The most pressing questions facing new UVa coach Tony Elliott

Tony Elliott has plenty of work to get done. And now, he can really get going.

Elliott has been grinding behind the scenes since being introduced as Virginia’s new football coach two weeks ago. But he also voluntarily took a back seat while his predecessor, Bronco Mendenhall, and his staff prepared the team to face SMU in the Fenway Bowl.

But there will be no Fenway Bowl appearance for the Wahoos this week. With UVa opting out on Sunday amid COVID-19 concerns within the program, Mendenhall’s six-year tenure as head coach came to an end; the final transition of power to Elliott bumped up a few days.

As that transition got underway earlier this month, Elliott and Mendenhall met each morning to discuss the program the incoming coach was inheriting. The former Clemson offensive coordinator was able to watch the Wahoos’ few bowl practices last week. He sat in on team meetings, had conversations with players and staff members.

On Monday, the school announced that wide receivers coach Marques Hagans, offensive line coach Garett Tujague and defensive line coach Clint Sintim would be retained. They’re the first official additions to Elliott’s new coaching staff. But the program has also lost four former starters to other schools via the transfer portal since the bowl game was canceled. The transaction wire is likely to keep churning out news in the coming days.

Elliott has a staff to finish assembling; a roster to patch together, with more than a dozen UVa players among the hundreds still in the transfer portal; and a recruiting class to complete as the February signing day approaches. UVa’s record-setting quarterback is still weighing is NFL options. The defense needs to be completely rebuilt.

Among the most pressing unanswered questions for UVa’s new football coach as Elliott assumes the reins of the program:

Brennan Armstrong made it clear two weeks ago, following Elliott’s introduction as head coach: He will either be back at UVa next season, or in the NFL.

When he talked to reporters last Wednesday, Armstrong indicated that he had not yet received feedback from NFL Draft evaluators. He also admitted that playing pro football was his ultimate goal.

“It’s crazy,” he said, “especially from a small town, kind of just hanging out playing around, backyard football with friends. It’s wild. But I’ve worked hard to be here, so I’m proud of it.”

Armstrong spent this season obliterating UVa’s single-season record book for quarterbacks. The first 4,000-yard passer in program history, Armstrong finished the year with 4,449 yards. He would have taken the field in the bowl game just 145 yards shy of the ACC single-season passing record. His 31 touchdown passes and 4,700 total yards were also school records.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranks Armstrong as his No.11 prospect among quarterbacks eligible for the 2022 NFL Draft. Last month, Brugler told CavsCorner that Armstrong would be best served by returning to UVa for a fifth season in 2022.

That’s the same evaluation that Mendenhall said he expected Armstrong to hear from the NFL. But if the quarterback has made a decision on his future, he hasn’t shared it publicly.

Armstrong’s top receiver this season, Dontayvion Wicks, has already indicated that he plans to return in 2022. Another big target, 6-foot-7 receiver Lavel Davis, expects to be healthy when the season opens in September. If Armstrong comes back, that would give Elliott and his new staff some significant building blocks for their first season in Charlottesville.

If the quarterback leaves, the Hoos would be forced to find at least one veteran option in the portal. Armstrong’s backup this season, Jay Woolfolk, started one game and played in four others as a true freshman this fall.

Armstrong’s decision could be complicated by the fact that UVa will need to rebuild its offensive line next year, and by the departure of quarterbacks coach Jason Beck. Quickly identifying a new QBs coach (former Clemson quarterbacks Willie Korn and Tajh Boyd are possible candidates) could impact whether Armstrong ultimately chooses to turn pro.

Right now, Sintim is the lone defensive coach on Elliott’s UVa staff. An All-ACC outside linebacker in Al Groh’s 3-4 as a player, Sintim was an OLBs coach at Richmond and Delaware prior to spending the past two seasons as defensive line coach at his alma mater. His role could change depending on how Elliott fills out the defensive staff.

The Hoos employed a 3-4 base defense for most of Mendenhall’s tenure before pivoting to a 3-3-5 this season—and struggling immensely all year. With defensive lineman Mandy Alonso and defensive backs Joey Blount, Nick Grant and De’Vante Cross out of eligibility, and linebacker Noah Taylor committing to transfer to North Carolina on Monday, five longtime starters will be gone next year. A pair of experienced D-linemen, Aaron Faumui and Nusi Malani, are among the UVa players still in the portal.

