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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 12, 2018

Steve Addazio

Greensboro, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: Now we welcome Boston College head coach Steve Addazio. Coach, give us an opening statement, then we'll take questions.

STEVE ADDAZIO: It's been a short week, but a good week. We're looking forward to heading down and playing our game against Wake Forest. They have a fine football team. Obviously very, very talented, very good coaching staff, very well-coached, put together. Great respect for their program.

This will be quite a competitive game, as it always is each year. We know that it will probably come down to the very last drive in the fourth quarter. We prepared, getting ready to get on the plane here in about 20 minutes and head down.

Appreciate all the cooperation through the conference, the schools, for all the hard work and everything they've done to keep this game going. Very appreciative for that. Looking forward to getting it started.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Your first running unit has only been on the field for three quarters. If the elements comes into play, are you confident they can give you four quarters?
STEVE ADDAZIO: It's what we prepare and condition for. We know we're going to get four quarters here. We've talked about it all week long, that this is going to be one of those title fights that's got to go the distance.

Everybody is well aware of that. We're prepared for that.

Q. Talk about the element of the jet sweep, how that helps.
STEVE ADDAZIO: I think you always want to be able to have in your run game, you want to be able to (indiscernible) the different quadrants of the field. You need plays that get to the perimeter, plays that are off tackle, plays that are inside plays. You got your zones, you got your gaps. We're a pretty complete run game. So I think that we're set up to attack the width of the field with every different variety and style. It's the same philosophy in the throw game.

I think if you don't have that, you don't attack the whole field, they don't defend the whole field. That's our mindset when we put together our run game, is we make sure we can make the defense defend the whole field.

Q. When your units on special teams have been good season to season, what has gone on there? What has helped you in that way? What happens on a good special teams year?
STEVE ADDAZIO: I think as I learned from Coach Meyer that the key to great special teams is the priority that you put on it as a head football coach. I've been involved with these my whole career. I'm involved in everything relative to special teams. I'm in every meeting, actively engaged and involved. I think that sets the tone for the team of the importance level. That's number one.

Number two, I think you need to put your best players up there. That's not a spot where we're going to decide -- when you say all three phases are equally important, all three phases need to have your best players. We commit our best players to special teams.

I think what's proven in our program, and the kids know it is, a lot of our guys have gone on, been picked up, drafted or picked up at the next level.

One of the reasons why they're attractive is because of their level of ability and skill in special teams. In our program, it's like a rite of passage. If you're going to be respected as a great player, you're going to be on those teams, you're going to be a guy that excels on the teams.

Those are the things, I don't care what program it is, that are really important if you want to go good. Every coach is involved. It's not just like a guy running the special teams. Everyone has an active oar in the water here.

I want the secondary coach, the wide receiver coach, I want them to be accountable for their guys, not only who they coach in that special teams unit, but their players from their position that are on special teams. I hold the coaches very accountable there, as well.

I probably went on longer than you wanted. That's really our philosophy here.

Q. Typically how many (indiscernible) do you find on the units?
STEVE ADDAZIO: As many as need to be. That's the best player, they're on the unit. We can take one unit away from a guy because we have a guy that's performing at the same level, we'll do that. We won't sacrifice the special teams unit to get a guy off. This is not the way it is.

Q. I'm writing about Urban Meyer returning to full duties next week with Ohio State. You were there in Florida 2010 when it was a different situation. He was coming back to the team in a full capacity. As far as a reaction, what do you remember about that time for coaches, for players when Urban came back in full duties?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, I was the interim head coach. I was actively involved in the whole thing. I would tell you it was always his team. He's the head football coach. He's, quite frankly, the best football coach in America. I felt that way then, I feel that way now.

It was our job, my job, if I was the interim, our job as a staff, was to keep things set in the direction that he set forward. So that when he came back, this thing was running the way that he would have wanted it to be run so that we could get the best coach in college football back in the swing of things and can retake over the reins and run the program.

I mean, when I comment on that, I'm commenting on it not from experience. That's what I would tell you.

Q. He's been around the team from a practice standpoint. What does he bring from a game day standpoint when he does return to that first game with Ohio State now?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, Urban has a tremendous presence. He has a great leadership quality. When you're with him, you believe that you're going to have an advantage and you're going to win. He exudes confidence and prepares a team to have that confidence. That's what makes him special.

In addition, he's excellent in terms of putting together the game plans, special teams, offense, defense, knowing the pulse of the team, and being able to make those critical in-game decisions that have to be made. That's what I think makes him great.

Obviously he's such a fantastic recruiter that he brings in great talent into the program. We all know the first ingredient is having great players, but there's great players because a great recruiter helped develop and bring about those great players.

Q. What is the exit strategy going to be like on Thursday night? A bus or a plane?
STEVE ADDAZIO: We have contingency plans for all possible happenings. We feel great about our plan right now, which can handle a host of different scenarios. I think I feel great about where we'll be at. Right now I got so much focus on the game, I'll let the professionals handle the exit strategy.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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