Latest news with #TonyElliott
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
JaySean Richardson is the latest Richmond native to commit to the Hoos
When played flag football as a kid, he never went for the ball carrier's flag. Instead, the future Virginia Class 4 Defensive Player of the Year would always opt for a tackle. That coupled with his abilities as a running back prompted his father to give him his nickname — 'Bull.' 'Everybody was like. 'It's like I seen Red when I was running,'' Richardson said. But next year, Richardson will be seeing navy and orange when he suits up for Virginia. The 3-star defensive tackle announced his commitment on Friday, choosing the Hoos over in-state rival Virginia Tech. Richardson, a standout from Varina High School, is yet another recruit of head coach Tony Elliott and his staff to come out of the Richmond area. He joins fellow Varina standout DaMari Carter in Virginia's Class 2026, and this season's roster already includes six players listed as natives of Richmond. Richardson said the amount of the prospects from the Richmond area coming to UVa shows just how much the Hoos trust that area to recruit in. After the first day of preseason camp on Wednesday, Elliott shared how his staff's focus on Richmond is a part of his larger strategy to attract the best players from all of the commonwealth. 'From day one, I've said, 'Inside out, I want to do it with the best players from the state of Virginia,'' he said, 'and it's just taken us a little bit of time to make inroads and to re-establish relationships, because high school recruiting is still about relationships.' That hard work paid off with Richardson, who said the coaching staff made it known on his visit that as an in-state prospect, he was their 'number one guy.' But before he arrives in Charlottesville, Richardson will play his final season at Varina, with the Blue Devils coming off a loss in last season's Class 4 State Championship game.
Miami Herald
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
2025 ACC Head Coach Rankings: Preseason College Football Preview
How good do all the ACC head coaches appear to be going into the 2025 football season?Out of the 17, here's our ranking from the bottom up. What's the criteria? We're hardly going full-on analytical, going mostly by resume, wins, history, and ... feel. For the most part, the brand new coaches with no college head coaching experience get dinged in our rankings, but there's one obvious, notable exception when it comes to the which coaches have the right combination of experience and upside going into the 2025 season? Who do you want running your team? (And remember, this will change in a big way at the end of the year.)- Preseason Previews for Every ACC Team 17 Frank Reich, Stanford Career FBS Win %: 0 FBS Wins: 0 Winning FBS Seasons: 0 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 0 Average Wins Per Season: 0.00 % Seasons With Winning Record: 0.00% NFL head coach at Indianapolis for five years and one season with Carolina 16 Tony Elliott, Virginia Career FBS Win %: 32.4 FBS Wins: 11 Winning FBS Seasons: 0 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 3 Average Wins Per Season: 3.67 % Seasons With Winning Record: 0.00% Guided Virginia through unspeakable tragedy in the 2022 season 15 Brent Pry, Virginia Tech Career FBS Win %: 43.2 FBS Wins: 16 Winning FBS Seasons: 1 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 3 Average Wins Per Season: 5.33 % Seasons With Winning Record: 33.33% In 2024 season, led Virginia Tech to first bowl win since 2016 14 Jake Dickert, Wake Forest Career FBS Win %: 53.5 FBS Wins: 23 Winning FBS Seasons: 2 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 3.5 Average Wins Per Season: 6.57 % Seasons With Winning Record: 57.14% 2024 Washington State team started 8-1 13 Justin Wilcox, Cal Career FBS Win %: 45.7FBS Wins: 42Winning FBS Seasons: 2FBS Conference Championships: 0Total FBS Seasons: 8Average Wins Per Season: 5.25% Seasons With Winning Record: 25.00%Took Cal to bowls in 4 of last 7 seasons 12 Pat Narduzzi, Pitt Career FBS Win %: 56.3 FBS Wins: 72 Winning FBS Seasons: 7 FBS Conference Championships: 1 Total FBS Seasons: 10 Average Wins Per Season: 7.20 % Seasons With Winning Record: 70.00% Won 2021 ACC Championship 11 Brent Key, Georgia Tech Career FBS Win %: 52.9 FBS Wins: 18 Winning FBS Seasons: 2 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 2.5 Average Wins Per Season: 7.20 % Seasons With Winning Record: 80.00% Three winning ACC seasons in three years 10 Fran Brown, Syracuse Career FBS Win %: 