Tag: Tony Elliott

Springing around the ACC: Virginia

Clemson will begin spring practice Wednesday, but the Tigers aren’t the only ones in the ACC taking the field over the next couple of months. With early preparations for the 2022 season on the horizon for teams throughout the conference, The Clemson …

Clemson will begin spring practice Wednesday, but the Tigers aren’t the only ones in the ACC taking the field over the next couple of months.

With early preparations for the 2022 season on the horizon for teams throughout the conference, The Clemson Insider is going around the league to take a look at where other teams stand going into the spring. Next up is Virginia.

Head coach: Tony Elliott (first year)

2021 record: 6-6, 4-4 ACC

Key personnel losses: RB Wayne Taulapapa, TE Jelani Woods, OL Victor Oluwatimi, OL Ryan Swoboda, OL Bobby Haskins, DL Mandy Alonso, LB Noah Taylor, DB Joey Blount, DB Nick Grant

Key returners/additions: QB Brennan Armstrong, WR Dontayvion Wicks, WR Keytaon Thompson, WR Billy Kemp, DL Kameron Butler, LB Nick Jackson, DB Anthony Johnson

Spring gleaning: Virginia enters a new era under former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, who will work on building a culture and getting the Cavaliers familiar with his system this spring. Elliott has an important piece to work with following the decision by Armstrong to return for a fifth season. Armstrong led the ACC in passing last season (404.5 yards per game) for an offense that scored the fourth-most points in the league (34.6).

Elliott will want at least some semblance of balance offensively, so that should also be a focus for Virginia this spring. The Cavaliers have their top three receivers back but finished last in the league in rushing last season. Virginia doesn’t have anybody on the roster that ran for more than 251 yards. But whether it’s rushing or passing, Virginia will need to find five new blockers after the Cavaliers lost every starter along the offensive line, perhaps the most pressing objective for Elliott and his staff this spring. 

Spring game: April 23 at Scott Stadium

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help.  #SaveNicks

Swinney: ‘perfect timing’ for Venables, Elliott to move on

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was a guest this week on The Players Club Podcast, which is hosted by former Tigers running back Darien Rencher. Swinney was asked for his perspective on former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables and former …

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was a guest this week on The Players Club Podcast, which is hosted by former Tigers running back Darien Rencher.

Swinney was asked for his perspective on former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables and former offensive coordinator Tony Elliott becoming the next head coaches at Oklahoma and Virginia, respectively.

Swinney gave his thoughts on the timing of their departures and seeing the process of his former assistants accepting head coaching positions.

“It’s perfect timing because it’s always on God’s time,” Swinney said to Rencher. “This was the right time, and man, it’s awesome. You love to see your players develop and be prepared for whatever’s coming next… But also take a lot of pride in seeing the staff develop.”

Venables, of course, had been a head coaching candidate for quite some time prior to taking the Oklahoma job, but turned down various opportunities in the past to remain at Clemson.

It wasn’t until the Sooners came calling that Venables decided to make the move back to Norman, where he served as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Oklahoma from 1999-2003 and as associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2004-11 under former head coach Bob Stoops.

“Brent, honestly if it wasn’t the Oklahoma job, he’d still be at Clemson,” Swinney said. “That was a job that I think he had enough comfort and familiarity with. Like OK, this is what he wants to go do. People are like, ‘Oh my…’ There’s nobody happier. I’m thrilled. I thought there was a couple jobs he probably should have taken, but he just didn’t have peace about it. I mean, great jobs.”

Elliott, like Venables, had been a candidate for plenty of various coaching vacancies but stayed selective in his search for the right head coaching position.

Swinney believed UVA was the right job and situation for Elliott, and Swinney told Elliott he felt like it was the perfect fit for him.

“This was the one job – Tony’s had a few jobs – but this was the one that I really gave him my blessing on,” Swinney said. “Because Tony, I’m not old enough to be his dad, but I really look at him like a son. We have that type of relationship, and I just want him to be successful. This was a great fit for him, for his family, just who he is as a man and a coach. There’s, I think, going to be a great alignment for how he wants to do it. So, man, I was so excited, and I did everything I could to help him get the job. So, it’s sad that we don’t get to be together every day. But I’m so proud of him and I’m so happy.”

