good afternoon first toughness Tuesday of the season for us excited to be 1 and0 and now it's uh on us to try to duplicate the process for this week um you know want to recap last week want to first start by thanking the fans I thought just an unbelievable atmosphere at fof field on a Thursday night um the student section was unbelievable they were loud they were there early um they were pouring in know as we were warming up I thought when the game kicked our our our fans were or our stands were full and that was just an awesome way for us to start fast um and so appreciate appreciate the fans and all that they did to create the environment a winning environment um and then I just saw where the hill is already sold out for this game and excited about uh what we're working towards and hopefully extending the streak of sellouts um you know the game I thought defensively we played uh very well with a fast start you know obviously we're always trying to create takeaways and be consistent um at stopping the run I thought we were consistently physical all night special teams I thought Luke Bower and Blake really did a nice job um as the specialist I thought Luke had his best game punting um Blake was was good in both the the field goals we had the one uh kick out of bounds but I thought they executed well and then offensively we started fast you know I liked the um being being able to score points after the turnovers um but we do need to be more consistent in the throw game the the third Downs uh that we missed uh were were concerning for me so there's plenty for us to work on uh plenty for us to be concerned with that we need to correct um and we need to really do a good job we're going to play a one and0 Buffalo team led by uh I think one of the great uh program uh Rebuilders and builders in Pete limbo who has done that at multiple stops whether it was Elon I believe it was Miami Ohio um does just an excellent job of of building culture evaluating talent getting the most out of his players um does an excellent job recruiting you know he he has a tremendous staff uh I think their offensive coordinators got a lot of experience both Coastal Carolina Georgia Tech Old Dominion and now at um Buffalo I've I've talked football with him several times when I was at NC State I think he does a really good job utilizing tempo he's got very good players their quarterback played at Simo uh two years ago when we played him so there is some familiarity there you know on the defensive side of the ball uh they've got a tremendous scheme they're very uh disciplined in what they do they they have a clear clear identity of who they are uh they're going to stop the run uh and and utilize their safeties in the in the Run game and in the pass game and then obviously coach limbo's uh fingerprints are all over the Special Teams he's a a tremendous special teams coordin Ator has always given us fits uh going against him you can always expect the unexpected with Coach limbo on that side so you know really got a tough challenge uh ahead of us and um you know looking forward to that challenge on Saturday so with that I'll open up for questions you mention that this is not the first time you play against Buffalo quarterback in 2021 against soueast Missouri 100 yard how you guys hisil yeah that's going to be the challenge this week um obviously we've got to do a good job in the read game um they try to get on your edges through Zone read plus one run schemes and option um so you know we're going to have to be disciplined in multiple and in in the way we're challenging um those read schemes I I think you guys played more than 70 guys offensively or defensively were were there any of those kids especially maybe kids who were getting out there for the first time that that really you know caught your eye and and might have earned a little longer look um I I mean honestly I was I was impressed with the way our all of our defense played from start to finish you know I looked back up there at the last um I think it was you know I know our freshman linebackers got eight reps and watching those reps uh Jeremiah and Nick I thought did an excellent job we know TR and greo was playing you know both on special teams and in the secondary um so I think there was a lot of people that earned opportunities to continue to to play um and to find their way into the rotation um we made some changes on the Special Teams depth chart to reflect that to try to get those guys in the game this week so we'll see how it plays out um you know you don't take anything for granted um but um you know I've been really impressed with that freshman class you mention you know more consistency on third down in the passing game you how do you go about attacking it with those guys this week practice Yeah fundamentals it starts with fundamentals route depth timing quarterback feet uh quarterback setting his feet when he makes throws um you know not drifting after he throws the ball to get ready to go do a celebration like finish the throw have your feet set in the pocket um you know wide receivers got to run their routes at the correct depth they got to explode out of them the quarterback's got to make the throws so uh just really things that we can do um it starts in routes versus Air um we we we did that yesterday um and it's going to continue in RVA today and in Skelly and and in team so you know just back to the basics of execution and and uh you know kind of pushing the limits in practice don't practice just to practice practice to improve and uh you know that's really going to be the message that I have with the with the uh skill guys with the defense it look like on some of those third