ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL KICKOFF

July 26, 2023

Tony Elliott

Tony Muskett

Chico Bennett

Perris Jones

Virginia Cavaliers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We welcome you back inside the grand ballroom here on the second floor of the Westin in Uptown Charlotte. Our fifth and final school of day two of the 2023 ACC Football Kickoff Media Event.

They are in the room, and it's the Cavaliers of Virginia. Questions for Coach.

Q. Coach, you brought in transfer quarterback Tony Muskett this offseason. Can you speak on his game and what stands out about him?

TONY ELLIOTT: Great question. Really excited, and you'll have a chance to hear from him in a minute, and he'll be able to probably express better what I'm about to express.

But the thing about Tony Muskett is from day one you saw his confidence. It's not a cockiness. It's not an arrogance, but it's a confidence.

From day one he wasn't afraid to go into the locker room and say, you know what, fellows, I'm here to compete. I'm going to do it the right way. I have tremendous amount of respect for everybody in here, but this is the way that I lead.

It quickly galvanized the guys. When you go back and you watch him on film, one, he was very, very productive at Monmouth. He led his team the way that he needed to lead to be successful.

You watch him throw the ball in adverse conditions, and you see that the accuracy is there. That's always a challenge when you are evaluating because you do a lot of evaluation on tape, especially when you are dealing with the transfer portal.

When you got to see him in spring practice, like, okay, now he does throw an accurate ball. You know what, it's a very catchable ball.

Then from there he just continued to be who he is, and he is a guy that's got a lot of confidence, but he knows how to manage it. He is a team-first guy. He is always going to promote his team, and he just has that "it" factor.

It's hard to describe. When you talk about quarterbacks, you can't coach it, right, but you know it when you see it, and he just has that presence about him. I think his teammates will attest to that, and you'll be able to gauge that once you hear him speak.

Q. Obviously last season off the field and on the field there was adversity in things that nobody should have to go through off the field. How have you seen this community come together? How have you seen these guys really put those numbers on their chest every single day and just live something they shouldn't have to live through, but live it so strongly and so proudly for their brothers?

TONY ELLIOTT: Right. Great question. First and foremost, got to thank the college football community, which includes all of you guys and everybody across the country for just the outpour of support. We felt it in Charlottesville.

The same thing with the community of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia, our student body. Everybody came to our side immediately.

While we were in shock trying to regain our footing from what just happened, they held us up in the interim until we could kind of get ourselves grounded and figure out how we're going to navigate forward.

This situation is unprecedented. There's no preparation. Even though I experienced tragedy as a young person and throughout the course of my life, it still doesn't prepare you for a situation like this.

The way that you get through it is together, and that's the beauty of football. It's an ultimate team sport, and it forces you to sacrifice and rely on somebody else. It forces you to do hard things that you may not want to do because you have a connection and a bond and a love for your teammates.

So these guys really is what gave me the inspiration to lead because it's very difficult in a situation like that to know what to say, know what to do, and then to have an understanding of is it working and trying to figure out how to lead not just the players, but the staff and then also the athletic department through that situation.

But these guys accepted the challenge. They understood that they have a responsibility to Lavel, Devin, and D'Sean to move forward in the right way, not moving on. There's a difference. That was a big message within the program is we're not moving on. We're never going to forget this. We're not going to put this to the side and act like it didn't happen.

Unfortunately for us, it's our new normal. It's a part of our lives and will be a part of our lives forever, and we'll constantly be reminded of it.

There will be tough days, and they have to learn that they have to lean on each other in tough days. They also learned the importance of football, the structure that it provides, the safe haven that it provides, the community that it provides.

To watch these guys every single day, they made a decision. The guys that came back in January made a decision to embrace the hard and live it every single day. These guys have done it beyond any expectations that I had of them, and it started with just having an attitude of gratitude and appreciation for life.

I think for us that are in it and hopefully going forward anybody that has a connection to our program will see that it's bigger than us. Ultimately, as we all chase purpose in life. We realize that purpose is not about me. It's about what I can do for others.

They didn't ask for this. University of Virginia didn't ask for this, but we were given this opportunity. A tremendous challenge, but we were given an opportunity. The opportunity that we see is that we can take something that is unexplainable, unprecedented, very, very difficult. You wouldn't wish it on anybody, and we can find the beauty of it and use it to inspire others going forward by the way that we respond, by the way that we play, by the way that they live, by the way that they go forward in the future and the individual ways that they decided they wanted to honor the legacies of Lavel, Devin, and D'Sean.

