Virginia HC Tony Elliott shares detailed thoughts on Tennessee Vols' defense
Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott met with reporters on Tuesday ahead of his team's season opener against the Tennessee Vols and he shared some detailed thoughts on UT's defense. Elliott detailed how he thinks Tennessee will attack Virginia's offense and he also had some high praise for Vols redshirt senior linebacker Aaron Beasley, as […]
Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott met with reporters on Tuesday ahead of his team's season opener against the Tennessee Vols and he shared some detailed thoughts on UT's defense.
Elliott detailed how he thinks Tennessee will attack Virginia's offense and he also had some high praise for Vols redshirt senior linebacker Aaron Beasley, as well as the rest of UT's front seven.
"Yeah, you can't help but notice them," said Elliott when asked about Tennessee's front seven. "They're big, like they're really big. When I look at the list, especially the inside guys — 320 lbs, 340 lbs, 310 lbs, 301 lbs, 310 lbs. That's big on the interior. And they're not just big two-gappers — these guys can move. They can push the pocket, they can get off of blocks, they can disrupt the the run game. And then you're gonna have to double them, right? It's gonna be hard to single block those guys."
"And then when you look at guys off the edge, (Roman) Harrison and (Tyler) Baron, man, they're twitchy, they're talented, they can get after the quarterback," continued Elliott. "And then I think their best player is Aaron Beasley, a linebacker. He roams around, he's a great pass rusher, and he's a big guy. That's a matchup problem on your (running) backs. Doesn't matter who your back is — our biggest one is 215. He's (Beasley) listed at 225, but he plays a lot bigger than 225. Very experienced, too. He's a senior, played a lot of football. And then they're bringing in the transfer from BYU (linebacker Keenan Pili). He's a big guy. So they're big, they're fast, they're athletic."
Elliott told reporters that he's expecting Tennessee to bring pressure while playing man coverage on the outside.
"The way that I think they're going to challenge (QB) Tony (Muskett) is they're not gonna let him hold the ball," noted Elliott. "Because they're gonna be able to push the pocket interior wise, they're gonna be able to create pressure and squeeze the pocket coming off the edge. They're gonna force the ball out of his hand quickly. I think they're going to try and bring some pressure [and] see if they can overwhelm our backs in protection and get to the quarterback [to] see if they can rattle him."
"And then I think you (Tennessee) play man coverage on the outside and you say, 'hey man, are you good enough to beat us'. So that's [how] I think they're gonna challenge Tony. They're gonna stop the run with their six man box. And then they're gonna be able to play cover one, man coverage, man free, across the board. They're gonna say, hey, I want to see you throw and catch in tight windows. And you better not hold that ball. Because if you hold that ball longer than 2.8 (seconds), you're gonna be on the ground. So that's what I anticipate is going to be their approach."
"I think they're going to play, in my opinion, what I told the guys — big boy football," added Elliott. "They're gonna line up, they're gonna be in your face, and they're gonna come after you."
It certainly sounds like Elliott is prepared for quite a battle against Tennessee's defense.
There's been plenty of outside noise about whether or not the Vols' defense can take a big step in 2023.
Elliott, however, clearly thinks thinks that Tennessee's defense will be ready to wreak some havoc on Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
