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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 25, 2017

David Cutcliffe

Greensboro, North Carolina

DAVID CUTCLIFFE: Obviously I just walked out of the film room, continuing to work and look at Virginia Tech, and I'll say it again, I think they're better than their ranking. I think they're a top-10 team. They're a balanced team. They're outstanding on offense. They're outstanding on defense. Really they play the kicking game exceptionally well, a well-coached football team. We certainly have our hands full traveling to Blacksburg.

Q. Other than Miami, which handled you pretty good, the other three losses that you had have all been close games. Has there been any common threads in there that you've seen, just execution or just things that you aren't doing quite as well as you did at the beginning of the season?
DAVID CUTCLIFFE: Well, we've got a good football team, but like a lot of teams, consistency is the biggest challenge, and when we have been inconsistent, whether it was on offense, defense or in the kicking game, it seems to have -- it's going to bite us, and so we've given up two big long runs to Pitt. The differences are very minuscule when you lose by a touchdown. Even the Miami game for most of the four quarters, the game was a really good game, and then we were the most physical team on the field to be honest with you. But as I said, well-coached teams don't lose consistently by touchdowns, so it is a combination of things, and consistency falls on the coach. We've got to find that.

Q. You've had a number of defensive players that have done well this year. The guy who has the impressive statistics, Joe Giles, linebacker, what kind of season has he had for you, him just being a sophomore? What kind of player is he developing into?
DAVID CUTCLIFFE: Joe Giles Harris is one of the best football players we've got. He redshirted as a freshman. We had a little more experienced group at linebacker. He started for us a year ago every game. He is a big, powerful guy that can play sideline to sideline. Joe doesn't have much to say, but he flat works every day. As I said, I think if you asked our team, if you asked the guys that were his teammates, hey, name some of the best players you've got on your team, he may be the first or second one mentioned. He's a really, really good football player.

Q. You have Shaun Wilson and there are a lot of other guys in the league like him. What does that do for the league, having all these versatile guys? Is that something that stands out to you?
DAVID CUTCLIFFE: Yeah, I think you start seeing as the league gets better, you see more and more players that are playmakers, difference makers, and Shaun is that for us. He's staying healthy for the most part right now. He's a great receiver. He's a great running back. We try to get him the ball in a lot of different ways. Probably not as much as I should.

But he is an outstanding senior for us and a guy that we trust to do a lot of things. But I think our league has got threats. You see it across the board. I turn on tape, and every team has got somebody that makes you nervous. The league has grown, you know.

Q. Obviously it's something you have to be aware of as you prepare for guys like Henderson of Pitt that can just break open a game?
DAVID CUTCLIFFE: Yeah, he had me -- he owes me some sleep hours, to be honest with you. We just got through with him, and he's a terrific player, a return man. You see a combination of those guys that do all of that. I love those kinds of players. They're just ball players. They grew up playing ball, and most of them can throw it, they can catch it, they can run with it. If you can catch kickoffs and punts, and Shaun does both of those for us, and so does Henderson, for example -- what scares you is we see some teams in our league that have three or four of those guys, and now you're really talking about making it difficult to defend.

Q. Justin stated earlier this week that you do some great things schematically. You know you mentioned earlier about their special teams. I know each coach has their own identity; do you see any similarities to the old style of Beamer ball at Virginia Tech again?
DAVID CUTCLIFFE: Yeah, you do in this measure. You can tell they emphasize an aggressive kicking game. Every little thing is covered. They view returns as an opportunity. They view coverage as an opportunity. They will come after a punt with intent to block a punt. That to me is what Beamer ball was; it's not schematic, it is a belief in the kicking game. Certainly, I think, as a younger coach that Justin Fuente is establishing the fact that Virginia Tech is going to be outstanding in the kicking game.

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