Between the unexpected resignation of coach Bronco Mendenhall, the Fenway Bowl announcement, and exams, players on the Virginia football team have had plenty to process in the last two weeks. Starting quarterback Brennan Armstrong said that it felt more like months as that whirlwind swirled around the program.
By Sunday night at a team meeting and Monday afternoon at a press conference, however, things had settled down a bit as UVA officially introduced Tony Elliott as the new football coach. Elliott left Clemson, where he helped the Tigers when 7 ACC Championships and 2 National Championships after joining the coaching staff in 2011, to take the helm in Charlottesville. He met his new team Sunday night, spent extended time with Mendenhall on Monday morning, and addressed the media and guests on Monday afternoon.
Armstrong described Elliott as humble and hard-working, which he said he connected to personally. The current Cavaliers described the atmosphere in that initial meeting as great.
“It was a great team meeting,” Wahoo linebacker Nick Jackson said. “He came in and let us know his vision, his alignment, and basically where he wanted to build off Coach Mendenhall’s foundation that he’s laid. Everyone was just very energetic about it and I’m excited for him.”
“I think he brings a different energy as far as a little bit more young, energetic, a little bit more swagger, and I’m fired up,” Virginia cornerback Anthony Johnson said. “I’m excited to have him here and I’m just looking forward to seeing what he can bring to this program.”
Johnson, who joined UVA ahead of spring practice in 2021 as a graduate transfer, tried to help calm uncertainty among players during the turmoil despite being relatively new to the program. While the Mendenhall news was surprising, he had experienced staff turnover and new systems numerous times already in his career at Louisville. Todd Grantham worked as the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator from 2014-2016 when Johnson was being initially recruited. In 2017, Peter Sirmon took over that role during Johnson’s redshirt season. As a freshman in 2018, Brian VanGorder led the Louisville defense. After that season, Bryan Brown came in with new coach Scott Satterfield.
Johnson then transferred to UVA where he became a starter for defensive coordinator Nick Howell. That amounts to four coordinators in five seasons of college football. He had decided to return to Virginia prior to Mendenhall’s announcement and will stay with the new staff because of his experience with the program in the last year. He advised teammates to take a moment without emotion and evaluate what the best options were for them individually.
“Even with Coach Bronco relaying that news to us, it was kind of frantic on what should I do – should I go in the portal, where will things be next for me?” Johnson said. “Personally, I stayed calm, I relaxed, and I just took a deep breath and evaluated everything. I want to be here in Charlottesville. I’ve had a great year since I’ve been here. Going into the portal, you never know where you’ll end up. I’m just grateful to be here and a part of this program.”
Jackson echoed that line of thinking.
“My high school coach told me when you’re picking a school, pick the school. I mean not necessarily picking a coach because you never know what’s going to happen,” Jackson said. “I did that. Virginia is home for me. I love Virginia. Everything that Virginia has given me from the people to the school to the business school to the football program, Virginia has given me everything and I love Virginia for that and I’m thankful for Virginia.”
Other Hoos have different decisions to make as well. Tight end Jelani Woods declared for the NFL Draft. Receiver Billy Kemp IV had surgery but announced that he planned to return to college football. Many others entered the transfer portal with quarterback Ira Armstead already picking a new destination in Eastern Illinois, but some evaluating options. All-American center Olu Oluwatimi attended Monday’s press conference and is deciding whether to stay at Virginia or transfer somewhere else ahead of the next semester when it starts in January. He said he liked the things he heard from Elliott and called him an “awesome individual” as he works through the decision-making process and bowl preparations.
“That’s kind of the process I’m in right now where I don’t know where I’ll be playing next season. “That decison is ongoing,” Oluwatimi said. “At the end of the day, schools have to get the scholarship requirements and they’re trying to recruit their class and trying to pull people from the transfer portal and trying to do different things. If you wait too long, you can fall into a place where you don’t even have a spot to go to. It’s urgent from a standpoint of that so I’m either going to be here in January or I’m going to be somewhere else in January. I’m handling it the best I can and trusting the people that I trust.”
Armstrong has a different set of circumstances to evaluate. He enrolled in January of 2018 and has played games in each of the four seasons he’s been in the program. With a redshirt year and a free eligibility year due to the pandemic, however, he still has two years of college eligibility remaining. This season, he put up record-breaking numbers where he set new single-season passing records for yards (4,449) and touchdowns (31). He also posted records for a single game with 554 passing yards against UNC and 6 TDs responsible for against BYU. He’s in the top 3 for numerous career records at UVA too.
Those marks came under Mendenhall and his coaching staff, but Armstrong said he would either declare for the NFL Draft or return to Virginia this spring despite the change in the head coaches’ chair. He currently is awaiting feedback from the NFL evaluation for that part of the decision-making process and has started to build a relationship with Elliott as well. The duo walked into Monday’s press conference together. Elliott coached both Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence in championship seasons as the offensive coordinator at Clemson. Both players went on to be top 5 picks in the NFL Draft. There’s also the unrelated case of Kenny Pickett at Pittsburgh, who came back for a final season and has improved his potential draft position in the meantime.
Armstrong must weigh all those things to determine whether to stay at Virginia or give the pro ranks a shot. Armstrong said he planned to play in the Fenway Bowl regardless of which decision he makes for next year.
“I haven’t made the decision yet,” Armstrong said. “We’re just hanging around, talking to Coach Elliott even more and based on that, I’ll probably make my decision.” He also added: “That’s the thing I have to think about. I come back and just play really good. You don’t have to play spectacular, just play really good football and get a lot of wins. That’s another thing with Pickett, that’s how it worked for him. He came back back and got up to be a potential first rounder or top 10 pick. That’s another thought in my mind. That’s a lot of money difference from whatever round I may be in to first or second round so yeah that’s part of the thought process.”
Brennan Armstrong is just a breath of fresh air. Very talented with a great attitude!
Jackson, Johnson, Armstrong are all guys we really want and need in the locker room next year.