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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 23, 2010

Mike London

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Mike London. We'll start off with an opening statement and then go to questions.
COACH LONDON: Good morning. It's our last game, last game for a lot of fifth-year and some fourth-year seniors that have started out in this program, and playing against a very, very good Virginia Tech team that has, rightfully so, won a lot of games and been involved in a lot of ACC championship opportunities.
So going up there and playing in a college atmosphere is something that's quite a challenge, as you see teams that go in there and have to deal with.
It's a rivalry game, two in-state schools, where you respect the coaches that I know on their staff and the fact that there's a lot of players that played with each other, grew up with each other, and just those things that you can add to when you start talking about playing a team like Virginia Tech, particularly in-state.
So we're getting prepared for Thanksgiving and also a game up there with the Hokies. Questions?

Q. How do you evaluate the season that Marc Verica has? I believe he's thrown for more yards than anyone in program history, except Matt Schaub, but yet some damaging interceptions. Just curious how you balance that and also how you would evaluate him as a leader of the offense?
COACH LONDON: As you look at the offense and the production that it has had, obviously when you have a fifth-year guy like Marc, was able to do some things that probably perhaps some of these other quarterbacks we have on our current roster would not be able to do because of his experience.
I think Coach Lazor has put him in positions to try to use the strengths that he may have and had two wide receivers with over 40 catches. Moved up dramatically in a lot of offensive categories over the last couple of years.
And it's been attributed to Marc's ability to read defenses and coverages and make audibles and things like that.
But, you're right, there's also been some times where you throw the ball into -- careless decisions with throwing the ball into the other guy's hands.
But I think in terms of production and getting the most maximizing what our best quarterback as a current situation has for us is, he's done a nice job.
And I think he can go out with his college career kind of with his head up as far as being fairly productive when you look at, when you stack his statistics up against guys that have been here.
I mean, I'm quite sure that Marc would say all the statistics are great and things like that but what matters is the opportunity to win games. And I know he probably would say I'd rather have a winning record or an opportunity to play post-season more than any of these records or milestones that he may have.
And that's the type of young man he is. The last home game that we had, and even though we lost, he went and kind of went and high-fived every student, everyone who would stick their hand out around the stadium. Even with the loss, even with how you may evaluate how he played, I mean, he did that.
And I think that speaks to kind of the character of the young man right now, regardless of good/bad game, whatever, he said he thought he owed it to the people that were there and that had stood by him to do that and make one last trip around Scott Stadium.
So all those other things that may have been said about him, to me that spoke volumes about who he is as a person.

Q. Two years ago at Lane Stadium he had a real painful pick late in the game when Virginia was in field goal range, a chance to tie the game late. Has he mentioned that to you or the coaching staff to him this week?
COACH LONDON: He hasn't mentioned that. I think you speak to the leadership part of it is part of being a leader is also recognizing your strengths and your weaknesses and someone can always tell you, look, you're not fast enough, you're not strong enough. I think he recognizes that was a critical point in the game. He would be the first to mention it.
But I think he also recognizes that when you're playing a team like Virginia Tech who Coach Foster has done a great job defensively with them year in, year out, that you can't make mistakes like that.
You almost gotta be mistake-free kind of a played game, particularly by the quarterback, because of what they do and the challenges that they present. So he won't mention it unless you guys mention it. But I think that he understands that he's got to play a really, really good game against a very good team.

Q. I'm just curious, how much -- because I know you were around originally when these players were being recruited, how much do you think it changed the course of the last four years for these two programs when Virginia Tech took Tyrod Taylor and Virginia got their guy as well, also a highly recruited guy, Peter Lalich, and it didn't work out for Lalich as it has for Tyrod? How much do you think for those two quarterbacks and their subsequent performances changed the courses of these two programs over the last four years?
COACH LONDON: I think it's significant in the fact that your quarterback is a guy that handles the ball 100 percent of the time. He's going to touch it. And whether he's throwing it or handing it off. But also sometimes your quarterback is the face of the program. And he's a guy that can either distribute the ball to the play makers or himself can be a play maker with his arms or with his legs.
And I think I was part of that recruiting process when I was recruiting the Tidewater area that with Tyrod and his family and I know that at one point he did have a consideration for us, strong consideration, but in the end we took who we got and Tech got Tyrod.
And obviously you look at the fortunes of both young men. One is getting ready to play for an ACC championship, and I can't recall where the other one is right now. Had a rocky career.
But any of those skill players, in particular your quarterback, that can be the face of a program and has great character and integrity and does the right things, with the way he's supposed to do it and can represent and be a leader, that's the engine that drives a team, and I think Tyrod has done that for his team. Has represented them well.
And I'm hoping as recruiting goes on for us and as we start to build a program here that we surround ourselves with guys like that, with guys that have that type of ability and the mindset of conducting themselves off the field in a manner that's representative of their family and what the university and the team expects. That's kind of the long and short of it.