Q. What's the advantage to returning as much as you do on the defensive line. What does it do for your defense, and what's the advantage there?

TONY ELLIOTT: You're hoping that the advantage is that you got leadership. What I've learned in my experience in the college game is that the game is won in the trenches. The best teams that I've been around, you had great leadership at quarterback and then you had great leadership along the front, in particular the defensive line.

So you're returning a lot of guys with game experience. I think that's going to help the transition on the outside at corner where we lost some very, very productive guys.

You're not having to reteach, re-install; right? You're just having to refine. Hopefully what that's going to do is going to allow for the transition and the development of the young guys that we've brought in.

So it gives you the ability to lead, push forward, bring along, develop, and hopefully set the tempo because the game is going to be won in the trenches. It's a team sport.

You know, you don't win championships on offense or defense. You win it collectively, but when you have good experience on defense, it's going to challenge the offense to get better.

Q. All the players you brought with you today are from Northern Virginia. I'm curious if that's intentional, and how much that maybe reinforces your commitment to recruit the state and specifically Northern Virginia as well?

TONY ELLIOTT: I don't think that was the parameter for the selection of these guys. I think it's their individual attributes and the contribution we expect for the team.

I'm glad that you pointed that out because there is an emphasis to recruit of state of Virginia, and I think we all know that it's a very, very talent-rich area, in particular Northern Virginia and some of the other areas.

We have a challenge at the University of Virginia from a recruiting standpoint. We're responsible for mending relationships. We have to change the perception of Virginia football.

The way that I kind of equate it is nowadays young people in particular, the audience that you are recruiting, they don't grow up loyal to a school. They grow up loyal to players; right? So you think about all of the great players that have come through. There's some really, really good players.

It's our job to reintroduce them to the great players of the past and then our guys have to do a good job on the field, right, to create that excitement and renewed interest in the program.

Then we've got to continue to build relationships with the guys at the high school level, the coaches in particular. Then more importantly, guys got to come to the program and have success. That's the way that we're going to turn the tides from a recruiting standpoint in the state of Virginia.

Q. Obviously there were some bumps and struggles as you adjusted to the new offense at this program last year installing what you wanted to install. How much progress do you think we'll see kind of early this season? How far did you get with that process? Then, specifically, if you would address the wide receiver position where obviously you will to rebuild a lot of that room.

TONY ELLIOTT: Right. Great question. I'll attack the first part. I think you'll see a significant amount of progress. I think what you have seen is there's a lot more buy-in.

In fairness to the guys that were there last year and transitioned, they had a lot of success from a Virginia standpoint. In their minds, why are we changing? Unfortunately, just a transition in coaching, you're going to change. There's going to be a philosophical change.

There was a lot of things. You've got pretty much a brand new offensive line. You've got all kind of different dynamics that contributed to it. Not making excuses, but just kind of setting the context of the situation.

But I think in year two, now what you have is when we went to spring practice, there wasn't as much of the installation of the program, the core values, the practice habits that were having to be corrected in spring practice, one; right? That you can focus more on the details of the system to get down to building the fundamentals that you need.

So I think as we transition past that into year two, there's a lot more familiarity with what we're doing. Then you look at Tony's transition and even Colandrea. They came in, and for them they had a different perspective, ready to change.

I think in fairness to them and prior to there was a little bit more ease of transition because when I look at it, what coaches did before I got there was really, really good, but it was unique. It was different, right? It was something that they kind of did on their own that they developed, which was different. So the terminology, all that stuff was different.

I think you'll see an improvement, a significant improvement, just with the continuity of what we're doing and guys understanding and now that they understand they can play fast. They can play physical. They can play free, which gives them the ability to execute at a higher level.

In particular the wide receiver position. Obviously the transition from a coaching standpoint, you know, wasn't expecting that, but understand it. Respect it. Then you've got to make a decision and move on.

You are losing a lot of experience, but also you have a ton of opportunity. You look at Malachi Fields, a young man that early on we identified that was going to be a contributor, and then he injures his foot and he misses the majority of the season. Then now Demick has another year in the system. He is further along in the transition process.

You add in Malik Washington, a guy that is very, very talented that had productivity at Northwestern, that's now in the system that provides some leadership are. J.R. Wilson, a young man that when given an opportunity late in the season when the big three were down for injury, he showed what he was capable of.

I think that the ability is there, and now that we've had a spring and we'll have 25 practices in the fall, I think you'll start to see a little bit more continuity and then also with them working with the quarterbacks in the offseason a little bit more chemistry, which will give a little bit more rhythm.

