The 2025 UVA Football season opens on Saturday at 6 p.m. with Coastal Carolina facing off with the ‘Hoos in Scott Stadium.
The game is being broadcast on the ACC Network (Chris Cotter, Max Browne, Kendra Douglas) and on the Virginia Sports Radio Network (John Freeman, Ahmad Hawkins, Jay James).
For a list of VSRN affiliates: virginiasports.com/Radio.
You can also listen on Sirius/XM at channels 161 or 194 and on the SXM App at channel 956.
Tony Elliott press conference highlights
Prepping for Coastal Carolina
Q: Coastal Carolina coach Tim Beck told me this week that getting ready for you, it’s studying scheme and plays, because personnel has changed over so much. Is that an advantage at all for you, and then flip it over when you look at Coastal? What are you able to prepare?
Elliott: Yeah, it’s it’s the same thing, because I think we’re both around the same range. Don’t quote me on this, but I think I heard that they had about 60 new guys, where we got 54. So, we’re in the same boat. We don’t really know. We got a depth chart. You see there’s a lot of “ors.” So, we’re really not gonna know until we actually line up who’s actually gonna run out there, and then what the breakdown of playing is.
So yes, it’s different than years past. And then I think the difference between us and them is, they got new coordinators, right, so as we’re studying them, it’s really about scheme, because personnel-wise, you’re watching somebody else’s personnel, like, you’re watching Western Kentucky, you’re watching La Tech, as opposed to, at least you’re watching some of our guys that you see when you look at us schematically. So, it’s a different challenge than years past in getting prepared for a season opener.
There’s always a ton of unknown in a season opener. You kind of get bits and pieces off the internet, but you really don’t know until you line up, so you have to prepare for a lot of unknown. But that’s what it’s been, is really just looking at schemes, schematically, and then trying to see if you can fit and anticipate which personnel are actually going to be on the field. It’s gonna be a lot of cat and mouse early on trying to figure out, because just like we’re asking questions about Chandler (Morris), they got a brand new quarterback, right? So, we haven’t been to an actual game with Chandler, so we’re still going to have to feel Chandler out a little bit. And the same thing with MJ Morris on their side. They’re going to have to have to feel him out. So, it’s a different challenge. It’s kind of exciting, right, it changes the approach just a little bit. And I think this is where we’re gonna be in years going forward in college football, just because there is so much transition between rosters. And the key is gonna be how quickly those guys can get settled in in a game environment and execute your scheme to the best of their ability.
Training camp
Q: What pleased you most about camp, and where would you have liked to have seen more improvement?
Elliott: So, what pleased me is just the team atmosphere that I felt daily within the building. And the guys showed up with the right energy day in and day out. And I felt like we maximized every single day, which is difficult to do when every day is the same for the course of three, three and a half weeks. But I thought we maximized every single day.
As a coach, you can always find areas where you wanna get better. For me, it’s tough, because I’m looking for competitive balance at practice, so I don’t want a lopsided day. I don’t want the offense to have the upper hand. I don’t want the defense to have the upper hand.
We had some guys that were down throughout the course of camp that I would like to have seen get a couple more days of work in to be ready.
Q: With all the new players you brought in through the offseason, now that you’re getting close to the first game, what was the biggest challenge in trying to bring a team together with that many new faces? And what did you like about how the team handled it?
Elliott: I think that the challenge was making sure that I didn’t overdo it, and I let them come together organically. That was the biggest challenge, because you want to try and hurry up and foster chemistry, but you can’t force it. So, that was the challenge. And there were a couple days where I had to reset the expectations on a couple things out at practice, just guys not knowing how we do things, how we practice, what’s acceptable, what’s not acceptable. But it wasn’t as much as I thought of that. But there were a couple days where I had to step in and say, no, no, no, that’s not how we do it here. And the guys quickly fell in line. But that’s a credit to the senior leadership as well, of the guys that were here. They did a really, really good job of laying a lot of the groundwork with the new guys. So I thought they did a really good job of policing and controlling the situation, controlling the locker room, the weight room, to get everybody in line culturally with what the expectations are here.
