Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris is progressing toward returning to play on Saturday, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

There is optimism that Morris will start for Virginia at Duke as he continues to work his way through concussion protocol. A final decision on his status is not expected until game time, sources added.

Morris exited last week’s loss to Wake Forest after taking a hit to the head in the second quarter. He was taken to the locker room before being ruled out for the remainder of the game, finishing 3-of-6 for 19 yards and 6 rushing yards before his injury. Morris has thrown for 2,088 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season.

If Morris is not cleared to play, backup quarterback Daniel Kaelin will get the nod. The sophomore came on in relief of Morris last week but could never get the Virginia offense going, finishing 18-of-28 for 145 yards and 49 yards rushing, although he lost two costly fumbles in the 16-9 loss.

The loss ended Virginia’s seven-game winning streak and was its first in ACC play. The Cavaliers are now in a five-way tie atop the ACC standings with four other teams that have one conference loss, including Duke.

ESPN’s Andrea Adelson contributed to this story.

Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard has been released from in-patient rehab and is expected to attend the Seminoles’ final home game of the season against Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Pritchard returned to Tallahassee on Friday and visited with the team.

He plans to continue his rehab back home in Central Florida, and told WESH-TV in an interview his plan is to play football again.

Pritchard was shot in the back of the head Aug. 31 in what the authorities have described as a case of mistaken identity. He was dropping his aunt and a child off following a family party in Havana, Fla., about 16 miles from Tallahassee, near the Georgia state line.

Four people were arrested last month in connection with the shooting.

Pritchard told WESH, “I remember everything. I turned the corner and shots rang off. I put the car in reverse and just backed up and after that, I don’t remember what else happened.”

Pritchard spent nearly six weeks in the hospital in Tallahassee before moving to a rehab center in Jacksonville. In the interview with WESH, Pritchard said he could not move his right side when he arrived at the rehab facility.

But early one morning, he woke up his dad, Earl, because he could finally move his arm.

“After that, it just got better and better,” Ethan Pritchard said.

OAKLAND, Calif. — A suspect has been arrested in the shooting of college football coach John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix show “Last Chance U” and remains in critical condition after being shot on the school’s campus, the Oakland Police Department and other authorities said Friday.

Few other details were available. It was the second time in two days that there was a shooting at a school in Oakland.

Mayor Barbara Lee described Beam as a “giant” and a mentor, educator and lifeline for young people.

“For over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and off the field, and our community is shaken alongside his family,” Lee said.

The Netflix docuseries focused on athletes at junior colleges looking to turn their lives around. Beam’s Laney College Eagles starred in the 2020 season.

Two of Beam’s former players, brothers Nahshon and Rejzohn Wright, who currently play in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints, posted on social media after the shooting.

“You mean the world to me,” Rejzohn Wright said in a post with a photo of Beam.

His brother posted a photo of the coach with a broken heart emoji.

Beam, currently serving as athletic director, began at Laney College in 2004 as a running backs coach before eventually becoming head coach in 2012, winning two league titles. Twenty of his players have gone on to the NFL, according to his biography on Laney College’s website.

“The Peralta community is devastated by his shooting and deeply concerned for his well-being,” Mark Johnson, a spokesperson for Peralta Community College District, said in an emailed statement on Beam’s current medical status. “We are stunned and heartbroken that such violence has touched our campus.”

The Thursday shooting came a day after a student got shot at Oakland’s Skyline High School. The student is in stable condition.