When Coach Tony Elliott entered the media room in the bowels of Bank of America Stadium Dec. 6, he took the podium and prepared to field questions on the Cavaliers’ crushing loss to Duke in the ACC Championship game. It was, understandably, a lower energy affair.
“It hurts,” Elliott said. “There’s nothing I can say to take away the pain.”
Elliott did not crack a smile until the very last question, from Mike Barber of CVille Right Now — as soon as the words “Eli Wood” left Barber’s mouth, Virginia’s coach shifted in his seat and allowed a grin to spread on his face.
In the fourth quarter, senior receiver Trell Harris was ruled out after coming down awkwardly while completing a sideline catch. Eli was the next man up. He entered the game with 12 catches in his career, and he ended it with 15.
His 13th career catch converted a first down on the second snap of the last offensive drive, with Virginia looking to tie a 20-13 ballgame. His 14th came soon after, when he cut a second and long to third and short with a six-yard snag in Duke territory.
Along with graduate student Cam Ross, he was the only Cavalier receiver to record receptions on the drive. This did not change — when graduate quarterback Chandler Morris tossed the ball just inside the front left pylon of Duke’s endzone, with the season on the line, Eli was there, and he was ready. He has always been ready.
Eli sent the ACC Championship game to overtime with the 15th catch in his Virginia career. It was also his third career touchdown — his first and second came earlier this year. Although the Cavaliers would go on to lose in overtime, Eli placed them in prime position to depart Charlotte with a victory and with now-extinguished College Football Playoff hopes alive.
“He’s made those plays his whole life … He loves being a playmaker,” Sackett Wood Jr., Eli’s brother and former Virginia teammate, said in a written interview with The Cavalier Daily. “He knows how it starts by just doing the little things and making routine plays when he gets his opportunities, but he definitely loves the moment.”
With zero stars in high school, the Lynchburg native received more recognition in other sports than he did for football, having been named Class 4 Player of the Year for lacrosse. Despite this, he chose to walk onto the Virginia football team, following the footsteps of his big brother, Sackett. According to his big brother, Eli would have done it anyway, regardless of family ties — Virginia is also their parents’ alma mater — but having an example to look towards definitely didn’t hurt.
Sackett is not the only person in Eli’s life who has provided guidance on the walk-on experience. 25 years ago, a young Tony Elliott walked onto Clemson’s football team. He joined as a receiver, but did not see much action on offense for most of his career, similar to Eli. Instead, he made his mark not just in the few snaps he got, but in the locker room, and he was named a team captain in his senior year.
Eli might be cut from similar cloth. The way Elliott talked about him in the ACC Championship postgame was about as effusive as he has been about any player this season.
“He’s the glue in that receiver room. I tell you that he's the guy that just keeps everybody together … He's a great teammate and a great friend to all of his teammates,” Elliott said. “He's a great competitor. He understands his role, and he's willing to do his role at any time, anywhere, without any praise, without any credit. He's Virginia all the way through.”
Eli worked in the shadows all season, but made himself known when the lights shined brightest. When Virginia was stuck in second and long going into the fourth quarter of a tied game against Florida State, he got open for a first down. In the Commonwealth Clash, he sprinted down the field on the opening kickoff to pin Virginia Tech inside their own 10 — and of course, when Virginia needed to force overtime for their first ACC Championship in program history, he delivered.
When asked for his reflection on Elliott’s praise of his brother, Sackett echoed his former coach’s thoughts on Eli’s importance to the program.
“U.Va. is family. It’s a community, and Eli definitely embodies that. I think Coach [Elliott] is also getting at Eli doing everything he possibly can to help his team win,” Sackett said. “He loves his team, just a great guy to have on your side. I don’t really know how to describe the way he gels with teammates but it’s definitely noticeable.”
Throughout the closing weeks of the season, Elliott has placed an emphasis on building a culture where every game is treated like a championship, with leaders ready “to die on the battlefield” for their teammates. In the postgame press conference, Elliott shared the message he gave to his team as they sat in the locker room in the wake of defeat, a message consistent with his previous aphorisms.
“I believe I got the right to call somebody a champion … and [Virginia football has] got the heart of a champion,” Elliott said. “The football team that lost tonight came up a touchdown short. They got the heart of a champion, or they wouldn't have been in the situation that they're in.”
Eli Wood, Virginia all the way through, has proven to have the heart of a champion beating underneath his pads. These Cavaliers have been taught by Elliott to play every game like a championship, but Eli has gone further, treating every snap as its own championship and its own opportunity to deliver. He will play more championships than usual in the upcoming Gator Bowl, given that Harris is set to miss the game with injury. This means Eli would start for the third time in his career and for the last game of Virginia’s season. As always, he will be ready for the opportunity.
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