UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 1, 2024

Tony Elliott

Press Conference

Q. BC has had several head coaches, but the identity of the team seems to have kind of stayed the same over the years. Is this group any different?

TONY ELLIOTT: Same old BC. They take pride in smash mouth football. They lead with the run. They've got a dynamic quarterback, which may be a little bit different than some teams in the past with his style of play.

Overall, they want to line up and come at you, and they're going to get in their 12, 13 personnel. They get into some sets where they don't even have a wide receiver on the field and they just come at you.

That's all I know as BC football regardless who has been the head coach.

Q. You wanted to get healthy during the bye week. What is the status of everybody?

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, it was a good week. We were able to get good, positive work and a head start on BC. Also excited to get some guys back. I think Boley is ready to go. Ty Furnish is back. Pretty much everybody that we're hoping to get back at this juncture is back.

Terrell is still day to day. We anticipate by the end of the week he should be ready to go. Tyree is back. So we feel -- we know we got make it through another practice. Again, just in reference to the previous question, we've to increase intensity to get ready for not just this game, but the rest of the schedule. The rest of the schedule is all ACC play. I know Notre Dame is technically not; I consider Notre Dame in the league, so we got to play them.

The rest of the games will be physical, tough games, so hopefully we can stay healthy until the next bye week.

Q. Sage?

TONY ELLIOTT: Sage is actually going to be down for the season. We knew about Jason with his shoulder. Had surgery, and then sage is actually reinjured his knee. He'll be down for the season.

Q. BC has a great edge rusher.

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah.

Q. What do you see there? How do you handle tackle situations with Boley just coming back, Witmer having played well, knowing the tough matchup with...

TONY ELLIOTT: They got to be ready to go. This is what you look forward to as a competitor, to play somebody -- I think he's one the best in the country. He has a bunch of sacks. He is very disruptive. He plays on both sides. You can't get away from him.

Boley has to be ready to go. Obviously with a couple weeks of practice we feel good. We will see how his conditioning is when we get there. Just like any great pass rusher, you have to have a plan for him. Got to know where he is at all times.

The problem is it's not just Donovan on the other side. No. 4, he's a pretty good pass rusher in his own right, so it's going to be exciting to see how our guys respond to the challenge. We've got to play fundamental football. What we can't do is get caught up in the matchup.

We got to figure out what we need to do play in, play out from a fundamental standpoint, from a scheme standpoint, to give ourselves the best chance to go win. Got to study a lot of tape. Try to anticipate what some of his moves are. He has great primary moves, good secondary moves, good spin move. They got to study and be prepared, and then they got to go out and perform.

Q. Looking back to last year's game, is it something you've addressed with the team? Has it stuck with you guys?

TONY ELLIOTT: I think I haven't made a ton of reference to it. I know some of the other coaches may have pointed it out. I think we all understand what happened in that game in the second half. They wanted it more than we did. They started leaning on us and they went back to doing what they do and run the football and we didn't accept the challenge.

I think one of the bigger things to point out for us is we're 1-7 as a program versus BC. You know, so there is a lot of significance in this game from a pride standpoint. We got the 1989 team will be back in town, 35th anniversary. So we got a lot of things that we're focusing on necessarily what's in front of us, not so much what's behind us.

I know some position groups in particular have talked about it. I haven't made reference to the game much from last year. I have talked about the fact we need to change. We talked a lot about this team being different, and one of the things we want to be different, overall we need to be different from the standpoint of changing that 1-7 to possibly 2-7, right?

Q. Defensive tackle was not one of your deepest strengths to begin with.

TONY ELLIOTT: That's right.

Q. What does Jason do for the rotation now?

TONY ELLIOTT: I hate it for Jason because Jason was really starting to come into his own. Man, he was playing really good football for us. Was playing fast, physical, and was taking the primary load from a snap count lineup.

But next-man-up, so guys got to step up. That meant Britton has to carry a little bit more load. Diatta got to carry a little bit more load. T-Teal (phonetic)kind of inside and outside. And then Bryce Carter will have to step up and give us some snaps. Obviously Jah will carry a little bit more load.

Great opportunity for some of the younger guys, veteran guys like Diatta, Jason, one, is just such a fun guy to be around and really, really excited about his future. We just got to wait a little while. He had a good, clean surgery so he is on the road to recovery. But he was playing some really good football for us, so it is a big hit for us.

But next-man-up. That's football, unfortunately.

