| The No. 9 ranked University of Florida Gators and the No. 24 ranked University of Virginia Cavaliers are in South Florida and are preparing for their December 30th matchup in the 86th Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Virginia defensive coordinator Nick Howell and select defensive players met with the media following Florida this morning at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port. Video is available at: https://www.orangebowl.org/media/info/pressbox/ Q. Question on Kyle TraskNICK HOWELL: Yeah, I think he just fits really well in the scheme that they’re doing. I think if you’re a quarterback and you drop back and it’s not a guy or two guys but multiple guys that you can throw the ball to in a scheme that is really good, he has a lot of options, he’s a big-bodied kid, know what I mean? He’s not going down easy. He’s got a really strong arm. So those are the things that stand out to me.Q. Dan Mullen as a play caller, he’s pretty (indiscernible).NICK HOWELL: I mean, each week you analyze schematics and things like that, and there’s a heightened level of stress with each scheme that you play against. I think it comes down to what you do well with the players that you have, and then what are the complements to it that make it hard. So it’s really difficult to, like hone in on one thing, and I think that’s the mark of a good scheme, where all options are available, stress laterally, vertically, all those things are present. So yeah, they do a good job. They do a really good job.Q. (Indiscernible).NICK HOWELL: I mean, I think these guys are more sophisticated in their pass game. But I think a lot depends on the quarterback, as well. They’re doing things that are really good for this quarterback and the quarterback that they had previously, which are pretty similar. So I think that their ability to adapt to that quarterback has been good. So have we played somebody like this this year? I don’t think so. You know, it’s not as RPO-ish. There is some, but this guy is more of a drop back, get the ball to guys, different route concepts. So yeah, this is definitely I would say different than others that we’ve faced.Q. Is it harder to game plan for a team like that (indiscernible)?NICK HOWELL: I think it can be challenging for sure. I think it can be challenging, because yeah, just like you said, the focus is on really defending the whole entire field versus a guy. Yeah, call it — it’s been rare where you go into a game and you say, man, we can just do this or do that. There’s so many good teams out there and so many complements to the plays that they run. But these guys do a really good job of spreading the ball out and making that a challenge for sure.Q. What do you take from the Clemson game?NICK HOWELL: I mean, I think every learning experience, even though that was not a good experience, you know, you take the things that you learn, you can make that a positive experience. The bottom line is we did not play well, and we did not put our best foot forward. So when you watch that individually and collectively with the group and you see guys not playing, putting their best out there, that’s hard to watch, and that’s hard to live with.What we talked about is going through each specific play with each particular player and each particular position group and just assess, did we play our best right there, and oftentimes and in most cases, we didn’t play our best. So the challenge and the focus — and we had not done that all year, and Clemson, obviously give them credit, they’re a good football team, and they’re a better team than we are right now, but you’d like that to have been a closer football game. You’d like for our kids to put it out there. One thing we talk about a lot is just — like when you do your very best and you lay it out there, there’s really nothing else you can do. The outcome is the outcome. We talk about surrendering the outcome and going out there and playing as hard as you possibly can, and that did not happen, so hopefully we take that away from that.Q. (Inaudible.)NICK HOWELL: Yeah, I hope so. You hope the kids are ready to go and play, and yeah, you hope they’re ready for this situation and that they learned from that experience, and that’s the hope for sure.Q. Have you seen an edge?NICK HOWELL: From our guys? We practice with edge all the time. I don’t know if you guys have been to any of our practices, but there’s nothing easy about it. Dudes are getting challenged at every turn, and I think that’s what’s built this program. I think our program is built on edge. We’re not going to walk in and shy away from anybody. The result is not always the result that you’re going to get, but our guys are trained to play with an edge, and that’s who they are, and that’s what has gotten them — we didn’t get to this point by not playing with an edge. But a lot of those games we won. If you look at a lot of the games