts. Each is generously listed at 5-foot-10.
“We’re identical,” Hagans said. “He knows what it takes and I can learn from him.”
In practice he’s shown signs of being able to help as a slot receiver. His routes have improved, but at times he struggles to adjust to passes and is a bit shorter than Randle El. But he’s intriguing.
“Hagans is faster than a whole lot of people expected,” said Redskins receiver Santana Moss. “If he keeps doing what he’s doing, we’d love to have him.”
It won’t be easy; not that he expected anything other than a tough battle.
“It’s all I’ve known,” he said. “Keep fighting. In life whether it’s football or a regular job, you’ll get knocked down once in a while. The true measure of a man is what he does after he gets knocked down. I keep fighting. It’s gotten me to this point.”
