The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - UVA Picked 16th - ACC Preseason Football Poll; How Can Hoos Beat Preseason Predictions?

Episode Date: August 6, 2024

The Jerry & Jerry Show headlines: UVA Picked 16th – ACC Preseason Football Poll How Can Hoos Beat Preseason Predictions? Tony Elliott: Offense Will Have More Firepower UVA Safety Sanker Named Preseason All-ACC Hoo Will Be UVA’s Starting Quarterback? Golden Nuggets: Training Camp News & Notes Around The ACC – Players & Teams To Follow JerryRatcliffe.com Celebrates 6th Anniversary 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, and thank you kindly for joining us on the Jerry and Jerry Show. Folks, Trading Camp has started in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Wahoo fans across the country, across the globe, are watching Scott Stadium and Tony Elliott's program through a microscope. This football team picked 16th out of 17 in the ACC preseason rankings by the media. It's a football team that Tony Elliott says has upside, in particular, on the offensive side. We will talk about all these storylines, including who will be the starting quarterback, how will the offensive line improve from last

year's disastrous performance, and who on the defensive side of the ball is looking like is the leader of a unit that has talent across the board. Folks, we're live everywhere on social media and wherever you get your podcasting content. A show that features Jerry Hootie Rackliff, the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer, the business owner who just celebrated his sixth year in business over at JerryRackliff.com. Judah Wickauer behind the camera, the glue man of the team. If you can go to the studio camera, then the two-shot. And welcome Hootie Rack Ratcliffe fresh from training camp my friend how is training camp going? It's going it's your normal training camp I think they feel a little more comfortable this year but this being Elliott and his staff's third year and things seem to be a little more

cohesive running smoother because a lot of the players are back from a year ago. So I think that from what Tony has said, Tony Elliott has said, the retention from the spring has been good. They're installing the offenses and everything as we speak. So I think this is – he's pretty happy with the camp and the effort we speak. So I think this is, he's pretty happy with the camp and the effort so far. That's good. Storylines galore.

We got to start with something we were following on last week's show, 16 out of 17 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the preseason polls. About right? Below expectations? Higher than expectations? Frankly, I thought it would be a little bit higher.

I did too. And I think that's an inaccurate selection by the people who voted on that poll. I was one of the people who voted, but I had them much higher, probably somewhere between 9th and 11th, somewhere in there. I can't remember exactly.

But I think this team is going to achieve more than the expectations from the ACC media, maybe from the national media standpoint. I just think there's just so many experienced players returning and some really good transfers that have added some quality play, some quality experience at various positions. And I think there's more depth than in the past. I think these guys have probably learned from some of their mistakes last year, which they could have been much better last year had they not made so many silly mistakes and had a multitude of turnovers. They didn't protect the quarterbacks particularly well.

I just think a lot of that stuff has been addressed, and I think a lot of these guys are really kind of hacked off that people don't have more expectations of them. I mean, frankly, respect. Yeah, respect. And, you know, some people say, well, look, pointed at their record the last two years when they had six total wins over a two-year span. And I get that, but you've got to look at what's, you know,

if they had lost a ton of personnel, I would say, yeah, that's accurate. But they've got people back at just about every position. And some of them have been around for a while. So I think these guys are going to be fun to watch. I really do. What's the weakest position on the roster? Wow. Probably corner is probably the place that they need the biggest lift,

and they're searching. They brought in some guys from the portal. the place that they need the biggest lift. And they're searching. They brought in some guys from the portal. They recruited some kids. They're trying to develop some guys that were on the roster. But that would probably be the weakest spot on the entire roster at this point in time. And they have some guys that have played there. They just haven't stood out in their proper way at this point.

So that's always a place of major concern because if you're weak at corner, it usually shows it's revealed pretty quickly. And so that's something that they're trying to improve and correct before they hit the field. Strongest position on the roster. Deepest position on the roster. They've got a number one week included in this conversation.

Well, you know, the offensive line is, even though they're yet to prove themselves, they have a ton of guys back. Everybody's back. They have some depth. Everyone's back on the offensive line. They have depth. They have a center that's a pro prospect,

and they have, frankly, a chip on their shoulder because we can make a legitimate argument last year that it was the weakest unit, and it cost the team in a number of games. Yeah, they gave up tons of sacks last year, a lot of pressures. Muscat gets injured. Yeah, tackles for loss. Couldn't really develop a reliable running game.