and Longs coach baton was trying out a 317 type setup just what does that do why does that work in those situations yeah it's a carryover from the package we've had in the past um obviously we we've got some new fingerprints to it but uh it's something that our guys are familiar with it was the base uh third down package that we car carried La the past two years um and then and now Corey and the rest of the defensive staff have added you know kind of their fingerprints to it it's it's a way to get utilize the the most speed and also versatility that we can get on the field also with our pass rush so um yeah that's what it was how important is it to have three corners up there that you trust when you're calling them that particular well I mean it allows you to play manto man and put somebody on the slot which typically when you you you know your slot ends up becoming um the position that they match up on a safety who's not used to playing manto man quite as well so you know for us we slide dalan back to the boundary safety and and mov Nick into that or Toriano I think slid into the slot um so yeah something we did last year in a slid into the slot um so just something we've done before um obviously coach um poges done a really good job training up those uh Corners in order for us to have confidence in it coach when did you know that you were going to play start about two two and a half quarters was it four games during the game what can we ideally expect for the stter this week to play the whole game I mean I I didn't have any plan I mean I don't know what the opponent's going to do the opponent has a say in everything that we do so I didn't go into the game without you know we have a plan to win and until the game is uh in hand our starters are going to play so my anticipation a really good good buffalo team they scored 30 something points um had 200 yards rushing 200 yards passing um would have been a lot worse but they had a you know had two special teams Mis cues that allowed the other team back in the game um so my anticipation is that it's going to be a dog fight um and we're going to have to prepare that way so uh as far as you know what ultimately led to the decision you know at halftime it was 35 nothing um and I felt like at that point it wasn't you know I'd seen what we needed to see out of out of um Brady um and and then didn't really want to put um you know Theo was already kind of dinged up so didn't want to put him in any more Jeopardy and you know Conor Tolson uh has had plenty of snaps so there wasn't anything we needed to see out of those guys coach one of theit I saw a lot of guys play last week with the offensive line especially with them getting some go line reps where some things maybe could see some areas of improvement well we didn't sustain blocks as well as we wanted to on the outside Zone I don't think our counter scheme was as clean as we wanted it to as far as our kickout um you know I think we were were um light a little bit on our inside Zone double teams so uh there's there's plenty of of opportunities for us to continue to improve um you know specifically with those young guys you know we we got down into inside the 10 and weren't able to score uh running you know inside Zone behind you know we have two guards in there that are 300 you know 40 340 pounds a piece and we were getting knocked back in the a gap so that's got to improve if if we want to have a shot in this league in that first quarter alone there was a lot of rotation in the front seven specifically even when you still had most of the starters in you feel like you have enough diversity of skill set in that group to really just play players where they're best suited are you talking about defensively yeah front seven defense yeah you know the front seven on the defense um we feel really good about uh the depth and the quality of depth that we have and and the ability to keep guys fresh um and so that I think that rotation is going to continue because we just don't see a drop off I mean I think uh Cory flag might end up being our leading tackler in the game and and he he didn't he didn't doesn't play on third Downs as of now and and rotates so you know I think we feel really good about When Corey and and khil come in with Chuck and Tristan who've played a lot of football for us and then obviously in the D tackle room um with Chris Christian you know last year we played four guys really in the defensive tackle this year we feel like we've got six with you know the emergence of Maris graciel obviously Sterling has played a lot of football and and really played well Chris played well Jaylen Marshall's come in and played well and and Sam Williams has earned a spot too I mean he's he's done a really good job going against our guys so you we feel like we've got six guys that can really play at a high level in that that room and um that's only an advantage for us U as we prepare you know for this week's opponent and moving forward did it really com back to you that Blake Craig was was the guy that was succe uh last year in Fall Camp when uh Harrison wasn't kicking as well as we wanted him to and so I put Blake with the ones just to send a message that there is no secured positions um and we had to do that with Blake this year in Fall Camp there was a couple days where he wasn't kicking as good as he you know we we wanted him to so we put Nick in there so I mean at the end of the day every position's up for grabs and competition I mean you see that throughout college football there there's no sure things so if you're not producing then next guys got to be ready and that's that's the always compete mindset that that our program is built