Tony Elliott’s Virginia Cavaliers flushed the toilets. Now they face a new challenge

‘Handling success’ was a key theme expressed on the first day of fall practice

UVA head coach Tony Elliott smiles on the sideline during the Virginia football game against Maryland at SECU Stadium. | Virginia Athletic

Tony Elliott knows that his Virginia football team has newly raised expectations. There is genuine pressure — both internally and externally — on the Cavaliers to succeed. Elliott is not shying away from that.

“It's what you pray for, right?” Elliott said Wednesday, the first day of fall camp.

Elliott knows about high expectations. He says his program should be diligent about handling success. Elliott knows that well — as he has a pair of national championship rings from his time as Clemson’s offensive coordinator. For years, his Tigers had targets on their backs as the team to beat in the ACC. Now, for the first time in ages, Virginia is one of the ACC’s top teams. 

“Every one of these young men prayed to be in a position where there are expectations,” Elliott said. “And so, they've also been the young men that have elevated the floor and created those expectations, right? So now you got to embrace them. And the way that you embrace them is you just stay true to who you are, right?”

The key to handling success, Elliott says, is to double down on team beliefs. His Cavaliers must be humble enough to improve their weaknesses — Elliott named redzone offense as an area to improve in, along with small details. Virginia fans may remember Elliott’s 2025 tangent on how flushing toilets correlates to a well-disciplined team, and that unflushed toilets are a sign of carelessness. 

Elliott had said that if players are not willing to flush toilets for their teammates, they could not be relied upon to fight and bleed for their teammates on a fourth-and-short. In 2026, the first message with a similar sentiment was slightly different.

“My message was ‘hey, I walked through the dining facility on the way out to practice, and I saw two cups in an area where there weren't supposed to be two cups,’” Elliott said. “Put the cups up, right? That's how we handle success. That's how you handle expectations, right? It's the little things. So, a little bit different messaging because you do have to acknowledge that [expectations] are there, but then you quickly try to redirect the focus to what do we control? And that's the way that we think.”

Who the Cavaliers are, according to Elliott, is a focused bunch. Elliott wants them to minimize distractions, flush results — and fecal matter — and focus on going 1-0 every day. Even so, Virginia’s head coach could not deny that his team was abundantly eager and excited to get fall camp rolling Wednesday.

Part of that excitement was about taking the early steps towards meeting raised expectations. However, Elliott cautioned his men that external talk means nothing once the football is snapped.

“You don't sit there and fear them or focus on [expectations]. You just show up every day and try to be your best. And as a program, I've been talking about this moment from day one. And I know a lot of people thought I was crazy, right? Even the folks that were joining the staff are like, ‘man, what are you talking about? We haven't done anything. How are you talking about handling success?’ Well, that's the hardest part.”

Handling success is a major challenge — and Elliott feels that his 2026 Virginia team is capable of confirming a standard set by the 2025 squad. Time will tell, starting with the season opener Aug. 29 against NC State.