Injury report: Virginia’s O-Line healed for Pitt trip
Posted on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, 6:38 pm
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By Jerry Ratcliffe
At last glance, Virginia’s offensive line was hobbled with injuries, which left quarterback Anthony Colandrea running for his life. The result was a 10-sack day for visiting North Carolina in a 41-14 throttling of the Cavaliers.
That shouldn’t be the problem this coming weekend when UVA tries to break a four-game losing streak when it visits Pitt for an 8-p.m. kickoff on the road. The Cavaliers are a 7.5-point underdog to Pitt (ACC Network), which is trying to bounce back from its first loss of the season, a lopsided loss at SMU.
Virginia coach Tony Elliott reported Tuesday that his team will be healthier for this game against the Panthers. Elliott said the bye week — UVA’s second of the season — came at a good time for the health of his team.
Elliott said that star center Brian Stevens and starting right guard Ty Furnish, who both sat out the Carolina game, returned to practice this week and are healthy. Also, reserve tackle/guard Ugonna Nnanna, who was suffering from a dislocated toe, has also returned to practice. Lineman Jimmy Christ suffered a broken ankle against UNC and has undergone surgery.
“[The Stevens situation] was kind of a scary deal,” Elliott said at his weekly press conference. “It started as what we thought was a viral infection and next thing we know … I saw a picture of his lungs and he’s got a lot of fluid on his lungs. It happened so fast. I guess it’s going around a lot. I guess it is more common now, but happens fast.”
Virginia’s receiving corps wasn’t 100 percent, but the coach said speedy Chris Tyree, who played against UNC, is back at full speed and ready for Pitt. Meanwhile, Trell Harris is expected to be out another two or three weeks after having a surgical procedure on his knee.
Elliott said that left tackle McKale Boley has been practicing and should be ready, and that strong safety Antonio Clary is back. Clary, along with free safety Jonas Sanker, are the top two tacklers on the team.
“The swelling has stayed down on [Clary’s] knee, so we’re excited about the possibility of having him back,” Elliott said.
Weakside linebacker James Jackson continued to battle a foot problem, but Elliott said Jackson is getting close and will be a game-time decision.
The coach said that it’s possible that Harris, a junior, could be redshirted.
“We’ll be smart,” Elliott said. “He’s got one game left, which will be his fourth game this season. We’ll see kind of where we are. We definitely want to do the right thing and make sure we don’t burn a year if we don’t feel like it’s going to be beneficial to him or the team.”
