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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 28, 2016

Ben Boulware

Greensboro, North Carolina

Q. Interested in what your thoughts are on what you've seen of Jerod Evans.
BEN BOULWARE: He's definitely a great quarterback. I think he's very similar to Deshaun in their approach to the game. I think he might be a little bit heavier than Deshaun. He's definitely a bigger body, packing a little more pounds than Deshaun, but I think they're very similar in their game, how they're able to throw the ball and also incorporate it into the run game. Definitely a great athlete, bigger body, has a great pocket presence, avoids a lot of tackles just for him being as big and athletic as he is.

Q. Deshaun was impressed by his willingness to come back in the game against Pittsburgh after tweaking an ankle. Were you watching that game, and what would your impression be of a quarterback who does that?
BEN BOULWARE: No, you definitely respect that, just a guy that wants to win, that will do anything possible for his team, his program and university and that will put his body and sacrifice his body on the line for the betterment of his team, so you definitely respect that for him as a player and as a leader. He'll do anything possible to get a win.

Q. I know you guys over the last year plus have had a few games where some tight ends have been able to do a little bit of damage to you guys defensively, one of the probably few times that anybody has done much damage to you guys defensively. Virginia Tech obviously has a really good one in Bucky Hodges who they move around the field a lot. What have you seen from him, and how much do you guys, since that Pittsburgh game in particular, how much have you guys focused on being able to stop some of those plays that are angled towards that part of the field?
BEN BOULWARE: Well, I think they definitely use -- he's definitely a bigger body. I think they definitely use him more as a receiver than they do tight end. They've got their fullback that I think they use more in that sniffer tight end spot as a blocking back, and he's also a great athlete, and I think so far what I've seen on film is they use him more as a receiver, just for him being such a big body and such a good athlete with all that size. So I think that's definitely going to be more of a matchup for our back four guys, our nickel guys. I know they'll probably incorporate him as a tight end, too, but definitely what I've seen so far is they use him more as a receiver type guy.

Q. You guys feel like since that Pittsburgh guys you've made some strides in focus? I know that shovel pass obviously was a little bit of an issue in that game. You've made some strides in that area?
BEN BOULWARE: I don't think that was a problem from the get-go. I think the one play they made was a throwback pass on us that none of us prepared for. I don't think that was a thing where we were like in man-to-man coverage and we got beat. It was a trick play, so I don't think that's an issue that we were like worried about just because the trick play kind of got us all on our heels, and the shovel pass is more of like a just a defensive adjustment rather than a matchup against the linebackers. I think everybody comes into play with that with their D-line, the linebackers and our DB's, but I think the only time where the tight ends caused us trouble was a throwback pass which was really just a smart play on their part, got us on our heels, and that was just me chasing a guy from behind rather than if he was lined up in the slot and I got beat in man-to-man coverage, which hasn't really happened all year. I don't know why me and Kendall have been getting that bill all year when it hasn't happened, but LSU was lined up and kind of sneaked up the backfield, so it was really just a smart play on their part rather than somebody getting beat.

Q. What team that you guys have played this year or last year, I guess, does Virginia Tech most remind you of?
BEN BOULWARE: I think they're very similar to our offense. They're definitely a spread type offense, focus more on the pass, but formationally they're very similar to our offense. Very good athletes, great quarterback, great backs, very talented receivers and tight ends. So I think at the end of the day, as clichÃ© as it sounds, they're pretty similar to our offense, especially with the talent. So it's just us going against our offense every day is probably the best preparation we'll get.

Q. I know you've got lots of football to play, you're completely focused on the games and everything, but I'm just wondering, how do you think you fit in as an NFL player just looking ahead?
BEN BOULWARE: I mean, I obviously feel like I'm -- it may sound confident or cocky, but I feel like I have the right to say that I feel like I'm the best linebacker in the country just with my preparation, my leadership. I think at the end of the day, it comes down to making plays, and the plays I made over the past three years, especially in the biggest games, I think separated myself.

I know there's guys that have hype and SEC hype and all that stuff, but I think if you watch the film from an unbiased perspective, I think mine stands out. It is what it is. I'm obviously going to be biased on me, but I think if you just watch the film, it comes down to making plays, and that's what I do. I definitely think I have the talent and the preparation and the leadership to play at the next level, and I hope another team buys into that.

Q. What do you see as the biggest strides that the defense has made from the start of the season until now?
BEN BOULWARE: I think really just embracing each moment. I think just kind of focusing on each game, each practice, and just treat it like it's the biggest game of the season. I think that's kind of something we strayed away from last year, just kind of some guys just focusing on other things and not focusing on each moment. I think the leadership on the team and the older guys on the team have been focused on each moment, each practice, and just treating each game like it's the biggest of the season.

Q. Virginia Tech obviously is a team that likes to grind it out, control the ball, eat a lot of time off the clock, keep your defense on the field as long as possible. That any more difficult to prepare for than say a Louisville that's a quick-strike kind of team that runs around all over the place?
BEN BOULWARE: Not really. I think if you just kind of focus on your preparation and focus in on dominating each snap, that keeps them off the field. I think our defense has done a great job with three-and-outs. I think we're top in the nation and the country. I think we've done a great job of just kind of limiting teams to being on the field and just eating clock time, so that's definitely the main thing we'll focus on is dominating staff and just kind of eliminating those small plays that just kind of eat the clock and just kind of focus on getting three-and-outs every snap.

Q. I know you guys played 10 consecutive weeks last season. This year your open date was a little more mercifully scheduled. Do you feel like you guys are fresher going into this home stretch of the season, just for lack of a better term peaking at the right time?
BEN BOULWARE: I'm definitely proud of our guys. We've been very focused the whole season, especially this latter part of the season. They've been playing very consistent. I think the bye week the middle of this year helped us out a lot, allowed us to get our bodies back right in the middle of the season. Yes, I'm definitely happy about the way we played. I'm definitely proud that we're peaking at the right time, and hopefully we continue to peak and continue to improve these next couple games.

Q. You talked last year after the ACC Championship game that you were looking to move on, but you stayed back for your senior year. Just talk about this year; what do you see with Virginia Tech's offense? They're a pretty good offense, considering nobody knows about them except for people around the Shenandoah Valley.
BEN BOULWARE: Right, I think they're definitely a very great offense, got a lot of talent. I think they're very similar to all our offense formationally in what they do and especially talent wise. I think they've got a great quarterback. I think he's very similar to Deshaun, some great backs that they incorporate into their running game. Very talented receivers and O-line, and I think they match up well -- very similar to our offense, so I think the best preparation we'll have is just practicing all throughout the week against our offense because they're so similar.

Q. Just talk about Coach Swinney; what did he teach you in your years at Clemson about being a player and also being a fine student-athlete?
BEN BOULWARE: I think the main thing is just you've got to put in the work, just to see the fruit of your labor. You've got to put in hard work and you've got to go to work every day and just put your head down and grind. It's mainly that him and Coach D, just kind of being mature about each game and just focusing on each game and embracing every opportunity we have, and at the end of the day just working and grinding every day.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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