Saturday, Virginia hosted its annual intra-team scrimmage, the Blue and White game. The televised game represents the coaching staff’s first chance to evaluate their team in front of fans, albeit a patchy group of the team’s most devoted followers that took up less than 3 percent of Scott Stadium’s seating capacity.
The sparse dusting of fans makes for a somewhat sleepy atmosphere, reminiscent of the second half of most Virginia home games. But for those who attend, it's a neat opportunity to get a sneak peek at the team who will dictate their happiness — or lack thereof — on Saturdays come autumn.
But does this public showcase dull a competitive edge? Some of college football’s preeminent programs would say yes. Texas, Oklahoma, Southern California and others all dropped their spring games this year. Concerns over the portal, revealing schematics, losing one of the limited spring practices allotted by the NCAA and potential injury were reason enough for a total of 19 Power Four teams to cut their spring game.
But while many programs have done away with their spring games, Coach Tony Elliott and his Cavaliers have stood by the old format. While Virginia is not immune to these threats, its coaches clearly feel like the benefits outweigh the cost. By sticking with the old ways, Elliott signals Virginia is a transparent program, one that empowers its players and rewards its fans.
In general, there is legitimate cause for teams to be fearful of the transfer portal which looms, ready to poach whoever plays their way into a higher paycheck.
For the sake of argument, consider that a running-back-needy team liked what they saw and attempted to woo a Cavalier to their squad. Graduate running back J’Mari Taylor was a star in the Blue and White game, jetting for 52 yards on nine carries and inciting press box murmurs of approval while doing it. Hypothetically, Taylor could transfer for the second time in four months before even playing a meaningful snap with Virginia. Is that an indictment of the state of college football? Think what you want, but the fact is, a move like that is possible in the current system.
Therefore, Elliott’s endorsement of the spring game suggests he doesn’t suspect a Judas in the ranks. In that respect, Elliott’s approach is admirable. He’s postured himself as the nurturer of an incorruptible culture, one that emphasizes one supreme focus — football. Play ball, get better, ignore hypotheticals.
As for the argument that the spring game is an open-armed invitation to look inside the playbook, this feels like a stretch. Spring game play-calling is vanilla as can be. Four verticals, some zone runs, nothing too crazy. It’s a 150-year-old game being played here — no one’s breaking out anything groundbreaking, especially not in April.
As for scouting purposes, the only team that is going to watch the spring game will be Virginia’s week one opponent. And if the Cavaliers lose to the non-Power Four, week-one warm-up opponent because they tipped their hand four months prior, it will probably be a miserable season anyway.
Concerns over injuries are real, though. Sophomore safety Ethan Minter went down with an apparent lower-body injury while breaking on a pass up the seam. The severity of his injury is unknown. Although game action might increase intensity and therefore injury risk as well, it’s hard to know if it’s substantially more risky than the practice field. After all, injuries can occur at any time — see graduate tackle Monroe Mills and his ACL tear.
Yet, the pros absolutely outweigh the cons. At the end of the day, a spring scrimmage is hardly a high-flying, flawless audition for everybody to show out and get paid. Saturday’s affair was sloppy, low-scoring, spring ball. The first play of the game was marred by a holding penalty, an error that Elliott reluctantly anticipated. After all, that ties into a key reason to have a spring game — every mistake is put on display, to learn from.
“I need guys to see the impact of a penalty,” Elliott said.
This implies there is something to be gained in a game environment, even a simulated one like Saturday’s. Graduate quarterback Chandler Morris echoed this sentiment.
“You go out there and you’ve got to actually pay those consequences on a holding call or a late penalty,” Morris said.
With that in mind, underclassmen have a lot to gain from playing in the spring game. The upped intensity and fans in attendance give younger Cavaliers a taste of the gameday experience. For example, freshman receiver Josiah Abdullah stood out with three receptions for 47 yards and a 45-yard weaving kickoff return. Sophomore defensive end Billy Koudelka was another standout from the game, as he racked up a monstrous four sacks. Succeeding in your first game-like college action is a chance to boost confidence and smooth the transition to the regular season.
With a chance to increase the typical practice intensity, it’s easy to understand why simulating a game would be appealing to coaches. No closed practice could possibly capture what it is like to play at an ACC stadium in front of real fans, with the TV cameras covering every moment.
It’s not coincidental that the question of whether or not to play a spring game has only arisen in the age of the portal and NIL. As players gain leverage and agency, many programs’ response is to limit their exposure — but Elliott is standing his ground, and it is for the better. He believes in the culture he has built and that this team has nothing to hide.
Perhaps Elliott’s approach is naive, but for now, it looks like a bold stance bucking college football’s shady trends.
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