we’ve won over the past couple seasons, those are close football games. That’s courage. It takes courage to step up and make a play in a big time situation. The hope is that we play with edge in this game. I want to play with edge every game. Virginia Outside Linebacker Charles Snowden CHARLES SNOWDEN: They do a good job of throwing a lot of things at you, and so I think that’s one benefit of playing them in a bowl game is we have more time to kind of get ready for all of that rather than trying to get ready for it in four or five days in a regular week. So I think they do a lot of things really well. I’m excited.Q. (Indiscernible).CHARLES SNOWDEN: Yeah, definitely. I mean, on paper it’s always easier to say, yeah, kind of we know they’re going to attack that one guy, stop that one guy. Yeah, exactly, that guy is the dude so it’s kind of harder to stop them. But I always think it’s kind of exciting facing someone like that, and two, it’s kind of easier to game plan around that one person and then we know what they’re going to do and we’ll have to adjust once the game starts.Q. (Indiscernible).CHARLES SNOWDEN: We’re trying to just play Virginia football, so get after the quarterback. Everyone has got to do their 1/11th. Don’t try to do too much. Just because it’s a big stage, don’t try to be the star. Just make plays within your job and execute to the best of your ability.Q. (Indiscernible)?CHARLES SNOWDEN: Yeah, our defensive line coach, Coach So’oto, that’s kind of one thing. We always have a coach come speak to us before one of the games, and before one of the games, he came up and said just do your 1/11th, so that’s something that we’ve been harping on all season.Q. Do you guys feel at all like (indiscernible).CHARLES SNOWDEN: Yeah, definitely, but we understand the history Virginia has kind of had. We were not a big name in college sports. So we hear a lot of what people say. Definitely not in college basketball, but in college football. I mean, we’ve only had one 10-win season in our school’s history. I mean, a lot of us just kind of laughed it off. If I had heard the name Virginia a couple years ago I’d have probably had the same reaction. So we’re going to go out there and prove that it’s a new team and a new era.Q. Being part of that group that’s trying to help turn it around —CHARLES SNOWDEN: Yeah, that’s one of the coolest things in the world to me. Especially me, I was coming out of high school, only had one scholarship offer and it was Virginia. So for them to believe in me and then now to kind of help turn this all around, be part of something new, and I believe in Coach Mendenhall and everything he’s trying to establish. There will be longevity to the change, as well. So to be able to look back and say I was one of the people that started that, I think that’s one of the coolest things in the world.Q. The Clemson game kind of got away from you. How did you guys get past that?CHARLES SNOWDEN: Yeah, got to sit down and watch the tape, which obviously is not easy, but had to learn from it. Part of it was an Xs and Os thing and another part of it was just pride, knowing that’s not who we are as a team, that’s not what we want to put on film, that’s not how we want to end our season. So we know we’re a lot better than that. So to go out and compete on stage against a really good team, again, it’s just something we’re looking forward to to get that Clemson taste out of our mouth.Q. How big of a challenge is Bryce?CHARLES SNOWDEN: Yeah, Bryce, he can just — whenever any kind of play breaks down, there’s no one open, someone misses a block, Bryce just has that X factor where he can change a play with just one move. If someone doesn’t do their 1/11th, Bryce can kind of make up for that. He can throw it, he can run it, and he’s also just a great leader. Dudes generally want to play for him, play with him. Everyone believes in him, everyone gets along with him. So I think that’s just as big as kind of who he is as a player is who he is as a person, his intangibles, as well.Q. (Indiscernible).CHARLES SNOWDEN: I think we just send a lot of guys. We kind of just don’t send edge rushers on our D-line. We do a lot of shaking and moving. You never know who’s coming on any given play. We have a lot of athletic guys who can be the block and get to the quarterback. Even if we’re not sacking the quarterback, we’re trying to get in his face, hitting him after the throw, getting our hands up and knocking balls down. We have good DBs on the back end that allow us to send a little bit more pressure, too.Q. How important is it going to be to make that happen in this game?CHARLES SNOWDEN: Yeah, it’s going to be really important. Obviously, they have a great passing attack so the best way to affect that is with negative plays. So getting after the quarterback, making him uncomfortable, hitting him as much as we can, and he’s a big guy, so when you get there, really