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Virginia coach Tony Elliott postgame press conference after loss to #UNC
Oct 26, 2024
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0:00
Tony is it safe to say that even with
0:02
the starters you were missing you did
0:04
not see this coming oh well first of all
0:07
I mean I I own apology to the
0:09
administration uh to the players in the
0:11
locker room the staff U I did not do a
0:13
good job of having them prepared to play
0:15
uh so so what you saw out there today
0:16
that's on me and um and I got two weeks
0:19
to to really figure it out uh to to have
0:21
us ready to play our best football down
0:23
the stretch um you know there there's no
0:27
excuses I mean it doesn't matter who's
0:29
in there you know the expectation is the
0:31
expectation um and you know the other
0:34
way you look at it is man guys got an
0:35
opportunity and they got to be they got
0:37
to be ready but that starts with me so I
0:39
have to make sure that I have them uh
0:40
prepared and ready to go uh to be able
0:42
to to compete uh and execute at a high
0:45
level I know that a game does not come
0:47
down at all to One play but how big was
0:50
that swing when you have first and goal
0:51
at the one and end up having to get a
0:53
field goal yeah you know you know right
0:55
there it's first first and one and and
0:57
man Josie's he's in there he's geared up
1:00
he's ready to go and we just have a bad
1:01
snap and so now instead of us having a
1:04
chance to to go up by seven you know now
1:06
you're going to be chasing four points
1:07
at at some at some point but you know
1:09
I'm not going to put that uh the whole
1:11
game on that particular play uh cuz
1:13
there's there's going to be a lot more
1:14
plays as we watch it to see that we had
1:16
opportunities to swing the momentum back
1:18
in our Direction and we didn't
1:20
capitalize Jackie yeah was there any
1:23
thought to go to musket earlier in the
1:25
game given that candry was was
1:27
struggling to get the ball out or were
1:29
you going to stick with cand no matter
1:30
well you know there there there wasn't a
1:32
ton of discussion because you know In
1:34
fairness to candry there wasn't some
1:36
time there wasn't much time you know he
1:37
was getting his back foot in the ground
1:38
and and guys were on him and so I
1:41
thought he battled considering the
1:43
circumstances you know to just keep
1:44
playing uh was getting hit and and
1:47
sacked and and so the the discussion
1:49
didn't really take place until later in
1:50
the game um cuz cuz again in a situation
1:53
like that we felt like uh his ability to
1:55
elude and Escape you know gave us you
1:57
know the best opportunity uh amidst the
1:59
struggles that we had up front today and
2:01
then on the uh on the first and goal
2:03
play from the one why not the broster
2:05
house package you guys have used a lot
2:07
uh well you know honest answer you know
2:10
you find out that your Center's out on
2:11
Friday afternoon and the center you got
2:14
in there hasn't practiced you know that
2:16
particular play and you know I from a
2:18
mindset you go with what they're
2:19
comfortable doing and that whole drive
2:21
you know we had been we' been in the gun
2:23
right so you don't anticipate that so I
2:25
knew we were going to get questions
2:26
about it but I stand firmly on the
2:28
decision you know you got to got a
2:30
center in there that that hasn't had a
2:31
chance to really practice that um so
2:34
that and he' been snapping in the gun
2:36
all uh all all all drive up to that
2:39
point
2:40
so what was the message from you to this
2:42
locker room after this game and what
2:44
what have you seen from them and their
2:46
reception to it yeah so the me the
2:48
message was man we got to take ownership
2:49
of it you know at the end of the day
2:52
right we can't there's nowhere to hide
2:54
right like and it's it's a it's a it's a
2:57
life lesson too right so whatever you're
2:58
running from in life eventually it's
3:00
going to track you down and you're not
3:02
going to be able to hide and today uh
3:04
you know we we missed an opportunity to
3:06
grow and and and develop as a program so
3:09
we can't hide from it we got to own it
3:11
you know at the end of the day uh
3:13
hopefully nobody will look to the right
3:14
or the left and start pointing fingers
3:15
except for to look straight ahead in the
3:17
mirror and say what can I do better you
3:19
know how can how can I uh make sure that
3:21
my fundamentals are better how can I
3:23
have more appreciation for my
3:25
opportunity and for my teammates and
3:26
then how can I you know have a more
3:28
mental and physical toughness to be able
3:30
to go out and and execute and and
3:32
compete so that was the message you know
3:34
to our to our guys we got a lot of
3:35
football left man we're we're scrapping
3:37
we're fighting and then also too the
3:39
message to these guys is I've seen it
3:41
you know that's probably the most
3:42
frustrating thing is man I've seen these
3:44
guys perform and and play at a high
3:46
level so I know they're capable of it
3:48
but it all comes down to uh decisions
