No. 12 Hoos Striving to Block Out Distractions

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — If University of Virginia head football coach Tony Elliott has said it once, he’s said it at least a dozen times when addressing his players this fall: Simplify your lives.

With the 12^th-ranked Cavaliers in the midst of their best season in 35 years, potential distractions abound, as Elliott regularly reminds his players.

“I’ve tried to tell them that more people are going to come out of the woodwork,” Elliott said Tuesday at his weekly media availability at the Hardie Center.

“You’re going to get a lot more messages after every game. A lot more people are going to want to be a part of what’s going on, and unfortunately, that becomes a distraction. So if you want to stay focused, you’re going to have to simplify your life. And so that’ll be the message. And we’ve also kind of simplified our focus down the stretch and really don’t talk about big picture at all. We really just focus on trying to go 1-0 each day so that we can go 1-0 on Saturday.”

Quarterback Chandler Morris is among those heeding Elliott’s advice. As his first season at Virginia has gone on, Morris said Tuesday, he’s usually stayed home when he’s not at the Hardie Center.

“That’s really what it’s been for however many months now,” Morris said, “and understanding that I’ve had some success with it and just trying to stick to my routine.”

This is his sixth season of college football, “so I kind of understand what it looks like,” Morris said. “I’m not saying I’ve got it all figured out, but I’ve got a really good idea. So I think it’s been good to lean on my experiences.”

Morris, who turns 25 next month, acknowledged that it’s probably tougher for underclassmen to ignore social media than it is for older players.

“When you’re younger, I think you care about that a little more,” Morris said. “Luckily for me, I went through some difficult times throughout my career, so I got off that and learned the hard way and learned quickly that staying off social media is going to do you a lot of good.”

With three regular-season games remaining, UVA (8-1 overall) leads the ACC with a 5-0 record in conference play. Looking to win an eighth straight game for the first time in program history, Virginia hosts Wake Forest (5-3, 2-3) at Scott Stadium on Saturday night.

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday night. That morning, Elliott was asked if the team would watch the show together. No way, he answered, smiling.

He raised the topic with his players Monday and told them that was the only time he’d talk about it. Elliott’s  message? “This is the week that it starts, and I encourage you not to get caught up in it, not to watch it. And truth be told, it doesn’t matter what you rank today. You want to worry about the one after that first week in December. That’s really what the focus is. And so what happens today doesn’t matter. We control what we do from here on out if we’re really serious about being where we want to be in December.”

HOMEGROWN TALENT: Players who starred at UVA after graduating from high schools in this state include such legends as Shawn Moore, Thomas Jones, Elton Brown, Chris Slade, Terry Kirby, James Farrior, Anthony Poindexter, Herman Moore, Chris Long, Heath Miller and the Barber twins, Tiki and Rondé.

Kam Robinson is well on his way to adding his name to that list. Robinson, a junior linebacker, graduated from Essex High School in Tappahannock. He sealed UVA’s most recent victory with his second interception return for a touchdown of the season, and he leads the team in tackles with 54, despite having missed three games while recovering from a collarbone injury.

For his performance in Virginia’s 31-21 win at Cal, Robinson was named ACC Linebacker of the Week for the third time this season.

Robinson’s success, Elliott said, “just brings confirmation to the message that we’re preaching to the guys in state: that you don’t need to leave the state of Virginia to accomplish any of your goals. If you desire to to be an All-American, compete for a conference championship, you can do that at Virginia. Graduate from one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, you can do that at Virginia. Prepare yourself to play in the National Football League, you can do that here at Virginia.

“And then also, too, hopefully he’ll be a sounding board for all of the young men in the state, that you’re going to be treated the right way when you come here at the University of Virginia. You’re not going to be used. You’re going to be poured into in all areas of your life. You’re going to be developed holistically, because we care about what your dreams are, and we also care about what your future looks like beyond the game of football.”

WAKE-UP CALL: UVA’s next opponent is coming off a 42-7 loss to Florida State. That game did typify how Wake Forest has played for most of this season, Elliott said. The Demon Deacons, who are in their first year under head coach Jake Dickert, had won three straight before losing in Tallahassee, Fla.

“You’re starting to see them formulate an identity under the new staff,” Elliott said. “They play really hard. They play a physical brand of football. They have some very dynamic weapons on offense that can score at any time … So don’t let the record or the scores of previous games fool you.”

His players have “been warned and been told, ‘You better not believe a lie, because this is a talented team that’s starting to figure it out,’ ” Elliott said. “And they play hard.”

In senior Demond Claiborne, a former UVA recruiting target, Wake has “probably the most dynamic running back in the league,” Elliott said.

Claiborne, who’s from King William County, about 25 miles northeast of Richmond, has carried 106 times for 639 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

MUTUAL RESPECT: In his first game as head men’s basketball coach at UVA, Ryan Odom saw his team rout Rider 87-53 on Monday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Elliott couldn’t make it to the JPJ, but he said Tuesday that he texted Odom “before the game and he texted me after the game.”

Odom, who came to UVA from VCU, has “been awesome,” Elliott said. “He texts me after every game with words of encouragement, and he’s come out to practice a couple of times, and we’ve had a chance to talk. So I’m excited for him, and it’s good [for them] to get off to a fast start, good start. Hopefully, when things calm down for us, I’ll be over there in attendance watching.”

BACK ON TRACK: After averaging only 265.7 yards in its previous three games, UVA’s offense ramped up its production against Cal. The Hoos totaled 456 yards, picked up 23 first downs, and didn’t turn the ball over. Morris completed 24 of 36 passes for 262 yards, tailback J’Mari Taylor rushed 21 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns, and wide receivers Cam Ross and Trell Harris had five receptions each.

The offense’s confidence “never wavered,” Harris said Tuesday. “I feel like that’s the best thing about this team in general, that we never wavered, but we know what kind of talent we have on the team. So we were never really worried about it. We knew that we’re going to get the train rolling again eventually. It was just a matter of when.”

Harris, who’s in his second season as a Cavalier, has caught 37 passes for 545 yards and four touchdowns this season. He leads the team in each category.

Like Elliott, Harris doesn’t much stock in the score of the Wake-FSU game. Anyway, he said, the Hoos know “that no matter what we have a target on our back and we’re gonna get everybody’s best shot. … For us, we’re just trying to chase our best game. So every single week, we’re just trying to go out there and get better.”

An excellent crowd is expected Saturday at Scott Stadium, where UVA is 5-0 this season. The support Virginia has received has “been great,” Morris said. “I think the fans have definitely helped us out with games there, and it’s been loud. They’ve made a difference. So I’m just still encouraging them to keep showing up and helping us out.”

BUSINESSLIKE APPROACH: Elliott, who’s in his fourth year at UVA, said he’s most proud of how his current team has “found a way to win football games. Despite who they’re playing, despite the injury situation, they’ve just found ways to win football games, which tells me that they’re very goal-oriented. And they focus week to week, and they’ve got a humility about themselves to come back to work each week and chase their best game.”

Of Virginia’s past five games, three went to overtime. The other two were one-possession games in the final minute.

“I think that’s what you’re going to see more in college football over the next several years,” Elliott said. “You’re going to see a lot more one-possession games. It’s going to be a lot more like the NFL, where it’s going to come down to one possession, because the talent is going to be dispersed across all the programs and everybody’s going to have enough talent to win any given Saturday.”

To receive Jeff White’s articles by email, click the appropriate box in this link to subscribe.