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00:00 Just kind of wrap up Saturday, it was a great night for our team to be able to get that
00:09 win.
00:10 It's huge for our university, for our program, for all former players, every member of our
00:19 program.
00:20 It's a game that we put a lot of emphasis on each year.
00:25 To be able to leave that field with our third straight victory over that opponent is big.
00:33 It's something that I was proud of our guys, of just all the things that we worked for,
00:38 how they responded throughout the game.
00:41 You can watch and see, there were plays that obviously we'd like to have back, some good,
00:49 some bad, all of it that showed up.
00:51 I mean, our team, they had great confidence throughout the course of the game, the sideline
00:55 was awesome, the support, the encouragement.
00:59 I thought our guys played really hard, played physical, we made the plays necessary when
01:05 we needed to be made.
01:07 I loved seeing guys, Jerry and Jones, finishing up with that interception and just what he
01:14 did and what he's done throughout his career.
01:19 It was just such a great ending.
01:23 I was proud of him for that.
01:25 I know we kind of mentioned some of those guys there in the post-game press conference,
01:30 guys that have been on the journey for the last four years.
01:34 To see and to be a part of a lot of the transitions that we've had here and just kind of where
01:40 we are, to see them show up and play big in that game was really cool to see.
01:49 There was a three-phase game.
01:53 Our special teams I thought showed up huge, going back and watching it from Alex flipping
01:59 the field, the field position battle, being able to make an impact.
02:05 Our coverage units were great, our kickoff coverage, we got great kicks.
02:09 I think they tried to return two and guys, we were able to pin them and have long fields.
02:16 And then the return unit showing up, I thought it was awesome.
02:21 And watching the guys and the energy and the effort that was being put in.
02:25 I called out Dre Jacobs, I think he played two snaps in the game.
02:32 I always tell our players, you never know when you're going to be called upon and when
02:37 your moment's going to show up.
02:39 He had probably one of the better blocks in the game.
02:42 I think he played two plays and all effort and everything he had in that moment actually
02:47 helped provide a seam for Keon.
02:51 When Keon broke into the open field, just watch the effort of our guys chasing him down
02:56 the field and the excitement and the joy for a special teams play that was big.
03:01 Obviously Keon did a great job on it, but when you watch the ten other guys that did
03:09 their job and played a significant role in helping create that space, you see the constant
03:16 ebb and flow.
03:18 That game's going to be challenging.
03:20 You're going to have momentum swings.
03:21 I don't care what year it is, what it looks like.
03:26 We were a couple plays away from making that game a lot less close if we would have executed
03:37 in certain moments or had a little different outcome, but it didn't happen.
03:41 They made some plays.
03:42 They did a good job in a couple areas.
03:46 It came down to one score game.
03:47 You look back in the history of that game, I think since 2000, I saw a stat somewhere,
03:52 it was I think 18, 18 in the last 22 or 23 games have come within an eight point game.
04:00 That's what a rivalry game's going to be.
04:02 You got to be prepared for that moment.
04:04 How we train, what we do, everything we build our players up for is to prepare them for
04:10 those swings.
04:11 I thought they handled it really well and did what was necessary to win it.
04:15 Obviously, it hit a couple benchmarks.
04:19 Being able to have our 26th ten win season, pretty big.
04:23 It's a big for our program.
04:25 I know we've talked about it before, but you get a chance to change the walls, change the
04:30 number on the walls here at Florida State.
04:32 You've done something special.
04:33 This team will be remembered because of that.
04:36 We're still just on our path, on our journey to take another step.
04:42 To go undefeated in ACC play was big.
04:46 These guys, they've battled, they've worked.
04:49 It was definitely an impressive feat to see them be able to accomplish that.
04:55 We know what that sets up for here in a few weeks.
05:00 As we jump into this week, it's still about our growth.
05:03 It's about our improvement.
05:04 There's plenty of mistakes and things that we have to correct and we have to get better
05:07 at.
05:09 Our guys understand that.
05:11 We met last night.
05:12 We practiced last night.
05:14 We squatted yesterday.
05:15 It is work.
05:16 It is time.
05:17 It is going to get better.
05:20 That's our focus.
05:23 As we get a chance to come into this week, there's a lot of things that you get a chance
05:28 to be celebrated this week.
05:30 This is going to be our senior day, our seniors' last home game.
05:35 That's something that means a lot to me.
