Will Muschamp News Conference Video/Quotes

Opening Statement
“(We’re) excited about the Belk Bowl. We got started with practice yesterday. I thought we were a little rocky coming out of the break there. We gave our guys four days off and required lifts about four times. (It was) a much better day today. Two training camp-like practices, really working on South Carolina. (We had) a lot of young guys getting reps, which, obviously, on the defensive side of the ball, is already happening anyway. I was really pleased with the effort today. We start on Virginia tomorrow (and) practice Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning and again, concentrate on us, first of all, while we’re here, but have the entire game plan done by Saturday morning, when we break on the 22nd. We’ll give the players the 23rd and 24th off, report to Charlotte on the 25th, then have a walkthrough and meetings and practice on the 26th and 27th, the have a walkthrough on the 28th and obviously we play on the 29th. We were very pleased with today’s effort, and (we’re) looking forward to getting started on Virginia tomorrow.

“They’ve got a really good football team. Bronco Mendenhall is a guy I’ve respected from afar, (and I) met him for the first time last week. (He’s) a really good football coach. You turn the tape on, and the teams play hard. They play fast. They play physical. Turn on the tape offensively, and Bryce Perkins jumps out at you. He’s a guy that creates a lot of issues for you defensively, (with) off-rhythm plays, some issues in the run game they create with an extra hat, some option principles they bring to the table, which are issues you’ve got to deal with. I’m glad we’ve had a little more time to look at them and digest some of the things that they do and the issues that they present. (Jordan) Ellis, the running back, is a really good player. Both of those guys are right at 1,000 yards rushing, 950 and 932 (yards), or something like that. Both guys, you see them move the chains a lot in the run game. (Olamide) Zaccheaus, number four, is a guy that does a lot of things for them. (He’s) got eighty-something receptions (and) carries the ball for them. I think the next guy with receptions is right at 40, so that tells you he’s been targeted a lot. (He’s) a really good football player, creates some explosive plays with multiple formations and personnel groupings and run game issues. We’ve got to work through those things.

“Defensively, (they’re) 3-4 in their structure. They will play some four-down. Both outside linebackers are impressive, long athletic guys that give you issues. They do a lot of things in the back end. (Number) 34, (Bryce) Hall, is an outstanding corner, 6-1, 205 lbs., probably one of the better corners we’ve seen all year. This guy’s a really good football player. I think they’re (ranked) 14th in the country in interceptions. They do a great job getting the ball off of you. They create a lot of issues with some things they do on the back end movement-wise. Again, I’m glad we’ve got a little more time to prepare. They’re really good on special teams.”

On the team’s injury situation
“Bryson Allen-Williams is practicing and looks good. Jaycee Horn is practicing and looks good. Jaylin Dickerson is a little limited, but we think (he) will be full-speed by the end of the week and will be prepared for the bowl game. Keir Thomas and Aaron Sterling continue to progress. We’ll see how they do moving forward.”

On the team’s December graduates
“I’m really proud of the 13 guys that graduated yesterday: Zack Bailey, Dennis Daley, Daniel Fennell, Danny Gordon, Caleb Kinlaw, Steven Montac, Christian Pellage, Deebo Samuel, Donell Stanley, Eldridge Thompson, Ty’Son Williams, D.J. Smith and Dexter Wideman. Six of these guys have eligibility left, so six of these guys are going to be playing next fall with their diploma in their hand. That says an awful lot about number one, the student-athlete, but number two, what we’re doing here academically at South Carolina. (I’m) so impressed with Maria Hickman and her staff and the job they do. Tomorrow is signing day. We’ll sign probably anywhere from 18 to 22 guys, and we’re going to have probably 13 or 14 of them be mid-year enrollees. In order to be mid-year, number one, you’ve got to be recruiting the right kind of student-athlete, which we are, that’s had his stuff together, that understands academically, that has a maturity level about himself to be ready for that situation, which is very difficult to do. Number two, you’ve got to have room under your 85, which means you’ve got to be graduating your student-athletes. A lot of places have two, three or four mid-years. We’re able to have this many because our guys are graduating in three-and-a-half years, and again, it says an awful lot about what our academic stuff does, obviously the young men we’re recruiting in our program, and we’re really proud of that situation, where we are moving forward.”

On how to duplicate Virginia QB Bryce Perkins in practice
“Dakereon (Joyner) and Jay (Urich) are both certainly capable of being a similar skill set. He’s a tough guy. You have to be able to tackle him and play in space well, keep your eyes on the ball and do a really good job in our pocket, in pass rush, in being disciplined and not getting bumped out of the lanes.”

