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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 7, 2016

Mark Richt

Greensboro, North Carolina

MARK RICHT: We had another practice today. We do practice in the morning. I mentioned that in the past. But I guess I'm getting used to it maybe more than you guys are. But it is interesting to go in the morning. You get them first thing. You get your work done on the field and then you've got to get prepared for the next day, obviously.

But I'm kind of getting used to it. I think I like it. I'm not a hundred percent sure yet. But another smoking hot day over here which is typical, but it's smoking hot in Boca Raton as well for Florida Atlantic. So both teams are going through it. We've got to continue to push hard through those types of days.

Q. Coach, with Jamie Gordinier out for the season, which players need to step up behind your three freshmen linebackers to provide the depth that you need?
MARK RICHT: Well, we don't have much left. Everybody that plays at linebacker position is going to get tested. The other thing is the special teams that Jamie played. One interesting note that I think most people got, Pat Bethel our true freshman defensive end was backing up Gordinier when it came to the punt block team. So Gordinier was out very early in the game, so Bethel's got to jump in there, and first play that he's ever played in college he's on the punt block team and he endes up blocking the punt.

We felt like somebody was going to come clean, we weren't quite sure who. So everybody had to go hard just in case it was him, and he did a beautiful job on the first play. So not only do we need help at linebacker, we're digging a little deeper in the depth chart when it comes to special teams as well.

Q. Coach, you guys were so dominant on offense, it looked like you could do anything you wanted to do. Is that a good experience for you guys to get that kind of confidence? Or would you rather be tested a little more and have to face some adversity and learn some things?
MARK RICHT: Right. Well, we know we'll be facing more adversity than we did. The good news was that we did execute. So regardless of who you're playing, the bottom line is are you putting your hat on the right person? Are you using the proper technique? Are you running your feet on contact, and I'm talking about blocking. Are you blocking down field with the receiver position? Is the quarterback getting us in the right play? All those things were happening, not a hundred percent, but at a very high rate.

So that's what you kind of judge it by is are we getting in the right play? Are we handling our assignments properly? Are we running our feed? Are we finishing blocks? Same thing on defense. Are you running to the ball? Are you hitting the right gaps? Are you setting the edge if you're in charge of contain on a certain play? Is everybody else pursuing? Are we tackling with the right approach and is everybody joining the gang?

So those are the things you want to see fundamentally happen. If you keep doing that, you've got a chance to be pretty good.

Q. I was going to ask, again on defense, it looked like you were absolutely stifling against the run. Is that just a physical superiority? You were talking about you executed well.
MARK RICHT: Well, a lot of it was some mismatches just physically. But our goal is to be able to penetrate. We're a four-down front that our goal is to hit gaps and try to create a line of scrimmage in their back field if you possibly can. So there's a lot of that going on. But guys were pursuing at good angles and linebackers were filling the holes and filling their gaps properly. So overall, we played a very strong fundamental game, and a game with the kind of effort that we're trying to coach and teach since we got here.

Q. When you watch guys through practice and everybody's champing at the bit to play, and then when you actually see them, was there anybody maybe either among your starters or your back-ups who caught your eye that maybe you weren't sure about and really did some good things? Anybody who maybe surprised you at all?
MARK RICHT: Well, I don't know if it was a surprise, but one of the things I really appreciated and enjoyed watching was our wide receivers blocking. It is an act that needs to be taught, that needs to be emphasized, that needs to be -- you've got to let those receivers know, if you don't block, you're not going to play type thing. And Coach Dugans just did a great job to get our guys to really be tenacious down field.

One guy, a true freshman, Ahmmon Richards, he took that very seriously. I thought he blocked as well as anybody. Now I will say, Dayall Harris, another newcomer, he did win the down field blocker of the week award, and he's a little bit older guy. He's a junior college transfer. He started out at Ole Miss, so he's played some college ball before.

But for a true freshman to come in and really embrace that at the receiver position is very much like a true freshman running back understanding how important it is to pass protect. I just enjoyed watching that.

Q. These are the kind of things they probably didn't do a whole lot of in high school.
MARK RICHT: I will say Ahmmon was very well coached at Wellington, so my guess is he's already had a taste of that. But there is no doubt that most freshmen receivers, like most freshmen running backs, they don't understand the importance of blocking. They think they're specialists who catch the ball and run the ball. When you get young guys doing that it's a tribute to them but also the coaching involved in that.

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