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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 6, 2010

Mike London

COACH LONDON: Good morning. We're excited about having an opportunity to play a conference game and travel down to Atlanta and be competitive. So couple weeks of practice and trying to get ready for that option. But it's one of those things a lot of teams as they prepare for Georgia Tech and their prolific offensive attack, But you have to do so. We're excited about moving forward.

Q. You had a tough game, competitive game out at Southern Cal. What is the key to being a good road team in college football and what do you tell your players before a road game that might be different than a home game?
COACH LONDON: The key is particularly on road games with very good teams is you have to minimize those mistakes that could cause serious issues in the game you know penalties, the lack of producing third downs. Missed assignments, missed tackles.
So it's hard enough to play in your own backyard. But when you go on the road and you have to play against good teams, you have to minimize many of those errors and situations that could cause you concern when you're on the road playing good teams, and Georgia Tech is another good team. They're the reigning ACC championship, so we'll have to do all those things. Tackle well, minimize our mental errors and try to convert on some third down situations.
Then hopefully on the other side of the ball try to move the ball and gain some first downs and capitalize on third down situations. You have to play a complete game, for sure. That is always the goal in every game we play.

Q. How have you divided the snaps when McCloud has been out? Do Womack and Joseph both play that position? Are they interchangeable?
COACH LONDON: Yeah, started out playing just left and right, but because when Rodney was out, wanted to make sure that everyone, kind of the three safety rotation that they all got the different looks. So we just started playing and making sure they played the both sides. So that's how we played the first three games, and that's how we've trained them.
Now with Rodney back everybody has benefited from having played both sides and both positions, so the learning curve is less steep. But either way from a safety position, strong safety, free safety, playing option team, you're heavily involved in the run.
But you have to be careful and be alert that they do a great job and they do throw the ball. They throw the ball deep, and you have to be back there for those deep passes too. So that's what we've been practicing and trying to get these guys prepared.

Q. Because of your familiarity with Coach Groh, his familiarity with you might you find yourself doing something slightly out of character on Saturday in an attempt to fool the other guy?
COACH LONDON: I hope not. I hope what you do is you play sound, fundamental football, and you stick to the things that your core beliefs as far as what you believe in, as far as being a football coach. The way you play the game, the way you see the game has to be played, I don't think you do anything outside of the box outside of your character.
But one thing you always try to do is impress upon the players about taking care of the ball. About trying to get turnovers and some of the things I just alluded to in the previous question.
It's not as much doing things totally out of character, because if you don't practice things that you do all the time and all of a sudden try to do something in a game that you've hardly practiced or done, you set yourself up for failure. So hopefully try to stick with the things that work for you.

Q. I wanted to ask about Kris Burd and his development. He's come a long way it seems. He's really been impressive this year. Did you see that coming? Can you talk about his strengths as a receiver?
COACH LONDON: Just in the early part of spring practice, and the early part of August practice you knew that Kris was a man with a tremendous amount of confidence in it himself and his ability. I think having an opportunity to now be kind of a featured guy or step-up guy or starter, he's a little older. So he's matured a little bit more.
That's what happens when you have players that have been around a little bit and matured a little bit. Played in some big games, then they have early success. It breeds confidence. So I think that's the thing that Kris has benefited of, having some early success, having some catches. He can run, he can block, he can do different things.
So when you have that type of success, and it breeds the type of confidence that he has, he already had the confidence part coming in, but it's made him a better player, and now we rely on him to be a better leader for us on the offensive side of the ball.

Q. You mentioned him being a featured player. Last year as the top receiver, but the numbers weren't eye popping or anything. Did you make him a featured guy or was it just the way it's worked out?
COACH LONDON: Actually it's the way it's worked out. But the benefit of him doing some really nice things in practice, it also allowed the emergence of Dontrelle Inman who has done some nice things also.
So going into the season, coming out of August camp Kris had emerged as a guy that could catch and run, and do a lot of things that the receivers are asked to do. He's a really good special teams player.
So he's a complete player in the aspect of he can catch punts and do all of those things. We haven't used him in catch punts, but we may. It's one of those things where he's athletic and can do a lot of things. His work for the team has increased because he had can do so many different things. It's to our benefit to try to accentuate the play makers, and he's one of them, for sure.

Q. A lot is being made of Coach Groh being on the other sideline and your relationship with him. Could you just address that a little bit, and if that brings any added meaning to this ballgame from your perspective?
COACH LONDON: Yeah, that's the obvious question because of our past and things like that. And I'm quite sure coach has answered this question. To me, it's University of Virginia playing Georgia Tech. You can't ignore the fact that there's been previous history.
I have a lot of respect for coach. He hired me. He basically promoted me within the system here. I went off and did my own thing, and came back and had my own ideas about things.
But the players have to play and perform on the field. Our offensive guys are not going against Coach Groh, we're going against what Georgia Tech does, the whole team, offense, defense and special teams.
Everyone knows the history but being a competitor, being a coach, and being responsible for getting my team ready game to game, that is the most important thing to me, just preparing my guys to play in the next game. The next game is a very good Georgia Tech team with very good coaches on both sides of the ball.

Q. Also traditionally when you play Georgia Tech, it really limits your offensive possessions. Just seems you don't get the ball as much offense. Is that something you guys are addressing? What kind of pressure does that place on your offensive guys and Verica, and the crew there on the O?
COACH LONDON: Well, your observation is correct that they're sixth in the country in rushing offenses. So that means you're running the ball and the clock is ticking. So they hang on to the ball and they'll drive 80 yards. It's shown in the Wake Forest game, they can go 80 quickly with passing opportunities.
So it does require the offense or the special teams, any time you can get a possession, to be productive in that possession: Your kickoffs, your kick off returns, your punts, your punt returns all speak to field position issues and you have to try to gain an advantage in that in in some way.
So the option itself, and everyone knows this is an assignment oriented game plan. But Nesbit is a great player, that you might have a guy signed on him, and he can give you a little juke. All of a sudden go, break a tackle and be out of there.
So we've got to play our best football in terms of not only assignments, but tackling. Tackling him, the dive, the pitch, limiting yards after catches, those things. So the formula has worked well for them. Being ACC championship, and Nesbit being one of the best rushing quarterbacks in college football and it's worked well for them. So I'm sure they'll continue to do that, so our work is cut out for us.

Q. I read some comments from Coach Groh the other day where he said because you were familiar with his defense, Anthony Poindexter is familiar, Vincent Brown's familiar, has spent tons of time in meetings with limb, that that's a big advantage for you when it comes to attacking that defense and knowing its strength and weaknesses. How big an edge is that if it is one?
COACH LONDON: You know, only from the standpoint of just being familiar with the three-four defense. Coach is a great defensive mind. I've sat in meetings where he's come up with game plans by studying the offense or studying the weakness of a particular player or scheme or something that they do. And has come up with some really, really good game plans.
So it's true that we do know, he taught us the defense. So we do know some of the particulars about the defense. But in the end when it's all said and done, it's the execution of our guys being able to take advantage of opportunities in a three-four or four-three, or zone pressure, or this coverage or that coverage.
So I would say that's accurate. But at the same time, what we know, you know, is not necessarily what the players know. And the players have to react and execute that.

End of FastScripts

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