Again, you focus on the dropped passes, and that's a function of a lot of things, but when you are trying to transition and thinking too much as a wideout, it's difficult to catch the ball.

A lot of that responsibility is on myself and my staff, and hopefully going forward we won't have those issues, but I think the biggest thing is we got more time, a little bit more experience in the system. Guys are thinking less. They're able to go out there and play free.

Q. You mentioned having success and trying to rebuild the image of Virginia football. I think level-setting new expectations is a healthy way of just keeping things going. What does success look like for Virginia football in 2023?

TONY ELLIOTT: Great question. I think it's relative to the perspective of which you're asking and looking at it from; right?

I think as a coach there's different things that you look for to quantify success. Externally obviously your wins and losses is what people are going to determine, but our objective is to prepare to win every single football game when we step on the field.

Now, there's a lot that goes into fully being prepared. So the expectation is that everybody understands that.

For me what I want to see is I want to see a football team that's playing complementary football, that is working together, that are complementing each other, that are having fun, that are playing with a tremendous amount of energy, a tremendous amount of passion. They're focused. They're playing physical.

I think if you establish those things, then you have prepared yourself to be in position to win. So for me that's what I'm looking for from a success standpoint.

Others will have expectations from a win-loss standpoint, and we want to win every single game, so our expectation is to win every single game. But we also understand that there's a certain quality of work and investment in the process of preparation to have an opportunity to win come Saturdays.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. We'll trade one Tony for another. If you want to trade with Tony Muskett, we'll bring our student-athlete up. Questions for Tony.

Q. Is there any pressure coming into Virginia from Monmouth to perform at the pace that Virginia needs you to perform at since they're expecting so much from you from an offensive standpoint?

TONY MUSKETT: To be honest with you, I think there's pressure any time you play. I went to Monmouth. I was fortunate to start there for tree three straight years as a true freshman and then sophomore and junior year. Any time you are playing college football, you go out and try to win.

I don't let external factors dictate how I handle my business. Every time I approach a game, I approach it the same way, whether it's a championship game or you are playing the worst team in the division.

Every game is as important as the next. When you have that mentality, it doesn't matter if you are playing in front of 3,000 people or 75,000 people. I go out there. I put internal pressure on myself, and I try to perform my best every single time I take the field.

Q. You heard Coach say the previous staff had their way of doing offense. How would you describe this coaching staff's offensive philosophy? What is the vision big-picture for Virginia offense?

TONY MUSKETT: Score a lot of points. No, I love it. I love Coach E's system. It's very similar to what I ran back at Monmouth. More pro style. We want to establish the run game. We want to give our guys open looks at the ball.

I'm very comfortable with it. I'm coming in, like Coach E was saying, they didn't necessarily run the same system, so there is a bit of growing pains with that, but now the guys coming back, it's their year two in it, so they're more comfortable with it. I've had exposure to it. This is my fourth straight year now.

So certain little things, whether it's getting out of a play fake and throwing that dig route on time or just knowing where the back is supposed to be on his check-down route and little things that I've had the exposure to and had the opportunity to work through for years now. It's translating to that to the new terminology and then implement it in the system. I'm very comfortable with it, and I think we're going to be successful this year.

Q. Has there been in anything in terms of the adjustment from going from Monmouth to Virginia? I know football is football is football, but is there anything that in making this adjustment has surprised you a little bit about Virginia or about ACC football as a whole so far?

TONY MUSKETT: I think how committed the guys on the team are, and that's not to say people on Monmouth weren't, but I just think this group in particular that we have in the locker room right now, it's a lot of highly-committed guys.

I played a lot of football. I've been around a lot of football teams, but I'll tell you what, no matter what time of the day I go into the locker room, someone is going to be in there getting work in. Whether it's Perris getting extra routes, Chico getting extra lifting in, James Jackson, he is always in there doing something.

It's just there's a ton of guys in the program right now that love football and love Virginia football.

So I think when you are surrounded by a group like that, and you have those guys in the program that winning is the most important thing and getting better every single day is their number one task, that's when you start to see results and when the program starts to take a shift, major step forward.

Q. Just what you saw when you went into the transfer portal, Tony, what was it about Virginia that caught you initially, and has that kind of held true now that you're on campus, whatever you originally saw, did you see it kind of come to fruition?

TONY MUSKETT: The biggest thing was I entered the portal, and portal recruitment is crazy. You set up your official visits. I was still 50/50 when I came to visit here. I don't know if Coach E knows this or not, but I remember we were in our little breakout room, and it was most of the recruits, the transfers and their parents.

