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00:00 All right, Sam, welcome.
00:03 Thanks for joining us.
00:04 First question from Brian Key.
00:06 So, Brian, please go ahead.
00:07 Sorry, I was muted.
00:12 Hey, Sam, both Javante and Michael
00:15 set career highs in rushing in attempts.
00:17 What does it mean for you to have two backs
00:19 that can kind of take the pressure off
00:21 and open some stuff up downfield for you?
00:26 Yeah, I mean, I'm just blessed to have those two guys.
00:28 You know, the offensive line did a really, really good job
00:31 just from start to finish
00:33 of just pushing the defensive line
00:34 and getting to the second level and giving those guys space.
00:36 And when you get those two guys space,
00:39 it goes to the house on any play.
00:41 So, and when they're doing that,
00:43 then the defense has to bring their safeties down.
00:45 I'm going to press up a little more,
00:46 and that opens up the stuff down the field.
00:48 So, I think we had a really good balance today
00:51 as far as on the ground and in the air.
00:52 So, yeah, definitely having that good run again,
00:54 that's something we want to get established
00:55 in every single game.
00:56 It just opens up everything else.
00:59 Thank you.
01:01 Okay, let's go back over to Mark Berman.
01:03 Mark, go ahead.
01:06 Yeah, do you notice anything on film during the week
01:09 when looking at the Virginia Tech defense
01:11 or do you notice during the game today
01:12 they kind of let you able to take advantage of
01:14 and help you guys be so productive today?
01:18 Yeah, I mean, there was some good scenarios we saw on film,
01:21 but really it just came down to us, for example, up front.
01:24 And our guys won that battle today
01:25 on almost every single play.
01:26 So, they gave our running backs some space
01:28 and they made some great plays.
01:30 But, yeah, really, I mean, they kind of do what we thought
01:33 what they're going to do from a defensive standpoint.
01:35 We were going to have some opportunities,
01:37 but at the end of the day, it comes down to our guys up front
01:39 and they made it happen today.
01:40 Okay, let's move over to Jared Fialco.
01:48 Jared, go ahead.
01:50 Sam, the Ami and Jeremiah kind of talked about
01:52 what it's like to play in front of fans.
01:54 I was curious as to from a quarterback perspective,
01:58 in what way do you notice noise difference from live fans,
02:02 even be it 7% of 51,000, as opposed to just canned noise?
02:07 And in what way does that change?
02:08 Does it sound different for you?
02:11 Yeah, I don't think it really sounds much different.
02:13 I think the main thing is just energy.
02:15 You just feel the energy from the fans.
02:17 It was completely different out there today.
02:19 It actually felt like a real football game today.
02:21 I really couldn't say that about the first two games.
02:22 So, it's definitely glad to have people back here in Canaan.
02:25 So, I hope we have some more in the near future.
02:27 All right, Gregory Hall, go ahead.
02:31 Sam, it feels like we're going to be asking you
02:33 about Mike and Javante every week.
02:36 Mike said that he believes him and Javante
02:38 are the best running back duo in the country.
02:40 I wanted to get your thoughts on that.
02:43 Yeah, without a doubt.
02:45 I've been saying that from the start.
02:46 There's no better one-two punch in college football,
02:48 and I haven't seen one in a very long time.
02:50 So, those two are definitely the best two backs
02:53 I've seen all in college football.
02:55 So, we're definitely blessed to have those guys.
02:57 What do you think their ceiling is?
02:59 I mean, both of them put up career highs today.
03:02 Where do you think they can go?
03:04 Yeah, I mean, both of them can get so much better.
03:07 They're both really, really good players.
03:09 They're some of the best backs I've ever seen in my life.
03:11 And I think the main thing they've done last year
03:13 from this year is that they're being more of a factor
03:16 in the passing game, too.
03:18 So, they both have come a long way
03:20 from the passing game standpoint,
03:22 and they're running the ball really well.
03:23 So, the ceiling is so high for those guys.
03:26 And I just hope those guys are the best for their future,
03:29 and they're going to play this game for a really long time.
03:32 All right, you were going to say the ceiling is the roof there,
03:34 but thank you.
03:35 I almost said it, but y'all probably heard that one
03:38 a whole lot.
03:41 Okay, let's go to Mike Toper.
03:45 Hey, Sam, kind of going off along that,
03:48 we knew about your passing game, obviously,
03:49 the first coming into the season.
03:51 But to see that type of balance
03:53 and put up almost 700 yards of offense,
03:55 what kind of confidence does this give you guys
03:57 moving forward to know that you are capable
04:00 of having that run and pass balance
04:01 and having success at it?
04:03 Yeah, it's definitely a boost of confidence.