Q. When you were going through the interview process there at UVA, how much -- or was beating Virginia Tech, the in-state rival, talked about or implied?
COACH LONDON: It's always -- you're the two BCS schools in your state and you look at the record over the last several years in terms of their opportunities and winning and things like that, and obviously through alumni and through people, through fans, it's something that sticks out.
And I think it's implied and it's one of those things that you always want to do well against your in-state rival, because you're always doing things in competition with them, with players, with coaches, with the community, about how they think about you, with all just different things.
And they've done a good job because they've had the upper hand for the last several years. And as a new guy, new coach coming in, then trying to create a culture and atmosphere of trying to address that through recruiting, through doing things with coaches, through trying to think out of the box a little bit, trying to do my part to now representing Virginia to try to have the level of success that they've had.
So that's something, whether it's implied or whether it's thought. It's out there. It's just no hidden element there. That's what it's about. So we'll go about the way of building this program, playing this game and how we approach spring practice and how we approach recruiting is all built on trying to be a better team. And then perhaps speaking about our opportunities to play in championship games and go to consecutive Bowl games and things like that. So that's where we are.

Q. Mike, also, Virginia Tech has won a lot of games with kids out of the Tidewater area, and I see here in your first year you're having success to see where another kid out of that area is going to come play football for you. Your thoughts on Tidewater and getting kids from here in the state of Virginia whereas perhaps the last -- Coach Grobe, perhaps, seems like he pulled talent from other areas. Your philosophy there.
COACH LONDON: When I was a recruiter down there, that was my area. As the head coach, you know, I'm interested in not only 757, but 804, 703, 540, all those area codes.
But it's no secret that I grew up, went to school down there, and I've had a relationship with a lot of coaches down in that area. And it takes a long time to build a relationship with people.
It's gratifying to a certain extent some people can say you know what, you need to consider the school itself has its own draw, its own magnet, because it's an outstanding school academically, but there's also a part about our strength is probably in our people right now.
It's not the stadium. It's not how many shoes you wear. It's in our people and it's in the school. So you hope that the reputation or the relationships you've established over the years has paid off to the point that, hey, listen I can send my son to this guy or to this school because of the reasons I mentioned.
So Tidewater area is very important to us, but also now being the head coach, every area in the state of Virginia is important when we're talking about the best talent in the state. So that's the main focus. But it does appear that there's opportunities as it currently exists to draw an interest of several young men.
But, like I said, I'd like to look at the entire state and entertain all the best talent from all over the state.

Q. Along those same lines, I'm just curious, and this is something the Virginia Tech's coaches have acknowledged as well: How concerning is it to you or how much are you aware of -- you've kind of made recruiting the state of Virginia an emphasis, but it seems like more and more there's national-type schools, national recruiters coming into the state because of the success some of the high school players have had over the years there. Is that something you're aware of and something that concerns you, I guess, going forward?
COACH LONDON: No, not really. I think when you look at the state of Virginia and historically over the years and just the amount of players that have come out of a state that doesn't have spring practice like Florida and California and Georgia and Texas, you know, because that's year-round high school football, and the development of those players are year-round. But when you look at the state of Virginia, you don't have those opportunities but, yet, keep producing just players coming out of all different areas.
So being an in-state school, being a BCS school, being a school that attracts a lot of young men because of the profile of the school, it's important to be in, on, or have those young men come take a look at us, because of what we're trying to get accomplished here. And there's no mistake as to why other schools from other areas, whether it's the adjoining schools or coming from across country. Stanford comes around here a lot.
There's a lot of schools that come here because they know the type of players that are have produced great coaching and just a community of coaches and high school players that just develop to be really good players when they get into college.
So it's something that you're aware of and we've just got to keep working hard to try to attract those top recruits in-state and also not the top recruits but some other guys, sometimes guys like the school, want to be walk-ons. And in developing those type of guys. Virginia's had a history of having walk-ons. Conner Hughes was a walk-on I recruited, ended up becoming the place kicker here and having a great, great career.
I think you've just got to do a good job with the talent because you're around it and you get a chance to see it and go to camps and do all these things. So there's no secret why a lot of other schools are coming here, want to do the same.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

End of FastScripts

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