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FEDEX ORANGE BOWL: VIRGINIA TECH v CINCINNATIJanuary 1, 2009Frank BeamerDarren EvansTyrod TaylorMIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA JASON ALPERT: Coach, you had talked early in the week about how you wanted to win an Orange Bowl. You've won the Sugar Bowl. What does it mean for this program to win an Orange Bowl. COACH BEAMER: First of all, I'd like to say congratulations to Cincinnati. They've got a really good football team, a really good football team, a well-coached football team like I said before the game, and we feel fortunate to beat them. But I'd also say I like this football team right here. I think it's the best football team maybe we've ever had, meaning that we've had some tough losses but nobody split up, everybody kind of hung in there together, kept working hard. We always practiced hard. Whether we won a game or lost a game, our practice didn't change as far as the effort the next week. So I can't say enough about our players and our coaches, and I really believe this is the best -- we've had some great, great seasons and all that, but I think this is the best football team that we've ever had at Virginia Tech. Q. Saying what you just said about this team and knowing that, I think, of the guys who started tonight, 18 of them will be back next year, what does that say for the future of this win, sort of how it finishes this season and launches you into the next one? COACH BEAMER: Well, I think, like I told you guys this week, I think this game is the end of this season. We do have a lot of these guys coming back. We've got some good runs we're red-shirting, but there's no guarantees in this business. You've got to get down to it. But I do feel like we've got a lot of good players in our program and a lot of them are young, and a lot of them have got more time at Virginia Tech. Q. They score two minutes into the game. Any huge adjustments on defense outside of the four interceptions that took them probably a little bit out of what they wanted to do, but they had no passing yards in the third quarter? COACH BEAMER: Yeah, the worst thing that was happening to us was the quarterback would get out of containment and then our guys -- our secondary guys would run away from them. So all of a sudden they had a couple long plays there that got us. And other than that, they're going to get some plays there. They execute very well. They run up there and try to figure out and see what you're doing. I mean, they do a good job with what they do. So I think you give them credit. But with us, if you just take long plays out of there and just play your responsibility, we're going to be okay, and that's what I think happened. We played our responsibility better, and Bud kind of got a grasp there, a feel for the game, and made some good calls. Q. It's hard for us up in the box to kind of tell how a guy like James Brooks played down there on the field in his first start. If you could talk about how remarkable it was for the other freshman, Barquell, to have a goal line stand there, obviously one of the big plays in the game? COACH BEAMER: I just asked James as I left the dressing room, how did you play, and he said, "good," so I'm going to take his word for it. I think he did play well. I know this guy right here did some nice running, but there were some holes there at times. James is right in the middle of that, so I think he probably played very well. And Barquell, I think he hung in there, too. I think he had 28 snaps coming into this game. I think it's 28 snaps he had had all year long, and I think he did a good job, also. Q. I wonder, talking about Darren, when this season started, is this something you might have anticipated? And I wonder if Darren could address the same thing. COACH BEAMER: You know, Darren has scored a lot of touchdowns. I mean, you knew it was there, and then you just kind of -- to me he played faster as the year has went along, and I think that came with confidence and getting more carries from that tailback position. And I thought here at the end, I thought he really played fast. I mean, he looked fast out there. Then you've got a big old guy out there that's running fast. I think he just continued to improve. I like tailbacks, big old guys that run fast, too. DARREN EVANS: I had some guys in front of me, and I knew it would be tough to kind of do the type of things I've been doing. But I thank the coaches a lot because they put a lot of confidence in me, for keeping me out there the whole season like that. They could have easily been switching and rotating running backs in, and I really appreciated that. Q. Tyrod, on your touchdown run there, was that a designed run or a designed pass? And then what exactly did you see there? TYROD TAYLOR: It was just a designed pass. I had a lot pressure on the field on the right side, moved up the pocket and I tried to make a play with my feet. Once I got to the middle of the field I seen an opening to the left, tried to get to the corner of the end zone and got a chance to do that. COACH BEAMER: I want to make another statement, too, that we're so proud to represent the ACC and be a part of the ACC, and then to get a BCS win for the ACC, that's a big, big thrill for us. And then as I told you guys, to play against a Big East team and see some of our great friends from the Big East, and we have a lot of great friends over there, this game had special meaning for Virginia Tech. Q. You kind of stole my thunder. I was going to ask about the importance this win had for the ACC, I guess more than for Virginia Tech, but did you feel that pressure maybe building throughout the last month? COACH BEAMER: Well, you know, if you can read, you knew what our record was, and we've been a part of that. I felt like we let the ACC down a couple times ourselves. I knew this: People get tied up with this a little bit, but we had the best non-conference record against opponents this year I think ever in the ACC. We had some great wins against non-conference teams. And when you play in this league every week, you realize how good it is and how good it's going to be because most of the teams in this league are young. I think we've got a chance to be better next year, but probably most of the other teams have a chance to get better, too. I think if you take -- there's no doubt in my mind, if you just play enough games, the ACC is going to come out with their share of wins and their share of BCS wins. We got on a bad streak here lately, and it's time to get off of it. Q. Darren, just talk about winning the MVP, how much that means to you at this point in your career. DARREN EVANS: It means a lot, just for me to do it for me being so young, this being my first season and everything. But I've got to give a lot of props to the offensive sign because they made a lot of holes out there. It was just kind of for me to take those extra yards there. The coaches put the ball in my hand a lot, and like I said, I appreciate that. JASON ALPERT: Darren, if you could make your way next door to the player room, we'll continue with questions for Tyrod and Coach Beamer. Q. Can you talk a little bit about the play of Kam Chancellor tonight? COACH BEAMER: Yeah, Kam came up with some big plays, and you see him getting better. He changed positions this year and became a free safety, but I think he's got a chance to be a great, great free safety because he's got range, he's tough, the football makes sense to him. He's a smart guy on the football field, and I think he's only going to get better and better. JASON ALPERT: Guys, thank you very much. Congratulations. End of FastScripts |
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