I think all that's going to be improved this year. And the defensive front, that front seven has a lot of experience back as well. And so I think, I really think that that front seven is going to be tough to run against. And that's something that they have to improve upon because last year in rushing defense, they were ranked 114th in the country.

And that can't happen again if these guys want to win more than three games. We'll talk all the positions on today's edition of the Jerry and Jerry show as this Wahoo football team right in the middle of training camp. I mean, 16 out of 17 in the preseason polls. I think it's a, it's a misprediction as well. You got two quarterbacks returning that are legitimately both starting quarterbacks, guys that can start on a number of programs in the Atlantic coast conference. You got a tailback and Kobe pace, who was a one-time starter at Clemson.

You got your entire offensive line returning depth in the trench and a unit that needs to prove that they are not the weak link. You got a kid coming from Notre Dame that returned a touchdown, returned a punt for a touchdown, a kick for a touchdown, and caught a ball for a touchdown. An explosive wide receiver in Tyree that Tony Elliott said is maybe the fastest guy he's ever seen on a football field. That says something considering he spent a lot of time in Death Valley. You got Jonas Sanker returning, who looks like a professional football player. He's preseason all ACC. You got a defense that's loaded with talent. You got a special teams unit that we've heard

the scuttlebutt is much improved. I mean, this is a team that lost a number of games in single-digit fashion last year that I would not want to play. And if they can jump out of the gates, I know it's an if, and I'll throw it to you, Hootie. If they can get out of the gates with a 4-0 start, a 3-1 start, get to five games early in the season, then they have the boost of confidence. This is a team to watch out for. Yeah, I agree. They have to win early.

They open up at home against Richmond. Then I think the next couple of games are crucial at Wake Forest and here against Maryland. They've got to win at least one of those two games, if not both, I think, because those are just critical toss-up games that they can't afford to lose. And then they go down to Coastal Carolina, which is not going to be easy, but I think Virginia should probably be favored to win that game. And then they come back home against Boston College and Louisville,

both winnable games. They could have won both of those games last year on the road so I mean those first five six games they they have a chance to win all of them I'm not saying that they will but they they have a chance to they they certainly will be favored in some of those games but then you know after that it the schedule just hardens big time and they're not going to be favored to win many of those games in the back half of the schedule so they they've got to get some wins under the belt early, some confidence under their belt early. If they do that, then they can compete against the tougher teams in the league, whether it's here or on the road. But the key is getting off to a fast start and proving that they can play with these people.

Richmond, 31st of August, ladies and gentlemen, we're 25 days from kickoff with the Spiders in Scott Stadium, a 6 o'clock kick the last Saturday in August. Then Wake Forest and Winston-Salem, week two. Maryland Terrapins at home at Scott Stadium, week three. Coastal Carolina and Conway, South Carolina, week four. You got a bye week before Boston College comes to town for homecoming. I could make a legitimate argument, and some folks are going to laugh,

that this team could start the year, could is the key word, 5-0. It's not impossible. It's certainly not impossible. Wake Forest was picked at the bottom of the league. They should hammer the Richmond Spiders. This is not the Maryland Terrapins team of old. As you said, they'll be favored at Coastal on the road, or at least they should be. This ain't Matt Ryan, Matty Ice's Boston College team. And it's a homecoming Scott Stadium game. Yeah, they have Boston College as a new coach and Bill O'Brien.

Of course, we know his background. But still, that game's here. Virginia should have won that game last year on the road. Coastal Carolina is always a dangerous team, but I think Virginia should win that game. I think the two huge games are at Wake Forest and here against Maryland. Maryland's picked 11th in their league. Taglia Viola is gone, so they're breaking in a new quarterback.

Wake Forest, Virginia's had trouble slowing down that offense for years now. They need to figure out a way to contain that but you know they all those games are winnable games i'm not saying that they will win them but they're certainly you can't discount that they have an opportunity to win all those games and again you know people point back to last year. Well, they lost to several of these teams last year. Yeah, they did, but they were very narrow margin games. And in most of those, Virginia beat itself. Bingo. Now, the flip side of the coin is this. If Virginia football

struggles out of the gate, you got to think Richmond's a slam dunk here. But if they struggle out of the gate with losses to Wake Forest, Maryland, and Coastal Carolina in the first four weeks of the season, start one and three. Then it's a disaster. Then it's a disastrous year. And you know what happens if they start one and three? A lot of things.

One, they'll definitely go to Calandria as quarterback. Two, the hot seat is going to, the temperature is going to go way up. Fans will stop coming to games. A lot of people will just turn on the football program, and it won't be a pleasant place to be around. That's why you said, and I completely agree. They can't afford to do that. That's why you said, and I completely agree with you, maybe one of the key games of this season is Wake Forest. Yeah, it is.

