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ACC Coaches Teleconference: UVA football coach Mike London

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mike london accUVA football coach Mike London talks with reporters on the ACC Football Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday.

MIKE LONDON: Obviously we’re focusing on this particular game, our last two games of the season, the opportunities to play at home here for our seniors, the opportunity to finish strong. We know that Duke is a very good opponent. They’ve lost to common opponents for us, Pitt, UNC and Miami, we both beat Georgia Tech, so they’re going to be ready. Coach Cutcliffe has done a great job and always done a great job of coaching his players and getting them ready, but we’re excited about the challenge here for us and the mentality of finishing up at home is what these seniors look forward to.

Q. Ross Burbank said the other day that there are two teams he would want to finish up with at this stage of the season: Duke and Virginia Tech, two teams that he would like to beat. What do you sense the players’ feeling is about Duke? MIKE LONDON: Well, I mean, obviously, as I said, the biggest thing is coming off a tough loss last week is the ability to get back into the mindset of winning a football game, and obviously with two games left, two home games left, Ross being a senior, you know, I can see that being a strong sentiment of his. You know, we had a really good practice this morning, and you know, again, the mindset and the attitude of these guys is that they want to finish strong, and although we’re not playing for a bowl opportunity, still having a chance to be even in the conference, still have a chance to have a winning record at home. Very proud of the fact that these guys have done a great job of handling adversity and being resilient and of knowing how to battle that. Ross’s sentiment about how to finish up the season is just captured by a lot of the other players, as well. But the first thing and the most important thing is the next opponent, and that’s a Duke team that’s has beaten us the last couple times. It’s a team that’s coming here to our place, and as I said, it’s an opportunity for us to win a football game, not specifically because it’s Duke, but the fact that to win a football game.

Q. In preparing for Duke, does it make any difference the fact that they had to bring in a backup quarterback last week and you’re not quite sure which quarterback you’ll see? Do they do anything differently between the two quarterbacks? MIKE LONDON: Yeah, you know what, they utilize a personnel grouping that is really productive for them. They play with three tight ends. They’ve got three running backs, McCaffrey is an exceptional wide receiver, and whether No. 1, their quarterback, is back, we believe he’ll probably be back in play, there’s a system that they have and it’s a system that allows them to utilize all the players that I just — position players that I just mentioned. You know, obviously Sirk is a guy that has done a great job for them as far as passing. He’s also a running quarterback. He’s a guy that directs their offense, and he does it efficiently, and with him not being in there, obviously that hurts, but again, we expect he’ll be back and continue to utilize the skill grouping that I just talked about.

Q. And I was also thinking that a year ago you guys had to juggle some at quarterback yourselves, but this year Matt Johns has been able to go pretty consistently. Can you talk about how much that’s helped him to be the guy all year? MIKE LONDON: You know, Matt, the last couple games he’s had have been games that he’s improved upon. We always talked about early on protecting the football, and there were a couple games he had multiple interceptions. But as far as — I think he’s No. 2 in the ACC with touchdown passes, and I know he’s got attempts in there and he’s got the completion percentage of things that we always want quarterbacks to do well at, and he’s gotten better. He gets better, and him and everyone else on our football team are going to have to have their best game as we talked about trying to finish 2-0 coming out of the season here. Matt has done a really good job of improving. He’ll need to continue to keep doing that. Duke has a good defense. They’ve got some individual players that are outstanding players, I mean, for sure. So you know, Matt is going to have to play his best game, and he’s kind of done that from the last two game perspectives of taking care of the football and directing drives.

Q. Also wanted to ask you about Mizzell, and he’s closing in on the ACC record for the most receptions by a running back. He’s been okay as a runner, but he seems to be even more effective as a guy coming out of the become field and catching the ball? MIKE LONDON: You know, he’s done a really nice job. We’ve talked about this before, of being able to be a complete running back, not only the running the football but the pass protecting, the routes, the recognition of different things, how to hit it downhill instead of trying to do a lot of cut back or jump cuts, and the ability to try to get him matched up on an outside linebacker or a safety with what we do with him is something he’s taken and embraced that role and really has done a really good job with it. I’m very happy with the way he’s playing. You know, he’s a five-star guy that came in here and you could characterize his first couple years as being tough or difficult for him, but he’s embraced coaching and he’s gotten to be a better player from all aspects, and what you see is a young man that learned how to play the position and can be a dynamic player for us, or is a dynamic player for us. Smoke, as we call him, is a guy that’s a selfless player, but at the same time he’s a guy that we need to continue to get the ball in his hands.

Q. You talk about the progress Smoke has made. How much has Chris Beatty played into it as a guy who’s involved in your offensive game planning? Has he pushed for more passes to Smoke or has that always been kind of the idea? MIKE LONDON: You know, Chris is a very good football coach. He’s brought a lot of ideas to us, and he’s very demanding. Chris is accomplished with the wide receivers he’s coached in the past but also being a guy that’s called plays and has coached running backs at Wisconsin and now here. It’s a different mindset, the messaging of how to be a complete player, how to play, how to be detailed and take coaching. You can be coached hard and not take it personal, and there was a little bit of that. But you grow and you mature, and I think that’s the biggest thing, catching each other at the right time, us having Chris and then Smoke being ready for the next step and the next level of his maturation and development. So it’s been a win-win opportunity for us.

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