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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 5, 2011

Mike London

COACH LONDON: Thank you. Yeah, in our open week, first padded practice today, basically kind of working on some fundamental things. Towards the latter part of practice, trying to get some Georgia Tech looks as much as possible because of the offense and the uniqueness of it.
So looking to get guys that were out injured healed and get them back, hopefully full strength when we play next Saturday.

Q. Coach, Chase had an interception on Saturday. He's done that for his career. Can you talk about what he brings to the table as a defensive back and what makes him so effective?
COACH LONDON: I think he brings an incredible work ethic. His preparation is something really to be marveled at. Chase graduated last year. He's only taken a couple classes. So outside of taking care of his academic obligations and a lot of the community service aspects, he does all that. But his preparations as far as film study is quite amazing.
I know the blood lines with his father, Frank, playing in the NFL as a defensive back. You see a lot of the things that have perhaps carried over or were passed on from Frank to Chase about the way he approaches the game, how he studies, the notes that he takes. His influence on the true freshman, Tre Nicholson, the influence on coverages and ideas about how to play different coverages. And insight, because he film studies so much, about watching his opponents, the different wide receivers that he goes against.
He set a standard in terms of what a senior All-American type young man does both on the field, in the classroom and in the community. He's truly an asset for this program.

Q. You mentioned the influence he had on freshmen defensive backs. I think it's a truism or a cliche in sports that a team is defined the character of a team by how its best player is treated and their temperament and behavior. Would you agree with that? Can you address, again, a little more about what Chase does to set the tone on your team?
COACH LONDON: It's so true. These guys here at Virginia, it's a challenging school academically, but what he's shown is if you apply the proper amount of study time and input into it, that you can achieve here academically as well. Case in point, graduating in three and a half years.
If you apply yourself in the film room and training and the things that you have to get your body prepared for for the season, then you can achieve. If you apply yourself in the community and know that life after football opportunities are presented because you make the most of the networking that you take advantage of while you're in college. He provides an example that way.
When you look at him and you look at what the model is, then you're looking at what the model is. And how to be successful, as I said before, in the classroom and outside of the classroom and the work ethic and preparation that he puts into it on the field.
We're at the mid-point of the season. I know he's got one interception, but there are a couple that he's almost had his hands on. But I feel certain that those numbers would increase, but I also feel that his ability and his stature as far as playing has also gotten him better.
When he gets better, as I said, the young corner and a lot of the young corners that are looking now at how to play corner, how to play defensive back, they're all looking at him and he's an excellent model to have.

Q. Mike, I guess the proof will come in ten days, but is there a sense at all that if you're going to have an open date before a particular opponent, that Georgia Tech is one that requires maybe some extra time? And that this is about as good as anybody to have an open date for?
COACH LONDON: I think it's twofold because, one, it is a type of offense as we all see is very highly successful, and it requires a tremendous amount of detailed work and timing. It's hard to simulate an offense that they know 100% what they're doing and you're trying to simulate a scout team to give you that kind of up-tempo experienced look.
The other thing with the open week probably around this time, it is the ability for guys that can were kind of banged up a little bit, Henry Coley hadn't seen action for a while, Colter Phillips got into the game the other day on a limited basis, his chance to get back, Kevin Parks didn't play, and the week before was kind of ineffective because of a high ankle sprain. And now he's on the mend and practicing today, And Cam Johnson didn't play last week also.
So I think it is at a good time for us. I'd add one more thing, third thing, the correction of the things that have hammered us here in the first part of the season. The decisions on punt returns and making sure that we're sound in all areas and guarding against fakes. The execution of all aspects of it offense and defense and special teams.
I think the timing is good not because of who we're playing, but because we've been down, and it gives you a chance to take care of yourself as we come into the latter part of the season.

Q. If I might follow up, some people may have been alarmed by the close call you've had against Idaho. As you look back at that game, is it one of those game that's you don't know so much whether it was Idaho being better than you expected or you guys not being as good as you'd hoped for, similar with Southern Miss the week before, another team that you don't see all the time?
COACH LONDON: Yeah, sometimes there are certain elements to that. When you don't see a team, they're all the way across the country. They played Texas A&M and Fresno State and things like that. It's human nature sometimes when you look at a record, but sometimes a record is not indicative of what type of team that you're going against.
Idaho is a team that likes to throw the ball a lot, very aggressive. They adopted the personality of their head coach. And it's one of those things that when you're playing in a game and you're competing, as with Southern Miss, as with Idaho, teams that we don't play or see on a regular basis, that it comes down to making plays and executing them, And back and forth, back and forth, or however you can describe the game.
It's always good to win a game, and with a team that needs to learn how to win games. It's been two games this year that we won a game on the last play. So that, you know, you can take that part as a learning process.
But regardless of where the opponents come from, I'm sure every coach that you ask it's good at the end of the day if a W's on the board for him. So we'll take that and know we've got to learn to be better, because it will come down to close games again. And if you're going to be on the other side of it, on the left-hand column with the W, then you've got to execute.

