Elliott: We must defend Scott Stadium; plus injury updates

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Tony Elliott’s message to his Virginia football team this week has been as simple as cornbread: Defend our House.

The Cavaliers (3-1, 1-0 ACC) host a strong Boston College (4-1, 1-0) squad at noon Saturday (ACC Network) and have an opportunity to start 4-1 for the first time since their 2019 Orange Bowl year under Bronco Mendenhall.

UVA opened as a 3-point favorite but that has slipped to a 1-point favorite as of Tuesday afternoon, likely because Boston College starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos has been cleared to play.

One of the big differences between Mendenhall’s program and Elliott’s thus far has been defending Scott Stadium.

“We need to be a football team that defends our home stadium,” Elliott said Tuesday. “That’s really been the message and the motivation, if you want to be honest.

“We have not been good in Scott Stadium under this coaching staff. I want that to change. I believe the players want that to change. BC is not going to give it to us. We’ve got to go take it, even in our home stadium.”

Elliott was right in his assessment. Virginia is only 5-9 at home during his era, including a 1-1 mark this season (beat Richmond, 34-13; lost to Maryland, 27-13). In Elliott’s first two years at UVA, his teams went 2-4 at home in ‘23 and ‘22.

Mendenhall got off to a shaky start his first two seasons, going 1-5 at home in 2016, then 4-3 in 2017. After that, Virginia became incredibly difficult to beat in Scott Stadium over a four-year stretch, when the Cavaliers racked up a 21-5 home record, highlighted by a 7-0 mark in 2019, winning the ACC’s Coastal Division for the only time.

One thing that should help Elliott’s team this weekend is that his team is fairly healthy.

While the Cavaliers have lost two players for the rest of the season in starting sophomore defensive tackle Jason Hammond (shoulder surgery) and graduate tight end Sage Ennis, several players have returned to practice.

“Excited to get some players back,” Elliott said. “I think (McKale) Boley is ready to go (at left offensive tackle). Ty Furnish (starting right guard) is back. Pretty much everybody that we’re hoping to get back at this juncture is back.”

Starting wide receiver Trell Harris is listed as day-to-day, but Elliott anticipates him being ready for Saturday’s game. Also, wide receiver Chris Tyree is back, along with yet another wide receiver in J.R. Wilson, who hasn’t played this season after enjoying a good spring practice. Wilson, who is a 6-foot-4 junior, is listed as Malachi Fields’ backup.

So the good news for Wahoo fans is that Elliott’s fleet of talented wide receivers are healthy, and the offensive line appears to be healthy as well.

The depth chart for Saturday’s game has Jahmeer Carter, normally a nose tackle, switching over to Hammond’s defensive tackle spot backed by Bryce Carter, and sophomore Anthony Britton slipping into the starting nose tackle spot, backed by Michael Diatta.

“I hate it for Jason because he was really starting to come into his own,” Elliott said of Hammond. “Man, he was playing really good football for us. Was playing fast, physical and was taking the primary load from a snap count.

“But next man up, so guys have got to step up. That meant Britton has to carry a little bit more load, Diatta’s got to carry a little bit more load. Terrell Jones kind of inside and outside and then Bryce Carter will have to step up and give us some snaps. Obviously Jah (Jahmeer Carter) will carry a little bit more load.”