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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 29, 2010

Davon Morgan

Q. I'll ask you the same thing I asked Andre. You guys have, I guess, on paper dominated the league since you got in it, but I think a number of you guys have a perception that people still think the ACC kind of starts and ends with those two schools in Florida, and you guys actually have a losing record against Florida State. Do you guys feel like you're the unwelcome guest in this thing, and just what's your perception of Florida State and the trouble you guys have had with them?
DAVON MORGAN: Myself, I've never felt like the unexpected guest. When we've been in the ACC Championship three times out of my four years here. We feel right at home.

Q. Do you feel like other people kind of keep waiting for you guys not to be there?
DAVON MORGAN: Yeah, I mean, everybody hates us, but that's okay. We're like the Cowboys. Everybody don't like us, but at the end of the day, what choice do they have?

Q. After the start your team had, how does it feel to turn it around into such a successful season and have another shot at the ACC title?
DAVON MORGAN: Oh, man, it just feels like just to be a part of this, the legacy and the tradition that's been set here, just to come along and complete and do the things that we're doing is big-time.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about the defense overall. It seems like you guys have been in a bend-but-don't-break mode but you still come up with those game-changing plays. How would you assess the performance and the progress throughout the season?
DAVON MORGAN: I would just say, you know, just working hard at practice. You know, just practicing those things every day. We're in practice and go against our offense and going against Tyrod every day, the second team might be going against him and Coach might say, "sudden change," and we have to get in there and stop the offense. We just work on these things every day. It's the little things that matter.

Q. Do you feel like it took you guys a while to sort of settle into -- you had to replace, what, six or seven starters. Do you think it took a while to get adjusted to that?
DAVON MORGAN: Yeah, it took us a while to get adjusted to it, but the other schools have just been doing a good job at what they're doing, you know?

Q. I was going to ask a couple things here. First, talk about your comeback from the ACL a couple years ago that you suffered at Nebraska. Do you feel like this year you've probably been as good as you've ever been, that you've had, I guess, a full year so or to recover from it and get back up to full speed?
DAVON MORGAN: I'm better than I've ever been.

Q. What kind of hurdles did you have to overcome with that injury mentally and physically?
DAVON MORGAN: Mentally, you know, it was just the fact that you've been hurt and the doctor is telling you you're fine, but it's all about, well, that feeling again. You just think about cutting and things like that. So mentally it was rough, you know. But I just stuck in there and just kept working at it. We had a good training staff here, and they took good care of me and just put me through a lot of good workouts to help me out.

Q. I was going to ask specifically about the secondary. You guys have held people under 50 percent for the season. What's been the key with that?
DAVON MORGAN: Just great field study and great concentration. I mean, out there it's -- we're the last line of defense, so any play can beat you. One play can beat us in the secondary. So Coach Gray does a good job at preparing us week in and week out to prepare for offenses and just going out there and just playing ball with each other and trusting each other.

Q. What would a win in this game mean to you guys? I know you've won two of these ACC titles while you've been here, but would this one mean more considering the rough start you got off to this year?
DAVON MORGAN: Man, it would mean a lot, just the things that we've overcame this season, just to start off the way we did with such high hopes that we had. It's big that we get to play in this game against Florida State. We're looking forward to it, to making the best of it.

Q. I wanted to ask you specifically about Christian Ponder and what specific issues, problems he's going to cause you guys. I don't know how much time you've had to look at film already of him.
DAVON MORGAN: Repeat your question again.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the Florida State quarterback, Ponder, just the problems he will cause Virginia Tech's defense.
DAVON MORGAN: I don't really know how to answer that. Ponder is a good quarterback and everything, but I feel good with the quarterback that we have. I think he's probably one of the best quarterbacks in the league is Tyrod. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Q. But as a defense, what sort of things do you feel like you need to stop him from doing?
DAVON MORGAN: Just the same things we've been doing all year, move around, give the quarterback some things to look at, some different looks, and just try to stay ahead of him.

Q. You talked about all the high hopes you guys came in with and how big it is to have sort of come full circle and get to this title game, and you mentioned to play Florida State. Is this match-up the best possible match-up for you guys? Is this the one really that you guys truly wanted, to play that sort of name team, Florida State, that for so many years was the top of the ACC? I know you guys have sort of been on a quest all season for respect after losing to JMU and being 0 and 2 and obviously this gives you that opportunity. Is this the best possible match-up for that title game for you guys?
DAVON MORGAN: I'm not going to really get into saying it's the best possible match-up. I mean, it's a great game. Florida State is a good school. But I'm going to tell you the same thing we've been saying all year; it don't matter who we play, where we play or when we play; it's how we play. And that's all we're focused on is just going out there and playing our best football.

Q. That place is going to be full of Tech fans. The Tech fans have scarfed up most of the tickets from reports, place is going to be full. How much can they help you in a game like this?
DAVON MORGAN: Oh, man, our fans are great. Fans, only thing they can do is make noise and support us, and I thank them for that. So we're looking forward to the support and the loudness that they're going to bring to the game, you know.
But other than that, we've just got to go out there and play ball.

End of FastScripts

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