The Virginia football team already put together a strong defensive performance in its first game of the season, holding NC State to just 168 yards in a 34-8 win. Now the Hoos are about to get an extra jolt before Week 2.
That’s because the defense is about to add two contributors from 2025’s top 20 defense back into the mix. Linebacker Kam Robinson and safety Corey Costner, who spent the offseason focused on injury rehab, both are ready to return. UVA expects to have both available for Friday night’s game against Norfolk State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Scott Stadium.
Robinson’s return may be a scary thought for opposing offenses. He enters this season with 199 tackles, 8 sacks, and 5 interceptions in his career. That’s landed him spots on Freshman All-American teams (On3, College Football Network, The Athletic, College Football News), All-ACC teams (honorable mention in 2024, third team in 2025), and multiple award watch lists (Butkus Award, Nagurski Trophy). He has returned 3 INTs for touchdowns, including twice last season.
“We all know what Kam Robinson is capable of,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said at his weekly press conference. “Now he's got to get back into play mode and play shape and all of that. So I think he can be very effective getting home on the blitzes. I think the first thing is to make sure we know where he's at and we're not putting him in a position to ask him to do something that maybe he's not ready to do yet with his process of returning to play. But I think that you gain more speed.”
Even without Robinson, the linebackers proved to be a big part of the NC State win. Myles Brown led the team with 8 tackles, while Maddox Marcellus and Landon Danley added 7 and 5 tackles respectively as well. Caleb Hardy and Justin Rowe had 1 tackle each.
Elliott praised the group in his postgame speech with the team and then continued that praise Tuesday with the media. His thoughts went beyond the stats, though. He talked about the cohesiveness of the group and their support for one another. Elliott said that includes Robinson, who is more or less the face of the program, making sure to uplift the linebackers around him.
“They all strive to get better. But then that example is also part of the group. He doesn't separate himself. And sometimes you get those great players and they keep to themselves, but not Kam,” Elliott said. “And I think that has really helped that group get better. So then you watch a guy like Myles. So now Myles Brown walks around with the confidence like Kam, I can go make every play, right? And so then now he shows up and he's ready to go. He has eight tackles and 19 plays, he played 19 plays, he had eight tackles.
“So it's a reflection of just the chemistry that they have in that room,” Elliott continued. “And it's important because you got to have, they play a violent position, and those guys, even though they may not miss a game, man, it's going to be a few plays every game they need a second to catch their breath and let the body get back right before they run out there. And then you need somebody else that can go in there and do the job.”
Tony Elliott Weekly Press Conference - Norfolk State
Usually you go into a bye week after you’ve played a string of games and your guys need a physical break. This was obviously a little different situation. Did you approach this bye week differently than you would other ones?
TONY ELLIOTT: Structurally, it was the same as a typical bye week. We took Tuesday off from practice. But really the focus was still "we got to get in shape." There's a lot of things that we got to continue to improve upon, so the physicality was probably a little bit more during this bye week than maybe later in the season, just because we've only played one game.
And so we're still trying to develop guys for the season. So structurally the same, but maybe mentality was a little bit different.
Are you going to get any guys back this week who were not available for the opener, do you think?
TONY ELLIOTT: For the most part, yeah. Kam [Robinson] will be ready to roll. [Corey] Costner will be ready to roll. [Grant] Ellinger is working his way back in. He could be available in maybe an emergency situation. So he's close to returning. I'm trying to think of who else was out. Rico [Flores Jr.] will not be back this week. We're hopeful for West Virginia next week. Same thing with Dillon Newton-Short. He's still battling a hamstring, but I think Rico's probably a little bit closer right now than where Dillon is. Isaiah Robinson should be back this week. That's ahead of schedule. Zeke (Ezekiel) Larry is back in practice, so he's going to be turned loose, ready to roll.
Trying to think of - it's been so long since we played. I can't remember who was out on the availability report. And then this week, since it's not an ACC game, we didn't have to produce a report. Alex Payne will be ready to roll. He's back in practice. So we're actually, I think, closer to full strength for this one.
We talked about lot about your five starters on the O-Line, but Ben York played a lot in the opener. How valuable is having that clear cut sixth guy, first guy off the bench for the group up front?
