Virginia head football coach Tony Elliott has done a great job with the Virginia Cavaliers football program since taking over in 2022, and after a few tough years of beginning to turn the program around, he had the Cavaliers as an 11-win team and the ACC runners-up last year. Now, they're off to a 2-0 start to this season.
You don't turn a program around like that without some knowledge of the sport and how to successfully coach. So it's clear that Elliott knows the sport well. Perhaps that why he isn't overlooking West Virginia quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr.entering his team's Week 3 showdownwith West Virginia.
Tony Elliott views Mike Hawkins Jr. as a legitimate scoring threat
Hawkins has looked excellent this season, going 16-for-21 passing for 287 yards and three touchdowns through two games this season, while also adding 199 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. And Elliottdoes not think those performances were flukes, or a result of playing lesser competition.
"Yeah, he's a threat at any second to change the game and score. So, you got to do a great job of being assignment sound," Elliott said.
"They're going to really challenge you from a preparation standpoint with the schemes that they do to make you play assignment sound football. And if you misfit something, it's not like he's going to go for five or seven, he's going to go for 70."
Hawkins will undoubtedly be looking to make an impact in a marquee game on the national stage just like this one, and the Mountaineers will almost certainly need him to play well to get the win this weekend. But it won't be easy, because it sounds like Elliott will have his defense well-prepped for the dual-threat phenom.
Add us as a preferred source onGoogleLoading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations