Available weekly press conference quotes from the ACC Football Head Coaches will be posted weekly on theACC.com. Listed below are the school names and primary press conference days for a standard week (Saturday game day). Schools that play on Thursday and/or Friday may adjust their press conference days. This page will be updated as quickly as possible with press conference quotes.
Click on school name to jump to press conference quotes.
Boston College - Tuesdays at noon
Clemson - Tuesdays at 11 a.m.
Duke - Mondays at 12:30 p.m.
Florida State - Mondays at noon (this week is on Tuesday at 11 a.m.)
Georgia Tech - Tuesdays
Louisville - Mondays at noon
Miami - Mondays at 1 p.m.
North Carolina - Mondays at 11 a.m.
NC State - Mondays at noon
Pitt - Mondays at noon
Syracuse - Mondays at 11:30 a.m.
Virginia - Mondays at noon
Virginia Tech - Mondays at 11:45 a.m.
Wake Forest - Tuesdays at 4 p.m.
Boston College Head Coach Jeff Hafley
Press Conference Video
Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney
Press Conference Video
Duke Head Coach David Cutcliffe
Press Conference Video
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"To start with, when you have a team early in the season not play as well as it should, in general, but let's talk about situationally, seize opportunities to win games when you have critical plays in a game. I know you want to talk about that one first before we move on and then we will move on. But the six plays defensively gave up 218 yards. You have to seize those moments. Some of them were where we could have gotten off the field. Offensively, the opportunity to score points were there throughout the game and we didn't take advantage of those opportunities. I thought we played solid in the kicking game and we don't hunt solid. We're trying to play the highest level in the kicking game to create opportunities for our offense and our defense. With that said, what I'm looking at are opportunities that the head football coach has to have a team prepared better for. I mean that wholeheartedly. I think we can have a good football team. You can't think it, though. You have to be one. The only way I know to be one is to get the work done on the practice field. So, we have already practiced twice since that game. We practiced Saturday afternoon. We practiced Sunday afternoon. There was spirited work. I'm very proud that nobody here will not ever hang their head. There's no reason to hang your head. You move forward and you attack it. As
Ross Cockrell said years ago here, you either run to it or you run from it. We're going to run to it. That's the mentality you have to take with you."
As far as North Carolina A&T, there's a reason they're a championship program under Coach (Sam) Washington. They've got really good players and are really well coached. They have a veteran staff and a veteran head coach. They know how to win. They've won a lot of football games. They were without some of their key elements at Furman. I don't know what that circumstance is moving forward, but I do know that you can see his influence in the defensive style. They play a very attacking defense. Really attack you up front and do a great job in secondary mixing things up. His influence is there, and they've got good coaches in the area of special teams. Offensively they got weapons everywhere. They have a good, solid offensive line. I was really impressed with (Jalen) Fowler at quarterback. He's got a great release and a really accurate arm. Their two backs are terrific players. Their wide receiver corps looks special. So, another big challenge for us, not only an opponent we're playing, but a big challenge of getting better on that practice field and not talk about it, but absolutely get it done."
(Ref.: On pressuring the quarterback but not being able to get sacks)
"Well, there's a lot. He (Chris Reynolds) has something to do with it because he really is quick and elusive and kind of that Doug Flutie size that it's hard to pin, but there's a lot that goes into that. I was a bit surprised because we played our quarterbacks more in camp than we ever have. I mean, we were able to sack our quarterbacks defensively because I wanted us to get better at finishing pass rush. We have really made an emphasis in all of our pass rush drills to try to finish and tackle the robot dummy, and it's moving as well. So, again, a bit surprised, but you have to look at every aspect of everything we're doing. Three or four more sacks in a game can win a game. That's what I'm talking about, how you win games. It's not okay when not only you get hurries, but you get escapes that turn into big plays. This quarterback's very capable this week, very athletic, bigger and stronger. So, that's a key element right now for our team, is to be able to get to a quarterback and get them on the ground."
(Ref.: On Duke's tackling against Charlotte)
"I thought the biggest issue was we left our feet. We didn't run through people. We spent a lot of time on tackling drills. We only have the two scrimmages, that's another reason we let our quarterbacks get hit. But, some of that showed up in scrimmages. With this team, there is a lot of competition and if you don't tackle well, somebody else will. That's where we are right now. Somebody will finish sacks. Somebody will tackle well. We can't give easy access plays, but we also can't give extra yardage. You have to tackle well to play good defense."
(Ref.: On if the team was nervous opening the game and in the third quarter)
"No, I mean, there's nothing there. When you play offense first, we all know how successful you are in games when you score. I thought we shot ourselves in the foot there. So, I don't think it has anything to do with that when we followed some of those possessions up more slowly. I don't think there's a nervousness with this team. I've had teams that were a little too nervous. Then certainly the second half we had chances to get off the field, big time, and didn't get it done. That should not have been a scoring drive to open the second half. You look at the reality of why it happened more so."
(Ref.: On Gunnar Holmberg's play in week one)
"I'll take credit for the fumble. I could hear Coach (Johnny) Majors yelling at me from his grave. He was one of the best. When you're in traffic, and Gunnar had the ball here, that as soon as you feel anything near that goal line in traffic, you get your other hand on the ball to secure it. I hadn't coached that well enough and I told the whole team that Saturday. I think Gunnar and our coaches took it to heart as well. But that's my responsibility. It's situation football. A ball inside the five-yard line, you've got to protect it, go over the top protecting it. He had the ball a little low, so when you get the other hand, a natural thing is just to draw the ball where it should be anyway. That's poor coaching on
David Cutcliffe's part. So, I got yelled at rightfully, most of the way back on the bus. I'm serious. So, I just felt it. Gunnar played really good. I mean, he threw the ball well. What I would like him to do, there were four or five situations where you got to measure that down and know the down and know on third down, whether we're going to play for it on fourth down and understand circumstances of when you cannot afford to ever take a loss, when you don't want to create a new bad down in distance in certain circumstances. That's what I'm talking about me. I can coach that better. The players part of it is what you're coached, try not to make the same mistake twice. That's why we practice this, why we scrimmage and you try to put them in every situation you can on the practice field. So, when it comes to the game, they have faced that situation and they know exactly what to do. We try to do that with our practice schedule. But when you don't do it, trying does not matter. Get the job done, period. That's the biggest issue. These are correctable things that we as coaches and players can get accomplished."
