CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia football picked up a pair of weekly coaching honors on Tuesday, with Tony Elliott earning the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week and offensive line coach Joey Orck landing the Shriners Children’s East-West Bowl Coach of the Week.
The Dodd Trophy award goes to a coach whose team delivered a notable win the previous week while also reflecting the foundation’s three standards: scholarship, leadership and integrity. The Shriners Children’s East-West Bowl honor is a new weekly award this season, aimed at recognizing the coach whose unit and players were central to their team’s success.
For Elliott, it marked the second time in the last two seasons he has received the Dodd Trophy weekly nod. He also won it after UVA’s 46-38 double-overtime victory over then-No.
8 Florida State in 2025. This time, the Cavaliers opened both their season and ACC play with a 34-8 win over NC State in front of a sold-out crowd at Scott Stadium.
That result extended a few strong trends for Virginia. The Cavaliers have now won three straight season openers and four of five under Elliott. They also ended a four-game losing streak against the Wolfpack that dated back to the 2018 season, and they beat NC State at Scott Stadium for the first time since 2006.
Orck’s recognition came on the strength of a dominant day up front. Virginia’s offensive line helped produce 258 rushing yards and 413 yards of total offense, and the centerpiece was a grinding 23-play, 75-yard march that took 12:15 off the clock and set two school records: longest scoring drive by plays and longest scoring drive by time elapsed. The drive featured four fourth-down conversions.
Right tackle Monroe Mills also earned individual notice, as he was named the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week after posting the third-highest overall grade nationally among offensive linemen.
In Other News...
Florida State May Have Found Its Next Difference Maker At Running Back
Week 0 offered an early look at several new faces around college football, including a Virginia debut that gave Cavaliers fans a reason to pay attention beyond the final score. The cross-country slate featured breakout runs from a handful of backs and a few quarterbacks who immediately changed the feel of their new teams, with Virginia getting a first glimpse of what its latest transfer addition could bring to the offense.
Chandler Pribula, who arrived from Missouri, showed the kind of dual-threat balance that can alter a game even in late August. He threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns while adding 110 rushing yards without an interception, the sort of all-around opening act that gives Virginia an early offensive foundation and plenty to sort through as the season starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Tony Elliott Just Created Two New Virginia Questions
Virginia opened the season with a win over NC State, and Tony Elliott came away with more to think about than just the result. The defense held up even without Kam Robinson, with backup Myles Brown leading the team in tackles and showing the Cavaliers they may have more depth at linebacker than expected.
The bigger questions now sit with Robinsons return and how Elliott wants to use Beau Pribula moving forward. Robinson was held out as the staff stayed cautious about his comeback from a torn ACL, while Pribula was a major part of the offense as a runner and in the passing game, creating a fresh balance that gave Virginia something to build on and something else to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Already Has A Few Early Role Changes Fans Should Notice
Virginias season opener offered an early glimpse at how the Cavaliers may sort out their depth chart, and Pro Football Focus snap counts and grades made a few of those changes hard to miss. Linebacker Myles Brown, cornerback Jacobie Henderson and quarterback Beau Pribula all drew strong reviews, while several other players, including offensive lineman Ben York and receiver Ty'Lyric Coleman, logged more time and came away with solid marks as the staff starts to learn who can be trusted in different situations.
The encouraging part for Virginia is that the better grades were spread across key areas rather than coming from one isolated spot. The defensive backs and offensive line both stood out compared with other units, which should give the Cavaliers something to build on as they settle into the season, even if the exact pecking order at a few spots still appears to be in flux. [Read more 🡒]