In the wake of Elliott and Venables leaving Clemson, Wes Goodwin was promoted from senior defensive assistant to defensive coordinator/linebackers coach and added the role of co-defensive coordinator for safeties coach Mickey Conn, while offensively, the Tigers promoted Brandon Streeter to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.

Swinney has embraced the change and feels good about where his staff is going forward.

“It created some opportunity for some of my peripheral staff to get some new opportunity, but then it also allowed me to hire some new people, promote some people that were very deserving and very ready,” Swinney said. “So, it’s great. Continuity is great, and change is great. They’re both great. So, I love where we are, and the timing is perfect.”

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help.  #SaveNicks

Virginia QB Armstrong likes the fit with coach Elliott

Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong appeared on the Packer and Durham show on the ACC Network. Armstrong evaluated the option of entering the 2022 NFL draft but decided to return for another season. New head coach Tony Elliott quickly made a good …

Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong appeared on the Packer and Durham show on the ACC Network.  Armstrong evaluated the option of entering the 2022 NFL draft but decided to return for another season.

New head coach Tony Elliott quickly made a good impression on the Cavs quarterback.

“The feel with coach Elliott when he first got here.  I had no questions that it would be a good fit.  It was just whether or not I felt like I should leave to go to the draft or come back,” Armstrong told Packer and Durham.

Armstrong believes he can help his draft stock by playing one more season at Virginia and believes they have the ability to make to win the Coastal Division.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

 

Good news for Elliott and UVA

Former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and the Virginia football program received some good news this week heading into his first season as the Cavaliers’ head coach in 2022. UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong announced this week that he …

Former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and the Virginia football program received some good news this week heading into his first season as the Cavaliers’ head coach in 2022.

UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong announced this week that he will be returning for his final season of eligibility.

“After a long talk with my family, I’m excited to announce I will be coming back to the University of Virginia and playing one more year,” Armstrong said in a video posted on social media Thursday night.

As a junior this past season, Armstrong passed for 4,449 yards, accounted for 4,700 yards of total offense and threw for 31 touchdowns — all single-season UVA records.

For his career (2018-21), Armstrong ranks second all-time at UVA with 6,824 passing yards, third in career total offense (7,720 yards) and third in career passing touchdowns (51).

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help.  #SaveNicks

Top in-state OL target remains confident in Swinney, Clemson amid staff changes

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with a priority in-state prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. We checked in with Woodland (Dorchester, S.C.) four-star offensive tackle Kam Pringle for the first time since it was announced that Robbie …

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with a priority in-state prospect in the 2024 recruiting class.

We checked in with Woodland (Dorchester, S.C.) four-star offensive tackle Kam Pringle for the first time since it was announced that Robbie Caldwell would be retiring from his current post and transitioning into an off-field role as Clemson’s director of high school relations.

Pringle said that he texted Caldwell. He knew that he couldn’t respond due to NCAA rules and regulations on recruiting, but he wanted Clemson’s now-former offensive line coach to see the message. 

“It was definitely something I kind of saw coming,” Pringle said, “maybe not as soon. But, I guess he just felt like it was time for Coach Austin to take over. He told me before — a little while back — to build a good relationship with Coach Austin because he didn’t know how much time he had left in the role of OL coach. I definitely thought he was talking about my sophomore year of college or something later on down the road.”

Fortunately for Pringle, he has started to build a relationship with Thomas Austin, Clemson’s newly minted offensive line coach.

“I definitely like Coach Austin a lot,” he said. “When I went up to camp, Coach Caldwell called the drills, he told people what to do, but, Coach Austin was the one coordinating everything. He made sure that he let Coach Austin get more up close with us than he did because I guess he already knew what he was planning on doing.

“Me and Coach Austin are definitely building a decent relationship. He’s definitely kind of Coach Caldwell-style. He played for Coach Caldwell, I think, and he’s coached under him. He knows how to put guys in the league and how to get o-linemen better.”

Obviously, Clemson has undergone a staff shakeup, which has seen Pringle’s two primary recruiters — Caldwell and Tony Elliott — move on from their prior roles. Elliott, of course, accepted the job to become the next head coach at the University of Virginia. 

Despite their absences going forward, Pringle acknowledged that it won’t affect his recruitment.