He was just completely honest. He told us how he leads his life as a man of Christ. How he leads his family in that way and how he leads this program in that way. How he is set in his morals. He doesn't waver in that.

What matters to him matters to the program. When I heard that, I mean, it wasn't much more convincing to do. He is the type of man that I want to play for and that I want to make proud. He stood by his word. From the first day I stepped on grounds until now, he has led his life that way, and he has led the program that way. I've been nothing but blessed to be here and blessed to play for him.

Q. What's your excitement level to come back so close to home, to be able to play and growing up in Springfield were you a UVA fan, and how much did you follow the program?

TONY MUSKETT: I can't wait. My older brother played football at Virginia Tech. I never liked my older brother. Just kidding.

I've been a UVA fan for some time now. Coming back home having my whole family right up in Northern Virginia, having all my high school friends, friends I made along the way telling me they're going to be able to come to games and watch me play live, that's all you can ask for.

Especially at a university like Virginia. It's high academic. They do things the right way in my opinion. Then playing ACC football, one of the best conferences in the country. I can't wait to get out there on September 2nd and just show the world what we're about.

THE MODERATOR: Tony, thank you. You can swap places with Chico Bennett.

TONY MUSKETT: Thank you very much.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Chico.

Q. You had seven sacks last year, the most by a UVA player since 2019. What makes you such an effective pass rusher?

CHICO BENNETT: Man, it's a testament to Coach Rud and his philosophy for the defense. I think that the biggest thing he wanted to make sure for us as a unit was to just play fast, so he did a good job by just simplifying the defense as a whole and allowing us to just play fast, play reckless and violent. But all in the confines of the game and rules.

He has done a good job of that.

Q. Chico, you had the opportunity to decide to come back. What was it about Virginia that made you feel like you had to suit up one more time and ride with your brothers again?

CHICO BENNETT: I certainly would say the tragedy of what happened was definitely a big deciding factor because it would have been easy to just leave, but for me it was just leak -- it was a no-brainer to come back, man.

One, something like that, nobody should have to go through, but of course, we did. I think it was opportunity to build off that and take it as Coach Elliott likes to say, turn tragedy into triumph.

We truly embodied that just as a team and just in our individual lives, especially as we grieve alone and we grieve together as a unit, man, I think it definitely -- it's definitely important for me to come back.

Q. Getting back into your pass rushing bag a little bit here, your spin move on tape is a work of art almost every time I see it. How is it that you know or have that feel of when to keep working around the edge versus when you are being overset, and you need to counter back versus even moments where you get a jump set, and you spin right off the line at times? How do you feel that? How does that gauge come about for you?

CHICO BENNETT: Just, as you say, it's more so of a feeling. As my position coach, Coach Slade says, when you are going, don't try to overthink it. Don't be a robot. When you get comfortable, one, you get comfortable with the plays. You're able to rush freely obviously, but of course, within the confines of the defense.

Again, yeah, it's just a feel for it. Everything will come natural, especially when you don't have to think. You can just play free. It allows for moments like that.

Q. What needs as a returner do you feel this team still needs to address for this season and beyond?

CHICO BENNETT: The needs? I certainly would say, as Coach Elliott says, complementary football. I think last year we left some things on the table that we shouldn't have.

It's frustrating in the moment, but now looking back we understand that, hey, it wasn't something that the opposing team did anything spectacular, but it's more so on us.

I thinking with that we go back, look at the film. It's like we understand. So now I don't have any doubt in my mind that coming up that, of course, the game isn't perfect. We're going to make mistakes, and that's going to happen. That's just how life is in general. Where the defense lacks, the offense will come in and pick up the slack and vice versa, so yeah.

Q. Having lived in Fairfax and Ashburn and played football there for a couple of years, what are your impressions of the talent level in Northern Virginia, and how much pride do you and other guys on the team take in representing that region, especially at UVA?

CHICO BENNETT: It's a nice area. Certainly it's a nice area for sure. But I think guys take pride in that, especially where they come from, so from all backgrounds.

Northern Virginia, you know, obviously being at UVA, guys like to put that on their chest and wear it proud, so certainly.

THE MODERATOR: Chico, thank you. You can swap places with Perris. Questions for Perris.

Q. You heard Tony Muskett's answer, but I'll ask you the same. What is the vision of the Virginia offense? What do you guys big-picture aim to be?

