Tony Elliott announces initial coaching and strength staff retentions and hires

Two weeks after he was first introduced to the Virginia Cavaliers fan base, head coach Tony Elliott has finally announced his initial coaching and strength staff decisions. Staying on from the 2021 Virginia football coaching staff are WR Coach Maques Hagans, DL Coach Clint Sintim, and OL Coach Garett Tujague, though their specific position assignments may change as Elliott rounds out the coaching team.

He also brings over Adam Smotherman, Clemson’s Senior Assistant Football Strength & Conditioning Coach of nine years, plus a tenth as a graduate assistant. Nate Pototschnick as been promoted to associate strength and conditioning coach, having been full-time on the staff since 2017.

Hagans and Sintim are among two of the top coaches fans wanted to retain from the existing staff. Especially with QB Coach Jason Beck heading up to Syracuse, this is well-received by the fan base. Biscuit keeps the deep ties to Virginia high schools, while Sintim has flexibility on the defensive side of the ball well beyond the DL position.

Smotherman gives us this incredible gif:

Among his other responsibilities, Smotherman was in charge of keeping Clemson’s defensive coordinator Brent Venables off the field, and you can read about how that came to be via The Athletic ($).

We’re keeping track of all of Virginia’s coaching staff comings and goings in our tracker here. Stay tuned as the staff starts to fill out.