76.9 FBS Wins: 10 Winning FBS Seasons: 1 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 1 Average Wins Per Season: 10.00 % Seasons With Winning Record: 100.00% FWAA 2024 Coach of the Year 9 Manny Diaz, Duke Career FBS Win %: 61.2 FBS Wins: 30 Winning FBS Seasons: 3 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 4 Average Wins Per Season: 7.50 % Seasons With Winning Record: 75.00% No losing ACC seasons in four years with Miami and Duke 8 Bill O'Brien, Boston College Career FBS Win %: 59.5 FBS Wins: 22 Winning FBS Seasons: 3 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 3 Average Wins Per Season: 7.33 % Seasons With Winning Record: 100.00% Stepped in as the first Penn State head coach after Joe Paterno 7 Mike Norvell, Florida State Career FBS Win %: 62.8 FBS Wins: 71 Winning FBS Seasons: 6 FBS Conference Championships: 2 Total FBS Seasons: 9 Average Wins Per Season: 7.89 % Seasons With Winning Record: 66.67% 2023 Bear Bryant & Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year 6 Dave Doeren , NC State Career FBS Win %: 61.5FBS Wins: 110Winning FBS Seasons: 11FBS Conference Championships: 2Total FBS Seasons: 14Average Wins Per Season: 7.86% Seasons With Winning Record: 78.57%2 MAC titles and 23-4 run at Northern Illinois 5 Mario Cristobal, Miami Career FBS Win %: 52.5 FBS Wins: 84 Winning FBS Seasons: 8 FBS Conference Championships: 3 Total FBS Seasons: 13 Average Wins Per Season: 6.46 % Seasons With Winning Record: 61.54% Won 2 Pac-12 titles at Oregon, 1 Sun Belt title at FIU 4 Bill Belichick, North Carolina Career FBS Win %: 0 FBS Wins: 0 Winning FBS Seasons: 0 FBS Conference Championships: 0 Total FBS Seasons: 0 Average Wins Per Season: 0.00 % Seasons With Winning Record: 0.00% Six-time Super Bowl champion head coach 3 Rhett Lashlee, SMU Career FBS Win %: 69 FBS Wins: 29 Winning FBS Seasons: 3 FBS Conference Championships: 1 Total FBS Seasons: 3 Average Wins Per Season: 9.67 % Seasons With Winning Record: 100.00% One AAC Championship win and one ACC Championship appearance, along with a CFP trip, in three years 2 Jeff Brohm, Louisville Career FBS Win %: 62 FBS Wins: 85 Winning FBS Seasons: 8 FBS Conference Championships: 2 Total FBS Seasons: 11 Average Wins Per Season: 7.73 % Seasons With Winning Record: 72.73% Coached 3 teams to conference title appearances. 2 CUSA titles at WKU 1 Dabo Swinney, Clemson Career FBS Win %: 79.3 FBS Wins: 180 Winning FBS Seasons: 15.5 FBS Conference Championships: 9 Total FBS Seasons: 16.5 Average Wins Per Season: 10.91 % Seasons With Winning Record: 93.94% 9 ACC Championships, 2 national titles, 5 CFP title appearances- Predictions for every ACC game © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Virginia Football: 2025 Cavaliers Season Preview and Prediction
Virginia Football: 2025 Cavaliers Season Preview and Prediction originally appeared on Athlon Sports. On paper, the Cavaliers have upgraded at quarterback and on both sides of the trenches. UVA also has a manageable non-conference schedule and avoids the top-four finishers in the ACC from last season. It's bowl or bust for coach Tony Elliott in Year 4 at Virginia. Advertisement [Editor's note: This article is from Athlon Sports' 2025 College Football Preview print magazine. Order your copy today online, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.] More ACC team previews Boston College | California | Clemson | Duke | Florida State Georgia Tech | Louisville | Miami | North Carolina | NC State Pitt | SMU | Stanford | Syracuse | Virginia Tech | Wake Forest Virginia 2025 Season Preview and Prediction Previewing Virginia's Offense for 2025 It's a changing of the guard for Virginia at the quarterback position. Anthony Colandrea and Tony Muskett are out, and North Texas transfer Chandler Morris has arrived to shepherd the UVA offense in a make-or-break season for head coach Tony Elliott. The Cavaliers ranked 16th in the ACC in scoring offense last season at 22.7 points per game — only Florida State was worse. Morris should be an upgrade at the most important position on the field, but what about the rest of the offense? Advertisement The Cavaliers lost their top two pass-catchers and leading rusher but added a few impact transfers at the skill positions — receivers Jahmal Edrine (Purdue) and Jayden Thomas (Notre Dame) and running back J'Mari Taylor (FCS North Carolina Central). They'll need returners like Xavier Brown, who averaged 6.1 yards per carry last season, and Trell Harris, who was a bright spot in the downfield passing game before going down with a knee injury, to take big steps forward in 