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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 7, 2018

Steve Addazio

Greensboro, North Carolina

STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, having a chance to really spend a lot of time watching Clemson on tape, I have to say that I've always been really impressed with Dabo Swinney and the job that he's done at Clemson. But they're really just such a really elite coached team on all three phases. Their coordinators are phenomenal, and Dabo is just obviously a great head coach who's maintained a level of excellence at the highest, highest level with their recruiting, with the management of their program, with just really, really impressed, and I see a team that's probably as elite a team as I've seen in my career. So the challenge for us will be a great challenge for sure. Super excited about the fact that we are home. It will be a great deal of energy in our stadium, and we've had a good week of practice.

We're looking forward to this big, big challenge that we have in front of us here, but have just the utmost respect for the whole Clemson program, their level of play, how they carry themselves. Just really very, very impressed. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Q. This is a homecoming game for Christian Wilkins. As you know, BC was his childhood favorite team, and he always thought he was going to go there until he decided to go to Clemson. Just wondering what you remember from recruiting Christian.
STEVE ADDAZIO: You know, I remember Christian very well. First of all, he was a great player, but he had just such a great personality and a great presence about him, a wonderful, wonderful guy. Extremely talented. Obviously Clemson got themselves an elite player who is a tremendous role model for the university.

Really enjoyed recruiting him and getting to know him, and I'm sure it's a great thrill for him to be able to come back up here and play in front of a lot of people that love to support him.

Q. The Tigers held AJ Dillon to 57 yards on 18 carries last year. Obviously Christian had something to do with that, but what do you think they did so well as a team defense to be able to contain him last year?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, you know, I think that you're talking about they've had an elite defense there and still do right now. Maybe their best. But just got really good players and really good scheme and do a heck of a job preparing themselves.

Every year is a new year, and that's just the way that is. So here we come now, and we're going to hope that we have a healthy AJ Dillon and put together a good plan and see where those chips fall.

Q. You mentioned having watched so much Clemson tape this week. What was Texas A&M able to do, especially in the second half, that no one else really has been able to do to sustain moving the ball against Clemson? I know it was all passing, but what specifically did they do?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, I mean, I think they had a good plan in terms of attacking the coverage. They've got really talented players. I just thought that they did an excellent job in execution. You know, I don't really -- I didn't, per se, evaluate A&M, although I watched that very closely, but that's a talented football team, and they threw the ball well in the second half and were able to make some plays.

You know, it's hard to make plays against Clemson. Very, very difficult. You've got to earn every one of them. They were able to make a few, and that's what you need to do. You need to be able to make a few plays. You need to be able to get the ball down the field, and it's hard. You're going to have a real hard time going down in increments of three and four yards the length of the field against the kind of defense that they have and the kind of players they have. You've got to create some explosives, whether you create it in the option game, create it in the downfield passing game, or you're just fortunate to hit a couple of big runs or play actions. You need explosives, and they were able to find them.

Q. And then on your side defensively, watching Zach against Virginia Tech, has he been that good all year?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, he's an elite player. He's made a lot of plays all year long, a lot of QB hurries, a lot of hits. I just think that I've been around a lot of guys, and his rare combination of power and athleticism and speed I think is probably surprising to some people. He's an elite pass rusher, but he's got great power, and he can really play well against the run.

He's been dominant all year, and I would expect he'll be a real factor on Saturday night.

Q. What you've seen out of Clemson, how much has their dominance over these last four games, how much does that have to do with the switch that they made to Trevor Lawrence at quarterback?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, it's clear to me that Dabo and his staff, they know exactly what they're doing. Here's a guy that throws the ball really, really at a high level. I mean, he's very accurate, he's athletic, he can run the read zone game. But he's an elite thrower. And so it gives them a dominant run game and a dominant throw game. He appears to have tremendous confidence and poise to him, as well.

You know, I heard Dabo say they had three great quarterbacks, now they have two, but it's a testament to the way they've recruited. I mean, to have the level of quarterbacks they have on their roster is very, very impressive. Trevor is a guy that's very talented. Super talented. And I think he gives them that real dimension of a real dominant thrower that complements their sensational run game.

Q. Obviously their backs are really good, too, so what kinds of problems does it present for a defense when you're trying to put together a game plan when they can both run and throw equally as well?
STEVE ADDAZIO: You know, it's really difficult. I mean, on top of it, and we're not talking about how good their offensive line is, I'm a line guy, and I've always been very impressed with the level of coaching that happens with their offensive line. I think they're really fundamentally good. They're tough. So I think you have a really good offensive line that can create the openings for the backs, and I think they can protect the quarterback really well.

As you said, I think they're a super talented backfield. Then how about the receivers? They've got big receivers that go up and catch the ball and a quarterback that can get it there. That's why they're so dominant. When you watch them on offense, you don't look and say, well, we have a little weakness here or we have an advantage here. You just see a really talented, well-rounded offense full of very good players with a very good scheme, and they're coached well, coached very, very well.

And I would say that about both sides of the ball. I think Brent Venables is an elite coordinator, and it's very difficult. He does a phenomenal job of putting them in the right schemes, obviously with some really fantastic players. They've got a great coaching staff, so they've got the players, they've got the staff, and that's why I said earlier that I'm not just saying this now, I'm just telling you exactly how I feel, that I just really, really marveled at the job that Dabo has done, to be able to sustain -- not just to get there but to sustain that kind of dominance in terms of the program I think is just remarkable. That's a special deal.

Q. I wanted to ask you what AJ Dillon's status for this week is, and also given how you've played the last three weeks, do you feel like you have the kind of team that can give Clemson a game for four quarters?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, first off, AJ is a day-to-day guy. He's done a fabulous job of managing his injury, and we just kind of get through the week, and each week we hope we gain on it a little bit. But he's doing well.

In terms of I think your last part of the question was can we play four quarters, I would say to you that we'll show up and we'll play four quarters. I mean, we're going to come out and play as hard and as fast and as relentless as we can possibly play, and we're going to make it as physical a game as we can make it.

With all the respect in the world, as I've said here, for this Clemson program, which is genuine and real, you know, we're competitors, and we're excited about the opportunity, and we're going to give everything we have on Saturday night. You can rest assured of that.

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