CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.– Virginia football concluded its spring practice on Saturday with the Blue-White spring game being held at Scott Stadium.
Here are our five takeaways from the spring game:
Is there a QB battle in Charlottesville?
The UVA coaches have been adamant that that no decision will be made in regards to who will be QB 1 until fall camp – giving Tony Muskett, who was returning from offseason shoulder surgery, more time. On Saturday both Muskett and Anthony Colandrea had some nice moments, with Muskett starting the game looking very comfortable for someone who worked hard to even be ready to play this spring.
Muskett did a nice job evading pressure at times and connected on some big plays, including a 56-yard touchdwon to JR Wilson and a 73-yard TD to Claiborne Richards. He also had a long completion to Karson Gay in the first quarter. Muskett finished the afternoon going 10-of-18 for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Colandrea got more comfortable as the spring game played out with some nice throws to Trell Harris and Andre Greene Jr.. The Blue team was able to get to the red zone twice, once ended with a field goal and another they failed to convert on 4th-and-1. He finished the day going 15-of-16 for 102 yards and zero touchdowns.
This quarterback situation will not be solved this spring, and to be fair to each quarterback, it shouldn’t be. The offensive lines put out there for the spring will not be what the starter will have protecting him this fall. While Muskett faced off against a lot of the projected first team secondary, including Antonio Clary, Jonas Sanker, Kempton Shine and projected starter, linebacker Kam Robinson, Colandrea faced off against most of the projected first team defensive line, including Chico Bennett Jr. Jahmeer Carter, Jason Hammond and Bryce Carter. Muskett’s offensive line included Ugonna Nnanna and Blake Steen, who both at least started a few games last season, while Colandrea’s offensive line had no one that started a game last season.
So yeah no decisions should be made.
This is a good problem to have if you are the Virginia coaches.
Hello Noah Vaughn
The redshirt freshman running back had some solid runs in the spring game. Virginia running backs coach Keith Gaither had singled Vaughn out during his press availability this spring and you can see why. Vaughn is still learning but he does have some nice vision and was able to pick up some chunk of yards because he was able to evade the tackles and find the holes necessary to get some room in between the tackles – showing some nice burst.
Vaughn finished the day with 11 carries for 50 yards.
With Virginia only returning Kobe Pace from last season’s starters, I expect Vaughn to play a role in the run game for the ‘Hoos this upcoming season.
Grown men in the defensive trenches
Elliott challenged his defensive line coaches to give him competitive depth up front and it looks like he delivered – also kudos to the strength and the nutrition staff because those sophomores are grown men. The defensive line looks bigger and stronger up front – especially when you see Jason Hammond, Anthony Britton, Terrell Jones and Mekhi Buchanan.
The ‘Hoos have a lot of veterans in this group, but it looks like the depth is there for Virginia to remain fresh up front.
Hammond was a standout on Saturday.
Newcomers flashed
Although we were not able to see all the newcomers due to injury, there were a few new cavaliers that had some nice flashes. Both Corey Thomas Jr. and Kempton Shine recorded a pass break up on Saturday afternoon and demonstrated their skills in coverage – also Thomas Jr. is a big human and will be a versatile took for John Rudzinski’s this season.
Greene Jr. and Harris also showed their potential on the offensive side of the ball, but it wasn’t just the transfers that caught my attention.
Rudzinski, Elliott and defensive back coach Curome Cox have all spoken about freshman Ethan Minter, the Thomas Dale quarterback that early enrolled this January and switched position to safety, had six tackles, which was third on the Blue team. On Saturday, Minter looked healthy and bigger since the last time we saw the Chester native.
Defensive leaders healthy and it shows
There are a lot of young and newcomers on the defensive side of the ball that may grab the headlines, however, Chico Bennett Jr. and Antonio Clary are back healthy and both had solid games. Bennett led his team with seven tackles and probably should have two sacks on Saturday, meanwhile, Clary led everyone with 8 tackles.