Staff Report
Opening Statement: When you talk about Virginia, we are familiar with a lot of their personnel. They have had a lot of injuries, but they are getting some of those guys back. They play very tough and are relentless. They keep coming after you. If you look at last year, that was a four-quarter game and we were lucky to win that thing. You can throw the record books out for a game like this, and I think you can. We are playing at their place, and we had better get ready to play our very, very best.
Q: What is your team’s mindset going into a game like this?
Beamer: I think you put the video on from last year, or any year, and it is going to come down to being a battle. They have had some tough luck. I know how they are going to play this wee, so we had better get ready ourselves.
Q: What is your philosophy for recruitment?
Beamer: Right now we put a high priority on recruiting the state of Virginia, trying to get the best players out of the state. You have to be able to do that. Since we joined the ACC we have recruited in a six-hour radius, basically. I like it when the moms and dads can come on the visit, and I like it when they can come and watch them play. I think that is the way to do it, and I think that you can be successful if can get the best players within a six-hour radius.
Q: How much do you think the staff continuity has helped recruiting?
Beamer: I think it is huge. You get to know coaches, and there is a trust factor. Jim Cavanaugh, who heads up recruiting, he knows about every coach in a six-hour radius, and certainly every coach in the state of Virginia. Coaches trust him, and he builds great relationships. I think you have a better chance of getting accurate information, and you have a better chance of recruiting those guys if there is a relationship among the coach and the high school coach that has been built over years.
Q: What would you like to improve upon in the final week of the regular season?
Beamer: We came back after the North Carolina game, and talked about continuing to become a good football team. We have the makings of a good football team. We can run on defense, we have some playmakers on offense, we are kicking the ball well, we have been covering and we return kicks pretty well. That is what I am proud of. I think our football team is continuing to give effort, and you have to have that to continue to make improvements and get better. We played a very good football game their Saturday. I think it is just a general keep on working on things and keep on getting better as a football team.
Q: What do you attribute to the success Tech has had throwing the ball down the field?
Beamer: I think Tyrod has a good ability to find receivers downfield, and I think he is throwing the ball very well down the field. It all starts with protection, and on some of those play action passes if you can hold off some people it creates some seams down the field. Receivers going up, the last couple of weeks, they have gone up and made some plays going up to get the ball. We are facing two really good corners this week, they are both tall kids and probably as good a two corners as we have faced this year. That is going to be a challenge going up against these guys.
Q: Is there some comparison to be made between Jarrett Boykin and Ernest Wilford?
Beamer: I don’t really compare those guys. I think Boykin is a guy who is really strong, with strong hands and has a good knack for positioning himself and adjusting to the ball. Ernest really made himself into a great receiver. He certainly had the height all along, but after he dropped that ball against Miami he caught 100 balls a day all summer, and all of a sudden he was very reliable. They have some of the same things, but Boykin is probably a little thicker at an earlier age. He has got some very dependable hands right there.
Q: How do you account for your success against Al Groh at Virginia?
Beamer: We have been on a good run with some good players. That is the way it is in sports, I think. They do things right at Virginia. I have a lot of respect for their program, and a lot of respect for Al and their coaching staff. We have been fortunate that we have been on a good run. But I don’t think that has anything to do with this Saturday. It is a different year, with different teams and different personalities. We had better get ready to play.
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