Virginia’s quarterback depth experienced a slight setback when senior quarterback and expected third-stringer Gavin Frakes announced his entry into the transfer portal via a social media post on Monday night (April 22). Frakes, who transferred to Virginia from New Mexico State in January 2024 and did not play this past season, plans to graduate from UVA this summer and is entering the portal as a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility left.
In his post, Frakes expressed gratitude, stating, “I want to thank Coach Tony Elliott and Coach Taylor Lamb for giving me the opportunity to play at the University of Virginia. My time in Charlottesville has been incredibly special, and I have cherished every moment over the last year and a half. The relationships I’ve built at UVA will stay with me for a lifetime.”
#TYJ I am officially in the transfer portal as a grad transfer with 2 years of eligibility remaining.
Excited for what God has in store – Romans 8:28
Spring ‘25 tape + True Freshmen game tape (played 11 games) ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LG5CXNKesh
— Gavin Frakes (@gavinfrakes) April 22, 2025
Gavin Frakes, a 6’4″, 235-pound quarterback from Norman, Oklahoma, only became a starting QB during his senior year at Norman North High School, yet amassed nearly 3,000 all-purpose yards and 32 total touchdowns that season. He initially committed to Princeton before switching to New Mexico State, where he played in 11 games as a true freshman in 2022, making five starts and throwing for 736 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to 143 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Unfortunately, that was his last significant action in a college game for the next two and a half years. In 2023, Diego Pavia won the starting quarterback position at New Mexico State and went on to earn Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honors, leading the Aggies to just their second 10-win season. Frakes, however, did not see any game action and redshirted that season.
After the 2023 season, head coach Jerry Kill left New Mexico State to work as a consultant at Vanderbilt, with Pavia following him to become the starting QB there. In light of these changes, Frakes entered the transfer portal and ultimately chose to commit to Virginia.
Frakes was aware of the quarterback competition at UVA upon his commitment, as the Cavaliers had two returning quarterbacks in Anthony Colandrea and Tony Muskett, both of whom had started six games the previous season. As a solid third-string option, Frakes did not get to play during the fall.
After Colandrea transferred to UNLV and Muskett’s eligibility was exhausted, Frakes briefly became the top quarterback on the roster. However, Virginia soon secured commitments from Nebraska transfer Daniel Kaelin, who had redshirted his first season, and North Texas quarterback Chandler Morris, who would be starting for UVA in 2025.
Once again designated as the likely third-stringer, Frakes participated in spring practices and played in the spring game, successfully completing seven of ten passes for 72 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kameron Courtney.
@gavinfrakes 👉 @KameronCourtne3
White dials up the first touchdown of the game 🙌 pic.twitter.com/OqCMjhmVNA
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) April 12, 2025
Frakes is set to graduate from the University of Virginia and will likely look for a new school where he can have the opportunity to play in 2025.
This season, the anticipated quarterback depth chart for Virginia is expected to feature Chandler Morris as the starter and Daniel Kaelin as the backup. Additionally, the Cavaliers have senior QB sneak specialist Grady Brosterhous, two freshmen quarterbacks, Bjorn Jurgensen and Cole Geer, along with sophomore walk-on Boone Lourd.
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