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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 28, 2013Paul ChrystTHE MODERATOR: We now welcome Pittsburgh Head Coach Paul Chryst, whose Panthers host Florida State in its first ACC football game on Labor Day Monday night, this Monday. The game will be played at Heinz Field. It will be nationally televised by ESPN and will have an 8:00 p.m. kickoff. Coach Chryst begins his second season as head coach of the Panthers. We'll bring him on for a brief opening statement and then go to questions. Coach? COACH CHRYST: Certainly, we're excited to be joining the ACC. Obviously, get started off in grand fashion. I know we're excited. Certainly, have a tremendous amount of respect for Florida State. We know it's going to be a heck of a challenge. I like the way our kids performed in camp. I think we're getting better as a team and certainly got to take advantage of this week in our preparations for Florida State, but certainly looking forward to joining the conference. Obviously, that starts with playing Florida State Monday night. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Chryst? Q. Paul, what's‑‑ how challenging is it to prepare for a defense like this that is not only replacing a lot of personnel, but also a new defensive coordinator. You're not really sure what they're going to do or what they're going to look like. How have you approached that, and how challenging is it to game plan something like that? COACH CHRYST: I think, obviously, there's certain challenges with it. You try to do the best you can. I still think, obviously, the opponent matters, what they're doing, and you want your kids to be prepared, but I still think a lot of football is trying to work on it and prepare yourself for the things that you can control. But there are certainly challenges that go with it. It's a situation we're in. So you embrace it and try to do the best you can. Q. Paul, I know you've been a little bit banged up at running back. What is that position looking like headed into your first game? COACH CHRYST: Well, it's‑‑ don't know exactly. We'll find out. Isaac Bennett has been able to practice the last couple of days. Hopefully, he keeps progressing. James Conner and Rachid Ibrahim got the ball from the reps, along with Malcolm Crockett, in fall camp. Right now I think it's certainly going to be a bit of a running back by committee. Q. What about James Conner? You think he'll be able to go? COACH CHRYST: We're hoping so. Q. Coach, what have you seen on video with Florida State? I know they have a new quarterback and the same defense, we talked about it earlier this morning. What have you seen on film? COACH CHRYST: Certainly, we're able to get a feel for the guys that played last year. And obviously, I think they got a lot of really good players. I think a lot of people‑‑ and really, talk about their speed, but I think they're good football players. And part of it is they're confident in what they're doing, and I think they play fast. Quarterback is ‑‑ not able to see a whole lot of him, but bits and pieces, and certainly very athletic, heck of an arm, I think. And skill positions are dangerous, the returners. Just have a ton of respect for them as players. Q. Talk about that big game Monday night, what's that mean for you and the program and the City of Pittsburgh. COACH CHRYST: As far as for the city and our alums, the university, I think it's a big deal, and I think people are treating it as such. We're truly excited to be joining the ACC. So there's a lot of excitement about that. You know, I think, in‑house here, we're excited to just start this season. I think going up against last year's conference champions, a lot of respect we have for Florida State, it's a great way for us to start our season. I'm anxious to find out ‑‑ we've got a lot of guys that are either in new roles or first time playing. We're going to find out a lot about who we are. I'm excited, appreciative of what this team has done to get to this point, and I think, as a coach, I'm excited to be able to go out and play a game with them and start this season. Q. Good luck on Monday. COACH CHRYST: Thank you. Q. Coach, sorry if I missed it. Do I understand that you named Tom Savage as starting quarterback? Can you talk about what he brings to the table and what you expect from him? COACH CHRYST: Sure. We did name Tom our starting quarterback. Tom came here to play, and he was ineligible because of the transfer. Tom played early in his career and hasn't played in a game for quite a while. So there will be some natural adjustment for him. Tom, certainly, I think he's a very talented quarterback. He's got good football knowledge. He's become one of the leaders on our team. I'm excited to see him play. He's done a great job of picking up and learning our offense, and probably as important, working with and getting a good feel for our guys on our team, your receivers, your tight ends, and the throw game. I'm excited to see Tommy play. It's been a long time for him. He's put in a lot of work. I'm hoping ‑‑ it's our job to help him have as good a year as he can have. Q. To change tack a little bit, I wanted to ask you about coming in the league and the impact on‑‑ I think it's interesting you're playing your first game against Florida State, first ACC game against Florida State. In the‑‑ a lot of coaches in the North and Midwest have seen Florida as a place to go and cherry pick some speed. You only have‑‑ I think three guys from Florida on your roster right now. Is that an area you'd like to do some recruiting? And will being in the ACC and playing the Florida teams help at all? COACH CHRYST: Yeah, I think it does. This is my second year, and I think we've done a great job of recruiting Pennsylvania and Western Pennsylvania, but I think, as we're able to branch out, it's natural to work through the states that the conference is in, and it's one that obviously the exposure and parents and families able to drive and see games. So I think, as we expand, certainly being in the ACC, we felt like this helps it. Recruits are very receptive to it. So you've always got to take care of your home base, but as you branch out, I think that's the logical place for us to branch out, and that's in kind of the ACC footprint. THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for Coach Chryst? Coach, I think we're done for the day. Good luck on Monday night. We'll be talking to you next week. COACH CHRYST: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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