TONY ELLIOTT: I would like 12, actually. That's the number that I'm shooting for. So let's double that six and make it 12. But it's critical, right? And it helps everybody. He's able to gain valuable reps and develop. It gives Monroe [Mills] an opportunity to rest a little bit. Same thing with [McKale] Boley. And I think we're closer to having that 7, 8, 9, you know, maybe 10, but that number needs to be 12. And I think that's a number I've been saying for a while. But it's just for the long haul, right? It just takes reps off of guys, it takes exposure away from guys, it builds depth. It's critical and huge to have as many guys available and ready to play, not just on the offensive line, but at every position.
With Kam (Robinson), is he on a pitch count of any kind for Friday or is it full tilt?
TONY ELLIOTT:We'll be smart. We're going to turn him loose, but we'll also be smart. This will be the first time that he'll be out there in full contact because all of our tackle to the ground scrimmages, he was not available during fall camp.
But we'll be smart with him.
You always say you learn more about your team when you're actually playing a game and live. What is the biggest takeaway do you feel like at NC State, especially that running back room and how much you're able to utilize them?
TONY ELLIOTT:Yeah, I think we knew about the potential. It was good to just see the performance that all those guys could quickly find a rhythm and be able to find the runs. I think what you learned about the team as a whole, learned a little bit about their composure, their poise, kind of their reaction in game to the potential momentum shifts.
Got to learn a little bit more about the team speed, seeing them live versus other competition. I know I made those comments about Beau [Pribula] after the game about man, he is faster than, because again, I'm seeing him against my guys, so you get to gauge that speed of play versus other teams. So just a lot of things that you thought and you were able to validate, but then also it identified some areas where we got to continue to improve.
And a little more on the running back room. Xay Davis has been a young guy, probably not talked as much about, but earned reps. How far have you seen from that freshman last year to what do you see in him now?
TONY ELLIOTT:He made a tremendous amount of growth throughout the course of the season. I think he came in as a guy that's okay, he's got a ton of upside. Got some developing to do. To now he's playing against Missouri, carrying the ball in critical situations. It's like, all right, here we go. The moment wasn't too big, and then you just saw him continue to make progress. And so where you may have guys that that can do things maybe a little bit different than what he does, what I tell you is great about him is he's comfortable in his own skin, right? He knows his skill set, but then he's also, you know, he shows up every day trying to improve.
Doesn't say much. He's not doing it for the sake of the recognition. I think he just loves to play football. His family, his mom in particular, has done a great job of just solidifying him as a conscientious, hardworking young man that doesn't seek the spotlight. And I think as he continues to progress, those things will come, but he's got the right temperament, and he just shows up every day, and he's the same.
What was Rico's (Flores) injury you mentioned to happen in practice?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, hamstring.
How do you feel about that group knowing that he's coming back, but where you are right now, is that still an area that you need to make some progress?
TONY ELLIOTT: Oh, I think so. And I think the plays that we asked them to make, they made. It was good to see Ty’Lyric (Coleman) go make a couple of tough catches in the game. It was good to see Day-Day (Da’Shawn Martin) get behind some guys. We had seen some glimpses of that in fall camp, but then he was hampered by hamstring as well, so we didn't get to see as much of that on our practice field.
So I think there's still a work in progress, but the first outing, I was pleased with what I saw. And then you add Isaiah (Robinson) back, you add Rico back, you know, probably in a week or so, and then maybe Dillon (Newton-Short) a week after that. I think now you got a very formidable room with depth and versatility and talent. They just got to go continue to gain experience.
Kam Courtney is a guy that people have been kind of waiting for him to break out for it feels like a little while now. What's standing between him and breaking out?
TONY ELLIOTT: In fairness to Kam, I think Kam's made the plays that were there for him to make. I just think we've seen things and we believe that there's more upside to his game. And I think the biggest thing for him is just going in and making it happen, right? And taking those routine plays and then making them big plays. Like he's made the plays we've asked him to make, but I think we all know that there's more to his game. I think the biggest thing is him just seeing that in himself and going and elevating to that next level.
On Da'Shawn Martin, he got injured in the spring too, he got injured in the fall. Is that really what's just been holding him back, you think?
TONY ELLIOTT: I think it's availability because with availability, then you bank practice reps, you build trust with your quarterback, you show what you're capable of, which now gives the staff the ability to evaluate and plan and see how you fit into the scheme. So the biggest thing is just availability.
And with the running back room, you used all of them in the first game. Do you anticipate that kind of being the regular thing or do you do you see a pecking order? Or do you see a pecking order kind of?
