Postgame Quotes: Boston College at UVA

POSTGAME QUOTES
Boston College at Virginia
October 21, 2017

Boston College Head Coach Steve Addazio

Opening Statement
"I want to start out by saying that I am really impressed by what Bronco Mendenhall is doing here at Virginia in year two. He is developing a really fine, really good football team over there – a physical, tough football team. I saw the foundation of that all week on film, and it is real. I have a real appreciation for what he is doing here at Virginia. He is a first-class guy and this is a first-class program. I am proud of our team. I am proud of our kids. They came out here today with a real mission and a real glue and a real love for each other. That is why I love this team – it is special. We are a resilient group of guys that believe in each other, and we are improving.

"We were able to today put up some pretty good numbers here. We were pretty good with the ball here on our first drives mixing it up pretty good – going for it on fourth down, throwing the ball well on fourth down, and doing the things we needed to do to keep them off pace. We rushed for 230-something yards. Threw for 270-something yards. Had over 500-something yards of offense. It was the first time in the ACC that BC scored over 40 points in back-to-back weeks. It was the first time that we have gone over 500 yards in the ACC since 2009 or 2006 or something like that. Some good things are starting to happen. We are still a young football team; we are still a developing football team but, as I said, good things are happening right now on both sides of the ball and special teams. Our defense was able to hold them below 100 yards rushing and in the low 200s in total offense. I thought it was a great team win. I give all the credit to our players. All three phases played really, really hard, and they have prepared well all week and all year.

"One thing that we thought was a big advantage for us was that we have been through the grinder – we have played some of the best football teams in the country this season, and we have done it while losing some of our very finest players. We have stuck together and kept believing in each other and that is what makes me so proud of these guys. We felt that the quality of people that we have played, at some point, would pay a dividend for us. That was not an illusion. That was real – three top-20 teams and all the other great teams that we have played this year. You could see some really great things. It did not always come together for us all at the right time, but you could see it, and I kept saying that. Well you can see that now. Is the growth period over? No. We are paper-thin. We have got to stay healthy. We have got some guys in key positions that are still learning. For the last two weeks, specifically this game, I thought we played at a really high level. I think you can clearly see the growth, see the potential and the brightness of the future of our football program, of which I am so proud and excited for our guys. That is not deniable. I think we have got the makings of a really good program here right now, and I think a lot of people got to witness that first hand [today]."

On the two long touchdown plays:
"They were huge plays. These are things that we do all the time – we run those jets. We probably should have run a few more jets today, to be honest with you because they were really pounding it in the middle on us a little bit. We hit a jailbreak slip screen to Kobay [White] on a critical third down when we knew they were going to bring some pressure on us. We have got to do a little bit more of that too. These are the things that we are trying to continue to develop as we go. We have got some speed and athleticism here and we have got to continue to grow that a little more."

On their approach to contain Virginia Quarterback Kurt Benkert:
"We felt like he was a really fine player. He is a really good thrower, and we wanted to disrupt him. We tried to do that with a lot of four-man rushes. We brought a little bit more than a four-man rush every once in a while, but we wanted to do it that way. We still do not have Harold [Landry]. Harold played really limited snaps because he is not healthy yet. We are also playing a lot more coverage than we ever have played here at BC right now. We are learning how to play coverage. As a result, there were a lot more coverage pressures out there, if you will, where there was just nowhere to go with the ball. I thought we played really well on the back end."

On the way the team has responded the last two weeks:
"I feel that there were a lot of good things brewing, and the team feels great because they watch the video. The video does not lie. All that does is just build their confidence and you are able to bear some fruit from the foundation that you lay. You have got to get some validation from your hard work at some point in time. By the nature of our schedule, we did not have an opportunity to do that earlier this season. We did not have those easy lead-in games like some teams have early on where you can really develop that momentum and confidence, but we got another kick from that in a different way because we got toughened up in that process. Hopefully we can continue to do that going forward. Keep in mind that we have a freshman at the center, quarterback, and tailback. There is still a process, but I am jacked up to be a part of it."

Redshirt-Freshman Quarterback Anthony Brown

On balanced offensive attack and big play threats:
"It was a lot of balance that was put into the game plan and we executed well. We executed well early and we just have to continue on that. It is great because it opens up the defense a little bit, and it is really good to have those components in the game."

On scramble from the end zone on the first drive:
"I had to get out of the end zone. That was really that. I wasn't thinking any more than that. Two guys almost had me for a safety. We're just going to have to watch that on film. Coach Addazio emphasized that me scrambling when I need to gets the chains moving. When the play breaks down, I have to know what to do with the ball and today that was scrambling and sometimes getting rid of the ball. It was very effective."

On responsibilities brought on by coaches' confidence in their play:
"Our coaches do a great job of game-planning and everything to help us out. We had to take it upon ourselves to make a difference, and we have to play as hard and as physical to be as effective as possible. We took that into our own hands."

Junior Safety Will Harris

On his second-quarter interception:
"That was a good one to check off the bucket list seeing as it was the first one of the season for me. I have been patient all season, so I was just trying to go head hunting for it. We were trying to just run to the ball all day. That is the one thing that our coaches always emphasize, just run to the ball. That is what I was doing. I ran to the ball and good things happened from there."

On his third-quarter sack:
"That was exciting. It's always fun, especially when a defensive back can get in on a sack because we're not always around the pass rush or the quarterback like that. It was a fun opportunity for me and I'm glad I was able to capitalize like that on the play."

On what it is like to win a big game:
"It is big. It speaks to the resilience that we have here. We talk all the time about just staying in the boat, and right now we have our building blocks that we are working on every single day. We try to get better at something every single day. This just goes to show that the guys that I play with and the guys that I love going to war with every single week kept that resiliency and it paid off today. I'm happy we got the result that we did."

Players Mentioned

Anthony Brown

Will Harris

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