getting him down, as well. Virginia Free Safety Joey Blount Q. When you watch their tape, there’s so many different receivers that they spread the ball around. How do you pinpoint where it’s going and do you just find your man, or what do you do?JOEY BLOUNT: Personally I like to look at the rocker steps and see what receiver is good on what type of downs, what type of routes does each receiver run. Every receiver is different in that type of way, there are quick receivers, deep threats, spot receivers, route receivers. So on down and distance it’s huge because certain receivers want to get the ball on certain downs, make those type of plays. So for like the last week, week and a half, we’ve been studying down and distance, route concepts, what receiver is good on what routes, what are they best doing. You’ve got the tunnel screens and middle reads, under different routes they like to run, outside and inside receivers do a great job of getting the ball — Trask does a great job of getting the ball around to all the receivers, so that’s actually what we’re pinpointing, how we can read their concepts and just down and distance and just rely on the play calling for the defense.Q. They throw a running back in there, too. Does that change what you do a lot?JOEY BLOUNT: Kind of both depending on what we do. I know the running back has gotten 35 passes this season. He really has reliable hands it looks like, and it helps that our linebackers are very athletic and mobile, too, so I think the match-up is really good on the outside, whenever safeties or corners are put on, we’re going to have a really good match-up.Q. Kyle Trask has had a great season for Florida. What stands out about how he handle the pressure and how you gets the ball to the wide receivers?JOEY BLOUNT: Just his composure in the pocket. He is not very riled up. He stands strong in the pocket. Even when the pocket is closing around him, he’ll stand on the reads, wait until the last minute and make the throw. Just his size and strength, honestly. He’s a big guy at 6’5″, 240 I’m pretty sure, and he just stands out. He has a quarterback body, and I like his arm strength and his decision making. It looks like he’s reading the defense before the ball is snapped. For a guy who’s never really been starting, I think he’s done a really good job coming in for this program.Q. I feel like Dan Mullen and Bronco Mendenhall both came to a program and needed to turn it around. What stands out about Dan Mullen’s turnaround for you?JOEY BLOUNT: I mean, I really don’t know much about their culture behind their program, but like you’re saying, they have a lot of different disciplines. I know you kind of have to clean out the waters. He had to kind of just separate the good and the bad and make more of the good over the bad and kind of what you want your program to be like, and that’s how it was at UVA. Coach Mendenhall came in and the first thing he did was really overflow with the good and the discipline and just to show the players that he’s not messing around. I feel like Dan Mullen has done the same thing. So the culture at Florida has changed just like UVA and they’re up and coming.Q. You guys have dealt with a lot of adversity in the secondary, Bryce was hurt a little bit in the beginning of the year. How does it feel being in this position two years in a row, going to a big bowl game?JOEY BLOUNT: It’s just part of our story. Our team is about adversity and will before skill. Everything is earned, not given. Injuries are just part of the game and how you overcome them. It’s not an I player, it’s not about me. It’s about the team and how we can come together and overcome. I’ve had injuries. I know a lot of guys in this room have had injuries, but it’s really about how you can overcome as a team, and one last game this season, how you can finish it off.Q. What would it mean to actually win this one?JOEY BLOUNT: We’d be the second team in UVA history with a 10-win season, another SEC opponent that we can really face and show the world of college football that UVA is an up and coming program, that it’s a force to be reckoned with, and that this opponent right here is very important. Virginia Inside Linebacker Zane Zandier Q. Tell me about your pass rush. I know it’s been a big part of the success of the defense this season?ZANE ZANDIER: Absolutely. We take a lot of pride in getting to the quarterback and making as many plays as we can on late downs, getting off the field to give our offense the ball back. I think we’ve done that at a high level this year, and it’s something that we continue to work on.Q. Schemes and unpredictability, is that a big part of it for you?ZANE ZANDIER: Absolutely. Switching up the patterns over blitzes, and just being able to get the O-line a little bit twisted up and being able to get home. It’s been big for us this year.Q. How big will it be to get some pressure on the