As another eligibility lawsuit hits the NCAA’s desk, this one comes with a unique family twist involving Clemson’s coaching staff. In a bid to earn an extra year of eligibility, Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris has also joined the group of college players suing the NCAA. But for those who might be misinterpreting his efforts as a guise to play for the Clemson Tigers, his father, Chad Morris, Clemson’s OC, has a response.

“This has nothing to do with (Chandler coming to Clemson),” Clemson OC Chad Morris said. “This has to do with Chandler and the success he’s had at Virginia and the love he has there for coach Elliott and that staff. It’s all about Chandler at UVA.”

As per The State Newspaper’s Chapel Fowler, Chandler will return to play for Virginia and Tony Elliott if his case vs. the NCAA is successful.

Morris filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in the Charlottesville Circuit Court, requesting that a judge prohibit the association from imposing its eligibility rules against him and grant him additional eligibility. And his dad needed to clear the air because, once he joined the Clemson Tigers, rumors began to spread that his son was demanding additional eligibility to play with his father.

“Morris, who has played in six seasons for four different schools, argues in the complaint that the NCAA should have granted him a medical redshirt for the 2022 football season, citing both mental and physical ailments,” per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. 

“As TCU’s starting quarterback that year, Morris suffered a knee injury in the season opener before playing in three more games in backup duty and suffering from mental health issues as a result of the injury. The NCAA denied an eligibility waiver from Morris in January, and an NCAA committee — made up of school administrators — rejected an appeal of the waiver by Virginia.”

Beyond the physical injury, Morris had mental health struggles that almost killed his passion for football. As a result, he sees these as core reasons he expects the NCAA to understand his problems and grant his request.

“They can go in and look at my knee and see, ‘OK, your knee is fine,’” Morris told The Athletic. “But you can’t go inside someone’s head and really see their thoughts. So I think it’s important for me to come out right now and really talk about this.”

His performance in 2025, where he led Virginia to a record 11 wins, underscores why he believes he still has more to contribute at the college level. In 14 games, he completed 64.7% of his passes for 3,245 yards and 21 touchdowns, with nine interceptions. In the Gator Bowl win over Missouri, he was named the MVP after going 25 of 38 for 198 yards and 10 of 10 passing on third down.

Chandler Morris and the Clemson Tigers

Chandler Morris is affiliated with the Clemson Tigers in many ways. His father, who worked as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator with the Texas State Bobcats, is the offensive coordinator at Clemson. The quarterback is also very close to Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney, a longtime family friend. 

The Clemson Tigers have lost their senior quarterback, Cade Klubnik, who is looking to be drafted in the NFL. Meanwhile, the other available quarterbacks have played only one game, leaving the team in a desperate situation to find a starting quarterback.

After Joey Aguilar of the Tennessee Volunteers and Trinidad Chambliss of the Ole Miss Rebels, Morris becomes the third main quarterback to be involved in a legal war with the NCAA. While Chambliss was successful in his case, Aguilar lost the case to the NCAA. 

About 60 lawsuits have been filed against the NCAA by college players. And despite the fact that two-thirds of the lawsuits have ended in favor of the NCAA, 12 cases have been in favor of the players, which gives Morris a legitimate chance to have his eligibility request approved.