05:38 I mentioned, you can go through the guys that have been here, the guys that have come here
05:44 that have really poured everything they have into this program, into what we asked them
05:50 to do as a football player, but equally as much what it is to be a Florida State Seminole
05:56 and how they have to represent this program.
05:59 Obviously, all the great players and the wonderful tradition that we have to honor in what we
06:05 do and how we do it, who they are off the field, what they do on the field.
06:11 This is a group that deserves to be celebrated.
06:14 I'm just so excited for what they've done and obviously to be able to recognize them
06:21 as we go out there on Saturday.
06:24 Also a very special occasion.
06:26 We get to celebrate the 2013 National Championship team.
06:30 We got a great number of those guys coming back here this weekend.
06:36 It's going to be a special event, a special recognition of all that they did, one of the
06:43 greatest teams in the history of college football.
06:47 To be able to honor their accomplishments is really going to be big.
06:52 I'm glad we're going to have a majority of those guys back to be able to celebrate them.
06:58 Like I said, it's all about the work this week and continuing to push, continuing to
07:02 grow, continuing to get better.
07:05 It was another big step that we took last week.
07:07 We've got a big one here in front of us as we get a chance to put a stamp on our last
07:12 home game here at Dote-Campbell Stadium for this year.
07:16 First question will be Ira on your right.
07:20 I'm guessing based on what you just said, I may have an idea what the answer is, but
07:24 after this physical stretch, you guys had some very physical games and you've got some
07:28 huge games coming up down the road.
07:30 Is there any temptation to giving some guys some time this week to heal and get better
07:35 as you get ready for the--
07:36 We need to go get better.
07:38 That's what we need to do.
07:42 But it's not just the physical, it's the mental, it's the execution.
07:47 We have to get better as a program.
07:48 There are some guys, we've got bumps and bruises and things like that.
07:53 Human nature wants to pull back.
07:55 That's just reality.
07:56 You come off a physical game and everything wants to take a deep breath.
08:01 We're playing an FCS opponent and obviously we respect this game.
08:06 We respect our responsibility.
08:07 We respect who we're playing.
08:09 We're going to respect all things that are necessary to go out and be better than we've
08:12 ever been come Saturday.
08:14 That's what I challenge our players with.
08:17 We're going to respect these guys that are playing in their last game at home.
08:20 If it's not the best game that we've played, then we have failed.
08:23 We've come up short.
08:25 We've not hit the mark.
08:27 That's where it's easy to want to give into that human desire of, "Oh, maybe we can just
08:34 pull back a little bit."
08:36 Then you're not going to accomplish the things that are out there for us.
08:39 We're going to be smart with our players.
08:41 We're going to make sure that everything we have planned, from when we started in the
08:45 summer to where we are now, everything is planned for what it needs to look like and
08:49 what it's going to be.
08:50 We're going to work.
08:53 That's why we came in yesterday.
08:57 It's business as usual as we continue to grow.
09:00 If we don't get better this week, we're not going to be in position for the things that
09:04 are ahead.
09:05 We know we're going to get to play in the conference championship game.
09:09 It's about today.
09:10 It's about what you do today.
09:11 It's about what you do this week.
09:14 We did not play a perfect game last game.
09:16 We made some mistakes that were costly in that game.
09:19 We have to be better, coaches, players, everybody involved.
09:22 If we don't apply those lessons, we're not achieving the objective of what we set out
09:28 for.
09:29 All the things we've done to get to where we're 10-0, and I'm excited to be 10-0.
09:33 I'm proud of our players to be 10-0.
09:34 I'm proud of them, but I've watched them grow.
09:37 I've watched them make investment.
09:38 I've watched them pour with all they have into each other, into this team, into each
09:44 step that's been necessary.
09:45 If we don't do that this week, it will be devastating for our program.
09:50 That's what we're built on.
09:52 We're going to respect this game.
09:53 We're going to respect the opportunity.
09:54 We're going to respect all the work that these guys have poured in to get to this point.
10:00 We're going to go improve this week.
10:01 Sorry, I'm putting you on the spot a little bit here.
10:09 One of those seniors, Jordan, obviously, is one of the guys this week who's being honored
10:13 his last game at Doke.
10:14 You've had a lot of memories with him, I'm sure.
10:16 Can I put you on the spot about a couple that stand out moments or memories from your time
10:20 with Jordan?
10:24 It's the whole journey.
10:27 You can't just put with him.