Q: A phrase that I’ve heard a lot of coaches use this fall going back to the offseason is, no excuses. What does that kind of mean to this culture and kind of within the building? I’ve heard players use it, too. It’s been 11 wins in three years as y ‘all kind of enter this new season.
Elliott: There’s no excuses. There’s no excuse that’ll justify a lack of not meeting expectations. And I think the expectation that we have inside the building is probably greater than any expectation that we get externally. And so, there’s no excuses. Now, are there gonna be reasons? Of course, there’s gonna be reasons. And I think if you can approach it from the standpoint of focusing on the reasons, then you can go attack it and get better. But if you make excuses, then you don’t accept accountability. If you don’t have accountability, you’re not gonna get to where you wanna go. So that’s been, Day, 1, it’s not just this new roster, where we are as a program, that’s been Day 1. We can’t make excuses for anything. And I think that applies to any area of life. If you’re a guy that makes an excuse, we had a guest speaker come in, and he said the phrase that a man is never defeated until he blames somebody else, right? So, if you don’t make excuses, and you don’t blame anybody else, then you always got a chance to improve. So, that’s been a focal point from Day 1, because at the end of the day, nobody wants to hear excuses. They want to see results.
Offense
Q: What impressed you about Chandler Morris during this camp?
Elliott: He’s everything that I remembered him to be in terms of the leadership, but it was good to really, really see that come out. And the things that I made a comment out on the practice field, he made a play, he made a throw out there, and it reminded me of watching him run around as a young guy with all the high school kids when we would play airball at camp in the summer. And so, he just, I think that’s where he developed a lot of his instincts. He was always playing with the older guys and teaching them how to play the game.
He has the ability to extend plays. He can scramble with the ability to run or pass. He knows how to direct traffic on the move. But the biggest thing was refreshing to see just the leadership that he brought every single day. And then as he became more comfortable with the system, you really start to see his playmaking ability both with his legs and throwing the ball.
Q: Jahmal Edrine is a starter. I haven’t heard y ‘all talk too much about him. I know Chandler’s kind of made a good connection with him, but what does he add to the passing game just as a threat out there?
Elliott: It’s a big body that can stretch it vertically. Really, really good natural ball skills and body control, and all the intermediate passing game. He’s been consistent every single day. I think that’s probably why you haven’t talked to him, because he’s just shown up every day and done what he’s supposed to do. So, excited about him, and then also he had a tough summer academically. Really, really proud of Jahmal for accepting the challenge. I mean, he transferred in and had to get 36 hours between the spring and the summer. That’s more than what you would take in any normal semester. You’re talking about a 15-hour class load, and he did it in the spring, and he did it in the summer, with no room for air and did it with a smile every single day. And so, I think it’s, you just come, everyone’s accustomed to like, hey, Jahmal’s just gonna show up, that’s what he’s gonna do.
Q: Coach, wide receiving corps, I don’t think I’ve heard you mention Trell Harris or Cam Ross, much less Dakota Twtty, who gives you verticality as well. Talk about the value of all those players, because as much as everyone loves the run game and wants to establish the run game, I think your passing game is going to determine I think the wins this year, in my opinion.
Elliott: I think, yes, in the passing game, starting with making sure you take care of the ball, right, that’s the key in the passing game is, don’t turn it over. Trell (Harris), I think we all know what trail is capable of. Explosive, fast, can beat you over the top. Very, very good and effective with the with the screen game, you know. Biggest thing for Trell is, he’s coming back off the knee, and then he had a hamstring, right, and so he’s been in and out of practice, and that’s probably why you haven’t heard about him as much, just because we’re just trying to get him back healthy and ready to go, and he’ll be he’ll be available this week, but he didn’t practice, you know, much last week because of the hamstring, right, so that’s why you haven’t heard about Trell, but we know what we got in Trell, and when Trell’s healthy and ready to go, I think he’s as good as what we got in this league. He just has to be consistent and stay healthy, which he’s trying everything he can do, right, it’s just unfortunate, it’s just a part of the game, and you get what you get when you’re dealing with those, like, I call them those high-performance race cars, right? Like, those hamstrings and those things, they happen, but excited about him
Cam Ross has just been steady, he’s been steady every single day that he’s been out there, and we didn’t know a ton about him, but he’s been one that’s impressed me with his football IQ. So, his ability to run routes versus zone, versus man, catches the ball very well, and then he’s a very dynamic return guy.
