Press Conference: Frank Beamer

“After looking at the video, I credit Duke; they played an excellent football game. They kept field position on us in the second half. I did like in the fourth quarter when we needed to get something done our offense moved the ball down the field and got the field position changed around. Defensively, I thought we made some great plays and Duke had some good plays called at times and by good execution on our part I thought we held on and that’s kind of again what we did in the ball game. I’m proud of our effort, I’m proud of the way we hung in there, the offense moved the ball late in the fourth quarter, Duke did a good job kicking the ball and getting field position and so I give them a lot of credit.

On the player’s schedule for this off week…

They’re going to get their lifts in, but they’re free until Wednesday we’ll have a 3:15 meeting and we’ll go over the Duke game at that time and have game plans by coaches on Wednesday. The coaches will be out recruiting for the next couple of days. Then we’ll start back and have practice on Thursday and Friday and then our game week starts on Saturday.

On using bye week to scout…

Yeah, I think you always do that, I think you need to know what the other team knows. So they’ll be some of that going on too.

On having 10 days in between a very important ACC game…

I think in this case, you like it. Georgia Tech has a unique offense, a very different offense and a good offense so I think the more time you have to prepare for that the better. So from that standpoint I like it.

The key to defending Georgia Tech offense…

They know what they’re doing. They’re fast, they block in different ways, first option hits you very quickly so there’s a lot of unique things to it and a lot of good things to it.

On the dirty play (mentioned by David Wilson and James Gayle) by Duke’s players…

No I didn’t see that happening and I think you credit Duke by playing an excellent football game. I thought their defense was very good, very tough and I thought they played well. I think that’s what you credit Duke for, and I think if you’re having problems you need to tell the officials we have good officials in our league and so you need to tell them during the game and get it solved that way.

On David Wang being able to play in November…

That’s a wait and see thing, right now we’re not planning on him playing. The prognosis was eight to ten weeks so there’s some flexibility in there.

On watching the Georgia Tech-Clemson game and the impression received from that game…

We were back in time where we could see it. I thought they played fast, played extremely well, very sharp and what we’ve come to expect out of Georgia Tech.

On the bye week coming at the perfect time with injuries…

Yeah it’s a good time because it’s been a grind. Every week has been a grind for both player and coaches. I think a rest both mentally and physically will be good for our football team.

Is the team where you would like it to be? And how they’ve developed…

I think we’ve done well. We’ve had to overcome some things. We’ve seen some good things. I think if you look at the football team and where we are, who we’ve played and the injuries we’ve had, I think we’re fortunate to be where we are and I credit our players and coaches for getting us there.

Press Conference: Frank Beamer

Opening Statement: Good win over a very tough Boston College football team, they played us hard and played us with great effort. I was pleased to get out of here with a win. I’m not pleased about our injuries. Going on with Duke, you know it’s a team that’s really three points away from being 5-2. I think they’re a really solid football team and I think a very good football team. They can really throw the football, they spread it around, they’re running backs have been about 41 catches; Vernon and Varner are probably about to set some school records and ACC records, they’re good offensively. They are very efficient running the football, and they can score points. Defensively they play hard, they have two seniors and a junior in their secondary, so they’re experienced back there. They get into a lot of eight-man front, they get a lot of people close to the football, and I think we have our work cut out for us. The ACC is very balanced for the most part and we got our work cut out for us.

How big of a loss is Bruce Taylor?

Well you know it is a tough loss, he’s played a lot of plays and made a lot of plays. He’s a very smart guy and gets us into the right things, so it’s a tough one. Barquell Rivers has been a starter; he and Jack Tyler will take that over and work together to play that position. We have a lot of confidence in both of those guys.

Is Bruce the one guy that you can least afford to lose?

I think there’s a lot of guys on our football team that would be tough losses if you look at both sides of the ball, but there’s no question that Bruce has not only a lot of leadership but his play, the number of tackles and sacs, and all those things I mean it’s a tough loss for us.