Gators?ZANE ZANDIER: Yeah, it’s going to be huge for us. They’re a big passing team, obviously, so being able to get as much pressure as we can to help out our DBs behind us and everybody in between, I think it’s going to be good for us.Q. How excited are people back home for this game?ZANE ZANDIER: Very excited. Just for how big the Orange Bowl is and the history and everything, it’s very exciting for Virginia to be here this year, and yeah, I think it’s just going to be a great experience.Q. And it’s a step forward for your program?ZANE ZANDIER: Yeah, absolutely. Each year we pride ourselves in unbroken growth and continuing to improve every single year, and this is a huge step for us.Q. What would a win mean to the program?ZANE ZANDIER: It would mean just everything that we’ve put in this past year and all the hard work and dedication that goes into this program and everybody from the top down, it just would mean everything.Q. Is there a lot of discussion within the team about what a win would mean, or is it more just focused on the game?ZANE ZANDIER: It’s more focused on the game. Just focus on what we actually have to do with the scheme and everything like that. I think everybody is really excited being down here and everything like that, but yeah, we’re trying to keep our focus as best we can on the game.Q. Looking at Florida and what they do offensively, what have you seen from them?ZANE ZANDIER: I think they’re a really good passing team, and I think they run the ball well when they have to. I think we have a good scheme in place, and we’ve been practicing really hard since our last game and everything. Yeah, I think they’re a really good team on offense, have a lot of skill guys, good quarterback and O-line, so it’s going to be a good challenge for us.Q. How valuable is the extra time in terms of (indiscernible)?ZANE ZANDIER: Yeah, absolutely. A lot of teams that don’t get to practice these extra weeks, it’s like — it’s almost like an extra fall camp or spring ball or something like that. It’s just the development of our team continues to increase with the extra time and things like that, so the extra practice has been very valuable.Q. What have you seen that stands out about Florida?ZANE ZANDIER: We watched a lot of different tape. We watched LSU and how they were able to get after the quarterback and everything like that, and I think they did that at a high level. Just a mix of all the different games that they’ve played this year, just watching different tape, just understanding what’s going to work best against them. We’ve had a lot of time to prepare, so we’re feeling confident about the scheme that we have in place, and we’re excited to get after it.Q. When you’re looking to contain the quarterback, is it mainly focusing on the weapons, how their line moves around or just basically —ZANE ZANDIER: Yeah, it’s a little bit of everything. I think they do a lot of stuff well. They throw the ball really well and they run the ball when they have to. With switching up the two different quarterbacks and everything like that, there’s a lot of weapons with their offense. I think we’re preparing across the board for everything, and like I said, I think our scheme is going to do a good job with everything we have in place, so it’s exciting. Virginia Defensive Tackle Eli Hanback ELI HANBACK: It would be great for this program and for the morale of the team.Q. And the unbroken growth every year, improving in terms of win totals and things like that, do you feel like the unbroken growth is still there even if the team loses this game?ELI HANBACK: Yeah. I think — I mean, last year we only won, including bowl games, eight games. We won nine this year, we have nine, that’s already a growth compared to last year. That’s not what we want. We want to end on a win, obviously, but I would — no matter what happens, we’ve had a great season. Nine wins, beat Virginia Tech. But we’re not looking at that like that’s enough. We came here to play a football game. At the end of the day, thank you to the Orange Bowl for giving us this opportunity to be able to play here, but we’re here to play a football game, and that’s how we’re looking at it.Q. Looking back at the Clemson game, what needs to change in this game? Is there anything mindset wise or just execution that needs to be better?ELI HANBACK: Yeah, I think from a defensive standpoint, mindset and execution. This is a big stage against a great opponent, and we played a great opponent at Clemson. We didn’t play our best game, and we had to play our best game against one of the best teams, defending national champions. That’s something we’ve focused on, and really just focusing on doing your 1/11th, your one job, your one assignment for whatever position you’re playing, and for us to be successful, each guy, all 11 guys have to do their job and not focusing on anything else. We think if we do that, we’ll be