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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 31, 2016

Steve Addazio

Greensboro, North Carolina

COACH ADDAZIO: Just got here at 11:00, just go off the practice field, and are heading out for a team dinner. There's a lot going on. As you pointed out, a huge game against Georgia Tech with two ACC teams facing each other. They have a bunch of really talented players and a great program. It's going to be a tremendous challenge for us. But we're really looking forward to the game, looking forward to the great experience that we have here to be able to come over and represent American football here in Ireland oops Jamie get the beginning oops oops.

Q. Specifics on the quarterback situation? Do you expect both of them will play a little bit?
COACH ADDAZIO: I would say I wouldn't expect two to play, no. We're going to have a starter here. Quite frankly, we have one right now. I'm just in a situation where I feel it's best right now that we're not naming our starter. That's really all there is to that.

Q. The quarterbacks have gotten a ton of attention. As much as you had to cycle through QBs last year, it's been difficult to find consistent production at the wideout position. How much consistency have you seen among the guys that are going to be the pass catchers?
COACH ADDAZIO: I think two things. Just on a note on the quarterbacks. I'm extremely excited about our quarterbacks right now, the productivity we've had all training camp. Obviously last year we had just one quarterback, Darius got hurt against Florida State in game three, put us into the well documented tailspin.

I'm also excited about our young receivers. We've moved Jeff Smith to receiver. Electric player. Mike Walker, another electric player. Really good top-end speed, ball skills, along with Charlie Callinan, Benny Glines, Tom Sweeney at the tight end. I think we dramatically improved our ability to catch and throw the football.

Q. I know you're not going to name the starter publicly. But to speak on Patrick Towles, what he's been able to do at Boston College through fall camp, what you can say about how he's evolved and fit into the work you've asked him to do.
COACH ADDAZIO: Well, I mean, he's fit in great. You feel like he's been here his whole career. I think his relationship with our players is phenomenal. He's the same as our guys. Just a really high-character young man that cares about his degree. Really sincere guy. Good leadership skills. Really, I mean, it's amazing how well he's come in here and fit in and built relationships and had some really tremendous leadership skills.

Q. As far as Darius, you've spoken on him a little bit. Outside of his injury, what has he been able to show you out there on the field, and what he's shown since the injury, what you can say about his growth?
COACH ADDAZIO: I mean, Darius is a really talented guy. Obviously we have a tremendous amount of faith in him as a player. The same reason we named him the starter last year, he's shown throughout camp great skill level, both throwing the ball, running the ball, et cetera. He's a very talented player.

We have two real talented players with some experience. Obviously we have a young man by the name of Anthony Brown, John Fadule. John played a lot of ball last year. It's so radically different than it was a year ago really.

Q. Last year you started the season against Maine. This year you hit the ground running against a conference team in a different kind of setting. With the makeup of this year's team and experience level, how do you feel they'll be able to handle that kind of situation?
COACH ADDAZIO: Well, that's the $60 million question. It is a challenge to start right out of the blocks with a young team traveling all the way to Ireland, playing an ACC game against Georgia Tech, there's no question. We prepared really hard for that.

I like our preparation. I like the way our team has gelled together. I like the mentality of our team. But obviously we're going to see how we're going to play. Opening day is difficult for everybody. A lot of times you get some different things happening on opening day. You always feel a little better when you open up with a lesser opponent. That's not the case here, but it's the same on both sides. They're confronted with the same issues we're confronted with.

You just got to get ready, got to have great preparation, and you got to play great defense.

Q. Just curious if you've done any planning to take into account the time differential? Will you have adapted enough to the time change at game time that it shouldn't be a factor?
COACH ADDAZIO: Well, I hope so. We did the research. We flew through the night last night. Whatever sleep we got, we got on the plane, all in an effort to get here, go right to practice. Actually, in fact, I'm going to have to get off here in a minute because our bus is leaving to go to dinner. Get back, get on Dublin timeframe here and go to bed early tonight and get a great night's sleep so we can acclimatize ourselves to the time change.

We were here this morning. Flew through the night, here today. Hope by the time game time rolls around we've got ourselves on track. But you never know. You don't know. That's the unknown.

I think coming off the practice field our kids feel good. They'll get a great night's sleep tonight. I think tomorrow we'll kind of be on course. That's our hope anyways.

Q. Is anything going to look different with the defense now that Jim is in charge this year?
COACH ADDAZIO: Well, we're in the same defense. Same defense, same calls, same defense. What is going to look different is we're playing a triple option team. We're not playing a conventional one back, two back spread, I-formation team.

You watch all the teams playing Georgia Tech, a lot of people play the same things because the offense forces you to kind of play a standardized defense to a degree.

You can't be as exotic as we really were last year or will be this year, because we will be. But for this particular game, I don't think you're going to get as good a gauge, might not look the same just because we're playing a triple option team, so it's a little skewed.

Q. I meant in general for the season.
COACH ADDAZIO: In general we're running the same defense, same calls, same everything. It's our system of defense that I wanted when I came to BC. Coach Reid and Coach Pasqualoni are here, have a great understanding and great feel for the whole thing. We haven't changed anything.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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