CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tony Elliott said his Virginia football players have endured enough.
They’ve dealt with a head coaching change in 2021 and getting accustomed to a new coach and his style.
They dealt with five defeats by a touchdown or less last season.
And, of course, they dealt with the shooting deaths of three teammates late in the 2022 season.
“It’s time for these guys to enjoy the fruits of their labors,” Elliott said Tuesday at the ACC Football Kickoff event.
“They’ve had to deal with some things that weren’t of their making,” said Elliott, entering his third season as the Cavaliers’ head coach. “Now we need to go out and win some games and play in the postseason. Those guys deserve that.”
UVA’s football fortunes began to unravel weeks after Bronco Mendenhall resigned as head coach in December 2022. The Cavaliers had landed a spot in the Fenway Bowl, but a COVID outbreak among the Virginia players forced the game to be canceled.
Elliott’s first season, played with many new faces in the Virginia lineup after numerous transfer portal defections, ended with a 3-7 record — and tragically the Nov. 22 shooting deaths of Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler. The three players were killed by a shooter on a bus after returning from a field trip. Running back Mike Hollins and another Virginia student were injured.
Then came the frustration of the five narrow losses and a 3-9 record last season.
Time to move on
“I wouldn’t have chosen for things to happen this way, but everything happens for a reason,” Elliott said.
Now, the Virginia coach said, it’s time to move past the troubled days.
“That first spring I was here, we had only six scholarship players,” said Elliott, a former offensive coordinator at Clemson. “We’ve been able to grow since then.
“When you look at the last two years, you can see that we’ve laid the foundation. Competitively, we are much improved.”
If you’re looking for good news, there is some to be found.
The Cavaliers have two promising quarterbacks and figure at least one of them should step forward this season. Senior Tony Muskett and sophomore Anthony Colandrea split time at the position last year.
Muskett and Colandrea are friends, and Muskett said Tuesday that Virginia will be solid at quarterback.
“AC is a great kid,” Muskett said of Colandrea. “We get along really well, and a lot of the credit goes to (quarterbacks coach Taylor) Lamb. He works with both of us and has helped keep us close.”
Colandrea and Muskett will have returning receiver Malachi Fields and transfers Chris Tyree (Notre Dame) and Andre Greene Jr. (North Carolina) as targets.
Injuries hurt the defense last season, with defensive end Kam Butler missing much of the season with a pectoral muscle injury.
“I feel really good and am excited about getting back,” said Butler, who had 3.5 sacks in three games last season before getting hurt.
The Cavaliers also are strong at linebacker, with James Jackson and Kamren Robinson leading the way.
Some problem spots
Potential problem spots are the running game and the secondary.
The Cavaliers weren’t a good rushing team last season, ranking 105th out of 130 FBS squads. They averaged 118 yards a game on the ground, so Muskett and Colandrea might have to provide much of the offense with their arms.
“Running the ball well is critical,” Elliott said. “We need to make our opponents respect our running game.”
In the secondary, three starters from last season are gone. Elliott said he used the transfer portal to reload there, but we’ll have to wait and see how the newcomers fare.
Elliott is hoping his team can make a statement in its opening four games.
“With the way our byes happen, the season is divided into four parts,” he said. “It will be nice to get off to a good start.”
Those opening games are against Richmond, Wake Forest, Maryland and Coastal Carolina.
“Our mindset is that every game is the most important game of the season,” Elliott said. “But we need to start strong.”
Defensive end Chico Bennett said last season “was frustrating.”
“You always want to win,” Bennett said. “It was a matter of four or five plays. Our guys know we’ve been close.
“But we’re tired of just being close. Now it’s time for us to win.”