Which is bananas to say in week two, but... It's a conference game. It's a momentum game. It's a confidence game. It's a huge momentum game, a road game that's winnable. To me, it's just crucial that they beat Wake, and they should beat Wake. I don't think Virginia should ever lose to Wake Forest in football, but certainly they've struggled against them in recent years. And, again, Dave Clawson runs a unique offense that a lot of people, I mean, there's been years where they've led the league in scoring

ahead of Clemson and Florida State, for goodness sake. So, you know, Virginia's not the only one that struggled to slow down that offense. But I don't know if Wake has quite the firepower that they've had with some of those previous teams. So it's an opportunity for Virginia to get a good win early on and build some momentum, like you said. Maryland Terrapins, kind of an old-school rivalry game for Virginia football. And then from there, you've got a Coastal Carolina team

that's always dangerous in Boston College. We've covered the first part of the schedule, the first five games extremely well. Then it goes Louisville, Clemson, North Carolina, Pitt, Notre Dame, SMU, and Virginia Tech. When you talk Louisville, Clemson, North Carolina, Pitt, Notre Dame, SMU, and Virginia Tech you start wondering where the wins are going to come from

well you do and you know they had Louisville beat last year at Louisville in that game where Paris Jones was injured bless his heart and then they should have won that game Louisville had probably one of the best transfer portal years in terms of bringing people in, and they had to because they lost a lot of people.

So that's going to be a pivotal game. But it is here, and it's a game that they could win. I don't think they have much of a chance at Clemson. I mean, if Clemson is the Clemson that we expect that they're going to be, I know it'll be a homecoming for Tony Elliott and some of his players that played previously at Clemson. North Carolina is here. North Carolina has had a terrible history at Scott Stadium

for the last 25, 30 years. They've seldom won here. Virginia beat them on the road last year when they were undefeated. It'll be interesting to see where North Carolina is on October 26th because if they're not where their fans expect them to be, the heat could be turned up on Mack Brown. Which is, you know, a microcosm of where we are in college football because I think Mack Brown's done a heck of a job there.

And his second go-around in Chapel Hill. Yeah. Produces a boatload of NFL talent. Yes, he does. Their record has not borne out the talent that they've had. That's fair. But, you know, he's putting them in bowl games. They just haven't really contended for the title, which has been very disappointing.

I know there was some heat on him late last season in certain circles down there. So I think people are having a watchful eye on that situation. Then they go to Pittsburgh, which has not been an easy place for Virginia to play. I think they only have maybe one win at Pitt over the years since Pittsburgh joined the conference. Maybe twice, but I can only remember one right off the bat. Then you've got to go to Notre Dame, and that certainly speaks for itself. SMU will be a big, huge game here. The Ponies are going to be pretty good.

I think everybody's expecting them to be a very high-scoring outfit. And then you close the season down in Blacksburg, and we know what that history has been like and what a disaster that was last year. And the Hokies bring back a boatload of talent. They have almost everybody back. And the media's acknowledging that talent with its preseason prediction. Absolutely, and they should. They have almost everybody back. And the media is acknowledging that talent with its preseason prediction. Absolutely.

And they should. I voted them pretty high in preseason poll. I think they're going to be really good. They should be. If they don't, something's wrong. John Blair watching in Stanton. We love John Blair. Go Big Blue.

He's a Michigan fan. He says, Jerry and Hootie, the key to stopping Wake's slow mesh is pressure. Pressure doesn't allow the mesh's picks to develop, and it prevents the quarterback from the late handoff like they did all game in 2021. Given the Wake talk, I'm interested in how both of you gentlemen view the 2024 D-line's ability to put pressure on the quarterback. He's talking Virginia's defensive line. Well, that's going to be a key,

and I'm sure that's something that John Radzinski is working on in training camp. We'll be talking to him, I think, this week. They were not very good at pressuring the quarterback last year, and that was a big disappointment with last year's team. And, you know, some of that could be traced back to injuries, but there's a ton of experience coming back on this defensive line with Cam Butler, Ben Smiley, Jameer Carter, Chico Bennett up on the defense line,

and then you've got Corey Thomas. He's so versatile. He can do a number of things. He can pass cover. He can rush the quarterback. I talked to him yesterday. I was really impressed with this kid. I think he's going to be a star.

