In a pivotal spring for the entire program, UVa’s offense undoubtedly has plenty to work on. Following a season in which it struggled to move the ball, take care of it, or score points, the offense now has to turn the page in a number of ways in terms of personnel.
That is especially the case at quarterback, where QBs coach Taylor Lamb is tasked with revitalizing the Cavalier passing game and developing some new signal callers after a tough first season of the Tony Elliott era.
Based on reports from players and coaches, there has been some demonstrated improvement on the offensive side of the ball this spring. And while there is plenty of work to be done between the lines, the locker room also needs to come together after a very difficult last 12 months on and off the field.
Lamb said recently that it seems that the offense is having more fun this spring while also looking to turn things around and be more productive in the fall.
“Have a little fun on scrimmage days; flea flicker on the first play for a long touchdown, that helps. But we like to have fun,” he said of spring practices thus far and an improved vibe around the group. “I think there’s a newfound perspective, there’s more gratitude, guys loving on each other, playing for each other. Kind of a new vibe at practice this spring, which I’ve heard from several folks. And you see that in our play offensively; lot of excitement, people having fun, celebrating after touchdowns, so it’s been good to see.”
Heading into this weekend’s spring game, Cavalier fans will be focused on the quarterback position, namely incoming transfer Tony Muskett. Coming to Charlottesville by way of Monmouth, he seems to have the inside track on the starting job and has an opportunity to show his stuff on Saturday in front of the fanbase.
UVa needed to get a potential starter from the portal and Lamb was more than familiar with Muskett when the Springfield native made himself available to transfer. Not only was Muskett one of the top quarterbacks at the FCS level, throwing for nearly 5,700 yards and 51 touchdowns, but he also beat Lamb head-to-head when his now QB coach was the offensive coordinator at Gardner-Webb.
“I think the first impression was that he was a winner,” Lamb explained. “They smoked us twice while we were at Gardner-Webb. But he had a presence about him, he was extremely accurate. Their offense, they ran the ball well, threw play-actions well. And he distributed the ball really, really well around the field to his guys. You kind of saw his presence out there from the other sideline, the love of the game of football. So I got two live evals before recruiting him in the portal.”
Lamb’s familiarity with Muskett probably helped UVa from an evaluation standpoint and the Hoos were quick to identify him as a fit, moving to get him on Grounds for a visit. That resulted in a commitment from Muskett on December 11.
“As soon as he went in the portal, obviously we were going for a portal quarterback, an older guy,” Lamb recalled. “He went in the portal, I forget what day, but we were like ‘We have to go see this guy the first day we can in the contact period. I’ve seen him live and he’s from the state of Virginia. So the pitch was ‘Hey, you can come back and play for your home state, close to your home, at the quarterback position.’ And that’s what he was looking for, and it kind of shut everything down pretty early and he made his decision during that.”
When asked how Muskett has held up in spring practice against their offseason evaluation, Lamb clearly had confidence that his new QB has lived up to the hype.
“It does match up,” he explained. “He was who our evals thought he was, and he’s doing a great job so far.
“He’s been doing a really good job of finding completions,” Lamb added. “He’s got a quick release, but he’s finding completions, moving the offense. Besides a couple of practices, he’s been very accurate with the football. His intermediate drop-back passing game is extremely accurate, so that’s been good to see.”
While UVa needs improved quarterback play this fall and production from the passing game, the Cavaliers also have a lot of new faces in the locker room and are looking for a new group of leaders to emerge. Lamb thinks that the work Muskett is putting in with his teammates in the offseason is paying off as he is quickly becoming a team leader at the ultimate leadership position in sports.
“I think anytime you’re a new guy around guys who have been together for a long time there’s a learning period there,” Lamb said of Muskett. “So it’s good that he came in January and got in the weight room with those guys. I think that month helped a lot. That helped him progress and be extremely vocal and have a great presence about him.
“You’re always hearing his voice out there at practice, so he’s been doing a good job of what we thought he was, having a great presence on the field and running the show, if you will, from the quarterback position,” he added. “But he’s got a lot of moxie and he does a really good job, the kids are attracting to him, so that’s a plus.”
