New Virginia QB Chandler Morris: "I want to win the conference championship"
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New Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris made a strong opening statement in his first team meeting at UVA. Morris stood up and told his new teammates, "I want to win the conference championship."
Morris recounted that story on Wednesday afternoon when he met with the local media for the first time since transferring from North Texas. "I didn't come all the way to Virginia as a Texas boy to win five, six games," Morris said. "I want to win the conference championship. So, that's my goal, coming all this way."
If Morris is going to make good on his objective, it will be quite the breakthrough season for his new team, as the Cavaliers haven't won more than six games in the last five seasons and are 11-23 under Tony Elliott. And of course, Virginia hasn't won the ACC Championship since 1995 and has never won the ACC title outright.
Still, an influx of financial support paved the way for what appears to be a very strong offseason recruiting the transfer portal for Elliott and his staff, who have retooled and reinforced UVA's roster at nearly every position, especially along the trenches and of course at the quarterback position. Virginia currently has the 25th ranked incoming transfer class in the country, according to 247Sports, and the fifth-ranked class in the ACC.
Morris acknowledged what he called "speed bumps" Virginia has hit as a football program, but said he believes he can help turn things around.
"They've just been kind of hitting a couple of speed bumps and I really wanted to come into a place and help flip it," said Morris. "And I know that I can do it and just start to build the relationships in the locker room and getting everyone to get on board and starting to join the great culture that they have here. So that was very important. But yeah, I just wanted to help Virginia take that next step and I think I can do so."
This is the third time Morris has transferred to a new school, as he began his collegiate career at Oklahoma and scored a rushing touchdown for the Sooners as their third-string QB in the 2020 Big 12 Championship Game before transferring to TCU. Injuries largely derailed his three seasons with the Horned Frogs, but Morris still had some great moments, throwing for 461 yards and three total touchdowns in his first-career start against No. 21 Baylor and finishing his time at TCU first in program history with a 65.7% completion percentage.
Last season at North Texas, Morris finally stayed healthy and delivered a fantastic 2024 campaign. He threw for 3,774 passing yards and 31 touchdowns to 12 interceptions and also rushed for 242 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Morris ranked fifth in the country in passing yards, third in completions, and fourth in passing touchdowns in the 2024 college football regular season. Watch some of his highlights from 2024 at North Texas below:
Morris was the one of the first transfers to commit to Virginia this offseason, pledging to the Cavaliers within a week after he entered the portal. A familial connection helped make that transfer happen, as Tony Elliott coached with Chandler's father, Chad Morris, on Clemson's coaching staff from 2011-2014. Elliott ended up replacing Morris as Clemson's offensive coordinator when Morris left to take over as head coach at SMU. Now, a full decade later, Elliott will coach Chandler Morris at Virginia.
"It was huge. Knowing Coach E [Tony Elliott] since I was 10 years old, I have a ton of respect for him. And knowing his family too, I just the know the things he stands for," Morris said.
Morris then began doing his part in recruiting other transfers, reaching out to JMU offensive lineman Tyshawn Wyatt, Purdue wide receiver Jahmal Edrine, and Louisville offensive lineman Monroe Mills, each of whom wound up joining Morris at Virginia.
"I was on vacation in Destin, Florida, and one of my good friends at North Texas is friends with him and so I reached out to Monroe [Mills]," Morris said. "And I felt like we could hit it off, he's just a country boy from Missouri, so I thought we would kind of mesh well."
Mills, who was the top-ranked offensive tackle in the transfer portal according to On3, has started 31 games at both left and right tackle, and Wyatt has started 33 games at both left guard and left tackle. UVA's other two transfer offensive linemen, Kevin Wigenton II from Illinois and Brady Wilson from UAB, both have extensive starting experience as well. With those four players coming in and Virginia managing to retain starters Noah Josey, McKale Boley, and Blake Steen, the protection in front of Chandler Morris is poised to take a step forward in 2025.
In terms of receiving targets for Morris in the passing game, Virginia returns Trell Harris, Kam Courtney, Andre Greene Jr., and Suderian Harrison and has brought in three transfer wide receivers in Jahmal Edrine (Purdue), Cam Ross (James Madison), and Jayden Thomas (Notre Dame), who was the last player to commit to UVA in the winter transfer window.
It may be setting the bar a bit too high to predict that Virginia will be competing for the ACC Championship, but it's refreshing to hear that kind of confidence from UVA's new quarterback. Given what Morris brings to the table and the talent and experience the Cavaliers have acquired in their other transfers, a winning season is not too lofty of a goal for Virginia football in 2025.
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