(Ref.: On positive takeaways from the Charlotte film)
"A bunch. I mean, I really went through all of it with the team and looked at every position. There was really good play in every position. There's enough play there that, you know you can. But unfortunately, when you're playing football, you don't ever know which play, five plays or eight plays is going to win or lose a game. And so the whole focus has to be from every one of us that I'm trying to win the game on this play. If it is to be, it's up to me. And that's how you play as a team. You do in your role, your part. Consistency is the first element of anything being really, really good or ever being great. Without it, there's no shot. A guy can pitch a no hitter one time and every other time he pitches his ERA is over five. You think he's great because he pitched a no hitter? No. You understand what I'm saying. So, again, I view our consistency on my accountability is how I view it, personally."
(Ref.: On Jake Bobo and the receiving corps)
"Well, I think they're all playing as hard and good as they play. Sometimes the ball goes to you. Sometimes it doesn't. It's just depending upon the concept and the route. One of the things Jake did do well was separate from man coverage. Everybody has to separate from man coverage. If you play in man and a defensive back breaks up a pass, you can't just call that the quarterback's issue. We've done a lot of work on that all fall and we have competition. That's great. I mean, we have a lot of competition. I want players to earn playing time on that practice field."
(Ref.: On Jordan Waters and Mataeo Durant in the running back's room)
"Jordan's really strong physically. You can see that in how he runs. He's become more comfortable within our system and he's playing at a faster pace, playing in the passing game faster. He's playing in the run game faster, making decisions. I do think we have an element in that running back room. We'll see more people and we can rest Mataeo some. We need Mataeo, obviously, to be great in the fourth quarter. But, he managed it. I mean, his conditioning level is pretty amazing. Part of that comes from how he works on the practice field, talking about Mataeo. But Jordan, what he said to me about Mataeo, he said I've got to soak it up like a sponge. I had a couple of young running backs that said the same thing. He's their leader as a player in that room. But I think our backs can make a difference. And, you know, with the circumstances you face as the season goes on with the injury, I mean, we could have two backs in the game at the same time. That's a likely possibility."
(Ref.: On hosting North Carolina A&T and other HBCUs)
"First of all, it's another in-state school and a really good program. I think it's good for our community here in Durham. I think it's good for our state to do that. I think it's good for Duke University to bring the HBCU programs on our campus when we can and when it works out in a scheduling circumstance. So, yeah, I think there's some significance to that. All the way back to when Mose Rison was the coach. I approached him about that opportunity to bring a community together. And of course, this is Durham Night. There are a lot of Duke fans in Durham and I know there are a lot of A&T fans in Durham. So hopefully we had a great turnout in the stadium on a Friday night. I'm excited about what the prospects of that are."
(Ref.: On Jordan Moore entering the game and getting the opportunity)
"Well, I think the quarterback thing has got an element of competition. It's not just Jordan, it's certainly Luca (Diamont), certainly Riley (Leonard). We felt like we needed a little boost, a little different tempo at that point. I think he can have a role and the reason he got that shot is that he's done that in our scrimmages. He's just flat done it. He has got tremendous speed and we'll have to talk to him about his left hand turns. When the road leads this way don't go off the road. We did chuckle about that a little bit the next day. But just a little overexcited, a little overthinking on his part. He's got a lot of talent, which they all do. I really like that room and we're looking at a lot of things that we can do to make ourselves better offensively."
(Ref.: On the feeling of needing to win after dropping the season opener)
"Yeah, I think every football team faces that after a loss. You try. We use the term, don't let one loss become two. You can't hang your head. But also not just that, you have to address what led to the loss. If we don't get better on the practice field, if we don't change what we're doing on the practice field, then don't expect different results. It's always important for a program where we're sitting right now. These guys haven't won much in the last two years. So, right now it's time to get that boost of confidence and an energy that comes with winning. Never a guarantee and I expect it to be hard, but I think hard will be good for this team."
(Ref.: On any injuries that could be long-lasting from the game at Charlotte)
"Well, yeah, possibly with
Matt Smith. So that's unfortunate. We'll see where we are, but we'll know more details soon. I'm just sitting here thinking, you know why, why. You stay healthy, healthy, and you have a noncontact circumstance. And it's like, please, Lord, but we'll see."
(Ref.: On if the passing game was in sync during week one)
"Yeah, I mean we obviously dropped a big post opportunity and we really didn't miss many throws as far as big opportunities. But yeah, you can't leave that there though. That's what I'm talking about situational football. You have to know how to win a game and you can't leave yards on the field. I mean, we had 35 lost yards or otherwise we would have had 387 yards rushing. You catch the ball, you got a 700-plus yard offensive football game. That's to me the most obvious part of this. It's not as discouraging as it is encouraging if you do something about it."
(Ref.: On Jalon Calhoun in Duke's last meeting with North Carolina A&T and getting him the ball)
"Well, I mean we can't just single out players based on what they're doing. Coverage wise dictates where the ball goes. Two years ago, from a coverage standpoint, our slot got opportunities. Based upon what we saw this past week, it wasn't near as much -- we got it to some. That's where the quarterback has to read coverage. But Jalon is a really good football player, really good football player. He'll always be in our plans every week and that position will be in our plans. What I want him to do is to work toward that complete player, playing great off the ball as well. If you do both of those, you got a shot. I don't care what sport it is, if you will look, whether it's a puck or a ball, the guys that play great without it are great ones, if that makes sense. I had a high school coach that often would have us practice without a football and he would tell us quickly, the guy that has the ball is not going to win the game. It's all you guys that don't have the ball. Ten of you are on offense, there's 11 of you on defense. How bad you want to learn how to play football. Now, if I did that this day in time, what do you think would happen to me. It'd be a boycott the next day and then somebody would be out there with handcuffs. But, that's what Coach White did and we didn't lose so he was right."