Have you ever had a season like this is turning into, injury wise?

I can’t remember one, but I think it’s just the way it goes. Some seasons you get to play with the same guy every week and that just isn’t the case for us.

On guys continuing to step up

That’s the good part there, I’ve been really please with the guys that have stepped in there and been there. Bonner came in and did a good job this week, and I think that is the good part our defense is has really hung in there very well.

This probably wouldn’t be the week you would want four or five starters out correct?

Well I think this Duke team is very efficient in how they operate, they’ve won three and they were only three points away from winning a couple more and even in the Stanford game you look at the score and it’s lopsided but in the third quarter it was a 10 point game so I think that’s misleading too. I think this Duke team is very good and pretty dangerous in my opinion.

How much more important is it for the offense to take time off the clock?

It’s always your goal to have possession time and get some points on the board, so I think keeping it out of a dangerous offense. If you can keep Duke’s offense off the field, it’s certainly to our advantage.

On the way Branthover came back after the first punt

He’s a good kicker, and good kickers do come back, they know they can kick it was just a matter of not hitting that first one very good. He’s got a solid leg and I think the more experience he gets the better he’ll be.

On Logan Thomas having 16 carries

I think whatever the games calls for. A couple of those were for protection when he was out of the pocket on passing plays too, but I think it kind of depends on how the game is going. He’s a big, strong guy and a lot of toughness. I don’t want him to take shots he doesn’t have to take, but I think as he goes along he’ll learn that too, which hits he can take and when he needs to get out of bounds or go down. It’s his nature right now to get every yard he can get.

Do you want Logan to back off that tendency to give shots?

I’ll just say we don’t want him to take any more licks than he has to. When you’re a quarterback in any situation you don’t want to take chances when you don’t have to take chances.

On David Wilson averaging 6.3 yards per carry

He runs with a lot of energy, and he’s got ability, strength, he’s explosive, he’s fast but he runs every play with very great energy and great effort. As a result, every time he touches the ball there’s a chance of something really good to happen.

Press Conference: Frank Beamer

Opening statement: “As I said Saturday, I’m really proud on how our football team responded down at Wake Forest. I think we went in there and beat a really good football team, a well-coached, good football team. That was a great win for us.

Boston College is a team we’ve played a bunch of times and I have a lot of respect for them. They’ve had some tough injuries and some turnovers, but they’ve had an off week, so they come in here fresh. [They're] big, strong, tough, well-coached a defense that bends, but doesn’t break. Their quarterback [Chase Rettig] has hit 53 percent of his passes and is getting about 200 yards a game throwing. This is a team that we need to make a great preparation for and another tough conference game.

On injury report: “I’ll leave out the injury report. We’ll put that out Thursday with the status of our players at that time.”

On how the players who replaced injured defensive starters fared on Saturday: “They did all right. (Tyrel) Wilson I thought had an excellent ball game. Played tough, played fast, hung in there great. (Detrick) Bonner had a couple plays, but he’ll be better with a good week of practice here this week. (Alonzo) Tweedy was kind of in and out of the game according to the personnel groupings, but he’s got a lot of good ability and he made some nice plays for us. They did well. The young (defensive) linemen, (Corey) Marshall and (Luther) Maddy, I think are coming along, getting better each and every week. So we just got to keep plugging along.”

On the performance of the offensive line after a slow start on Saturday: “I thought they all did ok. We’ve got a thing called chain gang and you grade a winning percentage. (Andrew) Lanier, (Greg) Nosal, (Andrew) Miller, (Jaymes) Brooks, (Blake) DeChristopher, (Nick) Becton all are in that. Some of the troubles there early weren’t particularly them. There were other people involved that missed an assignment here, missed an assignment there and all of a sudden the play doesn’t look very good. But overall, I thought they did well for the day.”

On the punting position: “(Michael) Branthover – I think he’s another guy as he gets more and more comfortable, he’s going to get better and better. He’s a guy like I told you earlier, he’s got a strong, strong leg and has a good, quick release time. And that’s two really good things to start out with. I’m looking forward to and I think again as he gets more and more confidence, calms down more and more, he’s going to get better and better.”

