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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 14, 2011

Mike London

MIKE FINN: We're now joined by Virginia head football coach Mike London. Coach, a brief opening statement, then we'll go to questions.
COACH LONDON: Excited about the challenge of going on the road again. We're playing a very good North Carolina team that's also 2-0 and is playing well on all phases of their game.
Just look forward to the upcoming challenge. I know the players understand the fourth oldest rivalry in the South, all those things that go with it. But very excited about the actual game being played.
MIKE FINN: We'll go to questions for Coach London.

Q. Mike, I'm working on a story of coaches that have gone back and once coached at a school in the past. What is it like emotionally, what is that week lead-up like, what is the game like when they come to you? What is all of that like for a coach in that situation?
COACH LONDON: I mean, the human element is that as you start talking about game planning, players, situations, you have to rely on what you did previously, knowing the players, knowing the skill level, knowing the mindset as much as you can, try to put a game plan together for a team you're with now. You're trying to win that game.
But the human side of it is you care for people that you were there working with, players that you sat in their living rooms, you talked about how you were going to help them become an educated young man. Fans, administrators that helped you along the way.
Within this profession, things like that happen where you're one place and you move to another place. Just so happened it happened basically twice, going from Virginia to Richmond, coming back to play Virginia, then going to Richmond and having to sit on the sideline, opposite sideline, and play Virginia.
It's part of the business. But part of the business is also the human element that's so closely intertwined with that when you're dealing with coaches, their families, players, things like that.

Q. Was there one particular instance or moment that stood out, That was a lot tougher than I thought it would be?
COACH LONDON: Probably for me probably coming out of the other locker room, the visiting locker room, after having spent a few years coming out of the home locker room. The first time I was at Richmond, we came and played Virginia, was the first time I'd ever been over in the visitor's locker room after being there for five, six years.
At that time it kind of dawned on you. Then when you actually ran out into the stadium, you saw that you were the visiting team, you were the away team, you were playing Virginia at the time, which was the home team.
But as soon as the first whistle sounds and the kickoff or kickoff return, that first play, you forget about all those things, just concentrate on the task at hand.

Q. When you came in last year and went from the 3-4 to the 4-3 defense, what did you see in Cam Johnson that made you decide that he would be a good candidate to move down there onto the line from linebacker?
COACH LONDON: It was a philosophical reason to change in terms of recruiting, system schemes mindset. Cam was a standup linebacker in the 3-4, was doing a pretty good job. But we wanted to make the move to the 4-3, which gives you an opportunity to recruit D-linemen, tackles, defensive ends that want to play in that particular scheme.
With our strength coach, Cam understanding now he can put his hand on the ground, three-point stance, play the six technique, nine technique, being able to learn those things, having the background, having stood up, that whatever path his career may take him, he's been exposed to a couple different schemes, standing up, hand on the ground, dropping coverage, all those type of things. I think it's played into his strength thus far.

Q. Obviously he can make big plays, as he did late in the Indiana game.
COACH LONDON: I think any player, it's an awareness. It was great to see, given the situation of the game, he had the awareness to not only make the play, because they slid protection the other way, that getting the ball back was the primary issue, hitting the quarterback, stripping it out of his hand at the same time was just a great job of our defensive coaches continuing to teach turnovers and the techniques of creating turnovers. That was something they do in practice all the time. When it happened in the game, he was able to execute that.

Q. Mike, obviously you see the coaches each summer at the football kickoff. Coach Withers obviously had not been named at that point. What kind of interaction have you had with him and how well do you know him?
COACH LONDON: I know him just from a professional standpoint. You go to different conventions, national coaches conventions and things. It's a cordial type relationship, but at the same time I know it's a very supportive one as he was a coordinator at a BCS school as I was before. There's always the connectedness or the networking that you try to keep intact with other coaches in and around the league.
Coach Withers has done a great job as coordinator at North Carolina. When the opportunity was presented to himself, I don't know if he got my congratulations, I'm sure he got a bunch of them. It's just one of those things that you coach, do the best you can. If people notice you, they see what you're doing, they like what you're doing, you'll get recognized or noticed for it. Coach Withers was able to do a good enough job where the people that matter made a decision to make him the interim.

Q. Coach, after you've seen Carolina on film a little bit this week, talk a little bit about what your offensive line is going to be facing. I think Carolina is by far the biggest defensive front that you have seen this season. Talk a little bit about your guys stepping that game up.
COACH LONDON: Obviously one of the strengths of their team is defensively. They have an excellent defense, a defense that only allowed 16 points a game, 30 yards rushing, under 200 yards passing, under 230 yards of total offense. That's in the top 20 in the nation. Excellent players. Zach Brown is a linebacker. Does a great job for him. Tydreke Powell, I remember we were recruiting him when we were here. He's developed into over a 300-pound player. Quinton Coples, he's as good as there is, 6'6", 285, pre-season All-American. Tre Boston, a corner.
They have an athletic defense, a very aggressive defense, they've run to the ball well. They do a lot of nice things, reflective of what Coach Withers and his mindset when he was a coordinator there. They still have that type of mindset of being a defense that makes you work for everything you have.
MIKE FINN: Coach, thanks for being with us this week and good luck this weekend.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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