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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 27, 2014Larry FedoraCOACH FEDORA: This team has put in a tremendous amount of work in this off‑season, summer and fall camp. They're extremely excited about our opening game against the Liberty Flames. We understand that Turner Gill has a veteran group coming back, a team that was very successful last year. We are excited to kick it off and do it here in our stadium. Q. How much do you feel like you're going to rotate your backs particularly early on? I know all of them bring something a little different to the table. Do you expect to use those things a little bit or use one guy who has the hot hand and stick with them? COACH FEDORA: In the past we've been able to work just about every guy into the game. At the same time if somebody has a hot hand, somebody is showing the offense is much better with them on the field, we're going to keep them on the field. That's really how we're going to go into this game. We've talked about reps. We've talked about substitution. We've talked about all those things. But it's still going to boil down to the guy that's playing the best is going to be the guy that is going to get the ball in his hands. Q. Are you eager to see what a true freshman like Elijah is going to do on game day or have you seen enough of him through fall camp that you have a good bit of confidence in him already? COACH FEDORA: I have some confidence from what I've seen in spring ball and during fall camp. But still there's some unknowns. I'm excited about him getting out there. I'm excited to see him. I'm excited for our fans to see him. This will be the first time he stepped on the field. My may concern is he takes care of the football, plays hard and has fun. Q. Your games against FCS opponents, you have had a history of dominating these teams. What has been the key to that for you guys? COACH FEDORA: I think for one thing, we prepare for every game the same way. We really don't talk about the strengths or weaknesses of our opponents. We really try to put in a game plan and work exactly the same way each and every week. I mean, we have respect for every team that we play. It really doesn't matter who it is, where we're playing, what time we're playing, what the weather's like, any of those things. We want to go out and play our best ball every week. Q. From what you've seen on film, what is your assessment of the Liberty quarterback, the challenge he poses for you? COACH FEDORA: He is really good. The kid, I think he started something around 21 games or so going into this junior year. He's very poised. He has complete control of the offense. He can get the ball out quick. He's got a great arm. It looks like he's got a great rapport with No.13. They know what each other's doing. He definitely is going to be a problem for us, there's no doubt about it. I think that's why he's up for a lot of the pre‑season awards. Q. Have you had to discipline any players or are any players at risk of not playing this week in response to the university investigation? COACH FEDORA: I'd love to talk to you about it, but I don't have anything further to say other than the statement that was made. When I do have more information, I'd be happy to give it to you. Q. Coach, I wanted to ask you about the two new corners. They'll be tested this first week. You moved things around. Talk about how they've looked in pre‑season, how confident you are about their performance. COACH FEDORA: Yeah, I think both those guys have done a great job. They did in spring ball. They good in fall camp. I think they're playing probably a little bit better than what we were expecting them to be at this point in their career. Proud of the work they've put in. Q. Can you talk about the move of Scott from corner to safety. Why do you think he's a better fit there? COACH FEDORA: I think Tim gives us, along with Green back there, some experience. We really didn't feel like at the corner position we really needed that experience, because we felt we had two quality guys coming in to help us. Tim is capable of doing both. That's the great thing about it, we can use him in a lot of different places, and we have this camp. He's gotten reps at the corner, but he's also gotten reps at the safety, which makes it very valuable for us. He becomes very valuable for us because he can do multiple things. He has done a great job of accepting that role. He is the guy that's the leader back there. Q. Have you received any clarity from the NCAA about Ethan Farmer yet? If he can't play, what kind of impact does that have on your defensive front? COACH FEDORA: We have not received anything from the NCAA. There would definitely be an impact. I mean, there's the most experienced guy that we've had in the interior defensive line, going into his senior year. It will just make an opportunity for some younger guys to step up and grow up even quicker. We've been working it both ways in practice. We're prepared for whatever happens there. But I can say it will definitely affect probably the quality of play that we have up front. Q. What is it like looking at your schedule, you're home for a while until you get to Notre Dame. Is that good to get your team ready for a road game like that? COACH FEDORA: I haven't put a whole lot of thought into that actually. Our whole emphasis right now in the last 10 days has been locked in on Liberty, what we have to do in the season opener. I haven't really put a whole lot of thought into it beyond that to be honest with you. Q. What is one thing you want to see improve on Saturday? COACH FEDORA: I would like to see improvement in all three phases of the game. Offensively I'd like to see some consistency, which we will have basically a new offensive line. We need to see some consistency with those guys up front. Defensively I want to make sure we do a great job of stopping the run and creating turnovers. Then special teams, we need to find a way to create some game‑changing plays. We've been able to do that in the past. But this is a new team. We haven't done anything yet. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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