UVA Football: Tony Elliott Makes Debut at ACC Football Kickoff

Everything Tony Elliott said at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte

Matt Newton | Jul 21, 2022

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Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia Head Coach Tony Elliott talks to the media during the second day of ACC Media Days at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, NC. — Tony Elliott made his debut as Virginia's head coach at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte on Thursday / Courtesy of Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Virginia football head coach Tony Elliott made his debut at the ACC Football Kickoff event in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday. Elliott fielded questions from the media about Brennan Armstrong and Keytaon Thompson, his relationship with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, the UVA offensive line, and the rivalry with Virginia Tech.

See a full transcript of everything Tony Elliott said at the ACC Football Kickoff below:

Q. I'm curious, how valuable has Brennan been in establishing kind of your program as a returning starter with a new coaching staff?

TONY ELLIOTT: Great question. He brings initial credibility to me by making a decision to stay. Obviously, he had opportunities to move on and transition to the next level. So he brings that immediate validation because he believes -- showing his belief in me to the rest of the locker room.

Then just having a guy that's battle-tested, that's worked and developed. I have been a fan of his before ever having a chance to work with him, just watching him develop from afar through our games with Virginia when I was at Clemson.

Then just now to be around him, to see how he operates, how he conducts himself. I think we have a lot of similarities. We're both blue-collar-mentality guys. Team-first guys. One of the points that he wanted to illustrate to me early on is, Coach, this ain't about stats. This is about winning. I want to win. I want to come back. I want to win. I want to develop, and I want to prepare myself for the next level.

He has been instrumental in me establishing the foundation of the program.

Q. At what point -- Dabo said yesterday, you've had other opportunities to be a head coach, but at what point in this process with Virginia did you say, I'm ready? Number one, I know I'm ready. And, number two, this is the perfect fit for me?

TONY ELLIOTT: I think you've followed my career, and we've had a very good relationship over the years, and we went through this starting in 2015 every year with the calls coming and the opportunities.

I think there were some programming that I was a part of with the Champions Forum that humbled me and showed me that I wasn't ready to be a head coach.

So in 2015 was when I really started to say, okay, I want to make this transition, but I knew there were things that I wanted to do. Going through the experience with another school the previous year and getting close to possibly transition is when I knew I was really ready to be a head coach, but I just needed to find the right place.

With Virginia, everybody knows it came down to Duke and Virginia from a decision standpoint, and I think for me it was really solidified with the -- not the initial conversations with Carla, but it was the follow-up conversations with Carla because you know me, David, that I'm very intentional. I'm about relationship. I was looking for alignment. That was the number one thing I was looking for. We were able to have a couple of conversations off the record that solidified that UVA was the right place for me. It already fit the profile, what I was looking for, because you guys know that academics for me is the most important thing. I was a ballplayer just like these guys, and I had dreams of playing in the NFL, but it was my aunt's persistent and consistent messaging to me about my education. Now my life and the lives of my children has changed because of education.

It started there. The alignment was established through those off-the-record conversations, and then there's a lot of similarities between where I was coming from and UVA. It's a college-oriented town. It's in the ACC, and I believe that this is the best conference in college football. I've experienced it at the highest level, so I knew I had a chance to compete for championships.

Then the last thing is I wanted to be somewhere where I could build what I believe is the model program that shows you can win at the highest level but you don't have to compromise anything from a character standpoint, an academic standpoint and player development standpoint.

Q. Dabo Swinney said yesterday that he felt this was the right fit for you. That when he had the conversation with you, he felt like this was the one, and you had to take it. I know you've spoken about the why for Virginia, but just your relationship with Coach Swinney, what you can say about that and that connection with him that as much as he wanted you there, he respected you enough to say, hey, this is a good fit.

TONY ELLIOTT: Coach Swinney's relationship has kind of changed over the years, but it kind of started as father-son type of relationship, being that he was my position coach for my senior year. I was coming off of three years of playing for Rick Stockstill. Then there was a transition, and I was asked to come back, and I already graduated from Clemson with an engineering degree.

There was a lot of uncertainty because I was a walk-on. I didn't know what was going to happen, and here comes Coach Swinney. We had similarities in our background. Our values that we had already aligned.

Then over the years when I became one of his coaches, that father relationship -- father-son relationship was still there, but it kind of now transitioned into more of a mentor/colleague. I aligned with a lot that he was doing at Clemson. I also valued his opinion on a lot of things. I would seek advice to him. A couple of things he told me is he wanted me to be an old head coach, not just a head coach, which means that you go somewhere where it's the right fit.