Muskett wasn’t the only Cavalier on offense to put in work in the offseason to set themselves up for success in the spring and fall. With so many new faces on offense, Lamb and the rest of UVa’s offensive staffers are hoping that chemistry gained in the offseason will pay off when toe meets leather in September.
“It helps,” Lamb said of the work the quarterbacks and receivers put in over their winter break and if it has led to improvements this spring. “They did their deal during January to do some extra throwing, led by the quarterback group. Timing is key, especially for some new blood at quarterback, and even some new blood at receiver too. And you can kind of see who has connections with who, and timing wise it’s been good to see. It helped us get off to a faster start this spring.”
Of course, Muskett isn’t the only quarterback that Lamb is mentoring and isn’t even the only quarterback in the race to start. Rising redshirt sophomore Jay Woolfolk is splitting time between spring football and his baseball season, helping the Hoos to a 28-4 start to their campaign on the diamond.
Balancing the two sports is a challenge for Woolfolk and for two coaching staffs as well. Lamb said that each Sunday the two groups work together on a plan for the week, with Woolfolk’s baseball availability taking precedence and determining how much football he can play. As of late last week, Lamb wasn’t sure if Woolfolk would play in the spring game, as baseball plays Pittsburgh on Saturday night at Disharoon Park.
“That’s been actually a really cool deal this spring. Obviously last spring we didn’t get Jay at all. This spring is kind of Coach (Brian) O’Connor and Coach Elliott getting together every Sunday and trying to talk about the week and where his hours fit, and when’s he throwing, and when he’s not,” Lamb said of Woolfolk’s balancing act.
He also remarked that it’s one thing for a quarterback to play baseball but another entirely when that player is an oft-used pitcher.
“I’ve seen baseball players, quarterbacks specifically, play field positions,” he said. “But obviously there’s a certain amount of arm care to a guy throwing 97 on the outside corner. Some days he’s throwing, some days he hasn’t; we’ve got him on a pitch count when he does. There’s just a lot of communication between us and them, giving him the best chance week in and week out to do both sports.”
And while Lamb is managing Muskett and Woolfolk as they have to prepare a starter for the 2023 campaign, there is also plenty of time to focus on the development of younger signal callers. Virginia also has rising second-years Davis Lane and Delaney Crawford on the roster, neither of whom saw any time at QB last fall.
“The younger guys have all done well, they’ve all progressed,” Lamb said of his group of underclassmen QBs. “Our thing is just keep getting better. Be better than you were during fall camp, keep progressing. You never know, you keep progressing, you’re a fourth, fifth year senior down the road, you’re a really good player.”
And apparently, early enrollee Anthony Colandrea is turning some heads during spring ball not only for his play but for his potential as a leader in the locker room.
“This spring the young kid, Colandrea, has stood out,” Lamb said of the 2023 signee. “Again, he’s got a lot of moxie out there, the guys attract to him. You’ll see, I think he has a handshake with about everybody on the team and support staff. But he’s a talented young kid that loves that game of football, so that helps. And he’s obviously gone through some lows and some bad, but his ‘bad’ is getting better. So you can kind of see it, he’s catching on quicker. And you’ve got to remember, it’s hard to believe, he’s supposed to still be in high school, with this mid-year stuff. So he’s ahead of the curve.”
As for adjustments made going into Year 2 for the offense, Lamb said the staff is taking the patient route with this group.
“I think we started a little bit slower with the scheme this spring,” he said. “Trying to make sure everyone is in the right spots, right splits, doing the right stuff, cutting down on missed assignments. Gradually, if they can handle it, move on to the next one. I think that’s been really, really good, especially because we’ve got a lot of young guys out there. And it’s spring ball so you want execution to be high. But you see that slow drip of install, and seeing what these guys can handle, and then move them forward.
“You’ve got two new quarterbacks in the quarterback room,” Lamb added. “You’ve got some new receivers, new skill guys at running back and up front. So you really just want to see who can play football. Who can process, develop and make decisions. Keeping it simple helps that, and helps us eval that.”