TONY ELLIOTT: They'll figure it out, right? Like, if somebody wants to take it and emerge, he'll take it and emerge. If it's a by committee deal, for me, it's all about the expectation of what the position is responsible to do, play in and play out. To me, it doesn't matter kind of who's in there. Last year, we started by committee, and then J'Mari [Taylor] separated. It may stay by committee. At the end of the day, we want to run the ball, we want to be effective, we want to protect the quarterback, and then we want to make plays out of the backfield in the passing game. So I think we got five, six guys that can do it, and they'll figure it out.
Do you see Friday night as an opportunity to build on that passing game so Beau (Pribula) can get a little more comfortable with these receivers?
TONY ELLIOTT: I see a great test Friday night because structurally, they're an eight man defense, so to speak, and they want to stop the run, and they'll give you some opportunities maybe down the field, and you're going to have to make some plays. So we'll take it however it comes.
That's one great thing about Beau. I got a message from a pretty prominent quarterback just encouraging Beau [Pribula] to be patient and not to worry about passing yards at all. And Beau's like, "Yeah, I appreciate the message, coach, but I do whatever it takes to win." So I think he'll be ready to do whatever's asked of him, but I would like to see us be balanced. Last week, it just happened that we were able, we had success in a run game and it wasn't broke, so don't fix it. But we do need to continue to balance out because where we want to go and the games that we got to play, you know, down the stretch, we're going to have to be balanced.
And how impressed were you with your secondary and the way they performed against the Wolfpack?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, I thought they did a really good job of being in position, didn't let too many guys get behind us, good communication. There weren't guys running free. I don't recall any major busted coverages. And I thought they made plays on the ball. I thought they fit the run. They were aggressive. I thought they played with some swagger. So, all the things that we had seen on the practice field, it was good to see that translate into the game.
Coach, the defense showed up really well against NC State. (Brandyn) Hillman, a bunch of other people showed up really well. Knowing that Kam (Robinson) is coming back, how did you keep the guys focused through this bye week, which sometimes can be really hard to keep the team focused?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, I think first just started with our game. First of all, we did our job. That's what my message is to the team. And I know externally people are patting them on the back and saying this and that, but they believe that they were going to win the game. They talked about wanting to go out and to play well and to dominate in certain phases of the game.
So in essence, they did their job and hopefully that becomes the standard, and not the exception, but the standard. And in order to do that, you got to prepare well, and that's what we need to keep our focus. It's not the result on Saturday, it's the process of getting to Saturday that determines whether or not you're successful, or whether or not you're dominant, or whether it's a competitive game, close game. So that was the other focus, and then we watched a lot of football over the last couple weeks. And hopefully we gained a healthy appreciation for just how hard it is to win in college football, right?
I think sometimes with where we are in this day in age with media exposure, like, people think it's easy to win football games. It doesn't matter who you're playing. Just go ask some of those teams out there that had close competitive games, teams that were on paper that were supposed to just dominate. So it's all about the process, and that's what we talked about a lot this week.
You guys were very good defensively against State. What changes with Kam [Robinson] back, and how much of an impact can he have in terms of getting home with blitzes?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, I think. We all know what Kam Robinson is capable of. Now he's got to get back into play mode and play shape and all of that. So I think he can be very effective getting home on the blitzes. I think the first thing is to make sure we know where he's at and we're not putting him in a position to ask him to do something that maybe he's not ready to do yet with his process of returning to play. But I think that you gain more speed.
But, you look at the way (Landon) Danley's playing, (Maddox) Marcellus, and Myles (Brown), you know, Myles Brown stepped in, led us in tackles. Then you got Caleb Hardy. And then so I just think the biggest thing with that group is there's not a huge drop off when Kam's not in there and that's what we've wanted to do. Now we know Kam's special and he's going to go make those freakish plays that like only Kam can make. But when he comes out of the game, which in fairness to him, he had to play a bunch of snaps the last three years and play through some injuries. You know, hopefully, now with the depth that we have, the competitive depth, he doesn't have to be out there to make every single play. I know he wants to and some may say, well, that's what's best for the team, but you know, a fresh Kam, a fast Kam I think is more effective rushing the passer. I think he makes more plays, and then also it takes some of the exposure to injury away by having a competitive depth.
You mentioned special players, freak athlete, for I guess some of us in here covering Michael Vick. Is Michael Vick cool to your guys? Does his name resonate with your players, or?
TONY ELLIOTT: I don't know and we haven't talked about it a ton, but I know with the staff, and I know for me, like, I mean, come on, this is Michael Vick now. Like, that's a household name. All you got to say is Vick, right? Like, you didn't have to say Mike, you just say Vick, and everybody knows, like, who that guy was.