Q. Going off that, what does Britton bring to that position? He is a big guy.

TONY ELLIOTT: He's a big guy, a big man. Kind of like Green Mile. I don't know if you remember that movie. He doesn't know how strong he is and I don't think he fully understands yet how good he can be.

He was a young man we identified him in the recruiting prospect, in-state prospect that we thought had a ton of upside, but we knew it would take a little while just because the position was -- it was so raw and the position was new to him.

He is a big man, and as he comes into his own he's hard to move. Very powerful and good athleticism for a man that big. Now it's a function of the game slowing down for him. Unfortunately, he's going to have to take more snaps, so he is going to learn on the job, be baptized by fire.

I think he has a ton of upside. I'm excited about the additional reps he's going to take. Hopefully will help him get closer to reaching his potential.

Q. When you got two safeties near the top of your tackle leaders this year, is that how this season is designed, to highlight those goes and what does Da'Antonio and Jonas bring?

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, so it's designed to stop the run. Obviously when you're stopping the run you got to be gap sound. You're going to force things to the safeties and hope they can run the alley and down the football.

We also want to keep everything in front. So from a standpoint of those guys concerning me in terms of being at the top, it's kind of designed for them to be at the top. The other guys do the dirty work and hold the gaps for them to make tackles.

It's been fun down to watch Jonas come into his own considering when we first showed up as a staff to where he is now. He's matured in a good way. He wasn't immature when we got here, but you're just seeing him mature as a football player. The confidence, if you ever talk to him you know he's a very confident young man. You're starting to see that balance of confidence and leadership. You hear him at practice, you see him at practice.

And then Clary is like the old wise man on the back end up getting everybody lined up. He can get everybody lined up, and he took full advantage of the year off to prepare himself physically and mentally. He's playing extremely fast.

Very grateful of the work he put in, his leadership. Those two guys, they have different styles. Jonas is a little bit more fiery than AC. AC is very businesslike.

So it's good to kind of have those two guys back there. AC is also taking a great leadership position within the entire team. He's a guy that I can go to and say, AC, can you get this done? Can you inform the guys? He's taken a lot of ownership over that.

It's awesome when those guys who are -- the system is designed for them to be productive, they're being productive and also leading the right way.

Q. To build off the great success you had running the ball down at Coastal?

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, I've said this from day one, and I'll continue to say it. Man, it starts with the running the football. That's where everything starts. Starts with running the ball and stopping the run. Hopefully the guys have confidence that -- and Coastal is a good football team. Hopefully the guys got confidence that if they work together, play with low pads, then we can have success.

And then also now see kind of the impact that it has on the course of the game when you're able to run the football. You control the clock. You set the tempo. What we'll do is we had to evaluate ourselves with this open week. That was part of the process. Just to do self-scout to see what schemes we're having the most success with.

Over the last week and a half or so, working on those things. It's really a mindset, and I believe that the guys are really starting to embrace that. Now, we know it's going 6to be a challenge versus BC. Eight-man front. They will have extra hats around the football. So the backs are involved, too, so they got to run through the smoke.

Good to see X do some of that. Kobe is quietly having a good season, averaging five yards a carry. He's going to have to hit some dirty runs this week to complement what the offensive line is doing.

And then the tight ends, every week that goes by they're more versed in understanding their fit. Because to be able to run the football it's not just the five guys on offensive line. You have to have the tight ends involved. And then we kind of got to figure out from week to week which scheme is fitting best against the defensive structure we have.

Got to go out there and try to impose our will. This will be a good test. It's BC. That's all I can say. For all the years that I been until the ACC, we played Boston College every year. Man, didn't matter what the record was. Didn't matter. These dudes are going to show up and be hard-nosed guys. They are going to be confident, tough, and going to try and punch you in the mouth.

To answer that question, to sum it you up, we got to be ready to come out and attack and punch first. We got to do it with the run game.

Q. You guys are grading high in the ACC in your offensive lineup. How amazed are you that you've been able to do that considering you have a patchwork...

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, I saw that. I'm not a big stat guy as you can probably tell. I don't spend a ton of time. I look at the important ones to get a view. I don't harp on it.

Just testament to Coach Heff. I enjoy sitting in his offensive line meetings. Throughout the course of the week I'll pop in and sit in different meetings. I love listening to him teach. He has a great way of teaching. The guys have really embraced it.

I think they're starting to understand it doesn't matter who is in there, what the expectation is, and the confidence comes from the preparation. Man, just excited those guys are getting some recognition for the success.

We're not going to harp on it. At the end of the day, the stat I care about is if they're there at the end of the season, if they got the same recognition. And that's any position.

