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#UNC coach Mack Brown press conference after win at Florida State
Nov 2, 2024
#UNC coach Mack Brown press conference after win at Florida State
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okay very very proud of the guys uh
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excited about the win uh last week's
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team was the one that I've been seeing
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him practice and and wondered when
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everybody else would see it and our
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offensive Line's obviously getting
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healthy and and jacobe Criswell is is
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getting more accomplished at at calling
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uh protections and and throwing the ball
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to the right place he was so efficient
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tonight we only threw it two times the
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second half with with him um but you
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college football you got to run the ball
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we've always said that and you got to
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stop the run running for 289 yards
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against that defense is really really
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special so the offensive Line's getting
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better we we brag on Omarian tonight
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he's a special player he can't make
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those yards without help so those guys
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are getting better and and there's four
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draft choices that they were blocking up
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front for Florida State and it wasn't
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easy early and and Omarian scoring five
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touchdowns um uh and at at the same time
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we left one on the on the field with a
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fourth and one
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and and had to fight to get the other
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one that's the reason we wanted to keep
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running up inside and being physical
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because we can't uh let that happen
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where we we can't score in that
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situation we we've messed up to a three4
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in on and and that's something we've got
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to to do better uh but we didn't turn
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the ball over offensively we forced a
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couple of turnovers on defense and and
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they were really good turnovers we
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dropped two other interceptions that
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that could have been um one one of them
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way down in our territory early in the
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game so uh thought the guys played hard
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really proud of our defense they were
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two for 10 on on third downs one for two
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on Fourth Downs so one three for 12 in
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third and fourth Downs um they they
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didn't score in the Red Zone we were
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three um redone Red Zone scores out of
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four uh and again 11 of 16 on third down
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uh 12 of 18 on third and fourth down so
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I'm just really really proud of the
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efficiency uh of this football team and
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the attitude the toughness that they
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came in for the second week in a row we
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we've said you can't worry about
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yesterday because there's nothing we can
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do about it uh you can't talk about
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tomorrow because you can't do anything
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about it but you in the moment you can
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get done what you need to get done and
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those guys U scored right before the
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half they came out and had a stop and a
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score right after the half so we had the
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14o swing for the middle 10 again um so
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this team's learning how to win and and
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that's what I'm I'm so excited about I
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said that to them winning is euphoric
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it's it's a celebration for everybody
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losing stinks and and you play hard and
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you play good in some losing efforts but
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you still have to win games to to
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celebrate like you need to at the at the
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end of these things we we told them the
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uh Chicago Bears game with the with the
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commanders the other day at Bears won
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the game and then they lost it uh with
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two seconds left that means you lose a
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game so you you play these things to win
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so really really proud that this team is
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is playing with more confidence and they
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did finish the game tonight where like
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in the Duke game when you look back we
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didn't finish when we had our chance and
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I think all has started in the fourth
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quarter at Georgia Tech I saw us getting
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better then and we just didn't finish
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the game but I saw us getting better I
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saw jacobe getting better I saw our
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offense being more efficient and and
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I've said since the beginning this would
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be a team that would finish better than
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it started because of all the reasons
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nobody wants to really believe it nobody
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wants to hear it but it's real and then
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you add Ty on top of it and and then you
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add the fact that your Center and your
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two guards get hurt and then you've got
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a center it's never played center before
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from a division three team trying to
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call the the fronts uh and a new
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quarterback your third quarterback
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coming in those things are hard and um
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and I really credit our our staff on
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both sides uh for getting out of the rut
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getting out of the storm uh and headed
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into a really positive places we we look
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forward to a strong
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finish questions the 93 yard drive the
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Second scoring drive that you guys had
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you had six first downs in a Drive
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converted three third downs and kind of
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had a little bit of everything including
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Jacob's legs is that what you see in
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practice that this unit can consistently
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be moving forward yes they get better
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every day and that's what was so uh
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frustrating for me I'd see it and then I
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I do think that that whether it was the
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burden of of Ty and watching him be sick
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whether it was the injuries on offense
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whether it was the the maybe the
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pressure I put on them I I don't know I
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I've tried to take some pressure off of
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them uh they tried too hard and they
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messed stuff up and when you you you've
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got to have fun in this game and and I
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said you you you don't feel pressure you
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apply pressure and and that's what you
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do you you don't you don't play up tight
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you play free you play fast you play
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physical and you find ways to win the
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game at the end and that's what they've
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done for two weeks M you talk about
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applying pressure and playing free and
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fast I mean it's the same way on defense
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again today and I mean they obviously
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have their issues at quarterback but you
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kept those guys Under Wraps it felt like
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I mean yes I thought uh we would have
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trouble stopping the run and then they
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would try to go play action over our
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head and I'm just so proud that they
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rush for 42 yards I mean that's two
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weeks in a row where our our our front
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seven has stopped the run and and we
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talked about it we said we had to do it
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and we didn't do it for four weeks and
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and here we are now that when you do
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when you stop the run you wouldn't run
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the ball you win the game and and that's
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that's what we're doing Matt can you
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talk about that uh there was a seven
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playay Drive where Marian got all the
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touches he obviously kicked it off with
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that 43 yard can you uh I guess break
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down you know what what went into
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obviously giving him the ball each time
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I think that was the uniqueness of it he
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got it each time just kind of your
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thoughts on that D you know he's our
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best player and if you can beat them
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with your best player then that's what
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you need to do and jacobe is really
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helping us because we had one sack and
