Everything Tony Elliott Said at His Press Conference Ahead of Matchup vs California

Virginia's week ten matchup against California is right around the corner. The Cavaliers are likely to claim victory once again and extend their streak, but UVA head coach Tony Elliott knows that complacency is dangerous in this game, and he encourages his program to continue developing in each passing week.

During his latest press conference, Elliott shared his thoughts on the upcoming matchup:

On the challenges of making a trip to the West Coast to compete...

"Right. The staff has done a great job of tapping into the resources of not just college, but NFL resources about making the West Coast trip. And so, yes, we've had conversation about what's the right timing? When do you go? How do you get acclimated to the time change? What's the meal schedule?

Should you should you get out there and do some stretching? Do you want to have a fast Friday practice? what's the best combination and so we took all that information and Evaluated it and then also looked at where our team is right now to help us finalize our plan to travel to travel out west."

On when he has to solidify his schedule and what his week looks like...

"So the decision to go out was made way before the time. Now, the six -day hold makes it a little bit challenging because you're waiting on the kick time, and that's really going to impact your Saturday morning schedule and then maybe some of your Friday schedule. But all of the bulk of your planning is done ahead of time and it's already set. So we knew that we were going to leave on Thursday way before because you have to, I mean, you're chartering a flight to go west and to get hotel reservations and bus companies and all the stuff that goes with it.

But I did have to wait a little bit on the Friday schedule based off of what the kick time was going to be.

But in terms of staying on the East Coast, I think it's best to get out there, or what we've gathered is best to get out there and let them get acclimated ahead of time."

On the complications of heading to the West Coast...

"All right, so I'll just give you an example. I let the seniors pick the uniform combination, right?

They do it every week and we do it on Mondays and typically it's not a it's not an issue when we when we pick it on Monday, but we had to pick the combination two weeks in advance and we also had to stipulation we had to wear the same color helmet two weeks in a row because as soon as we came off of the North Carolina game, we wanted to pack it on the trunk because the tractor trailer was going to get back at 8, 9 p.m.on Friday and it's leaving 4 p.m. on on Sunday, and everything's gotta be packed. So it really wasn't enough time. And then you gotta soak jerseys, because you're playing on grass, but you gotta wear the white jerseys, because it's two away games.

And then if you wear white pants, you gotta soak the white pants, and then you gotta send the white pants. So there's just so many logistics that go into it, because it's a four-day trip for the gentlemen that are driving the truck. So all of that stuff left on Sunday. So now when we get off the practice field on Wednesday, We're going to have to pack our shoulder pads and then Thursday we got to pack all the other auxiliary equipment and put it on bags and get it to the airport to get it on the plane. And there that means you got to carry less luggage So everybody's going to be wearing the same clothes for a couple days because of the weight the weight requirements on the on the plane. So there's a lot that goes into the trip, but you know what? That's also, you know fun things to deal with. I was asking a couple guys around the building had they ever been to California and there's a lot of folks, players and staff that have never been to the state of California. So it's actually pretty cool that you get a chance to travel that far.

I don't want to do it every week, right? I don't want to do it too much, but we can kinda muscle up. And then also our practice schedule is going to change. So there's a lot of conversation with the senior leadership on how we want to approach practice on Wednesday and Thursday because of the travel time. And so just a ton of logistics. So really, really grateful and appreciative of all the folks folks that don't get recognized for the tremendous amount of work that's gone into trying to make this as normal of a trip.

And just like any other road trip, even though it's got a lot of dynamics to it."

On staying in a good position in the turnover margin and winning the turnover battle...

"It's been all the difference. I've made that known to the guys that sit in your seats every day that the reason that we won football games is because we've been We've been fortunate to not turn it over.

We've had some on the ground and we've gotten them back. So we didn't lose fumbles, but we've been taking care of the ball and defense has been fanatical about getting the ball back. And I think it's a combination of just the emphasis, the things we talk about, the examples that we show them, and then the way that the guys practice. The guys are being intentional on trying to get the ball out. It's made all the difference. What it's done is in tight ball games, it's eliminated possession opportunities for the other team to score and given us more opportunities, so to speak.

But then also it's kept us in close games to where when you eliminate those opportunities to score, then you're not chasing points and you're battling in a tie game or a close game or a one possession game.

It stays a one possession game and it doesn't become a two possession game."

On what stands out about California's line backer Cade Ulave...

"Yeah, I mean, he's, I think, maybe top in the country in pressure rate as a linebacker, right? So, I mean, he's really good. So you do have to know where he is, but he's very instinctual. He's a violent player. He's got great athleticism. He can do multiple things. So you do need to know where he is at all times."

