Elliott is still working with leftover parts on the field. We’ll get a better look at his intended offensive and defensive schemes this year, and maybe get an idea if there is something to look forward to in the future.
What he does have complete control over now is recruiting. And so far, I’m not overly impressed. He’s got two more recruiting cycles to prove he can bring in better talent. If not, he’s out.
Is it a bad sign when a former player is saying, “hey if you want to play QB at my alma mater just dm me”?
Hate to be a wet blanket but I’m sort of struggling to see how the Tony Elliot era won’t be a complete disaster. And no it’s not because of this. There just really hasn’t been any positive news about anything since he took the job.
Elliott was always a risky hire because you’re taking a guy used to working at a Ferrari dealership and putting him in charge of a working class used car lot. I get that he’s a culture fit in terms of work ethic and character. But he’s not a guy who has relevant experience either (a) scheming for and developing low-3-star talent or (b) recruiting for a program that doesn’t sell itself. I’m not saying guys like that can’t figure it out and win, but at the same time it wasn’t like we were getting a G5 guy who knows how to scout, coach up, and win with under-the-radar talent. It’s why I’ve got near zero optimism for the program and barely even follow it anymore. Convinced we’re in for a lot more years of losing to Tech and missing bowl games. 247’s first preseason article on the ACC the other day had us dead last in the conference. Doesn’t sound like a fun way for me to spend my fall Saturdays.
The measuring stick for this season won’t be wins and losses. (I have the O/U at 3.5) it will be showing signs of life and progress. If at any point the team looks comfortable and confident that will be a big step in the right direction.
JMU game will be a loss and sorry @haney it won’t be near the disaster that was the hoops team droping one in Harrisonburg.
The CTE era has been bad part of that is self imposed some of it was inevitable. We’ll know for sure what we have come Nov.
what’s interesting about JMU is that on-paper, i’m certain we’d still be “better” from a talent perspective (insert debate about how much of a crap-shoot it is to rate players outside of the obvious 4- and 5-star players… like we can say we’re better b/c we have the 1,201st ranked player who was a 3-star, vs. JMU’s unranked player? who knows!).
BUT even if we do have a significant talent advantage, there is clearly something to their ability to establish and sustain a winning culture even when moving divisions, have confidence, players familiar with the coaches and scheme, etc. i think that leads to them beating us.
JMU built and prepared for years for the jump to D1 and they executed it perfectly last season. That is not a slouch program and you’re right they’ve built something that was big and sustainable.
I mean, maybe he’ll pull it off, I can’t see the future, but I don’t think CTE can give a pep talk big enough to prevent JMU from crushing us.
While I’m not ready to write off Elliott’s chances after one year by any means, part of me does believe the warnings signs are starting to add up when it comes to recruiting and roster management. For example, he’s choosing to only carry 15 scholarship OLineman on the roster despite that being an incredibly difficult position for us to stockpile talent and depth at over the past 15 years. To me not building as much playable depth as possible in the trenches is the #1 way to set us up for failure and not build towards a sustainable winning culture.
I think if this hire does end up fizzling out, we need to look at someone like Jeff Monken or Troy Calhoun to run the program, maybe even just promote Rud if he continues to do a good job as DC. A coach who knows how to develop players and win while being under limitations within recruiting is so paramount here given the current state of our program. I also think Monken bringing a modern spread triple option here would be fun to watch and help to mask a good amount of talent deficiencies we have on offense.
Yep they’ve been building since 2016 when Houston took over as HC. Hit the transfer portal hard early on and have become a very appealing spot for talented P-5 players to transfer down and get development/immediate PT. Don’t wanna heap too much praise on them though, still an in-state rival at the end of the day.
I’m not ready to close the door on CTE just yet, but I do agree there’s a lot of handwriting on the wall that makes me nervous. Despite the limited exposure to Rud I do think he has good HC material written all over him. I think you’re on the right path with looking at people with experience at service academies, but I don’t think UVa needs to go that extreme, not to say Monken or Calhoun can’t coach.
Personally I want no part of the triple-option. I think that’s a no win situation for a team in the long term.
I agree if it’s a traditional triple option. But Monken is apparently transitioning to the spread triple option that Chadwell ran at Coastal/is gonna run at Liberty, and I absolutely love that offense and the versatility it brings. Was honestly hoping Elliott would bring in Willy Korn as his OC when he was hired here, the smashmouth spread sets that TE ran at Clemson use virtually the same personnel as Chadwell’s offense but have different wrinkles and principles.
Deck was stacked against Elliott from the get go with NIL, current state facilities, the way Bronco left, etc.
But he’s still sitting at the table and playing like he has the biggest stack. Gotta prove to me that you know how to play your way out with bad hands and your back against the wall.
Happy to be proven wrong. And if I am…
Great point. I did not realize Monken was moving towards the spread option. I am a big fan of that and think there are a ton of benefits to it. I was also a bit surprised that CTE moved so far away from those ethos and into a full on prostyle. Although I guess I should have seen the writing on the wall the past few seasons at Clemson.
Coach Elliott will always be remembered as the coach who shepherded the team through unspeakable tragedy. And Cville will always love him for that. But as others here have said, seems to me odds aren’t good that he’ll still be our coach 3 years from now.
The guy is the Rick Barnes of potential UVa football openings. Every time there is talk of a new coach, whose name comes up? Calhoun. Been that way for a decade (just like Barnes from 1990 to 1999).
Kinda opposites in their success though. Barnes tends to do less with more, Calhoun more with less.
Except Calhoun hasn’t been to a playoff (not even close). Barnes went to a F4 with Tejas.
Funny enough its Monken not Calhoun I hear rumored for the NW job.
Very much comparing apples to oranges in that regard. Air Force will never have a path to a CFP within the current college football environment like Barnes does to the F4, but if you put a Calhoun-level coach at a place with the resources of a Texas or Bama I think he’d have high amounts of success. And I do respect Barnes as a coach, he’s just had an exorbitant amount of talent pass through his programs compared to the inconsistent results his teams have generally seen in the tourney.
All a moot point though, would be surprised if Calhoun ever ended up at UVA. Very good coach but seems committed to staying at his alma mater.
Saw some people speculating that Bronco could be a candidate, wouldn’t surprise me if that turned out to be true. Personally I wouldn’t touch that athletic program, let alone that football program with a ten foot pole in its current state. Lots of disarray surrounding Northwestern.
Hadn’t heard Bronco but totally makes sense. I agree I wouldn’t want any part of NW football in it’s current state. Going to be a big hole to dig out of.