The need for more depth on both sides of the ball hasn’t gone away. “And what’s compelling to me is, now that they see what work that’s going to take, they’re still going”.
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The Clemson Tigers emerged as a force in college football a year ago with 14 wins en route to their first ACC conference title in four years and a berth in the College Football Playoff. Louisville brings back almost an entire starting 22, so does Petrino see this as the year to possibly win the ACC for the first time since joining in 2014?
The only thing he asks for is a little patience.
Atlantic Division press availability for media days is Friday: Florida State, Clemson, Louisville, Notre Dame, N.C. State, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. We want it to be back to where it was and I hope that everybody knows that you can just walk into the door and make it that. “It’s something they’ve been looking toward for a long time, and I’m pulling for them”.
With Fuente, his M.O.is quarterback development. “Their H-back Alan Cross - I originally thought that’s the kind of stuff that I’d be doing, a lot of stuff that running backs do”.
“My evaluation so far is it will probably be one of those two”, Fuente said.
Preseason quarterback uncertainty has been a relatively uncommon quandary in Blacksburg.
Mendenhall took over a UVA program coming off a 4-8 campaign in 2015, and last had a winning season in 2011.
Fuente came out of spring practices declaring the running back situation an open competition, which didn’t portend a smooth transition for running back Travon McMillian, going from Frank Beamer to Fuente.
Fuente offered a different impression Thursday of McMillian, a rising sophomore who led the team last season with 1,043 rushing yards.
On what concerns him about Tennessee, which is the Hokies’ second game of the season – “All over the board”. He pass protects. He runs the ball well. “When you look at what James has done, what he has been through, the size of that heart inside his chest cavity, I think you’re going to get his best effort”.
“There was just something there in the spring. I’ve seen (something) sort of rekindled in him a little bit this summer that’s got me excited about him”.
He is one of three new coaches in the Coastal, with Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente and Miami’s Mark Richt.
“I kind of like the under-the-radar feel to it”, Ekanem said.
Senior defensive end Ken Ekanem knows something about developing in a hurry. “Also, Coach Wiles stays as the defensive line coach”. Ekanem needs all the help he can get. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more”. “I talk too fast to be an auctioneer”. I was completely fine with it. I was like, ‘All right, this is cool.
“But he just give(s) me good advice pretty much off the field”, Watson said, “saying to be true to who I am, listen to the coaching staff, buy into the process, don’t get yourself distracted with the outside things, just focus on the main things”.
On the meshing of Bud Foster and Galen Scott, who was a defensive coordinator at Memphis, and their discussions of various concepts and schemes – “It’s like a laboratory in there”. Many pundits have Tech falling in the 6-6 or 7-5 range.
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While enthusiasm is high at Tech, confidence continues to be on the rise at UVA. “I don’t know if we’ll be there quickly or not, but I don’t think it’s an issue of chemistry that we have to do it to give ourselves a chance for success”. “What I do know is that the current team is hungry”. “If I had one single guy, then he’s be the one”. “Our expectation is to go 1-0”. That’s what we’re about.