Transferred in through the portal, 6'4", 215, and just a real good athlete. And you've got Cam Robinson, a linebacker, and James Jackson, guys with experience. Cam Robinson, we talked to him the other day, and he had an incredible freshman campaign, made some freshman All-American teams, was a four-star that came to Virginia over Florida State from down in Tidewater. And he said he feels so much more comfortable now. And his teammates said he's showing some leadership along with some of the older players. I think this front seven is going to be a force to be dealt with,

and they need to prove that early and need to be dominant early if Virginia is going to win. He is exactly right about what they need to do to slow down that Wake Forest offense. That's going to be a huge key to that game, is whether they can put some pressure on Wake and make them do things they don't want to do, make them become one-dimensional. Comments coming in. Kevin Yancey, thank you for watching the program. Folks are wondering about Jonas Sanker, which we'll highlight.

He comes to the football program to UVA from the Covenant School where he played seven-on-seven football. And now Sanker is looking like one of the best safeties in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason All-ACC. I'm seeing comments galore about the quarterback play. What have you seen in training camp with the quarterback play? You've got two guys that can start. You've got a game manager in Musket, and you've got the fan favorite in Calandria. Yeah, well we haven't seen a whole lot of them.

They worked on some red zone passing drills yesterday. We don't get to see the entire practice as most people don't get to do at any college program anymore. I think we do get to watch one of the scrimmages this season which will be the first time in a long

time the media has been able to see a preseason scrimmage. So we'll learn more about them then. But I think both guys are bigger and stronger than they were last year. Calandria has really put on some, built his body, and he needed to. He was a rather smallish guy last year so both those guys have improved their bodies and their strength in the offseason a lot of the focus for calandria was eliminating needless interceptions and they don't want to take the gunslinger mentality that's a fine line right it is a very fine line you're exactly right about that so that that's something that's uh we'll be keeping a keen eye on through training camp as much as we get to see it bob shot i'm getting to your comments here in a matter of moments keep

going hootie yeah and tony musket is you know he's the old reliable guy that's been around and doesn't beat himself and a good leader and a tough guy that has earned the respect of all his teammates. And he and Colandri are really close. They compete against each other every day in practice for playing time, but these guys have each other's back, and It's good to see that relationship because in today's modern football it's tough to get through a season with one quarterback. We don't know if we're going to see both

guys playing in the first game or what, but it certainly hasn't been taken off the table. Bob Shana watching the program. This guy goes low at Burwood all the time on the golf course, always shooting in the red. And when he's done shooting in the red, Shotta enjoys a cold pop or two as well, like we all do.

He says he thinks the most important game on the roster, and he makes a good point here, the most important game on the roster might be the Richmond game. He says you win the Richmond game, you get off to a good start, and then you win the next game. You win the next game. For a team that struggled to win, he's indicating that every game is key,

especially early in the schedule. You can't overlook anybody, but the one thing that Virginia's done even through some of the struggles is they've usually taken care of business against most of the FCS schools that they've played. Last year, the JMU game was an exception,

although the Virginians should have won that game. They came out of a rainstorm that delayed the game flat. The Dukes came out of the game ready to win. Rob Neal's watching the program. He's a JMU grad. He's pretty happy with that outcome. If it was not, and I understand that ifs are not worth much in sports, but if it was not for that rainstorm and that weather delay,

Virginia wins that ballgame. Oh, there's no question about it. They had JMU on their heels and had scored, I think, I think Virginia had scored on three straight possessions, if I'm not mistaken, and had control of the game. And then when the storm hit and they went inside for about an hour or longer, JMU staff, I'll give them credit, they did a hell of a job.

A hell of a job. And getting those guys refocused and coming back out. And they dominated the remainder of the game. Virginia completely went in the tank and didn't look like the same football team. So that was, that was, that was huge. And, you know, Virginia lost 36 to 35, but, you know, they beat Richmond in 23. I think they opened the season against them.

And I don't think it was that close. I don't have the score in front of me. But then last year they beat William & Mary, which was a good football team, 27-13. So they've been taking care of business against most of these FCS teams, and they're going to have to do it again. And he's right. The first game is always the most important game because you need to start 1-0, and I'm sure that they're pouring all their attention into Richmond.

They're not overlooking the Spiders at all, a team that has been a decent football team for quite a while now viewers and listeners let us know your thoughts let's go to rob neal right here this man bleeds college football uh jmu dukes fan he says they're going to beat uh coastal and conway no problem he says coastal lost their great quarterback mccall who's win 20 in Conway, and it will be a chippy, chippy ball game, he predicts. He knows more about Coastal than I do because JMU plays them, I guess, every year. This guy bleeds purple. He should.