I saw it up close and personal. I think it was a sophomore playing, might have been freshman year, playing down there. Golly, he was special. And he transformed the game. Like, when you start talking about dual threat quarterbacks I mean, he's the prototype, right? And then you know what? He did it as a lefty. When everyone was like, ah, left handed quarterbacks, I mean, he just proved everybody wrong. And he could beat you from the pocket. And then when he took off to run, like, there wasn't anybody better in a league with the ball in their hands. And he made those freakish, like, once in a generation type of plays. And so that's who Michael Vick is to me.
And man, I'm just excited to have a chance to meet him and I got a tremendous amount of respect for who he is as a person all that he's been through, and then the impact that he's now making. And that's what he probably may not get as much credit for. People are going to remember him for all of the great plays, but what he's done with his life, I mean, it's very commendable. He's had to learn through some adversity, and now he has an unbelievable platform. And you can see it in the way that his guys play.
His guys, they play hard. And they're very competitive. They're like he was, right? They play with class. They're very well coached. So you can see just kind of all of those things about who he is and his journey in life coming out in the identity of his football team. I never met him. Well, other than maybe a handshake on the field after the game, but I was a young guy. I wasn't going up to Michael Vick. And they just kicked our butt, too. They physically handed it to us. As well. So no, I haven't. My wife has. She met him in the airport. He was, he was gracious to take a picture and she's a big fan.
I mean, it's Michael Vick. Like I just I'm glad you asked that question and obviously I'm going to step outside the rivalry for a second, right and pay respect to a guy that that has done a lot of things in our sport and then also is doing a lot of things from a community standpoint with his journey and with his message. And I got a tremendous amount of respect for that.
Florida State last night had some electrical problems, iPads and all that going on. Do you work on that previously or will you work on it now just in case that ever were to come up?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, that may be added to the Cav Bowl as part of one of our scenarios. The iPads are down, but we coach every day, because of the pace of practice, we don't have the iPads at practice. And most of us have coached our entire career without the iPads. And so I'm kind of a fan of that. I like the old school coaching, where you really got to pay attention to what's going on and then make adjustments in game. So I actually would have enjoyed that piece of it, but we'll talk about it now that it has come up as a staff, but I wouldn't make it something bigger than what it is. For so long, all of us coaches, we couldn't have any technology. And so you basically relied on each other from that standpoint.
You touched on it a bit before, but I was going to ask about that linebacker group. Just all of those guys making plays against NC State. Just what do you like about what they can bring to the table and just their overall energy, too?
TONY ELLIOTT: First of all, and I recognized those guys after the game because it's a very unselfish group. Like you watch them, and they sit together. They know what the standard of play is at the position. They all pull for each other. They want to see each other be successful. And man, that's very healthy. And something that is hard to fabricate. So you can tell that it's authentic, right?
And man, they pull for Kam (Robinson) too. Even though they know, like, man, this dude right here is a guy. And it's hard for me to compete because I can't do the things that he does. But you know what? Kam also appreciates those guys for who they are, right? And he invests back in them.
It was a lot like when I played, there was a young man named Derek Hamilton, my best friend. And he was freaky, you know, 6'4", could do everything. We call him the Noodle, call him Gumby, he had all these nicknames. And he could do things, and I couldn't. But you know what, he would always be like, hey, why don't you try it? I think you can. And so he instilled that belief in me as a player, right, to get me outside of my comfort zone so that I grew.
And so I see that in that linebacker room, that they really, they have a great example, right? They all strive to get better. But then that example is also part of the group. He doesn't separate himself. And sometimes you get those great players and they keep to themselves, but not Kam. And I think that has really helped that group get better. So then you watch a guy like Myles. So now Myles Brown walks around with the confidence like Kam, I can go make every play, right? And so then now he shows up and he's ready to go. He has eight tackles and 19 plays, he played 19 plays, he had eight tackles.
So it's a reflection of just the chemistry that they have in that room. And it's important because you got to have, they play a violent position, and those guys, even though they may not miss a game, man, it's going to be a few plays every game they need a second to catch their breath and let the body get back right before they run out there. And then you need somebody else that can go in there and do the job. And then all over special teams. You know they set the tempo on special teams making plays.
And so your linebackers are what you call the equivalent of the quarterback on defense, right? So you need just like we need more than both, right? That's why Eli (Holstein) is so valuable. That's why Cole (Geer) is so valuable. You need multiple guys at that position that can do it at the high level. And then you also need great leadership and chemistry in that room.