(Ref.: On Mataeo Durant's conditioning level)
"We had a talk. It's interesting you ask that. He was talking to me about what can I do? What can I do? We had a talk back in March. I said, Mataeo, you ever heard of the sophomore slump or senioritis? We've all heard that term senioritis, right? I said the greatest weapon that you have as an athlete to combat it is conditioning and effort. If you'll focus on that and really nothing else, don't try to refine your game. Your game is good. Focus on conditioning and effort. I think he took it to heart, to be honest with you. I really believe that's the best way to avoid those two scenarios that occur often in our sport, college football for sure."
(Ref.: On his takeaways from week one of ACC play around the conference)
"I think it's one week, 25 practices, a limited number of contact days not being in someone's camp, not knowing how beat up they were or how prepared they were. You've got to roll the dice as a coach to scrimmage a lot and get enough snaps to be game ready. I don't think we would overreact to any of that. The dust will come out. I'm going to turn my vote in tomorrow for the Coaches Poll. I mean, okay, Alabama number one, that's a pretty good shot. The rest of it just roll them out there. So, I don't think this early we really know a lot."
(Ref.: On the gameplan against North Carolina A&T)
"North Carolina A&T will dictate what you're doing offensively. As far as run pass balance, we'd always like to be balanced. Always. You want to be able to run the football when you want to run it. You want to be able to throw the football when maybe they don't expect you to throw the football. That's the best kind of offense you can play. Every week that's pretty much the same defensively, I think our focus is we're going to be true to our schematic approach. We've already said it in here, we've got to tackle better. We've got to stop easy access passes where a guy's catching. I mean, most guys this level can throw and catch it pretty good if it's easy access. We didn't have much easy access on the other side offensively. So that's where our focus lies."
(Ref.: On the difference in quarterback play from week one to week two)
"Well, particularly when they haven't played a lot, it's significant. They go in just a completely different feeling. You try to avoid it by the speed of the game in practice. I had a conversation with the offensive coaches this morning. You're trying your best to simulate a game at practice. We work against each other and then we swap our threes and fours some to work against other schemes. In the days of having 150 players, you could really energize a defense and an offense going against your starters and you could get the speed of the game. With the smaller squads that you now have, in particularly we've had here, for the most part, you're trying to reinvent things a little bit, how you practice. So, I think game play is extremely important for the quarterback position, the way we have to operate in practice today. I'm not whining. It is what it is. We've been doing it for a while. But, it's when you have a new one, you go in kind of wondering what you don't see and they will get better as they play."
(Ref.: On Pro Football Focus grading the offensive line as one of the top offensive lines after week one)
"Yeah, I don't pay attention to them because they're making a lot of money doing what they're doing, and that's the focus of their business. But our business is to have them play well. And they did. They really did. We played eight people pretty heavily. Normally we don't get to do that. We're going to continue to try to grow that. I think this team has a chance to be unique in a number of people that can contribute. That was my biggest challenge. I don't want to see anybody whine about not playing. I want to see people earn. And the more people that earn it, if they earn it on the practice field and it's our job or my job to see that they get opportunities, whether it's five snaps or 20 snaps, it makes us a better team. So that's where we are right now."
(Ref.: On Jack Wohlabaugh's status)
"Perfect. Good to go. He practiced in full pads yesterday and was fine. He's a tough guy and it was good for him to get that confidence. He scrimmaged this August too, he already experienced it. He's doing real well."
Florida State Head Coach Mike Norvell
Press Conference Videos
Georgia Tech Head Coach Geoff Collins
Press Conference Videos
Louisville Head Coach Scott Satterfield
Miami Head Coach Manny Diaz
Press Conference Video
North Carolina Head Coach Mack Brown
Press Conference Video
NC State Head Coach Dave Doeren
Press Conference Video
Pitt Head Coach Pat Narduzzi
PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO
PAT NARDUZZI: Ready to roll?
Into week two. Just reflecting back on the UMass week, kind of thought -- you guys asked if I was worried about anything going into the game. Our kids were locked in, focused on getting their job done. They'll be locked in this week as well, obviously.
You talk about a four-quarter, 60-minute game, I really was happy with the way the guys came out. As we watched tape offensively, defensively, special teams, little things we can work on. Their attitude was great, focus was great, really their effort for the most part was pretty good. I could pull a guy here and there, caught some loafs in all three phases that we got to clean up. We're excited where we were.
Offensively just looking at one thing I take note of, they did a good job adjusting our offense. Coach Borbley, Coach Salem, we didn't see much if any three down going into it. They played a lot of man coverage, as far as man free. A lot more zone coverage, which was good. So we were able to adjust on the run. Receivers had to adjust on the run based on what we were seeing. It was a good starter for the season. That's kind of where we are there.
Moving into Tennessee, obviously the Johnny Majors Classic. I love it. I like it the best because I've had a relationship with Coach Majors from his time spent here at Pitt, the days he's been here to visit the university he loved here. Spent a couple flights with him. Spent a lot of time with him at some of the Nike clinics he was heavily involved in through his retirement years, I guess. I think it's a great thing in honor of the Majors family. We're excited about that.
Again, we got a Tennessee team that we haven't played the personnel there, but Josh Heupel coming from UCF, having two games with them, gives us a little bit of an advantage, gives them an advantage as well because they know who we are both sides of the ball. They saw ‘Pitt Special’ (in 2019). They'll be ready for the Pitt Special. We'll be ready for the tempo. I think it's going to be a heck of a game.
Open it up for questions.
Q. How much does Tennessee’s offense resemble what you saw at UCF in those two games?
PAT NARDUZZI: It looks very similar. I'm sure they'll have some tweaks for us maybe that they didn't show in the first game. But very similar.
I think they're snapping the ball faster. Probably an average of 11 seconds they're snapping the ball on offense. Defensively they're a little bit different than they were in the past. Tim Banks came from Penn State, their defensive coordinator. A lot of look like them as far as playing a lot of man free, a lot of four down. A lot of different variations in coverage which I'm sure we'll see a few just to confuse Kenny a little bit.