Those guys don't ever get enough love, right, so that's reason why I spend a lot of time with them. They got a lot of blame. Actually, they get all the blame whenever things don't go right. Man, they got the hardest job. By far the hardest job, because all five guys have to be on the same page and six inches changes everything. A guy moves six inches it changes a lot. For those that just kind of casually watch football, they should know a lot goes into that and a lot of communication and it's happening very fast, and the guys that they're blocking are very big, very strong, violent.

So just happy they're getting some recognition. We are not going to focus on what. We are going to focus on what has generated that, and that's just guys being willing to step up and do their job. Hopefully as we go down the stretch, you get Boley back, right, that will be a big piece for us.

That gives us some flexibility with Jack to keep guys fresh. That's going to be the key I think, is as the season goes on, man, can we keep guys healthy and can we keep them fresh. The more that we have, the better.

And Charlie is back. He was down for a little bit with and ankle. Get Charlie back, which gives us another body in there. I'm pleased with their progress, but I know we still got room to improve.

Q. Touched on tight ends helping. With Sage down, Dakota will get more reps. How far has he come?

TONY ELLIOTT: I'll tell you what, I was out at practice the other day, and I don't remember, might have been Coach Gaither. Walked through and looked at Dakota and said, man, I'm so proud of that young man. It was two years, surgery, hamstring, man, and there was probably a time where he didn't know what his football career was going to look like.

To see him having success and becoming one of the most trusted guys from the past game, right, and he's a big guy, 240 something pounds. Really hasn't transitioned fully to the position yet.

So just his development, and he's been able to pick up the system, which outside of the quarterback and the center, right, the next position to me that's the most difficult to pick up is the tight end position because of everything you're involved in. You do so much. He's fit right in, meshed well with the guys in that room.

You got some traditional tight ends which think a little different and a wide out coming in. It's been awesome to see him persevere, overcome the adversity, have success, man, he's building trust in every one of his teammates.

He's going to get an opportunity. You know, Sackett is going to have to get an opportunity. With Sage going down, and then one injury was TeKai's shoulder is banged up. He is going to be down for a little while.

Now John Rogers, freshman, is going to have to be ready. When you're playing 12 personnel, two guys on the field, you got to have four, five guys ready to go.

Just super proud of him because now what you're seeing is a reflection of his character. Now everybody is seeing him, but they didn't see the two years this young man had to persevere through to get himself back healthy enough to play football.

Q. JR Wilson emergence was one of the big stories in the spring and had a setback in camp. What does his return mean for you guys?

TONY ELLIOTT: I think it helps Malachi from the standpoint that's where he was at, the position behind Malachi. It takes a little bit of stress off Malachi from a snap count standpoint. I think he gives you the same, similar production as Malachi.

In my years of calling plays, when you had that two-headed monster, especially into the boundary with two guys that can stay fresh guys and keep attacking, it really, really helps the offense.

As we play there will be bumps and bruises and guys going to be nicked up. That also gives us some flexibility, because next play multiple spots too. I'm excited about his return.

As you mentioned, man, he was catching everybody's eye how he was performing in fall camp.

Q. Coach, how important is it for you as a coach and a coaching staff to maintain the momentum you guys have had throughout this early portion of the season? How do you replicate that with a bye week of just keeping guys focused and locked in?

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, it's huge that we have momentum, right? We have tried to compartmentalize and help these guys stay present in the moment, understand the big picture, but stay present in the moment.

So we've looked at our season in three portions. We got the first four, bye week, the middle four, right, bye week, and then the last four. Also, too, I got to earn their trust every single day.

So kind of the way we looked at this open week is we need to recover. Man, we sprinted hard for four; bodies are beat up a little bit; we got to recover and recalibrate, evaluate and reload and get ready to go for the next one.

We know that now every one of them is ACC play, and at the present moment we are in the driver's seat. We control our own destiny. We got a great stretch here with four ACC games in a row. They're all going to be physical.

So trying to balance seeing the big picture but not staying focused on the big picture. In order for the big picture to ultimately come to fruition, it's what do you do daily. So we kept our same themes of the day. Monday was mindset Monday. And I told them it wasn't an off week. It was just an open week, right? That just means we don't play.

We got to stay in our battle rhythm, but then also give them a little bit of time for their bodies to recover. That's one of the things that I learned over my years with Coach Swinney, is just trying to manage the schedule.

As coaches we want to go. We're wired a certain way. But we're also not playing. Our bodies are not going through practice every single day. It's been a good open week for us. I think the guys are excited. They had a good, good practice today, very spirited practice today.