There’s just a bunch of them, right, at that at that position, and really been impressed with the three young guys, the three first-years. I think you guys will see Dylan Newton-Short out there, you’ll see Isaiah Robinson, and you’ll see Josiah Abdullah. We got a good group, we just don’t quite know how it’s all gonna come together. We’re excited to get to this game and see, let those guys determine it on the field.
Back to Twitty, the tight end position is key. If you have a guy that can help you in the run game, but then also go be a matchup problem in the slot, as a number three to the field, it’s really what makes the offense go. And we all know with his background as a wideout and his size, he naturally creates those matchup advantages. So, excited to see him get turned loose this week.
With the defensive structure that we have, those tight ends are gonna really have to be involved in the run game, because of the three-stack defense, they always got an extra hat in the box. A little bit different than some structures. Sometimes he’s going to be, you know, outflanking you, sometimes he’s going to be third level, but not really third level that you got to account for, that you’re going to need the tight ends so that you get your targeting, get your targeting right.
So, excited to see those guys and just, you know, excited for Chandler (Morris) to have, you know, some versatility amongst his passing weapons. And then hopefully we can, and then another guy, too, since we’re talking about him is JT (Jayden Thomas). JT has really impressed me, coming over from Notre Dame, just with his demeanor. He’s got such a blue-collar demeanor, same thing with Cam Ross. I think those guys, when they have that blue-collar demeanor, and they show up every single day, when they do something, it doesn’t really why, because it’s, like, that’s who they are. They’re consistent, and that’s really where you want to be with your offensive skill guys, you want them to be consistent, you want them to make the routine play all the time, and then the impossible play most of the time.
Q: You’ve got some depth and experience on the offensive line. You and Des (Kitchings) have talked about since getting here, wanting to really develop that run game. You made some strides last year. The Coastal game (last year) was a big one. Where do you feel like you are with that? And how important is that, not just for the season, but for program building?
Elliott: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is consistency of availability. And we saw that impacted a little bit in fall camp with (Ethan) Sipe going down for a little while, and then Tyshawn (Wyatt) being in and out of the lineup. So, I think the key is consistency. I think if we can have all of our guys available up front and in the backfield, then we can become more consistent. And I think the more consistent you are with the availability of guys, the more cohesion and chemistry they create, which will allow them to the backs to understand and feel kind of how those double teams are going to go based off of who’s in there, develop more confidence to press the line and really trust the scheme, and then I think, you know, the more depth and competition you have, I think the more it helps the guys develop as an eraser. I think in a run game, even with consistency up front, you need a back that can be can be an eraser, and I think I’ve seen each of those guys kind of develop in that area because there’s more consistency up front, right? So, when there’s not guys turn loose up front, or you have the ability to move guys and create a new line of scrimmage, it helps the backs, you know, develop their confidence to be able to just go run and not necessarily to correct everything. They just go run. And then when they do that, they become a little bit more of an eraser.
I’m excited to see and, and again, new group, so we got to figure out schematically, you know, which scheme fits these guys best. Is it, is it our wide zone? Is it our mid zone? Is it our tight zone? Is it a gap scheme? So, so again, we know what we, what, where we’re kind of headed on our practice field, but the difference is, you play a different group every single week, and it changes, so the body types change, the length changes, and so then schematically we may change.