On if long-term consistency of program and the ability to bounce back after losses are due to staff stability: “Yeah I think you can. I’m really proud of this coaching staff. I’m proud of how we handled things on Saturday. I mean there wasn’t panic there. We just hung in there and we keep talking about as a football team, we want to get better as the day goes along. I thought we did as a coaching staff too. I think the consistency that you have there on the staff, how we try to run our program and how we to try to be consistent from day to day on how we treat kids. They know what they’re getting here. When we do lose, we don’t flip out. We find out why we lost, identify that and try to correct it. That’s all as long as the kids are giving great effort. And effort around here has never really been an issue, but I think that goes back to our coaching staff too. The relationships they have with the players. I think we care about each other around here and trust each other and I think as a result when a problem comes up we have a chance at getting it solved. I think those are the issues really.”

On success of the passing game during past two games: “Well again I think having a veteran offensive line has certainly helped. I think having a threat at tailback certainly helps. Our tight end has come up big the last couple weeks on a couple crucial plays – (Chris) Drager’s been really good. We’ve got a couple more that can really run, so hopefully we can get them more involved in the passing game also. And then we do have some receivers that you can really count on. I think (Jarrett) Boykin and Danny (Coale), Marcus Davis came up with a couple plays. D.J. Coles hurt himself there but, we’ve got some guys there that you can count on. But I just think Logan (Thomas) each and every week gets more and more comfortable. As I’ve said a couple times, I think the more you know where you’re going with the ball, the more accurate you become. You’re not late, you’re anticipating where a guy’s going to be and I think that’s happening with Logan as he gets more and more experience.”

Press Conference: Frank Beamer

In our win on Saturday, I do think our fans were a part of it; they helped us win. This game was probably as loud as Lane Stadium has ever been, so I appreciate that part. Injuries are a concern for us, we’ll put that list out on Thursday as to exactly where we are. Wake Forest wow I think you look at them and they’re just a much-improved football team from last year when they had all those young guys playing for them. Now they know what they’re doing and they do it at a fast pace. They’re aggressive as a football team, they run well; they play hard, just very much improved. Their quarterback, Tanner Price, is completing 62 percent of his passes and he’s very efficient. Josh Harris, their running back, is just like we saw on Saturday, we had trouble slowing those two guys down and of course Harris had a big game against us last year so he’s the same type of back. We really have a challenge going down to Wake Forest and playing.

On reaction to Logan’s completion percentage

The guy came back and some of the things that happened the week before weren’t all his fault even though sometimes it looked like it, but he came back and I’m not surprised I think that’s the kind of person he is and the kind of player he is. As it was going along I didn’t really realize it but when we got to the end there were so many balls completed, it was quite a performance.

What was the biggest difference between Logan in this week to last week?

Well you know he learns something every week. I think he tried to drop a couple balls off instead of trying to get it down the field, and that’s a good play, it’s a completion and you’re dumping it off to some dangerous guys. I think where to go with the ball; I think he’s better this week. When you know where to go with it, and get there on time your accuracy is better so I think that played into it. He’ll learn every week I promise you; he’s just a guy that’ll keep improving.

On concerns with the defensive line

It’s a tremendous concern; you know Luther Maddy is also still hobbling around the ankle, so yes it’s a tremendous concern. We just have to coach them up.

What do you like most about your team right now? What is your biggest concern?

Our biggest concern are our injuries, we just had too many. You know we lost a couple of guys for the season. What I like best is the type of kids we have. I thought the other night was a great example, you know defensively we just got short on people and we could have played the plays better at times for sure but it’s never a lack of effort. Our kids play hard, and offensively coming back several times. How relentless our football team was, that’s probably what I like best.

