CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. ? There’s a joke making the rounds at Virginia that Wali Lundy is scoring at such a high rate, coach Pete Gillen could use him on the basketball team.

Three games into the season, Lundy has already run for nine touchdowns — three in each game. His 18-point average is tied for the most in the nation, and only six other Division I-A teams have run for more TDs than Lundy.

Quite a performance for a running back who’s tough to categorize.

“I don’t think you can really put me up there as a big back, a powerful back, because I don’t run everybody over on every play, and I’m not the fastest guy on the field,” the junior from New Jersey said.

Even coach Al Groh can’t adequately describe Lundy.

“He’s got a good vision, he’s got a good toughness, he’s got a good burst, he’s got enough wiggle,” Groh said. “He’s willing to take them on, but he tries to make them miss.”

Eight of Lundy’s scoring runs have covered less than 10 yards. The other was a 44-yard burst up the middle against Akron.

Groh thinks there is something to the notion that some players have a nose for the end zone.

“I think it’s a combination. Usually, you try to get the guy in the game that’s proven he’s got the best sense for getting there,” he said. “Sometimes anybody could get it there, but some guys have earned the right to be there in the first place.”

More important than the nose, Groh said, are the eyes.

“It’s all about vision. They have a vision for where the openings are and the flow of the defense,” Groh said. “It just computes that fast for them wherever you give it to them.”

Lundy has scored 33 touchdowns in 29 career games. It’s a reliability that quarterback Marques Hagans appreciates.

“He does it all — block, run, catch,” Hagans said. “What more could you ask for? He makes people miss in the open field, picks up blocks in a blitz, runs the ball with authority, speed, catches it out of the backfield. He’s just a complete back.”

The 12th-ranked Cavaliers play host to Syracuse today and Clemson next week.