When Virginia welcomes Coastal Carolina to town on Saturday for the season opener, both football teams will still be in ‘get to know you’ mode. Probably even after kickoff at 6 p.m.
Yes, the two clubs faced off last season - the Hoos won 42-24 in Conway - but much has changed for both when it comes to the rosters. UVA brought in 54 newcomers between the transfer portal and high school recruiting, while Coastal cycled 57 newcomers on its roster too. The Chanticleers also named new coordinators on both offense and defense during the offseason.
Roster turnover is part of the reality right now in college football, of course, but it does add a wrinkle to season opener preparation.
“We got a depth chart. You see there’s a lot of ‘or’s. So we’re really not gonna know until we actually line up who’s actually gonna run out there and then what the breakdown of playing is,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. “So yes, it’s different than years past. And then I think the difference for between us and them is they got new coordinators. Right, so as we’re studying them, it’s really about scheme because personnel wise, you’re watching somebody else’s personnel. Like you’re watching Western Kentucky, you’re watching La Tech, as opposed to at least you’re watching some of our guys that you see when you look at us schematically. So it’s a different challenge than years past in getting prepared for a season opener. Because there’s always a ton of unknown in a season opener.”
The critical quarterback position will feature new faces for both teams. Chandler Morris came to Virginia after a strong 2024 season at North Texas. He was named the Cavalier starter before preseason practices began.
Morris finished in the top 5 nationally in touchdown passes (31, No. 4), 400-yard passing games (4, No. 1), completions per game (26.8, No. 3), total offense (334.7 yards per game, No. 4), passing yards (3,774, No. 5), and passing yards per game (314.5, No. 5) at the end of the regular season. He set program records for single season total offense (4,104), single season touchdown responsibility (35), and five straight 300-yard passing games. That all added up to All-AAC second team honors.
Coastal Carolina, on the other hand, had a quarterback competition going during the preseason between Tad Hudson, MJ Morris, Emmett Brown, and Samari Collier. Brown went down with a season-ending injury later in training camp. Morris, a Maryland transfer, is listed at the top of the depth chart but the position still carries the ‘or’ tag for Collier, Hudson, and Jon Hunt in order. Regardless, it will be a different QB than last year’s matchup - Ethan Vasko held the job - and it will be in a new ‘Air Raid’ style offense too.
Whether it’s that quarterback spot or somewhere else on the roster, though, the theme is the same for both teams: figure out what you can from previous stops, previous tendencies, and preseason chatter and then go from there.
“You kind of get bits and pieces off the internet and you try to listen for [what be said by coaches] but you really don’t know until you line up, so you have to prepare for a lot of unknown,” Elliott said. “But that’s what it’s been, is really just looking at schemes, schematically, and then trying to see if you can fit and anticipate which personnel are actually going to be on the field. But it’s gonna be a lot of cat and mouse early on trying to figure out. ... And I think this is where we’re gonna be in years going forward in college football, just because there is so much transition between rosters. And the key is gonna be how quickly those guys can get settled in in a game environment and execute your scheme to the best of their ability.”
More from Tony Elliott’s first game week media session follows.
Tony Elliott Weekly Press Conference - Coastal Carolina
TONY ELLIOTT: First of all, I appreciate everybody adjusting to the time change. We’ve flipped the practice structure, so we now practice in the afternoons as opposed to the morning. So appreciate everybody accommodating the request to change the time, apologize about the parking. I know it’s kind of hectic out there. What I will say to you is they’re serious about parking. I had a ticket on my personalized spot out there a couple weeks ago. So I wouldn’t play with the parking folks, but hopefully when the construction finishes with the Olympic building, there’ll be a little bit more space during the day. And most of our guys are out of here in class, so hopefully it’ll work out pretty good.
But also really excited, it’s game week, it’s finally here. One of seven opportunities in Scott Stadium. So, super excited for this team, for this year and really, really, really need a crowd to show up and support. I think you’re gonna like what you see. Again, it’s first game, so we got some things we gotta continue to get better at, but I think you’ll like just the makeup of this football team. But we really, really need a big crowd to be there early, to be loud and create an imposing atmosphere for the opponent on Saturday. So with that, I’ll stop and open it up for questions.
Q: What pleased you most about camp and where would you have liked to have seen more improvement?
