Tony Elliott and his New Cavaliers

With a young team, a new system, and five months til showtime; Tony Elliott is in the trenches. And sure, he’s got a few good men to go along with a host of depth issues and lingering injuries that left Virginia limping through a four loss streak to close last season. But will new blood join with returning threats in earning Elliott’s trust come fall?

Virginia

Elliott says he and defensive coordinator, John Rudzinski, have had a few surprises at practice. Of course we all remember last year’s defensive drought — the Cavaliers ranked No. 121 in total defense, allowing 466 yards per game, but Elliott isn’t worried. He’s impressed.

“Defensively, there’s been a ton of energy. Obviously, I know the perspective of the defense last year, but I tell you what, those guys have been impressive so far. You can tell Coach Rud coaches with a lot of energy, and the guys are feeding off of it.”

Still, the defense is young, with only six seniors. When asked directly about the new recruits Elliot says, “I think the young corner, [William] Simpkins has shown that he can help us. [He’s] very talented and he’s really engaged right now. I think before, he was kind of on the fence, but now, he’s fully engaged and you’re starting to see his athleticism take over. I think [linebacker] James Jackson is a guy that’s going to help us. I’ll tell you, [nose tackle] Lorenz Terry has been a guy that has flashed a little bit. That can be someone that’s gonna help us.” Simpkins, Jackson, and Terry three-star recruits from the 2021 class. Clearly they’ve pursued the reps required for development.

Another squad who proved that development last year has seen much of its luster diminished by graduation and transfer attrition. That concrete O-line was a fortress for the Cavalier offense and they weaponized Brennan Armstrong, pushing him to single season school records in passing yards, total offense, and passing touchdowns. Three offensive linemen were given All-ACC honors, including Olusegun Oluwatimi, who was named as one of three Rimington Award finalists. He transferred to Michigan. Also not returning are Bobby Haskins, Ryan Swoboda, and Joe Bissinger. Ryan Nelson and Chris Glaser graduated. Now Elliott and those left on the line will be grappling with the ghost of their absence.

But Elliott is ever the optimist when pressed for comment, “I was hoping that, offensively, we’d be a little bit further ahead, but as I step back and look at the big picture, I’m not disappointed because of the depth situation. We got ten linemen, and there’s been days where we’ve had eight linemen, so if you’re running two groups you need at least ten linemen. So that means guys are doing double duty…when you’re installing a new offense, new schemes, different calls, different verbiage, that’s tough for those guys up front.”

At running back Virginia loses Wayne Taulapapa and Devin Darrington. Unphased, Elliott aims to rely on the position as he did during his years at Clemson, where in the Tiger backfield he engaged a variety of running threats.

For Virginia, Ronnie Walker Jr. was poised to open up options there until he went down with an injury that marred an early live practice. Elliott then challenged Mike Hollins — who Elliott has called the most talented of his position group — to stake a claim for lead back. Hollins played in nine games last season but had limited impact with 49 carries for 213 yards. During Saturday’s practice, Elliott was impressed by what he saw, but less enthusiastic about what he heard.

“Mike was a pleasant surprise,” Elliott says “He’s a back that I’ve been challenging really hard in practice; very talented but has to work on his practice habits and his demeanor…I guess he’s a gamer, so to speak, so when we got off the field, I saw a couple of runs that caught my attention.” For QB Armstrong, the gift of reliable runs will further extend his surprise factor and reach, especially in the big games.

North Carolina, Brigham Young, Pittsburgh, those were crushing losses. It’s on Elliott to address a major factor, the steep decline in rushing attempts per game between 2020 (36.6) and 2021 (28.6). He knows. His take? Balance. “When we say balanced, it’s that we are effective running the ball,” says Elliott. “Sometimes, that means three yards is an effective run. If you can stay ahead of the chains or you can convert a short yardage running the ball, that’s what we’re trying to establish. For us, offensively and from a team standpoint, being able to run the football kind of sets the tempo for the team, and it forces the defense to practice against the run. Now they’re developing that physical mindset…. You have confidence that when the game is on the line, and it’s time for you to go run that football that you can go convert what you need to convert…”

For the wideouts, the big story is the return of 2020’s No. 2 in the nation, LaVel Davis Jr (yards per reception, 25.75). He’s on the war path after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. At 6’7” he stands a head taller than most NBA shooting guards, and with Armstrong’s aim to match LaVel’s stride how long can opposing defenses hold out hope?

Unlike Virginia’s other squads the receiving room has oceanic depth. That means back up for a recovering Davis. There’s Billy Kemp IV, Dontayvion Wicks, Keytaon Thompson, and a new weapon in Malachi Fields.

“It’s been made known in front of the team that Malachi is pushing Lavel, which is going to be good for Lavel because it’s going to make him better,” Elliott said. “Obviously, he’s coming off of an injury, and…still knocking the rust off, but what you’re seeing is Malachi plays fast. He’s a big, physical guy. He’s very conscientious. Doesn’t say a whole lot; he just shows up and makes plays…. When you have a combination of him and Lavel and…then you throw Wicks over there, and you change up the speed…. In this system, you can put guys wherever you want to put them to create matchups.”

With the warmth of spring pressing us toward the swamp heat of summer fall is never far behind. Elliott projects that there will be about eight roster spots to fill in five short months. The transfer portal could fill those holes, but Elliott says, not at the cost of team culture. “We’re…looking at [the transfer portal], but we’re not actively pursuing anybody right now because we do have some guys that are on the way that we think can help us. There’s conversations that we’re having, but we’re not actively recruiting any guys right now. We want to fully evaluate the roster and then see what would be the best use of that because we’re trying to establish a culture. It’s hard to establish a culture if you’re trying to bring in transfers that will just get here in the summer.… We’re trying to build the program with the guys that we have in house…. I don’t want to be a team that’s constantly trying to get better through free agency.”

On the player side, the practice side, with grass stained cleats and skin rubbed-raw , with two-a-days and Gatorade and early morning phone alarm snoozing; the stakes are high. Now. Because a few empty spots in the locker room come April is no guarantee of touches come cold season. And with no-man’s-land looming, Elliott needs every soldier he’s got off the bench and ready for revenge.

5 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Informative and well written. Avoids “coach speak ” or similar sports journalists cliches. Thumbs up !

  2. I see great potential and am excited to read more. Some great lines/images are included, but I think Tucker is trying too hard in parts and could simply let the story flow a bit more in places. There are also a few punctuation issues.

    I mention any of this only to help. I am sure it is great to get nothing but bouquets, but Tucker shows the kind of potential where hopefully he seeks out constructive criticism and pushes himself to excel. Warmest wishes on his journey.

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