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BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 3, 2017

Jim Reid

Boston, Massachusetts

Q. With Truman and Johnson and Milano gone, you lost 181 tackles I believe it is. Talk about trying to fill those gaps this year and keep at least the run-stopping game consistent.
JIM REID: Well, first of all, maybe what I'll do is give you a brief overview of everything and I'll come right back to that. Last year the highlight was those last three games, and the bowl win was terrific. One thing that never, ever, ever stopped was the great effort by our entire team. That North Carolina State win with Cam Moore making that really huge play in the end zone, and then it just kept building and building, and it went right straight through, as Coach Addazio said, right straight through to now.

We lose some really good players. We've got a lot of really good players coming back, and we've got some -- we'll mention some that have been here, but there's going to be some surprises, some really -- you can see it develop on the field.

Inside you've got Ray Smith and you've got Harold Landry coming back for his senior year, and Wyatt Ray. Zach Allen has had like four great practices in a row, and he had a great spring. And we're developing some depth there, as well. Gosh, we're just really excited to watch these guys develop, and if you're going to develop as a defensive lineman, there is no one in the country, in the entire country, and since the United States most of the time plays football, then I'll say the world, and just in case there's other places in the universe, that can develop talent like coach Paul Pasqualoni. This is my fifth year with this guy. He's an amazing coach. To watch how he works with his players and develops his players and the respect that he has for them and the respect that they return to him is pretty terrific.

He's coached some great pass rushers in his pro career, and he's doing a tremendous job, I think, with all of the guys that I mentioned, both the inside and the outside guys.

I know what he's teaching because he taught me these things when I was at Miami with him and he was the defensive coordinator there. So I mean, it's been fun to watch everybody develop. I'm just going to tell you that I've done this for 40-some odd years. I don't want to say 46 because then you'll think that I'm a little older. But anyway, just so you know, I'm telling you, I've been around no one with the intensity and the desire for their players to improve like I have Anthony a.m. pa Nelly. Gosh, you watch that guys works them, and the players love it.

You're going to miss somebody, but Isaac has done great. I already mentioned Cam, and Mehdi and Taj Torres has really had -- he had a great spring, and he's had four great practices so far. Will, Lucas, I mean, you name all of them, and they're all working extremely, extremely hard, not just on the football field but in the meeting room, as well, and on -- they've just had a -- it's on display every day, so we're really, really excited, and the guys that I coach, Connor Strachan, I can say this with surety: He's in the best shape of his life. The guy is just terrific, and he's leading very well. And you've got Ty Schwab, as well, and Kevin Bletzer is doing a terrific job out there. I'll go through the whole roster and I'm just going to tell you that these characters are just working just as hard as they can. It's terrific to watch.

Did that answer your question? All right, good.

Q. Coach, a little bit about the cohesion between the linebackers and the defensive line; how important is it for them to play off one another in the scheme that you run?
JIM REID: Huge, and this is exactly what we tell the linebackers, just so you know. Any time I've coached any linebackers at all, the defensive line never makes a mistake. They never make a mistake. They're four yards in front of us, and we expect them to be aggressive. Most of the time they'll be in their gap exactly the way they should be, but when they're not, we have time, if we understand the scheme, then we can help just play off of them. So when you talk about the cohesion, not just on the field, but let me tell you what, these guys here, they talk football all the time. You go down to the locker room and they're talking about -- they're not talking about the Red Sox or the Bruins or the Celtics or anything of that nature. What they're talking about is, hey, what about the zone scheme, and what are the tips and what are the leans and things of that nature. I mean, it's marvelous to watch. It's just exactly the way it was when I left here way back in 1994. Tremendous young men, highly motivated in every phase of their life: Football, academics, socially, and then taking advantage of all of their opportunities, not just here but also with each other. It's just really a fun group to be around.

