By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On the practice field next to the Hardie Football Operations Center, wide receiver Chris Tyree sprinted past the scout-team secondary and hauled in a long touchdown pass from Anthony Colandrea, providing another glimpse of the sophomore quarterback’s big-play ability.
Monday marked the first time this preseason that Colandrea and fifth-year senior Tony Muskett didn’t split reps with Virginia’s first-team offense in practice. UVA head coach Tony Elliott announced Saturday that Colandrea had won the starting job, and Muskett led the second-team offense Monday.
In the season-opener for both teams, UVA meets Richmond at 6 p.m. Saturday at Scott Stadium. The game will air on ACCNX/ESPN+.
“It was an extremely tough decision,” Elliott said after practice Monday. “It was a heck of a battle, one of the best position battles that I’ve been around in my career. Both young men fought extremely hard, brought their best every single day. It really came down to this fall camp.”
A transfer from Monmouth University, Muskett went into last season as the Wahoos’ No. 1 quarter, but injuries sidelined him for six-plus games. Each quarterback finished the season with six starts.
“When you look at the total body of work, you look at last season, they were very comparable in terms of what they were able to accomplish,” Elliott said.
Colandrea finished the year with UVA single-season freshman records for completions (154), passing yards (1,958) and touchdown passes (13), and he ranked fourth on the team in rushing (225 yards). He twice was named ACC Rookie of the Week and led all Power 5 true freshman quarterbacks in passing yards in 2023.
Muskett, who passed for 1,031 yards and six TDs last year, had offseason shoulder surgery but rehabbed diligently and made a quick recovery. In spring practice, he and Colandrea split time with the first-team offense.
They’re good friends, and their mutual respect has been apparent since Colandrea joined the program last year.
“I’m so proud of both of those guys and how they handled it and then also how they responded to the decision,” Elliott said. “They’ve been very mature, and Tony was awesome. He said he’s gonna do everything he possibly can to help his football team, but also what I know is, we’re gonna need both of them. We’re gonna have to have both of these guys to get to where it is that we want to go.
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