	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 24, 2018

Pat Narduzzi

Greensboro, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We are joined now by Boston College head coach Pat Narduzzi.

Coach, please give us an opening statement and then we'll take questions.

PAT NARDUZZI: I think our kids are anxious obviously after an open week. They want to get back to business, against a great Duke football team. Coach Cutcliffe, got the world of respect for him, how he does business. He's a great football coach.

It has a lot to do with what they do offensively with Daniel Jones and players they have on offense. They do a ton of stuff on offense that we've prepared for in the last really week and a half, throwing the ball, running the ball.

Defensively, we popped a couple long runs on them last year, but it wasn't easy. It's a pound, pound, pound. They're very, very stingy, well-coached on both sides of the ball. It's going to be a battle here in Heinz Field 3:30 on Saturday.

With that I'll open it up for questions.

Q. Talk about Daniel Jones. You played him last year. He's been with Duke for a while. What type of quarterback is he and how hard is it for you to prepare for him, great arm, mobile, too?
PAT NARDUZZI: Everything you just asked me. He has a great arm, can move his feet, he's tough and smart. The NFL ranks him a top 10 pick, period. For Coach Cutcliffe, I hope he doesn't leave early. For everybody else in the ACC that doesn't want to play against him next year, we're all hoping for it. That's what kind of player he is.

They rank him the way they do. He has a gun of an arm. He makes good decisions. He has receivers that he can rifle it to. I mean, I think that's what makes him such a great quarterback. He's 6'5" and can see back there. There's not a lot of those guys around the country these days.

Q. Talk about Coach Cutcliffe, a quarterback guru. Talk about him personally, what you like about him as a coach and friend.
PAT NARDUZZI: I've never coached with him. You see the success he's had. But as a person, first thing he's just a well-respected guys I think amongst the country, obviously in the ACC. When I go down to meetings, we get to spend more time together at those, when Dave Cutcliffe talks, you listen, period. I think that's really the key.

He's a well-respected guy. I think he's very intelligent. I love the guy, I really do. We'll be battling Saturday at 3:30. But he's a guy I look to. If I ever had questions or problems, he's the first guy I'd pick up and talk to.

He's a quarterback guru, as you said. What's important about quarterback gurus is he teaches the quarterbacks, keeps it simple enough that they can execute. Anybody that puts his hands on a quarterback, Jones is a great talent, but he's had other guys that weren't maybe as talented that he's turned into great players, period. I think that's what makes him good. Doesn't matter who he's coaching, he gets the best out of his players.

Q. Could you tell us a little bit about how you approached last week, the bye week, what you did.
PAT NARDUZZI: Sure. Sometimes you sit there and try to get them fresh, maybe you never do. We had two really good practices, half on Duke both days and half on us, what we're doing. We got some great two-minute work done. We got a lot of good stuff against each other of similar stuff that we would see versus a Duke, say.

We serviced each other as far as what we're seeing, but we're seeing it as -- it wasn't scout looks except for a couple periods. That's what we did.

Obviously our coaches were able to get on the road a little bit on Monday and Friday, go out and evaluate some prospects that have committed to us or guys we're looking at or hoping they're committed to us.

Q. Are you noticing teams go for it on fourth down more? As a defensive guy, are you playing more four down football?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, we're always seeing a little bit more. I think every year you see a little bit more going for it on fourth down. I think the more people look at it, I think Chip Kelly was one of the first ones to start taking those fourth down shots, whatever, when he was back at Oregon, how many years ago was that.

Every year I think you start to see more people taking more chances on fourth down. Again, depends on the distance, what you're going to do, whether it's a fake punt, fourth and one. But we've gone for it quite a few times.

Again, it all depends on how your defense is playing, who is the offense. It's something you gauge that week and have a plan going in as far as what you want to do on fourth down, if you get the opportunity, where you want to go for it on fourth down.

Then you may go in with a plan, all of a sudden you're playing changes depending on how you're playing offensively or defensively. I think that's something you always got to take into account. It's not just a cookie cutter, hey, we're going to go for it regardless of what the situation is in a game. I think you have to have a feel as a head coach what you want to do when that situation arises.

Q. Does it change the way you defend in the red zone?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, it definitely changes your thought process. Let's just say it's third and seven at the plus 40 going in, 40 yards to go. Duke will be one of those teams that will do it, as well. They're sitting there going, Okay, let's get half of that, fourth and three, fourth and two, we'll go for it.

Usually on third down and seven in the plus territory, back 10 years ago, seven years ago, five years ago, teams are thinking, We got to get all seven. I'm always going to tell our offensive coordinator, You have four downs here on third and seven. He thinks about, Do I want to run the ball here? What is the front I'm facing? Do I have a run I like in this territory?

I think it's something you're certainly seeing different. Defense has to look the same way. Do you want to get nickel personnel, put a DB in there? It makes you think offensively and defensively about what decisions you have to make.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297