Soundbites: Week Four Press Conference (Boston College)

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech football Head Coach James Franklin addressed the media Monday afternoon following Tech's 35-26 win at Maryland Saturday night. The Hokies are 3-0 for the first time since 2017 and will turn their attention to Boston College, as they will look to make it four straight wins against the Eagles. 

Head Coach James Franklin
Opening statement:
"I want to give Maryland and (Head Coach Mike Locksley) a ton of credit. I thought their quarterback (Malik Washington) played really well and battled back late to make it interesting, but we were fortunate to get out of there with a win. We did some good things, but still a ton of areas we got to get cleaned up and grow from this week ... Getting into Boston College and what our expectation are, obviously a twelve o'clock game, a road game, which is very different than a 7:30 game, just making sure our guys understand how we will handle that. Obviously, I've got a lot of history with (Boston College Head Coach Bill O'Brien) I've got a ton of respect for him. In my mind he's like the perfect coach for Boston College. That area means a ton to him. He's got a ton of experience and background obviously as the head coach but also as the offensive coordinator. He's going to be a difference maker for them as an offensive coordinator, I think he's doing a good job. Run game, angles, leverage, numbers, same thing in the passing game, he'll be able to manufacture yards against (opponents) based on his background and experience. Also, I've known (Boston College Defensive Coordinator) Ted Roof for a long time. Two very experienced coordinators that I think gives Boston College an advantage. Both have been head coaches, both have been coordinators at a number of different places and both will create some challenges in what they do defensively." 

On the challenges Mason McKenzie presents:
“We've been impressed with him on tape. He has the ability to beat you with his arm. He also has the ability and has shown the ability to extend plays or make plays with his legs. I think (Coach O'Brien) is smart about it, too. You've got to be careful with how much you do with that. I think this guy is at his best when he's outside of the pocket, not necessarily standing in the pocket, but again, (Coach O'Brien) has a ton of experience all the way back to Ralph Friedgn when they were at Georgia Tech with really mobile quarterbacks, running some option and everything else. Then, our time at Maryland, obviously his time in the NFL. We were talking about that this morning with Coach Pry. (Coach O'Brien) is going to have a really good plan against us ... We've been impressed by their quarterback, Mason McKenzie, number 10. He does some really good things. Distributing the ball, making some plays with his feet."

Tight End Ja'Ricous Hairston
On third down conversions and the team's mentality:
"That was a big thing for us in the spring and summer. We knew coming together we were going to face different types of adversity. We've had guys share the type of adversity they've went through in their lives. Being open with each other, bleeding together, crying together, laughing together. In those moments, we all depend on each other and we know what we can do as an offense and we try our best to get it done."

Safety Tyson Flowers
On how the defense played and what they need to clean up: 
"I think we did well against the run as a defense. As the goal for almost any defense in the country, if you can't stop the run, you're not going to be able to stop much of anything else that an offense is going to do. I think we played well against the run and that's hats off to our guys up front. I think Kemari (Copeland) and Elhadj (Fall) do a lot of dirty work for us that probably doesn't get recognized as much as it should. I think those guys up front do a great job helping to stop the run. There's some aspects of coverage that we need to work on. Drops, making sure we're dropping in the right places, making sure we're at the right landmarks, covering the right guys, having our eyes in the right place. Fine-tuning some of that stuff will be on our agenda and then doing what we need to do to make sure we're all on the same page going into this week."

Demand remains high for Tech's remaining home games, and fans are encouraged to secure their seats as soon as possible. The Hokies' home slate also features Georgia Tech on Oct. 17, Stanford on Nov. 14 and Virginia in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash on Nov. 28.

Fans still seeking tickets for the sold-out Pitt matchup are encouraged to visit SeatGeek, the official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace of Virginia Tech Athletics.