I learned a lot about how to build a culture and what protecting and establishing a culture will do for a program if you want to sustain it.

I learned a lot of things about just how to run the day to day, and that's what's so awesome about Coach Swinney is he is very inclusive. He includes a lot of people. Sometimes people use that as a knock, but to me that's one of his greatest assets is he values people and incorporates people, and he allows people to develop.

He was instrumental in helping me develop, but he also taught me that, hey, you don't have to be in a rush. You can enjoy the moment, be present where your feet are as you prepare, and then look for confirmation. Again, the objective is to be an old head coach, not just a head coach.

Q. You've got these incredible athletes on offense. All these skill players. They've developed very quickly and very fast and there's a lot of promise there. The million dollar question is, can you explain how the offensive line is going to develop this summer to get ready for the season?

TONY ELLIOTT: Right. That is the biggest question, and the only regret that I have is that I didn't do a good job of recruiting those guys that left when I first got to UVA.

I'm excited about the opportunities that we have, so we have guys that have some experience. Just not a lot of it. Leech is a guy that we've been really, really counting on, and he had a great -- he had a great offseason, great spring. He showed some versatility.

Logan Taylor is a big body that's very, very talented coming off of injury. He was limited in the spring.

Then we have [Derek] Devine. Devine is an older guy. A veteran guy. He hasn't played as much, so there's three guys that have some experience. Just not a lot of it.

Then we bring in John Paul Flores, as a grad transfer. Jestus Johnson at center. I think that we have a solid seven or so. Charlie Patterson has really, really transformed his body. Noah Josey is a very talented young player. I think we have a good seven bodies that are ready to go. In this offseason they worked really hard. They transformed their body. I'm excited to get back and see exactly where they are. We worked with the coaches a little bit with the rule changes, and that's been very positive.

The challenge is can we develop the depth? We brought in some ready-made guys that we believe can transition quickly, and we have some developmental guys on the offensive line that we think over time are going to be really good players.

So the key is can we get two or three of those guys that we brought in this summer to be ready to be depth guys, so that the guys that are starting don't have to play every single snap? But they're going to have to grow up fast.

Then we have to create some more depth at Ty Furnish at center as well.

Q. How long did it take from the first time you set foot in Charlottesville for someone to mention the importance of the Virginia Tech rivalry, and in your first year how quickly have you become immersed in that? I know that game is far into the future, but very important when it's in Charlottesville.

TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, it happened before I stepped foot in Charlottesville. It was made very, very clear that that's the one we have to win. My response to it is every game is the most important game on the schedule.

In order to be a champion, and I tell these guys all the time, you have to become a champion before you ever get to a championship moment.

We understand the importance of winning that game versus Virginia Tech, and a lot of respect for Coach Pry and the program and what they're doing over there.

For us it's not focusing on Virginia Tech. It's focusing on Virginia and understanding that if we come out the gate and we make Richmond the most important game on the schedule and we take that one-game-mentality mindset that is a season of its own, then when we get to Virginia Tech, then we'll be prepared to put forth our best effort in a championship moment and then let the cards fall where they fall.

I've also been fortunate to be a part of a very similar rivalry in Clemson and South Carolina. It's 365 days. There's dividing lines even in the household. There's dividing lines.

It was refreshing to see because I think that every champion, and we're talking long-term that's what we desire to be, a championship program, needs a very worthy rival.

THE MODERATOR: From the podium, you were born in California, but you've spent your entire career hugging the Atlantic coast. What is it about this part of the country that keeps you here?

TONY ELLIOTT: First of all, it's a lot slower pace of life than living out in the concrete jungle in California. Just some of the Southern values I've grown to love. Football. I mean, football is very, very important here in this region.

I just like the geography. I like the green. Even though the sinuses kill me when the pollen comes out, I still just -- I just love this area. It's home for me. I was embraced in my aunt's household down in Charleston. Embraced throughout my time in South Carolina. I coached my entire career in the state of South Carolina in the ACC for 11 years, so it's just home to me.

Q. Tony, where is Keytaon grown the most as receiver since you arrived? Obviously, he was in the kind of in a do-it-all role last year. Where has he grown the most?

TONY ELLIOTT: Great question. 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.

I'm fortunate to play wide receiver. I coached wide receiver for five years, and then I was at Clemson for 11 with a head coach who was a wide receiver guy. Wide receiver is in my blood. He is an extremely, extremely talented football player.

He has an additional sense that not every football player has. He has a sense of just how to make plays. Right? 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. Right? He might be playing against a smaller, quicker guy, and he might not be able to be in a position where you 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. 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.

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