The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Inside UVA Training Camp: Good, Bad & Ugly; Injuries Hit Virginia At Key Positions: OL & DB

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

The Jerry & Jerry Show headlines: Inside UVA Training Camp: Good, Bad & Ugly Injuries Hit Virginia At Key Positions: OL & DB Tony Elliott Rips Team About Lack Of Discipline How Are The Wahoos Looking At Special Teams? Is The “Weak UVA Schedule” A Fair Assessment? What Is The Deepest Position On This Roster? How Do The Hoos Get To A Bowl Game This Year? Inside The ACC – Who To Watch & Why Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air Jerry Ratcliffe & Jerry Miller were live on The Jerry & Jerry Show! The Jerry & Jerry Show airs live Tuesday from 10:15 am – 11:15 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The Jerry & Jerry Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible and iLoveCVille.com.

Good Tuesday morning, guys. My name is Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on the Jerry and Jerry show. It's great to connect with you guys on the I Love Seville Network. This program focused on the University of Virginia and boy, oh boy, do we have a lot to talk about. Football season is underway, and there's a tangible buzz in Charlottesville. Ladies and gentlemen, our studio is in downtown Charleston, less than two miles from Scott Stadium. training camp, all the buzz here in town. And we have first year students and transfer students

moving in on the 21st of August. Classes start on the 26th of August. And ladies and gentlemen, the Shanakleaders of Coastal Carolina hit Charlestville on the 31st of August. We have college football upon us. There's one source for everything UVA related. That's Jerry Rackleff of Jerry Rackleff.com. I'm on his website every single day as a fan and is someone who wants to prepare. for this show and as someone who wants to speak intelligently about the University of Virginia. A lot to cover on the show. We'll give props and accolades

to the man behind the camera at the start of the show. Judah Wickcower, he directs the program and keeps us online. My friend, studio camera and then a two shot as we welcome the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer, a man that's a household name, Jerry Hooty Ratcliffe.

My friend, good Tuesday morning to you. Great to see you again this week, as always, and looking forward to our conversation as usual. I am as well, Hootie. He's got a fresh haircut. He's looking sharp. He's got his row back on as well. My friend, scatter shooting trading camp, you've been there on the

sidelines. What have you been seeing? Well, you know, I think this football team is starting to come together a little bit. They just had their first scrimmage this past Saturday. Unfortunately, they threw the media out after

the kicking drills. And once they actually started scrimmage, so we didn't get to see very much. But I think just from talking to coaches and players, it sounds like they're making strides in every phase of the team. And that's what you were expecting in camp is for all this influx of talent, 54 new faces,

to come together and to make this a stronger football. team, a team that has a chance to finally break the threshold this season and get to a bowl game. We already have comments coming in on YouTube from Shift God 13. He wants to talk Cam Robinson. I'll table that for now. We will bring up Cam Robinson on the program. The good, the bad, and the ugly that you've seen so far were positive people, the good

of training camp first. Well, the good, I think, is the fact that. But they did bring in all, you know, they spent their money well from what we can tell. You said last week between $20 and $30 million, that number closer to $30 than it is $20, the salary cap, if you may, for this Virginia football roster. Questions have come in on that comment. I talked about that on the I Love Seville Show that day at 1230 p.m. And boy, oh, boy, did we get a lot of response. Are we standing with that $20 to $30 million?

Yes, we are. And I don't think there's any argument about it from what I've been. told and you know and you better you better do it while you can because it looks like that there's going to be some reform with the NIL process and this may be the last year of the big spending so you better make it count while you can because if it goes back to the way it was and you've got to recruit on the same basis as everybody else. But, yeah, I think they've brought in a lot of players who could play with experience.

And we've talked about the depth before at every position. And I think it's starting to show in the process. And, again, we don't get a chance to watch the entire practices or the scrimmage. So we'll have to wait until the first game to see the total package like everybody else. But we do get to talk to the coaches and players, and they're very fired up and very encouraged more so than I can remember in several years. Viewers and listeners of the show asked this question. Georgia Gilmer and James Watson in particular.

The 20 to 30 million salary cap pay for these players, this current roster. that number closer to 30 million. The viewers and listeners wanted to know, does that include coaches' salaries, or is that strictly pay or play? That's pay for play. Unbelievable. Yeah.

