When All-American cornerback Bryce Hall went down in Miami, everyone held their breath in hopes that the senior captain would be okay. But it became pretty clear pretty quick that his season was likely over.

In the immediate aftermath, UVa’s contingency plan was activated. That included moving De’Vante Cross over from safety, where he had been having an incredible year.

“I knew,” he said. “It wasn’t out of nowhere. It wasn’t like a huge surprise. It was more or less not practicing it for six weeks.”

If anybody on Virginia’s roster knows a thing or two about moving between positions, it’s the quarterback signee who was moved to wide receiver and then some mixture of corner/receiver before being move to safety.

“It wasn’t really that hard,” Cross said Monday of changing positions. “It was more from a standpoint of not practicing the position yet, and corner is a very challenging position. You’re on an island the majority of the time so you know it’s a different focus, it’s a different technique out there. I would say that’s the most challenging part about it.”

After finishing the Miami game there, he got practice time at cornerback and started there in the team’s 48-14 rout of Duke.

“Yeah, I’ve been moved around so many times,” he recalled.

“One of the biggest things I learned about moving from position to position, as much as there’s technique, as much as there’s the ins and outs of the position, it all comes down to competing, and that’s one thing Coach Nick Howell was telling me all week: At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to. You’ve got to go out there and compete.”

Competing is what he did. As the Cavaliers romped, they did so with a lot of confidence in their newest cornerback you could tell him comfort level was back.

“For sure,” he said. “Especially with a week of practice, you get way more comfortable. In that Miami game, reviewing the film from that game, my alignments for corner were off. A lot of things were just off because I just hadn’t practiced. And then being able to look at that film and then got a whole week of practice, it really helped me become more comfortable and put myself in position to make more plays.”

Though Cross didn’t add weight to play safety, there’s both a confidence piece to corner and a technique piece. When he was moved earlier in his career, facing Pittsburgh when he was still relatively new to the position, it was a different experience.

“Honestly, in turns of being prepared,” he said, “then I was very prepared for it too. It was a confidence thing. That was my first time playing corner since maybe high school. Just being out there, the difference between then and now is just confidence level.”

As the 5-2 (3-1 ACC) Wahoos now prepare to begin their final road swing of the season, Cross and Co. are readying for a Louisville offense that will feature a host of playmakers. From facing Hasise Dubois in practice, he’s gotten his taste of that lately.

“I don’t know what they’re supposed to do, honestly,” he said of opposing DBs. “It’s getting ugly out there. Somebody might want to put a body on him at this point. I don’t know. They’ve got to figure that one out.

“He catches the ball,” Cross said. “He’s annoying, because you can cover him, you can be all over him if you really want to be, but it’s not really going to do much for you. You’ve got to play the ball in the air. If he gets a hand on it, he’s going to catch it. I haven’t really seen him drop too many balls unless it’s pass interference, and even then he’s going to probably still catch it.”

As he looks ahead to the rest of the season once again playing a spot he didn’t expect, you won’t find him questioning anything.

“No,” Cross said, when asked if he had any regrets. “Quarterback would have been fun and all, but it’s challenging. It’s the hardest position in the field at all times. I like defense, too, so it worked out.”

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