UVA’s Chandler Morris denied injunction for seventh collegiate season
Virginia’s 2026 quarterback competition gained clarity Thursday, when a Charlottesville Circuit Court judge denied Chandler Morris a temporary injunction that would have given him an additional season with the Cavaliers. Morris began his college career at Oklahoma in 2020 and transferred to Texas Christian for three seasons before playing one year each at North Texas and Virginia. He sought a seventh season based on limited snaps at TCU in 2022 and, as he first revealed to The Athletic’s Justin Williams last month, accompanying mental-health struggles.
Believing an extra year for Morris would welcome a flood of similar claims, the NCAA twice denied his request, prompting him to join a long line of athletes who have sued the governing body over its eligibility standards. Morris is among three high-profile quarterbacks who challenged the NCAA in court: Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar lost his case, but Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, a breakout star in last season’s College Football Playoff, won his and will play for the Rebels in 2026. David Teel: Will Chandler Morris return to UVA?
Limited snaps in ’22 key to bid for extra year ACC commissioner Jim Phillips filed an affidavit with the court supporting the NCAA’s eligibility rules, angering some UVA fans. Phillips’ SEC colleague, Greg Sankey, submitted a similar document this year in the case of former Alabama basketball player Charles Bediako, who later dropped his efforts to obtain additional eligibility with the Crimson Tide. Uncertain of how first the NCAA and then the legal system would decide Morris’ case, UVA this winter added two transfer quarterbacks with extensive starting experience: Beau Pribula from Missouri and Eli Holstein from ACC rival Pitt.
Pribula started 10 games last season after transferring from Penn State to Mizzou, missed two due to an ankle injury and opted out of the Tigers’ Gator Bowl loss to Virginia. He has one year of eligibility remaining. Holstein began his college career at Alabama, where he redshirted in 2023 before moving to Pitt.
He started 10 games for the Panthers in 2024 and four last season before losing his job to freshman Mason Heintschel. Morris started each of UVA’s 14 contests last year and was a vital cog in the Cavaliers’ run to the ACC championship game and a school-record 11 victories. Morris’ return would have given the Cavaliers an unusually deep quarterback room with 60 career Division I starts, but created a potentially delicate dynamic for head coach Tony Elliott, offensive coordinator Des Kitchings and quarterbacks coach Taylor Lamb to manage.