Virginia HC Tony Elliott makes comment about Tennessee that Vols fans have been waiting years to hear
Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott made a comment on Saturday that Tennessee Vols fans have been waiting years to hear. While meeting with reporters after Virginia's 49-13 loss to Tennessee, Elliott was asked about the Vols' defensive line and if it was better than he expected going into the game. Elliott, who praised Tennessee's […]
Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott made a comment on Saturday that Tennessee Vols fans have been waiting years to hear.
While meeting with reporters after Virginia's 49-13 loss to Tennessee, Elliott was asked about the Vols' defensive line and if it was better than he expected going into the game.
Elliott, who praised Tennessee's defensive line ahead of the game on Saturday, pointed to the Vols' depth as one of the reasons why UT's defensive line was so dominant on Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
"We knew the game was going to come down to the trenches on both sides," said Elliott. "It was going to come down to the strength and then also the depth in the trenches. And I thought that we probably could have done a better job of trying to establish the run a little bit earlier in the game. We were trying to be aggressive and take advantage of some of the short fields, but they did a great job, and they had depth too, so they were rolling a lot of guys in there and you didn't see much of a drop off."
The last line of Elliott's quote is the part that should be extremely exciting for Tennessee fans.
That's the kind of thing that programs say about Georgia. The ability to bring in second-string and third-string players — though that's not necessarily how Tennessee views their "back-ups" — is what turns a good team into a great team.
It's not just the starters (which really are just the guys on the field for the first play) that win a game. It takes everyone on the roster — especially when the grind of the SEC schedule gets underway — to win each Saturday in the fall.
And it's been a long time since Tennessee's had the depth to overwhelm teams late in a game. That lack of depth has cost the Vols a few wins during the Josh Heupel era (mostly in 2021, but added depth certainly would've helped against Georgia last season, too).
The 2023 season is just getting underway, and there's plenty for the Vols to work on despite their 36-point win, but there are some early signs that this could be another special season for Tennessee.
Vols QB Joe Milton shows leadership skills by subtly sending a strong message to his teammates
Tennessee Vols QB Joe Milton showed his elite leadership skills by subtly sending a strong message to his teammates
Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
