Going into training camp, the word around the UVA Football program was that Tony Muskett was the clear #1 at quarterback, but now the word, and this is coming straight from the mouth of coach Tony Elliott, we doesn’t know who his QB1 is.
And just to confirm what you’re thinking after reading that, no, this is not good.
Not good at all.
“You know, I’m hopeful, you know, that as we get through this week, you know, in fairness to whoever it is, at least to have a week to prep, you know, as a starter, but you know, we’re gonna have some tough conversations with all of our personnel over the next couple of days,” Elliott told reporters after practice on Monday.
UVA Football
- UVA Football: Is Tony Elliott on the hot seat? It’s at least warm, and getting warmer
- UVA Football: The computers don’t like the ‘Hoos heading into Elliott’s Year 3
- Elliott ‘not surprised’ that UVA was picked 16th in ACC preseason football poll
- UVA Football season-ticket sales continuing to trend at historic low level
- UVA Football Preview: Six guys that we need to have big seasons in 2024
It’s down to Muskett, who won the starting job in training camp last year, and sophomore Anthony Colandrea, who started six games in 2023 as Muskett was in and out of the lineup with shoulder and ankle injuries.
Ideally, Muskett would be the guy, just from a succession standpoint – Muskett is a fifth-year senior in his final year of eligibility; Colandrea, as a sophomore, would have three years left if he were able to use 2024 as a redshirt year.
Worst-case scenario here: they both shuttle in and out of the starting lineup, and there’s no continuity to the offense as a result.
The hard thing to tell here is, is the issue that neither has distinguished himself, and the choice comes down to the lesser of two evils, or is it just that they’re both playing so dadgummed well that you can’t go wrong either way?
I think we all know the answer there, and it ain’t the one that any of us will like.
Looking back at last year, the two had practically identical numbers in 2023 – Muskett had a 62.7 percent completion rate and 82.5 NFL passer rating, throwing for 1,036 yards and six TDs, with five INTs; Colandrea had a 62.4 percent completion rate and 87.5 NFL passer rating, throwing for 1,903 yards and 12 TDs, with nine INTs.
The discrepancy in yards and TD passes is the result of Muskett having to leave two of his starts early with injuries.
Basically, they were the same guy, efficiency-wise, even as the two have their own unique skill sets and approaches – Muskett is better under pressure (83.7 NFL passer rating), Colandrea is better moving the chains with his feet (174 scramble yards, 191 rushing yards on designed runs).
Going into camp, the word from our sources was that Muskett had established himself over the summer as the clear favorite with hard work coming back from his injuries.
Elliott didn’t go into detail on why he’s demurring on making a decision on his QB in his chat with reporters after practice on Monday.
“I’m hopeful that sometime this week, you know, we should be able to settle in on who’s going to be the guy, or if it’s going to be a combination of both of them,” Elliott said, bringing up what is actually the worst of the possible scenarios, even less appealing than the two shuttling in and out of the starting lineup – a two-QB system, bringing to mind the old saw about how if you think you have two quarterbacks, it’s because you don’t really have one good one.
Rotating two basically identical quarterbacks every few series to see if one has the hot hand is a recipe for disaster.
“You know, that’s to be determined,” Elliott responded in a follow-up on the two-QB idea that he himself had brought up. “If that’s the way that it shakes out, you know, that’s the way that it shakes out. And again, we’ll have those conversations and see what’s best for the football team. I think you got both guys that are very, very capable. But I’m not going to say yes. I’m not going to say no. Those would be conversations that we’ll have the rest of this week to determine, you know, as we get ready to prep, and how we need to prep for Richmond.”
I hate to say it, but it already feels to me that things are going off the rails with this season.
Chris Graham: Tony Elliott is still undecided at QB
Share
Chris Graham
