Tony Elliott ODU postgame comments
Head coach Tony Elliott reacts to Virginia's 16-14 win over Old Dominion.
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00:00 We gotta learn how to win.
00:01 So it was great, three turnovers, a lot of different things, ebbs and flows.
00:06 But simply, this team learned how to win.
00:09 >> Well, they found a way to win the game.
00:11 And the thing that I can take away from on Wednesday practice,
00:14 we do our two minute drill.
00:15 And we had a similar situation, man 25 on the clock,
00:18 got a field goal to win one time out.
00:21 And we actually won the two minute drill on offense this week and
00:25 kicked a field goal with nine seconds left.
00:27 And so we work all of the situations to try and prepare these guys.
00:31 To see them, not bat an eye, with a minute and one,
00:34 one time out, go down and find a way to win the game.
00:37 So it tells you what's inside of them.
00:40 But the key is, up until that point, we gotta play with that same mentality,
00:44 that same swagger, that same confidence, and learn how to finish.
00:49 I mean, you're on a two yard line.
00:51 Any running back, I don't care.
00:53 I'm on a two yard line.
00:54 I'm squeezing that ball and I'm finding a way to get in the end zone.
00:57 And we find a way to put it on the ground and
00:59 then try to say it was the quarterback's fault.
01:01 And those are things, if anything, you say, hey, my bad, I'll fix it.
01:07 So those are the little things that we gotta continue to work through.
01:10 And those are the things that I'm talking about, learning how to win and
01:14 not being okay with that happening.
01:18 But working hard every single day and then ball security.
01:21 For those who come out to our practice,
01:22 you know the first thing we do when we go to individuals, ball security circuit.
01:25 We put them through all the different body positions and motions and
01:29 try to teach them the proper body mechanics and the muscle memory.
01:32 And what you're supposed to do with the ball when you're going to the ground.
01:35 When you squeeze your elbow in, punch your chin.
01:37 But seeing them transition those things to game and then just the discipline.
01:41 You look at some of the discipline issues.
01:43 We're off the field, we got our hands to the face.
01:46 We're fourth down and we're off the field and we got our best guy locked up in man
01:50 coverage and we gotta pull the guy down to avoid a touchdown.
01:53 So just those are the things that we gotta learn how to win.
01:57 To visualize and be prepared for those moments way before you ever get to
02:01 those moments.
02:02 >> Last couple of things, coach, you saw the offense move the ball.
02:04 Despite the turnover and the mishaps,
02:07 did you see growth in the execution of the run game of Xavier Brown?
02:10 With this production as a first year, can you talk about what you saw that you did
02:14 like execution wise offensively?
02:16 >> I thought that we were able to be more consistent running the football.
02:21 And Xavier found some big plays and what you saw is that the stage is not too bright
02:25 for him as a first year guy that he's ready for the moment.
02:29 Now he's got some growth because you talk about the turnover down there when
02:33 we had the sack fumble.
02:35 That's a running back there, young running back that comes out and
02:37 protects that edge for his quarterback.
02:39 So he's got some areas to grow, but
02:40 the way that he's running the football, he's putting pressure on all the other guys
02:43 in the room.
02:44 And as I told him in the locker room after where I said,
02:46 hey, I'm not a discriminator of age or whatever.
02:50 If you're the best guy, you're the best guy.
02:52 And right now he's running with the most tenacity out of all the guys.
02:56 >> Obviously they give up the score.
02:57 So overall, as you assess the defense, what you saw today from that side of it?
03:02 >> Well, what you're seeing is they're playing with more sense of urgency
03:08 than maybe some of the guys on offense.
03:10 They're playing together.
03:11 You can tell that they trust each other.
03:14 They believe in each other.
03:15 And I think it's just taking a little bit longer on offense for
03:18 us to develop that trust between all the different aspects of the offensive line,
03:22 the backs, the quarterback, tight ends, and receivers.
03:26 But we also put them in some tough situations.
03:28 We kept putting them on the field in tough situations,
03:31 especially there at the end of half, wanting to be aggressive.
03:34 I wanted to set the tempo right out to get it.
03:36 I told them if we win the toss, we're putting the offense out to them.
03:39 I mean, we're gonna show some confidence and you gotta go fix it.
03:41 You gotta go get it right in the game.
03:44 And we did.
03:45 And then there at the half, use a timeout to get us the ball back.
03:49 And then we turn the ball over and put them in a tough position.
03:52 And they can't, it's football.
03:55 And that's a really good football team that we play.
03:56 And some of their skill guys are probably gonna be as good as we play.
04:00 That tight end's a really, really good player.
04:01 And if you keep giving them opportunities, it's a good coach if they're gonna find
04:05 a one-on-one matchup, and their guy made a play.