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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 28, 2016

Jerod Evans

Greensboro, North Carolina

Q. No disrespect to you, you've had a great season, set a bunch of records, but do you feel like the other quarterback going into this game with Watson getting so much publicity?
JEROD EVANS: To be honest, I'm not paying attention to all the hype or all the media attention. I'm just worried about me and my team and what we've got to do in order to win the game. I really don't pay too much attention to that. It is what it is.

Q. Is there any personal level for you where you kind of in the back of your mind want to show people that they maybe should have looked at you, too?
JEROD EVANS: I mean, I'll get my chance, and when I do, just got to make the most of it. Again, it is what it is. I'm not focused on that. Once I get my chance, I think people will see, but right now I'm thinking about me and my team and what we can do in order to win this game.

Q. I know back when you were playing in Texas you paid attention to all the top quarterbacks in the country. Did you ever pay attention to Deshaun or take note of him, and what were your impressions of him not just as a talent but as a leader of his team, playing in the national game and everything like that?
JEROD EVANS: Of course. I mean, coming out of junior college I looked at a lot of football games, and obviously I loved the quarterback position so I looked at a lot of quarterbacks. With that being said, I saw Deshaun Watson and the way he leads his team, the way he throws the ball, the way he runs the ball, kind of to me like the total package when it comes to being a dual threat, can throw and run, but very accurate down the field, especially against Alabama. So yeah, I definitely watched him and seen how he played and the way he plays the game and his demeanor, and when they're down, he's never down, so I like that about him.

Q. How much of a mismatch does Bucky Hodges provide to you in every game?
JEROD EVANS: Great question. I mean, I would say just by his pure size, I would say pretty good advantage, just being 6'7", 245 pounds, got great range, has great speed for his size, so I would say he has a pretty good advantage when he lines up on the field.

I know that he's listed as a tight end, but he's played more receiver this year. What do you think he is?

JEROD EVANS: I think he's a hybrid. I think he's both. It's just the system. I think he fits in any system, and right now the system that we're currently in, he fits this way better. That's where coaches want him, and that's where he's playing.

Q. When you started practicing with him in the spring, did you know right away that he'd be a very valuable member of the receiving group for you?
JEROD EVANS: Yes. I mean, again, knowing him and his stats and all he's done before I even came here, I knew he was going to be valuable. But then, like I say, his size presents a lot of problems, and his ability to catch the ball and get down the field presents a lot of problems. So yeah, when I met him, I knew that he would help, definitely.

Q. I wanted to ask, I know you came in here with Coach Fuente, and you didn't have to play under Coach Beamer. What's your sense of what Coach Beamer did for the program knowing that you came in along with Coach Fuente at the same time?
JEROD EVANS: To be honest, I'm still trying to figure out -- I'm still figuring that out as we go along this journey because I don't know Coach Beamer that much. I met him a couple times, but to know what he's done for the program, obviously I feel on a day in, day out basis how much the fans and this community love him, and even the players. So I can see by the actions that the players and the community and the fans show, but I don't know the impact because I've never been here when he was actually here as the head coach.

Q. When he came in and talked to the team before the Virginia game, what was the sense that you got from your teammates when they saw him?
JEROD EVANS: Again, the amount of respect they have for the man, Coach Beamer, they gave him a standing ovation, so he must have had a great impact on these guys. Again, I don't know personally because I wasn't here.

Q. When you arrived, you were a new guy, probably didn't know a lot of people. What type of reception did you get from your teammates? Were there any guys that stood out who came to you and said, hey, glad to have you here, just do the best you can and go from there?
JEROD EVANS: To be honest, I don't remember that vividly about the experience that I had. I know I definitely had to earn the respect of the players coming in here. I wouldn't say -- I mean, I got more welcomes look hi, how you doing, it's time to get to work, but nothing too much.

Q. And one other thing going back to Bucky, did he jump out at you immediately as a guy who could be a really effective, I guess, for lack of a better term, offensive weapon for you guys?
JEROD EVANS: Yes.

Q. In what ways?
JEROD EVANS: Just, like I've said earlier, his size, his speed, his weight, his hands. Everything that comes with a player, he has. He's a raw talent that's become -- when I say raw talent, going out there to wide receiver was kind of new to him, and the transformation that he's made going out there, running better routes, working with Isaiah and all them and the coaches, just make him that much better of a player.

Q. This was your first time through in the rivalry with Virginia. There had been that tradition to take the Cup out and celebrate with it all over town Saturday night after the game. Did you guys do that, and what was that experience like?
JEROD EVANS: Say it one more time. I couldn't hear you.

Q. I'm curious if you kept up with the tradition of taking the Cup out around downtown Saturday night, and if so, what was that like?
JEROD EVANS: The seniors are definitely the leaders of all that, just tried to be around them and enjoy the time with them because it's our last go-around with playing Virginia and the way it ended, so they led the whole thing. I was just to be around just to support.

Q. And you've also mentioned Coach Foster. Obviously he's on the other side of the ball, but you met him in recruitment and things like that. What's Coach Foster and your relationship been like?
JEROD EVANS: Tremendous. I never had a defensive coordinator actually recruit me. He's the first defensive coordinator that actually recruited me. It's kind of weird to have an opposing side of the ball recruit you, but he recruited me and told me some things that I really don't want to say, but it meant a lot to me. It's definitely grown tremendously over time, and he's also a main reason why I came, as well, because again, I never had a defensive coordinator recruit me, and the things he said just made me that much more fall in love with this place and the staff, especially him. It's grown, definitely.

Q. As a dual-threat quarterback, what have you seen of Clemson's defense and how they defend a mobile running type quarterback?
JEROD EVANS: I'm still looking at them, so I couldn't answer that question.

Q. Have you seen the Louisville game by chance yet?
JEROD EVANS: I did not.

Q. I guess as far as when you face a game like this where Clemson is going to be expected to win, what's sort of you guys' mindset going in where Clemson is a team with a chance to make the playoff and you guys have a chance to stop that?
JEROD EVANS: To be honest, we're not worried about that. We've been coming out so many times, we're just worried about us and the game plan that we have, that we're trying to have or we're going to have for Clemson. But we worry about us and what we have to do in order to go 1-0, and that's what we're worried about.

Q. As an offense do you go in thinking that you might have to match Clemson's offense point for point for the scoreboard?
JEROD EVANS: I haven't thought that far yet. I'm pretty sure Bud Foster has a plan. Again, we're just worried about what we've got to do for the game plan so we can execute on both sides of the ball, offense and defense, and then on special teams, as well.

Q. I heard you say that you're still looking at Clemson, but certainly as you start to look at some of their stats, something that jumps out is that they're top three in the country in sacks. Based on what you've seen so far, what makes them so effective at doing that, and how are you going to have to change what you do to beat that pass rush?
JEROD EVANS: You said top three in what again?

Q. In sacks.
JEROD EVANS: Oh, in sacks. I don't think we've got to do anything differently. Coach Cornelsen and Coach Fuente will have a game plan, and we'll just go by that. We've played great talents before as far as Tennessee and Notre Dame, got great athletes just like Clemson, and I believe Coach Cornelsen and Coach Fuente will have a plan. All we've got to do is just execute it, so we'll see.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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