What wild times we live in. Yeah, I mean, we found out that they gave Jamari Taylor through his coach at North Carolina Central, $400,000. That's the running back. That's the running back. That Virginia Tech, this running back got 400 grand to come to Charlottesville to play for Virginia. Virginia Tech wanted this. tailback so badly that it sent an assistant coach to recruit recruit this running back during a game

the Virginia Tech assistant coach weasled his way onto the sidelines during live action and was trying to seduce and romanticize this tailback as if as if he was a 17 year old asking the head cheerleader to prom unbelievable that story right there 400 grand for not even the starter potentially yeah I've never heard of that before It may have happened, but it's the first time that I've ever actually been, you know, it's been proven that it's happened because the head coach from North Carolina Central said so. It's interesting that we haven't heard anything else about that. Right.

Since it was reported, but it's crazy times we're living in. You may see just about anything these days. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts. Put them in the feed. We'll relay them live on air. There's depth at wide receiver, another positive for this Virginia football roster. I'm sorry, I was... Depth at wide receiver.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. They have tons of depth at wide receiver, and they brought back several players like Sudarian Harrison and Atrell Harris, who had up and down seasons, partly because of injuries last year. And then you brought in the kid from Notre Dame, a kid from Purdue. Cam Ross from JMU who is apparently just delivering eye-popping

performances in practice as not only a receiver but as a return man he was spectacular at JMU last season so some of the freshmen have really impressed at wide receivers

so I think they have eight or nine guys that have the potential to contribute to the season at those three receiving positions. Not to mention Dakota Twitty, the tight end who is a former wide receiver. And even though he's not totally built like a tight end, he's a little bigger than your average wide receiver now since he's switched over to tight end. But listening to Tony Elliott talked about him the other day, he's a guy with incredible potential to play in the NFL for a long time if he develops the way they hope he will.

And I guess the one thing that's holding him back is from a wide receiver, it was a different kind of blocking assignment than as a tight end where you've got to take on bigger people. But that's one of the things that he has to really work on to become all that he can be. but they're really high on him. They think he's one of the best players on the team. Viewers and listeners, if you're just tuning in, we'll again reiterate the number spent on this current roster between 20 and 30 million for players alone,

that number closer to 30 million than 20, that does not include coaching salaries. That's players alone. This football team is in a must-win scenario with the head coach in year four. Going into year four, the least amount of victories over the last three years of any power football team out there.

And this team right now, on paper, looks like it's prime for success. We will get to the schedule in a matter of moments. Some folks saying one of the easiest schedules in all of the country, not just the ACC, but all the country. We'll get to those in a matter of moments. Hootie, I'm going to throw this to you from an offensive standpoint and we'll get to the injuries on the offensive line. But first, the pros, the positives.

From an offensive standpoint, you've got an extremely experienced quarterback. that's posted, you know, mind-boggling statistical production everywhere he's gone. You got depth at the wide receiving core. You got as much depth as I seen in a long time at the running back position since, what, when Wally Lundy was in a loaded backfield? Who was in the backfield with Wally Lundy when he was early in his career? Let's see. Who was the other guy?

I mean, he had two stars. That'll come to me here in a matter of moments. A loaded backfield with Wally Lundy. But you got wide receiver depth, you got running back depth, a talented quarterback, deft on the offensive line. Looks to me on paper, this offense should be full of firepower. I think Alvin Perman. I think it was Alvin Perman.

Who's been a guest on our show. And both those guys play the National Football League. Yes, they did. Oh, and before we move on to that, when it comes back to that money, just look at what North Carolina has spent, and what they spent on their football program this year is 50s. $50 million, and that's players and coaching staff and general managers. So the 20 to 30 is right in line with North Carolina's 50.

And North Carolina probably spent a little bit more, but those numbers are not unreal numbers in what's going on out there right now. That's the norm to put a contender on the field. Yeah, I mean, Texas Tech has blown people away, spent even more than that. we're talking about the offense. I think the offense has a lot of potential and that's going to be the whole key because

what's held this program back for the previous three years is they just couldn't produce enough points to win games. They've lost a lot of close games because they failed in the red zone and made mistakes, but

a lot of it is that, you know, they could move the ball from 20 to 20, but once they get in the red zone, they've struggled. And how many times did we see them get down inside the 10, inside the 5 last year, and had to settle for field goals? And that just can't happen if they're going to do what they hope to do this year. And it looks like they have the talent to finally break through, and they have to because they're scoring offense. their numbers have been horrible for three years now.

