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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 10:06:15
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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 10:20:22
I asked Dabo about Fields and Edmond, and it's still kind of up in the air on both. I also asked if Ray-Ray would not play corner if one or both are able to play, and Dabo said it wasn't certain either way. He said it was important to have Ray-Ray as an option at corner because it enabled them to keep K'Von at safety. K'Von played a lot of corner during August camp but hasn't had the game reps, so wouldn't want to throw him out there at corner unless absolutely necessary. Obviously, it paid off leaving K'Von at safety because he came up with two of the biggest plays in the game on that final NC State possession. Edmond has been physically able to play for some time now, but Dabo hasn't felt comfortable with him being game ready. |
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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 11:04:36
Be sure to watch the end of Dabo's PC. Lol he was asked about the whole Dave Doeren laptop accusation, and he joked that someone was using it to get on Amazon because they were in dire need of towels. Referencing Chubb trying to steal Kelly's towel during the game. Pretty funny response. He blew the question off when asked after the game on Saturday night but obviously had time to come up with a good comeback. |
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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 11:29:05
I've got 20 more minutes of Dabo, guys. Will have it posted in a bit! Also have Ray-Ray, Cain, Renfrow, Wilkins, O'Daniel, Carter and Venables. We’re excited to be back at home this week. It is unbelievable how fast the season has gone. We have more opportunities here at home, and this is… where you hope to be. It’s what it’s all about. You work all year to put yourself in position to have a chance to achieve your goals. And… 100-something days now, we’ve only hit one goal. And here we are down the home stretch now. We’ve got an opportunity to do a lot, but… the rest of our season really hinges on these next four quarters… this is championship football for us, and I know at the beginning of the season, when the schedule came out, a lot of people probably felt like it’s going to come down to Clemson-Florida State, the last conference game for each team. And that’s exactly what it’s come down to. There’s zero difference for us. Nothing has changed. Whether they were undefeated, or we were undefeated, we have to win the game to win the division. It’s Clemson-Florida State… I know Jimbo [Fisher] is probably frustrated just simply because they’ve had some tough games. [Deondre Francois] gets hurt, they’ve got a lot of injuries… they’ve had three games come down to the last play of the game. And those things affect momentum and so forth and confidence. So let me just tell you… this is a very talented team. I know we have a lot of people here who keep up with the recruiting rankings, and we haven’t won a battle yet (with Florida State). I don’t think we’ve beaten Florida State in recruiting. Maybe… we have. I don’t know, but I don’t think so. I think they’re one or two every year, so they have a bunch of guys that can play. They’re big, and strong, and athletic, and have speed everywhere. These are the biggest wideouts… I mean, these guys are huge on the perimeter. [Ryan Izzo]’s a very good player. [James Blackman] has gotten better. He’s a young player. He’s very talented, he can throw the ball down the field. They do a really good job with their formations, creating a lot of opportunities downfield with some of these pass protections. But the biggest thing is, they want to run the football… and we’ve got to be able to win that matchup. This [Cam] Akers kid is a great back. I don’t know if [Jacques] Patrick is going to play or not. He’s a great back. Like I said, [James Blackman] can push the ball down the field. He’s got a strong arm, but he’s not a big guy, but he’s a tough kid. He’s a very tough kid. He’s got a good future. [Nyqwan Murray], the receiver is a great player, very skilled and physical. So this is a tough matchup. This is Clemson-Florida State. This is what you expect… all you got to do is turn on the tape as a coach, and you know what you’re looking at. You see a lot of things that present a lot of problems in getting ready for this team. So there is a big challenge there defensively. They’re big and fast and strong up front. They have a bunch of them are back, a ton of starters back from last year. A lot of people picked this team to win the national championship, and those people who picked them, they picked them for a reason. That’s what people do in the offseason, they look at rosters, they look who’s coming back, they look at recruiting rankings. They look at all that stuff, and that same team is still there. This defense has got a ton of skill. Derwin James is a freak. He is as good a player as you are going to see this week. The guys up front, [Derrick Nnadi] is a load inside Josh Sweat and Brian Burns are all good players. They have a left-footed punter. That’s a little different going into this game. We’ll work hard on that. And [Christian] Groomes is a left-footed kicker, so he can also do some punting for us, try to give us a little preparation going into the game. We’re excited about it. Like I said, it comes down to four quarters… and you’re either good enough to get it done, or you’re not. We’re looking forward to the Valley. I know it’s going to be a great crowd, a lot of energy. We’ll be ready. What position group on Florida State do you think is the most talented? Like I said, they’ve got I think every offensive lineman back but one from last year. They’re very talented there. First thing you think of with Florida State year in and year out is their skill. The running backs, receivers, the DBs, linebackers. They always have guys that can move, and this is no different. Coach, what’s the status of [Mark] Fields and [Marcus] Edmond? I presume if one or both are able to play we won’t see Ray-Ray [McCloud] at corner again? I don’t know. I don’t know if we can presume that or not. Mark [Fields] did not practice last night. We just put him in what we call our yellow protocol, just to kind of assess him a little more, see where he’s at. Marcus [Edmond] has been practicing. He just hasn’t been game ready. He just hasn’t been quite confident enough to go play at the level that he wants to play at and we need him to play at. But we’ll hopefully keep progressing through the week. We’ve just had one day of practice, so we’ve got a long way to go. When you get to this point in the season, how hard is it to navigate practice and how hard to practice, and to hold up and stuff like that? I think that’s something as a coach you have to always pay attention to. This is game 10. We’ve been practicing. These guys grind all summer long. They put a lot into the summers around here. There’s a lot of work, and then you’ve got a long camp. We play a very tough schedule. Every single week is a challenge. Every week, I mean, it’s a challenge. Everybody’s got guys banged up this time of year, so we do everything we can from massages to yoga on Sundays to… as I manage the schedule, the practice schedules, we get to kind of midseason, I start tweaking some things schedulewise, whether it be rep count… times of periods, usually cut that down. But at the same time you have to get ready to play week in and week out You must have enough preparation time. But I think this time of year less is more. I really do. I think we are who we are, and… we’re either good enough or we’re not. The biggest thing you can do is make sure your guys are fresh, as fresh as possible, mentally and physically, and ready to play on gameday. Coach, in a game like this, as you get to the top of the hill at home, a big game obviously, what are some of your final thoughts as you touch Howard’s Rock and run down the hill knowing what’s at stake at the bottom? Really it is just the same as every week. We just know this is the four quarters. It’s got a finality to it, but it’s really the same every week, because if we hadn’t taken care of business against Georgia Tech, those four quarters, if we hadn’t taken care of business against Wake Forest, those four quarters, hadn’t taken care of business of Boston College, those four quarters, then we’re not in this situation. So that’s why we say every week is the biggest game of the year. We try to create that mindset with our players, because that’s what it takes. If you don’t have that focus it’s hard to get to this point. So it’s really just that level of intensity for me every week. It really is. The only difference this week is if you’re able to win it they’re going to hand you a trophy. It’s playoff football. Every regular season game is so important in college football with the system that we have. It really is. It’s critical. It is just the same intensity, and we’re excited to go play. |
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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 12:42:27
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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 13:01:25
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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 13:51:01
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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 14:06:02
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CUTrevor
2017-11-07 14:40:17
That's all for today, guys. Venables stood us up for the second week in a row. We'll get him with Dabo after practice tomorrow night. |