On Jeron’s injury and what Alonzo Tweedy showed him

We’ll announce Jeron’s situation on Thursday whatever it may be, but Tweedy I can tell you he’s a talented guy and I think the more he plays the better he’ll be but he’s very athletic, very quick, nifty guy. I think getting in there and playing certainly helps him and I think he’ll do as well as he possibly can do.

On what Tyrel Wilson showed him on Saturday

He wasn’t feeling well during the game and you talk about a guy that just battled and battled, and then he’s on our kickoff coverage team but I took him off of that, but then on that last kickoff he came up to me and said he needed to go. It makes a great statement about him, he was best in that kicking situation too, and wanted to make sure we covered that kickoff as well as we could. I’m proud of the guy, he battled, he is relentless.

On the block that took out James Gayle, was it clean in your mind?

Yea you know I thought it was clean, it just kind of got him and got his foot down wrong but I thought it was a clean block.

On Wake Forest’s coach and the way he has developed his team

I’m going to vote for him for coach of the year about halfway through the season. You talk about a team that they are playing so hard and very well and what effort they’re playing with, it just shows that he and his staff have done a great job. They’re a really good football team, it’s not a fluke at all. They have really good people, and they’ve got them playing hard.

On rotation at defensive tackle against Miami

Corey Marshall played as hard as he could; he’s in there against some pretty good folks and play after play you have to go against those guys. And then Maddy tried to play but his ankle is still bothering him, but hopefully we can get well this week and we’ll see who we have on Thursday.

On J.R. Collins’ play

I thought J.R. played extremely well, played hard and with good effort. There was a question about how he played, that penalty was unfortunate, but other than that we were pleased with J.R.

On injuries and how it’s been hard to gauge that defense

Well I go back to last week, I think we played a very good football team and played at a high level. And then this week, the two tackles are about 6’8″ and 6’7″ you talk about good up front this crowd is good up front too. You lose a guy and then all the sudden a guy is playing more than you plan on him playing and it just kind of works it’s way down into your lineup, but it is what it is. Hopefully we can get some well and be ready to go.

On Kyle Fuller’s performance

Kyle is a talented guy; he understands the game. The game makes sense to him. He has a feel for it, you put that with good talent, which he has and you got yourself a really good football player.

On preparing to get Nikita Whitlock blocked

The guy is amazing, he’s 5’11″ but he’s got balance and a motor and he presents a real challenge for our offense.

Press Conference: Frank Beamer

Opening Statement: “The news right now is that we have lost our second tackle on defense. Kwamaine Battle was the first and then Antoine Hopkins, who I think is being operated on on Friday. That’s a tough loss for us. We have two freshmen in either Corey Marshall or Luther Maddy that will start in there. Isaiah Hamlette has been working and then we’ll bring Dwight Tucker up and get him some work this week.

“This Miami team we are about to play, they are just a typical Miami team. They are big and tough up front, they have some good athletes on the field. Jacory Harris is very talented, they have some tall receivers there in, He has Allen Hurns, Tommy Streeter and LaRon Byrd to throw to and they have some pass guys like Travis Benjamin, Phillip Dorsett and Kendal Thompkins to throw to. This running back, Lamar Miller, I think is exceptional; he averages about a 127 yards per game. Between him and Mike James, at the tailback position, I think they are getting about 170 yards out of that position.

“This is a very, very challenging game for us. I think we’re close, defensively I think we’d like to take about four plays out of the game. Offensively, when you watch it, it’s not like we just scored three points. We did, but there are a lot of good plays and we’ve just got to have a little more consistency. We’re so close on so many plays, as you watch the film and how we started out. As physical as we were playing, it just doesn’t seem right that we only scored three points. We were close to scoring more, but it’s just a matter of getting it done.”

Are you still planning on redshirting Kris Harley?

“Yeah, that’s the plan right now. We’ll get Dwight in there and get him some work. It’s going to be a lot of substituting going on there, but those freshmen have really come along, they’ve gotten better. Now they are going to be seeing quite a few more plays. They are both talented and they have good want-to so we’re going to go get them ready.”