And like you said, they have an experienced quarterback who's put up big numbers. They have at least three running backs that have played and produced at various programs. They've got wide receivers from their own program and from outside who have been impressive and it looks like there's some potential, big play potential there. But I think the whole key is the offensive line and how they perform and if they can live up to the expectations. They have the most depth on the offensive line maybe in the history of the program. The last time I've seen this kind of talent on the offensive line

and depth in the offensive line, maybe the outgrow era. Yeah, and they may have had more talent then because a lot of those guys ended up in the NFL, but I don't think that I'm not even sure they had the depth. that this offensive line has. Maybe not the quality, but the depth. And if those guys deliver and they can produce a running game that will take the pressure off of Chandler Morris

and let him find his receivers and keep him clean so he doesn't have to run for his life like Anthony Calandria did for two years, they have potential to put some points on the board and a lot of them. The offensive line we're talking about has been a weakness of late for Virginia. It's on paper a strength. It did suffer an injury that's quite impactful. Macklin Thomas has undergoing surgery for a broken bone in his foot. This on Jerry Ratcliffe.com, he's out as much as three months.

He was the projected starting right offensive tackle. Macklin Thomas. Coach Elliott said he stepped wrong and ended up with the fractured bone in his foot. He had surgery a few days ago. He's hopeful that he comes back in three months, but obviously that's TBD because everybody heals differently. This is a tough injury right here to a very talented offensive lineman. Yeah, it is. And it's a tough break to get injured in training camp like that before you even get a chance to play it down. You got to feel bad for for him and any other guys that suffer those kind of entries, especially in a non-contact grill when you, you know, you just happen to,

yeah, you just happen to land on, on the, with the wrong balance or whatever and end up with a broken bone that keeps you out. But the beauty of the depth that they brought in is that they have several other guys ready to step in at that position and there's there's four or five guys vying for that starting

job right now so it's not like that they don't have it's not like before when if that happened they were just up to creek because they just didn't have anybody ready but now now they've got several contenders for that position

on jerry rackliff.com Ben York a six foot five three and five pound second year David Wollabow Wallace Unamba, Jack Whitmore, John Adar. These are all viable for this, viable options for this position. Interestingly, the viable options for the right tackle position include a fifth year, a six year, another fifth year, and then a first year to second year. Let me talk about depth here.

You've got a six year who's six six, three hundred thirty five pounds from Dallas, Texas that may plug and play at the right tackle spot. Yeah, and again, that's where the money came in handy was to, you know, I'm sure that Tony Elliott was just sickened by the fact the last three years that, and Terry Heffern and the line coach, you walk into that room on Monday or Tuesday and you look around and guys are beat up or sick and can't go and you have to wonder, you know, who's, next. Who can I plug into this position? It's maybe somebody that's completely not ready to play are playing out of position. And it, I mean, we saw the results of it last year. They'd get down and they couldn't move the ball when they had to. They couldn't protect Calandria. That shouldn't

be the problem this year, but that was a massive problem up until now. The, uh, the ugly now. We've talked good. We've talked really good. We've talked depth. We've talked offensive firepower. We've highlighted some injuries. Another item that came up in training camp, Coach Elliott really ripped into these boys for lack of discipline. He did, and I was glad to see that or hear it. We didn't get to see it because the media's kept outside the practice field, which is, if you haven't been over there, there's gates all around the field, and they have tarp over them so you can't watch from outside, but we can hear.

And at the end of practice, at least for the second time in the first couple of weeks, the first 10 days, we heard Tony Elliott unleash on these guys at the end of practice and do some wind sprints. But I thought it was a healthy thing to hear him. I won't say dress down the team but he let his frustration to be known about the fact that they have struggled in the red zone for three years, the fact that they have

beaten themselves with mindless penalties in the fourth quarter or sometimes late in the fourth quarter, some special teams, snafus late in the game. that have cost them. And I think he's just so tired of beating, you know, Virginia, beating Virginia. And you just, it's a hard enough game as it is. Amen, brother.

You can't beat yourself. The difference usually between a good team and a mediocre team is a good team doesn't beat itself. And that's what he's trying to get, drive into these guys on a daily basis. just don't help the enemy. You know, let's play smart football. Don't beat yourself. Make them beat you. And that's sometimes the difference.

You know, he has said it time and time again, we've heard every Virginia coach say this for years, decades, is that most ACC games come down to a handful of plays, often in the final minutes of a game. and the team that doesn't beat itself usually wins those contests. So he's trying to drive that home, and I thought it was very good to hear that, that he's bringing that kind of intensity to practice.

I think that's what a good football coach does. I agree with that. I'll also add this. Michael Guthrie, welcome to the broadcast. Lauren and Ivy, Carol Thorpe, DJ Morbilley, just to name a few. Virginia fans, let us know your thoughts. I'm going to get to your questions and comments in about five minutes.