The guys understand the opportunity that they have and they can't waste a moment. I think they've enjoyed kind of the preparation that we did last week and now they're back in game mode and trying to reestablish that rhythm.

Hopefully that will lead to us maintaining the momentum. We got a lot to prove still, right? At the end of the day, we are where we wanted to be or where we thought we would be, but that's it. It's all about what's in front of us, man, and we got BC, a football team that really should be undefeated. Couple plays away.

Man, they went to Tallahassee, right? They went to Tallahassee and they won. Then they went on the road to Missouri and could have won that game. Then they beat a really good Big10 team at home. And then they overcame some adversity last week with the quarterback being down.

So like I think the guys understand who is coming in here. Also, too, like they're coming to take what we want. We need to be a football team that defends our home stadium. That's really been the message and the motivation, if you want to be honest.

We have not been good if Scott Stadium under this coaching staff. I want that to change. I believe the players want that to change. BC is not going to give it to us. We got to go take it, even in our home stadium.

So I think we got a lot to get refocused on ahead of us and the opportunities, but you're still dealing with young people, keeping them motivated daily. If I knew the answer, I would probably be a very wealthy man because I could write some books and help some folks.

It's a lot of fun to be around, and there is a lot of things that the outside world doesn't get to see, right? We get judged for three hours based on the plays that are happening on the field. There is a lot more that goes into it, which makes our jobs as coaches so special.

Q. How impressed have you been in terms of discipline, just how few penalties you've had?

TONY ELLIOTT: Man, I was hoping you didn't bring that up. Knock on some wood, man.

We talk about it. You can see over there we have our plan to win, right? So we have a plan to win and one is to be the more disciplined team. So far the guys have done a good job. In years past we hadn't done a good job.

So the guys are understanding what it really takes to truly be successful and compete and win at a high level. You can't beat yourself. That's where it starts. Don't lose to you yourself.

I think that just overall from a program teaching these young men and young ladies that are connected to the program, is that if you want freedom in life, it's discipline. Discipline leads to freedom.

So I think they're just really embracing that, and hopefully we can keep that trend up. We beat ourself a lot last year and the year before that. We beat ourself. I think the guys don't like -- if we're going to lose, somebody needs to beat us, flat out beat us.

It feels a little different when you look back and you're like, man, we gave that one away or beat ourselves because we weren't disciplined. Hopefully that will continue to resonate with the guys.

Q. You talk about keeping guys fresh, especially on the offensive line. With Boley coming back is there any flexibility -- Witmer had a good start -- about moving positions? Getting both of those guys on the field a possibility?

TONY ELLIOTT: Man, we have had about every combination we could possibly have out there. Just, one, rewarding guys because they earned the right to play. Secondly, just trying to gain some experience and figure out what the right combination is. So you've seen Jack a little bit at right and left full that's going to help both Boley and Blake. Then you see Jimmy play right and left.

So definitely gives us some flexibility because, again, it's a long season. We are just four games in, getting ready to play game five of twelve. We need all the experience and flexibility and different combinations we can possibly have.

Q. Last game, obviously a different role for Anthony Colandrea.

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah.

Q. Didn't really have to throw too many deep passes in the game. What did you see from him in the game as far as his game and growth?

TONY ELLIOTT: That's right, and for him, as a quote-unquote younger guy, every game will be a learning opportunity and experience for him. What he was able to learn is I just need to be a quarterback and do what's necessary four the team to win.

Sometimes that's going to be me extending a play or making a spectacular play; sometimes it's going to be making a routine play. How I hand the ball off and burst off my fake is important.

That needs to be just as important as me making the spectacular play and making the crowd roar. The funnest thing was to watch him celebrate with his teammates and come up to me during the game and be excited about how we're taking care of the ball and haven't turned it over.

So seeing growth in those areas. He wants to be a complete quarterback. He wants to win at a high level, so he's eager to learn.

The last time out was just a great opportunity for him to learn that some games, man, you put it in the other playmakers' hands and let them go. There will be times the ball is in your hands and you got to go make a play. The biggest thing this week is he's got another great quarterback on the other side, right?

He needs to focus on his game and stay win his one-on-one matchups on the field and not get caught up in a one-on-one match up. That's been the message to him. It's ACC play; a lot on the line. Got another great quarterback from the state of Florida, similar play styles. I just need AC to be AC and go as the game goes.

Then if you do that, you'll have an opportunity at the end, right, to hopefully be victorious.

