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UVA Football: Anthony Colandrea Shows Poise Through First Two Games

Tony Elliott has seen maturity from Colandrea through the first two games of the season.

Aidan Baller

Through the first two games of the season, Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea is on pace for nearly 4,000 passing yards.
Through the first two games of the season, Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea is on pace for nearly 4,000 passing yards. / Virginia Athletics
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Anthony Colandrea is currently on pace to throw for just under 4,000 yards, which would put him second in the Virginia history books for passing yards in a single season behind Brennan Armstrong's 2021 performance, where he threw for 4,449 yards. 

Leading what has evolved into potentially another Virginia pass-happy offense, the sophomore has fit the part in the first two games of the season, showing immense maturity and improvement from last year. 

"He had a very consistent demeanor throughout the game," said Coach Tony Elliott. "He's quickly learning to flush the bad plays and stay locked in."

One example Elliott gave of Colandrea's growth was the first interception, explaining how the unlucky play was intended to be Colandrea wisely checking down to his running back instead of trying to make the hero play, something he was known for last season as a true freshman.

After the unlucky interception, Colandrea made the heads-up play of chasing down Wake Forest's Kevin Pointer to prevent the touchdown and give the Virginia defense a chance to deny Bachmeier and the Demon Deacons offense. 

After the second interception, Wake Forest went down the field and hit a field goal to make it 30-17 before the Cavaliers punted on the next drive, as it looked as if the Virginia offense had run out of gas. In response, Colandrea fired up his team, producing back-to-back touchdown drives to give Virginia the victory, demonstrating Colandrea's leadership as only a sophomore and the rest of the offense's confidence in their quarterback. 

On top of that, Colandrea was patient offensively, taking only what the defense gave him, letting Wake Forest make the mistakes while his wideouts found the creases. This led to his touchdown passes to Trell Harris and the second touchdown pass to Tyler Neville, both being easy scores as they were practically unguarded. 

The performance in the win over Wake Forest, in which Colandrea was 33 of 43 for 357 yards and three touchdowns, allowed him to be one of the eight quarterbacks named Manning Award Stars of the Week. The award was voted on by fans and was won by Nico Iamaleava of Tennessee. 

Statistically, Colandrea is currently 10th in passing yards, 19th in touchdown passes, 9th in completion percentage, and 20th in rating nationally. In addition, Colandrea is one of four quarterbacks nationally in the Top 25 for all four categories. 

Moving to Saturday night against Maryland, the Maryland defense will be the toughest Colandrea has faced so far this season and will give the Cavaliers a valuable assessment of the current capabilities of their young starting quarterback.

For More Virginia Football News

Virginia Football Injury Report: Updates on Kam Robinson, McKale Boley

Malachi Fields Thriving in WR1 Role for Virginia Football

Virginia Football Report Card: Handing Out Grades for UVA's Win at Wake Forest

Hitting the Keys: Looking Back at Our Five Keys to Virginia vs. Wake Forest

Virginia Shows Mental Toughness in Comeback Victory at Wake Forest

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Aidan Baller

AIDAN BALLER

Aidan has been writing for Virginia Cavaliers On SI since January of 2023 and covers UVA football, basketball, men's soccer, and men's lacrosse. He is from New York and is currently in his fourth year at the University of Virginia, enrolled in the M.S. in Accounting program.