	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 28, 2011

Mike London

COACH LONDON: Another home game for us here, and we have a very good Idaho team coming in, a team that's played Fresno State and Texas A&M. So their record is very deceiving as far as what it is. They are a very, very well coached team that has a scheme and philosophy behind it and players that make their team a very formidable opponent. We'll have our work cut out for us this Saturday.

Q. Looking for an update on Michael Rocco; has he been able to practice so far this week and do you expect him to play?
COACH LONDON: Yeah, Michael, he practiced today and we expect had him to play on Saturday.

Q. We can expect him to start?
COACH LONDON: He'll play for sure. I haven't determined whether he's going to start or not but judging by every day that he has a chance to practice and get better, he's going to play for sure, and we'll make that decision probably whether he's going to start or not on either game day or the Friday before. But right now, he looks like he can handle things.

Q. Do you know how this game got scheduled?
COACH LONDON: No, I don't. Like the other games, I'm quite sure it was put together years in advance. But it's a game that's on our schedule now. I don't think there's any return date to this, but we just play them as they appear. So we're glad to have it as a home game, though. I think it's three time zones away.

Q. We are kind of learning about your program; what's the culture that you are trying to build out there, and what is it going to take to build the culture you want to build?
COACH LONDON: You want to build a culture of accountability and responsibility with players in the classroom and the community and on the field. We want to recruit student athletes, profile student athletes that can come in and be successful. It's a great university.
On the football side of it, you want to recruit men that want the best of both world opportunities. Very pleased with last year's class, which some of them are playing this year and try to continue with the talent that's not only in-state but surrounding areas and a geographical footprint that the young men are looking for. It's a mind-set and change in the culture and going on year two, there are some things that are starting to change.
But it's always an ongoing process, and you know, you look for the positive in things and you look for positive people that can make things happen for you and your program.
That's kind of it in kind of a nutshell. But you know, I know that being a successful program that can play and compete for championships, that's always the goal.

Q. How would you assess how the program is coming on?
COACH LONDON: You measure it in all different kind of ways. Obviously football season now, you measure it on the field. We are where we are, 2-2. But also measuring other things that players have achieved, tremendous achievement in the classroom and personal achievements in the community and things.
So players that were here before that are no longer here, there are several of them that are no longer here that weren't buying into what my expectations were of a student athlete here. And now the ones that are here that stayed, after the first year and up until summer going into the season, have bought in and continue to buy in to what it takes to be competitive.
So it's an ongoing process for us with young players and some of the older players that have stayed to try to create an atmosphere of possibilities and also one that we want to make sure we want to have a chance for them to have a good football experience when they are done, and that's by having a chance to win on the field.

Q. Your answer to the question indicated a little bit of a change in what you said earlier which was Mike Rocco would remain your quarterback. Has there been a change in your thinking, or are you just hesitant to come up with anything at this time?
COACH LONDON: No, I'm saying the pro progress of yesterday and today's practice has put him in the position where he can play and go in the game. As we move forward, tomorrow's practice and then Friday's practice, and then depending upon how he's feeling, that further determination and evaluation will be made on how much of a role that he's going to continue to play in.
So if you ask me the question tomorrow, then I'd probably give you a different answer, but it would be based on, you know, post-practice and the evaluation of what we have seen on tape when we get back in the meeting rooms.
So if you're looking for me to say, yes, he's starting on Saturday -- like I said, Friday or perhaps game day. We want to see what he can do or if there's any limitation on what he can and can't do.

Q. It's only a performance issue in terms of what his body allows him to do; it's not, you are not throwing this thing open again.
COACH LONDON: No. Exactly what you said. David will play, but again, want to make sure the performance issue is what we can count on, also, if we are making any decision about who is going to start and all that.

Q. Aside from just Michael and his status, talk a little about maybe Kevin Parks, has he been able to practice the last few days and what's he looking like for the weekend?
COACH LONDON: Kevin is interesting in that the last couple of weeks, after the game, he got an ankle injury a while ago, he wore a boat on his Tuesday, Wednesday, and then practiced on Thursday and get out there on Saturday and look like $1 million.
And then unfortunately, you know, we aggravated again and looking at the same type of process again. He's in a boot yesterday and today but I would expect the type of competitor that he is, you know, is to be on the field practicing Thursday and basically a day off with a last preparation day from a mental standpoint and make himself available Saturday.
So he's one of the toughest guys mentally that I've been around, and his resolve is to play this Saturday.

Q. We have half of the starting quarterbacks from the conference are from the State of Virginia, and that doesn't even include Wilson over at Wisconsin. Any idea how the state has become -- inaudible -- for quarterbacks?
COACH LONDON: They have done an excellent job recruiting talent but recruiting talent that fits their scheme and their style. There's some good coaches on a lot of these staffs that have -- if you were to go back and look at where these staffers that recruit the areas, where they come from, their ties into the state, it's reflective of not only their roster but the relationships that they have established with high school coaches over the years.
I think it's largely due to a lot of that, but it is -- we have always talked about Virginia being a state that has a lot of great talent in it, but it's also good to see that these young players are players that are getting opportunities to show their talents at the different schools within the conference.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297