UVA Football coach Tony Elliott has named Anthony Colandrea the starting quarterback, after a battle in training camp with last year’s Week 1 starter, Tony Muskett.
Colandrea had a 62.4 percent completion rate and 87.5 NFL passer rating as a true freshman in 2023, throwing for 1,903 yards and 12 TDs, with nine INTs.
The three-star recruit from the Tampa-St. Pete area stepped in at two different junctures as the starter after Muskett, a fifth-year senior in his second year at UVA, went down to injury.
In his first career college start, in Week 2 against JMU, Colandrea was 20-for-26 for 377 yards and two TDs, with one INT, in a 36-35 loss.
Colandrea had one other 300-yard game, passing for 314 yards and a TD in a 31-24 loss at #9 Lousiville on Nov. 9.
A week later, Colandrea led Virginia to a 30-27 upset of Duke, going 21-of-30 for 278 yards and three TDs.
Muskett had come into training camp as the favorite to get the QB1 spot. In six starts in 2023, the Monmouth transfer had a 62.7 percent completion rate and 82.5 NFL passer rating, throwing for 1,036 yards and six TDs, with five INTs.
ICYMI
- UVA Football: Internal frustration over Tony Elliott dawdling on his QB
- UVA Football: Tony Elliott still undecided at QB, which can’t be good news
- UVA Football: Kitchings talks QBs, with our assumption that Muskett is QB1
- UVA Football Preview: Six guys that we need to have big seasons in 2024
- Source: Muskett, who ‘worked his ass off’ after injury, set as QB1 for Virginia in 2024