Elliott believes Virginia is better than ACC’s No. 16 pick

By Jerry Ratcliffe

The ACC preseason poll was released during the opening of Virginia’s fall training camp on Wednesday, and it wasn’t exactly good news for the Cavaliers. Media attending last week’s ACC Football Kickoff event in Charlotte predicted a 16th-place finish for UVA, next to the bottom of the league.

When asked about the vote in his post-practice press conference, Virginia coach Tony Elliott wasn’t flustered by the news.

“I’m not surprised,” Elliott said. “Last time we stepped on the field in an ACC game, we did not do our part, so not surprised.”

The coach was referring to UVA’s embarrassing home loss to rival Virginia Tech to end the 2023 season, a 3-9 overall record.

“Obviously we’ve got a lot of work to do,” said the coach. “We believe we can finish better than that. This is the preseason, and I told the guys don’t worry about what people are saying in the preseason. All that matters is what they’re saying at the end of the season.

“Today was the start of us making our case for that, so all we can do is focus on what we can control, what we think we believe, and then come out here every single day with purpose to be able to bring that to life.”

Some national observers believe Virginia has a chance to finish higher in the league if the Cavaliers can find success in the early portion of their schedule (Richmond, Wake Forest, Maryland, Coastal Carolina, Boston College, Louisville). Tons of starters return to the team on both sides of the ball, including two experienced quarterbacks in Tony Muskett and Anthony Colandrea.

Last season, UVA lost five games by a combined total of 17 points (JMU 36-35, NC State 24-21, BC 27-24, Miami 29-26, Louisville 31-24). Several of those were self-inflicted wounds by the Cavaliers via turnovers, silly penalties or special-teams gaffes.

Certainly that’s a point of emphasis before Virginia retakes the field on Aug. 31 against FCS Richmond.

“It starts with finishing every single rep and playing and taking every single rep like it’s a game mentality,” Elliott said. “As we progress through practice, understanding what our plan to win is and getting off to a fast start, winning the middle eight (last four minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second half), and then finishing the fourth quarter.

“So that’s really how you flip it, but to me it all comes down to belief, too. I think the harder you practice, the more intentional you are, the more detailed you are in practice, the more you’re going to have success, which is going to build confidence.”

Elliott said his team has 25 (fall) practices and 12 Saturdays to do something about proving pollsters wrong.

“There’s always teams that are picked to finish high that don’t finish high and there’s always teams that are picked to finish low that don’t finish low. That’s really all that was said today,” the coach said.

Last year, media picked Clemson as the preseason favorite to win the ACC, and the Tigers didn’t come close. In 2022, Miami was the preseason selection and finished fifth. Same in ‘21, when Carolina was the pick and was fifth. In 2015, Georgia Tech was the favorite and finished seventh.

Camp Notes

INJURY REPORT — Elliott said that sophomore defensive end Mekhi Buchanan is out for the season. Buchanan had hip surgery a few weeks ago. Freshman wide receiver Triston Ward is also likely out for the season, also having undergone hip surgery.

Meanwhile, junior linebacker Stevie Bracey injured his knee a few days ago while getting in some extra work and is expected to be out four or five months. Noah Hartsoe, a junior guard, missed the spring with an ACL and will also miss the season.

Drake Metcalf, a fifth-year offensive lineman who transferred from Central Florida and previously Stanford, injured his knee in the spring and could possibly return to the team in October or November.

NUMBER CHANGE — Fifth-year quarterback Tony Muskett, who wore No. 11 last season, has switched to No. 7 for the upcoming campaign.