BLACKSBURG – Following its 35-14 victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Virginia Tech football head coach Justin Fuente and select players met with the media for a postgame press conference. Read what Fuente and the others had to say below.
HEAD COACH JUSTIN FUENTE
Opening statement:
"First of all, thanks to everybody that came out to support our team. We love playing at home, it was great to see everybody donning white, and it was great to get the victory. I have a lot of respect for Coach Stock (Rick Stockstill), he's been doing it for a long time, and he's got a great program at Middle Tennessee. They're always tough and hardnosed and obviously very well coached in all three phases of the game. Our guys were ready to play, I thought that was pretty obvious from the intensity. I do feel like when we went up 14 to nothing there was a little lull there, not just because they went down and scored, it was just a little bit of relaxation. Then we went and recaptured that in the second half and took care of business. It was good to get some guys in the game, we got some situational work on the defensive side of the ball in the red zone, I wish we could've kept them out, but it was good to get that work for all those guys. We played a bunch of people, and I was pleased about that. Special teams I thought had an impact on the game like our kickoff return from the opening stanza. Defensively, I was proud of our effort, and we have to continue to focus to get better and handle the ebbs and flows of the game plan and the changing things we're going to see. I thought Middle Tennessee did a good job of coming out at the start of the second half with a couple of different things they didn't show in the first half, but we stiffened there on fourth downs and forced punts. Offensively, we have to continue to figure out what our guys can do really well. Braxton played his heart out, but he can be a more efficient player than he is right now. He knows that, and we know that, and we have to find a way to craft this so he can grow a little bit. We made some concerted efforts to take some shots down the field, but we didn't pull the trigger. When we did, we were halfway productive. Bottom line is, I'm happy that our guys approached the week the way they did, the way they ultimately tried to go out and execute I thought was positive, and we're happy to move onto next week."
On the maturity of the team in preparation and after halftime:
"I felt good throughout the week as we approached the ballgame. Last week we were obviously tired of practicing, and that caused some concern. Around Tuesday of last week our guys were doing what we asked them to do, but they were tired of practicing and eventually picked it up as we approached the game. This week they were dialed in the entire week, and I was really proud of that. At halftime it was obviously a tight ball game, but I didn't feel like we were shocked that it was close. I don't know if we're the team that can blow the doors off people, that's not how we're built right now. But I didn't sense any panic or shock, that's what happens to teams that are overconfident or arrogant. They get in the game, and they're shocked the other team wants to play. Coach Stock has beaten Power Five teams five times I think, so our guys knew Middle Tennessee was coming in here. We knew what we were getting into, so there was no shock, no panic, just guys ready to get back out there and go play."
On DL Jordan Williams and the defensive line:
"He's a quality player and an even better individual. We feel good about all those guys, that's why we rotate them in all the time. It's not always just about making plays at that position, it's about doing your job. Defensive football just like offensive football is assignment and opportunity and technique-oriented, and he's pretty sound in all those areas. It was his turn to make some of those plays, and it may be somebody else next week."
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN JORDAN WILLIAMS
On the difference between last season and this season:
"Just being in Lane, Lane is loud. The fans are back. I played here last year with Clemson when Lane was pretty much empty, but Lane is definitely a loud place. It's probably a really tough place for opponents to come play."
On playing with a fully installed defense:
"Having to prepare each week, we go out there and execute. We executed all week in practice, so there's definitely that confidence out there. We know what we got to do, and now we just got to go out there and get it done."
RECEIVER TRÉ TURNER
On the passing attack:
"I felt like we started out a little slow, everything was moving slow on the offensive side of the ball. Once we got rolling in the second half, though, we were getting the ball out to different receivers. It was giving the defense different looks so they didn't know how to adjust to it. The more we kept passing the ball, the more we kept executing on offense."
On addressing missed looks with the quarterback:
"With Braxton, I just kind of walk up to him and look at him like, 'Are we good now? You see me now, right?' But it's not I get any type of dislike for the quarterback or anything like that. I don't feel any type of way about it. It's one play he didn't see me. If you keep thinking about one play the whole game, then it's not helping the team out. You got to move on."
QUARTERBACK BRAXTON BURMEISTER
On the big hit he took:
"I tried to kind of slide or dive, or whatever that was and then, just took a shot at the back of the neck area. I had to get myself going again. We went to the locker room real quick to check my arms and legs out, made sure I had feeling and everything and I was good to go."
On his mentality after the hit:
"Initially, I didn't know how bad it was until I got moving and got into the locker room. I was like, 'Oh, I should be able to go back out there.' So initially, I really don't know until I start moving around and feel how it feels. It was good enough to go back in."
DEFENSIVE BACK NASIR PEOPLES
On his performance:
"The main thing is that I was just trying to fill the gaps and run to the ball so, it was just open for me to make tackles that I had to."
On halftime:
"Mainly, we just talked about how we needed to bring more energy out in the second half. That's what we tried to do from the jump."