I mean, they've got a great football program. A hell of a department across the board. Yes, they do. All the Dukes should be happy. It'll be interesting to see how they do under a new head coach and everything. But there shouldn't be much drop-off, if any. But yeah, that's

a good analysis on his part because he's probably seen a lot of coastal football. I've seen a little bit of them on TV from time to time and kept up a little bit with them from afar. But I think he's right. I think Virginia should be able to go down there and handle that game, particularly if they do well in the first three games.

I don't know who coastal plays early on, but I'm sure it's going to be like the Super Bowl to them too to have an ACC team coming to Conway, South Carolina, to play in their stadium. It's going to be a big day for their team and their fans to be jacked up. Kevin Yancey watching the program. He said, I've said this since the 1990s

until UVA accepts partial qualifiers and lowers the academic standards for the football team. This program ain't going to do diddly squat. He says, there isn't a high school senior who would pick Seville over the Midwest or the West Coast schools that offer easier academic environments. We understand the academic standards. Kevin Yancey are pretty stringent at UVA, but let's cut to the chase. The brass, the foundation, the board of visitors, the deans are not going to

lower the academic standards. It's not going to happen. No, they're not. George Wells said a long time ago, he said, I learned a long time ago, you can't fight academics. Instead, they embrace them and try to attract

people that that are interested in that aspect of college it certainly didn't hurt them this past week and getting a commitment from Josiah Abdullah from Atlanta. I saw that on JerryRackliff.com. A five-star wide receiver who Nick Saban went after twice when he was at Alabama and couldn't get him. He decommitted from Florida. Everybody in the South was after this guy. FSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, this guy fsu auburn tennessee arkansas alabama kentucky uh missouri texas texas a&m old miss

florida state uh penn state was after him uh michigan was after him so um they you know they got to pick and choose certainly they have a smaller recruiting pool than a lot of schools do and he's right that that does impact

the quality of the overall recruiting pool. I mean, there are certain guys that they just can't go after and can't get into school, and they don't even waste their time on them because they can't get them into school. But they've proven in the past

that you can still overcome that and win. George Welsh did it. Algro did it for a while. Bronco did it for a couple of seasons. So you can still win. And, you know, it's a lot harder, yeah, no question about it. I mean, you're losing out on a lot of guys that are great football players that would rather go somewhere where the academic load is a lot easier. This has come in.

Why not just name Calandra the starting quarterback and get the fan base engaged? Well, there's that argument to be made because people are saying, particularly if they don't get off to a good start. Why wouldn't someone play a fifth-year senior that's not going to return to the program? Yeah. So there is that argument, and I'm sure that the coaches have taken that under consideration. I think they want to be fair to both players, at least early on, until they see what might be possible with this football team.

It's a fine line because if you're going to utilize the transfer portal to rebuild a roster, and if you take a transfer like musket who had success at the lower levels and you don't give them a fair shake then you're setting a precedent for future transfers to not go to virginia that's a good point and uh i mean it's just it's just a matter of fairness as well. But then again, I see the other side of the equation as well where, hey, you're building a program for the future. You've got nothing to lose by going with Calendria, so why not just go with the guy who has put up some flashy numbers and thrills the fan base and puts fannies in the seats. So it's something that we're, it's going to be interesting to see how the coaching staff handles this.

I mean, that is one reason why we might see both quarterbacks against Richmond. Quarterback by committee? I mean, some people have made it work. If there's a game to do it on the roster, it's that one. Yeah. It usually doesn't work, but I've seen people make it work, but it's a way to keep both

players happy. It's a way to keep some of the fan base happy. I don't know if it's the best thing for your football team, but it's going to be interesting to keep an eye on how this develops. I read on jerryrackliff.com that Tony Elliott says the offense will have more firepower. Well, there's potential there. I remember all last year hearing Tony and Des Kitchens, the offensive coordinator, talk about

we just need that third receiver to emerge because everybody's, somehow Malik Washington I mean he still had what, 100 catches? He overcame double teams, triple teams, he had one of the best years of a receiver in college football history because of the attention he was getting and what people tried to do to him. And even though the third receiver never did emerge, he still put up incredible numbers. Playing for the Dolphins right now, people.

Remember that guy? And he's going to make an impact, I think. Malachi Fields took a lot of pressure off of Malik at times last year, but people started trying to take him away. Malachi, I think, had some health issues from time to time. That's why I asked Tony yesterday. I said, last year that never developed. Last year he really didn't have any tight ends that could get the job done.

