Eric Boggs 
Three Motivations for Virginia Football in 2024
By Jay Ballard from The Cavailer Connection
When time expired on Virginia’s 55-17 season ending loss to Virginia Tech last November, the clock started on preparations for the 2024 season. After that game, Virginia safety Jonas Sanker said “We’ve got to do a better job of showing up to play. A big area we need to grow in is to be internally motivated more, and that’s just going come down to guys looking themselves in the mirror, me included. Alot of people on the outside can put it on the coaches and find every reason to blame, but at the end of the day, the players are the ones on the field and we got to find our own “why”, we got to find our own reasons to want to make the play, want to win the one-on-ones.” In today’s article, we’ll explore three “Why’s” that should provide plenty of motivation this spring.
WHY ONE: A Hot Start to the Season is a Must
There is something glaring at first glance of the 2024 Virginia schedule: a successful season will not happen without a hot start. Unlike last year that started with a game most considered an absolute long shot to compete in, much less win, this year Virginia opens at home with Richmond. While Richmond is a solid FCS team, anything less than a dominant win would be a disappointment.
After hopefully working out whatever kinks in the opener, Virginia will travel to Wake Forest. This is not the Sam Hartman Wake Forest teams you may remember. The current Vegas Over/Under win total is 4.5. In other words, they are not expected to be even a mid-tier ACC team in 2024.
After Wake Forest, UVa returns home to face a Maryland team that beat the Hoos in College Park last year by a deceptive score of 42-14. The game was a one score game heading into the 4th quarter before Virginia ran out of steam. This will be Maryland’s second game of the season, who is replacing long-time starter Taulia Tagovailoa. It’s fair to expect, whoever wins the starting job could struggle in his first start on the road in college football.
In game four, Virginia will head to Coastal Carolina, in what should be an entertaining game on the teal turf. While Coastal has had some success, an ACC team playing a Sun Belt conference team should provide an opportunity for a Virginia win. By the time this game kicks off, we’ll have a much better understanding of what Coastal is capable of, as Coastal will be coming off of a game against Temple, and will also have played a very familiar opponent to Virginia, in William and Mary.
After this very manageable four game start, Virginia will welcome Boston College and Louisville into Charlottesville on consecutive Saturdays. The opportunity for a 4-2, or dare I say better start, is there for the taking. With a good start, Coach Elliot’s Hoos will be building momentum to a six game finish to the season that should strike fear in the heart of even the most ardent Virginia fans. The season closes with
game at Clemson, UNC, at Pitt, at Notre Dame, SMU, and at Virginia Tech. Most likely Virginia will be an underdog in all six of those contests. It’s very obvious that a fast start to the season is a must if the 2024 season is going to be a successful one.
WHY TWO: Let’s go Bowling
The last time Virginia suited up for a Bowl game, Bryce Perkins was leading the Hoos out of the tunnel to take on Florida in the 2019 Orange Bowl. To be fair, it should be noted that UVa was scheduled to play in the 2020 Fenway Bowl before Covid struck and the game was ultimately canceled. However, that was still under Bronco Mendenall, Coach Elliot has yet to taste the spoils of a bowl game. This team needs to make a bowl game in 2024. The fans need this team to make a bowl in 2024. This coaching staff needs to make a bowl in 2024. While most outside of Charlottesville see six wins and an accompanying bowl bid as a long shot, those within and around the program believe.
UVa will return an offensive line that will be bigger, stronger, faster, and have additional depth when compared to last year’s unit that got progressively better until the final game of the season. The most important position in football, Quarterback, will have three capable players, including second year Anthony Colandrea, who many expect to win the starting job. Playmakers abound to replace the NFL ready, and most dominant wide receiver in Virginia history, Malik Washington. Malachi Fields will get the most hype, but Notre Dame transfer Chris Tyree and UNC transfer Andre Green will make plenty of splash plays, not to mention the returning Suderian Harrison who should make a name for himself this year. Additionally, TE transfer Tyler Neville (Harvard) and Sage Ennis (Clemson) should provide capable underneath receiving options, as well as provide improved blocking for the running game that Offensive Coordinator Des Kitchings wants to establish.
On defense, UVa will return starters at every level, to include First Team All-ACC safety Jonas Sanker and Freshman All-American Linebacker Kam Robinson. Keeping those two players out of the portal was a huge off-season win for Coach Elliot and staff. The Defensive line will be anchored by returners Chico Bennett Jr., Kam Butler, Jahmeer Carter, and Ben Smiley III. The secondary will be bolstered by a number of transfers, to include Corey Thomas (Akron), Kendren Smith (Penn), and Kempton Shine (Eastern Michigan). While gelling in the spring will be critical for this unit, the talent is in place for this unit to continue to shine under Defensive Coordinator John Rudzinski.
With this talent, six wins and a bowl should be the expectation. With a bowl comes more notoriety for the program, and additional practice time that should help the 2025 team, and leads us to our number three why.
WHY THREE: Keep the Seat Cool
Fair or not, Coach Elliot’s seat will begin to really heat up if this team fails to win at least six games in 2024. I say fair or not, because, in reality, it’s really not fair to judge Coach Elliot at this point in his tenure. Coach Elliot was brought in to Charlottesville at a time when entering the transfer portal was really becoming a thing. While he was able to keep Quarterback Brennan Armstrong in the fold, his entire offensive line transferred out. Replacing players is nothing new, but UVa went from arguably a top 5 offensive line in the country, to having to replace the entire room, all while installing a new offense, and in general putting the footprint for the “Model Program” in place.
Aside from player turnover, a first-time head coach has to experience being a head coach. As prepared as he was, going from a coordinator to a head coach at a power five school is an adjustment. If you asked Coach Elliot today, I’m sure he would look back and would like to change a few things from those first few weeks, months, etc. Then, as his first season was unfolding, UVa experienced a tragedy not many, if any, programs could relate to. Not finishing the 2022 season, year one with Coach Elliot, led into an offseason of grieving and growth inside the program, but also having to answer questions on couches all over the country from potential recruits. From all accounts, Coach Elliot handled the tragedy, and the following days, months, with grace and strength, that not many could.
This offseason represents the first “normal” offseason Coach Elliot has had. Let’s look at what he did. He managed to keep all of the players that could have gone to any school of their choice (Colandrea, Fields, Sanker, Robinson) and brought in a host of transfers at positions of need. The 2025 recruiting class is currently ranked in the top 25 nationally. The new football training facility is almost complete. All this is to say, momentum is very positive.
If UVa Athletics Director Carla Williams was looking to just continue status quo back in December of 21, she probably would have hired a more experienced coach that could have potentially come in and won right away at a respectable level. Coach Elliot represented a homerun hire. A man that has seen confetti fall from the sidelines of a National Championship Game. Let’s give him a fair opportunity to put his stamp on this program.
If Virginia Football needed to find their collective why after last season ended, look no further. This spring represents an opportunity to get a strong start to the 2024 season, which will be required if this team will be looked back on as successful. This team has all the pieces in place to go bowling, and reap the rewards that come along with that. Finally, Coach Elliot, who is beloved by his players, needs a successful season. There is a portion of the fan base that doesn’t care how much he or the players and coaches have had to endure, they will judge by wins and losses. In fairness to them, Coach Elliot has not yet produced a team with a winning record. I believe the reasons for that are clear and obvious, but a 2024 season that ends with a similar record to the 3-9 record of 2023, and the seat will be hot under Coach Elliot.
Let’s hope our Hoos remember how the close of last season felt and know their why during this crucial spring practice period. GO HOOS!
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