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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 31, 2016

Mark Richt

Greensboro, North Carolina

MARK RICHT: Gosh, I remember when it was 100 days before kickoff. Now it's about three days. We're excited about getting started.

Q. Coming through the fall, just what you can say about the running backs that you have in your arsenal, and if anybody has shown you anything specific or as a group if they've all been pretty equal.
MARK RICHT: Well, the top three are very ready to play in our opinion, with Walton and Yearby and Gus Edwards, and then -- I mean, those are the guys that are going to carry the load for us. Mark has separated himself as the No. 1 guy, but we do plan on getting everybody in there. Joe Yearby obviously had a very good year last year being a 1,000-yard rusher, and he's done well. There's nothing he didn't do well, Mark has just done a job of separating himself a little bit from the pack. But by no means will he be the only one carrying the ball.

Q. When you look at how Mark has separated himself, what did he show you that allowed for that distance between him and the next guy?
MARK RICHT: Yeah, it's not a huge difference. It's just he's the starter. You've got to decide who's going to start the game, and that's him. But his energy, his level every day, his pass protection, route running, ball catching, being able to run in between the tackles, to bounce things outside and show good speed, just kind of a love for the game kind of guy attitude, too. All those things together.

Q. In light of your defensive personnel losses of late, how concerned or not are you about that side of the ball?
MARK RICHT: Oh, I think we're going to play hard. I think we're going to play physical. I think we're going to run to the ball and tackle, do a good job of tackling and getting people corralled. I think we're going to be an outstanding defense. Obviously when you lose players that have played a lot and been very productive and guys that were busting their tail along with the rest of the guys, it hurt. It hurt everybody. But as I mentioned to the team and mentioned to the media the other day, football is a game of attrition. There's times when you lose players. You lose them because of injury or suspension or a guy academically has trouble or whatever it may be, so things happen, and that's why you rep second teamers, third teamers, all throughout camp because you never know who's going to have to move up that depth chart. That's where we're at right now.

Q. You inherited a pretty polished passer in Brad Kaaya. Can you talk about what you've tried to do to take advantage of that, and is there any part of his game you've tried to polish and advance?
MARK RICHT: Well, I think the big thing is being on balance and drive stepping to your target and following through when you're able to. I think you've got to learn to trust your pocket every time if you are in the pocket. He's a classic pocket passer. Throwing to his left a little bit, he wasn't really stepping and driving to his target, following through all the time. There's a couple things fundamentally that we've worked on. But he is a wonderful guy to work with, very, very smart, can process just anything you want to give him. You tell him in the meeting, you go to the practice field, and he sees it, he does what he's supposed to do. He can really help your offense get in the right play the majority of the time just by virtue of him being able to see things and know what to do at the line of scrimmage.

So I just enjoy coaching him. Very, very accurate passer, great team leader. He's what you're looking for.

Q. Just in terms of protecting him, that was a problem at times last year. How do you focus on that with a guy that's not the most mobile in the world?
MARK RICHT: Well, the big thing to me is your passing game must be set up where everything is based on rhythm. Everything is based on progressions. He's got a number one, a number two, and sometimes a number three progression, and when that's not there, you launch it in the stands. Part of it is just getting the ball out. You can't be holding the ball back there too long, and I'm not saying that's what he did in the past, I'm just saying that you've got to have a certain amount of quick passing game, screens, and then a systematic way of thinking to where if somebody is open, you hit him. If they're not, you go to the next progression. If they're not, then throw it out of bounds, throw it in the stands. Don't sit there and take the hit. Don't try to be a hero and scramble around and find something big. It's okay to punt. It's okay to throw the ball away when nothing is there, and I think the more you do that on a consistent basis, the less times you're holding the ball too long and getting hit.

Q. I know it's been a long time since you've been around the Miami campus and around the ACC, but is there any air of familiarity about things, or have things changed --
MARK RICHT: Well, it is now. You know, nine months later, I'm familiar with most everything. I know how to get from home to work and work to home. But no, everything that was new to me or that was a surprise to me was very pleasant. The campus is much more beautiful than it was, and that was hard to do, because it's always been a beautiful campus.

I don't know, I just enjoy the people, I enjoy the culture of the Miami area, and it's been good for me. I'm thankful to be here.

Q. Are there those who, since it's been some time since you've been there, wonder what your connection is exactly?
MARK RICHT: Oh, there's still a lot of connection. I mean, people that are working in the athletic department, there's still enough of them around that remember me, or former teammates or whatever it may be. There's still a strong connection to this place. It's been a big part of my life, and now to come back and head up the program, again, it's an honor, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm very thankful for it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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