Virginia Football’s Surprise New Defensive Weapon: What Two Turner Interceptions Reveal About Their 2024 Season Prospects

Is the ACC ready for redemption, or are we just setting ourselves up for more disappointment? After watching powerhouses like Florida State stumble last season, and teams like Virginia slip into mediocrity, it’s clear the conference is due for a shake-up. Virginia’s recent struggles—closing out 2024 with a 5-7 record—have left fans wondering if Tony Elliott’s squad can finally break through and reach their first bowl since 2019. The Cavaliers might just have found a piece to that puzzle in Ja’Maric Morris, a towering 6-foot-3 defensive back who showed serious promise at Georgia State after a slow start at UCF. Could this be the secret weapon that turns Virginia’s defense into a real force next year? If Morris can immediately plug in as a lockdown corner, it might be the spark Elliott’s team needs to claw back into relevance and make that elusive bowl game. But hey, football is full of surprises—let’s see if the ACC really puts its house back in order or if it’s just another flash in the pan. LEARN MORE.

One of the big storylines heading into next season in college football is whether the ACC can get back on track after a very disappointing 2024 campaign. Teams that usually reside at the top of the conference, like Florida State, had disappointing campaigns, and teams in the middle of the conference, such as Virginia football, bottomed out for the most part outside of a breakout performance from SMU.

Virginia finished with a disappointing 5-7 record in its third season under Tony Elliott, and the Cavaliers will be focused on reaching their first bowl game since 2019 with another step forward in 2025. On Tuesday, they took a big step toward that when they landed a commitment from former Georgia State defensive back Ja’Maric Morris, according to Chris Hummer of 247 Sports.

“Georgia State CB Ja’Maric Morris has committed to Virginia, his agents tell @mzenitz and I for @247Sports,” Hummer reported on X, formerly Twitter. “The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Morris, who began his college career at UCF, had two interceptions last season.”

Morris started his career at UCF, where he struggled to find consistent playing time and appeared in just one game during the 2023 season. However, in 2024, he thrived as a cover corner at Georgia State, finishing with two interceptions and a pair of pass breakups to go with 11 tackles on the season.

It makes sense that Morris would now at to move back up to the Power Four level and try his luck in the ACC. He has the ideal frame for a high-level corner, so Virginia just added a prototypical shutdown guy on the outside that should be able to plug and play immediately.

This Cavaliers squad finally started to show signs of improvement last season in the third year under Elliott after a pair of three-win seasons to start his time in Charlottesville. Adding a player like Morris into the mix should help them have a stout defense in 2025 and make a push toward that six-win mark and bowl eligibility.

The post Virginia football lands ex-Georgia State defender with 2 INTs in 2024 appeared first on ClutchPoints.