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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 21, 2017

Steve Addazio

Greensboro, North Carolina

STEVE ADDAZIO: Thanks, Mike. I too want to say we wish you well in your future retirement, and also really appreciate your professionalism and all that you've done for the ACC and all of the coaches and the way you've handled all the press conferences and these calls. So we appreciate all you've done and we wish you well, hope you have a great Thanksgiving with your family and a great future moving forward.

As we get ready for this rivalry weekend, I've always been impressed with Dino and what he's done with his program. They've got some really fine players. I look at their quarterbacks. They're explosive on offense. Eric Dungey is, in my opinion, one of the elite players in the conference. Zack Mahoney has really looked good in playing in games and he's a great talent throwing the football. Dontae Strickland, very productive, really good running back.

Obviously, Steve Ishmael and Philips are elite receivers in our conference nationally. So offensively they're very explosive and have big play, strike capability. Obviously we have the utmost respect for them.

On defense, I think they play very, very hard on defense, very physically on defense. Zaire Franklin, I think, is an outstanding football player with 77 tackles on the year and 5.5 TFLs. Just really productive, really good football player, nose for the ball. Parris Bennett, another linebacker that I think is outstanding. He leads the team in tackles. Evan Foster on the back end.

They create a lot of pressure. They've got a lot of movement going on. They disrupt a lot of offenses. We know that this is a tough place to play. I've spent some great years up there and with this game being the kind of game that it is, it's always a really tough, physical, hard-fought game. So we're preparing like crazy right now, and know that this will be a very, very difficult task.

Q. To look at your return to Syracuse, and per Paul Pasqualoni, what can you say about him? Obviously you recruited up there, found success up there and brought it to Boston College, and you had success being on the staff there before. Just what type of nostalgia maybe that creates for you and the connection that you've always had with the community in going and finding talent in Central New York?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, high school football Central in New York is awesome, and there are great players every year that come out of there. My experience at Syracuse was really a phenomenal one. We were part of three conference championships, three BCS Bowl games, and just incredible crowd in the Dome. It's entrenched in my memory of one of the most electric atmospheres I've ever been in in my career. I've got great, great friends to this day there, neighbor friends. I just think it's such an awesome community.

I respect Syracuse. I respect all the former players and everybody associated with that program, and I'm not going to speak for Coach P. What he did there is legendary. Obviously on this day, this the day that we play. It's all about one thing, Boston College.

I'd be lying if I didn't tell you outside of that day, I always have a fond place for Syracuse University, without a doubt. I wouldn't be where I am today without Syracuse in my background. So that's probably as much as I need to dribble on about the team that we're going to go to war with here very, very shortly.

Q. When you look at going to war, your team will be going to a bowl game in four out of five years. You already have that locked up. Just speak on finishing strong as well as staying the course of your plan at Boston College and showing the community around the Boston College school that your plan that you wanted to implement has been working and continues to work toward the postseason once again?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, I mean, I think it's all about this profession we're in, it's all about winning, and it's all about making sure that you have an upward trajectory. We've recruited well. We're developing well, and we're building. While we're doing that, we've been very, very fortunate. This will be our fourth opportunity in five years to go to a bowl game and to win a bowl game, hopefully. So in that building process, we're able to stay bowl eligible and build.

We have a great young team with a bright, bright future. I think that's critically important. What I'm most proud of, to be honest with you, is that we've got unbelievably high-character kids that really, their academics are extremely important to them. It's a great place to be. It's a great locker room to be around. There are a big bulk of northeast kids, and they represent Boston College the right way.

I think, like everybody else, trying to do the same thing, you want to do it with class, dignity, and you want to build your program. You want to have a model. Ours is toughness along with that. I think it's something our alumni and fan base can be proud of and want to be a part of.

Obviously, we're all in a foot race to develop and win as many games. You set your goals. You want to win the opener, you want to get bowl eligible, and at some point obviously you want to compete for conference championships. I'm not saying anything every other coach isn't saying. But along the way to do it the right way is critically important. I think teams in our conference do an unbelievable job of representing their universities and also our conference.

Q. With A.J. Dillon's season, did you see this coming, or has he exceed your expectations with his development this year?
STEVE ADDAZIO: I think we had high expectations and high hopes for him. Anytime a true freshman can do what he's done, and you have to put that in the exceeding category. It's not to think that he wasn't capable of it. I said he would go down and have an unbelievably remarkable career here at Boston College. So I think one of the great things for A.J. has been John Hillman has done a terrific job in mentoring A.J., and John is a really good football player, a tremendous person. So I really like that dynamic and that chemistry right there.

So he's had a great year and been an extremely productive, explosive, dominant player for us.

Q. What did you see that made you think this guy's going to have a great career at Boston College? What did you notice that kind of made you think this was going to happen?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Let's start with the obvious. He's a 6-foot, 240-pound guy that can run 10, 600 meter. So you're talking about a really big, powerful man who can fly. Then you wrap into the most important part of it, and he's an extremely, high intelligence character guy that came out of high school in Connecticut, went to Lawrence Academy and really performed well academically. This is important to him the quality of degree that he has.

So I think you take someone with his character and work ethic, and put it into his god-given body and ability, and I think that makes for a really powerful combination.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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