Elliott: Tony Muskett was Available in "Emergency Situation" at Maryland
As Virginia came on the field for its first offensive possession of the game at Maryland on Friday, the FS1 broadcast ran a full package introducing Tony Muskett as the starting quarterback, which was consistent with what head coach Tony Elliott and offensive coordinator Des Kitchings had been saying all week. Muskett missed last week's game against JMU with a shoulder injury and watched as freshman Anthony Colandrea broke several UVA records with a 377-yard passing performance that earned him ACC Rookie of the Week honors.
Elliott said right away after that game that Muskett would not lose his job due to injury and so it looked like Muskett would start at quarterback for UVA's game at Maryland since he was a full participant in practice all week. Instead, the FS1 broadcast team and everyone else - including UVA fans and very likely Maryland's team and coaching staff - were left stunned as Anthony Colandrea trotted out onto the field.
The mind games worked to perfection early on as Virginia successfully executed a 49-yard flea flicker on the first play from scrimmage and scored a touchdown two plays later. 10 minutes in, the Cavaliers led 14-0. The magic of that start gradually wore off and Maryland tied the game at 14-14 by halftime, took a 21-14 lead by the end of the third quarter, and thanks in large part to four 4th-quarter turnovers by Colandrea who finally showed some of his freshman inexperience, Maryland ran away with the game and sent Virginia home with a 42-14 loss.
Colandrea was great for three quarters and bad in the fourth quarter. So, where does that leave Virginia's quarterback situation? It's important to note that the decision to start Colandrea on Friday was not because he had won the starting job over Muskett for his performance against JMU. According to Tony Elliott, Muskett was available for the game, but only in an emergency situation as he was significantly less than 100%.
"Yes, he was, he was available and again, more in an emergency situation," Elliott said of Muskett after the game. "Trying to do what’s best for him, and just felt like another week without getting hit on it would be best for him."
Elliott then went on to add that he felt it was the best decision "for the program" in the long term to start Colandrea in this game.
"You know, it was a decision for the program, right? And also, for Tony, and Tony could have went, but he’s still a little bit sore, and so didn’t want to put him in that situation," Elliott said. "And then obviously, you know, Colandrea played well. And so that’s the decision there for the long term, you know, health of the season, and then also for Tony Muskett. [If] he’s not fully ready to go, then I don’t want to put him out there and risk taking another shot on the shoulder too early."
Colandrea finished with a statline of 23/39 for 263 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions and a lost fumble. At halftime, though, he looked like an emerging superstar as he completed 12 of 15 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. Things got out of hand in the fourth quarter, but assuming Colandrea's confidence isn't permanently shaken by the end of the game, he has a very good chance at hanging on to UVA's starting job.
It seems that the Virginia coaching staff is still intending to give Tony Muskett a chance to retain the starting quarterback spot and it seems he'll get that chance as soon as he's healthy. UVA offensive coordinator Des Kitchings said he thinks Muskett will be good to go next week, which means he could get the start when the Cavaliers host NC State on Friday night.
It seems at least slightly ironic that Virginia's intriguing quarterback situation will linger for another week and impact UVA's week 4 game, which will see former Cavalier quarterback Brennan Armstrong make his return to Scott Stadium. We'll just have to wait and see who his counterpart will be at quarterback for Virginia.
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