Former Virginia QB Gavin Frakes Announces New Transfer Decision

Frakes never saw the field for UVA and his best season as a college quarterback came in 2022 for New Mexico State.

Per his UVA bio:

Played in 11 games, making five starts under center as a true freshman.
• Totaled 736 passing yards with four touchdowns, adding 143 yards on the ground with another pair of scores.
• Connected with Kordell David on a ten-yard pass for his first collegiate touchdown pass against Nevada on Aug. 27.
• Ran for a season-high 78 yards and a touchdown in a home win over Hawaii.
• Put together a well-rounded performance against UNM, connecting on a season-best ten passes for 119 yards and a pair of scores through the air.

Virginia made a notable addition at quarterback this offseason when they brought in former North Texas/TCU/Oklahoma quarterback Chandler Morris.

There is a chance that Morris could in fact be a huge upgrade at the position, but he only has one real season to show for it. Morris only played in five total games during his lone season with Oklahoma and then transferred to TCU. He played in four games for the Horned Frogs in 2021, including a standout performance in an upset win over No. 12 Baylor. Morris was 29-41 for 461 yards and two touchdowns in that game.

He would battle an injury that would limit his playing time in both 2022 (when the Horner Frogs made an appearance in the national championship game) and then in 2023, when he only played in seven games. Morris threw for 1,532 yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions while completing 66% of his passes. He would then transfer to North Texas, where he would have the most productive season of his collegiate career.

For the Mean Green last season, Morris threw for 3,774 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing 63.1% of his passes. He also had 242 yards rushing and four touchdowns. According to PFF, Morris finished as the highest-grade player on the North Texas offense with 78.9 grade in 887 total snaps at quarterback.

It comes down to if 1) Morris can stay healthy and 2) Was his production a product of the kind of teams he was facing on the field last season? I would argue that when he was healthy at TCU, he did have games where he put up big numbers, so last season might not have just been a product of facing weak defenses. Morris has more experience and has been more productive than either Anthony Colandrea or Muskett.

Virginia is hoping that Morris can get them back to a bowl game, somewhere they have not been this decade.