Virginia won’t know QB Morris’ injury status until Sunday

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia won’t know the severity of starting quarterback Chandler Morris’ shoulder injury until sometime Sunday morning, according to Tony Elliott.

Morris was injured on UVA’s opening drive of the second half in the Cavaliers’ 48-7 rout of visiting Coastal Carolina on Saturday night at Scott Stadium. On a third down at the Coastal 30-yard line, Morris recognized a huge running lane in the middle of the Chanticleers’ defense and darted 28 yards, where he was tackled at the 2-yard line.

The transfer from North Texas did not get up after the hit, eventually walking off the field without help, but went to the locker room where he was preliminarily checked out by team physicians. Morris returned to the sideline in street clothes and was not available for postgame interviews.

He was replaced at quarterback by redshirt freshman Daniel Kaelin, a transfer from Nebraska. Tailback J’Mari Taylor scored his second touchdown of the night on the play after Morris’ injury, putting Virginia up 35-0 with 10:41 to play in the third quarter.

“It looks like his left shoulder, mild, possible AC (joint),” Elliott said afterward. “We will get it reevaluated in the morning, but just wanted to be very cautious there.”

Elliott said he is very hopeful for next week in reference to the injury.

The AC joint is where the collarbone meets the top of the shoulder blade, where ligaments can be stretched or torn. There are six grades of that particular injury, ranging from mild to severe.

“[Morris] even said it (while laying) on the ground … he’s like, ‘Man, I should have got down,’” Elliott shared. “But that’s the competitor that he is. He also said, ‘Coach, I saw the end zone. I wanted to score.’”

Morris had a solid debut, completing 19 of 27 passes for 264 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers and no sacks. He also connected with receivers Cam Ross for 46 yards and Trell Harris for 48. Morris also rushed for a team-high 50 yards on five carries.

Elliott was pleased with his quarterback’s play, noting that it took some time to get a feel for Coastal’s various defensive looks.

“Once [Morris] got rolling, what you saw was gamesmanship that he brings, an ability to control the offense, get the outlet screens on the perimeter when he needs to, pull the ball on the zone read when he needs to,” the coach said. “Biggest thing is we’ve just got to get him to slide, to go feet-first when he slides.”

Kaelin finished 3 of 9 passing for 26 yards.