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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 12, 2016

Justin Fuente

Greensboro, North Carolina

COACH FUENTE: We're obviously pleased to get a victory last week against a very talented and well-coached team in North Carolina in some tough conditions. We have a tremendous challenge this week, traveling again up to Syracuse and Coach Babers' squad that can certainly score points in bunches, can be difficult to play up there at their place.

But I'm looking forward to a great week of practice, seeing if we can't continue moving along.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Fuente.

Q. First a question on the defensive side of the ball. The Edmunds brothers, how well have they played and how high a ceiling do you see for those guys considering their athleticism?
COACH FUENTE: Well, they're very talented young men. They come from a great family. Highly intelligent kids that are a pleasure to coach. In my time here, I don't think they've been on a single list for missing anything or being late to anything.

Along with all that, they are very talented. I think they have a chance to be very good players here. Time will tell what exactly that means. I've seen improvement in their games just in my short time here.

Q. On the other side of the ball, five games in, how would you evaluate how this offense has come together kind of the way you envisioned versus things you had to tweak and how integral has the play of Jerod Evans been to that?
COACH FUENTE: Jerod has done a great job of taking care of the football. I've been pleased with that. I think we all have room for improvement in all of those various position groups.

It's continued to be a work in progress. I like our mentality as much as anything in terms of the kids getting a little bit of confidence in themselves, a little bit of toughness and grit. That's been fun to see as the season's gone along.

I like our progress there.

Q. Syracuse's offense, you described it a little bit. But to speak on their speed as well as a weapon like Amba Etta-Towo, what you can say about the offense and him, your defense going up against it.
COACH FUENTE: It's a tremendous challenge. I've seen Dino's offense up close and personal, coached against him last year when he was at Bowling Green. The speed with which they move is hard to duplicate. I mean, they're going to push the football down the field. They definitely have some play-makers on the outside. They've got a quarterback that's making good decisions.

All that being said, they will still run the ball between the tackles if you devote too many people to the passing game. We're going to have to play the ball in the air, meaning they're going to throw the ball down the field, we're going to have to win some one-on-one battles down the field, play the deep ball well, hold up in the run game, and get lined up to their tempo because it's hard to simulate.

Q. As far as your offense going up against their Tampa 2, what have you seen on film and what you've taken from your offense in the first few games going up against this matchup?
COACH FUENTE: They have a good scheme, do a great job mixing up their calls. Their movement up front causes a lot of people problems. We'll certainly have our hands full handling all of those things that they can throw at you.

Our kids have continued to work hard, try to earnestly make an effort to get better on a week-to-week basis. Hopefully we can handle all those things that Syracuse throws at us.

Q. I know you've been very careful about sort of setting expectations at a reasonable pace for this team. Certainly you are getting a lot more love after the performance last week. Do you need to talk to your team about handling success at this point or do you try to kind of keep it in perspective?
COACH FUENTE: Well, I think we try and do both. We try to keep it in perspective and address those things in terms of, Let's talk about the reasons that we have had success the last couple weeks, because of the way we've practiced, the way we've prepared, ultimately leading to us playing well enough to win a few games here in a row.

Then also talk about how fleeting that is. I mean, there's a long season ahead of us. We can take pride in winning a couple games. There's nothing wrong with that. But you've got to move past those things and get ready for the next one.

They've done a good job, 'they' being our kids, of listening to that message and acting on it so far. But each week is a test. We'll ultimately see how mature we are.

Q. Have you been at all surprised or impressed by the speed with which the guys have bought in to what you're doing and the success you've had thus far?
COACH FUENTE: I think the Tennessee game was a fairly good wake-up call for us. I don't say that taking anything away from Tennessee. I just mean I wasn't real pleased with them going into the game, then some things that happened in the game, you don't give yourself a chance to win when you do those types of things.

I think that helped us in terms of maybe getting our kids' attention a little bit. Now we've just got to keep it.

Q. You mentioned the wake-up call in Bristol. I think you had 95 yards in penalties that night, and maybe in the three subsequent games only 120. Have you been pretty pleased with the improved discipline on the field, if it has been that?
COACH FUENTE: Yeah, I have. You're going to play games and occasionally you're going get a holding call or pass interference calls. We understand those things. We want to correct the technique, try and do things the right way.

I was most upset about the unforced penalties. We were literally handing other teams yardage and we were handing other teams the football. We've made some strides in both of those areas in the last couple weeks that ultimately has given us a better chance to win the ballgame. We've turned it over less and committed less unforced penalties. I like our progress in those things. I think we have to continue to make that a point of emphasis so that we don't revert back to those bad habits.

Q. Syracuse has been blitzing a good bit. How often have you noticed them bringing pressure and how do they generally choose to apply that pressure?
COACH FUENTE: They like to move up front. They will bring pressure from the perimeter. I don't know if it's any more or less than anybody else that we've played. I don't think it's a disproportionate percentage, but something you certainly have to be prepared for.

Q. Syracuse has a relatively inexperienced defensive end group. They'll be without Kendall Coleman for the first half this week. When you look at film, what have you seen from their defensive end group?
COACH FUENTE: I think they've got a good group of young kids out there playing really hard is kind of the first thing I notice. They do have some younger guys out there playing, but they're certainly playing with great effort.

Their technique has gotten better since the season started. I think it's apparent. They're obviously being well-coached in their schemes and their techniques. Those kids have very bright futures, in my opinion.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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