TONY ELLIOTT: So what pleased me is just the team atmosphere that I felt daily within the building. And the guys showed up with the right energy day in and day out. And I felt like we maximized every single day, which is difficult to do when every day is the same for the course of three, three and a half weeks. But I thought we maximized every single day.
As a coach, you can always find areas where you wanna get better. For me, it’s tough because I’m looking for competitive balance at practice, so I don’t want a lopsided day. I don’t want the offense to have the upper hand. I don’t want the defense to have the upper hand. But I think we have some guys that were down throughout the course of camp that I would like to have seen get a couple more days of work in to be ready. And the biggest issue and I guess gripe that I had with camp is the weather. I mean, it was really nice out there, but that’s unfortunate because it’s gonna be really, really hot coming up the next couple of weeks. And so we had mild weather, only a couple of hot days. It was improved in terms of rain from last year. I felt like we were able to get outside more, but it just wasn’t very hot. So I am a little bit concerned down the stretch, just because we didn’t get acclimated to the heat like you like to during fall camp. So that’s probably my biggest gripe. I wish I could control the weather a little bit better.
Q: With all the new players you brought in through the offseason, now that you’re getting close to the first game, what was the biggest challenge in trying to bring a team together with that many new faces? And what did you like about how the team handled it?
TONY ELLIOTT: I think that the challenge was making sure that I didn’t overdo it, and I let them come together organically. That was the biggest challenge because you want to try and hurry up and foster chemistry, but you can’t force it. So that was the challenge. And there were a couple days where I had to reset the expectations on a couple things out at practice, just guys not knowing how we do things, how we practice, what’s acceptable, what’s not acceptable. But it wasn’t as much as I thought of that. But there were a couple days where I had to step in and say, no, no, no, that’s not how we do it here. And the guys quickly fell in line.
But that’s a credit to the senior leadership as well, of the guys that were here. They did a really, really good job of laying a lot of the groundwork with the new guys. So I thought they did a really good job of policing and controlling the situation, controlling the locker room, the weight room, to get everybody in line culturally with what the expectations are here.
Q: And then at corner, you guys go with Jordan Robinson and Emanuel Karnley atop the depth chart. What did you like about those guys? What did they do well to earn those roles?
TONY ELLIOTT: Right, it was competitive when everybody was available. I think in (Donovan) Platt's situation, he missed some time with a hamstring. Karnley was out a little bit with his knee, and then Jordan had a virus. So they all kind of equally spent some time out of practice. But what you like about Karnley is he’s a very, very fluid mover. He’s got the true corner skill set. Really good instincts and he’s a physical guy as well. He’s not afraid to come up and tackle.
What you like about (Jordan) Robinson is he’s big. He’s long. He’s played a lot of football. He’s extremely competitive. He’s got good range. He gives you some size into the boundary that you’re looking for and Platt’s another guy that’s a big physical guy, runs really really well. So all three of those guys you see they’re listed as ‘or’s there. So you’ll see all three of those guys ready to go and you know J Mac (Ja’Maric Morris) prior to his injury, I was really excited about him. So it was good, healthy competition when they were all available. And I think we’re gonna need all three of those guys.
So in my mind, you probably view those guys as starters, all three of them, with the ability to rotate, because Platt’s gonna have to be able to play field and boundary for us as we continue to develop some of the younger guys in Kevon (Gray) and Josiah Persinger).
Q: Coach back here, what impressed you about Chandler [Morris] during this camp?
TONY ELLIOTT: He’s everything that I remembered him to be in terms of the leadership, but it was good to really, really see that come out. And the things that I made a comment out on the practice field, he made a play, he made a throw out there and it reminded me of watching him run around as a young guy with all the high school kids when we would play airball at camp in the summer.
And so he just, I think that’s where he developed a lot of his instincts. He was always playing with the older guys and teaching them how to play the game. And he has the ability to extend plays. He can scramble with the ability to run or pass. He knows how to direct traffic on the move. But the biggest thing was refreshing to see just the leadership that he brought every single day. And then as he became more comfortable with the system, you really start to see his playmaking ability both with his legs and throwing the ball.
Q: If I can ask one more, you got Ethan Minter - starter at Free Safety. What did you see in camp that told you that he could be in that role?
TONY ELLIOTT: Right. If you go back to last year, you probably remember me saying that of all the freshmen, he was the one that picked it up the quickest. And he went from being a first-year guy just out of high school, who was a quarterback converted to safety to almost running the meetings with the older guys because he picked up the playbook that fast. But then he had some injuries that set him back. And then once you get into the game, you got to actually translate what you know in your mind to game speed.
