Virginia HC Tony Elliott makes strong statement about Tennessee's defensive line after loss to Vols
Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott spoke to reporters on Tuesday and he admitted that his team was "shocked" by the Tennessee Vols' defensive line in UT's 49-13 win against UVA in the season-opener. Specifically, Elliott said Tennessee's speed and depth along the defensive line was impressive. "A lot of respect for Coach Heupel and […]
Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott spoke to reporters on Tuesday and he admitted that his team was "shocked" by the Tennessee Vols' defensive line in UT's 49-13 win against UVA in the season-opener.
Specifically, Elliott said Tennessee's speed and depth along the defensive line was impressive.
"A lot of respect for Coach Heupel and Tennessee and what they've been able to do over the last couple of years," said Elliott on Tuesday when asked about UT's defensive line. "I think the speed and the depth, right? It kinda shocked us a little bit — just because it's hard to simulate that on our practice field."
"We're trying to compensate too much to try to combat what's on the other side," added Elliott. "And they did a good job and they were rolling them (rotating players). So they had a lot of depth. And their depth was fresh. Whereas, you know, our depth, we didn't have that to be able to roll in to combat it. So I think it was a combination of several things."
Elliott also noted that Virginia lost too many one on one matchups against the Vols (which is a testament to the talent that Tennessee has on the defensive side of the ball this fall).
"We got beat in some one on one matchups," noted Elliott. "We lost some one on one matchups. And there's not much you can do about that other than go back to work and figure [it] out fundamentally."
Virginia was far from the toughest opponent that Tennessee will face this season (or even this month), but the Vols' defensive effort stands out because they did exactly what they should've done against an overmatched team. It wasn't perfect — the first game of the season almost never is — but Tennessee was still able to overwhelm the Cavaliers with their speed and depth. And that's a great sign for UT's chances of making a legitimate run in the SEC East this season. Speed and depth are the two key ingredients to winning consistently in the SEC.
Butch Jones says Tennessee’s loss to Oklahoma in 2015 still ‘haunts’ him
Butch Jones says the Tennessee Vols’ loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in 2015 still ‘haunts’ him
Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