What are your thoughts on the left tackle position and how do you go forward there?

“I think we are better than what it showed there in the end. The guys were getting a great jump. One time Lanier’s eyes were back inside when the ball snapped, so he was just a hair late getting off. Another time I thought the guy had a hand in our facemask and that kept us from being able to block him. I think we are better at that position than what came across at the very end. When you get into those third-and-longs and they know you’re going to throw and you have a good athlete over on the other side, that’s a challenge.”

How important is this Miami and do you have concerns about it after Clemson?

“It’s big. I said that this weekend, when we lost to Clemson it only made this [Miami] game bigger. There’s no question about the significance of this one.

“I think from an offensive standpoint we are as close as you can get there. It’s not like we have no hope. There are a lot of great things there. The way we started out that ballgame, we were very physical. I mean, we turned the ball over twice but we played hard throughout. We tried to throw the ball to Boykin one time and he runs 30-40 yards and the ball gets tipped. It was just a little something here and a little something there. I do think we are close offensively, and of course defensively there’s only four plays that made us feel like, “okay, we need to take those out of there.” It’s not like we have 20 plays we’d like to take out of there. It’s a matter of staying on course and continuing to work and getting better.”

How have things gone with Coach O’Cain as the play-caller so far this year?

“I think it has worked well. I like the way our called plays have gone. The one time we called a timeout, then got back on the field late and the noise loud and we jumped the snap. That’s not a signal from the sideline or delay of game type of thing. I think it’s going okay. It was kind of an unusual game. We had things rolling then had something happen, and it’s hard to get in a groove when you have good things happening and then all of a sudden there is a setback. I think our procedure is fine on the sideline.”

What do you think of Jayron Hosely’s play this season and what makes him so great?

“I think he’s playing well. He’s just a guy with great instincts and super ability. He loves to play the game and he’s an important part of our football team. I think it’s just instincts, he’s got great anticipation. He’s got a good football sense, and the game is just natural to him. I think he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen at just playing the ball. His body and how he gets it in position to catch a ball, I just think is very natural to him.”

Do you guys have any ties with Atlantic High School down in Florida?

“Charley Wiles has good relationships down there and we’ve just been fortunate enough to come out of there with some great players. I think when you get a few out of there you can get a few more and we’ve been very fortunate in that regard.”

What kind of factor were the noise and the band on Saturday?

“I think what happened, they started the 25-second clock and that got on us a little bit and we were rushing back out there to get the play off and I think we surprised the band with how quickly we got to the line and were ready to run the play. I guess the band was playing. They said they couldn’t hear the snap count.”

What is your reaction to David Wilson’s ability to stay alive during that big run?

“He gave great effort and ran hard. Even the time he fumbled, he was running hard but the guy just put his headgear on the ball. You don’t have to worry about lack of effort from David Wilson, I can promise you that. I don’t have his stats right here to see how many broken tackles and yards after contact he had but there was a lot.”

Is the rugby kick something Scott Demler is familiar with and how does it help with the wind?

“The change up is good to have against the wind and he did it in high school, until his senior year he rugby kicked. He’s pretty good at it. All of those things came into play there. I think the rugby kick can be part of our procedure back there.”

On throwing the long ball down field:

“I think you always have to take your shots down the field and keep everybody honest. I think that has to be part of our game plan. The wind can get you both ways. When you are against it, it’s hard, and when you’re with it it’s hard to get the exact right timing on that thing. Throwing a deep ball in the wind is not an easy thing.”

Was Logan Thomas’ shoulder hurt Saturday and did that affect the play calling?

“I think you have to be smart there. I think he’s fine but I don’t think he needs to take a lot of hits [on that shoulder] either. It affected our play calling, I can tell you that, as far as how many times we wanted tot run him.”

What are your thoughts on Thomas’ confidence level at this point in the season?