3:51
daily decisions um and today we just we
3:54
didn't have our minds in the right place
3:55
and again uh I take ownership cuz that's
3:58
my fault my job as a head coach is to
4:00
make sure that collectively everybody's
4:01
on the same page pulling in the same
4:03
direction with the same mindset and uh
4:05
and I failed at my job
4:07
today yeah with how musket has done the
4:09
last two games is there any
4:10
consideration or do you still think that
4:12
Anthony kandra gives you the best chance
4:13
to win I mean we'll go we'll go evaluate
4:15
it right I'm I'm not ready to answer
4:17
that question you know uh especially In
4:19
the Heat of the Moment We got to go
4:20
evaluate the uh um the film and kind of
4:22
see what happened but we're going to be
4:24
fair you know and we want to win
4:25
football games and you know uh it's been
4:28
good to see you know Tony come in and uh
4:30
and have some success uh but but we we
4:32
got we got a lot of things to to discuss
4:34
uh these next two
4:36
weeks what you say this game was lost in
4:38
the trenches not only offensively with
4:40
the offensive line but also stopping the
4:41
run for UNC Hampton was a monster for
4:43
UNC yeah I mean every game is going to
4:46
come down to the trenches right and and
4:48
I've been very fortunate to to to be
4:50
around some great skill guys but at the
4:52
end of the day man the game of football
4:53
starts up front and so you got to be
4:55
able to run the ball you got to
4:57
establish the run you got to be able to
4:58
protect the quarterback and then you got
4:59
to be able to stop the run and then get
5:01
after their quarterback uh so so we got
5:03
a lot of work to do uh we'll figure it
5:05
out I hate it for Jimmy you know Jimmy
5:07
Chris uh you know early diagnosis he got
5:09
a broken ankle man I hate that for him
5:12
um uh you know cuz we were going to need
5:14
him but but more importantly for him man
5:15
he's been battling injury so so really
5:17
be thinking about him over the next
5:19
couple days as he deals with uh deals
5:20
with that injury and then hopefully
5:22
we'll we'll get some of our guys back
5:24
you know up front to help us down the
5:25
stretch
5:32
uh final two minutes of the first half
5:34
what was kind of the mood in the locker
5:36
room what did you say to them in the
5:36
locker room you know for how much of a
5:39
shift in the game it happened those last
5:40
two minutes so so uh what I said at
5:44
halftime I can't repeat uh to be honest
5:46
with you cuz I was just trying to
5:47
challenge the guys I was trying to flip
5:49
the mindset right trying to get the guys
5:51
to to to snap out of wherever they
5:53
wherever they were uh mentally uh but
5:55
obviously I didn't say the right things
5:57
um so I got to you know evaluate my
5:59
myself to make sure that that that one I
6:01
have them prepared uh better mentally
6:04
and then I can figure out which buttons
6:06
to push you know when they're when
6:07
they're having a a tough time to get
6:09
them back you know back to where they
6:10
need to
6:11
be I know your your front seven is is
6:14
doing everything they can but coming
6:16
into the year with the experience
6:18
particularly UPF front did you think
6:19
you'd be getting more of a pass rush
6:21
than you have and and what kind of
6:23
pressure does that put on you know the
6:25
back four back five actually I thought
6:26
early in the game our front four was
6:28
doing a better job you you know I
6:29
thought that they were they were they
6:30
were affecting the quarterback and
6:32
making him flush the pocket and move um
6:35
but when when you're when you're letting
6:36
them stay ahead of the chains man it's
6:38
tough it's tough to uh to do there and
6:41
you know um what we we are we are what
6:44
we what we are right so if that means we
6:46
got to get pressure by by simulated
6:48
pressure by bringing second level guys
6:50
um it is it is what it is but we'll
6:52
evaluate it these next two weeks and see
6:53
can we uh gain some more production of
6:56
actually getting the quarterback on the
6:57
ground uh uh down theet stretch here in
6:59
these last four
7:02
games
7:05
think that's what that's what we hope
7:07
you know I I think Clary is getting
7:09
better um you know each day just in
7:11
terms of of managing the swelling you
7:13
know that's what it's going to be on him
7:15
um you know at some point we know he's
7:17
going to have to go in and get it fixed
7:19
right but now he's just trying to manage
7:21
the swelling so that he can so that he
7:22
can perform CU biggest thing is you
7:24
don't want to put a young man out there
7:25
because one thing I know about Clary is
7:27
man he'll lay it on the line for this
7:28
football team uh uh but but you want to
7:30
put him out there when he has a chance
7:31
to protect himself and he's not quite
7:33
ready yet and hopefully over the next
7:34
couple weeks uh we'll get we'll get
7:36
several guys you know James Jackson
7:38
hopefully Brian will be back and we get
7:40
furnished back in the next couple weeks
7:42
um as we go down the stretch
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