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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 6, 2017Bronco MendenhallGreensboro, North Carolina BRONCO MENDENHALL: It's good to be with you today. Always nice to start the season with a win to gain some momentum and see smiles on players' faces and have some return on investment. Looking forward to continuing to build our program, learn to work and practice and play consistently week after week, and anxious for our next challenge. I'll take questions. Q. I was wondering if you could just kind of give us a quick scouting report on what you see offensively from these guys, both in terms of personnel and obviously the pace that they play at. BRONCO MENDENHALL: I'll start in reverse order. They like to be up tempo. There are many teams in college football that use that philosophy now, and Indiana has that as their brand, and it's something they like. They do blend physical football with tempo, which a lot of times doesn't happen. Sometimes with the pace, there is a physical presence and a toughness that's kind of lost; Indiana has that, I think, as well. They throw the ball very efficiently as well as run it effectively. Their offense is predicated on taking what you give them. There are RPOs and there's obviously different predictive reads before the snap, but they throw and catch it well, and I think they're staffed well enough to reflect their bowl game appearance a year ago. Q. You obviously had a loss defensively at corner with Tim; where are you in terms of determining who will start in that position? BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, we're basically just, to say it obviously, on Wednesday of game week. With looking at all the options, and we'll use every minute we have all the way up until game time to determine what our best 11 players are versus what Indiana presents, and so I haven't made a determination yet. A number of different options we can do, but I haven't decided yet. Q. In light of obviously Craig Littlepage retiring or announcing retirement yesterday, curious about this is year two of being a football coach here, obviously Craig's No. 2 stepped down last week. When you were tired, did you have much of a sense of the near future and changes potentially that could be on the horizon, and that being said, what are your expectations going forward with the University obviously making changes at AD, executive AD and president? Obviously these are kind of unique times at UVA overall? BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, it's a unique time and also a unique opportunity. Man, Craig did an exceptional job leading this athletic department, and he just reflects class and dignity and just so many really neat virtues, and he's done it for a long time. No. 2, I think, John Oliver had been here 16 years, as well as now a new president, and that means there's also a new rector. Leadership basically in every level of alignment, all the way to myself, has and is changing. So I think it'll be a great opportunity for UVA to reset and make really clear what their expectations are in all sports but also really what kind of commitment we want to make to football, understanding the value it can have, not only economically in the community but also just a sense of what it can do for campus, the institution, the branding, the city of Charlottesville and the state. And so I'm anxious to see what those choices are, and in the meantime, preparing to play a football game. Q. In light of the Tim Harris news and obviously looking at your corner situation, curious about Darius Latimore, and do you expect him to play this season? Where is his status? What's his status now? BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, he's not ready to play. He's going and has gone through the rehab protocol. It's taking longer than any of us would like. There's a sense of frustration with me, with him, and all regarding his recovery, and so for whatever reason, it's just taking longer than what we would have hoped. I don't have a predictive time frame, other than everyone wants him back. Q. What do you see getting ready for that game with Indiana? BRONCO MENDENHALL: I see another opportunity to grow and develop and prove our football team, and Indiana just is the next opponent. They're a quality opponent, a bowl game opponent from a year ago, and I think they do a really nice job. Q. And talk about what did you like from the first game you saw against William & Mary and the pros and cons you saw from that game? BRONCO MENDENHALL: I just liked, first of all, that we had a successful outcome, secondly, that we seemed more poised and mature and are gaining more, I think, confidence as we go. Q. You mentioned that they do blend that physical nature; what do you see from their running game, their offensive line play, and just specifically that aspect of their offense? BRONCO MENDENHALL: Yeah, just kind of what I alluded to. A lot of teams that play tempo offense are finesse oriented and are basically just looking for open space and to run around you. Indiana is not afraid to run around you, but they also like to go through, and I think they run for power and physicality, as well, and I think that's kind of the identity of their team. I think they do a nice job, again, not sacrificing physical play for tempo. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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