Q. What did you see from Milton and how does his size make him difficult to defend?
PAT NARDUZZI: His size and athleticism and that canon arm he's got makes it difficult. Obviously a transfer from Michigan. He's 6'5", 240, he can run. He's a big athlete that we're going to have to get down. One guy might not get him down. We're going to have to get two, three, four guys there. We are going to have to run to the ball, then we are going to have to get home quickly because they will snap it between seven and 10 seconds.
Q. In trying to defend Milton, how much does it help to have an experienced linebacker group?
PAT NARDUZZI: It helps. When you look at our linebacker crew, they played in the tempo, especially Phil and Cam. They're used to that. How many of our guys went and played against them fast tempo-wise in our secondary. Damarri has played in it. A lot of other guys hadn't played in the tempo. We'll give them a good taste of how fast it's going to be this week. Our scout team, look team, has to do a great job this week of giving us a fast look, not only getting the plays off fast, but execute them as well so we can get the look we need.
Q. You mentioned Tim Banks. Do you look at Penn State film from 2019?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, he's heavily involved in the game plan. There's rumors he may have been calling some of it as well. I think he had a lot of input. Been a coordinator before. There will be a lot of similarities.
Q. The numbers were good on the running game Saturday. What is your eyeball test?
PAT NARDUZZI: We got some guys that made some nice runs. We got a lot of guys involved in the run game. I was happy with the backs for the most part. They made the right reads. Sometimes that's as big a problem as anything, make sure you're reading the right things, especially during a different front that we had not seen. There was carryover from fall camp as far as the run game goes.
Again, our O-line did a good job. They did a good job adjusting to some of the things they were doing. They were lining up in three down, but moving things a certain way that they maybe had to combo a little bit different up to the backers, get a hat on the Mike linebacker. That's something you don't prepare for going into the game, you don't know what you're going to see, but you're prepared to make those adjustments as they go. Coach Borbely did a good job, even after that third and one, fourth and one, adjusting so we make sure we take care of that front, stunt, blitz they're giving us based on the formation.
Q. You’d still like to have a bell cow at running back, though, right?
PAT NARDUZZI: Maybe. I'd like to have three or four. We'll eventually find one or two. But you're going to play two or three backs. You're going to keep them fresh. We go tempo, they're going to need blows. You'd like to have two or three of them you feel really good about going into the game. We feel that right now.
Q. What did you think of the play of your two safeties? How important is it what they're going to do this week?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, all 11 of them are important. Two corners are important as well because they like to throw some fade balls as well. Safeties are as critical as are the outside linebackers getting reroutes and stopping the run. Their fits are going to be important across the board.
Got a lot of confidence in Brandon Hill, Erick Hallett. Rashad Battle played okay, not as well as he wants to. That's his first game. I talked about the improvement from week one to week two. Some of those guys haven't played, been in that situation. They'll make the biggest improvement. Is it going to be 5%, 10% better having that game experience under the belt, on the hash, see what they did wrong in a real scrimmage, game situation as opposed to a scrimmage. I think that really helps.
Q. How did you evaluate the offensive line?
PAT NARDUZZI: I mean, again, was happy with the O-line. We're blocking some different dudes up front. Going to see four down most of the time. We just got to play with better leverage and communicate all the way together. That's some of the things, just communication-wise with the different fronts, getting everybody on the same page.
Q. How did Blake Zubovic and Matt Goncalves play?
PAT NARDUZZI: Played good. I mean, when I look back, Matt had some quality reps in there. So did Blake. Blake didn't get as many because of the different front. We were busy adjusting during the series. I know Coach Borbley wanted to give him a little bit more. I think he had like 27 snaps or something like that. Marcus Minor had 55 or something if I recall.
We wanted to get Blake a few more. We'll get Blake a few more this weekend. We were happy. There was nobody that had a losing grade, put it that way. And that's a good thing.
Q. You said you wanted to see more out of the defensive ends. Looking at the tape, what did you see from them?
PAT NARDUZZI: I think there was a lot of thinking. The guys are not playing as fast. Again, Haba getting his first start, I think, maybe he had one start in the past. John Morgan played a lot of football for us. Just consistency and playing fast. Maybe they didn't play as fast as we needed them to play. Again, you're trying to prepare for everything. They have all these things on their menu, things to worry about. We'll get them playing a little bit faster this week. I think that’s the big thing, not thinking so much. React to what you are going to see. Don't think, ‘They're going to come with this next because of this set.’ There's a lot of things like that with all the things we try to cover the week before an opener that you don't know about.
Q. Tennessee lost a lot in the portal. How does that make it harder from a personnel standpoint to scout them?
PAT NARDUZZI: A lot easier than last week when you have game tape. You got a whole game on who they are. Think their offensive line is big and physical. Look like an SEC offensive line. Those top five guys played a bunch, they're big, strong, know what they're doing. It will be a bigger challenge than Josh Heupel's team at UCF as far as the O-line goes. Their backs are good.
We've got enough tape on them to know who they are right now. I don't think they held anybody out in that game so we'll know where their speed is, where the concerns are, where they like to throw the ball, what they want to do in the run game.
Q. Is Deslin Alexandre ready to go?
PAT NARDUZZI: I think he's getting closer, yeah. We'll see. Might be a week out. I don't know.
Q. SirVocea Dennis has played inside and outside, but is he basically a middle linebacker now?
PAT NARDUZZI: No, he's both. He's both. We only had 54 plays on defense. We had seven three and outs. We didn't get into multiple reps. When we do want to sub, we can play them both.
Q. Are most of his practice reps in the middle?
PAT NARDUZZI: I would say 75%.
Q. You mentioned some of the defensive players that were thinking out there. John Petrishen seemed to be reacting, playing fast?
PAT NARDUZZI: John played fast, did some good things. John had his moments, too, from the coach's film compared to what you might see on tape. You look at production sometimes. Production doesn't say everything.
