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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 23, 2013Randy EdsallRANDY EDSALL: Well, we're looking forward to Saturday, and we know we've got a tremendous challenge with Clemson, outstanding personnel, very well coached, but looking forward to playing on Saturday. Q. You're 4‑0 at home. Would you say you've been a different team at Byrd Stadium? RANDY EDSALL: Well, we've played‑‑ yes, we've played better here at home. I mean, and I think it's always‑‑ you're always more comfortable at home. We've had great support here, and hopefully we can continue that. But it's always‑‑ you're in your own locker room, your own surroundings. Yeah, I mean, we're 3‑0 here and Baltimore the one game, so I think we've played well so far here at home. Q. What does your defense need to do against Clemson offense, which has had their share of issues, not just this week against Florida State but a couple of weeks before then? RANDY EDSALL: Well, I'll tell you, they're very talented. Tajh Boyd is very good and Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant and Adam Humphries, really good wide receivers, Roderick McDowell is a really good running back, athletic up front. They present a big‑time challenge for you, and the thing is they have a number of playmakers that can hurt you, so you have to make sure that you do enough to allow each one of those guys not to make big plays against you. Q. What's your quarterback situation look like this week? RANDY EDSALL: Our quarterback situation is that it'll be either Caleb or CJ in there, and again, we'll make decisions after we get through practice this week based on the health of our quarterbacks. CJ, the concussion isn't the problem. There's other issues there that we have to look at and that I've got to make sure as I watch guys practice if they can go out there and perform to the highest level possible and be able to perform and not put themselves in any more danger from a health standpoint. Q. Were CJ's injuries Saturday a factor in the change you made? RANDY EDSALL: Yeah, that was the‑‑ the reason the change was made, it was all due to injuries, health issue of CJ. It wasn't because of the productivity that he had. It was just what I saw with my own eyes in terms of what he was doing out there from a health standpoint. Q. I know obviously you guys are two weeks removed from playing Florida State, but working on the stories I'm working on, I wanted to ask you a question about that game. With Jameis Winston, you're facing him, obviously you've seen what he can do on the field. Where do you feel like he ranks as far as quarterbacks nationally, and also what was one of the biggest things that he did that kind of astounded you? RANDY EDSALL: Well, I think he's outstanding. When you talk about all the top quarterbacks in the country, he's right there with everybody. You know, he's big, strong, he's athletic, he knows exactly what he's supposed to do in their system, and he's able to make plays. He's able to move around and keep plays alive, extend plays, can make all the throws that you need to make in order to be successful. And the thing that really sticks out to me is just how much composure and poise he has for a young guy. Doesn't get rattled, tremendous leader. Q. You faced him a few weeks ago. Maybe not necessarily a perfect comparison here, but looking at him and looking at Boyd that you're going to be facing this weekend, maybe what are some differences and some similarities between the two of them? RANDY EDSALL: Well, I think, like I said, Tajh is the same thing. When you talk about quarterbacks, of all the guys in the country he's right there at the top, as well. And again, they're very similar in terms of being able to throw the ball. They're big, they're strong. Tajh probably runs the ball a little bit more than Jameis. Other than that, they're very comparable in my opinion. Q. You mentioned yesterday briefly about Abner Logan and the time he got with L.A. out, and I was curious what you saw from him in those extended snaps he got and just the growth that he's made since his true freshman year coming into now. RANDY EDSALL: I thought Abner for his first game starting did a good job. I think that as we've watched Abner come along, it's just the experience. As he gets more plays and more reps, I think he's going to be a really good linebacker for us. And again, it's just him gaining that experience at that position. I was pleased with what he did. It wasn't perfect, but he did good things there, and again, you could see that he's gotten‑‑ he got better as the game went on, and he has the ability to be a really good player for us. Q. Talk about the wide receiving corps. Do you have any other wide receivers that are going to step up this week? RANDY EDSALL: Yeah, the thing is, that's the one thing is guys that‑‑ we've been practicing guys throughout the season, but now what has to happen is Levern Jacobs and Amba Etta, they've got to step up. Those two young men will get the opportunities now with Deon and Stephon being out, and then we have Malcolm and Nigel battling at the other spot. But both those guys have played this year. They've made some catches. Levern made a big catch last week and had some really good catches in the games so far this year. Again, it's time for them to take advantage of their opportunity and step up and make plays for us and do all the things that we would expect. I think they're up to the challenge. Q. You're playing Clemson this week. What do you see on film from the quarterback Boyd? I know he had a tough week last week, but what have you seen on film during the year? RANDY EDSALL: He's a really good quarterback, really good leader. He throws the ball extremely well, gets the ball to his playmakers, doesn't make a lot of mistakes, and is somebody that we have a tremendous amount of respect for. Q. Having observed Long for the first time the previous week and already being familiar with Diggs, have you ever lost‑‑ I wonder if you've ever had something like that happen to you in a game with two players of that magnitude being hurt like that? RANDY EDSALL: No, I haven't. I'm experienced in a lot of things in the last couple of years that I haven't experienced when it comes to injuries. It's unfortunate because both those guys are good guys and good players. To see that happen, one almost right after the other in that game in very similar situations, it's tough. But they'll rehab and they'll be better when they come back, and like I said, we're disappointed that it happened to them, but we have to move forward, and now Levern and Amba have to step up and play as good or better than they were. That's the motto that we have. That's the mindset we have. Hopefully they'll do that for us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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