On what sticks out to him offensively when looking back at the film...

"Yeah, so it's the game of inches, right? It was so cool to have that. And I'm out on social media, so I had somebody on the staff send it to me. But I guess there was like a snapshot of the game of inches.

And it really came down to a game of inches. And that's where we are offensively. I think in the first part of the season, we were able to take advantage of those inches. those inches were easier to capture, right? As the season goes on, those inches are much more difficult to capture. And so what you saw is there's some inches as coaches that we gotta do a better job.

There were some things that we learned from to be able to help the guys and give them more answers in some of the fronts that they were seeing this past week. One-on-one matchups come down to inches. So the guys, it's not like there's a bunch of busted assignments and guys aren't giving great effort. But when pad level gets an inch too high, it's magnified now this point in the season. I think for the backs, man, when their eyes are off by an inch and it influences a decision to maybe bounce a ball when you should bang it, results in a TFL as opposed to a three or four yard gain that now keeps us on schedule. I think when we stay on schedule, Right, you can see glimpses of a that looks like what we saw early in the season.

But when we're off by an inch, it now makes it a second in long, right? now changes play calls, which changes situations. And that's really what it is, and the guys own it. And then, fundamentally, when your technique is off by an inch, when you miss on a punch by an inch, man, it's magnified. And when your footwork is off by an inch, and that's the beauty of offensive football, and also the challenge. It takes all 11 guys on the same page, but They've they owned it.

We owned it as coaches. We're going to get better and I'm excited to see him come out this week I think that's the that's the great thing about the game of football is there's always humbling opportunities for you to to get better So I'm excited to see these guys get out there and get after it because it's just it's it's really a game of inches and and I think you're seeing that and that's it's been it's really been fun because now you can talk about things differently with this team. And I told them that in the month of October, you gotta separate, right? And it's going to be very, very difficult to separate because it's a game of inches. And I think if you just look over college football, how many one possession games there were last week, right?

And especially on the road, and so it's been fun. Them being able to see that gives us more opportunity to continue to grow as we go into the month of November."

On why he thought Ja'son Prevard could play his position so well...

" It's just his flexibility, football intelligence, and then as you started to see him spend time in our weight room, his body develop and change. And so when you can have a guy that has the ability to cover like a corner, but then also is big enough to be physical enough to come support the run. Then you feel like you got an opportunity to have a guy that's very, very flexible and so you don't have to change personnels. You can respond to tempo with that kind of guy.

So I think it was his skill set and then his body started to grow as he spent time with our folks in nutrition and strength and conditioning."

On what surprised him about the voting of the permanent captains...

"No, I will say that when we tallied up the votes, I think we had 32 players receive captain votes, which is a lot, which tells you that there's tremendous leadership all the way around, not just from the guys that were selected captains. We had six guys that were 30 plus votes a piece, which tells you, man, there's a lot of a lot of leadership, so it was a great experience. It was very organic, and that's what they wanted. And man, I'm so excited for the guys that were captains.

But then also too, want to encourage the guys that may not have been one of the four, we got more than just four team captains on this on this football team. I think the results are proving that there's great. There's great leadership. So was was a cool honor. I was very fortunate.

I wasn't expecting it as a player, but I was selected a team captain and I'm not just saying because it happened to me, but I think that's one of the highest honors you can receive in the game of football that accolade that your teammates and it was no coaches voted.

It was strictly the the players voted and it was the whole roster you pick four guys that you want to select as captains. And then when we tallied it up, it ended up being Jahmeer Carter, James Jackson, Chandler Morris, and Sage Ennis."

On what he's hoping to showcase about his team in the ACC market...

"The brand of football that we play, fast, intelligent, tough, and we got several guys from the state of California on our roster. And I think we all know that the Virginia brand outside of football, I mean, it's global. It's from coast to coast and all around the world. And now we are trying to create something from a football perspective that is synonymous with that.

And so just excited to be able to showcase in a different market. And I think that we have a lot of things that can be attractive to folks all over the country."

On what he's hoping to see from Daniel Kaelin this week with Chandler Morris battling an injury...

"Yeah, I mean, well, what Danny's been doing every week, man, he's been preparing as though he were the starter. And man, he's ready for his opportunities. So no, nothing different, because in order for him to be ready, he's gotta prepare like the starter every single week, which he's done.

And I'm confident that if something were to happen, that he'd be ready to jump in there. And I think the guys will have confidence in him as well."

On establishing the run game this week...