When you just look at the Norfolk State team, when you watch them on tape, what do you kind of notice about them? What sticks out?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah. Like I said, they play hard. They're very well coached. You can tell that they believe in the scheme, offense and defense and special teams. They got depth on the D-Line. They can roll a lot of guys. They get after it. They're multiple, they can play multiple fronts, four-man fronts, three-man fronts. Their linebackers are athletic. They got some long dudes. In the secondary, they got some transfers from the P4 level that are going to be exciting to play. And then offensively, schematically, they challenge you. They can jump from 21 personnel, I formation, all the way to empty with a quarterback that can run and can throw.
And so it's going to be a good challenge and test for our guys, schematically, and then also from an effort standpoint, because these guys, many of them, want to be in these seats right here and believe that they should have been in these seats. And so they're going to play with a little chip on their shoulder and we got to match that. So it's going to be a good challenge. We're going to find out a lot about our football team this weekend.
You were off this past Saturday, you got a couple Friday games coming up, which means you'll have a couple other Saturdays off. Are you a guy who is on an off Saturday, are you on the couch from noon to midnight watching college football with the clicker in your hand? Or do you need a break from it?
TONY ELLIOTT: I need a break. Now, I'll do it. So this past weekend, I was out Friday night recruiting, came back in and it was just myself and Ace. AJ was at a baseball tournament with mom, and so Ace wanted to watch football. So we went downstairs and we cut on the game and we watched it for about 30 minutes. And he's like, Dad, I need ping pong. And I'm like, Thank you. Because it's hard to keep track of it. And there's so many games. So I'll watch it a little bit, but I do like a little bit of time to decompress a little bit and kind of clear my mind so that when I show back up on Sunday, I'm fresh and ready to go.
Coach, you had a big recruiting week last weekend at NC State. You got another in-state opponent coming up this week. You're on the road recruiting. How vital is it for your program to get that in-state recruiting and to hit those in state high school football games?
TONY ELLIOTT: Yeah, it's critical. I mean, Michael Vick, he's from the state of Virginia. And down there in the Tidewater, there's been a ton of great quarterbacks come out of that area. Like the guys that we're talking about on our roster that are freakish. (Brandyn) Hillman and (Kam) Robinson, they're from the state of Virginia, right? And I really philosophically believe in doing things from the inside out all the way around. And so it's important that the top players in the state know that they don't have to leave the state. Now if they choose to, because it is their decision, but it's not a situation where we lack anything that they need to be successful.
So it's critical that when we have opportunities to host them that we do a good job and then we have opportunities to get out. So last Thursday I was out watching in-state games. Friday I was in Richmond all day and the next time we have a Friday game won't be able to get out, but anytime I have a chance to go recruit, I'm going to start in the state of Virginia because there's an unbelievable amount of talent, great coaching at the high school level. Man, the game that I went to Friday night, obviously I can't say the name, but man, it was an unbelievable high school atmosphere. So there's great atmospheres around the state. So we want to start with guys. And you look at our class that's coming together, the bulk of them are from the state of Virginia. I want to do it with guys that it means something to put on the V Sabres and represent the state of Virginia.
Corey Costner kind of came on towards the end of last year. We haven't talked as much about him because he's been injured. What does he add that's different to a secondary that’s already been kind of impressive to start this year?
TONY ELLIOTT: He adds more speed. He's a guy that can really, really run. And I think where his body is, like when you see him, when he runs out there, man, he's put on some good weight this offseason. So physically, he's going to be able to support from that nickel position, maybe different than we've been able to do in the past. And then in third down situations, he can go out there and play man coverage. I think his first test was he had the gut. Guarded a low receiver from Cal, number 21. Is it (Jacob) De Jesus? Yeah, like, golly. And he could run. And Corey made some plays, you know what I'm saying? And so I think you have a lot of flexibility and versatility with him. And then also, too, that locks up the ability to put other guys in different positions and really give you the ability in all your personnel groupings to have the speed to match up, but then also the physicality to support the run.
How granular is Rud (John Rudzinski) into the details of which guys are in on which downs?Because on third downs, y'all have a different package, but I saw one time Patrick Campbell was in there for a blitz. How into those details is he?
TONY ELLIOTT: Oh, very, into it. So last year, I think we were able to have a third personnel package, right? So you had a base down personnel package, then you had a second-and-long personnel package, and then you had a third down personnel package. He's very, very granular in that and just trying to find the best matchups, the best body types, the best skill sets, and then putting guys in position to be successful.
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