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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 17, 2010

Frank Beamer

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. We'll bring on coach, ask for a brief opening statement, and then go to questions.
Coach.
COACH BEAMER: Very, very impressed with this Miami football team. I think they're very talented, very well-coached. Certainly got a challenge for us going down there and playing. Got to have a great week of practice and get ready to go.
Questions.

Q. Frank, thinking back to early September when you were 0-2, how concerned were you that things might be getting away after those tough losses? What has been the key to the big turnaround?
COACH BEAMER: Well, I think the concern was a lot of good things had been written in pre-season, you had some hopes there. You had a quarterback that you really felt like could carry you. Those guys only come along every so often.
But then I tried to get back to the reality of it. We were too young in too many places. New kickers, new guys on defense, a couple new offensive linemen. That was the bottom line.
I think having two losses like that within a week, played on Monday, came back and played on Saturday, it's tough. But I try to deal in reality. Reality is we played two good football teams and had a tough loss on Monday night, came back and played another team on Saturday that played really well. Things went exactly right for them to beat us.
Having said that, I think that's what you share with your football team. Fortunately we got good kids, good character guys, good leaders. Tyrod Taylor, John Graves, Rashad Carmichael, Andre Smith, I could kind of go on and on. But they came right back and we went right back to work, probably worked harder than ever. It's a credit to them that we fought through this thing and we're in the position we are now.
But we got a tough, tough challenge coming up here Saturday.

Q. Frank, I wanted to ask you about Steven Friday and the contribution he's made this year after not getting a whole lot of playing time up until this point. He seems to be really taking advantage of the opportunity that he's had.
COACH BEAMER: Absolutely. There's another guy you would mention as a leader. Doesn't say very much. But the way he plays certainly leads our football team.
He's been good. He's athletic. He plays every snap. He's been instrumental in keeping this football team together.

Q. Somebody who has waited his turn as long as he did, being in his fifth-year, how does the coaching staff deal with that guy, staying positive with him? How did he handle all that?
COACH BEAMER: Yeah, I think it gets back to him and his mental toughness, his belief in himself. He didn't get much playing time. He didn't figure in much until last year. Figured in a little bit. He's been a guy we depended on heavily this year.
I think the way we treat people, I think we treat people with respect. We don't run down people that are not playing. We don't try to treat players different than the ones that are playing. That's one thing.
But I think a lot of credit goes back to him, how mentally tough and his belief in himself. I think those two things are to his credit.

Q. Coach Beamer, my first question concerns your road record in the ACC. Since joining the ACC you are 22-5 in ACC road games. That's pretty impressive. What's the formula, how do you make that happen?
COACH BEAMER: Well, we try to be consistent how we treat kids, consistent in our actions every day. I think that kind of goes into being consistent in how you play. That is it really doesn't make any difference where you're playing, it's how you play.
I think our coaches do a good job of preparation and our players have done a good job of it's not where we're playing, it's how hard we're going to play. So I think that's kind of the reason for that.

Q. Miami has announced this youngster Morris will start against you on Saturday, but they have not ruled out Jacory Harris. What are your comments on these two quarterbacks?
COACH BEAMER: They've got a good situation really. Jacory has been a good quarterback for them, has thrown a lot of touchdown passes, very talented guy. This Morris kid comes in and has been very steady. Runs the offense, manages the game, has played very well for them. Thrown the ball well when he needed to throw it. I think their running game being so good really helps the whole situation.
But I think both quarterbacks, I think they've got a good situation going. They've got two good quarterbacks.

Q. What is the one area in Miami that you believe you need to prepare for the most?
COACH BEAMER: Well, I think there's several. I mean, I think this is really a good football team. I think the way they were able to run the football, you better get ready for that part. I mean, they just come right at you and hammer you. Good offensive line, good backs, talented wide receivers that make it hard to gang up on the running game. They've kind of got the whole package there.
Then you look at their defense, they lead the ACC in several categories there, particularly in the passing area. They put pressure on the quarterback. They're very, very good in that regard.
Then you go to special teams. They coached them up on special teams. They got good players there, very athletic. So I'd have a hard time naming just one thing. I could name you several.

Q. Given the performance over the last few games with Morris there, would you rather have a team prepared to go against Jacory or Morris this weekend?
COACH BEAMER: I don't think it makes any difference in as far as how they attack you. I think they're going to attack you the same way really. Whoever plays, that's who we got to play against.
Like I said, I think they're fortunate. I think they've got them two good quarterbacks.

Q. Frank, how much say did you have in the decision to switch the Boise game to the first game of the season?
COACH BEAMER: We talked about it. That thing went around so many times, whether we were going to play Boise or somebody else. I mean, that thing, there were several conversations. I kind of forget exactly what was what right now.
Jim Weaver works extremely hard on our scheduling, I can say that. But we talk about everything that happens. I was involved. I think it kind of got down to whether we played Boise then and then come back and play James Madison on Saturday or have an open time before Georgia Tech. I think that's what it ended up being.

Q. When you look back on the way things unfolded, do you think about what might have happened had you kept the schedule the way it was without the five-day turnaround, playing Boise later to get your defense more mature?
COACH BEAMER: No, I don't look back very much. We knew going in that I think Boise had the advantage on us because they had just about everyone back and we had a lot of new faces. You knew that going into it.
You got to go play them. I think I've been proud of the way our football team bounced back. To play those two football teams, bounce back the way they did, I look at it as being pleased we've been able to bounce back like that.

Q. I was interested to know, you have two games here starting Saturday to win the coastal and advance to the ACC championship game. From the head coach and from the staff, how much is that talked about?
COACH BEAMER: We talk a great deal about how important this game right here is. I don't look at two games, I look at one game.
The things that can be accomplished, if we can go down there and get a win against a really good football team, understanding this is a really good, well-coached football team that we're getting ready to play. I think there's some very positive things that come out of it if we can go do that.
All our attention right now is not on two games, it's on one game.

Q. How much fun do you think it would be for your fan base to only have to travel to Charlotte to support you in a title game?
COACH BEAMER: I think Charlotte is a great destination for the ACC to have their title game. I think it's kind of more in the middle of ACC schools. I think more people can get there from the locations. I'm hopeful that Charlotte will support it. My understanding, they are. Then the people in the ACC will fill up that stadium.
We need to play a championship game with a full stadium. That's what I would hope would happen.
THE MODERATOR: Coach, thanks for being with us. Good luck this weekend. We look forward to talking to you next Tuesday.

End of FastScripts

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