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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 28, 2013Mike LondonTHE MODERATOR: We now welcome Virginia Head Coach Mike London, who begins his fourth season as head coach at UVA this Saturday when Virginia hosts BYU at Scott Stadium. The game will have a 3:30 p.m. kickoff and will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Coach, it's your call if you want to give an opening statement or would just rather go to questions. COACH LONDON: Thank you. I'd rather just go to questions. Q. Hey, Mike, I'm sure some of us will invariably write that Virginia has a chance to make a statement this weekend. Do you look at that‑‑ do you look at it at all that way? COACH LONDON: Well, I mean, we obviously, being our first game at home and after having kind of revamped the systems in terms of offense, defense, special teams, that with the spring and this early part of August now leading into this first game, we have a chance to show how much we've improved. I guess you could say we can make a statement in terms of how much progress has been made. So speaking from that standpoint, I think that can be said. With an opponent like BYU, who's been one of the most college successes in the last couple of years in the Bowl games and the system they played under, it's a challenge. It's a challenge, but for the first game, home game, for us, considering all the changes, is one that we look forward to trying to meet. Q. Coach, it's been two years since David Watford played. Can you talk about how he's looked in the off‑season and how confident you are in his ability to handle the job? COACH LONDON: Sure. When you look at David, obviously, played freshman year, and we redshirted him last year. I told the guys who have kind of looked at us and recorded us over that last year, spring and into August camp, you can see there's a maturity level that David has gained in terms of being a quarterback with understanding of defenses. He's been around coordinators that have talked about quarterback play. He's played in games. He's observed games. Now he's a guy that's been tapped as our starter. You can see his level of maturity has also increased as well. He's been around here now, and I think that QB IQ level has risen for him. We understand that it's important for us and Coach Fairchild to get him plays, to get him calls, to get him in situations that can help him be successful and use his talents that he has on the field. So we are very supportive of David and what he has and what he has to offer to our team, and it will be important for him to play well and important for us to make sure we put him in positions to play well. Q. How important is it or how much help is it to have a veteran group of wide receivers for him to work with? COACH LONDON: You know, I think it's a component of the question that you asked. Obviously, there's other components, the protection that he gives. It's a component of the running backs, the protection that they give him and the outlet, in terms of passes. But having receivers that are veteran receivers in terms of recognizing blitz, you've got to cut off your routes. Guys that have caught passes in games, have played in big games for us, it's very important. I think, as you alluded to, having receivers that are experienced is important, but I think David's success is also going to be centered around the type of blocking that the offensive line gives him not only for running but also for pass protection. There are so many things that are drawn to the center of what David can do, but definitely, as you alluded to, the receivers will be a big part of that. Q. Talk about your preparation for BYU. What have you seen in footage? COACH LONDON: Well, you see a team that's a team that's been around the coach, been around the system for a while, a great program in college football, very consistent. Young men that have had opportunities to go to college and then step away from college and do some of their life's work and then come back to college. You see a quarterback in Hill that's very elusive, a guy that can run the ball. You see Hoffman, a wide receiver, tall, rangy, can go up and get it. And, obviously, you look at their defense. Their defense is one of the best defenses in the country last year. And you look at Van Noy, who's probably on everybody's All‑American list and every postseason candidate type of award recipient. They're a good team. Their front seven is just thick. And they're a three‑four team. They play a three‑four system well. They're well coached. It's an experienced team. When you're at that level of where they are now and having guys that have played in the system for years, if you get good, you've been good, and now our challenge is to take what we do and apply that to them coming here on August 31st. Q. What's the mood like around Charlottesville the next two weeks with BYU and Oregon coming in, two powerhouses from the West Coast, coming to Charlottesville? COACH LONDON: I believe the mood is upbeat. I believe‑‑ you know, the fans have responded well. I think two days ago there was a little over 3,000 tickets left. There's a huge outpouring of support, people that are interested in watching us but also interested in watching the competition. Obviously, the second game of the season is the second game, and our focus is on the first game, but I can tell you that in and around here, having those two home games at the beginning of the season is something that people are definitely taking notice of. So as we prepare going into the last couple days here for BYU, the excitement and energy continues to ramp up a little bit. We're hoping that Scott Stadium will be filled on Saturday and to the culmination of the type of energy that these guys who have been waiting to play in a football game for a while to have some success. So we're excited about getting ready to play. Q. We'll be watching up here in Baltimore. Good luck. I'll talk to you next week. COACH LONDON: Thank you. Q. Mike, obviously, you know all about Taquan's exploits in high school, but now that he's in college, just wondering how he looks to you during the practices and what kind of role you think he could have on your team here? COACH LONDON: He's done a nice job, just getting acclimated to college football schemes and system, know the protections, the runs, the holes, how to hit the holes, catching the ball out of the backfield, returning punts, returning kickoffs. So there's a lot of things that he's learned, but there's also some things that he's yet to learn. The key for us would be to put him in situations and positions and personnel groupings that allow him to be successful. I think he is‑‑ and we know he is a dynamic player, but we have to make sure that we don't try to do too much, give too much to him, in order to try to see those abilities. So it's going to be important for us to package some things together that he can do, he can do quickly, he can grasp and comprehend, and then go from there. He's one of‑‑ like I said, he's one of those types of players that can be a game changer for you. He's in a running back group that they're all a very close knit group. You have the other guys there, Kevin Parks and Khalek Shepherd, guys that have bought into the fact that our skill level‑‑ and there's a lot of guys that can add to being successful, and Smoke is just one of those guys that can add to that skill level. We'll be excited to see him play. THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for Coach London? Mike, thanks for being with us. Good luck this weekend. We'll talk to you next Wednesday. COACH LONDON: Thank you, everybody. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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