Soon-to-be-former UVA Football starting QB Anthony Colandrea is visiting Ole Miss this weekend, which comes across to me as a reach for Colandrea, giving the reality down there.
Lane Kiffin just let a former four-star recruit on his QB depth chart, Walker Howard, walk, mainly because another four-star, Austin Simmons, a redshirt freshman, was ahead of Howard on the depth chart.
Simmons is the QB of the future, according to the people who cover Ole Miss on a regular basis.
Kiffin is looking for somebody to compete with Simmons and freshman AJ Maddox, a former three-star recruit, in the spring.
This doesn’t seem like the best route for Colandrea, who is a consensus Top 10 portal QB recruit.
I can see the allure. Ole Miss has NIL money to spend, reportedly throwing $10 million at The Best Team That Money Could Buy, 2024 Edition, which ended up going 9-3 and missing the playoff.
That was with Jaxson Dart, a 6’2”, 225-pound, projected third-round pick, throwing for 3,875 yards, 25 TDs/6 INTs, and completing 68.4 percent of his passes this season.
Colandrea, listed at 6’0”, 183, more like 5’10”, 183, doesn’t seem like a prototypical Kiffin quarterback.
It’s already bad news for Tony Elliott & Co. that they’re losing a sophomore with 17 career college starts to the portal.
If Colandrea goes somewhere to be the backup because they offer him the most in NIL money, man.
The latest on Elliott’s options at QB
Chandler Morris, who threw for 3,774 yards and 31 TDs at North Texas as a redshirt junior in 2024, visited Virginia this week.
Don’t get your hopes up – Michigan is interested, and he’s also been linked to Texas State, where his father, Chad Morris, is an assistant coach.
One wildcard: Daniel Kaelin, a 6’3” freshman at Nebraska, was in Charlottesville this week for a visit, according to a program source.
Kaelin was a three-star recruit, but was also an Elite 11 camp participant as a prep.
Kaelin could be a nice under-the-radar pickup.
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Chris Graham
