CHARLOTTE — Virginia football coach Tony Elliott brought tailback Perris Jones, defensive end Chico Bennett Jr. and quarterback Tony Muskett with him this week to the ACC’s season-opening media event, choosing them not only because they are among the most skilled players on the roster but also for their contributions as leaders.
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Virginia football relies on local talent as it prepares for a new season
It was a coincidence, Elliott said, that all three happen to have roots in the Virginia suburbs outside D.C. Still, their presence together Wednesday afternoon underscored the coaching staff’s commitment to players from the commonwealth while specifically targeting Northern Virginia in recruiting and the transfer portal.
Each played high school football in the region, with Jones starring at Episcopal in Alexandria and Muskett at West Springfield. Bennett spent his first two high school seasons at Rock Ridge in Ashburn before his family moved to Tennessee.
“I don’t think that was the parameter for the selection of these guys,” Elliott said about the trio’s upbringing in Northern Virginia. “But I’m glad that you pointed that out because there is an emphasis to recruit the state of Virginia, and I think we all know that it’s a very, very talent-rich area, in particular Northern Virginia.”
Other players from Northern Virginia projected to start on offense this season include tight end Grant Misch, a redshirt senior, and tackle Jimmy Christ, a redshirt junior who transferred from Penn State. Both are from Sterling, where Misch played at Potomac Falls and Christ at Dominion.
Muskett, meanwhile, arrives for his senior season following three seasons as a starter at Monmouth, where he was Big South freshman of the year and first-team all-conference as a freshman and sophomore for the Football Championship Subdivision program. He threw for close to 2,000 yards over his first eight games last year before suffering a season-ending leg injury.
Muskett recalls paying attention to the Cavaliers while he passed for more than 7,000 yards and 69 touchdowns at West Springfield, envisioning an opportunity to play for his home-state school. But Virginia was set at quarterback at the time, and Muskett was not recruited.
Then, during this past offseason, former Cavaliers starter Brennan Armstrong announced he would be transferring to North Carolina State. The record-setting left-hander played one season for Elliott, but his production dipped drastically from his previous two years under former coach Bronco Mendenhall and former offensive coordinator Robert Anae.
Armstrong’s departure provided a pathway for Muskett back to the commonwealth.
“I’ve been a U-Va. fan for some time now,” Muskett said. “Coming back home having my whole family right up in Northern Virginia, having all my high school friends, friends I made along the way, telling me they’re going to be able to come to games and watch me play, that’s all you can ask for.”
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Muskett had been expected to compete with Jay Woolfolk for the starting job until Woolfolk, Armstrong’s backup last season, announced he would be stepping away from football to focus on baseball. As a relief pitcher, Woolfolk helped the Cavaliers reach the College World Series this spring.
Woolfolk’s decision all but ensures Muskett will be the starter when Virginia opens the regular season against Tennessee on Sept. 2 in Nashville. The Cavaliers, who finished last season 3-7, will be taking the field for the first time since three players were killed in an on-campus shooting in November.
The Cavaliers elected not to play the final two games on their schedule out of respect for the families of slain teammates Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler, both wide receivers, and linebacker D’Sean Perry.
“The guys that came back in January made a decision to embrace the hard and live it every single day,” Elliott said. “These guys have done it beyond any expectations that I had of them, and it started with just having an attitude of gratitude and appreciation for life.”
Among those opting to return was Jones, a sixth-year player voted one of five captains this season by his teammates. Jones was Virginia’s second-leading rusher last year with 365 yards and averaged 4.5 yards per carry before he missed the final two games while nursing an ankle injury.
The Interstate Athletic Conference offensive player of the year in 2017 with Episcopal is projected to be the primary backup behind presumptive starting running back Kobe Pace, a transfer from Clemson.
Elliott served as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator from 2014 through 2021 and helped recruit Pace (793 yards and nine touchdowns on 152 carries last year) when he was a standout two-way high school player in Cedartown, Ga.
“Man, we aim to be special,” Jones said of the offense this season. “Man, electric. Our goal is to go out there and score every time we touch the field. We left a lot on the grass last year, and we’re trying to make up for those mistakes, and I think the buy-in from the young guys and even the older guys has been a lot better than it was. I think as a result we’re operating at a more efficient level.”