Tony Muskett or Anthony Colandrea? Where Virginia's Quarterback Situation Stands
There has been quite a bit of grumbling from the UVA fanbase this week following the announcement from head coach Tony Elliott that Tony Muskett is expected to resume his duties as Virginia's starting quarterback for Saturday's game at Boston College.
While Muskett has been out for the last three weeks with a shoulder injury he suffered in the season opener, true freshman Anthony Colandrea has stolen the hearts of UVA fans and made a solid case to earn the starting quarterback job sooner rather than later. It's true that Colandrea has far exceeded expectations in his first three collegiate starts and has almost singlehandedly generated excitement and optimism for the future of Virginia football despite the team's ruinous 0-4 start to the season.
Still, Elliott has said all along that his approach to these situations is that a player does not lose his starting job due to injury and that Tony Muskett remains the starting quarterback. Regardless of the impressive play of Muskett's freshman backup, it appears that Elliott is sticking with that strategy. Here's what Elliott said in his weekly press conference on Tuesday about Muskett's current status and the quarterback situation:
"So each week, [Tony] Muskett is getting better. As I said, I want to do what's best for Tony. My philosophy is you don't lose your starting job because of injury. Each week we go into it with Tony being the guy until we get to the game and we assess what the situation is. I think he's much closer. I anticipate that Tony will be ready to play this week and that's how we'll roll."
Later in the presser, Elliott was asked if he would consider playing two quarterbacks in a game. Here's his response:
"I'm trying to figure out how to win a ballgame and what gives us the best chance and best opportunity. I think in fairness to Tony, right, he's played 45 snaps and has been out, so I think you got to give him - he earned the job. He won the job coming out of camp and he needs to be evaluated in the game as well. So right now he's our starting quarterback. I think we have a good sample size of what Colandrea can do. Both of them have to be ready. I think that they have a really good relationship and I see them hanging out together. They push each other in practice. There is healthy competition. For me, it's whatever gives us the best chance. I won't know until we get a good sample size of Tony in the game."
Elliott's comments on evaluation and sample size are important. He said he has gotten a "good sample size of what Colandrea can do" and that's true. In three starts (four total games played), Colandrea has completed 63 of 102 passes (61.8%) for 923 yards and five touchdowns. Taking into account only his three starts, Colandrea is averaging 303.7 passing yards per game. That would lead the ACC and rank ninth in the country. Based on those stats and the flashy improvised plays he makes every game, many have come to the conclusion that Colandrea should be the outright starter moving forward.
But to reach such a conclusion necessitates downplaying two things: 1.) Colandrea's freshman mistakes - he leads the ACC with six interceptions, five of which have come in the 4th quarter - and 2.) the fact that he has yet to lead Virginia to a win. If UVA is 2-2 or even 1-3 at this point instead of 0-4, I would think Tony Elliott would consider deviating from his stance on Muskett not losing his job due to injury. Colandrea has played very well, but not well enough to crown him the starter without giving Muskett a chance.
There's also the hypothetical of what would have happened over the last three weeks had Muskett never gotten hurt. Of course we'll never know, but there is still some evidence to suggest that Muskett could have played even better than Colandrea did, especially in the area of ball security in critical moments, an area in which Muskett's experience would be most beneficial. Muskett outplayed Colandrea in fall camp and then, in his only start in a Virginia uniform to date, played fairly well in unfairly challenging circumstances against Tennessee. He made some great throws on third down despite consistently being under duress. UVA's offensive line has improved since then and against defensive fronts not nearly as imposing as Tennessee's, the Cavaliers have to see what Muskett can do with a clean pocket.
Not only does Muskett deserve the chance for a fair evaluation in a real game, but it could also be better for Virginia, which Elliott alluded to when he said he's going to make a decision based on "whatever gives us the best chance." Despite Colandrea's electrifying play, there's a solid possibility that it's actually Tony Muskett who gives the Cavaliers the best chance to win at Boston College on Saturday.
Virginia has a pair of very winnable games coming up in Boston College and William & Mary. If Muskett starts and manages to lead the Cavaliers to not just their first win of the season, but back-to-back victories in those games, UVA would reach the midway point of the season on a two-game winning streak and with two great players in the quarterback room - an ideal scenario for a team that currently appears to be dead in the water.
Concerns about Colandrea becoming disillusioned with this situation are unfounded. Coming into the season, he wasn't even expecting to play meaningful snaps and now he's logged three starts and should have no gripe about Muskett getting the chance he earned at the beginning of the season. Colandrea is still the quarterback of the future for this program and he knows it. And he isn't getting benched, as he had never taken the starting QB job to begin with. Anthony Colandrea played even better than UVA could have hoped, but it's time to see what Virginia's offense might look like with Tony Muskett at quarterback.
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