And now that’s what you’re seeing is it’s all coming together. And then now his physicality is really starting to show. He'’ anticipating plays. He got his hands on a lot of balls, actually picked off a couple in in fall camp and then also was able to deflect several. So what you’re seeing is a quarterback playing the safety position, because he’s able to see the big picture and not only know what his job is, but know what everybody else is doing. So he can help guys get lined up, he can communicate the proper checks, and then he can play faster than maybe what his ability is because he’s able to anticipate off of formation recognition from the offense.
Q: When you look at the depth chart, what stands out is those ‘or’s on the defensive line, because you’ll be able to rotate more guys in. How important was that seeing that come to fruition at fall camp that you have that ability?
TONY ELLIOTT: Man, I think Coach Slade and Coach Downing are tired of me talking about it and getting on them about it. But what we saw last year, in the teams that we played in our league was the ability for them to rotate defensive linemen and how much of a challenge that created for us, you know, offensively, because you’re seeing different guys, different lengths, different speed, different skill sets, and, you know, they’re fresher.
So as the game goes on, you know, you’re starting to see the speed, you don’t see the speed drop off, whereas offensive line wise you might be getting a little bit tired, you know later in play, 50 plays into the game, whereas now they have two guys that have only played, you know, 30 snaps a piece. It creates some challenges. So it’s been really really, you know fun to see that competition and it reminds me of the days of when we were competing for championships That’s what it was is when you had those D-Linemen that could roll.
They set the tempo for everything both on the field and from a leadership standpoint. So that’s what I’m most pleased to see is because now those guys Jah (Jahmeer Carter), he’s gonna be a little bit fresher. So now he can play and he can lead a little bit better as opposed to just trying to figure out how he’s gonna play max effort for 65 snaps.
Q: And Daniel Rickert is the name on here. Chandler Morris, Drake Metcalf have said how good he has been playing up against him. What have you seen from him?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, he’s very slippery. When he walks out, you’re gonna look at his size and be like, okay, he’s probably a linebacker. But then he lines up at end and he can hold his own at the point of attack in the run game. And then he’s very, very difficult to block, whether it’s a one-on-one matchup or it’s a twist game. He’s got instincts to get to the quarterback. He’s got good body control. And then he’s got some explosiveness that is different than what we’ve had in the past.
Q: A phrase that I’ve heard a lot of coaches use this fall going back to the offseason is no excuses. What does that kind of mean to this culture and kind of within the building? I’ve heard players use it too. It’s been 11 wins in three years as y’all kind of enter this new season.
TONY ELLIOTT: There’s no excuses. There’s no excuse that’ll justify a lack of not meeting expectations. And I think the expectation that we have inside the building is probably greater than any expectation that we get externally. And so there’s no excuses. Now, are there gonna be reasons? Of course, there’s gonna be reasons. And I think if you can approach it from the standpoint of focusing on the reasons, then you can go attack it and get better. But if you make excuses, then you don’t accept accountability. If you don’t have accountability, you’re not gonna get to where you wanna go.
So that’s been day one. It’s not just this new roster, where we are as a program, that’s been day one. We can’t make excuses for anything. And I think that applies to any area of life. If you’re a guy that makes an excuse, I heard, we had a guest speaker come in and he said the phrase that a man is never defeated until he blames somebody else, right? So if you don’t make excuses and you don’t blame anybody else, then you always got a chance to improve. So that’s been a focal point from day one, because at the end of the day, nobody wants to hear excuses. They want to see results.
Q: And then on the depth chart, Jahmal Edrine was a starter. I haven’t heard y’all talk too much about him. I know Chandler’s kind of made a good connection with him, but what does he add to the passing game just as a threat out there?
TONY ELLIOTT: It’s a big body that can stretch it vertically. Really, really good natural ball skills and body control and all the intermediate passing game. He’s been consistent every single day. I think that’s probably why you haven’t talked about him because he’s just shown up every day and done what he’s supposed to do.
So excited about him and then also he had a tough summer, academically. Really, really proud of Jahmal for accepting the challenge. I mean, he transferred in and had to get 36 hours between the spring and the summer. That’s two, that’s more than what you would take in any normal semester. You’re talking about a 15-hour class load and he did it in the spring and he did it in the summer with no room for air and did it with a smile every single day.
