Everything From Tony Elliott Ahead of Saturday's Game vs Stanford

Virginia continues to cruise through the opening weeks of the 2025 season on the back of a stellar running game. Big wins aside, UVA has one more chance to clean up its play against Stanford before taking on stronger ACC programs like Florida State and Louisville.

Ahead of Saturday's game, UVA head coach Tony Elliott met with the media and here is everything that he had to say.

1. Sense of where defense is...

"Yeah, just settling in. I think both offense and defense trying to figure out what their identity is, how to communicate properly together, playing a lot of different guys, so we're starting to get a better sense of where we are. I think this week will be a really good challenge. We'll know a lot more about our offense and defense as we get into ACC play."

2. Kam Robinson's return and his impact on the game...

"Feel really good, that was the plan. The plan was to let him warm up, and last week he practiced with non -contact, so we wanted him to get used to the game day routine since he'd been out for a couple weeks and that's why we allowed him to warm up. We did a couple other guys like that. He did that, McKay, Buchanan did that, Kenan Johnson, Clary, all in anticipation of these guys being available hopefully this week."

"Yeah, I think the film speaks for itself. You just go watch him play and he's a very very fast very instinctual violent guy can run sideline to sideline so you get a very dynamic athlete back at the linebacker position."

3. Development of new offensive line group despite injuries...

"It's a next man up mentality and I think credit to Jack Witmer in his development and getting a Drake [Metcalf] back from injury was really big and getting Sipe back as well being able to fill in. He's still hobbled a little bit with his foot and now his ankle. But the guys have bonded and gelled and even the guys that are on the sideline right now that aren't playing are being productive. They're engaged, they're involved in the meetings, they're out at practice, they're being an extra set of eyes to help Coach Heff [Heffernan] with the little things throughout the course of practice. So it's been fun to watch, even though it's a little painful, when a lot of the guys that you thought would be in there are not available."

4. Preparing for Stanford's sturdy defensive line...

"Well, first of all, their entire defense is very experienced. I think they're all seniors or graduates. On the defensive side of the ball, 91 [Clay Patterson] is playing at a high level. He's a matchup problem for any interior guy in a one-on-one situation, so you've got to be smart and how you handle him, and I may have to slide in his direction. Then they do a lot defensively from a structure standpoint to create confusion, and then their second-level guys, their linebackers. When they pressure, they know how to get to the quarterback, so 91 has three sacks, and then they also got a handful of sacks from the second level, so they do a really good job schematically of testing your protection rules, and they get some matchup advantages on backs. That's always something that you're working on, trying to keep the big guys off your back. Their edge guys do a really good job of squeezing the pocket and forcing the quarterback to escape interior-wise, which allows the defensive line, the defensive tackles, to get the ball carried on the ground quickly."

5. Keeping rushing game going against Stanford's solid run defense...

"That's gonna come down to just the little things in execution. That's what it always comes down to. Hand placement, pad level, coordination, working together when we're supposed to be doubling. We need to stay on our doubles as long as we can and create a new line of scrimmage. Backs are going to be disciplined with their eyes. They're going to have to run with a mentality to fall forward. So it's going to be a good matchup. I'm excited to see how our guys respond, you know, now that we're getting to ACC play."

6. Reaction to Virginia Tech firing Brent Pry...

"Over the last few years, Coach Pry has been good to me. I thought we had a good relationship here, working together in the state, even though we're rivals. Man, I hate it for him and his family. You don't want to see that happen to any coach. We know it's a part of what we sign up for, but you hate to see that. I don't know all the details behind all of that, and it's not my job to go and find that out. Just know that Coach Pry is a heck of a football coach. He's been really, really good to me over the last three years. You know, I hate to see that. I hate that for the young people in the locker room at this point in the season. But ultimately, you've got to trust the administration. You know, they had a plan, knew what they were doing. But just, you know, praying for Pry and his family as they go through this tough time."

7. Mentoring Antonio Clary through knee injury...

"He's mad at me right now because he wants to play and and he's one that he'll lay it on the line for you, you know, he has no regard for his body, and he'll he's willing to go down for the team. I just want him to be able to play as much football as possible and if that means that I have to be the bad guy and say, 'Hey, no, we need to take another week,' then I'm willing to do that because ultimately I want to see him play and play as much as he possibly can. Then also I'm a little bit more experienced in terms of the after effect of injuries long term so you don't want to put him in a situation where five, ten years from now he's going to be walking with a permanent limp because he came back too soon so it's kind of give -and -take but I tell you what, yesterday he was was turned loose to to run around full speed with the with the group and he looked good but we'll still continue to talk between Clary, myself and the medical staff to see what is the right time you know how does a knee respond because really it's a structurally it's fixed and and he's in a good place from a strength standpoint, now it's just how does it respond to the volume of practice and then how does it respond in the game. I get a lot of advice from the medical folks. I don't try to overstep my boundaries there, but then also because I care about them and I care about his long-term health. I don't want to put him on the field too early."