John played good. I look at where he was this year in the opener compared to how he wasn't ready a year ago from a switch from safety to linebacker. He is playing at a high level right now and it's great because you're able to get him and Cam out there at different times, keep them fresh. Keeping them fresh this week with the tempo.
We ran 54 plays on defense. I believe Tennessee ran 94 plays on offense. We're going to play two games this week. That's going to be the difference. We'll need substitutes.
Q. Tennessee had 84,000 for their opener. Hostile environment. Will you be using crowd noise or anything like that at practice?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, we'll have crowd noise. That will be the big thing offensively. But we worked that during camp as well. Not the first time we're going to work the loud crowd noise. We had it during camp, prepared for it already. That was just something situationally, whether it's third down, working the red zone, working noise, we've done it before.
We'll be prepared and we'll be ready to go. Any time we've had noise issues, noisy games for our offense, our guys have stepped up and done a nice job. They'll be prepared for it. Should not be an issue.
Q. How did you evaluate the kicking game?
PAT NARDUZZI: You know, we got two kickers out there. Start off with the kicking game, the kickoffs, I think Ben Sauls did a good job. First one he knocks out, I don't know how many touchbacks he had. Wasn't as consistent. Would like to have a little more hang time when he doesn't kick it in the end zone.
Sam was good. Was he great? I wish he wouldn't have missed an extra point. That will be something we have to look at. I think they both have the ability to kick field goals. Again, Sam will go into it being our starter again this week at the kicking spot. We look for those guys to have that first game under the belt, get some kicks in. Really didn't want Sam's first kick to be a field goal. We wanted it to be an extra point right down the middle. We were able to get him comfortable, he was able to hit his first field goal.
Q. Is the physicality of the O-line better than last year?
PAT NARDUZZI: I didn't go back and look at it. They did a lot of movement up front. I mean, physicality. It's hard in this game when everybody is moving. You'd like it if they just would sit there like statues and not move. You can be a lot more physical.
When people are moving around, you're going to have to make sure you're in position not to just whiff on the block. You go freaking crazy trying to knock them off the ball and he goes that way, and you are going that way. Back in the day you used to have white knuckles. Nobody has that anymore because things are moving. You're not getting the physicality that you really like because people move all the time. Our offense is used to that with as much pressure and movement we give them in practice every day.
They've got movement and the back has seams sometimes.
Q. Last year when Calijah Kancey got off to a strong start, you said he needed to bring more intensity to practice everyday --
PAT NARDUZZI: He's there. He is there. He played really well up front. He was our player of the week on defense. You watch him play with good feet, lock out, shed blocks. He looked like an All-ACC performer on Saturday night. Have to do it again against an SEC opponent this week.
Q. How did Abanikanda grade out?
PAT NARDUZZI: I don't have all the grades in front of me. But he played well. He was probably high average. I don't think any of our tailbacks we could say were winning (grade). He played well.
Q. How nice is it to have Kenny and other seniors who have played in this kind of road environment?
PAT NARDUZZI: It's really nice, especially that quarterback spot and on offense. They're going to have to deal with the crowd noise, everything that goes with it. I know Kenny is looking forward to that kind of atmosphere and playing big against a big team.
He missed the Miami game last year. Played in the Clemson game last year with just two offensive linemen that were starters (due to COVID protocols). I know this is why he came back, for one of those games.
Q. Petrishen says he loves coming in on third downs. Is that something he lobbied for?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, I mean, he's a former safety. He's a hybrid-type guy, as Cam is. He's done more of the secondary stuff. We feel good with some of the skill things he does back there.
Again, we have other guys that go in that role as well. You may see a different package with maybe him not in the game, putting another DB out there with all the skill we're going to see on the field. Maybe a nickel package just to make sure we can handle the speed.
We're not going to go in there and play three linebackers or four linebackers the whole game. I don't think that would be smart.
Q. What is Krull’s ceiling? Not in the NFL, but for this season?
PAT NARDUZZI: I think he'll have a great year. I'm not worried about the whole season, worried about just this weekend. Think he has a lot of confidence. He was in early watching tape today with the quarterbacks. I think he's got confidence.
That's the main thing. You come out there, he's feeling good, he's healthy. He did a good job blocking, a great job catching the ball. Didn't have any drops. That was something he did a year ago. I think he's feeling great. I think he's got a big upside. He could be an All-ACC tight end.
Q. How about Krull as a leader?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, he's on our leadership council, our Eagles. He's in charge of those guys. He's an older guy that does a great job communicating. He will voice his opinion in meetings with those tight ends. He's helping develop that whole room, just like we have someone in each room that is really in charge of that room to take care of any loose ends that we might see in that room.
Q. How and when will you utilize the crowd noise during practice?
PAT NARDUZZI: Our team periods. We usually do three or four team periods. It will be loud, whether it's inside, skelly will have noise as well. It will be anytime we're together as a team. We don't need an individual (period) when you guys are there, but we'll need it during the team periods, for sure.
Q. Did you come out of the game pretty healthy?
PAT NARDUZZI: My knee's a little sore. No. We feel pretty good. You're always going to have your bumps and bruises. It's a physical sport. We came out good.
Q. What did you see from your tight ends and receivers in the run game?
PAT NARDUZZI: Tight ends did a pretty good job of blocking. Gavin, for a freshman, he came in and had some licks on some people. Again, the receivers are going downfield making their blocks as well.
I think their secondary felt the receivers a little bit and they're going to have to feel them this week, too.
Syracuse Head Coach Dino Babers
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Virginia Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall
Press Conference Video (download)
Q. You only had one early game last year and the team was kind of sluggish against NC State. I was curious the challenges that come with the 11:00 a.m. kick against Illinois.
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, that's a good memory. It shouldn't be -- we're an early morning practice team, and so really this fits our normal routine in terms of when we practice. So I wouldn't anticipate -- man, I'm hopeful it won't affect us much in terms of our normal routine.
