What is the status of QB Chandler Morris?

Obviously, a hot topic of conversation Tuesday morning at Head Coach Tony Elliott’s press conference was the health and availability of QB Chandler Morris. During Virginia’s matchup against Wake Forest Saturday night, in the second quarter, Morris took off for six yards and slid. As he slid, he was sandwiched between two Demon Deacons and took a shot to the head and was out for the game.

Coach Elliott was asked about his opinion of the sliding rule and if there should have been a bigger penalty than just yards. “You know, I like the fact that they have protection when they go to slide. It’s a slippery slope. Looking at the play, I think all of us initially thought there should have been maybe some additional penalties, but I trust that the folks that reviewed it in Charlotte got it right.” Elliott explained, “I don’t think it was a malicious play. I don’t think they were intending to try and hurt the quarterback. It’s a tough deal because the defenders are trying to fight for every yard and stop forward progress and then the quarterback slides down.” Whether it should have been targeting or an ejection is not clear, however, even if there were more repercussions, the damage had already been done, Morris was down and not getting up.

Daniel Kaelin would take over and ultimately could not lead the Hoos to victory. Kaelin finished completing 18 passes for 145 yards and no touchdowns. Kaelin’s bright spot came on his first possession when he ran for 53 yards, however, he ran out of bounds before getting to the endzone when trying to look back. Coach Elliott spoke on what he thought of Kaelin’s performance. “I thought he had probably two plays where he probably wants back. Other than that, he did his job.” “But nonetheless, he jumped in there, battled back, made some good throws, got the ball to the guys he was supposed to get the ball to, converted some first downs. But the three turnovers, I think, is ultimately what got us.” Coach Elliott is right about that; turnovers KILLED the Hoos Saturday night. Kaelin fumbled twice on strip sacks. Both of which gave Wake Forest the ball around midfield prompting field goals. There was also a third fumble by J’Mari Taylor in which the ball was stripped from him as he was falling to the ground after a nice rush.

So, what is Chandler Morris’ status for the Duke game? Truthfully, we do not know. Coach Elliott updated his status Tuesday morning, “He's doing good. He was out at practice yesterday. Obviously didn’t participate but looked good. Says he's feeling good. Today will be another day going through the protocol, but he's exercising which is a positive and we're hopeful that by tomorrow we'll have him back in practice.” What this tells me is it is still possible Morris takes the snaps Saturday afternoon against Duke. By some of Tony Elliott’s wording, I would expect if he does not practice Wednesday, he will NOT be good to go. “I think there’s so much in a game plan that you need to practice and be able to take some of those reps. His position is about timing. So, we would need him to get into practice.” Of course, we will not know for sure if he will practice Wednesday or not, but Hoos fans can stay hopeful.

What does it mean if Kaelin has to go against Duke. One thing is for sure; things can NOT get any worse than they already did during the Wake Forest game. Kaelin will be better prepared taking starter reps all week long Not only that, but he was also able to get some jitters out playing this past Saturday. While Kaelin got some reps against William and Mary, that does not compare to coming into a close ACC matchup against Wake Forest. Will it be a loss for UVA to start Kaelin over Morris? 100%. But with Kaelin being more prepared, it can lead to the coaching staff being more prepared to make a gameplan designed for him. Let him get on the run more and maybe more dump off opportunities to give him more of a chance to get his feet wet. The offensive line will also need to step up and give Kaelin more time as well as creating better gaps for the tailbacks.