Last year, you just mentioned Malachi had 110 catches last year, which was one of the best seasons in the NCAA. 110 catches. 1,400 yards. Yeah, 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns. And the crazy thing about this, I'm not trying to put any pressure on the young man here, the Tyree kid may be even more explosive than Washington.

He could be. I mean, he's faster. We don't know if. We're talking about a running back from Notre Dame that converted to wide receiver. Yeah, and that was one of Malik's strengths was when he caught the ball, he didn't run like a wide receiver. He ran like a running back. So Tyree already knows how to run like a running back.

Last year, Malachi Fields had 58 catches for 800 yards and five touchdowns. So he took some of the pressure off. But still, with two guys, it's not enough. The tight ends, the top two tight ends had a combined 12 catches last season. That's not going to be a threat to anybody. They've got a better core of tight ends this year with Sackwood coming back for an unexpected year. Sage Ennis coming in from Clemson, transferred.

Tyler Neville was all Ivy League at Harvard. We talked to him the other day. They've got some other guys on the roster at that position. So the tight end position should be more of a threat this year. J.R. Wilson and Sudarian Harrison last year showed flashes of being able to do it, but they really never got it done. They had 19 catches between them

for a little under 200 yards. This year, they've got Tyree. They've got Malachi. They've got Andre Green Jr., who transferred in from North Carolina, who had a fabulous high school career, was I think a four-star. So they've got those guys. They've got Wilson back.

They've got Harrison back. There's some other guys in the mix, along with cam um the the talented freshman whose last name is let's see i got it written down here i can't believe cam courtney uh who is expected to be better than just a freshman so i asked tony i said you know if you can get that third guy to emerge, and with the looks of things, they can have third, fourth, fifth guys or more to emerge, and quality play at tight end, what does that do for your offense, assuming everybody else does their jobs? He said, well, then that makes us the aggressor.

We can spread the field. They can't double team any of those guys. If they do, if they decide to play it safe and double team guys and die a slow death by giving us a little, let us nickel and dime them to death, okay, that's fine. We'll run the football. And if they load up the box to stop the run, then they can't double any of these weeks. You get single coverage on these guys. If people are going to single cover Chris Tyree,

I'm going to be loving watching that. That's some serious matchup issues there. And it could be the same with some of these other guys. And if you have a tight end who can not only catch the ball and be a threat on either wherever he lines up, right or left, and be a good blocking tight end, it gives you so much of an advantage on offense to where you dictate what's going on instead of vice versa.

Defense can't make you one-dimensional like they did so many times last year when, again, they knew there was only two receivers that could hurt them. And you're going to force the ball to Washington. We give props to Washington for having 110 catches but let's cut to the chase he has 110 receptions last year because they force fed the football to him and defenses knew that yeah and he still and he still had 110 catches yeah I mean that puts it in perspective that's incredibly rare right right incredibly rare that's why he's playing for the Miami Dolphins right now. Exactly. That's why he's playing for the Dolphins. So upside on this team, guys, I understand that there's a lot of, I mean, how would you characterize the feeling with much of the fan base?

I mean, I guess I would utilize. I guess cautious optimism. Cautious optimism, maybe apathy right now. There's been a lot of apathy. The season ticket sales at this point is the lowest it's been in years. Right. So people are, you know, show me. Show me you can win, and I'll come to your games. But I may not come if you can't prove it to me.

Has anyone talked to the coaching staff with Coach Elliott about the hot seat? Has that come up? It was addressed down in Charlotte. He was asked about it, and he said he's aware of it. He tries not to pay much attention to it. He just wants to coach and do his job and let the cards fall where they may. He and Carlo Williams, the AD, they've talked regularly about the big picture and expectations. He would not share those expectations, and I don't blame him. I don't think most coaches would reveal those kind of conversations.

But he's certainly aware of it, and I think he's keenly aware of how important getting off to a fast start is, and his job security and getting this program, advancing this program to where expectations may be, and for recruiting purposes and every other reason. So certainly, I think every football coach knows. I mean, every football coach is only as good as his last win. Yeah, the bottom line is wins and losses, and that's what it's all about.

Dabu Sweeney's on the hot seat, which is bananas. Yeah, I mean, consider all the things he's done in Death Valley, and ten wins, nine wins, ten wins would get you incredible rewards. They'd build a monument for Tony Elliott. There'd be incredible rewards here and some other programs. But at Clemson, that's not a good season. It's a good season. It's not a great season.

