Virginia Football: Five Reasons for Optimism Going into This Season

Duncan McGrath | Aug 17, 2024

An experienced returning offensive line is one of Virginia's five biggest reasons for optimism going into the 2024 season. / Virginia Athletics

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Virginia Cavaliers

It has not been easy to be positive on Virginia football the last couple of years. Since UVA head coach Tony Elliott’s arrival, the Cavaliers have gone just 6-16 overall and 3-12 in the ACC over the last two seasons. Virginia fans have not had a lot of wins to celebrate so far in the Elliott era, but there is plenty of belief in the program that this is the year where things finally take an upward turn. Not every fan might have the same level of hope, but let’s take a look at five areas of optimism for this year’s Virginia football team.

More Playable Depth on the Roster

Last year, Virginia did not have the depth to overcome the bad injury luck that plagued the team. Several key starters went down early in the year with season-ending injuries, forcing lesser experienced players into the fire. As a result, this year, the Cavaliers have much more playable depth throughout the roster and are much better equipped to overcome injuries. Talking about the depth of this year’s team, wide receiver Suderian Harrison said, “Last year, I felt like we were two-deep at every position. This year, I feel like we’re four-deep.” Even when UVA inevitably suffers injuries during the season, the Cavaliers are much better suited to play at a high level, especially with the experience of this year’s team and the additions made through the transfer portal on both sides of the ball.

An area where that depth will be most significant is the offensive line, where the Cavaliers return three players who started every game last season (Brian Stevens, McKale Boley, Noah Josey), one who started 11 games (Ty Furnish), and two more who started at least five games (Blake Steen and Ugonna Nnanna) as well a few other potential solid contributors who combine to give Virginia more depth up front than the team has had in years.

Promising QB Options

Last year, Virginia’s top two quarterbacks had never played a snap of football at the FBS level going into the season. Both Tony Muskett and Anthony Colandrea started six games and ended up playing meaningful snaps throughout the year, but only combined to throw 19 touchdowns to go along with 14 interceptions. While the play from both guys was up-and-down, the Cavaliers are in a much better spot at the QB position this season. Currently, both Muskett and Colandrea are competing for the starting job in fall camp and are splitting first team reps in practice. Whether it's Muskett or Colandrea, the good news is that they both come into this season with meaningful starting experience and good health. Muskett comes into this season as healthy as he’s ever been. On Muskett, Elliott said before fall camp, “You'll be able to see more of the athleticism out of Tony because he just feels good about his body, feels that he can run and take a shot and be able to get up.” Even when Muskett returned from injury last year, he was still battling injuries and ended up getting offseason surgery on his shoulder.

On the other hand, Colandrea comes into the season after having an inconsistent 2023. Despite making plenty of mistakes, Colandrea had a lot of positive moments on the field, showing his potential to be a quality starting quarterback for the Hoos. With a year now under his belt, Colandrea should be much more comfortable in the offense and ready to take a leap forward. Regardless of who wins the job, UVA has the best insurance against injury at the most important position on the field and should feel good about both guys going into the season.

Return of Key Defensive Players

Virginia’s defense took a big step back last year after a solid first season under defensive coordinator John Rudzinski in 2022. Losing several key players from that team, the Cavaliers defense struggled last year, giving up 33.8 points per game. UVA had the worst scoring defense in the ACC and gave up over 400 yards of offense per game. Fortunately, Virginia will have much more continuity on the defensive side of the ball this year with several key starters returning. On the defensive line, Kam Butler, Chico Bennett Jr., and Jahmeer Carter are all back. At linebacker, James Jackson and Kam Robinson both return. Finally, the Hoos also return Jonas Sanker and Antonio Clary in the secondary. Sanker was named to the 2024 Preseason All-ACC Team and to the Chuck Bednarik Watch List.

Last year, freshmen accounted for over 1,400 snaps on the Virginia defense. With several key starters back, Virginia’s defense will be much more experienced and should be able to take a big step forward this season.

Talented WR Room

This season, Virginia arguably has one of the deepest and strongest wide receivers rooms in all of the ACC. Led by Malachi Fields, UVA's wide receiver room might be the strongest position group on the team. The Cavaliers lost Biletnikoff Award finalist Malik Washington to the NFL but have reloaded in the offseason in a major way.

Malachi Fields was named to the preseason Biletnikoff Award Watch List after a season that saw him finish second on the team in receiving yards and he is poised to have an even bigger year in 2024. On Fields, Elliott said before fall camp, “He's been productive. He's made a lot of plays, but he's a mild-mannered guy. What I have seen is he's taken ahold of that receiver room, inserted more leadership from a vocal standpoint. So, I'm excited to see him take that next step and really just have the mindset of being a dominant player.”

UVA also brought in three transfer receivers in the offseason that will all play pivotal roles in Virginia’s passing attack. Notre Dame graduate transfer Chris Tyree should bolster UVA's passing attack from the slot immediately with his playmaking and speed. In the offseason, Virginia also brought in Andre Greene Jr. from the portal. Another Virginia native and former four-star recruit, Greene played sparingly for North Carolina in two years but should make an instant impact in Virginia’s offense. Finally, the Cavaliers brought in Trell Harris, a transfer from Kent State. Harris is another productive transfer that should come into Charlottesville and improve the passing game. With the return of Suderian Harrison and the addition of freshman Kameron Courtney as well, this UVA receiving group should be well-balanced with several players ready to make meaningful contributions.

Avoid Three of Top Four in Preseason ACC

It will not be easy for Virginia to make a bowl game this season, but there are some advantages with UVA’s schedule. Elliott will certainly want to start out strong in non-conference play, as many of Virginia’s more winnable games are in the first half of the season. Nonetheless, the Cavaliers will have their fair share of opportunities for wins throughout ACC play.

Despite road trips to Clemson and Virginia Tech in the second half of the season, the Hoos avoid three of the top four teams in the 2024 ACC Football Preseason Poll this season. UVA avoids preseason favorite Florida State, who is ranked No. 8 in the AP Preseason Poll. Virginia also misses No. 19 Miami and No. 24 NC State. Miami was picked to finish third in the ACC, while NC State was picked to finish fourth. While Virginia does draw No. 5 though No. 8 in the ACC Preseason Poll, the good news is that those are more winnable games than having to play some of the top teams in the ACC. Even though the Hoos were picked to finish second to last in the conference, Virginia has a reasonably favorable ACC schedule, which should provide them with plenty of winnable matchups.