On who Virginia looks most like in the past two seasons on the field
“I would probably say from a running game standpoint as far as incorporating the quarterback a little bit with Kentucky, what they did this year. They are a very unique (style-wise) as far as what they do. Not necessarily the gap scheme running game that Kentucky has but more utilizing the quarterback more in the run game.”

On the importance of keeping Bryan McClendon as offensive coordinator
“It’s always importance from a continuity standpoint. That’s essential, to keep really good coaches, and Bryan’s a really good football coach on a lot of fronts. I think number one, schematically, (he) does a really nice job with our offense. Number two, (he) does a great job relating within our staff and our players and obviously does a fantastic job developing players when they get on campus and recruiting players to our campus. I think the continuity of where we’re trying to go and as far as creating that championship culture I thought was very important. I appreciate the Board and Coach Tanner and their support, which has been great in our three years here. It’s been fantastic, and I really appreciate their support. I do want everyone to know that we’re not celebrating seven wins, so let’s make sure that we make that crystal clear. We needed to keep the continuity of what I think is a really good coaching staff. I appreciate the Board and Coach Tanner recognizing that.”

On if Chandler Farrell will play center in the bowl game
“He certainly can. Hank Manos is another guy that can play center, and we can bump Donell (Stanley) back to center and play Blake (Camper) at guard. We have some different options.”

On what Farrell brings if he does start at center
“We have continued to gain confidence in him. He was put on scholarship for a reason, because we expected him to play for us this year. He earned his playing time and his scholarship with his play and his preparation. He has his weight up to where it needs to be. When I first got here, Shawn Elliott recruited him and said he’ll end up playing for us, and Shawn was exactly right.”

On overcoming the loss of Deebo Samuel and who will be asked to step up on offense and special teams
“I think we’re much more equipped right now maybe then we were at that time (last year) to handle that and having more time to prepare for a bowl game as opposed to a four-day practice week for your next opponent. Shi Smith can play outside. Josh Vann can play outside. Both of them can play in the slot. Kiel Pollard has been very effective for us in the slot from a tight end position which sometime creates some issues defensively. Do you count him as a tight end? Do you count him as a wideout? We’ve used him pretty much about 50/50 as far as a core player being in the C area and a guy that’s flexed out. That’s something we’ve done a good job of with our self-scout, really studying ourselves as far as how we’re using him. I don’t know if one guy is going to replace Deebo, especially in this short of a time. Certainly, there will be combination of guys who will need to step up, Chavis Dawkins, Chad Terrell, we’re going to need guys to step up and make some plays for us. In the return game, I still feel good in A.J. Turner and Rico Dowdle, Shi Smith; Josh Vann is a punt returner, obviously Bryan (Edwards) is a punt returner. Some guys that can go out and return kicks for us. We’ve haven’t gotten that far in terms of the game plan and who those guys will be at that time. When we do get in that specialty period and we do return kicks, those are the guys we have back.”

On the possibility of an expanded College Football Playoff
“I’ve been a proponent of the bowl system. That’s really what I’m a proponent of, because I think it’s a great reward for the student-athlete. We all say it’s about the student-athlete, but a lot of the decisions that are made aren’t about the student-athlete. Let’s just cut to the chase. So, I’m about the student-athlete, and I think it’s a great reward for a young man to be able to go to a place like Charlotte, or last year to be able to go to Tampa, and spend a week at a really nice hotel and be fed well and really enjoy a reward for a season, and that’s really what the bowl games are for. Whether it’s a four-team or eight-team (playoff), we plan on being there at some point, and that’s what we’re pushing for. That’s what we want to be a part of. What I don’t want to see is the bowl game continue to be diminished, because that takes away from rewarding a young man, a student-athlete, for a season. We put these guys through a lot. We put them through an awful lot, so I don’t want to see that get diminished, but whether it’s four or eight, we plan on being there.

“I just don’t know how you’re going to structure it if you get to an eight-team playoff. We actually do have exams. You know, it’s not about the student-athlete. At the end of the day, let’s be realistic. It’s a very long season as it is, then if you’re going to go to an eight-team playoff, you’re probably going to have a 10-game regular season, I would guess. It’s going to be more and more difficult to be able to structure it. I’m sure that’s somebody will come up with a great idea for how they want to do it, but I just don’t want to get away from the bowl game, because I think it’s a really good reward for the players.”

On the possibility of juniors on the team submitting their names for NFL Draft evaluations
“I think that’s a personal thing, between the player submitting the papers, so I’m going to leave that up to the player to discuss that, or answer it through the NFL.”