So put them in the feed, and then I will relay them live on air to the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer. Some of this is on the coaching staff, too. There was a lot of third quarters coming out of the locker room where the team lost the third period. Right. Yeah, and we talked to Tony about that ad nauseum last year, I think. He probably got tired of hearing the question, but it was something that he put emphasis on, and he calls at that eight-minute stretch the final four minutes of the second quarter

and the first four minutes of the third quarter, how you come out of the locker room makes a big difference. And they were atrocious at that for a huge portion of the season last year. And I think that's why, you know, they went from four and one to ended up five and seven because they just couldn't get it done coming out of the locker room.

I think even in a couple of games they won, they didn't do very well coming out of the locker room at a half time. So we haven't really heard him say anything about that in training camp, so hopefully he has addressed it in the offseason amongst himself and the coaching staff to where they have found some solutions to prevent that from being a weakness. year. Comments coming in now. Viewers and listeners put them in the feed. I will relay them live on air. Cam Robinson. People want to talk Cam Robinson. Give us the Cam Robinson scoop.

He's off to a good camp from what we gather. Super talented linebacker. Yeah. And I think this is a year where he's going to break out and have his best season. I remember last year, he was last year he talked about his first year as a starter he was just trying to drink from a fire hose and really use his raw athletic ability to make plays

last year he felt more comfortable the game had slowed down for him and the one thing about him he's so tough he's so physically tough and mentally tough he continued to play as long as he could last year

year where most guys in his situation would have probably shut it down. That's how much the game means to him and how tough he is, how much he can endure. He was personally insulted that he wasn't among the eight linebackers selected in the preseason ACC voting for preseason honors and somebody made a comment maybe it was his maybe it was John Ritzinski the defensive coordinator said we haven't seen the real

Cam Robinson yet or someone made that comment and we asked Cam about it and he says you're about to I love it so he's fired up and he's ready to go and that's what they need they've got a solid linebacking Corps with him and Jackson and McDonald, some other young guys and some transfers come in,

but they should be good there. But Cam Robinson is where it all starts. I think he calls the defense, and he's, what an inspirational guy to build your defense around. He's the kind of guy you want in that spot. No question about it. Let us know your thoughts. Viewers and listeners, put them on the social media platform or podcasting platform you're watching upon. I will relay them to the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer. Comments continue to come in.

This one from Wise, Virginia, an active follower of your Twitter account, Rich, his handle at Cavalier of UVA. He says, good morning from Wise County, Virginia. This is a politics question. I've been wondering this on our 1230 show, the I Love Seville Show, since Jim Ryan has stepped down, Hootie Rackleff, do you believe the Board of Visitors at UVA will make a change at athletic director, why or why not? Wow. Jim Ryan, in a lot of ways, the bulletproof vests or the Teflon offering protection for Carla Williams.

Yeah. The reason for Carla Williams to come under fire or scrutiny is she hired Tony Elliott, three years of Tony Elliott, the least amount of wins, UVA, and any of power football. The basketball program has clearly slipped, including last year, which a lot of folks have said it was somewhat of a debacle. The baseball program has struggled. The lacrosse team, men's lacrosse team,

finished with a sub-500 record. The flip side to that argument is the Olympic sports, the non-revenue sports, some of the best in the nation. They routinely, as an athletic department, as an aggregate, are one of the best athletic departments performance-wise in the country.

Fundraising is off the chain. Goodness gracious, did they fill the coffers for this NIL push, $20 to $30 million for this football roster alone. So that's the flip side. Jim Ryan, in a lot of ways, Carla Williams' biggest advocate. Yeah, you've got to give her a lot of credit for helping bring that money into the program for the NIL. And I think that's been part of her plan was to try to upgrade football because that's what she was brought in here to do.

from Georgia. And you've got to give her kudos for making a tremendous hire of Ryan Odom and a tremendous hire of Chris Pollard. I think those are two home runs to her credit. I know a lot of people are very unsatisfied with football, but we'll see. We'll see what this season brings. I'm still not sure, and I've talked about this on a couple of sports talk radio shows around the state yesterday and last week.

He was a guest on Edlade show, and he was a guest on Luke Neer show. This man is a coveted commodity. And then ESPN Richmond last week. We, I still don't know, I don't have a good finger on the pulse of this. It's what the fan base accepts as a successful season, football season this year. Is it six and six, get to a ball game? I'm not satisfied. Is it seven and five in beating Virginia Tech?