on so if you're not at your best somebody else in this building is and they're going to take your spot coach days to digest now talking with Brady and Chuck on defense too how do you think you guys utilize the helmet communication tablets on the sideline as well how was that in game one and and what would you guys like to do moving forward with that yeah it was fine I thought we utilized them well utilized them to our advantage um utilize the the headset Communication System well um you know I don't I I don't I don't know that we'll change anything really coach you mentioned that uh Brad norley and the more precautionary not to play in the second half after the game um what have you seen from the have they been practicing and what can we expect for Saturday yeah I think those are great questions we'll the SEC has issued a new injury protocol we're going to start following that I think we started on Wednesday so we'll update our injury reports um on Wednesday and then we'll you'll get a Wednesday update a Thursday update a Friday update Saturday morning update so if you're not a gambler it won't help you is be kind of boring if you are Gambler you can really watch that money line can you explain the importance of rebuilding and investing in the offensive line rebuilding and investing in it um I mean in order for you to be good offensively you you're going to have to have five guys working cohesively as a unit they have to do probably the toughest job in college football in my opinion because they have to be able to move immovable objects and then they have to be able to work backwards and protect a quarterback versus somebody who is by evaluation quicker faster and more sudden than they are um and that's a really really difficult challenge um and then they have to be selfless you know it can't be about them it's got to be about the team and everybody else and they got to kind of work together so it's a really important uh part of any successful football team I don't think there's ever been a successful football team that didn't have five selfless men and really it usually ends up being seven to eight that you have to play throughout the year um so for us you know a former offensive line coach and GA that's always going to be a a position of emphasis for us I think you know in order for you to have success in this league you have to have uh an o line and dline that is competitive and has got the prerequisite size um and so for us when we lost Jaylen or sorry uh um jayen Marshall when we lost uh Javon Foster and zavier Elgato who combined you know had almost 40 starts I think uh just both guys Mr consistent we knew that that left side was going to be uh really important for us to fix uh and provide competition um so we went out and looked for the you know what was best available on the portal and uh we able to to get them so Eli the the play that Luther fumbled on on Bulldog third okay Bulldog uh yeah was that a was that a handoff be said it pop pass did something get messed up in the execution or was that a challengeable thing if you thought it was a pop pass so I asked him because we we thought it was a a uh the way the play is originally designed it is supposed to be a Pitch so that if that was to occur it would be be an incomplete pass but after reviewing the tape um there was a a Luther went through the hands of the quarterback instead of you know the necessary one yard in front um So based on what I was asking the official if they were going to review it and they cleared it in the booth that's the process we ask hey are they going to look at it and if he says they're going to clear it that means you either have to challenge but they didn't see anything in the booth but when you watch it you know it's it it would be really hard to dis to decipher because the way he went through his hands you wouldn't be able to see whether or not he pitched it or not and there is no such thing as control because it's a backward snap so at that process it's everything's a fumble until the ball is controlled and then pushed forward so I don't think it would have been overturned AER of the week on the team to be every last how neutral yeah really good player guy that pops all over the tape was injured last year uh was um I think I know was an allc conference player the year before I think lit LED their team in tackles and was really high up there in the country um you can tell he studies tape um you can tell he's very smart physical player at the point of contact um they U utilize him in the Box out of the box uh they pressure with him so he's a really good player um it's going to be a real challenge for us um he's consistent with what you see in our league so you know he's a guy that U you know the as we work off combo blocks we're going to have to make sure we can get to him otherwise he'll make the tackle and we're going to have to to know where he is in in pass coverage um and not make a mistake with the ball because he he's got really good hands coach Cory flag what was your pitch to him after coach Baker left and just to keep him bought in and wanted to be part of this program yeah honestly um there really wasn't a pitch uh he he chose his place um coach Baker had a lot to do with it obviously previous relationship and knowing the scheme but you know he chose this place for the guys in the locker room and has reiterated that throughout the process that that this was a place for him and his brother because of the men in the locker room um and obviously that we kept the scheme very similar uh with Coach baton so he had familiarity with the calls from the coaching staff perspective how does it work when a player comes in and