Did that answer -- okay, all right. So what I'm saying is they have to be best friends, but also, secondary has to know what the linebackers are doing. So that closeness helps in all phases of the game. Yep, good question.

Q. My question is about taking you back in time to the day you learned that Harold was going to come back and how much that affected you and how that affects the program.
JIM REID: Well, I get a little emotional when I think of that, and I just want you to know that in a lot of instances, probably most ever, that a young man would seize the opportunity because he did have a good draft grade, to leave, and why he didn't, I think, is why Boston College is a very special place. He wanted to graduate from here. But he loved his teammates, and he didn't want to leave them with one more year left.

And then the other thing, too, is, I honestly believe he felt he got a lot better with Coach Pasqualoni, and now another year with Coach P, you just don't know what's going to happen. But there's a special bond here. You know, it's hard to describe unless you've gone to school here, but there's like mindedness. When you walk around here, everybody is focused on getting a great education, and they're focused on real good, clean living so that they can progress in their lives, not just socially but with faith and with all the extracurricular, you know? And there's a great support system. Every time you walk into a classroom, they're your classmates, and there's a special respect there that everybody has for each other. I mean, it's really wonderful.

It's a great environment to be in if you're an athlete here. It's what I felt back in 1994. It's still here. So it's the school and it's the environment, and it's the way it's run. Integrity and honor have a lot to do with that, and you feel it every day. And guys don't want to leave it, and I believe that that was one of the reasons.

But I'll tell you what, I was fired up. I still have my Twitter message and he tweeted me back. It was great. It was just really, really fun. Yeah, I know how to use Twitter. I know that smile.

Q. You've seen a lot of football over the years. What do you see in Harold? Who does he remind you of?
JIM REID: Well, you know, I'd like to probably say Jason Taylor. You know, he's a guy that can get off the football, that uses his hands well. But you know, the one thing that Harold has developed very well, and I think that Coach Pasqualoni will tell you this, is a great understanding of how to study film, you know, and how to practice and the intensity of it and the environment and the awareness.

Okay, now, I might be lined up on this end, but what's the split of the wide receiver and what's the backfield set? We say down and distance all the time, 1st and 10. You guys are sitting up in the press box with me, and we say, yeah, it's 1st and 10. You get on the field, you run, you hit, you get a little bit hurt and all, you've got to have awareness; is it 2nd and 1, 3rd and 5? Those escape guys. You've got to have great focus there.

I'll tell you the guy, Jason Taylor had a long reach. I coached him. Coach Pasqualoni was the defensive coordinator, and I coached the rush ends on the outside and the linebackers. He's that type of guy.

And you know what, Jason Taylor was also the NFL Man of the Year, I think, like three or four times, maybe five. So I would also include that as part of the evaluation of what you just asked me to do because Harold Landry I think is a really great man. Great, great, great young man.

Q. Coach Addazio talked about Isaac at the cornerback position, the speed he brings and the experience. I covered him in high school, he was fast then. Could you talk about his speed and his experience and what he brings to the outside of the defense?
JIM REID: Isaac Yiadom? Yeah, let me tell you this: This guy has developed, all right. Isaac has developed so greatly here under Anthony that -- today it was amazing. Yesterday. Every day this young man has an amazing, athletic play, and the reason he has an amazing athletic play is because he's in great position to be able to make it.

You stand up there and you watch, oh, look at that, this guy missed that. There's a lot that goes into what we do. A ton that goes into what we do. And unless you're totally focused and highly energized, I'll tell you, it's hard to get in the right position all the time because the other guys, they're getting coached, too. They're good players, too. They have scholarships, too.

And Isaac has just hit a different level of preparation. I guess we call it maybe maturity, but in order to have that maturity, you've got to have some great focus and understanding and you've got to want to do that, and you've got to want to do that all the time. So I mean, you know, we're really excited about how he's playing. Really excited about how he played last year and again how he's playing in spring as well as these first -- just four, but he's been outstanding.

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