It was a tale of two teams last week. What was said or done at halftime that sparked the team in the second half?
Well, I think the main thing was our players showed a lot of leadership after halftime. They certainly weren’t satisfied with the first half, as nobody was on our side, but I think we did a great job with our players motivating and leading. I also think our coaches made some good adjustments and we went out and corrected things. The main thing
we did was we tackled well and we didn’t turn the ball over, which allowed us to win.
Your defense was dominant in the second half. If it plays like that against Virginia Tech, can they stop its offense?
I don’t think stop is the right word, but I think if we play with that type of intensity it will cause them some problems. We can have a chance to be a really dominant defense.
What comes to your mind first when I say, “Blacksburg…at night…in November?”
Well it’s just a great football atmosphere. I’ve been there before and it’s a terrific place to play and we are looking forward to the opportunity.
How do you prepare for a mobile quarterback like Marcus Vick on Virginia Tech?
We actually had one of our former high school quarterback/defensive back/wide receivers playing as the scout team QB for us today. He’s actually probably our fastest player, which gives our defense a look at
his speed.
How close are you to Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer?
I wouldn’t say we are real close, but I have a lot of respect for Frank and I like him as a person and a coach, but we don’t talk often because we’re competitors. When we do talk it’s normally at the ACC
meetings in the off-season.
Send questions for Larry Coker to e.kalis@umiami.edu.