Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer talks with the media in advance of his team’s game on Saturday with Central Michigan.
Opening Statement
You look at the video and it’s kind of what we said after the game Saturday you’re really proud of the effort, you’re really proud of the way no one panicked, you’re really proud of the way we came back and won against a tough football team, a good football team. Now it’s on to Central Michigan, they’re a team that has won a lot up there and they won the MAC last year, they’re used to winning, and had a tough outing this past Saturday they took Temple to overtime, they lost by five to Northwestern at Northwestern, and Northwestern is undefeated I believe, so it’s a team that certainly knows how to win. A very solid football team offensively, they’re averaging 419 yards per game, the quarterback is completing 62% of the passes, they’re huge up front, they’ve got good receivers, the Wilson kid (#11) is shifty, nifty, just a solid football program and we need to make a great preparation again this week and try to continue to improve as a Virginia Tech football team so that’s our goal this week.
How was the bus ride home?
It was a lot better than it looked like it was going to be in that first quarter at the beginning of the ball game. I rode the bus back, and it went a lot better than it looked like it was going to be.
How did the offensive line grade out?
They grade well. I thought it was a good effort by those guys, and fairly consistent play by those guys.
A lot of people outside the program were counting you guys out after that loss to James Madison, what did you see within the program that might have been an indication that the team wasn’t thinking that way?
I think there’s a lot of pride in this program, and I think we have some great seniors. I’ve said all along that I really like the kids in this program; I like what they’re all about. After you have a tough Saturday against James Madison, after you’ve had a tough Monday against Boise State you look forward to seeing those guys on Monday, and I think all those things go into coming back when things don’t look good and just as we did after the James Madison game and just as we did against NC State. I think we have quality kids in our program that will hang in there and battle and I like them.
Are there any players in particular who stood up and said we’re not out of this and kind of talked to the team?
Well our leaders, Tyrod Taylor, John Graves, Davon Morgan, Rashad Carmichael, Andre Smith, and you kind of go on and on but I think all those guys individually have been good leaders for us and affect how our team thinks.
How close was Ryan to being able to go last week?
He wasn’t able to go, we’ll work him this week and see where he is and announce that on Thursday.
Is there a common thread in the slow starts you’ve experienced? Is there anything you can do pregame differently that gets you off to a better start? What do you think is the common theme?
Well I think we had three teams that are very good at what they do and they came out hot, and I think that happens at times. I think it’s more them than us. I think as we go along I think our coaches as far as adjusting to things and trying to see what’s going on, and a lot of times what you looked at on film may not be what you’re getting on Saturday and you’ve got to be able to adjust some things, and I feel like we’re very good at doing that. I think it kind of goes back to the other team too and they’re pretty good at what they do. And I think talking about comebacks; I think we’ve got a quarterback that really plays well at crunch time, you kind of go back over quite a few games and how he plays when it’s on the line I think he’s very, very good.
When you’re coming off such an exhilarating win like this and you’re moving on to a team that probably most people around the country are going to predict you to win this game, what’s the biggest challenge for you as a coach and as a couching staff getting your team ready to play?
Well I always look at what’s real, and what’s real is that this is a good program that has won a lot and has won championships and they’re good right now. Again, they had a tough outing against a team they probably were expecting to beat last Saturday, but we have a lot of respect for this Central Michigan crowd and understand what a good program it is and understand you have to get ready to play each and every week. We already had lessons this year that you better get ready to play each week and it’s not what should happen it’s what you make happen and how you prepare and how you play is what’s real so that’s what we’re going to talk about this week.
About Andre Smith and how he’s become more apart of the passing game within the last couple of weeks; have the coaches been encouraging it more? Is it improvements he’s made with his hands?
I think he’s always been a quality tight end, and we’ve had other quality tight ends. Most of our routes, you go down there and you run it and you look for who’s open, and we don’t particularly count how many catches our tight end has, or our wide receiver, or our running backs, we count wins at the end of the day and it’s just kind of happened that the ball has gone to him a few times here lately.
Is Andre Smith a big leader on the team?
Yea, I mentioned Andre, and I definitely feel like he’s one of the guys our kids respect, no question.
How much do you want to get Logan Thomas involved as the season goes on?
What we’re concerned about right now is as far as getting involved with the other parts of the offense, like I told you earlier we’re trying to make him the best quarterback he can be and get all the reps he can in practice as a quarterback and then our goal is to try to play well and become a better football team. I think if we’re going to make a run at the ACC we’re going to need to continue to improve, and you’re proud a lot of the things you did Saturday but you need to continue to improve and our first priority here is to improve as a football team and try to get another win, and that’s what we’re looking at as far as this week and as we go on down the road.
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