10:29 It can't be just about a glimpse or even just a game.
10:36 It's just who he is.
10:39 Watching him grow, watching him improve, watching him care, watching him invest, the
10:44 confidence that has been built just in who he is and what he's all about.
10:49 He is a tremendous, tremendous person.
10:53 He's a tremendous leader.
10:54 He represents Florida State the way it should be represented.
11:00 I think the consistency of his character is something that stands out to me.
11:08 It's not always – you can pick in each game.
11:12 There's moments and opportunities that he gets to make the choice of what it's going
11:15 to be and what he's going to do.
11:17 He fights for this team.
11:19 I thought one of the great plays there the other day was the third down and a little
11:26 speed option play and you had to cut up the field.
11:29 He lowers his shoulder, but everything he had to go get a couple extra yards.
11:35 Those things are just – I love his passion to do what he can do, do all that he can to
11:39 help this team.
11:40 So not to point out any specific moments, he's had a bunch of great moments.
11:46 He'll have a lot of plays and a lot of games that people will talk about forever.
11:51 He broke some records and I thought it was pretty remarkable that the first starting
11:57 quarterback at Florida State to go 3-0 against that last team.
12:03 That's something that will be remembered.
12:04 I don't want to just put it into a couple of games because he's so much more than
12:09 that.
12:10 We'll come to Chris for a follow-up.
12:13 You mentioned honoring the 2013 team this season.
12:16 You've had the opportunity to honor '93 and now '13.
12:19 Do you allow yourself to have a moment to enjoy those guys and understand what they
12:23 represent now that you represent them and all that comes with that even though you have
12:26 a game on Saturday?
12:27 Yeah, absolutely.
12:28 If you don't, then you're cheating all that they did.
12:36 Those teams were special.
12:38 It's not just we're going to recognize them as a team there Saturday, but it's about recognizing
12:45 – we bring the past players back.
12:48 Every home game, they have an opportunity to come and be a part of our Friday night.
12:53 Whenever we're on the road, if they're in the area, they have an opportunity to
12:56 come be around the team.
12:58 The guys that have come and laid the foundation before us, they deserve to be recognized.
13:03 They deserve to be celebrated because they've made this program what we get to be a part
13:08 of.
13:09 I'm glad that we have a game and a moment, but I still think that what we do each day,
13:17 being able to open the doors to the past players, that's important.
13:21 We had a lot of great past players that were here this last week.
13:25 Guys on the sideline, you see tears in their eyes just because they care so much, because
13:31 it meant so much, because they invested so much, because it is who they are and what
13:36 they're all about.
13:39 We said a ton, once and always, it doesn't ever go away.
13:45 Being able to put on pads, it does.
13:47 That's going to end, and it's going to end for guys at a lot of different times.
13:52 The passion, obviously the excitement, the belief in the program, that's forever.
14:04 We absolutely take time to recognize that, and I'm looking forward to those guys being
14:08 here, but it's daily.
14:12 Stay here for a minute.
14:15 Touched on a little bit already, but the senior class, especially the guys who were here when
14:19 you got here from the very beginning.
14:21 What level of appreciation, the work that they've gone through, the emotions, all that
14:25 stuff that's gone into getting to this point?
14:29 Level of appreciation is all.
14:31 It can't be any higher, because they said yes.
14:36 They said yes.
14:38 It was hard, it was challenging.
14:40 The experiences, there were highs and there were lows.
14:45 They said yes to continue to work, continue to grow, continue to push themselves, a lot
14:52 of them further than probably what they even thought they could get to.
14:58 I believed in them.
14:59 They said yes, so did we.
15:02 It's our choice in being able to set the standard and to help paint the picture of what can
15:10 be ahead.
15:11 A lot of these guys, they were able to stick it through.
15:15 They were able to push.
15:16 I'm sure plenty of people had other opinions on what they could or what they should do,
15:24 but they believed in it.
15:25 They're great leaders on this team, wonderful teammates.
15:29 They're just great examples of what this program's all about.
15:38 When you guys beat the Gators last year, the fans rushed to field.
15:41 This year, the players went and celebrated with the fans.
15:44 Just how much does it mean to have the fans be part of those when you guys win those games,
15:49 those rivalry games?
15:51 Our fans are incredible.
15:53 That atmosphere on Saturday, it was special.
15:58 We had a little over 100 recruits that were here.
16:03 It's been a busy weekend.
16:04 You get a chance to visit with them.
