Virginia Tech Hokies College Football Pregame Quote, 09/02/2019

On status of injured players:

We’re going to be without [Jalen} Holsten for a little while. I don’t know about the rest.

On role of freshmen WR Tayvion Robinson and RB Keshawn King:

They were productive. There were a lot of things, speaking about those guys in particular, that they’ve got to get better at. Tayvion [Robinson] got a little tired and didn’t play as fast as he needed to play in order to be a productive, every down player. Keshawn [King] was not in there for as long as a stretch, so that didn’t happen to him quite as much. I thought they handled the moment and were productive when they were in there. They, like the rest of us, have a lot to work on.

On responding to adversity of last year’s ODU game:

That was obviously a big event, but the next week we came out and played the best game we played all year against a good Duke team. How we’ve handled adversity? I think our guys have done a great job at that. I’m not trying to get corny, but thing don’t always go your way in football, in life, and you can’t just sit down and complain about it. You have to stand up, roll your sleeves up and go back to work. I think our guys understand that and they’re anxious to go play again. For us, this week, it’s about all the things we need to go improve on as a football team ‚Äì in all three phases of the game and preparation wise. There were two phases of that game last week. We battled and played hard, and we can’t lose that, but we also have to obtain this level of consistent play from all of our guys, not just our younger guys. We’ve got to play at a higher execution level, while maintaining this level of effort, discipline and toughness. That will be our focus this week.

On turnovers in game against BC:

I think they’re all correctable. One, the screen, was kind of in between and kind of a tough deal. If we get it over his head, I think we have a big play. There are some things in there we have to do a better job teaching, learning and executing and we should be able to.

On the performance of the offensive line against BC:

We’ve got to run the ball better. That falls on everybody ‚Äì the quarterback, the coaches, the offensive line and the running backs. We all have to do a better job. We get the ball to the unblocked backer, we’ve got the make him miss and get more yards. We’ve got to get it to the unblocked backer on a more consistent basis, as well.

On the increased role of RB Keshawn King:

He’s better be [ready for an increased role]. The line is getting short.

On the excitement of home-opener this Saturday against ODU:

We’re excited to play in front of our fans. These kids have worked incredibly hard and we’re excited to get a chance to play hard for Hokie Nation.

On what RB Keshawn King offers:

It’s a small sample size. He’s a talented person with his explosiveness and quickness. He’s got some genuine toughness and he doesn’t seem to be in awe of what he has to do. He enjoys getting out there and playing ball. We like to see that from these young guys.

On the pace of the offense:

To me, the pace should be manipulated. At times you would like to be able to push it a little bit and at times you want to slow it down. I would like for it to be a mix. I don’t believe in going your fastest all the time. I don’t think that’s what is best for your entire team. It is good for yards and stats. Some balance in between there is what we shoot for.

On how the Brock Hoffman’s situation with the NCAA unfolded:

I think there are a lot of different ways to look at it. At the risk of sounding like a guy that is just up here complaining, I’m going to try not to do that. You look at Brock [Hoffman] and his family and how they handled the situation so admirably. He’s a kid who did not quit on his football team, he did not leave them in the middle of the year, he did not do it right at the beginning of the year, like some people have. In my estimation, he went about this thing the right way and was punished because of it. When you look at the decision that’s one thing, and when you look at the process of the decision, that is another thing. The process ‚Äì to say it is disappointing ‚Äì is an understatement. What we out that family through ‚Äì what the NCAA put that family through requesting information ‚Äì chasing their tail, for lack of a better term. Every time requesting new information and the family doing everything they can to provide that information. Then again, different subjects, different questions, and it coming down to the timing of his decision to leave is pretty disappointing. This is a guy that stuck with his team, that tried to make it work, that tried the commute and tried to not leave his guys, and was ultimately punished for that. I think it is disappointing, but I think we can learn a lot from Brock. Things didn’t go Brock’s way, and you know what he did? He showed up and ran a scout team, and he busted his tail doing that. He led a lift with a developmental group. He led that freshman group in their developmental lift. This is a guy that doesn’t let other peopled determine his attitude or his effort, and I think we can all learn a lesson from Brock. I’ not lecturing everybody else, I’m just admiring. When you’re in a certain environment, you can either let the environment change you, or you change the environment. Brock has done a fantastic job at not allowing what he’s been through to change who he is or what he’s about. He’s a fantastic student, makes great grades. I’m disappointed for him because I’ve seen how he works and how he interacts. I also saw how he went about trying to do the right thing.