Spring practices are always a good time to get a rough sense of the status of the program. Not a good time to get a fully formed sense, of course. But certainly enough of a sense that I have a lot of random thoughts bouncing around in my mind. Thought I would share a few Virginia football thoughts here.

Random Virginia Football Thoughts Coming Out Of The Spring

– The vibe around the team right now compared to this time last year is shockingly different. So much more positive right now. A lot more folks rowing in the same direction, as they say. And I think that comes out in a few different ways, some obvious, some less so. On the “less so obvious” side, for example, practices are just that little bit more effective with a better vibe – a little more jump to the practices, a couple more reps squeezed in during the same time slot, and so on. I also think the better vibe can make a significant difference in recruiting, as recruits visiting feel the energy on a team at practices and pick up on how the players really feel about the direction of the team when they get away from the practice field.

– On that note, for a lot of the returners, I think it was important that coach Tony Elliott owned some of the mistakes he made last year, and was willing to do that both publicly and directly with the team. That kind of accountability builds trust.

– Naturally, there is a lot of discussion about the quarterback position and who is in the driver’s seat for the starting position next season. The simple answer is that I do not think anyone is in the driver’s seat. Tony Muskett and Jay Woolfolk will battle well into fall camp for the starting gig, I believe, and I am not ready to bet on who will win that competition. I think there also is a hard decision for the staff to make in the end of how they will judge the quarterback competition in terms of valuing the very different skills that Muskett and Woolfolk bring to the table. Also, both tend to see the field very differently in terms of execution. Assuming that both quarterbacks grade out similarly in terms of their practice performances, the coaches’ final decision will tell us a lot in terms of how they want the position to look going forward.

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