Anxious to see -- I have traveled before and crossed time zones for early games. That seems to be more difficult. Why it happened a year ago, couldn't quite put my finger on that, and so much was different a year ago. I'm hopeful it's just not an issue again because of our normal routine.
Q. Could you speak to the changes on the depth chart in the defensive secondary? Nick Grant being listed at safety and De’Vante Cross at nickel? Is it based on the opponent, or are these long-term moves you're making?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, more of the first, more of the opponent. We love flexibility and we love adaptability, so we try to put the best 11 football players out there really in any configuration we can on any given week. It kind of just reflects some of the flexibility there.
Q. Has Grant played that spot before?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: He has, and again, it provides us more depth, and what we've learned over -- to win the Coastal Division and to make it through the ACC Championship game and to go to the Orange Bowl and keep doing all that, depth in secondary is really important, so players cross-training and being available at multiple positions and training there and playing there, that helps with our depth.
Q. Do you have an update on Jelani Woods’ status?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: He's good to go. No ill effects, and yeah, 100 percent.
Q. Watching Illinois in their opener against Nebraska, they were running a lot of stretch runs, a lot of perimeter plays. NC State gave you some trouble with that last year. How do you feel like your perimeter defense is now after one game, and how do you prepare for those stretch type of runs?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, certainly hopeful that it's improved, the run game. There are some similarities, and with bigger personnel, two tight ends and an extra side end. Yeah, it doesn't take much for a ball to crease or to have success. It has been an emphasis and a target for us, so hopefully we've improved.
Q. You'll be playing Saturday on a pretty solemn anniversary in our country; what was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico doing on that Tuesday morning, and how did that event shape you and maybe even your family?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: It just added perspective. So much during the season seems to be football first, and everything else really of significance seems to just take a backseat. I work hard and our program works hard to make sure there's relative balance. Sometimes it takes a pretty significant event to have you just stop for a second and try to put things in priority again and to remember, I would say to anchor, to identify the things that are truly important. I think that was helpful to me just to make an intentional effort from that point forward in season especially just to hold on to things that really matter.
Q. Do you remember what you were doing that morning in Albuquerque?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: As a coach in season you start early, and so it was just a week and a day of early-morning football study and preparation. And then it wasn't. And it didn't take much to switch that.
Q. You’re doing some things different defensively schematically. Is this personnel driven, and is this a return at all to the 3-3-5 you learned from Coach Long?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Partly both. Partly the opponent, and so again, really one of the things that I learned early in my career is you put the best 11 players out on the field that match up best against any given opponent. And so the more and more years that I coach, the more scheme and knowledge and options become available to then deploy or to use the existing best players that we have in our program against any given opponent. That was what you saw on Saturday.
Q. Another one about the secondary; guys like Antonio Clary and Fentrell Cypress especially who maybe hadn't played as much previously, what have you seen, because we talked so much about this being such a veteran secondary, guys like that who were able to crack that and get on the field, how were they able to do that?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, just really, really diligent effort. We have kind of three criteria that we talk about a lot, how durable are you, how consistent are you and how productive are you, and those two, from this fall camp all the way through our first game, have been -- and unlike previous years where they've been hurt, so they have been there every day, and they have been very productive, and they've done it each day, and so they've built trust. That's how you crack in is you build trust, and that comes from being durable and consistent and productive.
Q. What are some things that really stood out to you about Brennan as the week went on?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: It appeared that -- I mean, it's cliche, but the game continued to slow down, and he continued to speed up. So his decision making, his rhythm, his certainty, his confidence, his execution, it just got better and better and better. A strong night offensively in terms of yards and balance with over 200 rushing and over 300 passing, but that was gaining momentum throughout the course of the night, and so yeah, I think he just got sharper and sharper as we went.
Q. Brennan said after the game the other night that the offense wasn’t complicated to him. How complicated or sophisticated is this offense, and is this system just an enhancement of what you were running before, or is it simply because you have unusual personnel?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: It's more of the second, and it's back to the same philosophy that we're using defensively. It's just the maximization of resources, right, so we're looking at every good football player on our team, and we've got four different quarterbacks that all can do different things, and there's no reason they all have to play quarterback. And so we're just maximizing any good football player on our team, putting him out there in as many unique, creative but productive ways as we can, and so the concepts remain relatively the same, not always, but relatively the same. The personnel and maybe the formations that we use, those are kind of where the main differences come. Just to highlight the best players on our team.
Q. A lot of coaches say we like going 1-0. Do you gauge the first two or three games as to what kind of team you're working with comparable to maybe the past years as a coach?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Not only every game but every practice. But certainly the games I think are more revealing because as coaches we're on the sideline and we're watching in real time if their habits are holding, if their decision making is consistent. They're giving us feedback with every play on has there been any what we call slippage from how they've practiced to now how they're applying it in a real and live setting, and they're doing that and I'm doing that collectively, what does the entire group look like in all the different phases. So certainly feedback is really important with as many experienced players on our team, not as many unknowns, and not as much I would say uncertainty as the decision, kind of where we are and how fast we get there, that's a little bit more of where my focus is.
Q. Ra'Shaun Henry has nine catches in his Virginia career and five have been touchdowns. Is there something that makes him a good red zone target or is it a coincidence he's been in the end zone so much?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: It sounds like we need to throw it to him more. That wasn't a statistic I was aware of. You know, sometimes if there are other established receivers and if there's other patterns that become predictable, then sometimes defenses play harder to the percentages, or they favor where maybe typically we go, and so sometimes a great complement emerges if over things are overplayed.
So I think that's part of it, where he's been the complement. But now he's emerging not as the complement but as a primary threat, so it'll be fun to see where the statistics go. But he's capable, and I would consider him the most improved player, and I thought he was becoming a strong player through the year last year and toward the end. He's starting at a much higher level than that, so I have a lot of confidence in Ra'Shaun and really excited for him.