"Yeah, well, we're not going to focus on what happened last week from a statistical standpoint, because it's a good football team we're getting ready to go up against. And so for us, it's back to us doing what we need to do. and controlling what we can control. So I want to see our pad level down.

I want to see our hand placement to be better. I thought that was one of the biggest differences in the game. I felt like for the first time, we didn't win with our hands, the matchup at the line of scrimmage, right? I thought North Carolina did a really good job of hand placement and using length and not allowing us to get to them. They got to us first in some instances. So I want to see us reestablish the hand placement and win the hand fight.

I want the backs to be decisive and a little bit more. when they're decisive, squaring up their pads and hitting it downhill, and turning a three -yard run into six. And I think that was the difference, right? And sometimes when it's perceived that you may be struggling, now you're trying to hit the home run instead of taking the base hit. And I want us to just take those base hits, and A, if it's blocked for four, get four, and let's try to push it to six, right? As opposed to if it's blocked for four, well, we don't see the base hit. And now we're at zero, right? Because we're trying to do too much.

So just get back to focusing on us and what we can control, get our pads down, move with our hands and then backs be decisive with your eyes and let's go forward and fall forward.

And I think that will turn into when you swing and you're trying to make contact and you're hitting base hits, the home runs will come."

How how he plans to get his players back to their top form...

"Well, I think offensively there's rhythm, right? I thought Brady did some really good things. There was also use sometimes you can see where, okay, he might not have played in three or four games. So I think the rhythm will reestablish itself.

I don't know if it's easy as just plug and play, especially offensively. But man, the guys battled, they found a way, right? And we know the things we gotta clean up and I'm excited about the way they've returned to practice yesterday, right? I think that they understand that the offense, that was once being praised. That's now kind of being questioned a little bit is the same offense that's sitting in his room. It's the same, it's the same guys.

And as I tell them, it's not far from the penthouse to the outhouse. And then when I said that saying someone reminded me that sometimes the penthouse and the outhouse are on the same floor, right? So it's really, it's really not that far. So, but I was excited about the way that they practiced yesterday. So I'm very intentional on trying to correct the things and focus on what we can control. We got a good bunch that's going to challenge us and we're going to need to be able to run the football to establish all the other things that come off of it. So I'm excited to see these guys respond."

On the ability of his healthy players to make diverse moves and plays...

"Yeah, I think that Kam Courtney's a guy that needs to step up for us to be able to give us some of that diversity, and he did some of that early in the season. You saw he was a guy, so I think that because It's the same thing if something happens to Jahmal (Edrine) something happens to trail other guys got to step up. We still got to be able to go offensively. It's that time of year where a you got to play through through bumps and bruises and we just got to we got to go.

So some of it can be addressed. But at the same time to I've been a play caller and it's very very hard, you know, like you got it. You got to call it and guys got him got to elevate now. You got to be smart. There's certain things that okay, you won't carry into a game plan. If you know that you don't necessarily But you can't get to the point to where now you're paralyzed by over analyzing everything.

Guys, that's the next man up. And I think that's what was happening early. Florida State, it was Drake (Metcalf) at center, you know what I'm saying? And other guys in there, right? We can't let that be a crutch, right? We gotta really just get back to the little things and the details, and I think the guys will.

But it's that time of year, it's November, right? I mean, it's November, everybody's banged up. Guys gotta make plays, playmakers gotta make plays, and then we gotta do everything we possibly can to put them in the best position possible. And I'm confident in the staff and they've been doing that. They'll continue to do that. And I'm confident that guys, given an opportunity, will step up."

On the latest updates regarding Cam Ross and Xavier Brown...

"So X (Xavier Brown) is unfortunately going to be out for the remainder of the season They did confirm that it is an ACL. So you'll have to have he'll have to have surgery and cameras should be back this week, so it was a kind of thing something that lingered from the game that that we thought we were going to be able to push through and then it resurfaced Later in the week. And so the best thing was to to give him a little time to rest and anticipate he'll be back He was out there yesterday getting some work in. And I got confirmation from the medical staff that he'll be out there today working."

On the status of Kevin Wigenton...

"Yeah, Big Wiggy, ankle and he battled through it, but it needs a little bit of time. So I'm hopeful that it's not season ending. I think we'll get him back latter part of the season, but he needs a little time on that high ankle."

On what his he saw when recruiting Fisher Camac...

"Yeah, I think it you any evaluation process. You're always looking at the competition. I don't know if it was a situation where like, oh, we're playing Cal. So this is this is why we're going to do it.

