Virginia came out of its bye week with a long list of fixes, and Tony Elliott made it clear Tuesday that the Cavaliers are still searching for the right answers on both sides of the ball.
The biggest theme from Elliott’s media session was stability at quarterback, even with the offense stuck in a rut. He continued to back Pribula while also making room for Eli Holstein in the conversation.
“Really proud of Eli (Holstein),” Elliott said. “And I think if there’s a way that you can find to play two quarterbacks, I’d love to be able to do that because I think we’ve got two quality quarterbacks.”
That does not sound like a change under center is imminent. Elliott pointed to broader issues in the offense, saying the struggles cannot be pinned on Pribula alone. He also emphasized the effect of pressure, noting how hard it is for any quarterback to function when he is taking hits early.
“I think everybody wants a new quarterback, but hell, any quarterback that’s getting hit, and he’s getting hit early in the game, it’s going to be hard for him to be as efficient as possible,” Elliott said.
Pribula has taken several sacks, something Elliott has already addressed after the Duke game.
Elliott also pushed back on the idea that the offensive problems are purely schematic. In his view, the structure is not the main issue.
“So schematically I don’t see a problem schematically with where we are, except for a call or two here, which is gonna happen in the course of the game,” Elliott said. “Where we gotta get better, is we gotta make sure that every young man that we put on the field is prepared and understands how to function and operate in those situations.”
From there, Elliott turned to the details that have dragged Virginia down, especially on third down. Last year, the Cavaliers were top-25 on both offense and defense in those situations. This season, they have struggled badly when the game reaches those critical snaps.
He said sequencing may be part of why the offense has looked conservative at times. Virginia has often found itself in four-down situations, which has led to more cautious run calls on third down.
“So my philosophy on a sequencing situation is you’re trying to get half of it or put yourself in a fourth-and-short,” Elliott said. “Don’t put the ball in jeopardy.
And so, some of the run calls, some of the quick game passing and some of the longer yardage situations was because we were sequencing trying to get to a fourth down. And then we still got to get better on fourth down conversions.”
On defense, Elliott said the fix starts with eliminating explosive plays on third down.
“We’ve given up some super explosives on third and long, when we should be getting off the field,” Elliott said.
The bye week also shifted Virginia’s focus. Elliott said, “Obviously, Charlotte, probably out of the picture,” and added that the team is now centered on handling the adversity in front of it.
“So, we’re not as focused on that. Now it’s on accepting the challenge of facing the adversity that you have in front of you and don’t run from it.
Run to it. And know that if you do that, on the other side, there’s going to be a tremendous amount of growth.
So, still a lot of things to focus on, even though maybe a couple of the things we started the season focusing on are out of the picture.”
Even with some goals fading, Elliott said two remain alive: beating Virginia Tech - which he calls the State Championship - and getting to a bowl game.