Is it eight and four? I don't know, you know, I have a feeling most people would like to see at least seven wins with a win over Tech. where that puts the AD and all this I don't know because if football fails obviously it's going to be she's going to be held accountable for that whether it's her fault or not it was her hire and but you got to give her credit

she's doing everything she can right now to help the football program succeed. I don't even know where the Board of Visitors stand. You probably have a better grip on that than I do because of all the, like you said, all the political ping pong we're seeing out there. Who knows, are these Board of Visitors even going to be the Board of Visitors by the end of football season? That's it. So I don't think anybody can predict. what's going to happen

to the upper echelon of the academic side of the university with the Board of Visitors and the President and all that right now with all the political stuff flying in the air with an election coming up in November. So I think we're just going to have to ride the wave and see what happens because I don't think anybody knows

to tell you the truth. Hootie Ratcliffe is all over it. Humble Man over here. I got this text message over the weekend from an insider very close to the Board of Visitors. I'll read it verbatim. He's given me approval to relay this live on air. We did this yesterday on the show without obviously breaching trust and protecting his anonymity. He says, and I'll set the stage here, Cree Deeds, who is a member of the Virginia Senate. He represents the 11th District. He currently has a deadline. of August 15th, which is a few days from now, today's the 12th of August. And that August 15th deadline, Cree deeds, the Virginia Senator, sent in a very pointed investigative

letter, a letter based on questions. Was it 42 questions? It was like four dozen, 46 questions. Thank you, Judah Wickhauer. 46 questions, pointed questions to the rector and the vice rector of the

UVA Board of Visitors. And those questions, were focused on why Jim Ryan resigned and the plot or the ploy to get Jim Ryan to resign. So here's what the insider texted me. I'll relay it live on air. Again, I have his approval to do this. He said the creed deeds investigative letter is all about malfeasance. Rachel Sheridan, who's the Board of Visitors rector, is the hatchet woman sent by Governor Glenn Yonkin to clean house. Rachel Sheridan is now the target of Virginia Democrats. In short, she is required by law to respond to Creed's letter and answer his 46 questions.

If she does not, future Governor Abigail Spamberger, we all anticipate she will win. Abigail Spamberger will declare she committed Rachel Sheridan malfeasance by not responding, and then Spamberger will remove Rachel Sheridan. If she responds and reveals that any or all of Creed's allegations of coordination with the Department of Justice, or Donald Trump's administration, then Rachel Sheridan will also face malfecent's charges. I believe, this is the insider talking, I believe she is the one behind the removal of Dr. Craig Kent,

who was the CEO of UVA Health. You can expect litigation, he says, around that removal. And the insider says, I understand that Rachel Sheridan is the one that the DOJ lawyer was working with to remove Jim Ryan. Finally, the insider says, after I read Cree Deeds's letter, there's someone with very deep knowledge that is talking to him. How else will he know all the dates in his letter where he asked the 46 questions?

So the expectation is this. This is the politics of it all. And we'll bring it back to sports. It is a sports show. Abigail Spamberger is on paper right now a clear frontrunner to beat Winston Earl Sears for governor. and if Abigail Spamberger wins the governor's race in November, she may

change the complete dynamic of this board. And she'll utilize the precedent set by Glenn Yonkin when he fired Bert Ellis. And Glenn Yonkin appointed Bert Ellis. So if a governor who appoints a board member is willing to fire someone,

what will a new governor do that's the complete different politics of the board when she didn't appoint any of those board members? and the governor can do it based on this word called malfeasance, where it's basically up to the governor's interpretation of who they want to fire or not. Wow. And if the governor goes and fires a lot of these board members so they can get control of the board,

there is some scuttlebutt around Charlottesville that Jim Ryan, who's on a 14-month sabbatical where he's paid the same compensation he earned as President of UVA may get reappointed to President. Unbelievable. Wow. Yeah, that's wild times. It is wild. It's as wild as the NIL stuff we're going through on the other end.

So that would protect Carla Williams. Yeah, so Rich out there in Wyckon. There's your answer in a long way. There's your answer. And so I can't answer that. So I don't know that anybody can with all this tornado head at our way so who knows what's going to happen in the next several months and I would say right now I would think her job is safe 100% and she just got a contract renewal yeah an unannounced

contract renewal by the board yeah so I don't think we're going to see a change the the one wrinkle that could cause crossfire or raise the heat on Carla Williams is if this team struggles if this football team lays a lays an egg yeah if this team lays an egg all cards are off the table. But I don't think it will. I think this team is too good with the investment that she has helped produce to fail. I just don't see it. I mean, if they were playing last year's schedule, that would be a bigger question mark in my mind. But with the schedule that they're playing and the talent they brought in, I just don't see any way this team fails. segue into the Twitter exchange you had with Mikey Surf about the schedule. I thought you handled it very well.

