The Sporting News Ranks UVA Quarterback Chandler Morris Among The Best In The ACC – Sports Illustrated

Virginia has one of the largest transfer classes in the country this offseason, and the Cavaliers are making a push to make sure their roster is good enough to make a bowl game. One of the big changes is the new quarterback, Chandler Morris, who is the presumed starter after spring practice. Morris is coming to Virginia to replace Anthony Colandrea and Tony Muskett, and he is coming off a solid season at North Texas, but has struggled at both TCU and Oklahoma, his only Power four stops. Will Morris be an upgrade? Virginia needs him to be if they want to achieve some of their goals this season.
How does Morris stack up against the other quarterbacks in the conference? There are varying opinions amongst national analysts, but in a recent ranking by The Sporting News, Morris was ranked in the upper half of the league, coming in at No. 7.
Here is how The Sporting News ranked all 17 ACC quarterbacks:
1. Cade Klubnik- Clemson
2. Haynes King- Georgia Tech
3. Carson Beck- Miami
4. Kevin Jennings- SMU
5. Miller Moss- Louisville
6. Darian Mensah- Duke
7. Chandler Morris- UVA
8. Kyron Drones- Virginia Tech
9. Grayson James- Boston College
10. Tommy Castellanos- Florida State
11. CJ Bailey- NC State
12. Max Johnson- North Carolina
13. Eli Holstein- Pittsburgh
14. Rickie Collins- Syracuse
15. Devin Brown- California
16. Robby Ashford- Wake Forest
17. Elijah Brown- Stanford
A few names on that list were surprising. South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez is expected to take over in Chapel Hill, and Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli seems to be the favorite to start for Syracuse this season.
Not everyone has this much confidence that Morris is going to be among the top quarterbacks in the ACC.
BS Sports Will Backus is not buying that he will be, as he named Virginia's quarterback room one of the bleakest in the country in a recent column:
Quarterbacks: Chandler Morris (Gr.); Grady Brosterhous (Sr.); Daniel Kaelin (So.); Cole Geer (Fr.); Bjorn Jurgensen (Fr.)
"A program could certainly do worse than Morris (as evidenced by this very list), who was a 2024 All-AAC second team selection after throwing for 3,774 yards and 31 touchdowns in his one year at North Texas. While those are great numbers, he didn't get anywhere near that in his previous stint at the power conference level — even though he spent a combined four years at Oklahoma and TCU. All that to say, this writer is skeptical Morris can replicate his North Texas production at Virginia. Kaelin's the one to watch behind Morris, but he has yet to take a snap in a real college football game."
There is a chance that Morris could in fact be a huge upgrade at the position, but he only has one real season to show for it. Morris only played in five total games during his lone season with Oklahoma and then transferred to TCU. He played in four games for the Horned Frogs in 2021, including a standout performance in an upset win over No. 12 Baylor. Morris was 29-41 for 461 yards and two touchdowns in that game.
He would battle an injury that would limit his playing time in both 2022 (when the Horner Frogs made an appearance in the national championship game) and then in 2023, when he only played in seven games. Morris threw for 1,532 yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions while completing 66% of his passes. He would then transfer to North Texas, where he would have the most productive season of his collegiate career.
For the Mean Green last season, Morris threw for 3,774 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing 63.1% of his passes. He also had 242 yards rushing and four touchdowns. According to PFF, Morris finished as the highest-grade player on the North Texas offense with 78.9 grade in 887 total snaps at quarterback.
It comes down to if 1) Morris can stay healthy and 2) Was his production a product of the kind of teams he was facing on the field last season? I would argue that when he was healthy at TCU, he did have games where he put up big numbers, so last season might not have just been a product of facing weak defenses. Morris has more experience and has been more productive than either Colandrea or Muskett.
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Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell
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