Elliott: UVA’s inexperienced O-Line pressing, trying too hard, losing 1-on-1 battles

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Tony Elliott can trace Virginia’s problems in the running game and protecting the quarterback to his offensive line losing one-on-one battles, abandoning techniques and pressing too hard.

Everyone knew this O-Line was a big question mark coming into the season. The Cavaliers were almost starting all over again after many of the starters exited the program via the transfer portal — for the second year in a row — after last season.

It should come as no surprise that Virginia has struggled to run the football and has had difficulty keeping pass-rushers out of its backfield. Quarterbacks Tony Muskett and Anthony Colandrea have been under great duress and running backs are often confronted with clogged running lanes.

That’s one of the reasons UVA ranks No. 125 (out of 130 FBS schools) in rushing offense (only 79 yards per game, 2.17 yards per carry). In five games, the Cavaliers have rushed for a total of 317 yards. There have been games over the years when UVA has had more rushing yards in a single contest.

Virginia has cracked the 100-yard rushing mark as a team only once this season: vs. Tennessee 40 attempts, 95 yards; JMU 35 attempts, 18 yards; Maryland 30-91; NC State 41-113; Boston College 29-59.

Also consider that the Cavaliers rank No. 111 in sacks allowed (12) and No. 122 in tackles-for-loss allowed (8.2 per game).

Elliott, who was offensive coordinator at Clemson for a decade during the height of the Tigers’ success, was certainly more accustomed to higher quality lines. What can he do at Virginia as the Cavaliers approach midseason?

At BC, things continued to break down, and according to Pro Football Focus’ ratings, most of the UVA linemen didn’t grade well.

“When I look at the film, we did have some more free hitters,” Elliott said Tuesday. “It was more a function of guys not knowing what to do, but it’s doing it the way your techniques requires you to do, and some of that’s pressing, guys being too eager and abandoning their technique and not performing.

“Obviously those guys are going to get scrutinized the most. Any time you’re not moving the ball, more times than not, you’re going to blame it on the OL, and it’s not always their fault.”

Elliott noted that sometimes the quarterback holds onto the ball too long, sometimes the defense sends more pass-rushers than the offense can block.

“We’ve got five guys in protection, and typically you have a six-man box,” Elliott said. “So any kind of pressure, you’re hot. They’ve got to win their one-on-one matchup, and that’s where, in this game, where I felt like where we fell short, is when we got to our one-on-one matchups and we were trying so hard, too hard, pressing, being too eager, that we abandoned our technique.

“If you don’t bring your technique into a one-on-one battle, unless you’re just superior in skill and size and speed, but when you’re evenly matched, it’s going to be the guy that plays with the proper technique.”

Elliott knows the young linemen want to get better, he can see it in their eyes during drills and in practice. He can sense it when he’s around them. Unfortunately, it requires on-the-job training.

Because of the mass exodus of linemen in back-to-back years, the Cavaliers have been left with mostly inexperienced players at positions that usually require more time to master than other positions.

UVA’s numbers are adequate at the O-Line positions, with 22 roster spots. Ten of those are freshmen or sophomores and even some of the upperclassmen don’t have much experience, leaving offensive coordinator Des Kitchings wishing for more players in the O-Line rotation — not only to gain experience, but to build depth so he can roll fresh personnel in throughout the game.

At Boston College, Virginia played seven linemen, which is far from what is desired. Penn State transfer Jimmy Christ, who has missed time from a nagging injury he suffered in training camp, was in action against the Eagles, along with Noah Hartsoe, a sophomore backup center.

Elliott said that in close games — and most of UVA’s games have been decided in the fourth quarter — coaches tend to go with their most experienced guys, which makes it a challenge to bring in reserves. Still, he admits he needs to play some of those guys more.

“I feel good with those seven,” Elliott said. “I would like to get Blake Steen some more reps. I think he’s come along. We need to see what he can do in a game. So we’re getting a little bit more comfortable, but one thing that I have to challenge the coaches is, man, we’ve just got to play guys.

“Even though the situation, it’s a three-point game, every play matters, we’ve got to play those guys. That’s the only way they’re going to learn.”

Injury Report

Elliott said freshman corner Dre Walker and transfer corner Malcolm Greene will both miss this week’s game against William & Mary (Saturday, noon, ACC Network). The coach expects to get defensive end Ben Smiley back, as well as safety Lex Long and “bandit” Paul Akere. Running back Mike Hollins is listed as day-to-day.