Well, I don't like to get into our Twitter wars with people. And Mikey has always has his opinions. And I think most people don't like talking to Mikey Surf because he feels things like that he's never wrong. But he was, I think, attacking Luke Neer for. for of WINA's best seat in the house because Luke talks a lot about Virginia playing the weakest schedule in the country and Mikey took exception to that and but that that came from national publications who examine those sort of things and it his are Mikey's argument as well. It's preseason. You can't tell who's going to have a good season, particularly in these days of NIL, because the rosters are in a state of flux, and there's some truth to that. Both guys are right. Both guys are right, but it is on paper the weakest schedule in the country. Virginia is the only power conference team that has zero ranked opponents, at least preseason,

on its schedule. There's a lot of those teams. on the schedule that have, I don't think, have any chance of having a good year. Probably four or five of them at least. There are some teams on there that have potential to make the top 25 at some point during the season. I think Florida State, Louisville, and North Carolina all have opportunities to break into the top 25 at some juncture. But right now they don't. they're not ranked and and that's the schedule

Virginia was dealt with just like last year's schedule was I thought one of the tougher schedules in the country and particularly the back end of it when they were playing one top 25 team after the other

so anyways it is the weakest schedule in the country and I mean one of the national publications straight up called it the fourth weakest schedule

in the nation. Yeah. I think actually Wake Forest supposedly has the weakest schedule in the country. I think Virginia's is, you're right. I think they're ranked four. Four. It was the fourth by one of the... Yeah. I mean, and it's look at the roster. Look at the schedule guys. It's not... You miss Clemson. You miss Miami. You missed SMU. I mean, you don't have a lot of the preseason, the preseason top players and the pre-season all-ACC team?

Yeah. A lot of the guys on the pre-season all-ACC team, Virginia is missing as well. I mean, and I understand the comment about, you know, who knows what's going to happen because all these rosters are brand new. That's fair as well. But we've always done pre-season polls. And we've always talked pre-season scheduling. It's nothing new.

I mean, you look, Coastal Carolina is not predicted to win their conference. William and Mary is William and Mary. Stanford is picked very low in the ACC, even though they have a new coach in Frank Reich and Andrew Luck is the general manager. Washington State has a new coaching staff. They're not predicted to have a great season. Cal is predicted toward the bottom of the ACC.

Wake Forest is, predicted toward the bottom of the ACC. So unless something, how the ordinary happens, there's one, two, three, four, five, six games that against teams that I just don't think are going to have very good seasons. And that's half your schedule. And some of those are the 50-50 games we keep talking about. that along with the NC State game the Duke game and the Virginia Tech game a lot of those

are going to be 50-50 games and how Virginia performs in those games it's going to depend on where this team goes if it has a break-even season qualifies for a cold weather bowl goes seven and five goes eight and four You know, if they pull a couple upsets, who knows, they could end up doing something miraculous that nobody expects. But at least half your schedule is against teams that aren't considered very good. And you got to win those games. You have to because you can't count on some of the others.

Can't count on Virginia Tech. I wouldn't count on UNC. I wouldn't count on Duke I wouldn't count on Louisville NC State Yeah that's a huge game We've talked about that for weeks now We said maybe the most important game on the roster

If you go down and beat NC State And NC State is going to be favored in that game There's no question about it But NC State's coming off a year where they were six and seven And lost to East Carolina in a bowl game So If you can go down there and win that game you have a chance to go

4-0 against Coastal Carolina, William and Mary and Stanford, three of those four games at home with Florida State coming to town for a big Friday night game. Monster game. Yeah, and who knows what can happen

because they didn't exactly tear it up last year either. And the success of this Virginia football team is not just about saving Tony Elliott and the coaching staff job are keeping the heat off the athletic director, Carla Williams. It's also about driving in a lot of ways the local economy for small businesses in the region. You talk to any of these small businesses, and they say, when you have a successful team in a sold-out Scott Stadium,

they are able to pay their bills easier. And what's happened over the last three years has dramatically impacted, locally owned and operated business, the hotel years, the restaurants, the retail stores, because the attendance and engagement is just not what it is. And folks, the top four teams from a preseason prediction standpoint in the ACC, Clemson, Miami, SMU, and Georgia Tech. UVA does not face either of those four teams. And how about this statistic? There were 27 players on the ACC preseason all-conference team.

Virginia will only face six of the 27 players on the preseason team. Wow. So on paper, it's an easy schedule. Yes. I get what Mikey Surf is saying. that all these rosters, how can you assess them when the rosters are brand new? I understand that.

But what Luke Neer is doing on Best Seed of the House is doing the on-paper analysis. Right. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that at all. I think he's right on. I think he's spot on with his analysis. And, yeah, I totally defend what he's saying.

