What can Tony Elliott do to build on Virginia's successful 2025 season?

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Halftime adjustments tend to be a hot topic of conversation after any competitive football game. The ability of a coaching staff to digest the events of the first two quarters and tweak the game plan for the final two (and sometimes beyond) can greatly affect the outcome, and the best leaders excel in that area.

That said, a college head coach's most important work often happens during the week in preparation for the next opponent, or even in the offseason: restocking the roster, considering new offensive or defensive systems and, more recently, managing the NCAA transfer portal and player compensation.

As reigning Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year, Virginia's Tony Elliott has shown a knack for dealing with challenges. Even before his Cavaliers surprised many observers by winning the 2025 ACC regular-season title, he earned respect for shepherding his program through the devastating shooting deaths of three players late in his first season in charge, 2022.

Virginia enters the 2026 season with its highest expectations in decades. Here are three things Elliott (and his staff) must do to live up to the hype:

1. Develop quarterback depth

Missouri transfer Beau Pribula enters fall camp as the clear-cut favorite to earn the starting job, and his skill set should fit nicely into offensive coordinator Des Kitchings' scheme.

But even the best-laid plans can go awry, as Elliott surely knows. Virginia's only regular-season ACC loss last season came against Wake Forest, when starter Chandler Morris left early with a concussion. His backup, Daniel Kaelin, struggled to move the offense, which never reached the end zone in a 16-9 defeat.

Neither Morris nor Kaelin returned, leaving Pribula with his opportunity to start. It should be noted, though, that Pribula himself missed two games at Missouri last season with an ankle injury.

That's why even though Pribula can benefit from as many preseason practice reps as possible with his new team, the Cavaliers need to have presumptive backup Eli Holstein ready to fill in at a moment's notice. Holstein has experience at Alabama and Pittsburgh. It wouldn't hurt to give sophomore Cole Geer and freshman Ely Hamrick a crash course, either.

Depth is vital at every position in a game where injuries are a weekly occurence. That's nowhere more true than at quarterback.

2. Embrace the expectations

It's been 30 years since Virginia entered a season coming off at least a share of the ACC regular-season title. For all of Elliott's first three seasons, the Cavaliers were desperately trying to regain the competitive footing they once enjoyed during George Welsh's heyday as coach in the 1980s and '90s.

Now, they're considered by some to be the hunted rather than the hunters, especially with the nation's most experienced roster and a forgiving schedule that doesn't include last year's national runner-up Miami or perennial power Clemson.

That changes the calculus, and requires a new attitude. Last season, Eliott effectively convinced his players that they could compete in the ACC. This time, they must handle the noise that comes with previous success, including media attention, motivated opponents and any hint of overconfidence.

To Elliott's credit, Virginia rebounded from its 2025 loss to Wake Forest to beat Duke and Virginia Tech decisively and clinch the regular-season crown. These Cavaliers need to stay hungry and humble, a tricky combination.

3. Strike while the iron's hot

Over the past two offseasons, Elliott and his staff have taken full advantage of the NCAA transfer portal to restock a roster that was glaringly short on athleticism and depth when he took over. That's the new template for success in the NIL era, but the best programs also replenish themselves with elite high school recruits, especially from within their own state.

It has taken Elliott and his assistants a while to connect with Virginia's prep coaches and standouts — and the challenge got even steeper when James Franklin took over at Virginia Tech and when James Madison raised its national proflle. But nothing helps recruiting like winning, and Virginia's recent results seem encouraging.

This week alone, Virginia flipped four-star cornerback Semajay Robinson's commitment from Penn State and got a pledge from three-star tight end Mason Hall. Robinson is from Florida and Hall from Georgia, two states Elliott once recruited as a Clemson assistant. But talent is talent, wherever it comes from.

Virginia also has commitments from four of the state's top 20 recruits for 2027, according to RIvals: Oscar Smith quarterback Lonnie Andrews III, Manchester edge rusher Camden Chalkley and receiver Landon Hicks and Bethel safety Derek Fisher.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginia as What can Tony Elliott do to build on Virginia's successful 2025 season?.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos