The folks at UVA Football had been indicating for weeks that they were optimistic Chandler Morris would receive approval from the NCAA for a seventh year of eligibility.
The word coming down on Friday: denied.
Pete Nakos at On3 reports that Morris plans to “exhaust all options” in terms of appealing the decision, but it is clear, with the clock ticking toward the start of the spring semester, that head coach Tony Elliott and general manager Tyler Jones need to move on to find at least one guy, maybe two guys, from the portal to compete with the incumbents in the UVA QB room for the QB1 job ahead of 2026.
This, on the heels of the program winning 11 games for the first time in school history.
Morris’ backup in 2025, Daniel Kaelin, a former four-star prep recruit, put his name into the portal; the thought this time last year was that he was viewed as the QB of the future, with 2025 being an apprenticeship year, holding the clipboard to learn the Des Kitchings offense, with three years thereafter to do his thing.
I have no inside knowledge or sense of how Kaelin may view tonight’s Morris news, in terms of perhaps recommitting to Virginia.
The obvious advantage: Kaelin knows the offense.
ICYMI
Elliott and Jones had already been hedging their bets, hosting former five-star QB DJ Lagway, late of Florida, on Monday for an interview.
Lagway, who flew to Charlottesville after meeting earlier in the day with Florida State, ended up committing to Baylor on Wednesday, which, fine, because his track record suggests guy who will get a lot of money in NIL and revenue-sharing, without the bang for the buck.
ICYMI
One name to pay attention to: former Missouri QB Beau Pribula.
I had heard last month, when Pribula announced his intention to enter the portal, and skip the Gator Bowl, that the admissions folks at UVA had been engaged regarding Pribula.
Pribula is reportedly visiting with the folks at Tennessee this weekend.
Let the bidding war begin …
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Chris Graham