Let us know your thoughts, viewers, listeners. We've continued to say that NC State game is must win for this team. And I'll ask you this question. What is a year that has seen as success for this fan base that is

apathetic and angry? Yeah, I'd like to hear from our viewers as to what they believe is a successful season. I'm thinking it's... I think it's eight wins. You think so? It's eight wins for me.

You don't think seven and five good enough. Olivia Branch, your thoughts. John McAllister is a diehard fan. He's watching the program. Betsy Nugent, your thoughts on this. George Gilmer, your thoughts on this. Michael Guthrie, your thoughts on this. Jesse Rutherford, your thoughts on this. Jeremy Wilson is watching in Eastern Tennessee. Your thoughts on this. For me, it's eight wins. Seven wins is a, seven wins with this schedule. It almost seems like that's, that's not just the expectation. That should happen. You spend close to $30 million on a roster of players? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I can see that point. I'm just wondering if seven and five

with one of those wins being against Virginia Tech would be enough to satisfy the fan base going forward. All right, I'll change that comment. I'll take seven and five with a victory over Virginia Tech as opposed to eight wins and a loss to the Hokies. Yeah. I will take that. Because if you go seven in five and you beat Virginia Tech, Virginia probably gets that entire Blacksburg coaching staff fire. Yeah, I would say you're probably right about that. And is that a good thing or a bad thing? You're saying, is it a good thing for Virginia to have Brent's coaching staff survive another year in Blacksburg? You're probably right. Yeah. Because they've underachieved. Right. I don't know. But yeah, I'm curious as to how the fans are seeing this. I don't think six and six is good enough.

I don't know that he would lose his job if they finish six and six and go to a cold weather bowl because from the AD's perspective, that that's another step forward in the program from three wins to five wins to six wins and a bowl, possibly a bowl win, which would be seven wins. But I think seven should be a good expectation, and anything on top of that is just gravy. Very interesting to see if Virginia Tech does make a coaching change, if it goes hard for, you know, hard after Shane Beamer of South Carolina. Had success there. There's a Netflix documentary that's absolutely fantastic.

follows the southeastern conference yeah i've heard of it it's tremendous it's absolutely tremendous and they sit down in a given saturday or something like that something i think that's what it's called any given saturday i i think that is what it's called i've watched uh the first handful of episodes shane beamer's in there one of the most likable guys coaching wise out there yeah just like he's dead just like his dad and he said he went to south carolina because he's not frank beamer's son at South Carolina, but he highlights in the Netflix documentary the importance, the emotional tie, and the love

he has for Virginia Tech. Yeah. And, you know, but to your point... But would he want to come there and live in that shadow? If he goes to Virginia Tech and lives in that shadow, he weighs the scales of justice with being a middle tier to bottom tier in the best conference in America.

And I would bet Virginia Tech, not that South Carolina already, hasn't done this would give him a Brinks truck of money they should right because they've been completely down since the Foster Beamer era maybe they made the

mistake of not going the Bud Foster route yeah and South Carolina I'm sure would do anything they can to keep him too because they they've brought in Lou Holtz they brought in Steve's all kinds of people and

Steve Spurrier. Steve Spurier couldn't win. Right. I mean, they could win, but they couldn't take the program to the level where their fans have the expectations as a... Which is a brutal conference. I mean, he went in his first year at South Carolina, seven and six, then eight and five in his second year, five and seven in his third, nine and four in his fourth. He's entering his fifth season, 2025, Shane Beamer. He's 29 and 22 overall, and 15 and 17 in conference play.

He's been to three bowl games. He's won one. Beating Clemson a couple of times. Yeah. In big games. And big games. Yeah. So I don't know.

Time will tell what Virginia tech. Speaking of the Hokies, do you have a take on the Hokies, Hokey's? I haven't really been following them that closely. I've been devoting all my time to Virginia. So I don't. Just a casual observation is, you know, I think there's more pressure on that coaching staff than there is on the one here in Charlottesville because their fan base has higher expectations

because they pour almost all of their money into football down there. I saw something the other day where their AD presented something to their board of visitors that Virginia is way outspending Virginia Tech and athletics. And I'm sure that Whit Babcock is trying to make that more equitable in terms of bringing more money into their program

to where they can keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. So it's going to be interesting to see how that arms race develops over the next couple of years as well. Is Clemson your clear-cut best with Miami and your clear-cut second slot? Yeah, you know, Clemson, I've seen a lot of people picking Clemson to maybe win the national championship, and because their schedule so favorable, if they beat, get by LSU in that opening game at Clemson, there's not a whole lot in their way. And so they could ride a pretty powerful wave into the college football playoffs. Miami, there's always something that holds me back from jumping on the Miami bandwagon,

even though last year they were pretty good with Cam Ward. But I think they were, Cam Ward was an exception. I'm not sure the guy they brought in from Georgia is going to be able to duplicate what Cam Ward did for the hurricanes last season. Carson back. Carson back. I just don't think he's the same quality of football player.