16:08 Everyone I talked to, I was like, "What do you think?"
16:10 "Coach, that atmosphere.
16:12 It stands out.
16:13 You feel it.
16:15 It's incredible.
16:16 For our players, they feed off of that.
16:19 You understand."
16:20 I think I've said this before, but I told the mayor on Saturday before we came, I said,
16:25 "When you get that legacy walk, take it in for a second.
16:29 Just realize."
16:31 For the minute we got off that bus, the energy, we felt it all week.
16:35 You know what's building up to.
16:38 Take it in.
16:39 You realize who you get to represent.
16:43 You run out on that field, it was electric.
16:46 Obviously, when our guys, we finished that game, to see them run over in the student
16:52 section of the fans, and just being able to have that time, I think it does show the appreciation
17:00 for all those that support us.
17:02 It wasn't just this week.
17:04 We talked about it last week.
17:05 We went on the road, last two conference road games, at Pittsburgh and North Carolina.
17:11 We had, I'd say half, but we had a lot of people that were there supporting this team.
17:18 That's one of the great things about where we are.
17:22 It is who we represent, and just support that they give as we continue to push.
17:26 You got a two-parter, multi-layered for you.
17:31 First off, the last two weeks seems like more than usual tackles behind the line of scrimmage
17:37 for your offense.
17:38 Is there a common theme to what's going wrong with those?
17:40 I'll wait for that answer, then do the second part.
17:43 Let's not do two for one.
17:46 First part, I don't know.
17:47 Yeah, I mean, that's something that we have to clean up.
17:51 It's not one specific.
17:52 We faced a lot of pressure these last two weeks.
17:57 When you face that amount of pressure, there's variable levels of why a negative happens,
18:03 or what you could do better in that.
18:06 There's certain things up front, certain things, whether it's a track, or a run, or a read,
18:13 or a possibility of getting the ball out, or a hot throw.
18:18 Certain things that showed up that helped allow the negatives.
18:23 There's things that I can be better at as a play caller.
18:28 Where can I help put guys in a better position?
18:31 We all take ownership in that, but that's something that has to improve.
18:35 The last two weeks, we've had way too many negatives offensively that put us in long-range
18:39 situations.
18:40 Starting with me, I've got to be better.
18:44 We're going to work, as we get into this week, some of those things that we talked about
18:47 having to improve upon.
18:48 That's obviously a big focus.
18:49 I know he had a 200-yard game this year, but is that the best Trey Benson has run this
18:54 season, or the hardest, I guess?
18:57 He was great the other night.
18:59 He had some hard runs where maybe it wasn't just a big run.
19:04 Then there were a couple of them that absolutely showed up.
19:08 He looked great.
19:09 I was proud of him.
19:10 He showed up when we needed him to.
19:13 I thought he was one of the key factors to that victory because he ran with unbelievable
19:19 purpose and did a wonderful job.
19:25 I believe your staff, Sports Information, put out a statistic that Caelan DeLoach, with
19:32 seven sacks, is the most sacks a linebacker from Florida State has had since '93.
19:38 You put that up?
19:39 Good job.
19:40 Caelan, coming into the season, he had four career sacks.
19:46 If you could talk about him, and is he also a perfect example?
19:50 I know there are a lot of them, but of those guys from where they were when you got here
19:56 to where they are now.
19:57 He's had an exceptional year.
20:01 You look at the production that he's had, tackles, sacks, tackles for loss, just fumble
20:08 recovery, big one.
20:12 He's been all over the field for us.
20:14 You see his progression over the last few years.
20:17 He's a wonderful player.
20:18 He's very smart.
20:20 He studies the game.
20:23 He embraces that part of it, which allows us to do so much with him.
20:27 I think when you look, I thought Coach Fuller did a great job in the plan to get ... That
20:33 was a team that had not given up very many sacks.
20:36 He did a great job in a couple of things schematically to try to get Caelan the space necessary.
20:44 When he hit it, that was impressive.
20:47 He's got great players around him that also help allow some of those one-on-one or one-on-none
20:52 situations.
20:54 He is a tremendous playmaker.
20:57 He makes this football team better by his example.
21:00 He makes this team better by his work.
21:03 He's really grown and matured over the years.
21:08 The work ethic is something that I'll forever be grateful for because you've seen him really
21:14 push himself.
21:16 I think that's what's earned the respect of his teammates.
