For the first time since leaving after the 2021 season, Tony Elliott is set to return to the Clemson sidelines on Saturday.
Elliott spent four years (2000-03) playing for the Tigers and after spending a little time away from the game after graduation, he joined the SC State staff in 2006 coaching wide receivers. After two years with the Bulldogs and three more at Furman in the same role, Elliott would join Dabo Swinney’s staff in 2011.
After four years as the running backs coach, Elliott was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2015 and he would spend the next seven years calling the plays for the Tigers. That run included six straight trips to the College Football Playoff and two national titles.
Now after more than two years away from the school where he experienced so much success, Elliott returns as an opposing head coach. It will mark Swinney’s first time facing off against a head coach that was at one time a member of his coaching staff.
Like Swinney , Elliott is not focused on the homecoming. For him, it’s just another game on the schedule and that is how he is treating it.
“Once they blow the whistle and kick the ball off, it’s like any other game,” Elliott said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “To be honest with you, you really don’t pay attention much to what’s on the other sideline. There’s so much that goes into preparing for a game. That’s really all I’ve been focused on. And then I’ve also been mindful, too, that I did not want this game to be about me. And I told the players, ‘This ain’t about me. This is about you guys going down there and playing your best game. And my job is to help prepare you.'”
In fact, Elliott is so locked in on the task at hand, any time spent reminiscing will be done after the game.
“I need to apologize to some family members, some folks that have reached out,” Elliott said. “They’ve called me, I have not answered, I have not called back. I eventually will get back to you. Been some requests and people wanting to talk, but I have a responsibility to this football team, this football program, to be laser-focused. And that’s one of the things that I learned where I came from, just how to block out the noise.”
The Cavaliers are currently 4-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC play. Despite a close 24-20 loss to Louisville last weekend, Virginia looks to be a team that is much improved and on both sides of the ball. A win over Clemson could be a program-changing type victory for Elliott’s team.
In an effort to do that, Elliott has taken some of the lessons learned at Clemson under Swinney and is using them to not only prepare his team for this matchup, but also himself.
“I think that that’s one of the things that I value the most that I learned while I was there under coach Swinney,” Elliott said. “It’s never about anybody else, it’s about yourself. Because at the end of the day, if you take care of yourself, then you give yourself an opportunity to be successful. So we’ve got to focus on us. Obviously, we have some noise out at practice just to kind of get ready to communicate but you can’t walk in losing to the environment. Two things that I challenge the program. Don’t lose to the logo and don’t lose to the environment.”
A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available! Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!
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