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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 10, 2010

Mike London

COACH LONDON: Good morning, good to be here back to practice after a tough loss against Duke. But getting ready for our last home game for a bunch of seniors that have experienced the highs and lows of their college career here.
Going to try to do whatever we can to help them go out with a victory. So we've got a very, very tough talented Maryland team coming in.

Q. Wanted to ask you concerning Duke and the offense they run how difficult is it on your defense when they change from Sean Renfree to the running quarterback in Brandon Connette?
COACH LONDON: Like some teams we've played there are two different styles of quarterbacks. They have two different systems that you play against, and it causes you to prepare for conventional styles and also a pistol style of offense as they call it. Or much like Maryland's case, they have two quarterbacks and one O'Brien does a great job with the offense that they run.
Then No. 11 comes in and does another version of whether it's the wildcat or whatever it is. So it causes you to spend time in preparation and practice for both of those.
The biggest thing is because that's what they do, they're very adept and good at executing, and that is one of the advantages they have. So it's tough, but you've got to play defense, and whatever they he put out, you've got to be prepared for.

Q. When they bring in Connette, how does he seem it to perform? He had a good game against you Saturday, but he seems to be getting better as the season goes along?
COACH LONDON: That's what you hope at this point of the season. You hope to be getting better as the season goes on. You have a system that you run. You hope the system and the experience of the people that are in the system, that they gain experience within.
And as a quarterback, that, you know, particularly a running style quarterback he knows where the holes are. He knows the challenges that defenses have against defending it, so that's what happens. You hope that your quarterback and anybody that's playing, you hope they all get better as the season goes on, and certainly he has.

Q. You've gotten great contributions from a number of fifth year seniors and guys who are not going to be around really to enjoy the fruits of this rebuilding project when it's done. How important was it for you to have that class and those guys kind of buy in this year to what you're doing?
COACH LONDON: I think it was very important, Jeff, because most of them or all of them were here when I was here first. Then left and came back, because there was a prior relationship that was established as far as knowing who I was and me knowing them. When you come into a new situation, you always want the senior, the senior leadership to buy in because they're the ones that set the tone and the pace for some of the young guys that are in the program.
For the most part, aside from the guys that are no longer with the team because of disciplinary actions or academics or whatever it may be, the ones that stayed helped provide some of that, hey, this is what we're going to do. We're going to do it in a classroom or the community or what we're going to try to do on the field and buy into it. So it's helped.
I'm very appreciative of those guys because in turning the program around, you need that type of leadership. Then when leadership leaves, you need that type of imprint that they've left on younger players.

Q. Attendance has kind of been an issue recently. This weekend with it being Senior Day, has there been any extra push to appeal to the fans and the students to come out or is it just, hey, it's Senior Day, you know? It's our last home game, come out and see us?
COACH LONDON: I don't know outside of what I'm doing. I'm in bunker mode. I don't even put my head out. I'm trying to get ready for Maryland. Any opportunity that I have whether it's through radio or media or television whatever it is, is to urge fans to come out and support the team. Let alone the seniors, but support the team.
So whenever any opportunity that I have give en the media access, then I make an appeal for that on the grounds that I'm here, class checking or whatever, when I run into students. So I know about what I'm doing.
I can't attest or speak to the efforts outside of the marketing or the athletic department. But I know they're doing their best which we've been doing to try to get people to come in Scott State and to watch a team that's growing and developing.
You know, it's a great time. A 3:30 start time which bodes well for a lot of people, so we're expecting and anticipating a fairly decent crowd.

Q. When I look at guys like Keith Payne and what he's done so far this season and maybe somebody like Darnell Carter, those two plus maybe a few others they were basically in the dog house with the last coaching staff. Can you just talk about this year and the fact that you gave them a second chance and what they've done with it?
COACH LONDON: I tell you, the term you used, I mean, that may be very appropriate. But when you give another person new life and new energy, and you give them a chance to perhaps sometimes redeem themselves. Then they go out and give you everything they've got.
It's just not, it's Darnell, it's all the guys that for some reason or not have maybe not fit into a certain style of play, whether there are personality conflicts or whatever it may have been. Aaron Taliaferro was a guy that didn't play much, Keith Payne like you mention.
So it's gratifying that you see as they end their career, that they've had a chance to contribute significantly.
I think Keith is maybe leading the league in touchdowns or something like that. Darnell in the last couple of games has really played well. So everyone wants their college experience to be positive before they're all done. Hopefully, this year although the record itself doesn't indicate it, maybe the experience, the overall experience for this year will be gratifying for them.

Q. What went into the decision to put, what were the factors or factor that caused you to put Landon Bradley on the right side when he returned?
COACH LONDON: Basically because of his hand. When you bandage up a hand like that, you can debate about what hand, inside or outside hand, is the one that you need the most to stop an ongoing pass rusher.
So we try to do some things that would maybe give him an opportunity to not have to use his dominant hand. Being on the left side, give him a chance to play on the right side. That's what he and Coach Madison talked about.
For a while it seemed like it was working until he came down with another lower leg injury.
So we'll see how things go. And how things go for him, but that was the reasoning.

End of FastScripts

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