then he says here's my brother and his brother and stuff coming over two how does that happen they say I have a brother he's a really good player would you watch his tape and we watch his tape and say he's a really good player would he like to come here and they go yeah we would like for him to come here and we would say okay well he can come here last week that SC for Murray State was very difficult 60 new players is this week any easier with you knowing peteo personally and having tape week one back it's a little bit e easier because you have all their players on tape with a week one game that that went four quarters so you're able to um assess Personnel you know there's still a lot of question marks related to scheme um their defensive coordinator you know was was a part of a staff but but has not called defenses before so you're not quite sure exactly what his DNA is because you you don't see but one game there's not a consistent approach to it so that's been challenging um you go back and make the best guesses that you can based off his um his training um you know special teams I feel pretty good about no one you know some of the things that he can do it's just a matter of when he's going to do it offensively you know uh coach did not call plays last year so he's been a year removed you know we've gone back and watched him at different areas and different spots to kind of see okay this match is more you know they're running a lot more Tempo which reminds us more of his time at Coastal um than say at Georgia Tech where they were not as much uh Tempo and more ball control so you know again we're going to have to utilize our coaching ability we're going to have to utilize the iPads in game to figure out how exactly they're planed to attack us is on both in both phases but U we have a little bit better idea of what the Personnel is and at the end of the day you know schemes are important and they're they're they're part of it but the end of the day it's it's a it's a people-based game you know and so we got to we got to win our one-on-one ones you know we got to attack defensive weaknesses offensive weaknesses based on Personnel too and try to isolate the mismatches and I think uh teams that can figure that out the quickest usually have the most success you think there were four or five 60 point games in the League last year and half the or last week half the league won by at least 48 do you think that there's a different approach with the expanded playoff and stuff do you think you know margin of Victory things like that come into play in matter early in the season no I think uh my take on it is is twofold I think one um with the ability of the portal to to take top tier Talent from lower class lower divisions I think you're seeing some of that result I think some of the schools that in the past would have had you know have developed some of those players no longer have those guys they're they're playing up at different schools and then I think the next thing you're seeing is um the need for us as coaches to see as many guys play as possible as long as possible and so you know I saw where coach kein talked about that he didn't even consider reducing the quarters and I'm with him 100% I mean we we got to have our guys play and we've got to get as many quality reps because that's how you develop you know and so I think you're seeing guys who need to let their twos and threes Play and play at a high level and when you play you play to win the game you play to score you play to stop people and you want to see them compete at the very best so I think those two factors are are going to lend to some of the mismatches you know on the field um but that wasn't the whole story I mean there's other schools that I mean go toe to- toe you know there there's some games out west that uh games were in doubt in the fourth quarter so you know every game's a little bit different uh but I I do think some of that in our conference is the ability for us to to attract some of the top in Talent from the lower divisions has your approach changed at all with what happened to Florida state in the playoff last year in regards to using starters and some of these early games but KN on games no I haven't I I don't I don't even know what you're referring to honestly I mean that's football and I mean you can't control you can't control that stuff uh you know so there's no like master plan or there's there's nothing like that I me we're playing to win the game when the game's in doubt um you know for us I I'd seen what we needed to see out of Brady but what I haven't seen was I haven't seen Drew Pine play um in a crowd in a stadium and and needed to see him operate with um a lot of guys that if he's called upon with the ones he's going to have to to be able to work with and there's only so many reps you can get in practice like that so you know for us it was about doing that um and really the same thing on defense like you know as these games get going weeks 7 through 12 it's about the competitive depth that you have in order to to win and that competitive depth may show up on special teams units it may show up um on third down you know packages it may show up on first and second down I mean crud last year we we played uh really the first five games you know with three linebackers just cuz we didn't have a lot of quality depth and then we were kind of when hop got hurt we were forced into to really just two we we had two linebackers last year um that played you know and that just can't happen if you want to if you want to play a long time so for us it's about getting as many players ready that have the talent as possible thank you coach yep thank you