And so I think it’s, you just come, everyone’s accustomed to like, hey, Jahmal’s just gonna show up. That’s what he's gonna do. And so not so much, not necessary to talk about it because it’s what the expectation is with the young man.
Q: Outside of [Ethan] Minter and I guess [Corey] Costner this whole depth chart is juniors, seniors and grad students. One, what does that do for a team and a program? And is that a byproduct of kind of the portal era, right?
TONY ELLIOTT: Now there’s a lot of ‘or’s and we’re gonna play a lot of guys, alright, so there’s several freshmen or first years that we’re going to have to play to gain experience. I think it’s a function of where our roster is. Now if you looked at us last year, we had 43 seniors, which opened up opportunity for us to go gain experience and you want to try and balance out your roster. So we do have a balanced roster with 50% you know upperclassmen 50% underclassmen.
Those guys were bringing in a lot of experience when we looked at it I think it was 800 and something plus games of experience. We brought those guys in and we anticipated that we were gonna add some experience, but at the same time too, we’re gonna have to play a lot of the young guys in spots. Because there’s several that have shown that they can contribute and help us and we’re gonna need them all to get to where we wanna go.
Q: Coach [Tim] Beck told me this week that getting ready for you, it’s studying scheme and plays because personnel has changed over so much. Is that an advantage at all for you and then flip it over when you look at Coastal? What are you able to prepare?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, it’s the same thing because I think we’re both around the same range. Don’t quote me on this, but I think I heard that they had about 60 new guys where we got 54. So we’re in the same boat. We don’t really know. We got a depth chart. You see there’s a lot of ‘or’s. So we’re really not gonna know until we actually line up who’s actually gonna run out there and then what the breakdown of playing is.
So yes, it’s different than years past. And then I think the difference for between us and them is they got new coordinators. Right, so as we’re studying them, it’s really about scheme because personnel wise, you’re watching somebody else’s personnel. Like you’re watching Western Kentucky, you’re watching La Tech, as opposed to at least you’re watching some of our guys that you see when you look at us schematically. So it’s a different challenge than years past in getting prepared for a season opener. Because there’s always a ton of unknown in a season opener.
You kind of get bits and pieces off the internet and you try to listen for [what coaches say] but you really don’t know until you line up, so you have to prepare for a lot of unknown. But that’s what it’s been, is really just looking at schemes, schematically, and then trying to see if you can fit and anticipate which personnel are actually going to be on the field. But it’s gonna be a lot of cat and mouse early on trying to figure out, ‘cause just like we’re asking questions about Chandler (Morris), they got a brand new quarterback, right? So we haven’t been to an actual game with Chandler. So we're still going to have to feel Chandler out a little bit. And the same thing with Mr. Morris (MJ Morris) on their side. They’re going to have to have to feel him out. So it’s a different challenge.
It’s kind of exciting. Right, it changes the approach just a little bit. And I think this is where we’re gonna be in years going forward in college football, just because there is so much transition between rosters. And the key is gonna be how quickly those guys can get settled in in a game environment and execute your scheme to the best of their ability.
Q: From what you've been able to learn in your scouting, what are the challenges of facing an Air Raid offense? How much in-game adjustments do you anticipate doing?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, so they can get the ball out quick. They can get the ball on the perimeter. They got a ton of mesh concepts to free guys up if you play man coverage. So they’re gonna stress you. And then in the run game, if they need to, they can spread you out and still run it. They can bring in condensed sets and create edges and get the ball on the perimeter. So there’s a lot of challenges with what they do offensively.
And then also to looking at the situation, the new coordinator didn’t necessarily call it every play last year. So now you’re trying to go back to see if you can find any tendencies so really you’re guessing a little bit because you don’t have as much concrete evidence, you know, from last year as opposed you flip to the defensive side, the new coordinator was responsible for calling the defense and man, they were good at La Tech on defense last year and they were good at Western Kentucky as well. I remember watching Western Kentucky get after Boston College. I mean, they got after them for a while, and then it was some late penalties that turned that game.
