UVA Football: Mark Richt presses Tony Elliott on transfer portal in ‘ACC Huddle’ postgame

Mark Richt, on the postgame “ACC Huddle” following Virginia’s 24-19 win at Pitt on Saturday night, used his inside knowledge of UVA Football in a question of Coach Tony Elliott on recruiting the transfer portal.

Richt, you may remember, interviewed for the UVA job back in 2015, as the program was making the transition from the six-year Mike London era.

At least you remember that it was reported that Richt had interviewed for the job.

Richt, who had just been let go by Georgia after leading the Bulldogs to a 9-3 record, with a 145-51 record in 15 seasons at UGA, including nine double-digit-win finishes, ended up taking the job at his alma mater, Miami, where he went 26-13 in three seasons before stepping down following the 2018 season.

It was rumored that Richt had coveted the Virginia job, though, and only pulled his name from consideration over issues with the admissions office vis-à-vis football recruiting, something we’ve written about extensively.

“I know the academic standards at Virginia are super high. Actually, I was interviewed by them years ago. Is there any limit to what you could do in the portal, or is it just case by case?” Richt asked Elliott on the “ACC Huddle” set.

Good – no, great – question.

I left the “ACC Huddle” postgame on loop in the background of the home office after the game as I was writing my postgame story, and heard this back-and-forth three or four times, before it sunk in what was being said.

Credit to Kevin Davis in the ACC communications office for helping me track down the clip on Monday morning.

Elliott’s answer:

“Yeah, I think we, we have a unique approach,” Elliott began. “The grad transfer route, you know, we will be able to take advantage of that, because we actually have some really, really good graduate options for guys, both non-degree seeking and guys that want to get additional degrees.

“Where we have to be strategic is undergrad guys, right? Because once they get beyond, you know, their second year, they don’t have enough time to get the 60 credits that they need to graduate from UVA,” Elliott said.

“So, we just have to be strategic, but we’re gonna be able to advantage of it moving forward,” Elliott said.