The defense has a few starters coming back in linebackers Nick Jackson and Hunter Stewart, cornerbacks Anthony Johnson, Darrius Bratton and Fentrell Cypress, and defensive lineman Jahmeer Carter. Younger players like Olunsunkonmi Agunloye, D'Sean Perry, West Weeks, Mike Green and Jonas Sanker could be ready for bigger roles. UVa added just two defensive players, linebackers Stevie Bracey and Trey McDonald, on signing day earlier this month.

Speculating about how the defense will look moving forward is a challenging without knowing who the first-time head coach chooses as his defensive coordinator. With Elliott’s background as an offensive coach, it makes sense that he’d target an experienced coach to run the defense. But even while dot-connecting, there are few logical candidates who jump out. It’s a hire that will influence much of how Elliott’s program begins to take shape in his first year.

Retaining Tujague, who arrived with Mendenhall from BYU six years ago, provides continuity for the Cavaliers along the offensive line. It keeps one of the previous coaching staff’s most energetic and effective recruiters in orange-and-blue as well.

But after developing the veteran line that protected Armstrong this season, Tujague will be tasked with a significant rebuilding job. Rimington Trophy finalist Olu Oluwatimi, the Hoos’ starting center the past three seasons, announced on Monday that he’ll play his final season at Michigan. Longtime left tackle Bobby Haskins is headed to USC. Guard Joe Bissinger, who started seven games the past two seasons, is going home to Texas to play at SMU. Starting right tackle Ryan Swoboda is still in the transfer portal. Right guard Chris Glaser is out of eligibility.

The status of Ryan Nelson, who has one year of eligibility left after starting all 49 games at either left tackle or left guard the past four seasons, remains unclear. That leaves rising redshirt junior Jonathan Leech and rising fifth-year senior Derek Devine as the two most experienced veterans on the roster. Leech played in nine games this season, with two starts; Devine missed the year with an injury. First-year center Ty Furnish played in three games this fall. Former four-star recruit Noah Josey made one appearance as a true freshman; tackle Logan Taylor made a pair.

With the program in upheaval, the early signing period was also unkind to Tujague’s unit. Class of 2022 linemen Brody Meadows (Virginia Tech) and Joe Brown (BYU) both flipped commitments amid the uncertainty in Charlottesville. Former 2020 four-star lineman Andrew Gentry, who signed with UVa but headed off on a two-year LDS mission before enrolling, flipped to Michigan. The Hoos didn’t sign an O-lineman this month.

The transfer portal is one logical place to look for reinforcements, though the competition has been stiff for offensive linemen. Virginia has offered at least three players: FIU tackle Miles Frazier, UL-Monroe tackle Willie Tyler and East Tennessee State transfer Tre’mond Shorts. Frazier has since committed to LSU; Shorts has more than 20 offers. Tujague made an in-home visit with Tyler earlier this month.

Whether it’s via the transfer portal or recruiting—or more likely, a combination of the two—the Hoos will need to find players who can bolster that O-line depth chart heading into the 2022 season.

Elliott was blunt at his introductory press conference when he acknowledged, “We’re going to make the state a priority.”

An inability to land in-state talent was one of the most consistent criticisms of the previous coaching staff. Mendenhall’s classes averaged just five in-state recruits. The Hoos signed just one, Liberty Christian quarterback Davis Lane, in December; two others, Meadows and Matoaca defensive lineman Keyshawn Burgos, flipped to Virginia Tech.

Hagans and Sintim both grew up in the state, with Sintim a northern Virginia native and Hagans from the 757. If Boyd—a former ACC player of the year at Clemson who now serves on the offensive support staff at his alma mater—is added, he’d give the Hoos another Hampton Roads legend on staff. As mentioned earlier, Tujague has developed a reputation as a passionate, energetic recruiter.

Running backs Travis Etienne and Will Shipley, wide receiver Deon Cain, offensive lineman Mitch Hyatt and cornerback Mackensie Alexander are among the players Elliott recruited to Clemson in his 11-year stint on the Tigers’ staff. Desmond Kitchings, the Atlanta Falcons running backs coach who is Elliott’s top target as offensive coordinator according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, was regarded as a strong recruiter during his eight-year tenure at NC State.

Completing the coaching staff is the first step for Elliott. Once those coaches are in place, they can turn their attention to strengthening the Cavaliers’ 2022 signing class, which added just nine incoming freshman and a transfer receiver earlier this month.

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