Point/Counterpoint: Debating Virginia's Quarterback Quandary
Val: All week long, the news out of the McCue Center had been consistent: Tony Muskett was going to start vs Maryland if he was able. Head coach Tony Elliott is, and he is most certainly not alone in this thought, of the school that starters cannot lose their job due to an injury. It’s not like Muskett performed badly against Tennessee; the entire team was overwhelmed.
True freshman Anthony Colandrea then grabbed the bull by both horns against James Madison, going 20/26 for 377 yards and a pair of TDs with Muskett looking on. Not bad for a 5’10” 3-star recruit.
Muskett was apparently a game-day decision, even as he came out and warmed up with the team. He left for the locker room mid-practice and later returned, still in warmups.
He’s not the first starter to be scratched just as the game is beginning. In this past women’s World Cup, Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, who at one point was widely considered the best female on the planet, was scratched as she was in the team huddle just prior to lining up.
So Colandrea starts the game behind center, and the very first play is a 49-yard flea flicker to Malik Washington.
This seems like such a scripted start. Colandrea had to know he was starting well before warm-ups, don’t you think, Matt?
Matt: It was definitely scripted. I’d say the team knew all week that Colandrea would be starting, especially considering that Muskett’s status remains questionable going into Friday’s game against NC State. I must give some credit to Tony Elliott and Des Kitchings for the gamesmanship of leading Maryland (and the rest of us) into thinking Muskett was starting, but I suspect the game plan was built around Colandrea getting the start and the Cavaliers thought they could catch the Terps off guard with a trick play on the first snap and it worked perfectly.
That isn’t to say that there wasn’t truth to what Elliott said before the game - I think if Muskett was close to 100%, he would’ve started. And that remains the case for this week’s game. But with another great performance from Colandrea (except for the 4th quarter turnovers), now there is undoubtedly some question as to whether Muskett will really get the chance to prove himself again. With how well Colandrea has played over the last two weeks, it’s going to be very difficult for followers of the UVA football program to see the freshman phenom return to the bench. If Muskett starts, anything less than a perfect quarterback performance from him will result in loud calls for Colandrea’s return.
And that’s the question Virginia has to answer. I’m not calling it a problem, but a question, because it’s hardly a terrible problem to have two quality quarterbacks to choose from and that’s what the Cavaliers believe they have. So, the question is: if Colandrea continues to play well and Muskett becomes healthy enough to play - both of which are very possible outcomes - what will Tony Elliott and the UVA coaching staff choose to do?
Val: If you are calling the Colandrea start “gamesmanship” then it becomes harder to figure out what Elliott will do. The pat answer is Muskett gets the start. Most coaches are of this opinion, Bill Belichick’s decision to never give the ball back to Drew Bledsoe for Tom Brady being the most famous outlier, of course. Muskett has the experience and apparently did everything the coaching staff wanted him to do during spring ball. Colandrea had a good summer, but there was never any indication that anyone other than Muskett was the starter.
It's important to note, Matt, that we are also fully in the free-transfer era of college ball. If you want to build your team using transfers, guys who are looking for a new opportunity to supercharge their careers, then you’ll shut off the pipeline if players in the portal know that they can be cast aside if they have an injury.
Re-installing Muskett as the starter is what any established coach would want to do.
Except that Tony Elliott ain’t established. Last year, he took a very successful offense with Virginia’s greatest quarterback returning, and made it a shadow of its former self. The entire program had to deal with the tragedy of the shooting last year. The university rightly shut down the season. And then Brennan Armstrong transferred out. It was a horrible and tragic first year.
On the field this season, the results have not been encouraging from a football standpoint. The team sits 0-3 and is staring a three-win season in the face. If there was a weakness in the Armstrong offenses it was that Virginia couldn’t run the ball. The Cavaliers still can’t. It seems as if recruiting never got the new-coach bump. I’m a big proponent of giving coaches five years to get their program in place, but let’s face it, Matt, what kind of team do you expect Elliott to field in 2025?
Elliott’s career is about to be on life support and the only excitement coming out of Scott Stadium is coming from Colandrea. A 5’10” three-star who is slinging the ball like that is thrilling. This fan base need excitement. And while I think Elliott would consider himself a program coach, he doesn’t have a program right now, nor does he have the luxury of being able to sit out a dismal season. And Colandrea is the lifeline.
I think Elliott has to go with Colandrea.
Matt: You make a great point with regards to the transfer portal. But I think it works both ways, Val. While it’s true that Muskett’s situation hardly makes Virginia an appealing destination for transfer QBs, UVA also faces the prospect of losing a potentially great quarterback to the transfer portal at the end of the season if Anthony Colandrea isn’t happy with the way the QB situation was handled or if another program makes him an offer he can’t refuse. The latter becomes more and more feasible every time Colandrea makes a quality start.
It’ll truly be an unfortunate situation for Tony Muskett if it turns out that he never really got a shot to show what he could do as the starting quarterback of this team. Even if Muskett does start when he gets healthy - whether that’s this week or some other game in the future - he’ll be on a very short leash. Those are challenging circumstances for a quarterback who seemed to be in a great position just a few short weeks ago.
But as you pointed out, Val, challenging circumstances have been the norm for the UVA football program under Tony Elliott. And he doesn’t have the luxury of prioritizing fairness when making decisions in the best interest of his team. Right now, Anthony Colandrea gives Virginia the best chance to win this week and moving forward this season and so he should continue to start until his magic wears off. Who knows, it might never wear off. Tony Elliott is in a tough position right now, but he might have struck gold with this freshman quarterback who could very well serve as the cornerstone for what Elliott is hoping to build at Virginia.
The goal right now is to manage the quarterback situation in such a way that both Muskett and Colandrea feel they are being treated fairly while simultaneously giving the team its best chance to win. I still think that’s possible, but certainly not easy.
Val: At Tuesday’s press conference, Elliott said that Muskett is making progress, but is still very much day to day. I think we’re both betting that Colandrea is going to start against NC State and Brennan Armstrong this Friday night.
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