At the start of the summer, Virginia coach Tony Elliott said he didn’t want the quarterback competition to become a major issue.
His players are on board with this, but the choice of quarterback is very important for Elliott, who is entering his third season with the Cavaliers. The team needs to perform well to regain their standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Elliott has a record of 6-16 in his first two seasons at Virginia, with a 3-12 record in ACC games. This year, the team was picked to finish 16th out of 17 in the conference.
The key to moving forward is choosing the right quarterback.
Tony Muskett, who started last year, is the experienced option. He transferred from Monmouth, where he started games for three seasons.
The other choice is sophomore Anthony Colandrea, who impressed with his athleticism while starting six games last season when Muskett was injured.
Elliott mentioned in late July that he’s not rushing to name a starter.
“I think what’s been awesome to see, in this day and age, is two young men embrace the competition, and understand that competition is going to make each one of them better,” the coach said.
On August 12, he hoped that the upcoming padded practices would help make the decision clearer.
The chosen quarterback will face a tough early schedule. After a game against Richmond, Virginia will play at Wake Forest and then host Maryland. They also have a challenging game at Coastal Carolina.
“Our first opponent is ourselves,” Muskett said. “UVA’s first task of victory is UVA.”
Despite the doubts from others, Elliott said he’s not trying to change opinions before the season starts. He believes that proving themselves on the field is the best approach.
“Every year when you look at it they get it wrong,” the coach said about preseason predictions. “There are always teams picked to finish high that don’t finish high. There are always teams that are picked to finish low that don’t finish low.
“We’ve got 25 practices and 12 Saturdays, and all the days in between, to do something about it.”
