UVA Football: Elliott able to upgrade QB room with Morris, Kaelin

UVA Football coach Tony Elliott lost his two-year starting QB to the portal, but instead of that being bad news, it appears that Elliott achieved a marked upgrade in his QB room.

Virginia, hitting the portal hard, landed a pair of gems – Chandler Morris, who passed for 3,771 yards and 31 TDs last year at North Texas, and Daniel Kaelin, a true freshman who redshirted at Nebraska, where he had been a centerpiece four-star recruit.

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ICYMI

• UVA Football: North Texas QB Chandler Morris commits to Virginia
• UVA Football: ‘Hoos land former Nebraska QB Danny Kaelin from the portal

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The two will battle for the QB1 spot at UVA, according to Elliott, though you have to assume that Morris, a sixth-year senior, will be the guy under center for the opener with Coastal Carolina on Aug. 30.

“We’re going to let them go battle. That was part of the conversation, right? Both of them were told this is the plan, we plan to bring in a veteran guy, an undergrad guy and let them go battle,” Elliott told reporters at a presser held to talk up his portal recruiting class last week.

“We don’t have set starters. Those guys will get reps. Kind of like how we’ve done in the past. Both guys will get an opportunity to run out there and compete with the different groups. After a certain amount of time, we should have enough reps to delineate a pecking order. Right now, we’re going to let them go compete,” Elliott said.

That’s what a coach is supposed to say.

Whoever wins – it will be Morris, with Kaelin the backup, getting reps to be the QB of the future – the presence of both is a major upgrade for the QB room over what Elliott had to work with the past two years.

Anthony Colandrea was the starter for the bulk of the 2023 and 2024 seasons before hitting the portal and landing at UNLV, where he will have to battle for the starting job with former Michigan QB Alex Orji.

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ICYMI

• UVA Football: Anthony Colandrea to the portal was a surprise to Tony Elliott
• Former UVA Football QB Anthony Colandrea commits to UNLV
• Checking in on former UVA QB Anthony Colandrea, in crowded QB room at UNLV

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Colandrea, an undersized three-star recruit, and Tony Muskett, a former FCS transfer, were 1-2 at QB the past two years, now replaced by a guy who was a highly-touted recruit at Oklahoma before transferring to and starting at TCU ahead of his year at North Texas, and Kaelin, a former Elite 11 camper rated among the top QBs in the 2024 recruiting class.

Morris, 24, is as old or older than five starting NFL QBs, starting his career at Oklahoma way back in 2020, a year ahead of Caleb Williams, the #1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, whose pending arrival at OU persuaded Morris to transfer out to TCU.

“I think he brings just a moxie and a leadership,” Elliott said. “He understands team. He understands the dynamic. He understands the leadership and requirements of his position. He’s extremely talented. He’s got a good personality that can gel with every position group on the team, which you need as a quarterback.”

Kaelin, Nebraska-born and -bred, committed to his home-state program, and his star power helped head coach Matt Rhule a Top 20 recruiting class, before Rhule, at literally the last minute, landed five-star QB Dylan Raiola for his 2024 class.

With Raiola, whose father, Dominic, was a Rimington Trophy winner at Nebraska in 2000, and whose uncle, Donovan, is the O line coach at the school, winning the QB1 job in the spring, Kaelin saw the writing on the wall.

The 6’3” pocket passer hit the transfer portal on Dec. 3.

“I like what I’ve seen so far out of Daniel as well, you know what I’m saying? He’s got the same moxie about him. Seen him on a Saturday with a couple guys working out, which tells me they’re gravitating towards him as well, which is going to create healthy competition,” Elliott said.

“At that position, to me it’s about leadership,” Elliott said. “You have to have physical talent, make all the throws, but it’s really about leadership and being able to galvanize a locker room. So far, I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of both of those guys.”