So we’re anticipating that they’re gonna have a similar plan to try and attack us. And I think there’s a little bit of familiarity between Coach Rud (John Rudzinski), and the coordinator from his days back at Air Force. And so he’s got an idea of a little bit of how they may plan to attack, but at the same time too, they’re figuring out who they are, right? So schematically it may change based off of the personnel. So we could be preparing for what we’ve seen on tape and it could be a little bit different based off the actual personnel that they end up with by the time that we kick off on Saturday, so there’s gonna be a lot of adjusting. So we got to be ready to help the guys get lined up, keep them keep calm, keep them focused so that we can communicate effectively on the sideline to make the adjustments that we need to.
Q: From all the rotation you have available to you on the defensive line and the edge, what are you anticipating from your pass rush? What have you seen in camp that encourages you about that?
TONY ELLIOTT: So what's encouraged me from camp is the ability to get more pressure on the quarterback with four and I think that when you can do that, then it helps you a lot as opposed to having to bring five or six. I think when you bring five or six, it makes you susceptible on the back end, guys gotta hold up. And they get put in one-on -one situations, right? And eventually, the quarterbacks are good enough to find a potential matchup advantage or a space advantage if your rush doesn’t get home.
So I’ve been encouraged to see, and with multiple groups, so it’s not just, okay, one guy is the only one that’s getting pressure. With the rotation, you’re able to see guys affect the quarterback. They may not always get home, but they’re getting close, and they’re moving the quarterback off the launch point, making him pull the ball down and scramble. So that’s been good to see. Now they gotta go do it when they don’t necessarily know the snap count. You get into fall camp by the seventh or eighth practice, they know the snap count, they can jump it a little bit. So it’s gonna be a little bit different when it’s an opposing team, but I’m hopeful with what I’ve seen, that we can get a little bit more pressure on the quarterback.
We’re just rushing forward and also get some interior pressure. I think the addition of Goldie (Jacob Holmes) in particular and (Jason) Hammond coming back gives us the ability to not only push the pocket with (Anthony) Britton and Jah (Jahmeer Carter), but then also maybe create some matchups and some one-on-one pass rushes with our D-Tackles.
Q: Other than starting off 1 and 0, what are some of the top things you’re looking to see from your guys this Saturday?
TONY ELLIOTT: Biggest thing is I want them to be a team. And what I mean by that is I want them to get off to a fast start. I think good teams, everybody shows up ready to go and they get off to a fast start. I wanna see a team that can control the momentum in the game. Whether it be okay, if the other team makes a play and changes the momentum in their favor, can we quickly get it shifted back in our favor? And then if we create momentum, can we pounce, right? Can we pounce on a team, and then can we finish in the fourth quarter?
Those are the things that I wanna see, and that’s what good teams do. They start fast, they control the momentum, and then they finish in the fourth quarter. I wanna see a clean game. I want to see guys go out and play discipline and not have pre-snap penalties. Don’t do the things that beat UVA, so we can’t lose to UVA. That’s where it starts. In order to win, you just can’t lose to yourself. I want to see us protect the football. I want to see good communication and organization on the sideline with the staff. I want us to look like a football team that is in a program that is taking full advantage of the 25 days of preparation that we had prior to the [season].
And again, it goes back to no excuses, right? We don’t make excuses on the practice field for penalties and turnovers and we don’t need to make an excuse being that it’s the first game. Why not come out and take care of the football, stay onside, line up right, communicate properly? Have good substitutions between the coaches and the players on the sideline, and look like a football team that is truly on a mission.
Q: I know you all really like this running back group here. How do you split carries as you kind of go throughout the season? Is it gonna be a little bit of mixing and matching?
TONY ELLIOTT: Right, unfortunate part about the running back position is it’s such a violent position and those guys, very rarely do they go play without getting hit. So I think that it’s gonna naturally work itself out, unfortunately, with availability. It does every single year.
I think you gotta establish some guys with a rhythm. So that’s something you gotta balance too. And then you gotta get all four of them. I know we got three listed, but I think Noah Vaughn’s kind of an ‘or’ guy as well that’s gonna be in the rotation, is gonna have some big plays and big carries for us this season. So it’s a feel type of deal as you get into the game and you got to communicate properly with those guys so that they know it.
But all of them got to be ready to play and we got to do a great job of making sure that we help them in every situation to get themselves prepared and ready to perform at the highest level and so it’s going to be a challenge but it’s a good problem to have when you got more guys then not having enough, trust me, it’s not fun to be on the other side.