PERRIS JONES: Man, we aim to be special, man, electric. Our goal is to go out there and score every time we touch the field. We left a lot on the grass last year, and we're trying to make up for those mistakes, and I think the buy-in from the young guys and even with the older guys has been a lot better than it was. I think as a result, we're operating at a more efficient level.

Q. I'm wondering what kind of impact has having a marquee nonconference game to open up the season against Tennessee had on the offseason, had on the summer, if at all?

PERRIS JONES: It's definitely had an impact. I mean, growing up as a kid, that's something that you look forward to. You know, playing some of the best talent that the game has to offer on some of the biggest stages that it has to offer.

So it's one of those things where if you don't get excited about that, you're in the wrong sport. But it's also one of those things where you don't want to put too much emphasis on it. You don't want guys to just focus on that game specifically.

We have a lot of other games to play, but we're just trying to make sure every time we touch the field we put our best foot forward, and that's the first opportunity we get to do that, so that's what we're focused on.

Q. You had the opportunity as well to come back, and you heard what Chico had to say about it being different at Virginia and obviously wanting to come back. You don't have to come back, which is what Coach said as well. Why did you choose to do it, and why did you choose to just be a part of this family and navigate through this together on the field as well as off the field?

PERRIS JONES: Right. Same reasons as Chico had really, but even deeper than that. Coach Elliott and his staff were the first to actually believe in me and give me a chance in my abilities.

I feel like I left a lot out there. I didn't put my best foot forward, and I was always raised to do so by my parents. I have a lot more to give. You know, a lot more to give my teammates, a lot more to give my coaches, and a lot more to give this program.

That's what I aim to do with this last year. That was a big factor in coming back on top of obviously the tragedy and everything that transpired. I have a debt to pay to those guys, and I plan to pay it.

Q. In terms of the three wins that you all had last year, in two of those you averaged more than five yards per carry in those games. You're the leading returning rusher. You were the second leading rusher on the team outside of Brennan Armstrong last year, and obviously Tony Muskett comes with a different skill set. Are you expecting to take on a bigger role in terms of running the ball more and carrying more of a load in terms of offensive production based on the fact that there has been a direct correlation between your success and the team's success to some extent?

PERRIS JONES: I don't look at it like that, to be completely honest with you. I think all of our backs are talented. Whoever is in the arena, I have full confidence that they'll do what they need to do.

I'm just looking forward to being all that I can be, honestly. Whatever my team needs me to do, I plan on doing it to the best of my ability in the capacity that I'm in and helping our team get a win.

As long as I'm doing that, I don't really mind if I'm leading in the stat sheet or not.

THE MODERATOR: From the podium, let's respin that question a little bit. In those first four years at Virginia, you carried the ball three total times. Three. What was it about your with internal fortitude, your vision, your goal to stick with it to find that next opportunity?

PERRIS JONES: It was definitely challenging. I would be lying if I said it wasn't. There was sometimes where I felt like I wasn't in the right sport, like it wasn't for me, but I'm thankful for my teammates, my family. My mom and dad were a big part of that just keeping me true to myself. I've always been a hard-working kid, and I'm thankful that my hard work was saw by Coach Elliott and his staff, and they gave me a chance, thankfully.

It was definitely challenging. I knew that I had to stay true to who I was and the core of who I was, which is a hard-working kid, and I knew it would pay off at some point.

THE MODERATOR: We want you to recreate a smile. Recreate the smile that you had when you went from being a walk-on to a scholarship player.

PERRIS JONES: Man, honestly I didn't really smile too much. I just getting beat up (laughing) because people were jumping on me and stuff. Yeah, something like this, I guess.

THE MODERATOR: One last question for you. You're Mike Hollins' roommate, and you've been watching his recovery since the tragedy last November. Tell us about the guy that you like to call Iron Mike.

PERRIS JONES: Man, the name speaks for itself. I have the privilege of living with Mike as well as working out with him day in and day out. He is a superhero. That's the best way that I can describe it. Experiencing what he experienced and carrying himself with as much grace and perseverance as he does is inspirational to see day in and day out. His spirit is truly unbroken, and he embodies that every day. The passion he has for his teammates and for the coaches and for the program, I mean, it's second to none.

The guy is amazing.

I love him. I tell him every morning that I'm grateful for him because he inspires me. When you see somebody go through something like that and still get up in the morning and find a way to put one foot in front of the other, it really lets you know that things aren't as bad in your life as you think they are.

I'm grateful for him, and I love him to death. That's really my brother. I couldn't be more proud of who he is and who he is becoming.

THE MODERATOR: UVA, may the wind be at your backs. Good luck this season.