successful.Q. Down here we talk about this game. Florida kids talk about this game. In Virginia is the Orange Bowl a big deal? When you guys found out you were coming here, how big of a moment is that? The significance of being in a game like this?ELI HANBACK: I think it’s huge. For any big football fan, college football fan, you know about the Orange Bowl. This is a New Year’s Six. There’s been National Championships played here. I mean, this is — when you talk about bowl games, this is as big as it gets really.So for me personally, and I think for any real football fan, this is a big deal and it’s a big deal for us. It’s a big deal for me. I know the magnitude of this game, and I know the magnitude of our opponent.Q. What have you learned from the Clemson game? How much better did you guys get coming out of that?ELI HANBACK: Yeah, I think it was almost a reality check for us, where we needed to be and how to play an opponent like that, of that caliber. Like I said, that’s a very good football team and they won the National Championship last year, they could compete and win another National Championship this year in a couple days. I think it really just almost opened our eyes where we need to be at and how we need to play and how we need to prepare. We did not play our best game against them. Credit to them, they played amazing, obviously, played an amazing game. All best of luck to them in their next endeavors, but we knew we needed to be better. We needed to prepare for. Like I’ve been saying earlier, just do your 1/11th, that’s the way we look at it. Do your one job. Don’t worry about anything else, and the pieces will fall as they may.Q. You’re in Florida, playing Florida. This isn’t Gainesville but there’s a lot of Gator alumni down here. It might be a little bit of a road atmosphere for you guys. How much are you going to embrace that?ELI HANBACK: Yeah, we’ve known that. We’ve been talking about that all week. We’re right down the road, Florida’s backyard basically. We play a lot of music during the team periods like we can’t hear anything, so that’s something we’re ready for and we’ve expected. I’ve said a couple times before, we’ve played Miami twice at Hard Rock, so we know what that environment can be like and what it’s like to play in that stadium. So that’s something that we’ve been preparing for and we’re ready for. Virginia Defensive End Mandy Alonso MANDY ALONSO: Come game day, within the game, like you’ll just get more of a feel of like what you think is going to happen next. You get like more — just like more of like a gut feeling of what’s going to be happening.Q. Is there ever something as watching too much film? Can you get caught up in tendencies?MANDY ALONSO: Yeah, I guess so. You could get like — more like you’ll be tired of watching it, like you’ve got to take like a break. But I guess we’ve had so much time that we’ve got to like space it out and like we haven’t been like, oh, my God, I don’t want to watch film. We’ve been locked in. Coach talks about flipping the switch from bowl game and then like game time.Q. What would it mean to you and the program to win a game like this against a team like this?MANDY ALONSO: It would mean the world for everybody because like just coming from 2-10 a few years ago, this is a huge jump. To be on such a big-time bowl game that this stage is like set perfectly for us to rebuild this program.Q. If you lose the game, is it still unbroken growth in your mind?MANDY ALONSO: I mean, I would consider it like — to be like stalling out, but like I guess not. Like in the big picture, in the game, if we lose, it’ll be sad, but we got to the Orange Bowl. It’s still a big accomplishment, but we don’t want to settle for just that accomplishment, just being here. We want to go win it. Note: Videos and photos from all Capital One Orange Bowl events are available via Dropbox on the Orange Bowl web site at https://www.orangebowl.org/media/info/pressbox/ |
| About the Orange BowlThe Orange Bowl is a 370-member, primarily volunteer non-profit sports organization that promotes and serves the South Florida community. With its primary mission since being created in 1935 to bring tourism to South Florida through an annual football game and events, it has also maintained a legacy of charitable contributions and community outreach. Orange Bowl community outreach efforts are comprised of four pillars: youth sports, fundraising and community events, academic programs and scholarships, and legacy gifts. The Orange Bowl features a year-round schedule of events culminating with the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30, 2019. For more information on the 2019-2020 Orange Bowl events, including promotional and volunteer opportunities through the Ambassador Program presented by Panera Bread, log on to www.orangebowl.org or follow the @OrangeBowl on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. |