So it’ll be something that we have to manage and Coach Gaither has done a really good job thus far, and will have to do a really good job going forward. Because we’re gonna need all four of those guys, and then possibly Davis Lane is another guy that’ll be heavily involved in special teams, has improved as a running back. But there’s gonna be, I guarantee you, situations throughout the course of the season where we’re gonna have to call on him as well, and having a fifth guy. And that would give us the luxury to be able to maybe redshirt Zay (Davis) but he’s shown promise too. So he's gotta be ready, because that’s a position where they go down quick because of the amount of contact that they have.
Q: Kind of sticking with that, you’ve got depth at running back. You've got some depth and experience on the offensive line. You and Des (Kitchings) have talked about since getting here, wanting to really develop that run game. You made some strides last year. The Coastal game (last year) was a big one. Where do you feel like you are with that? And how important is that, not just for the season, but for program building?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is consistency of availability. And we saw that impacted a little bit in fall camp with (Ethan) Sipe going down for a little while and then Tyshawn (Wyatt) being in and out of the lineup. So I think the key is consistency. I think if we can have all of our guys available up front and in the backfield, then we can become more consistent. And I think the more consistent you are with the availability of guys, the more cohesion and chemistry they create, which will allow the backs to understand and feel kind of how those double teams are going to go based off of who’s in there, develop more confidence to press the line and really trust the scheme, and then I think you know the more depth and competition you have I think the more it helps the guys develop as an eraser. I think in a run game, even with consistency up front, you need a back that can be can be an eraser and I think I’ve seen each of those guys kind of develop in that area because there’s more consistency up front, right?
So when there’s not guys turned loose up front or you have the ability to move guys and create a new line of scrimmage, it helps the backs, you know, develop their confidence to be able to just go run and not necessarily to correct everything. They just go run. And then when they do that, they become a little bit more of an eraser. So I'm excited to see and, and again, new group so we got to figure out schematically, you know, which scheme fits these guys best. Is it our wide zone? Is it our mid zone? Is it our tight zone? Is it a gap scheme? So again, we know what we, where we're kind of headed on our practice field, but the difference is you play a different group every single week, and it changes.
So the body types change, the length changes, and so then schematically we may change. So I’m excited to see what this group can do, because it all starts with the run game. I mean, that’s where football starts. You gotta be able to run the football, and you gotta be able to stop the run. That’s where it starts, and then everything else comes off of that. I know we all like to watch quarterbacks throw and do all that kind of stuff. But really, you gotta be able to establish a line of scrimmage, and it starts with the run game and stopping the run game.
Q: Trey (McDonald) and Landon (Danley) are different style players than Kam (Robinson) at linebacker going to the other side of the ball. How do you feel about kind of replacing him there? And does it change maybe the way John (Rudzinksi) calls some things because it's a different kind of athlete in that spot?
TONY ELLIOTT: I don't know if it changes it as much as Kam's kind of that eraser on defense. He can do some things athletically, and I think everybody on our team recognizes that, that he can do some things athletically that can bail you out at times, right? I think that Trey and Landon will play a little bit more within the system, just because their skill sets fit. I’m not saying that Kam doesn’t play within the system, but Kam can do some different things. I think we all recognize that. But I don't think it changes the way you call it, but you kind of get a combination.
Now in Trey, you get a guy that knows the defense inside and out. He can get everybody lined up. He’s gonna be exactly where he’s supposed to be inside the box. He’s gonna be downhill. He’s gonna be physical. And then you get the athleticism with Danley, but he doesn’t quite have the experience, right? And he’s still coming into his own, learning the defense and all of the checks and all of the run fits and all of the pass drops. So what you’re gonna see, I think you’re gonna see his athleticism as well, and kind of remind you a little bit of Kam.
But they’ll do a great job until Kam is ready to go and he got cleared. I think it was yesterday he got cleared, stitches and everything are all healed up. So now he’ll be rocking and rolling. So hopefully in a couple weeks, he’ll be back in the fold. But I’m excited for those guys and their opportunity.
Q: Coach, wide receiving corps. I don't think I've heard you mention Trell Harris or Cam Ross much, less Dakota Twitty, who gives you verticality as well. Talk about the value of all those players, because as much as everyone loves the run game and wants to establish the run game, I think your passing game is going to determine I think the wins this year, in my opinion.
TONY ELLIOTT: Right. I think, yes, in the passing game, starting with making sure you take care of the ball, right? That’s the key in the passing game is don’t turn it over.