“Even though two coaches that heavily recruited me left, that doesn’t change what Clemson football is about,” Pringle said. “I have confidence in Coach Swinney and everyone else on Clemson’s staff to do what they need to do to keep being good at football. I definitely look forward to building a relationship with the new coaches and of course still considering Clemson in my recruitment.”

In Pringle’s eyes, it certainly helps that Austin and Brandon Streeter, who were both promoted from within, are two guys who understand the culture and know what it takes to win at Clemson.

“Of course, if Coach Caldwell was all I knew at Clemson football and Coach Elliott was all I knew at Clemson football and then boom, turn around and they’re gone,” he said, “then, I definitely would kind of fallback a little bit and rethink things. But, since I’ve been around everybody, I think they’ve done a good job of not just saying, ‘Hey, Coach Elliott is your dude. Stay around him, only him.’ They definitely did a good job of introducing me to everybody and making sure all the coaches go to know me.”

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Swinney’s coaching tree is starting to blossom

When it comes to coaches branching out from his program to run their own, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had a couple of twigs. Now? “I’ve got a tree,” Swinney said. And it’s starting to blossom. Swinney’s coaching tree now has several branches, some of …

When it comes to coaches branching out from his program to run their own, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had a couple of twigs.

Now?

“I’ve got a tree,” Swinney said.

And it’s starting to blossom.

Swinney’s coaching tree now has several branches, some of them rooted at the Power Five level of college football. Five of Swinney’s former assistants at Clemson are now head coaches with three of those becoming first-time head coaches within the last two years.

Of course, the most recent coaches to make that leap are Brent Venables and Tony Elliott, who were hot commodities in the coaching market amid Clemson’s recent six-year College Football Playoff run yet waited on what they believed was the right job. For Venables, that was Oklahoma, where he was the defensive coordinator before taking the same job at Clemson in 2012. Elliott, Clemson’s primary play caller since 2015, recently took the head job at Virginia, where he could very well face his former boss assuming Swinney and Elliott are still in their current positions the next time the ACC cross-divisional teams pop up on each other’s schedule (Clemson last played Virginia during the regular season in 2020).

“That’s just the way it is,” Swinney said. “So many people are in a hurry to be a young head coach. My goal has always been to be an old head coach. That means you’ve been able to last, sustain and so forth. And if you’re able to do that, you’re going to have (coaches leave).”

Former offensive coordinator Chad Morris was the first assistant under Swinney to jump to the head coaching ranks, taking the SMU job in 2015 after a highly successful four-year stint calling plays for the Tigers. Morris’ successor in part, Jeff Scott, was next to make the move, taking the head coaching job at South Florida following the 2019 season after co-coordinating Clemson’s offense with Elliott for five years, including a pair of national championship seasons in 2016 and 2018.

Billy Napier is also part of Swinney’s tree, though Florida’s coach didn’t take a direct route from Clemson to the head coaching ranks. After having the interim tag removed at Clemson following the 2008 season, Swinney made Napier, a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator on Tommy Bowden’s staff, his first offensive coordinator. Swinney fired Napier after just two seasons in that role and hired Morris as his replacement.

Napier went on to coach at Colorado State, Florida State, Alabama and Arizona State before landing his first head coaching job at Louisiana in 2018. After turning the Ragin’ Cajuns into one of the country’s top Group of Five programs with three straight double-digit win seasons, he was hired as Dan Mullen’s successor at Florida earlier this month.

How long it takes for more branches to form remains to be seen.

Swinney has promoted Brandon Streeter, a former FCS coordinator, and Wesley Goodwin as replacements for Elliott and Venables, respectively. Both have recently turned down other job offers, including some in the NFL, to remain at Clemson for the time being. Swinney called one of his defensive line coaches, Todd Bates, who recently had assistant head coach added to his title, a “future head coach.”

Christmas is right around the corner.  Once again Clemson Variety & Frame is ready to make it a special holiday for your favorite Tiger.

Order today to make sure your gift arrives in time for Christmas.

Saturday’s Cheez-It Bowl Practice Photo Gallery

Clemson returned to the practice fields on a rainy Saturday as they continued preparations for the Cheez-It Bowl. Check out some pictures from the practice including a special guest in TCI’s Cheez-It Bowl Practice Photo Gallery.

Clemson returned to the practice fields on a rainy Saturday as they continued preparations for the Cheez-It Bowl.