but I still think Louisville is a sleeper. I think Georgia Tech is a sleeper. That guy has done a great job. Georgia Tech preseason number four. Turning them around. I mean, he's done a tremendous job. He was on Nick Saban staff for quite a while before he came to Atlanta. They're quarterback.

Georgia Tech's starting quarterback on the short list for offensive player of the year. Oh, he's a dynamo. He is a dynamo. Not only can he throw the ball, he's an incredible threat to run. And a big kid, too. Sean King, I think. And, you know, SMU, who knows? Again, they've spent tons of money out there.

Don't sleep on the ponies. They've got their quarterback returning. They've got a good offense. And there's always that big question, Mark, in Chapel Hill. What's Bill Belichick going to do? you just don't know it's going to be interesting to see what happens down there

with all the money they've put into that program in the past year. $50 million is they're not going to expect there has been $50 million to win seven games. I know. It's Belichick has got the pressure out of the gate in North Carolina. This Virginia football team poised

for success. We've gone the entire hour and haven't even talked basketball. Anything where? missing out of the football notebook? I don't think so. I think we've covered it pretty well. Again, I think it was interesting. Listen to Gather yesterday, talk about how they've put a lot more emphasis on special

teams this year and studied the breakdowns that heard them last year. They've got some key people. back on all the units and the addition of Cam Ross, it sounds like he could be a dynamic return man for him, and that's something that they could use for sure. But I think we've pretty well covered the football. Comments coming in here. We'll get to some comments from the viewers and listeners. This one from Randy O'Neill, do you guys know if the players get workman's

comp if they're injured? I don't think so, but... I mean, there's no real union, so I would say no. But I don't have that answer. Yeah, I think even some NFL players are having some insurance issues, but I don't think they do from everything I gather. Tim Bates, watching in Evington, Virginia. He's pumped to see what product coach Tony Elliott puts on the field this year.

This question's come in multiple times over the last couple weeks. Who is the clear-cut leader and alpha dog of the team? I think it has to be Chandler Morris. He's the quarterback. He's a guy that's been around. What do we say? He's 24 years old. He's basically the age of Jaden Daniels.

Yes. Starting quarterback for the commanders. I think he won their respect and spring, and it's only increased throughout the summer in training camp. I think everybody looks toward him, and I think that's one reason that Tony Elliott named him the starting quarterback early on to use that leadership to bring this team together as fast as possible. Cody Rackleft, what do you got in the hopper at Jerry Rackleff.com?

Just more football and more football with a watchful eye on basketball. recruiting. They've been included in the top 8, 9, 10 schools on some of the top 50 players lists in basketball. And they don't have anybody committed to the 26th class yet. So if one of those guys breaks through, who knows it might be an onslaught of more, but opened up the floodgates, but Ryan Odom's going after top 100 talent. He's going after the creme to the crem. And that's what it's all about, the acquisition of talent. And if you don't have it, too bad.

I like that. Too bad. Jerry Rackleff is a Virginia Sports Hall of Famer. You can read his musings, his analysis, and his reporting on Jerry Rackleck. Jackliff.com. Jerry rackliff.com is how literally I start my morning. I did it this morning over a bowl of cocoa puffs with our three-year-old chasing the dog around our breakfast table. I let our three-year-old chase Max the German Shepherd because I was in the middle of reading the special teams article about Cam Ross on Jerry rackliff.com. Judah Wickhauer is behind

the camera. The only man I know that can make a button-down shirt, denim, and an undershirt look comfortable in a hundred-degree heat. He's cooler than the other side of the pillow, as Stuart Scott used to say, the late-great Stuart Scott of ESPN. Jerry Rackleff, always distinguished and dapper, the namesake of Jerry Rackleff.com. I love doing the show with Yehouty.

Well, you know, Tony Elliott called Dakota Twitty the tight end, the glue man of the offense the other day. Our glue man is sitting right there, as you were talking about earlier with Judah. Judah Wickhamer, absolutely right. The I Love Seville show up at 1230. Check out jerry rackliff.com right now. He's got a lot in the hopper, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you kindly for joining us, so long. Thank you, brother. Thank you.