Five Storylines to Watch in Virginia Football Fall Camp

What to watch for as the Cavaliers begin their final preparations for the 2023 football season with the opening of fall camp on Wednesday

The Virginia football team is set to open fall practice on Wednesday, August 2nd, beginning the final preparations for the 2023 college football season. Exactly one month later, the Cavaliers will take the field at Nissan Stadium in Nashville to battle the Tennessee Volunteers in the season opener. As UVA gets ready for year 2 of the Tony Elliott era, here's five storylines to watch during fall camp: 

When is Tony Muskett confirmed as Virginia's starting quarterback? 

The wording of that question is intentional. Everyone knows that Tony Muskett is going to be UVA's starting quarterback at least to begin the season. He's the guy that the Cavaliers went and got in the portal. Jay Woolfolk was Muskett's top competition at the position and he's not on the team anymore. And finally, Tony Elliott chose to bring Tony Muskett with him to Charlotte for last week's ACC Football Kickoff event, another obvious indicator that Muskett is in line to be the team's starting QB. Elliott insisted at the ACC Kickoff that no starter has been officially named and that there will be a quarterback battle in fall camp, but the natural reaction to that is - a battle with whom? True freshman Anthony Colandrea, the likely backup on the quarterback depth chart, has an exciting future but there's simply no way he'll be the starter on September 2nd in Nashville. Elliott says Colandrea has shown enough to make it a battle, but expect Muskett to formally earn the starting job during fall camp. 

Who emerges from the crowded running back room?

Virginia's running back room is one of the deepest position groups on the roster, with several players in line to earn an opportunity for carries. Sixth-year senior Perris Jones was the starter last season and Mike Hollins, who returns with perhaps the most inspiring story in the country this season, was right behind him on the depth chart. Clemson transfer Kobe Pace is expected to contend at the top of that depth chart as well as he was the lead back for the Tigers in 2021, rushing for 641 yards and six touchdowns and averaging 6.2 yards per carry, tied for second in the ACC that year. Injury troubles caused Pace to struggle to see significant playing time in a competitive Clemson RB room in 2022, but he'll look to deliver a resurgent season with the Cavaliers in 2023. 

Another running back with potential is Cody Brown, a former four-star recruit who started his career at Miami. Injuries limited him to just three games last season, but a healthy Cody Brown could battle for carries. Xavier Brown was highly impressive as a true freshman, averaging 4.2 yards per carry and showing great speed. With some more muscle and size this season, Brown is looking for a breakout sophomore campaign. Virginia also returns Amaad Foston, who was trending towards having a key role in the running back room last season before suffering a torn ACL in fall camp. Walk-on Jack Griese, who was the surprising star of the spring game, and freshmen Donte Hawthorne and Noah Vaughn round out the running back unit. 

UVA is committed to running the football this season. Of course, the offensive line will be a critical factor in how successfully the Cavaliers are able to accomplish that mission. But, in examining the running back personnel, it's clear that Virginia has the horses to have an effective rushing attack. Not all of these players can get carries, though, so what will the depth chart look like coming out of fall camp and who will get the bulk of the carries when the season starts? 

Just how good is the defensive line? 

The one unit that is expected to be really good for Virginia is the defensive line. The Cavaliers bring back several key contributors from a group that was undoubtedly one of the team's biggest strengths a season ago. Graduate defensive end Chico Bennett headlines the defensive line after finishing with seven sacks last season. He is joined by Kam Butler, Ben Smiley, Paul Akere, Jahmeer Carter, Aaron Faumui, and others. The UVA defense made big strides in year 1 under John Rudzinski's direction. If the Cavaliers want to maintain that standard or even take another step forward, it's going to have to start with the defensive line getting consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks and being steady against the run. 

How well can Virginia replace the cornerback production of Johnson and Cypress? 

UVA's secondary should be pretty good again, with an experienced and deep safety unit leading the way. But replacing two All-ACC corners in Anthony Johnson (NFL) and Fentrell Cypress II (Florida State) will take some doing. In an attempt to do just that, Virginia went in the portal and secured transfers from Clemson's Malcolm Greene, Iowa State's Tayvonn Kyle, and SMU's Sam Westfall. They don't necessarily need to repeat the remarkable feat of Johnson and Cypress, who became the first Cavalier cornerback duo in program history to both be named All-ACC in the same season. But if this trio of transfers can provide a steady level of production at the cornerback position, there's no reason the Virginia defense can't be just as good, or even better, in 2023. 

What is the progress of Terry Heffernan and the UVA offensive line? 

We leave this question for last, but it really is the most important question for the Cavaliers to answer during fall camp. Virginia's offense struggled mightily in 2022 and sure, that had a lot to do with Brennan Armstrong and company struggling to adapt to a new offense. But, even if Tony Muskett plays at a high level and connects with his receivers and the UVA running backs prove to be dynamic ball-carriers, none of that will mean anything if the offensive line can't play at a serviceable level. Tony Muskett must keep his jersey clean, especially considering that the depth chart behind him at quarterback is severely lacking in experience. And if Virginia really believes it can achieve a balanced offensive approach, the Cavaliers have to be able to move the line of scrimmage to produce an effective rushing attack. Transfers Jimmy Christ (Penn State), Brian Stevens (Dayton), and Ugonna Nnanna (Houston) should help to provide experienced size and depth to a unit that returns just one player who started more than five games last season (Ty Furnish). Terry Heffernan has his work cut out for him, but if he can work some magic to make the transfer additions gel with returners like Furnish, Noah Josey, and McKale Boley, perhaps some stability can return to the trenches for the Cavaliers in 2023. 

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