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With a few exceptions, Virginia football had undergone a multiple decade stretch of underwhelming quarterback play. Last offseason, however, head coach Tony Elliott finally got his guy in Chandler Morris, who accounted for over 3,000 yards and was the primary force behind their surge to 11 wins.

Following Morris’ graduation and backup Daniel Kaelin’s departure, Elliott and staff grabbed two new signal callers with decently high profiles going into 2026 – Beau Pribula from Missouri and Eli Holstein from Pitt. For the first time in quite a while, UVA’s quarterback room looks both capable at the top and deep.

The Starter – Beau Pribula

After two years with minimal snaps at Penn State, and another as the full-time starter at Missouri, Pribula takes the baton from Morris looking to maintain the program’s momentum. 

He had his ups and downs in the SEC, putting together complete performances early on against South Carolina and Alabama, but also throwing multiple interceptions in three of his final five games. Overall, Pribula’s stat line consisted of 1,941 passing yards on 67.4% accuracy, with 17 total touchdowns compared to 11 picks.

Athleticism is Pribula’s best trait, and in a specific way that fits offensive coordinator Des Kitchings’ philosophy well. He is not your classic Houdini-like, boom-or-bust college quarterback, but rather a physical runner capable of picking up yardage in small chunks. As a passer, Pribula’s arm strength is fine, albeit he prefers to make quick reads and shorter-yardage throws. In general, Pribula will be able to keep the chains moving, which in an offense that will revolve around the running game.

In a ball control offense that may lack explosiveness, the most important thing is to avoid negative plays at all costs. In addition to Pribula’s ball security concerns, he took 23 sacks last season, including four on three separate occasions. If faced with third and long, Pribula can make the downfield throw, but has not proven himself in that regard with any sort of consistency.

The Backup – Eli Holstein

Holstein has a bit of a different background. He was one of the nation’s better freshman quarterbacks at Pitt before an injury, ironically against UVA, derailed his season. In 2025, Holstein had a couple of brutal starts, and was ultimately replaced by Mason Heintschel, the Panthers’ starter going into 2026.

Holstein transferred within the ACC with the understanding that he will remain a backup. It is important to keep in mind that every quarterback room in college football still needs two options that a coach is comfortable relying on. This is especially true if Pribula plans to run between the tackles and constantly take hits. Holstein certainly profiles as one of the better backups in the conference.

Stylistically, Holstein is more of a traditional pocket passer than Pribula. His arm strength is his selling point, and he will make the tight window, eyebrow-raising throws with more consistency. Holstein has an even greater sacks issue than Pribula, though, often having to rely on clean pockets to get comfortable, which makes him particularly vulnerable against the blitz. 

Worst case scenario, Holstein is a competent QB2. If he can find some of that 2024 magic again, though, Virginia’s ceiling is raised.

Reserves

When UVA ended up bringing in two quarterbacks from the portal, it was considered a major victory that Cole Geer stuck around. A highly touted 2025 recruit out of Massachusetts, many were comfortable penciling him into the backup role before Holstein committed. Geer received just a handful of snaps in his redshirt freshman season and will continue to develop primarily behind the scenes.

Elsewhere, Bjorn Jurgensen and Grady Brosterhaus have chosen other opportunities at Hawaii and Utah State, respectively. That means that true freshman Ely Hamrick and walk-on Boone Lourd round out the back end of the room.

Confidence Rating – 6/10

At the end of the day, Virginia does not have a high-end quarterback room in the ACC. Holstein and Pribula (to an extent) were both replaced at their respective schools by younger, more exciting options.

At the same time, both have clear upside in their own ways. More importantly, Pribula can function within the confines of the offense and move the ball efficiently.

Quarterback is neither a strength nor a weakness of this UVA team right now.

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