Trell (Harris), I think we all know what Trell is capable of. Explosive, fast, can beat you over the top. Very very good and effective with the screen game. Biggest thing for Trell is he’s coming back off the knee and then he had a hamstring right and so he’s been in and out of practice and that’s probably why you haven’t heard about him as much just because we’re just trying to get him back healthy and ready to go. He’ll be available this week, but he didn’t practice, you know, much last week because of the hamstring, right? So that’s why you haven’t heard about Trell, but we know what we got in Trell and when Trell’s healthy and ready to go, I think he’s as good as what we got in this league.
He just has to be consistent and stay healthy, which he’s trying everything he can do, right? It’s just unfortunate. It’s just a part of the game and when you’re dealing with those, like I call them those high performance race cars, like those hamstrings and those things, they happen, but excited about him. So I guess the reason you probably haven’t heard about him is because we know what we got in Trell.
Cam Ross has just been steady. He’s been steady every single day that he’s been out there and we didn’t know a ton about him, but he’s been one that’s impressed me with his football IQ. So his ability to run routes versus zone, versus man, catches the ball very well and then he’s a very dynamic return return guy. So there’s just a bunch of them right at that at that position and really been impressed with the three young guys, the three first years. I think you guys will see Dylan Newton-Short out there. You’ll see Isaiah Robinson and you’ll see Josiah Abdullah. We got a good group, we just don’t quite know how it’s all gonna come together. And we’re excited to get to this game and see, let those guys determine it on the field.
And then back to Twitty, the tight end position is key. If you have a guy that can help you in the run game, but then also go be a matchup problem in the slot, as a number three to the field, it’s really what makes the offense go. And we all know with his background as a wideout and his size, he naturally creates those matchup advantages. So excited to see him get turned loose this week. With the defensive structure that we have [from Coastal], those tight ends are gonna really have to be involved in the run game because of the three stack defense. They always got an extra hat in the box. A little bit different than some structures. Sometimes he's going to be, you know, outflanking you. Sometimes he’s going to be third level, but not really third level that you got to account for, that you’re going to need the tight ends so that you get your targeting, get your targeting right.
So excited to see those guys and just, you know, excited for Chandler (Morris) to have some versatility amongst his passing weapons. And then hopefully we can, and then another guy too, since we're talking about him is JT (Jayden Thomas). JT is really impressed me coming over from Notre Dame just with his demeanor. He’s got such a blue collar demeanor, same thing with Cam Ross. I think those guys, when they have that blue collar demeanor and they show up every single day, when they do something, It doesn’t really wow you because it’s like that’s who they are. They’re consistent and that’s really where you want to be with your offensive skill guys. You want them to be consistent. You want them to make the routine play all the time and then the impossible play most of the time.
Q: I know you updated on Kam Robinson, but all the like little injuries that kind of came in camp. Anyone that’s still going to be out, like I know like Suderian Harrison and Mekhi Buchanan?
TONY ELLIOTT: Great question. So Sudi, I don't know if Sudi will be back. He’s close with the hamstring, but we don’t wanna push it too fast, too hard. I believe Trell will be good to go. Trell was out in practice yesterday, be back full go today. Sipe is back in practice working off of his foot. Mekhi, we gotta get a couple more pictures on his ankle, just to make sure that it’s healing the way it’s supposed to. When you deal with those high ankle sprains, you could have potential ligament issues there. So he won’t be available this weekend. Sudi is kind of questionable for this weekend, but everybody else is coming back at the right time.
Hunter (Osborne) is back full off of his ankle in practice. Davis Lane is full go with his hamstring. Just looking down the list, is there anybody else that is coming back? Talked about Sipe, tight end we're good, quarterback we're good. We, knock on wood, we stayed pretty healthy at running back. Wide out, again, Sudi would be the only one. Besides Ja’Maric, Kevon’s (Gray) been back with his ankle in the secondary. (Antonio) Clary’s still a week or so, two weeks away, but really pleased with where his progress is going. Christian Charles is back full go. Kam (Robinson) is the only one right now at linebacker. D-Line wise, D-End wise, we’re good, so. So we’re starting to get the guys back when we need them with, like you said, those small bumps and bruises from camp.
But right now, in reference to who you asked, really, Sudi is questionable. And I wouldn’t count on Mekhi this weekend with the ankle.
Alright? Appreciate it. Thank you.
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