2025. Most importantly, though, the Cavaliers must see improvement on their offensive line, the team's biggest weakness in the Elliott era. Virginia added some transfers up front, including UAB's Brady Wilson, but the Cavs lost Louisville transfer Monroe Mills to a spring knee injury and starting right tackle Blake Steen to the transfer portal. Cavaliers RB Xavier Brown | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Previewing Virginia's Defense for 2025 The Cavaliers will have to fill the massive shoes of two-time first-team All-ACC safety Jonas Sanker, but they are set to field perhaps the most experienced safety tandem in the country in Antonio Clary and Louisville transfer Devin Neal. Advertisement UVA went to work in the portal to improve its front seven, which ranked near the bottom of the league in sacks for the second year in a row. Mitchell Melton (Ohio State), Cazeem Moore (FCS Elon), Hunter Osborne (Alabama) and Fisher Camac (UNLV) arrive from the portal to reinforce the defensive line, and the Cavaliers bring back all of their key linebackers, including second-leading tackler Kam Robinson. The cornerback position may be an issue, but the pieces are there for UVA's defense to be much improved in 2025. Virginia coach Tony Elliott | Amber Searls-Imagn Images Previewing Virginia's Specialists for 2025 Virginia brings back all of its kickers and punters from last season and adds PFF All-America long snapper Bryce Robinson from Kennesaw State. UVA lost its primary returners but brought in James Madison transfer Cam Ross, who returned a kickoff for a score last season. Advertisement National Ranking: 69 More ACC team previews Boston College | California | Clemson | Duke | Florida State Georgia Tech | Louisville | Miami | North Carolina | NC State Pitt | SMU | Stanford | Syracuse | Virginia Tech | Wake Forest Related: ACC Football 2025 Predictions Related: College Football Rankings: Projecting the Top 25 Teams for 2025 Related: Athlon Sports 2025 College Football Preview Magazine Available Now This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Virginia Football Preview 2025: Cavaliers Are WAY Overdue For A Break
This is Year Four of the Tony Elliott era, otherwise known as the Virginia Football Can NOT Catch Any Semblance of a Break coach ever wants to hear excuses for an 11-23 start - college football coaches are emperors of all they survey, so it's almost always on them when things don't go well - but … Virginia suffered the horrific tragedy of 2022, when three Cavalier football players were killed in a mass shooting. The team cut the season short, tried to pick up the pieces in an impossible situation going into 2023, and started 0-5, losing three of the games by a total of seven points. There have been nine losses by a touchdown or less over the last three year, Virginia had a seemingly winnable date against SMU in the home finale between road trips to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. That didn't go well. And now, with things coming into place, and the biggest need filled at left tackle, super-transfer Monroe Mills suffered a knee so, this is Elliott's best team yet in his four years, the schedule isn't too horrible, and at some point, a good-fortune break will come Virginia's way. It has to. Virginia Cavaliers Preview 2025: Offense X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- The offense sputtered and coughed, scoring fewer than 300 points for a third straight season. The skill parts aren't bad, but they need time and room to work behind a line that couldn't do anything in pass protection and struggled in the ground the plus side, tackle McKale Boley and guard Noah Josey are back on the left side, after that, it's a bit of a when it seemed like everything was about to improve with the addition of Louisville star tackle Monroe Mills, he got knocked out for the year with a torn ACL. He's out, the versatile Blake Steen left for Mississippi State, and now it'll take all of fall camp to get the right starting five. - Xavier Brown averaged over six yards per carry, finishing second on the team with 488 yards and a score, but NC Central transfer J'Mari Taylor might take over, coming off a 1,146-yard, 15-touchdown season.