21:18 Yes, when you watch him on the field, he goes and he makes plays.
21:23 I'm Jordan Peronio.
21:25 Coach, last week against Pittsburgh, 37 runs, 37 passes.
21:29 This week against Miami, 31 runs, 31 passes.
21:33 How important is it for this team to be balanced on offense?
21:35 How do you continue to call plays with that in mind?
21:39 We always want to have an element of being balanced, but we want to score points.
21:46 That's the thing, helping put our guys in the best position to do that.
21:50 We had some missed opportunities the other day that we're going to have to continue and
21:53 improve upon.
21:54 The thing I've really been pleased with our guys is just they've done a great job of taking
22:01 care of the ball.
22:02 They've done a great job of ... I think Jordan's made some wonderful decisions.
22:07 Sometimes we go back to a little bit of the negatives.
22:10 He's made some decisions sometimes to take a negative rather than to force something
22:15 that could be a catastrophic play.
22:20 He's done a great job.
22:21 The running backs, receivers, all those guys.
22:24 We want to have balance.
22:25 We want to take what teams are giving us.
22:28 As games continue to evolve, being able to hopefully be able to open up the explosive
22:35 runs and the opportunities that can be provided.
22:39 I thought our guys, they know.
22:42 They work hard and we want to be balanced.
22:44 It's something that we get to continue to work to improve and just making sure we're
22:48 scoring as many opportunities as we can.
22:51 We've got time for two more.
22:52 We'll come back to Essendon.
22:53 I think you guys have had a strong defense all season, but Adam Fuller's ability to adjust
23:00 to whatever is happening in the second half.
23:02 Just talk about that and just how great he has been for the second half adjustments to
23:06 help the team pull out wins.
23:08 Adam's done a remarkable job.
23:11 I think him, the defensive staff, they're so very well coordinated in what they do.
23:16 It's one thing to have ideas of how to adjust.
23:19 It's another thing to be able to implement that throughout the course of the game and
23:22 for the players to be confident in it, players to be able to go out and execute it.
23:27 The efficiency in communication, obviously the versatility in things that we can do in
23:33 the moment.
23:34 That's some of the challenges that we faced earlier in the year with communications where
23:41 we might have had a mishap.
23:43 Something that you have to grow through those.
23:46 Nobody wants to experience them, but because we could do multiple things, because some
23:51 of those elements that you can now reference back to maybe in the course of a game, it
23:55 allows us to be multiple.
23:58 It allows us to, if somebody's coming, I thought they did a good job in one of their personnel
24:03 packages and we gave up a little bit too much space inside you on the run game and they
24:07 were able to pop a couple runs.
24:10 I thought we did a great job making adjustments in the second half to eliminate some of that
24:14 space.
24:16 Other than the onside kick, which was something that we knew we were going to do going into
24:22 the game, I think that was the only time in the second half that they had a snap on our
24:26 side of the 50.
24:28 It was impressive to see our defensive mentality and the execution.
24:34 Obviously, we gave up the big play, but that was one of those that we'll continue to get
24:41 better in eliminating that.
24:44 I thought they did a great job.
24:48 He's doing a great job of leading the group, but our players are doing a great job of being
24:52 able to execute and adapt in those situations.
24:54 Last one will be Aslan, is that correct?
24:58 Two national outlets were discussing a coaching vacancy and put your name on a potential list.
25:03 I know you can't control your name being involved in those things, but what is your reaction
25:08 when these things happen and how do you manage that in your conversations?
25:13 There's not really any point to talk about it in a sense.
25:18 It's funny how sometimes those things get out there and people want to try to use that,
25:27 especially in recruiting and things like that.
25:29 I told recruits two years ago, and a lot of these guys that we're recruiting now, I said,
25:33 "It's funny, two years ago, every coach was talking about, 'How long is he going to be
25:38 there?
25:39 They better win some games or he's not.'"
25:42 I told them then, I said, "Watch, in two years, everybody's going to be trying to use the
25:45 other thing."
25:46 Well, I can't control any of that.
25:50 Obviously, we're so excited about what we're building here, where we're going, the opportunity
25:56 that's ahead.
25:57 This is a special place.
26:00 I think that speaks for itself.
26:01 I'm grateful for the opportunity, but I can't control all those things.
26:07 All right, thanks coach.
26:08 All right, thank you guys.
26:09 Have a great one.
26:09 - Thanks, man. - Thanks, man.
26:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]