For the last home game of every season, senior and graduate Virginia football players run out of the home locker room tunnel, one at a time, with their name and position announced on the Scott Stadium loudspeakers. After, they get a hug from Coach Tony Elliott and make their way to their loved ones waiting at midfield.
Having already participated in the previous season, graduate safety Antonio Clary, in his seventh campaign with the Cavaliers, was hesitant to take part in this year’s ritual. However, Elliott refused to let him miss out.
“He's like, ‘Coach, I've already done it a couple of times.’ I said, ‘No, you're going on,’” Elliott said. “‘You're going to be recognized this year, because this season that we're having is because of you and because of the other guys that have led us here.’”
Clary would end up taking part, and a few hours after being greeted with cheers out of that tunnel, his night at Scott ended surrounded by euphoric Virginia faithful pouring from the stands and the Hill after a dominant win over archrival Virginia Tech.
The safety is the only Cavalier this century to be on the roster for two victories over the Hokies and although he was inactive in 2019, in this year’s edition of the Commonwealth Clash, Clary left his mark on the field.
The graduate student helped to put the game away late in the fourth quarter, plucking an errant pass from senior quarterback Kyron Drones out of the air for an interception deep in Virginia Tech territory. After the game, Clary discussed what the win meant, for both the program and himself.
“For all of the seniors, all the people that put a lot of blood [in the] program, and then for the city of Charlottesville, obviously,” Clary said, “it felt good, going out there, just making plays and having fun playing football and being able to beat them.”
Virginia’s triumph Saturday was a culmination of countless individual contributions, but Clary, in Elliott’s view, has been indispensable as a cultural leader in the locker room. He has yet to start a game this season, but Clary has made the best of a secondary crowded by transfer portal additions, putting aside any concerns about playing time.
“He's taken a lot of pride in how he's investing in the younger guys, to have them prepared and ready to play,” Elliott said, “Because he understands that he's going to die on the battlefield if given the opportunity.”
Clary has consistently dealt with the consequences of putting his body on the line for the program. Health has been an everpresent issue for the defensive back — prior to 2025, Clary had missed nearly as many games as he had started due to injury. Of Clary’s previous six years in blue and orange, all but one were cut short. This season, he is dealing with years of painful wear and tear, particularly in his knee.
“I know that this isn't easy for him, because he wants to go, but there's days that his knees won't let him go,” Elliott said, “The guy is going and getting … fluid drained out of his knee every week, to where Mondays he can hardly move around.”
Clary has yet to miss a contest since his season debut against Stanford, even while dealing with the knee issues described by Elliott after each game. He has not let his health define him. Rather, he has become defined by his competitiveness, brought out of him playing through the pain.
“I've been through a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries that I could have just easily just hung them up, but my drive and love for football was super high,” Clary said, “Every time I go out there, I just play with passion and love for the game, and like I told y'all early on in the season, I'm gonna go until the wheels fall off.”
His coach agrees.
“There is nobody on our roster that is more competitive than Antonio Clary,” Elliott said.
Clary has seven years of college football in the rearview. He has at least two games ahead of him, and he believes in his team and himself to make his last few weeks as a Cavalier count
“We put the work in ... We're a tight knit group, and I'm just gonna keep rolling,” Clary said.
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