Q. We saw Clemson and Georgia be a real defensive struggle. Virginia Tech-North Carolina a real defensive struggle. You were one of three teams in the ACC that shut out their opponent. I know it's a small sample size, just week one, but do you have a theory of why maybe defenses were out in front? Is that a thing you see early in the year? I know there's a lot of super seniors back. Any thoughts?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Man, I think your theories and your ideas is as good as what I would have. It's really hard to shut anybody out. I made the comment to my team today, it's hard to shut someone out just playing against air. It's challenging. There's just so many different things that can happen.
So why? I don't know in relation to the point production of the entire sample size, how that all balances out. Too early to say. But I know it's difficult. And with the rules moving more and more toward offensive, I would say, philosophy and being offensive friendly, it's a challenge.
Hard to say for sure. It'll be interesting to see if it continues that way.
Q. If I could sneak in one more, do you have an update? Josh Hayes, the transfer from NDSU, I know you said he was out, you hope to get him back week one. Can you tell us more about his situation?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Recovering. I still don't have an exact time frame or I would pass it on, but he is recovering, is on track. It looks like it's just going to be a little longer than what we thought, but we're still hopeful that he comes back and contributes this season and certainly the beginning of the season.
Q. Even if it's vague, could you tell us what he's dealing with?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: A lower body. Lower leg is I think the term I'm supposed to use.
Q. You had some experience with it last year using multiple quarterbacks, but how tough is it and how much time do you think it's going to take for that system to kind of find a rhythm when you're rotating guys in and out?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: I think we saw some of the benefits a year ago, and I think we certainly saw it happening throughout the course of just this one game. Yeah, so there are certain plays where we are using different quarterbacks. Man, I think the play count and the volume isn't enough to truly affect what we're doing mostly, and I think for the possible benefit, it's a good trade. So I believe in the idea.
Q. Kind of along those same lines, when you're using guys like Jacob Rodriguez to run the ball or Ira Armstead or non-running backs, is that -- you kind of talked about this earlier, but is that a reflection of just how much talent they have? Is it a reflection of the running backs, or how does that all kind of shake out?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, I really like our running backs, so it's not a reflection of that. It just is atypical. Those things are difficult to prepare for and hard to identify and what personnel group is it or who might carry the ball. Yeah, so again, a lot of this is coming from being on the defensive side, and those are all things that are challenging. Hopefully it adds some value to our offense, but also some of those kids are really good carrying the football. They're good throwing it. They're good football players. When they've played that position, the game is not -- it seems to be slower for them right from the beginning with their training, and so they're more ready to play and play early.
Q. The Illinois wideout Isaiah Williams, he's their No. 1, what kind of stands out about him and their offense in general?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Well, I think that they're well-coached, and so when you look at the history of their head coach and you look at the successes and then the style, there's a proven track record there. So when you're able to complement and do that and then have strong receivers in addition to a good running game, that makes it more difficult to defend.
Yeah, just capable football players and well-coached.
Q. Another question on Rodriguez: He joined the program as a quarterback. At what point did you realize that maybe he had some of those FBP skills in the Keytaon mold? Did that happen during the spring or was it a summer revelation?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: In the spring, and we still consider him a quarterback, it's just while he's battling in the quarterback world, there's no reason he can't help us and play football. We have a saying here that playing is more fun than watching, so he's still a quarterback, but that doesn't mean he can't carry the ball and he can't do other things while he's becoming our quarterback. But we saw it in the spring, and I was really impressed then.
Q. It's still early, obviously; you're one game in. Just assess because it's hard when you have your kind of talent, assess how your guys are doing. Is it according to plan, anything that kind of helps you understand your team better as each game goes on this season.
BRONCO MENDENHALL: I would love to say that there are kind of the micro points along the way that I'm looking for and seeing, and the reality, and I say this each year, and I'm just always amused at the rankings to start a football season, and yeah, I think there's lots of commercial value to it in terms of intrigue and possible match-ups and television. I really don't think anyone truly knows until after week 8, and that's probably the earliest.
So I think the playoff rankings, and as we go to that, that's about when that starts, and so all of us are uncovering and discovering and working and trying to get a big enough sample size as fast as possible to truly understand and gain the identity of where we are. But it's about at that point where we know.
So yeah, I'm paying attention every day, and I'm looking closely every day, and I'm using every statistic that I know and all the intuition, as well. Sometimes it just takes time, and I'd love to give you a better answer, but yeah, usually, as my wife and I talk, talk to me after week 8, then let's see what the rankings are and then I'll tell you more clearly what our team looks like, and that's just about how it works.
Q. Is she usually right with her assessments?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: More than I am for sure. Actually that answer is completely for my marriage and the quality of life at home right there.
Q. What did you think of Illinois's offense, and did you notice any major differences between week one and week two?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Similar, and so not major differences but subtle differences, as all of us will do. There is a slight percentage change here, or maybe a highlight of a play or little bit more here, or the execution becomes a little bit more polished in this area. Usually it's easier to see those things early in a season. Later they become a little more subtle. But I would just say, again, there was subtle things that were improving and that I was identifying, but nothing major in terms of identity change that I saw.
Q. To build on Jerry's question about the identity of the Illinois offense, Coach, week one it was Brandon Peters and Art Sitkowski came in at relief at quarterback for Illinois, and Sitkowski got pretty much all the reps in the week two game against UTSA. How are you preparing for the possibility that Peters may come back, may not? Are you preparing for both right now?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: You have to. Really you defend the offense the best you can, the concepts the best you can. You anticipate whatever changes might happen, and certainly at that position a great example in week one is we weren't preparing for the quarterback that started for William & Mary. We were preparing for another quarterback, and the styles were similar but not identical. You really try to identify the core of what an offense does, why they're doing it, who are the best players and supporting cast, and then you adjust from there.
Q. They did play a game in I guess we call week zero, so your kids may have had the chance to see that, and it was kind of attention grabbing because it was against Nebraska. I know week two is different, but do you get the sense that your guys paid attention to their week one score? Was that at all an attention grabber?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Oh, sure. I think our players, our coaches, I think all of college football paid attention. What a great start for a coach taking over a program, and to have that kind of exposure and that kind of whim, you really couldn't have scripted it any better, so I think everyone paid attention and saw the capability there.
