By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On his team’s first play from scrimmage in Virginia’s Blue-White spring game Saturday at Scott Stadium, quarterback Tony Muskett lofted a flawless pass to wide receiver JR Wilson, who’d sprinted past his defender along the left sideline.
It would have been an 80-yard touchdown play, except for one thing. The ball slipped out of Wilson’s hand and hit the turf.
“I think that’s the first pass he’s dropped all spring,” Muskett said.
“Just first-game jitters,” Wilson said. “Just too excited. But stuff happens, and I came back and made a play to make up for it.”
On the White team’s next possession, Muskett went back to Wilson, and this time they connected. Wilson leaped to snare Muskett’s pass at the Blue 40, eluded a defender and then raced down the left sideline to complete a 56-yard scoring play.
“Just great to see him respond,” head coach Tony Elliott said.
A 6-foot-4, 219-pound rising junior, Wilson has earned rave reviews from teammates and coaches this spring, but he’s coming off an underwhelming 2023 season, and his drop raised questions about whether he could replicate his practice performances with fans in the stands. He answered them as the game went on Saturday.
“When you first mess up, it kind of haunts you, and you kind of just keep thinking about it,” Wilson said. “But I’ve got that next-play mentality.”
He finished with three catches for 79 yards and one TD to help the White team defeat the Blue squad 17-10 on a picturesque spring afternoon. Wilson could have had more, Muskett reminded No. 17 on the sideline.
“After he had the touchdown, I said, ‘Dang, you could have two touchdowns, 150 yards right now,’ ” Muskett recalled, smiling. “But I have so much faith in him and all the wideouts, so there was no doubt I was coming back to him.”
Wilson, who’s from Brooklyn, N.Y., played in seven games as a true freshman in 2022, the Wahoos’ first season under Elliott, and started the final two. After catching eight passes that year, Wilson was expected to take on a bigger role in the offense in 2023. Inconsistency plagued him, however, and he caught only 10 passes in 12 games last season.
He went into the offseason determined to break through in 2024, and he’s been committed and focused since returning to Grounds in January.
“I like this 2024…