Three Storylines for the Virginia Football Season

The number one question on Virginia fans' minds will be if Tony Elliott, the former offensive coordinator of a National Champion-winning Clemson team, is the right coach to lead the UVa football program. His first three years in Charlottesville haven't been the most successful, with Elliott's first season being cut short due to the tragic shooting on November 13th, although to that point, the Hoos had only produced a 3-7 record. 2023 Virginia followed that up with a 3-9 year before a 5-7 season (that started 4-1) this past year. 

Through all the struggles, it should be said that Elliott had shown flashes of promise, which is headlined by Virginia's 31-27 win over No. 10 North Carolina in 2023, the Hoos' first win over a top ten team in program history. This past year, Elliott produced an impressive comeback road win over Wake Forest early in the year, along with a strong 24-19 road victory over No. 23 Pittsburgh. 

Now, despite everything that's happened, Elliott, who built his ideal roster via the transfer portal this offseason, along with receiving the easiest schedule in the Power 4 according to ESPN's FPI, has the opportunity in front of him to prove he's the right person to run UVA football. 

How Good is Chandler Morris?

Moving from the most critical person off the field, we move to the most important player on the field, transfer quarterback Chandler Morris. This past year at North Texas, he threw for 3,774 yards and 31 touchdowns, with the two statistics ranking 5th and 4th nationally, respectively. The Highland Park, Texas native also rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns, showing his ability to be a dual-threat quarterback for the Cavaliers this fall. Morris, who has plenty of experience in collegiate football, now has the platform and potentially the roster to prove if he is an NFL-caliber quarterback. 

Can a Team Composed of Such a Large Number of Transfers Be Successful?

This question will be answered by a multitude of college football programs this season, Virginia included, in a list headlined by Texas Tech, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Colorado, and Houston. The Hoos brought in 31 players via the transfer portal according to 247Sports with those transfers playing key starting roles on the offensive line (Brady Wilson, Kevin Wigenton II and Wallace Unamba), cornerback (Donavan Platt, Emmanuel Karnley and Jordan Robinson), defensive end (Mitchell Melton and Fisher Camac), wide receiver (Jahmal Edrine and Cam Ross) and most importantly quarterback (Chandler Morris). The majority of these players arrived in January, although a bunch, including all the cornerbacks listed, arrived after spring football, raising the question as to whether the UVa coaching staff is able to get everyone in sync in such a short time frame. 

Virginia kicks off its season on Saturday, August 30th at 6 pm.