I’m excited to see what this group can do, because it all starts with the run game. I mean, that’s where football starts. You gotta be able to run the football, and you gotta be able to stop the run. That’s where it starts, and then everything else comes off of that. I know we all like to watch quarterbacks throw and do all that kind of stuff, but really, you gotta be able to establish a line of scrimmage, and it starts with the run game and stopping the run game.
Q: How do you split carries as you kind of go throughout the season? Is it gonna be a little bit of mixing and matching?
Elliott: Unfortunate part about the running back position is it’s such a violent position, and those guys very rarely do they go play without getting hit. So, I think that it’s gonna naturally work itself out, unfortunately, with availability. It does every single year.
I think you gotta establish some guys with a rhythm. So that’s something you gotta balance too. And then you gotta get all four of them. I know we got three listed, but I think Noah Vaughn’s kind of an “or” guy as well that’s gonna be in the rotation, is gonna have some big plays and big carries for us this season.
It’s a feel type of deal as you get into the game, and you got to communicate properly with those guys so that they that they know it. But all of them got to be ready to play, and we got to do a great job of making sure that we help them in every situation to get themselves prepared and ready to perform at the highest level.
It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s a good problem to have when you got more guys than not having enough, trust me, it’s not fun to be on the other side. It’ll be something that we have to manage, and Coach Gaither has done a really good job thus far, and have to do a really good job going forward. Because we’re gonna need all four of those guys, and then possibly, Davis Lane is another guy that’ll be heavily involved, in special teams, has improved as a running back, but there’s gonna be, I guarantee you, situations throughout the course of the season where we’re gonna have to call on him as well.
Having a fifth guy, that would give us the luxury to be able to maybe redshirt Zay (Davis), but he’s shown promise, too, so he’s gotta be ready, because that’s a posi6on where they go down quick because of the amount of contact that they have.
Defense
Q: When you look at the depth chart, what stands out is that those “ors” on defensive line, because you’ll be able to rotate more guys in. How important was that seeing that come to fruition at fall camp that you have that ability?
Elliott: Man, I think Coach Slade and Coach Downing are tired of me talking about it and getting on them about it. But what we saw last year, in the teams that we played in our league was the ability for them to rotate defensive linemen and how much of a challenge that created for us, you know, offensively, because you’re seeing different guys, different lengths, different speed, different skill sets, and, you know, they’re fresher. So as the game goes on, you know, you’re starting to see the speed, you don’t see the speed drop off, whereas offensive line-wise you might be getting a little bit tired, you know later in play 50, play 60 of the game, whereas now they have two guys that have only played, you know, 30 snaps apiece, it creates some challenges.
It’s been it’s been really, really, you know, fun to see that competition, and it reminds me of, you know, the days of when we were competing for championships. That’s what it was, is when you had those D linemen that could roll, they set the tempo for everything both on the field and from a leadership standpoint. That’s what I’m most pleased to see is because now those guys Jah (Jahmeer Carter), he’s gonna be a little bit fresher, so now he can play and he can lead a little bit better as opposed to just trying to figure out how he’s gonna play max effort for 65 snaps.
Q: From all the rotation you have available to you on the defensive line and the edge, what are you anticipating from your pass rush? What have you seen in camp that encourages you about that?
Elliott: What’s encouraged me from camp is the ability to get more pressure on the quarterback with four. And I think that when you can do that, then it helps you a lot, as opposed to having to bring five or six. I think when you bring five or six, it makes you susceptible on the back end, guys gotta hold up, and they get put in one-on-one situations, right? And eventually, the quarterbacks are good enough to find a potential matchup advantage or a space advantage if your rush doesn’t get home.
I’ve been encouraged to see, and with multiple groups, so it’s not just, OK, one guy is the only one that’s getting pressure. With the rotation, you’re able to see guys affect the quarterback. They may not always get home, but they’re getting close, and they’re moving the quarterback off the launch point, making him pull the ball down and scramble. So that’s been good to see.