Yeah, our players, they love football, right, and so they watch, and they're seeing College Gameday and when we have a night game, there's games going all day, so certainly they saw it and took note.
Q. When it comes to having sixth-year guys this year, you've got two of them in De'Vante Cross and Nick Jackson. You've had a little bit of experience with some of those older guys from your time at BYU, but what does it bring to the table having guys that have been through that many battles, so to speak, on the field for you?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, steady. So there just is a steadiness and a confidence and a resolve where their highs aren't as high, their lows aren't as low, and just the daily presence of what this takes is really, I would say, grounding for a team. It's just reference points, right, for any player to look, and without even me pointing it out, but I can if I need to, just when in doubt, look there.
It's just nice to have that presence, and even as grown-ups, right, as games come, we can get high and we can get low and pressure affects us all different, but when young people are playing at the level they are and poised and handling that so well with kind of the boots on the ground level, it really helps.
Q. I've just got one more about a guy emerging on the defensive side. Hunter Stewart, how has he kind of emerged, for lack of a better word, and what did you see from him on Saturday and maybe going forward?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, that's a good pickup. In fact, one of my first notes after I watched the game, and I send notes in my brief before we meet to the different staffs, right, the offensive staff, the defensive staff, the special teams, and that was my very first note to our defensive staff was I was impressed with Hunter Stewart's play. He played well, he played hard, he was productive and just took a big jump. What a great time and what a big need that he's addressing. So I was impressed with his play, and of the entire team, right, he was the one to me that -- I'm not going to say was unexpected, but how he played was -- man, I would say probably exceeded the expectations I had of where he would be in week one, so it was great.
Q. I'm wondering if you have any players that perhaps aren't starting this next game but are leaders off the field.
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, that is a really good question. We put lots of emphasis on what we call the fourth side, and the fourth side, right, starts on our own sideline. I actually grade the fourth side similar to how I do the game, and I'm paying attention to who's really cheering for our team and who's invested in them. We do the same with section 118 and for our players that aren't dressing. Yeah, I expect that section to be the catalyst and kind of the model of what the fourth side looks like.
So I have names that -- and we have kind of a staff monitoring that section on the sideline, so I have names submitted, and those will be announced on Thursday. But that's one of the ways that I see that, and so yeah, stay tuned and there will be some announcements coming up this week.
Q. Just want to ask you a little bit about Darrius Bratton. How has he grown as a player and as a person for you at UVA?
BRONCO MENDENHALL: Hmm, Darrius is -- he's a young person of substance and maturity and diligence and consistency and humility, and all those qualities have grown because he's battled through injury so much. He just keeps going. He's smiling and he's always optimistic.
In terms of a football player, he's very capable. He's long and he's fast and he has good ball skills and he's a good tackler.
Injuries have been in the way of, I think, most people seeing what he truly can do, and so I'm so hopeful for him that he's able to stay healthy and kind of have the season that he would like and we'd like him to have because as a person he's just an amazing young man to be around and one of the most likable players or people that I've met. He's remarkable.
Virginia Tech Head Coach Justin Fuente
Press Conference Video
Opening Statement:
"I want to thank everybody that came out to support our team. Friday night was just a really special atmosphere. As good and as energetic a place, a sporting event I've ever been in from start to finish. It played a huge role in the game and we certainly appreciate it. Now our challenge is to turn the page and move forward and get ready for Middle Tennessee State. I think about the first game of the year when it's a conference game and somebody you've got regional connections with, basically you've been thinking about the game for six months. Then the game is over and you've got six days to get ready to play the next. That's a huge challenge for us right now. We have four non-conference games in the next five weeks. Just take last week and put it in the bank, put it to the side and go focus on our non-conference schedule.
"You play non-conference games for post-season recognition, and it starts with Middle Tennessee this Saturday. We've got to do a great job as coaches and as staff getting refocused, wiping the slate clean, getting recharged, fill our cups back up emotionally, mentally and physically, so that we can put a great effort out there Saturday. We will be challenged. Coach [Rick] Stockstill has been at MTSU for 16 years. He's done a fantastic job there for some time. They can run. You look at their overall team speed on both sides of the ball. They have always been fast and they can really run. They scored 50 points last week. We have to get our football team ready to go. If we've got serious aspirations about being the type of football team that we've talked about, then we've got to be able to do these types of things. We have to be able to put the previous week behind us and move forward. There's plenty for us to work on in all three phases."
On moving on to the next week following a big win vs. UNC:
"The bottom line is, we have six days, we have to turn around. We have to get ready to go. We are a mature, older football team. I think we are, we claim to be, and we have to do a great job. It starts with the coaches and leads down to the Leadership Council and then throughout the rest of the older players and to the younger ones."
On the special teams play, specifically the punt block & return unit:
"The first punt is the one with Jalen [Stroman] that I still can't figure out how he didn't get it (block it). On film, it looks like it went underneath him. Somebody showed me a picture that looks like it went through his hands. I felt good going into the game about that unit. Quite honestly that unit underperformed last year dramatically. I thought we were going to have a chance to influence the game. One of the next ones was such a weird situation. We had a little problem getting everybody on the field. I can't remember the specifics of it, but they had the ball in plus territory, and it would have been kind of a punt-safe situation, but then there was a big sack and brought them all the way back out of field goal range and into a super long punt scenario and nobody can hear anything. It was just pandemonium. So we went from not putting the punt block unit on, to putting them on, to maybe being field goal block to all of a sudden trying to get our punt block unit out there. We ran them on there late, they didn't really have much of a chance to make an impact. I wish we would have gotten the first one, but the difference between blocking one and not blocking one is sometimes really, really small. It was just good to see us put some pressure on him and having Tayvion [Robinson] back there feeling the ball with some confidence and we'll build on it."
On playing DE Amaré Barno in coverage:
"We were doing a couple of different things with him, some of that requires him to drop, he does have some coverage skills. Some of it is basically spying on the quarterback, some of it is getting out there and playing. He has a versatile skill set and seems to be adapting to the different things that we're asking him to do pretty well."
Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson
Press Conference Video