Check out some pictures from the practice including a special guest in TCI’s Cheez-It Bowl Practice Photo Gallery.

Staff changes were ‘really easy decisions’ for Swinney

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program announced today a number of staff changes, including Wes Goodwin being promoted to defensive coordinator/linebackers coach and adding the role of co-defensive coordinator alongside …

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program announced today a number of staff changes, including Wes Goodwin being promoted to defensive coordinator/linebackers coach and adding the role of co-defensive coordinator alongside safeties coach Mickey Conn.

Cornerbacks coach Mike Reed added the role of special teams coordinator previously held by Conn, while recruiting coordinator/defensive tackles coach Todd Bates has added the title of assistant head coach.

Offensively, the Tigers promoted Brandon Streeter to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Clemson named Kyle Richardson, who had served as director of high school relations and special assistant to the offense, as passing game coordinator/tight ends coach.

“I’ve always taken a lot of pride in developing our players and developing our team, but I also take a lot of pride in developing our staff,” Swinney said in an official release from Clemson Football. “Sometimes it’s not feasible to promote from within, but these were really easy decisions for me, just like it was an easy decision for me in 2014 to name Tony [Elliott] as the play caller and Jeff [Scott] to be a co-coordinator.

“I’m super excited about Wes being the defensive coordinator and Mickey being the co-coordinator, and I’m similarly excited for the opportunity to promote Mike Reed to be the special teams coordinator and Todd Bates to be our assistant head coach to fill that void that Tony left behind. We have a wonderful staff.”

Elliott was named the new head coach at Virginia last week, while former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables became the new head coach at Oklahoma.

“I’m happy for those who have received the opportunity to go be head coaches and some of our younger staff and peripheral staff that may have some opportunities to go with them as well, but those changes create opportunity here,” Swinney said. “And, man, I’m just really, really excited about the people that we have in place.”

Swinney added that, “Moving forward, I am excited and energized by this deserved opportunity for so many members of our staff in new roles. But most of all, I’m happiest for our players. More than anybody, they know what this group of coaches is capable of, and our players’ excitement to see them in these roles has been amazing.”

Christmas is right around the corner.  Once again Clemson Variety & Frame is ready to make it a special holiday for your favorite Tiger.

Order today to make sure your gift arrives in time for Christmas.

Clemson staffer to join Elliott’s staff at Virginia

A Clemson staffer appears set to join Tony Elliott at the University of Virginia. The Clemson Insider has confirmed through a source that Elliott, who was named UVA’s new head coach last week, plans to bring Clemson’s Adam Smotherman aboard his …

A Clemson staffer appears set to join Tony Elliott at the University of Virginia.

The Clemson Insider has confirmed through a source that Elliott, who was named UVA’s new head coach last week, plans to bring Clemson’s Adam Smotherman aboard his staff in Charlottesville.

Smotherman, the Tigers’ Senior Assistant Football Strength & Conditioning Coach, has spent the last 10 years on the Clemson Football Strength & Conditioning staff.

Smotherman — better known by some as Clemson’s “Get-Back Coach” for former defensive coordinator/now Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables — has served nine years as a full-time coach under Director of Football Strength & Conditioning Joey Batson and one year as a graduate assistant.

Smotherman worked previously as the Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning at Furman University from 2012-13 alongside Director David Abernethy. At Furman, Smotherman oversaw all aspects of training for 12 of Furman’s 15 varsity sports and assisted with three other teams.

Prior to his tenure at Furman, Smotherman was the graduate assistant coach for football strength training at Clemson from 2011-12. Before coming to Clemson, Smotherman interned in the weight room for Dwight Galt at Vanderbilt in 2011.

TCI has talked to a couple of sources close to the program, and at this time, the sources we’ve talked to don’t know of any other people planning to follow Elliott.

Elliott held his introductory press conference Monday, so we will see if anything changes.

Christmas is right around the corner.  Once again Clemson Variety & Frame is ready to make it a special holiday for your favorite Tiger.

Order today to make sure your gift arrives in time for Christmas.

Watch: Elliott’s press conference at Virginia

Former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was introduced with his first press conference at the University of Virginia on Monday. Watch the full press conference and see what Elliott has to say about his new job and the Tigers.

Former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was introduced with his first press conference at the University of Virginia on Monday.

Watch the full press conference and see what Elliott has to say about his new job and the Tigers.