Author: Macon Gunter

“I really believe it’s my job to lose, and I’m not going to lose it.”

Consider Michael Rocco 1-for-1 in 2012.

UVA coach Mike London named Rocco starting quarterback Monday, just 24 days after the junior publicly laid claim to the job.

“It became apparent that Michael has the best grasp of the offense right now,” London said. “He’s done nothing to lose his position. He’s improved.”

Rocco will make his 14^th consecutive start Saturday when Virginia welcomes Richmond to Scott Stadium. Alabama transfer Phillip Sims, meanwhile, will become one of college football’s most acclaimed understudies – again.

ESPNU and SuperPrep magazine rated Sims the country’s No. 1 high school quarterback in 2009. He rewrote the Virginia High School League record book en route to 48 prep wins in four seasons. At Alabama, however, Sims logged just 28 pass attempts in a reserve role before transferring to UVA this summer. (Starting quarterback A.J. McCarron led the Crimson Tide to the 2011 BCS national championship).

A product of Chesapeake’s Oscar Smith High School, Sims was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA but could not unseat Rocco during Virginia’s month-long training camp. London said Monday it would have been unfair to expect him to have learned the entire offense in such a short time. Rocco, conversely, executed the system to the tune of eight wins in 2011. His 2,671 passing yards rank fourth all-time at UVA in a single season.

Virginia is 26-2-2 all-time against Richmond, including a 34-13 win in 2010 — Mike London’s Virginia debut. Richmond, which lost its final eight games a year ago, last topped UVA in 1946.

He answers to “Smoke.”

That alone should speak to the budding legend of Taquan Mizzell, one of just 22 prep prospects in the Class of 2013 to have received five-star distinction from recruiting authority Rivals.com.

Mizzell verbally committed to UVA last Tuesday, spurning offers from a host of college football’s bluebloods — Miami, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among the list of nearly two dozen teams. He is Virginia’s first recruit to earn five stars since offensive lineman Eugene Monroe signed a letter of intent more than seven years ago (though freshman defensive end Eli Harold received five on some recruiting ranking systems).

Dubbed “Smoke” during his freshman year at Virginia Beach’s Bayside High School because of his elusiveness — you can’t grab smoke, said an assistant coach — Mizzell’s commitment will give Virginia the elite playmaker so often employed by powerhouse programs. Just as importantly, it serves to strengthen Mike London’s presence in the talent-rich Tidewater region. Mizzell will join former Bayside teammates Tra Nicholson, Anthony Cooper, and Henry Coley at UVA — the sort of pipeline missing in recent years.

The various scouting reports read much the same: Mizzell is versatile, dynamic, and explosive. To that end, Rivals.com has rated him the top all-purpose back in the country (and the 20th-best prospect overall). The 5-10, 185-pounder ran for more than 1000 yards during his junior season, despite being hampered by a sprained ankle for much of the year. Next year, Mizzell figures to compete for playing time with  running backs Kevin Parks and Clifton Richardson, though the true freshman could see the field from a variety of positions.

He received his fifth star last Monday and accepted Virginia’s scholarship offer Tuesday, but Mizzell’s finest honor came Thursday when I sat down to lunch with my dad – a sensible man indifferent to the chaotic world of college football recruiting. In an effort to gauge the reach of Tuesday’s announcement, I asked if he had heard about UVA’s latest commitment.

Without pause, Dad smiled: “You mean Smoke?”