I think it was his total body body of work, but I know he'll be excited and we'll pick his brain to see if there's any any kind of inside tips he can give us because he's played against some of that personnel. I think he was teammates with number 21 (Jacob De Jesus) at UNLV. So we'll try to pick his brain from that standpoint, but really it was his body of work.And you look at all the competition that they play. Cal also played in an overtime game this past week."

On what sticks out about Cal...

"Yeah. One, they got a very, very good quarterback that's going to be special for many years to come, and that's where it starts. Number 21 (Jacob De Jesus) is electric. I mean, he's a do-everything kind of guy. They got great size at receiver and run well.

They got an ACC a former, I guess I could say East Coast ACC running back (Kendrick Raphael) That's that's a really good good back there. They're long up front. They're big. They can run the ball, they can throw the ball. So they present tremendous challenges offensively and then defensively. They're very, and offensively they're very well coached and very well coordinated.

But on defense, man, the guys are where they're supposed to be. They got a ton of confidence in the scheme. They got multiple D linemen they can roll in and keep those guys fresh. We already talked about the linebackers, one of the best in the country. And his running mate's pretty good too. I know Zero (Cade Uluave) gets all the attention, but 41's (Luke Ferrelli) a really good football player.

They can stop the run with six if they need to. They run a structure where they can get eight near the box really, really quickly. Their support defenders in their free safety and their nickel Sam support the run very, very fast. And then they got two really, really good corners, if not the two, the best combination of corners in the league in Zeke (Hezekiah Masses) and And the young man, I think it's (Brent) Austin, is his name, came from South Florida. We tried to go after both of them, didn't have much luck. So I know they're pretty good. So they're a very, very well-coached team. They got an identity of playing extremely hard. And it's going to be a good challenge."

On the impact that Antonio Cary has had...

"He's about like a coach. I mean, he's been here forever. We pick at him because he's been here for a while. But that's the most snaps that he's played and just happy for him.

Because you know that anytime you've had multiple ACLs, man, it's tough. And just for him to battle back and to be in that position, and then unfortunately, (Ethan) Minter goes down, which Minter's going to be, he's going to be fine. He was able to play and return, but now Clary's got to play 60 snaps and huge play there, which took points away and an opportunity. Again, they complete that ball. Now they're down inside the red zone, but Manny (Emmanuel Karnley) makes a competitive play. in the air and just happy for him.

I mean, he's one of those guys that was a very, very high vote getter for us from a captain perspective. And he's a guy that I really lean on. Matter of fact, we were in my office not too long ago just having a conversation, he and I. So just super happy for him."

On whether or not the captains will wear a C patch on their uniforms...

"That's the plan. They're going to put the C. In my past, it always was a C. end of the season, you voted after the season. And then it's always interesting too, because coaches, you know, we might have a different perspective, but we only see, you know, really a small portion where you're not in a locker room all the time or with them when they're out in public. So it's really the teammates, but the plan is, and they came to me last year before the season and said, we'd like to vote after a game eight.

And I said, hey, I'm all for it. And just give me the parameters, the process to be able to prepare it so that we can do it. The plan is to put the C's on their jersey. The only thing that I gotta clarify, the one question we didn't get answered yesterday, because we had a lot of other things to, will they be the ones that always go out for the coin toss? And the reason is because in the past, what I've done is given every senior, or as many seniors as I possibly could, an opportunity just to win. to experience that.

So I would imagine this week those four will walk out, but there could possibly be other guys that might be game captains. But the permanent captains will have to C’s on the jersey."

On what he feels is the right way to build a program...

"Oh, man That's a tough one. I think it's different everywhere, right? I think that that that You gotta have a plan, and then you gotta have the humility to adapt to your plan based off of what fits you.

I'm grateful for Dr. (Carla) Williams' leadership and her belief in my plan. in our plan as a program and just providing the resources for us to be able to do it. And right now, you know, it's working, you know, for Virginia, but I don't know if that's the right formula, you know, for everybody across the country. So that's a, I don't know how to answer that question because I think it's going to be individualized to each university.

But right now, I'm just focused on the University of Virginia, kind of how we're doing it, trying to stay with the plan and not deviate. And I think if there's anything I could say is just, man, trust your plan, stay committed to your plan, and don't let the outside noise make you deviate. But always be humble enough to adjust if you need to, but keep the main thing the main thing."

On how Chandler's injury has impacted his play...

"I haven't really noticed it. Like, I mean, you see at Louisville and he's running the ball, puts his body on the line. North Carolina puts his body on the line. So really, you know, we're not going to say that that's the reason that things may not be what they are. I think there's just opportunities all the way around for us on offense to improve. And that's what we're going to focus on."