It's not a memorable season when you've been to the pinnacle of college football and you've won national championships and you've battled the Alabamas and Ohio States and everybody else in the playoffs. Anything less than that, and it's hard to have those expectations every year, but it's been a while now for Clemson. And, you know, if they can't get back to at least competing for the ACC championship, there's some pressure down there. Rob Neal watching the program. He says that new scoreboard and sound system will be fun and something to add to fan experience.

Bob Shotta wants to know, might be drinking a Bloody Mary right now at Birdwood. Is Carla on the hot seat? The athletic director. I would say not right now. If things turn sour with the football program, she'll have some

tough decisions to make. Some people, that reflects on the AD and who they are. I think she's built so much equity and goodwill. She has. With the tremendous depth of the department across the board.

Virginia has one of the top athletic programs in the country. In the country. Some of that's reflected in Paris right now as to how good things are over there. But yeah, she has built goodwill. She's

got tons of accolades from the people that matter at the university over the past year. But at the university over the past year. And, but, you know, football is a very powerful thing. It's not quite... What it is at other schools.

Right, exactly. If this were an SEC school... It'd be completely different. Yeah, there'd be a ton of pressure on her right now. Which is unfortunate. It shows how much the apathy has set in. Yeah. There's going to be a ton of pressure on her right now. Which is unfortunate. It shows how much the apathy has set in. Yeah.

That the fan base is willing to accept back-to-back three-win seasons and a 16th out of 17th preseason prediction and not utilize that as ammunition for wanting more. Yeah. And we saw that back at the end of George Welch's career here when he had built a model football program and had taken Virginia football to places people never dreamed of. I remember writing in my book on the history of Virginia football and being in the documentary on the history of Virginia football, once they rose to number one in the nation in 1990 for three weeks, an old-time guy who had followed the program for decades and decades and decades was so elated he said i can die now

a lot of us said the same thing with the basketball program yeah the national championship championship so um but again you gotta you gotta realize that virginia is not an SEC school. Maybe someday they will be. Let's hope not. I would rather them be an SEC school than a Big Ten school. Touche. Touche. But it's not like it is here like it is in a lot of other places where football powerhouses across the country

where football rules the university, rules the president, rules everything. It doesn't, the tail does not wag the dog here. John says, the quarterback question is really about the defense. As long as the defense and special teams are playing well, why not go with Musket, who's much more of a game manager

and less risky than Calandria? It's a good point. Well, I think that's the thinking. That's why I think... I'll let Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl. Yeah. But I think that's probably the thinking here, and I think that's probably why

in the end of training camp we're going to see Musket be named the starter he was solid in most of the games he played last year if you think back on it he was beyond solid he led that upset of North Carolina on the road had a great night. And, I mean, you've got to give him a lot of credit for, I mean, he played with a busted-up shoulder and ran the ball and, you know, be damned to my health, he put it all on the line.

And took punishment. Took punishment. He was playing hurt. And some guys wouldn't have done that. you've got to have a ton of respect for the guy for showing that kind of grit.

I know he earned all the respect of his teammates from doing that and the coaching staff. Should have earned the respect from the fan base as well for gutting gutting it out so you know we haven't seen him really healthy he didn't he wasn't healthy all last year and so we'll we'll see what he's like when when he's healthy this time around mark brown watching the program on your Facebook page. He says, I've talked to a few people that have inside information that the powers at UVA have not cared about football success.

They said concessions are very bad, game day experience is bad. I see where they have changed who runs concessions, and I think the same for game day experience. We had terrible facilities, but with new football building, that's definitely helping. Do you think the university higher-ups in the past did not care or help football succeed? I think there has been some of that in the past. And there's a notion out there in the football world that UVA doesn't give a flip about football. I think they're trying to change that image by building the Hardy Football Center,

thanks to Robert and Molly Hardy. Director of the Board of Visitors. Out of Keswick. Owner of Keswick. Owner of Keswick and some other wonderful places on this planet. But they're trying to change that image. They're trying to change that image they're trying to change that perception and i think it's it's showing up a little bit in recruiting already um certainly didn't hurt in getting this five-star guy the other day uh he visited recently and was blown away from what I was told.

But yeah, that has haunted this program for years. And there were certain things promised to Al Groh that was never delivered. And that soured him on the university and the university on him. And things got ugly. Things didn't go right for Mike London in some degree because of the same thing, although he did get the George Walsh Football Indoor Football Center, thanks to people like Chris Long and others who donated.

