Virginia coach Tony Elliott is pushing Keytaon Thompson to realize his NFL-caliber talent

Keytaon Thompson led the talented Virginia wide receiver corps with 78 catches in 2021. Scary thing about KT: he’s still learning the position.

“He has grown the most in that he is understanding that Coach Elliott is going to be on him every single day. Every single day. And now he is accepting that challenge,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott told reporters this week at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, Thompson seated a few feet to his left, squirming in his seat.

Thompson came to Virginia in 2020 thinking he would compete for the QB1 job, but the expected battle with Brennan Armstrong was cut short in fall camp when Thompson suffered a torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder.

Then-offensive coordinator Robert Anae wanted to get the 6’4”, 215-pound Thompson on the field, so he used him the way former BYU quarterback Taysom Hill is used in the NFL, creating a hybrid “football player” position to get KT snaps as a wildcat quarterback, running back and receiver.

Thompson got 214 snaps at a variety of positions in 2020, and after a spring and fall camp to grow into the FBP role, he was on the field for 554 snaps in 2021, gaining 1,237 yards from scrimmage on 117 touches and scoring six TDs.

Elliott and his offensive coordinator, Des Kitchings, are planning to use Thompson more conventionally in 2022, which means Thompson needs to get more knowledgeable and comfortable with the intricacies of the wideout position.

“I feel like route running is a big part of that. You know, hand fighting, the whole nine. … Just working on a lot of the unnatural things, like coming in and out of breaks, sinking my hips, and things like that. I really just have been focusing on that, the receiver part of it and technicalities of it,” Thompson said.

Elliott, a wideout at Clemson who coached future NFL wide receivers Tee Higgins, Hunter Renfrow, Amari Rogers and Mike Williams at his alma mater, thinks Thompson has the ability to join them at the next level.

“He has an additional sense that not every football player has. He has a sense of just how to make plays” Elliott said. “Where he needed to improve was just the technical aspect of the position, because at his size there’s going to be some times where he may not have the advantage. He might be playing against a smaller, quicker guy, and he might not be able to be in a position where he is off the ball. Now, he has to be able to be in a different skill set to create space.

“The biggest area I’ve seen him grow is just accepting the challenge to become a technician at the position,” Elliott said. “I already know you are a great football player. You have a great football mind. He started as a quarterback. He just has that sense. He has that knack. Now, can we add the technical aspect of it to complete your game?

“He has everything he needs to be dominant and successful at this level, but I desire for him to accomplish his goals beyond the University of Virginia, and I don’t just want him to get to the NFL. I want him to stay in the NFL. He needs to just continue to improve the small technical aspects, because he has all the big things,” Elliott said.

Thompson wants Elliott to be on him every day, because he knows that will make him better.

“Now, like he said, I really can appreciate it and see where it’s coming from,” Thompson said. “The guys you’ve seen go to the NFL and have successful careers, you know, that’s something that I want to do. With him just pushing me to be great, it’s really helped me. Especially this past offseason, throughout the summer. Just really focusing and trying to get better each and every day, and I think as long as I do that, everything else will take care of itself.”