Tony Elliott Names Beau Pribula as Virginia's Starting Quarterback at 2026 ACC Kickoff

ACC Media Days officially kicked off this morning, with Virginia HC Tony Elliott speaking about a plethora of topics, but what stood out most was what he said about the Cavaliers' quarterback position heading into the 2026 season.

When speaking about Beau Pribula, Elliott said:

"That's where we are going in. I didn't publicly make a big announcement. But I told the guys at the start of the summer, based on the body of work, that this is where we're going."

#UVa news from ACC kickoff.
Tony Elliott tells me Beau Pribula is QB1. "That's where we are going in," Elliott said. "I didn't publicly make a big announcement. But I told the guys at the start of the summer based on the body of work, that this is where we're going."
— Greg Madia (@GregMadia) July 15, 2026

Beau Pribula named the starter for Virginia

It looks like Coach Elliott has finally declared that Beau Pribula will be the starting quarterback heading into the 2026 season, though it's fair to say most Virginia fans assumed that this would be the case given Pribula's pedigree and talent.

Though Eli Holstein is no slouch, Pribula brings more firepower to the offense in terms of his overall athleticism and scheme flexibility. Now, the only questions will be focused on how the coaching staff is actually going to use him this season in tandem with possibly the deepest running back unit in the ACC.

Do we see OC Des Kitchings utilize more 20/21 personnel formations with both Peyton Lewis and Jekail Middlebrook in the backfield in 2026? Will there be more of a designed QB-run element to the offense this season as opposed to 2025, when Chandler Morris was at the helm?

These are the types of questions that UVA fans are currently asking themselves, and will be incredibly interested in getting the answers to this year.

At Missouri last season, Pribula was very effective on different speed and zone-option plays, making the Tigers' ground attack two-dimensional. This not only helped open up the passing game from a sheer numbers standpoint, but it allowed Missouri's play callers to utilize more of the playbook each week.

Penn State transfer QB Beau Pribula with an electric scramble for Missouri🐯

(via SECN)https://t.co/ujGiDAIB3d pic.twitter.com/rlNLHuLyBt
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) August 29, 2025

Regardless of whether or not Pribula runs the ball often every week for Virginia (which he definitely will), defenses will have to respect that part of the offense in every situation, which puts added stress on the shoulders of opposing defensive coordinators.

When it comes to being an actual ball-carrier, Beau Pribula is undoubtedly the best athlete that UVA's had at quarterback since Bryce Perkins back in 2019. A season in which Perkins ran for over 700 yards.

Virginia football fans shouldn't be surprised if Pribula runs for 500+ yards in 2026, on top of putting up some decent passing numbers. One of his biggest issues has been inaccuracy, but Coach Kitchings has been able to make things fairly easy for his quarterbacks when it comes to the passing attack in the past.

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