04:05 We've never had this much success running the ball,
04:10 I think, in school history.
04:11 So, it definitely gives us a lot of confidence
04:13 in our running game.
04:14 We had a lot of confidence coming in.
04:16 I think the main thing is just we have that balance on offense.
04:18 You know, we have so many playmakers.
04:20 And so, on any given week, it could be anybody.
04:22 And our O-line is doing a really good job.
04:24 So, it's just letting our skill guys get the ball in space,
04:27 and they're making plays.
04:29 Okay, Bridget Condon, go ahead.
04:35 Sam, to be able to go out there
04:36 and beat a top-ranked team like you guys did today,
04:40 especially against Virginia Tech,
04:41 we all know how you lost that last year.
04:43 What does that say for you guys?
04:44 And I think it's the first time anyone on your roster
04:46 had ever beaten Virginia Tech.
04:50 Yeah, we definitely were aware
04:52 that not many guys on this team have beaten Virginia Tech.
04:55 So, we definitely wanted to fix that today.
04:57 Yeah, we really just want to come out here
04:58 and make a statement.
05:00 I feel like we've kind of heard a lot of negative things
05:01 throughout the week.
05:03 So, I mean, we just want to show people who we really are,
05:06 especially on the offensive side of the ball.
05:07 We didn't have great success in the first two games.
05:09 So, we knew we were going to bust it open at some point,
05:12 and we did today.
05:13 All right, Andrew Jones, go ahead, Andrew.
05:19 Hey, Sam, how nice was it having Josh back up front today?
05:24 Yeah, it was -- Josh Azuda is a really, really good player.
05:27 He's one of our best guys up front.
05:28 So, I've been begging him to come back and play.
05:32 I think we felt his impact out there today.
05:34 So, we're definitely glad to have him back out there.
05:36 And on top of that, after having a few issues
05:39 blocking last weekend, how huge was it
05:42 and how well did the guys play up front today?
05:44 Because they didn't get many hands on you,
05:45 and the holes for the run game were enormous much of the day.
05:49 Yeah, they played tremendous up front.
05:54 It seemed like every single run play,
05:55 they were opening up holes that anybody could have ran through,
05:57 and our backs just took advantage of that space.
06:00 The yards, that's what they were blocked for.
06:02 They got those yards and plus some.
06:04 So, our line did a good job, and the passing game, too.
06:06 I think we had one sack. That sack was 100% on me.
06:09 So, they did a really good job.
06:10 We feel really good about those guys moving forward.
06:14 Thanks. Appreciate it.
06:16 Ross Martin, go ahead.
06:19 Hey, Sam, what worked between you and Daz,
06:21 and then what worked between you and Damian
06:24 on the deep passing routes?
06:25 How good was it to kind of connect on --
06:27 get both those guys involved the way you want to get them involved?
06:30 Yeah, it's definitely something we want to emphasize.
06:31 We want to get those guys the ball.
06:33 I know they haven't had too many touches
06:35 in the first two games, and they're both really,
06:37 really good playmakers, so we definitely want to get them
06:39 the ball. So, there's some times where I just gave Daz
06:41 like some little swing routes and some one-on-one scenarios,
06:44 just let him do what he does, and he made them pay for that.
06:46 And Diame, they couldn't --
06:49 they had to bring their safety down in the run game
06:50 because they couldn't stop the run game.
06:52 So, they weren't able to cap Diame with a safety,
06:55 so he was one-on-one with a corner,
06:56 and he's going to win that matchup every time.
06:59 Great. Thanks, man.
07:00 Yep.
07:01 Okay, Jackson Diddley. Go ahead, Jackson.
07:04 Yeah, Sam, speaking specifically to Virginia Tech,
07:07 what did you kind of see from their defensive backs
07:09 and linebackers today that kind of helped you
07:11 have some success through the year?
07:14 Yeah, I think the main thing that helped is just the run game.
07:17 We established the run game really early,
07:18 so that opened up some things downfield
07:21 because if you can't stop the run,
07:23 then we're just going to run the ball down the field,
07:25 and we still did that.
07:26 But they were trying to bring extra guys into the box,
07:28 which leaves the field open.
07:33 All right, let's have our last question
07:35 come from Luke Buxton. So, Luke, go ahead.
07:38 Sam, I'm curious what happened at the end
07:39 with Dax Holyfield kind of on the push
07:41 and then the ensuing kind of tension
07:44 that arose following that moment.
07:46 Yeah, I'm not going to go into detail about what was said,
07:48 but there was some disrespectful things said
07:50 at the end of the game.
07:52 That's all I'm going to say.
07:54 Cool. All right. Sam, appreciate your time.
07:57 Yeah, thank you. Have a good night.
07:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]