Now they gotta go do it when they don’t necessarily know the snap count. You get into fall camp, by the seventh or eighth practice, they know the snap count, they can jump it a little bit. So, it’s gonna be a little bit different when it’s an opposing team, but I’m hopeful, with what I’ve seen, that we can get a little bit more pressure on the quarterback. We’re just rushing forward and also get some interior pressure. I think the addition of Goldie (Jacob Holmes), in particular, and (Jason) Hammond coming back, gives us the ability to not only push the pocket with (Anthony) Britton and Jah (Jahmeer Carter), but then also maybe create some matchups and some one-on-one pass rushes with our D tackles.
Q: Trey (McDonald) and Landon (Danley) are different style players than Kam (Robinson) at linebacker. How do you feel about kind of replacing him there? And does it change maybe the way John (Rudzinksi) calls some things because it’s a different kind of athlete in that spot?
Elliott: I don’t know if it changes it as much as, you know, Kam’s kind of that eraser on defense. He can do some things athletically, and I think everybody on our team recognizes that, that he can do some things athletically that can bail you out at times, right? I think that Trey and Landon will play a little bit more within the system, just because their skill sets fit. I’m not saying that Kam doesn’t play within the system, but Kam can do some different things. I think we all recognize that. But I don’t think it changes the way you call it, but you kind of get a combination.
Now, in Trey, you get a guy that knows the defense inside and out. He can get everybody lined up. He’s gonna be exactly where he’s supposed to be inside the box. He’s gonna be downhill. He’s gonna be physical. And then you get the athleticism in Landon, but he doesn’t quite have the experience, right? And he’s still coming into his own, learning the defense and all of the checks and all of the run fits and all of the pass drops. So, what you’re gonna see, I think you’re gonna see his athleticism as well, and kind of remind you a little bit of Kam. But they’ll do a great job until Kam is ready to go, and he got cleared, I think it was yesterday he got cleared, stitches and everything are all healed up, so now he’ll be rocking and rolling, so hopefully in a couple weeks, he’ll be back in the fold. But I’m excited for those guys and their opportunity.
Q: At corner, you guys go with Jordan Robinson and Emanuel Karnley atop the depth chart. What did you like about those guys? What did they do well to earn those roles?
Elliott: Right, it was competitive when everybody was available. I think in (Donovan) Platt’s situation, he missed some time with a hamstring. Karnley was out a little bit with his knee, and then Jordan had a virus. So, they all kind of equally spent some time out of practice.
But what you like about Karnley is he’s a very, very fluid mover. He’s got the true corner skill set. Really good instincts and he’s a physical guy as well. He’s not afraid to come up and tackle. What you like about (Jordan) Robinson is he’s big. He’s long. He’s played a lot of football. He’s extremely competitive. He’s got good range, he gives you, he gives you some size into the boundary that you’re looking for, and Platt’s another guy that’s a big, physical guy, runs really, really well. So, all three of those guys you see they’re listed as “ors” there, so you’ll see all three of those guys ready to go.
Q: You’ve got Ethan Minter as the starter at free safety. What did you see in camp that told you that he could be in that role?
Elliott: If you go back to last year, you probably remember me saying that of all the freshmen, he was the one that picked it up the quickest. And he went from being a first-year guy just out of high school, who was a quarterback converted to safety, to almost running the meetings with the older guys because he picked up the playbook that fast. But then he had some injuries that set him back. And then once you get into the game, you got to actually translate what you know in your mind to game speed. And now that’s what you’re seeing is, it’s all coming together. And then now his physicality is really starting to show. He’s anticipating plays. He got his hands on a lot of balls, actually picked off a couple in in fall camp, and then also was able to deflect several.
What you’re seeing is a quarterback playing the safety position, because he’s able to see the big picture and not only know what his job is, but know what everybody else is doing. So, he can help guys get lined up, he can communicate the proper checks, and then he can play faster than maybe what his ability is because he’s able to anticipate off of formation recognition from the offense.
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