8. Importance of recruiting Kam Courtney in state...

"He came from a state champion calibre program where he knew how to know how to win, knew what it took and was going to bring that to us. Then as a as a football player, he can do a lot of a lot of things. You saw his explosiveness in the return game. You saw him as a ball carrier on the reverse and he's made a mix of some really good catches down the stretch here this season. So, he was a huge part of keeping a player like that from leaving the state and going to the Big Ten. It was important to keep him home."

9. NC State game helping prepare for ACC schedule...

"I think now you got a sense for the speed of the game, the physicality of the game. I'm not saying that the other opponents that you play were not physical but you get a test in league even though it was non-conference and one of the better teams in our league that's won a lot of football games that has recruited well last you know 10 years or so, to be able to build their program holistically so it was a really good opportunity for us to to see where we were to feel what it feels like to be in an ACC game as we get ready for Stanford coming in here Saturday night."

10. Stanford's progress so far this season...

"I thought they did a really good job of capitalizing on turnovers and generating turnovers. That was the difference in the game. But you just see that Stanford has the ability to run the football behind that big offensive line. They got some big, thick running backs that come downhill that are going to fall forward. The quarterback does a good job of distributing the ball. I think their tight ends are as good as any that we're going to play all year. On the other side, defensively, they challenge you. So it looks like they built some confidence coming out of that game versus a BC [Boston College] team. And they were down. They were down 17-6, and boom, within a couple of minutes of game time, now they're leading. They score 14 points quickly off two turnovers. So they capitalized on that. So we're expecting to get their best, and they're going to come in here confident. And they got some things that challenge you in all three phases that we've got to be prepared for. So I'm excited to see how our guys respond to Stanford, the team that we haven't played before. I'm excited too, because it's the first time that a Virginia Stanford has played, the first time that I've played against Stanford. And Coach [Frank] Reich is a very accomplished football coach. Very, very good at what he does. He's done it at the highest level. You can see some of the pro influence on what they do offensively. So it's going to be a fun challenge."

11. How offensive line is coming together despite injuries...

"They've just found a way but I think what they what they've done is they've taken pride in in the program starting in the weight room. in the way that Coach Smo [Smotherman] and the staff down there have helped them build their bodies so I think they're confident in in their strength and their conditioning. Then with Coach Heff [Heffernan] and his expertise and the details and fundamentals of the position, understanding the scheme that Coach Kitch [Kitchings] is drawing up for him. I think they just have a lot of confidence right now. They feed off of each other and I believe that they've turned it into not an individual standard but a collective standard of what the position is supposed to look like with all five of those guys and It doesn't matter who's in there. That's been the funnest thing to watch is it's really been a next man up mentality. We've played a lot of guys in a lot of different positions as we've been figuring out, we've faced adversity. And it seems like each week a soldier goes down and we got another one that's ready to step up and play."

12. Drake Metcalf's progress in 2025...

"I told him the other day before practice that he's moving extremely well and so super proud of how he attacked his rehab and you know we were probably a little bit too aggressive to begin with because he was a guy that said 'Man I want to get back as fast as possible' when we had a little bit of a setback and he responded to that the right way and that's what I'm what I'm proud of this is because of his response to that. As opposed to getting down about it just man taking it in stride and going back to work has put him in in the position that he is now he's moving well he's communicating well he's playing playing at a high level so I'm just excited to have him back and he's kind of the the mouthpiece of the of the room because he's got a big personality if you ever spend any time around Drake. What I do know is I know he loves those guys in that unit, he'll do anything that he possibly can for them. He's going to hold them accountable and call them out when they need to and then also if he makes a mistake or something he's going to own it so he's been a good leader for us as well."

13. Playing in California opening up recruiting...

"So, we have a couple of players from California on our roster right now. I think the brand, Virginia, has already opened up. The academic side has already opened up an opportunity to go to California. I think the biggest challenge is just the ability to truly build relationship because of the proximity. It's very difficult to get back and forth in both directions, them trying to come to a game to really see what it's all about. And us actually getting out there to get into the school and the community to find out everything we can about a player. But I think it does open up an opportunity. I think recruiting has changed. It's become more national, but for us, it's going to be relationship driven. So if we have relationships out there in the West, we're going to definitely take advantage of them. We went out there to see a couple of quarterbacks last year. So we are recruiting the state of California. And I think us being able to play out there is probably more beneficial than them coming to play out here, because we actually get to put our brand of football on display in front of recruits. TV also plays a big factor too, like 10:30 at night over here it's hard to stay up that late for a game and then, vice versa, them being able to see our games when we start early. A 12 o 'clock kick here is a 9 AM and they're coming off of a Friday night, so it makes a little bit challenging from, from that standpoint. Being able to physically play in the state does help because people get to see you live."

