Head Coach Tony Elliott’s 3 Biggest Priorities For UVA After The NFL Draft

Now the NFL Draft has concluded. It is now time to turn our attention to several priorities for Virginia head coach Tony Elliot and a few things that will have to be ironed out before the season begins. Let’s take a closer look.

1. Figuring Out His Starting Quarterback

Say what you will about Chandler Morris, but he was a highly productive quarterback for head coach Tony Elliot last season and was a strong reason why the team set a program record with 11 wins. Morris threw for 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns with the Hoos last season. He had a number of big games for Virginia. Morris has gone on to sign an undrafted free-agent deal with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Head coach Tony Elliot and Virginia were aggressive in the portal and landed two quarterbacks with 10+ games started in college football. Beau Pribula and Eli Holstein should be able to fill that void for Coach Elliot. However, nobody has separated from the pact just yet, so it will be interesting to see who will become the starter in fall camp. It will be vital that Virginia makes the right selection because their season could depend on it.

2. A cohesive and healthy unit on the offensive line

Virginia has a good offensive line, but the majority of the starters from a season ago didn’t play in the spring. You will also have some new additions like Alex Payne (USC) and Ryan Brubaker (South Carolina). Who will fill out some of those places on the offensive line, and will they have enough depth in case of an injury? A lot of players were banged up this spring. Here is more from Coach Elliot on some of the players who were out of the spring game and their recovery

“Today up front uh Drake's knee had a little bit of swelling, so I wanted to be safe there. That's why you didn't see uh Drake Metcalf today, but he's had a really good spring. So, he wasn't out there, which is great for Grant. And then, um (Noah) Josey will be back. We'll get Xavier Brown back. So, we're going to get some more pieces back."

Remains to be seen how some of the starters named will recover and if they can jell enough for a new look offensive unit at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver.

3. The Secondary playing at a high level

The position group the Cavaliers were the most aggressive in was on the backend, and adding talent. Virginia added four new safeties and a couple of cornerbacks to help the unit, as a good number of players left and went to different places or the NFL. Coach Elliot is banking on the development of guys like Corey Costner and Montino Williams to blend with veterans like Christian Ellis, Jaylen Jones, Jalen McNair, and Brandyn Hillman. It will be interesting to see who will start on the backend. At cornerback, Virginia added Omillio Agard, Justin Ross, Jacobie Henderson, and Patrick Campbell to fill out the depth. Virginia was solid last season in the backend and rarely gave up big plays. With the influx of new guys, will the unit be as good as it was a season ago? That remains to be seen.

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