Q. Coach, how much of this week will you guys self-scout and self-critique? Which area of your team is like number one on your to do list like, hey, let's focus here? Let's get this cleaned up? Could you share that with me?
COACH LONDON: Yeah, when you get an opportunity and you're in the mid point of the season, you always self scout yourself offensively and defensively, even special teams-wise, about what you've shown on tape. What your tendencies are for second down, third down, short yardage, the type of defense you're playing, first and second down, the amount of percentage of pressure that you've had, and you look at the success of it or lack there of.
I think on both sides offensively and defensively, that there is an extensive look at that to see how the systems are, how the schemes are. To see whether or not we're utilizing our best players to put them in a productive position. So I think that's important.
Special teams-wise, obviously, the punt return game and the decision making has to be cleaned up. We've got to get those decisions made because it's field position. Last week I had a 70-yard punt, you know. So we've got to eliminate those type of things, whether it's the person or a new person or teaching and coaching situations like that in practice or creating those type of situations.
The ball's getting ready to go out of bounds, it's a poor punt and it's on the ground, you know, what do you do, how do you do it? Sometimes you take things for granted. This week more so you have to go back to the basics of everything, blocking, tackling, how to throw the ball, thousand catch the ball.
So we're addressing everything and looking at as much as we can, and trying to move the team forward in the right direction.

Q. Mike, is it youth, scheme, coaching, execution, all of that?
COACH LONDON: Yeah, I'd say we were talking the other day with the 12 true freshmen that play. There are maybe five, six, seven teams that have played more freshmen. Then the percentage of our team that have played in their first college game is almost 40%. So there is a little bit of youth to it.
But there is also we have to coach better. The scheme that's we use, we have to make sure it's conducive to the type of talent that we have and try to fuse that on to an attitude of whether it's a close game or you went by a couple touchdowns that winning is a thing that breeds success.
If you have a chance to win a close game or a blowout or whatever it may be, that feeling, that opportunity, what you did and the thing that's went well for you that caused you to win, you want to keep doing those things. You want to mimic the same type of action.
That's what we're doing. That's what we're working on. We're a work in progress, but we're trying to move in that direction.

Q. Mike, in terms of Rocco and Watford, going into the season, was it your plan to still be kind of moving them back and forth, shuttling them? Or had you hoped by this point to have a guy clearly seize the number one job?
COACH LONDON: That's a good question. You know, hopefully I've been consistent with my answers as far as going into the season. At first because of coming out of the spring, the battle was basically between Rocco and Metheny. And as we got into the early part of camp we started seeing what these guys can do, and started seeing kind of a skillset that David had that we said let's get him ready as well, and we started taking over practice outside of Michael Rocco's reps.
Going into it, I always wanted to make sure that people said, well, if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one. As our team is and the way we are, if we have one quarterback that's trying to develop, then you need a back-up. The only way to get the back-up going is to put them in games.
So we went into it with David having the ability to go in and play in series and as the game has gone on.
Now, Michael Rocco, true sophomore, Ross Metheny is a red shirt sophomore. I have Michael Ross a red shirt freshman, and David a freshman.
I don't have the luxury of having a hierarchy of older guy to younger guy, but we are where we are right now. I think that the way we have to continue to develop for this team this year is to make sure that not only does Michael get his opportunity, but David, because of the skill set that he has, to give him an opportunity and find those times in the game to get him in there.
Hopefully, we'll be consistent with that. And if the growth part of it takes off for one of these two guys, they'll make us a better team in the end. We're in the open week now and we're trying to continue that curve. Particularly for Michael, but also for David being a true freshman. Learning the playbook and, the things that are necessary to help us win.

Q. How tricky is it to decide when you're going to get him in without throwing off rhythm or making it seem like it's a commentary on how one of the two is playing at the time?
COACH LONDON: It's very tricky sometimes. One as a head coach, you've got to be the guardian of these young men about who they are, what they want to be. Sometimes there's ego, and sometimes there's a competitive edge. Even though you might be hurt. I can go, coach. And you look out there and you're observing that the ball is not coming out of the hand quite the way you've seen in practice when the young men or guys are healthy.
But the situation that maybe you want to kind of get out of the pocket a little bit, that's more conducive to one player's style than the other.
As you watch the game, you try to be mindful of not trying to disrupt a guy's rhythm by changing every series. But at the same time, you just try to do the best you can in assessing what's going on the field, as they come off on the sideline, as you talk to them, as you observe them, and then make those decisions.
But it's difficult, but at the same time, it's something that where we are right now that we have to do. So we're hoping to get better play, not only from the quarterbacks, but for wide receivers to get open for offensive linemen to hang on a little bit more. Give them more time to get it down the field and different things like that.

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