Opening statement
“We’re proud again of our players and coaches hanging in there and making a comeback against what I think is a really good football team. I give Coach Cutcliffe and his staff a lot of credit. I think they’re really very good and I have a lot of respect for them.
“Andrew Miller was operated on yesterday so that’s a tough loss for us. He’s such a great kid, a tough kid, really an excellent player and an excellent leader in our football program so that’s a tough loss.
“Clemson … dynamic skill players. Boyd is doing a good job of running their team. I think they’re averaging 526 yards and he’s completing 68 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns versus five interceptions. They rush it. They throw it. There’s a lot of misdirection and just excellent people in their offense. What they do is good, but they do it with great people so that makes it tough. Defensively, it’s a multiple defense. They really run well. They have great experience in their secondary. It’s a typical tough, good Clemson defense. We’ve got another real challenge this week.”
On who may play center with Miller out
“We worked [Matt] Arkema there some so he’ll get some work there this week.”
On the misfortune of injuries on the interior line
“It’s just [David] Wang and Miller and [Caleb] Farris, it’s been a tough situation.”
On what he learned about Clemson last season
“They’re a very good football team, a very talented football team and they played exceptionally well against us twice. There’s no doubt about it. They played exceptionally well. I think you study it and look at it, but you have to execute on the field.”
On if the running game beginning to come around
“We hope so. You just have to run the football and be able to throw off of it. We’ve always strived to be a balanced offense and it’s no different this year.”
On what was working for J.C. Coleman
“We had some great blocking and he did some great running. There’s no secret to how you get it done. You have to block some folks and J.C. had about five, six or seven broken tackles so that’s the key to it.”
On how Clemson’s defense under a new coordinator is different this year compared to last year
“They mix it up, four down, three down. I think that’s the biggest difference, but they’ve still got really good people. They’re very multiple in their scheme so it takes a lot of good, solid preparation.”
On the importance of not starting slow at Clemson
“Certainly, Clemson is an exceptionally good football team talent wise, coaching wise. You don’t want to get down against these guys cause they can keep going. They’re very talented, very well-coached.”
On if Logan Thomas has found his rhythm after Saturday’s game
“He made some great plays for us, both running the football and throwing the ball. I thought he had a terrific game.”
On how Tech’s corners matchup against Clemson’s receivers
“You gotta do what you do. Watkins is certainly a threat. He’s missed I think three games, but the other guy, Hopkins, I think he’s got 49 catches and eight touchdowns. He’s really, really been productive for them. Then you throw that tailback in there, Ellington, and their tight end, Ford, and across the board have threats. That’s what makes it tough.”
On if he’ll make any changes on defense to counter Clemson’s offense
“We gotta play what we play and what we know. I don’t think you can go changing a lot of stuff here in the middle of the season.”
On if Coleman will be getting more carries after Saturday’s performance
“I thought he stepped up and I thought Tony Gregory gave us some speed in there when he came in. He has to get a little more consistent with his assignments, but I think you’re always looking for the guy that’s hot in a ball game.”
On Michael Holmes
“Michael absolutely didn’t do anything wrong. I think he’s going to be a terrific player. We were just looking for somebody to give us a lift and J.C. I felt really did that in this particular ball game.”
On the importance of putting pressure on Tahj Boyd
“I think it’s important to try and get him in those situations if you can get him into long yardage situations. Then you know as always if you give these guys time to run around, they’re going to get open cause they’re athletic and can go, and Boyd can get the ball to them. Like I said, I think he’s completing 68 percent of his passes so there’s no question about it. If you let them run long enough, they’re going to get open.”
On if this game means more because they lost to Clemson twice last season
“We don’t think in the past very much around here. We try look at what we’ve got this week and understand that this is a terrific football team and that we’ve got a tremendous challenge. We gotta have great preparation against what is a terrific football team. I think that’s what you look at, what’s here this week is I think what you look at.”
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