The Virginia football team is up to No. 19 in the polls and has an 8-2 record going into Week 11. The Cavaliers face the Duke Blue Devils on the road in another ACC game, and Virginia is in a four-way tie with Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and SMU all knotted at the top of the ACC standings. Unfortunately, Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris has been in concussion protocol, putting his status in the air.
On Thursday, an update surfaced on Morris, per Pete Nakos of On3.
“Sources tell @On3sports that Virginia QB Chandler Morris remains in concussion protocol and is viewed as questionable for Saturday against Duke. There is legitimate hope he can play this weekend. Will continue to be evaluated leading up to gametime.”
On Friday, another update came, this time from ESPN's Pete Thamel.
“Sources: Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris is progressing toward returning to play on Saturday, and there’s optimism he’ll start for Virginia (8-2, 5-1) at Duke (5-4, 4-1). Morris continues to clear protocols, and a final decision on his status isn’t expected until game-time.”
So, Morris is inching closer to a return, but as of Thursday, he was still in the concussion protocol, which could make it a bit tricky to be able to play on Saturday.
This comes on the heels of Virginia's crushing 16-9 loss to Wake Forest, the game in which Morris was injured and replaced by Daniel Kaelin. That marked the team's first ACC loss of the season, and the absence of Morris was a tough one to overcome.
Still, there is a chance Morris can play on Saturday against Duke, and there is one more regular-season game, which is against Virginia Tech on November 29, as Virginia tries to make an ACC title game.
