Virginia football put the finishing touches on spring practice with the annual Blue-White Game on Saturday at Scott Stadium. For what it’s worth, the White team earned a 17-10 victory over the Blue team behind two long touchdown passes from Tony Muskett.
As this was our first and only chance to see the Cavaliers on the field until the 2024 season begins on August 31st, here are our picks for five standouts from the Virginia football spring game:
Tony Muskett
We’re going to do our best not to overstate Virginia’s potential quarterback battle (at least not yet), but Tony Muskett is making that a difficult rule to follow. Anthony Colandrea had all the momentum entering the offseason as the rising sophomore made a bunch of electric plays as a freshman and is definitively the program’s QB of the future. Though Tony Elliott says that Muskett was still considered the starter even as he missed the last few games of the season with an injury, there was more energy around Colandrea being the starter for the 2024 season.
If there is a legitimate quarterback battle to be played out for the starting job, that will happen in fall camp. But if performances in April are to be taken into consideration, Tony Muskett certainly put his best foot forward. Working very hard just to recover from shoulder surgery in time to be able participate in spring practice, Muskett capped a solid spring with a very good showing in the spring game, completing 10 of 18 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Those two scores were both deep-ball strikes, a 56-yarder to JR Wilson and a 73-yarder to sophomore walk-on Claiborne Richards. Colandrea was no slouch, either, completing 15 of his 16 passes for 102 yards, but no touchdowns. It should be noted that neither Muskett nor Colandrea played in the second half, getting replaced by Grady Brosterhous and Gavin Frakes, respectively.
Tony Elliott might have a tough call to make this fall, but Virginia is in a great spot at the most important position on the field entering the 2024 season.
Virginia’s Wide Receiver Corps
Perhaps at the expense of the Cavalier secondary, which didn’t have its strongest day, there were bunch of impressive plays made by the UVA receiving corps. Talented and productive receivers have become a staple of Virginia football in the last several years and there were no signs during Saturday’s spring game of that trend stopping anytime soon. Even with Notre Dame transfer Chris Tyree sitting out and top returner receiver Malachi Fields making only one catch, there were a number of big plays made, especially in the first half when the starting quarterbacks were still in.
The most surprising play was made by little-known sophomore receiver Claiborne Richards, a preferred walk-on from Nashville, Tennessee. Richards capitalized on a busted coverage in the Blue team secondary and Muskett found him in the seam for a 73-yard touchdown. It was a fantastic game for Richards, who finished with six receptions for 118 yards and the touchdown. A less surprising big play came from JR Wilson, who has now hauled in a deep ball touchdown pass from Tony Muskett in each of the last two spring games. This time, it was a 56-yard catch-and-run for Wilson, who finished with three receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. Another notable performance came from Andre Greene Jr., as the North Carolina transfer and Richmond native had five catches for 65 yards in his first appearance in a Virginia uniform.
Expect the Cavalier wide receiver unit to once again be a point of strength for Virginia in 2024.
Suderian Harrison
We omitted Suderian Harrison from the previous section on wide receivers because, even though the sophomore wideout had a decent game catching passes from Anthony Colandrea, finishing with four receptions for 49 yards, it was a special teams play that stole the show. The lone touchdown of the game for the Blue Team came on the final play of the third quarter, as Harrison broke loose for a 90-yard punt return touchdown. We saw glimpses of big-time playmaker potential from Harrison in his freshman season and he could be primed for a breakout sophomore campaign this fall.
Noah Vaughn
Another skill position player from the 2023 recruiting class, redshirt freshman running back Noah Vaughn was the highlight of what was a quiet day for Virginia’s ground game, which makes sense considering most of the Cavalier starting offensive line was out. UVA’s strong, deep, and experienced defensive line dominated the low-scoring scrimmage, but the running back who managed to produce the most was Noah Vaughn, finishing with 50 yards on 11 carries. With Kobe Pace being the only returner of UVA’s three main running backs from a season ago, Vaughn could find himself on the depth chart this fall.
Chico Bennett and Antonio Clary
Both Chico Bennett Jr. and Antonio Clary had injury-riddled 2023 seasons. Bennett played through his injuries, but experienced steep declines in his numbers as compared to his All-ACC honorable mention 2022 campaign. Clary tried to play multiple times throughout the season, but ultimately missed the entire year with an ankle injury. Both players are back healthy and ready to resume their roles as the veteran leaders of the UVA defense, as they have a combined 69 games of college football played in their careers.
If Bennett and Clary were eager to return to the field, they certainly showed it on Saturday, leading their respective teams in tackles. Bennett had seven total tackles, two sacks, and three tackles for loss, including one on Vaughn to force a turnover on downs in the red zone. Clary, meanwhile, led all players in the spring game with eight total tackles in his first live-game action in nearly a year and a half. The Cavaliers are hoping for fully-healthy seasons for both players, so that Bennett and Clary can spearhead Virginia’s defensive efforts this fall.
Honorable Mention: Ethan Minter
Ethan Minter made the cut in our “What to Watch For” preview of the spring game as one of seven true freshmen who enrolled in January and participated in spring practice. The coaching staff have raved about Minter, who transitioned from quarterback to safety since arriving at UVA, and on Saturday we got to see why. Minter showed off his athleticism by covering ground quickly and making several impressive plays, finishing tied for second on the White team with six tackles.
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