And that has helped the program. So I don't think they have any facility issues as an excuse anymore. They have a really nice indoor facility. They have the Hardy Football Operations Center, which is state-of-the-art and efficient, a beautiful building. I don't know if they're giving tours of that, but if I were a Virginia football fan, I would want to see it. They have great practice facilities over there. They have just about everything that a football player would need or want. But he's right.

I think that has held Virginia football back for years. You've got to remember that going all the way back to after World War II when they had Frank Murray and Art Gepp, two of the great football coaches in America during that time period. Art Gepp did incredible things with some of those guys coming back from World War II. They were beating everybody's butts. It was unbelievable. And they had a chance to go to a bowl game, and the president of the university wouldn't let them go.

Unbelievable. Didn't want them. They thought that was too much for a football program to go to a bowl game. And that caused Art Gepp to leave and go to Vanderbilt. And after that, it was like Virginia football was like nomads in the desert until George Wells came along 30-some years later. I mean, they were the laughingstock of college football. So, and, you know, it took a long time to overcome that perception, and there's still some perception of that out there. So he's exactly right about that.

Close with this. Six-year anniversary, JerryRackliff.com. Offer some perspective. Well, it was a scary time for me after having been in the newspaper business all my life, and then all of a sudden your job's gone. And, of course, that was the beginning. Not just me, but tons of other sports writers around the country who'd been in the business a long time didn't have jobs anymore.

There's a lot of newspapers that don't have sports columnists anymore. There's a lot of people who don't even have sports departments anymore, and what they do have has been trimmed to the bare bones. So it was sort of the beginning of the end for the newspaper industry, I think. A lot of us didn't know where to go, and I was one of those. I had some offers from a couple other newspapers out of state, had some chances to do some other journalism, sports journalism kind of work. I really didn't know what to do, and I was prompted by a lot of my readers to start a website

and continue to cover Virginia athletics because they liked my brand and what I had brought to the business. It was really scary. I was a guy that I hired many years ago in another world. Dave Scarangelic reached out to me to try to help me build a website, and Chris Graham over the mountain at Augusta Free Press took it from there. Wanted to pay it back. He said that he had admired what I had done in my career and looked up to me and wanted to pay it back and help me in a world that I was unfamiliar with, which is digital media, internet, etc.

And we took off. We had a lot of hit and miss experimenting and stuff along the way. I had no idea what to expect or even how to do it. I've had to continue to build the brand pretty much on my own with a little help and exploring the business end of things, which I had never had any experience doing. And to me, that's been a true challenge and certainly not my strength. And trying to reach out to advertisers is something that I'm not really that good at and it's something I've tried to learn and build on and I'm very thankful for all the people that sponsor my website and our podcasts and couldn't do it without them and

need more of them frankly and if you're listening out there and you want to build your business around our brand, and we have a ton of, we've had millions and millions of visitors to our website over that span of time. And we have incredible reach. And certainly with Jerry reaching out to me and us starting this show, this is our one-year anniversary doing this show, and it's been a lot of fun. And we hope to get some more advertising support for this project as well. Jerry Ratcliffe, guys, the namesake of jerryratcliffe.com. If you're not on the website, you're missing the best coverage

when it comes to the Virginia Athletic Department, period. Period. I'm on JerryRackliff.com multiple times a day. I think it's the first site I visit on most mornings. It's because I'm a Wahoo fan through and through, and I want to see what's happening with the department across the board. He's an award-winning writer. He's a Virginia Sports Hall of Famer and he's a business owner who just celebrated his sixth year in business. So congratulations to Hootie. Thank you to our glue man, Judah Wittkower

behind the camera. MVP. MVP. And it's the Jerry and Jerry Show, one of the best ones we have done. Available wherever you get your social media and podcasting content. The I Live Seville show is up. Oh, let me inject this real quick. Please.

The great Sean Moore, number 12, will be our guest right here in this seat next week. Really? Yeah. Sean Moore in studio next Tuesday. Thanks to the Hootie Ratcliffe. I mean, I guess you would say the contact list on the iPhone. Hootie may say the Rolodex over there. But still, Hootie Radcliffe has got a Rolodex that no one has.

Sean Moore in studio next Tuesday. Tell your friends. Tell your fellow Wahoos. So long, everybody. That was awesome. You got Sean Moore. That's big time. That's big time.

Nicely done. Yeah, it was a little bit fun. It's a big time. Nicely done. Thank you.