Q. Your core special teams, big special teams, all improved from last year statistically.

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah.

Q. Any reason?

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, except that punt we got blocked, and we were able to overcome that. As a coach we always focus on those things. I think guys spying. I think first and foremost, guys really bought in. Coach Gaither has done a great job, him and Drew Meyer, with the organization and the in creation of all the coaching staff.

So we've broken up some of our special teams and given more ownership to different coaches on the staff, and hoping that translates to the position room. So there is a culture and atmosphere of special teams, and I think the guys are -- you look at our plan to win, No. 3 is be special on special teams. It's a third of the game and it can have a tremendous impact on the game.

Look at the last time out, right? Opening kickoff, Danley goes down, he knocks the ball loose. That changed the game right out the gate. You go from defense going on the field to now offense has the ball right around the 13 yard line. Couple plays later, you score.

So it's also part of complementary football. So I think the ownership, the organization, and guys just really buying in, and then we've been able to I think with some additions to the roster improve some of the core positions to give us a little bit more flexibility from a personnel standpoint.

Q. Big picture, (indiscernible) said today the ACC race is wide open.

TONY ELLIOTT: It is.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, in order to achieve it, man, you got to believe it, right? But we're not focusing on the big picture other than, hey, look, this is where you wanted to be. And that's kind of the way that I try to keep them focused, too. This is where you wanted to be, so keep staying committed and focused.

But why not? You know, why not? Why go into to believing, oh, well it should be those other two teams? We got to play all 12; they have to play all 12. We believe that you put us on the field with anybody, man, we got a chance.

But our confidence is starting to come from I believe the work we put in, right, and the sacrifices that we're willing to make, and then the love that we have for each other as a team.

So now, I don't want them to be -- come as cross as arrogant. That's definitely not the case. Like we know that, man, it's going to be earned and it's going to be tough sledding. Where we sit right now, this is where guys believed they would be. You got to take a second to recognize that. You can get completely lost in the mundane.

You also want to kind of smell the roses a little bit along the way. I think they also understand that we really haven't done anything yet and got a lot more to prove. We still remember kind of where we were picked at the beginning of the season.

We want to, man, prove ourselves right. Not so much everybody else wrong, but prove ourselves right. You got to have belief and a little bit of confidence.

Q. (Indiscernible) couple times. Just talk about the challenge.

TONY ELLIOTT: Man, he's dynamic. He's special. He's a big play magnet. You are starting to see like the growth and maturity from him as well. I don't know him personally, but watching him on tape as a outsider, his numbers are starting to improve, especially in the pass game; passing efficiency is up.

When you watch him on tape he looks like he's in good command of what they're doing. Also knows he has that kind of joker in his back pocket. He can pull the ball down and go. Extremely fast. He is a tough runner too for his size.

So the challenge for us is going to start with our eyes. Our eyes, going to have to have great eye discipline. Also going to have great rush lane integrity when we do rush.

We got to stay in our gaps, stay in our lanes, keep our eyes on him. Guys in coverage are going to have to do a great job of sticking with their guys because he can extend plays.

A lot like AC. He can get out of pocket and keep plays alive. He has a good knack for keeping them alive and finding guys downfield for big plays.

Then you got the designed quarterback run you got to be ready for. That is challenging because they have a lot of misdirection and some combos in there.

So it's a great challenge for us. I think it's going to start with preparation, formation recognition. That's what defensive football is. Formation recognition in certain situations and what plays come off those different formations.

Eye discipline. Then we got to make sure that we stay fundamentally sound. Then we have a chance to tackle and get them on the ground. He's not going to go down with an arm tackle. Got to put your body on him to get him on the ground.

Q. (Regarding analytics.)

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, so I'm getting used to this because now analytics is a big part of it. You probably seen we have been bit more aggressive because of analytics in some of the fourth down situations. Also, too, it helps you as a coach kind of in the momentum, in the human element of the game. Whereas the book may say you need to go for it, it's like, hey, man, I got a kicker here. I need to take points for the football team.

It's been good to see Bettridge go out there and put them through. Hopefully as he continues to develop, that range may improve. But it helps as a coach to know that you're not always in a situation where you have to go for it, that you can put up points on the board when these guys go out there. There is a lot of the confidence when that unit goes on the field that they're going out there to score points.

So and then also, too, Sparky, he helps you with punting, too, from an analytics standpoint. It just kind of helps bring everything into perspective. Then you can feel good about managing the human element but also you can lean on the analytics when you need to.