“I think he’s fine. He doesn’t need to think anything except to keep getting better. That first interception was just a couple feet off. It was a great pass and could have been a great play. Overall, he did a good job. He missed one check-off but it’s all part of growing as a quarterback. Tyrod texted Coach Stinespring and said he missed the guy on that flat when I was just starting out, so if you go to the flat with it then you’d probably go to the end zone. To me, that’s just part of learning and growing. I think Logan is fine, he’s a smart guy, he’s poised, he doesn’t panic. I like him as our quarterback and I like him as the leader of this football team.”

Press Conference: Frank Beamer

Opening Statement: “After watching the video, I feel the same way as after the ball game. We just need to play more consistently, which is our challenge right now. We won’t talk about injuries and we will follow the procedure there when they release something Thursday.”

“If you look at Clemson, they are just flat-out good. They are very good up front on defense, got experience on the backend and are just a very physical football team. Offensively, I think they are averaging 506 yards and 38 points. Their quarterback is completing 66 percent of his passes, 13 touchdown and only two interceptions. The Watkins kid is another Percy Harvin, except bigger; what a threat he is. They have a lot of dynamic players and they are a dynamic football team. We understand that we have a really good football team coming in Saturday.”

Based on what you seen in the first four games, are you confident that your team is ready for some better competition?

” Well my whole position is that we have done things well in all areas really. We have had moments where we have done things well but we just haven’t done it consistently well. If you go back and do something well one time, you can do it well again the next time is what we need to get to.”

Is this team at all remind you of the 2007 team that it seemed like you guys were yelling at a lot of areas and had some question marks throughout the whole season but kept finding a way to win?

“I think it’s just too early to tell. I think that this team is this years team and that we have had our moments but just haven’t consistently had our moments.”

As you try to get some consistency at punter this week, is that one of those things were you would like to have a guy going into the game that he will be handling all the punts?

“Yes, I would like to have the situation settled to be quite honest with you. We are going to work hard on it again this week. That position is like your quarterback, you have to get settled on it and go with it and I understand that.”

Last week you started to work with Demitri Knowles obviously with Dyrell gone. Will you be looking to start working with Asante and Smiling and bring them up from the scout team?

“Yes we are going to really work Knowles this week, and see how far we can bring him in with a lot of work. Smiling is another possibility but Knowles is the one right now that we will really work.”

What do you think the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area make it such a hot pick for the quarterback position?

“They sure have had a run of them that’s for sure. This [Tajh] Boyd kid has been playing great. That area has had a lot of quarterbacks play well from them in the last few years. There is no question that football is good in that area probably as good as there is in the state of Virginia. They just have had a good run in great quarterbacks.”

Have you said anything to Logan this week about how the game atmosphere will be like in such big game this week?

“Well he is a smart guy and have been on the sideline watching Tyrod for a couple years. I think him being ready mentally is the least of our worries.”

Will you say anything to the team this week about being focused, since you didn’t really prepare them for that road game against ECU, especially since this will be on the national level?

“I don’t think you have to worry about us being focused. All you have to do is turn the video on of Clemson and they really get your attention. They have great athletes and this is a dynamic football team coming in here.”

Is there any question in your mind that Cody is still your kicker or is that something you are going to open back up?

“No, Cody has been doing well. Of course he had the one blocked and we were a little bit slow in the timing but they had came up over our center in that one. Then the one he missed was close but we will continue to go with Cody.”

With the punters, is there going to be a three-man competition with week with Demler, Coale and Branthover? Who will get the chance to win the job this week?

“Well anyone out there punting this week will get the shot at it.”

You mentioned a little about the Clemson offense, is the biggest challenge against them the personal or maybe the fact that they play at such a high tempo? What kind of prep do you guys do to prepare for such a high tempo?

“Yea I think that it’s both. One, they have great personal and the tempo gives them a lot of plays.

They have a defense that doesn’t mind that tempo. All things together makes them what I said a dynamic football team.”

Will Hosley be the guy that will try to check Watkins most of the time?

“Well we just entered our game plan right now so we can decide that later on.”