- The offense has its quarterback. Anthony Colandrea had a few moments, but he threw way too many picks. Now he's at UNLV, and in comes Chandler Morris from North Texas after throwing for almost 3,800 yards and 31 receiver Malachi Fields left for Notre Dame, but the Cavaliers got deep threat Jahmal Edrine from Purdue to go along with Trell Harris and a decent group of targets in place. As long as Morris has time, the passing attack will work. Virginia Cavaliers Preview 2025: Defense - The defense was better than the 2023 version, but it was still among the worst in the ACC. The line, though, should be okay with Jahmeer Carter, Anthony Britton, and Jason Hammond a good group of tackles to work pass rush is coming from the transfer portal. Mitchell Melton (Ohio State) and Cazeem Moore (Elon) should bring a big boost for a D that finished with just 19 sacks. - The linebackers might be the team's biggest strength. Kam Robinson is an All-ACC talent who can get into the backfield from the middle. Trey McDonald needs to find a spot somewhere, and James Jackson was putting together a nice season before getting hurt. There's plenty of depth and lots of options to work around.- Devin Neal (Louisville) will be one of the team's leading tacklers at one of the safety spots next to big tackler Antonio Clary. Throw in veteran Caleb Henry, and the safeties are great. The corners are another story if top man Jam Jackson isn't 100% after suffering a knee injury. It'll take fall camp to figure out the rotation. Virginia Cavaliers Key to the Season The offensive line has to be at least, it has to be functional. The pass protection was non-existent at times, and the push for the running game was missing against the good teams. Virginia ran for 170 yards or more three times and won all three times. The team went 2-7 when it didn't. That's why … Virginia Cavaliers Key Player Wallace Unamba, OT got its guy, and then came the cruelty. Monroe Mills was a shockingly great get from the portal, but the Louisville transfer's knee injury changed more shuffling to do, but Unamba, a transfer from New Mexico, has 335-pound size and lots of experience. He now goes from being a good option to work with to the likely starter at one tackle gig. Virginia Cavaliers Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss Top Transfer In: Chandler Morris, QB in history, Morris started at TCU in the run to the national title game in the 2022 season, but suffered a knee injury early on and Max Duggan took over. Interceptions were a problem for Virginia last season, so it's a bit of a concern that Morris threw 12 picks for North Texas last season. He also bombed away in a pass-happy Transfer Out: Malachi Fields, WR Cavalier receiving corps is fine, but it would've been nice to still have an NFL talent like the 6-4, 220-pound leading receiver who caught 55 passes for 808 yards and five scores. Now he'll be terrific at Notre Dame. Virginia Cavaliers Key Game Virginia Tech, Nov. 29It's usually a bit too obvious to put the big rivalry game in as the Key Game, but 2019 is the last time the Cavaliers beat Virginia Tech. The Hokies are 19-1 in the last 20 games in the series, but this time it's a home game for the Cavaliers, and they get a week off to get ready.- 2025 Virginia Schedule Breakdown Virginia Cavaliers Top 10 Players 1. Kam Robinson, LB Sr.2. Antonio Clary, S Sr. 3. Chandler, Morris, QB Sr.4. James Jackson, LB Sr.5. Jam Jackson*, CB Sr.6. Devin Neal, S Sr.7. Jahmeer Carter, DT Sr.8. Daniel Sparks, P Sr.9. Trey McDonald, LB Jr.10. J'Mari Taylor, RB Sr. Virginia Cavaliers 2024 Fun Stats - 2nd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 130, Virginia 73- Sacks: Opponents 47 for 303 yards, Virginia 19 for 89 yards- Two Point Conversions: Virginia 4-of-7, Opponents 0-2 Virginia Cavaliers 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen Expect a bit more of the might have gone 5-7 with losses in six of the last seven games, but there's a plus to all of that. Clemson, Notre Dame, and SMU accounted for three of those back half losses, and they're not on the a very, very manageable slate that a good team would rip through. Florida State might be the only sure-thing loss if it's back to normal, and going to Louisville leans loss, but there should be five wins baked into the schedule's cake. There can't be any massive injuries, and both lines have to be far better, but let's put it this way. Virginia got a horrible year out of the offensive front, there wasn't any pass rush, and there were far too many mistakes. It still went 5-7; the best record in the Tony Elliott is due to go to a The Virginia Cavaliers Win Total At … 5.5Likely Wins: Coastal Carolina, Stanford, William & Mary50/50 Games: at Cal, at Duke, Florida State, at Louisville, at North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington StateLikely Losses: No sure-thing projected losses © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