14. John Rogers' progress so far this season...

"Excited about John. First his body has changed. He came in here probably around just at 220 pounds. Now, he's hovering about 235-ish. Because of that, he's a little bit more physical at the point of attack. We knew in the recruiting process that he was a dynamic athlete. John can really run, change direction, has some explosiveness, something that is different than some of the other guys in the position room, but he's so much to learn as well. What you're seeing now is that he's getting a better understanding of the scheme, which is allowing his physical traits to now really kick in. So just super excited for John. All the guys love John. He was a student body president coming out of high school. So he's a very social guy. Everybody likes John. Great for us on special teams as well. So he's going to have tremendous value moving forward this season and in the future."

15. TE's impact on the offense...

"I think for them in particular whenever the run game really gets going, it helps them because of some of the play-action stuff that comes off of the of the run game because they're involved in a run game. Then when you can sell the run it sets up the play-action and a lot of your more primary targets. They may not be the primary target, but a lot of times in your play-action, the first place you look is for the tight ends."

16. Developing Daniel Kaelin...

"It was really important and just super proud of the guys [QBs] for having the right mindset and mentality to come out and have that workman approach so that we could play guys. For him to have action early in the second quarter and all through the third quarter was big, and we hope to be able to continue to play him so that, from a standpoint, if there's ever an injury, he's ready to go. Then, also down the road, it helps him to get those valuable snaps, and it was good to see Cole [Geer] get in there too and play a little bit. To have a game where you're able to play as many guys as we were able to play on the roster. I've been doing it for a long time, and I haven't been a part of many games like that. Not just at the end of the game, but in competitive situations play a lot of your depth. It's huge to be able to play depth so you can iron out some of those issues before you get into conference play."

17. Secondary coming together...

"I think we're getting closer. The challenge is, as soon as you get closer, it seems to be -- knock on wood -- somebody get dinged up and then now your combination changes. It may seem simple from the outside like, 'Oh well just plug a guy in' but when you're playing the teams that can change structures on you, they're constantly motioning right there they're trying to find numbers and angles and guys are on opposite sides of the field and now they got to communicate across the field and it's all got to be tied in from the front, the backers and then the secondary because again, their run/pass reads can change like that. Their fits can change like that. When they're in man coverage, splits can change things. So there's a lot of communication that has to take place. You hear me talk about chemistry. It's the same thing on the offensive side of the ball. You have to build chemistry together. So the more we can play together -- obviously we're doing everything we can in practice but it's in the game because you can't truly simulate in practice what it's going to be like in the game because you don't know what the calls are going to be from the opposite sideline. Every snap that we get with those guys out there is valuable for us and we've got to make sure that we do everything we can from a preparation standpoint so that as we're building that chemistry, we don't have big mistakes. This past week, we just had some uncharacteristic big play busts that we got to get cleaned up, which the guys have taken ownership of. We're going to make sure that we at least correct those errors and then hope that we're prepared for whatever we see on this coming Saturday."

18. More injury updates...

"[Da'Marcus] Crosby is dealing with a tooth issue that should be getting fixed this morning. We anticipate that he'll be ready to go."

"Noah [Vaughn] looks like a high ankle sprain. We do want to take some more pictures just to be safe, but you've got to wait until it's weight-bearing to be able to take those stress pictures. That could be a couple of weeks."

"[Wallace] Unamba realistically [returns] probably around the bye week just to let that knee calm down. I anticipate by after Louisville game, we should be getting 'Big Wall' back."

"Cam [Ross] is good to go. [Antonio] Clary should be turned loose. So, we are getting several guys back."

"[Daniel] Sparks: hip flexor. I think Sparks should be available to punt. We may take the duty of kick off away just for a little while because that's where he puts a little bit more stress on the leg. It was a hip flexor strain and you saw he was in there holding for us on our extra points. He just wanted to be careful there but I anticipate he'll be at least available to punt this weekend."

19. Jahmeer Carter continuing to improve...

"If you come out and you watch Jahmeer [Carter] at practice even in our walkthrough tempo when it's truly a walkthrough. He has bands on his hands to work on keeping his hands tight. His pad level is very low. He's intentional with his hand placement so he's constantly working which has allowed him to continue to improve and he's gonna be a guy that's going to constantly push for that ceiling. He's going to get every inch and every ounce out of his ability as he can. I think the offseason was really good for him. He took his diet very serious, transformed his body a little bit. I think the depth really helps so that he can stay fresh. If he's not having to play 65 -70 snaps, he can play at a different speed for those 25 -30 snaps when he's in there. So, I think it's a combination of several things, but he's the ultimate pro. He shows up every day. He's probably in the building right now doing something. He's probably in the weight room, be honest with you, he's probably in the weight room. We don't practice until, you know, four o 'clock this afternoon. He's probably in the weight room doing foam rollers and all kind of stuff just to keep his body in the best condition as possible. Then he's going to be up here watching film on special teams and on their offense. So, just proud of the leadership that he brings and the example that he sets. I want him to continue to play at a high level because there's nobody that works harder in our program than Big Jah."