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and I was frustrated it was in a one
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minute drive where jacobe should have
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gotten rid of the ball because it cost
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us points before the half so it's
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something he'll learn uh but when you
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can run the ball your protection's
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better and and that's just this this is
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a 100y old rules of thumb with with
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football and and tonight he didn't get
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much pressure and he's really accurate
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and the receivers like playing with him
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um because they're gonna get the ball
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and and we had a couple other
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opportunities where we just didn't get
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things done but but this that's why I
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think this team will continue to get
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better and then when your defense sees
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that your offense can have a 93 yard
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drive against the Florida state that
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gives them more confidence and they're
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rested we had um we had 72 plays tonight
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to they're
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46 I mean we we had uh time of
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possession really 40 to 20 I mean that
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that changes ball games and that all
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goes back to to being able to run the
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ball I I when I hired Randy Clemens it
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was because he had a hat on that said
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run the damn ball and I should wear that
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every day at practice and I should wear
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it to every game Run the damn ball and I
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should put under it with an aster and
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stop the run and you will win more games
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than than not the last two weeks some of
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the issues the defense has had here is
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at times they don't keep teams in
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character they play out of character but
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they've kept evva in character and
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certainly kept FSU in character today
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what was the key in them actually
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keeping the other two teams in character
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I think you you'll have to ask Jeff next
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week but I I feel like we're being
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simpler and and we're doing things
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better and and we're we're doing the
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things that we're doing better than we
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were before we're not making as many
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mistakes we had the one mistake at
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Virginia and that was one call that I
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told our coaches I thought it looked too
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much alike like another call so let's
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change it let's let's be smart and and
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we've also on defense had some trouble
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with a helmet communication because
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you're talking to them and they're
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changing and then you're signaling so
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it's been a little too much the
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quarterback is worked
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but on defense it's been it's been
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harder for us and it hadn't worked as
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well so uh but I I I do think Jeff feels
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really good about what we're doing and
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who we've got doing it right now our
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kids have bought in with total
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confidence maybe for the first time
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since I've been here on defense for the
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last two weeks and they totally believe
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in what we're doing and and they're
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doing it with confidence does being
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simpler equate to being quicker off the
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ball and playing faster you just got to
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play fast we we as coaches
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coaches are so smart and they work so
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hard and and you feel like you got to
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stop everything they've got and if
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you're not careful you do too much and
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then you got guys with agents and you
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got guys with transfer portal and people
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calling them you got guys with nil
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opportunities and they're talking about
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that you got guys with girlfriends you
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got guys going to class you got guys
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that their cars broken you got guys on
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social media and and the coach he's he's
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singular focused on just what he's doing
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and he doesn't realize all these kids
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doing it they got more stuff they got
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more stuff so you got to you got to make
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sure you just give them things they can
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do what are your emotions finally
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getting a win over Florida State it's
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good I um I'm embarrassed I never did
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more than it's kind of embarrassing they
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gave me the game ball and I thought God
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never got a game ball because I'd lost
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so many games it it look better so but
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it's kind of like when people said you
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don't win at Virginia much this isn't
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about me it it's not about me nobody
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else beat Florida State when I was back
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here either so uh any anybody that was
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truthful about that we were playing the
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NFL East cuz that's what Florida state
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was like so um the fact that we didn't
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beat them we we got closer to be we were
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always second uh so we were closer to
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beating them than anybody else but they
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were really good I do think uh coach
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Bowen was a dear friend I should have
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mentioned him Monday uh I think he's in
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heaven tonight with a smile on his face
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even though Florida State lost he knows
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that I love him and and I I love this
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place they've been really really good to
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me um and and it is good to to come here
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and win coach one other note on the
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defense while you guys were talking
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um first time since 2021 Virginia Tech
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and Georgia State we've held uh teams
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under 300 in consecutive games first
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time since 2007 Virginia Tech and at
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Wake Forest where it was consecutive
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Road games where we held him under 300
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good stuff good stuff thank you Jeremy
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yes ma'am I know You' talked and
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described amarian a lot over his time
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here but after watching a performance
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like that has anything shock you about
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him or how impressed Were You by him no
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I see him every day he just he's like a
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machine and then he's he's so humbled
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you all kind of talk to him here in a
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minute he won't say a whole lot and the
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player said speed speech speed speech so
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I put him up there and he said good old
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line and that was it that was his speech
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so that's probably what you'll get out
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of him when he gets in here tonight I
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said are you excited he said
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yeah well he gave a speech then he
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didn't give one last week he said
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nothing last week this week he gave a
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long speech and said Good Old Line can
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you quantify just how much better
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receiver he is now than when he got here
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when when he wanted well um High School
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backs don't protect because they always
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run the ball and usually most of the
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teams don't have a a passing game where
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you throw to the back you throw it down
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field so they don't catch much and one
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of the things he said last year and this
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is how special he is he said I need to
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get better at pass protection I need to
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get better at running routes and and
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catching the ball out of the back field
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and and he's so hard to tackle oneon-one
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when you get him in space and and I want
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us to keep doing that because that's
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where he's so dangerous and it's he's
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he's tough up inside but so many of his
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yards are after contact and in the third
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quarter we were looking up and handing
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it to him and there was nothing there
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and we were second two cuz he's just so
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powerful so that that's the kind of
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special back you've got then I was glad
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to see Darwin Barlo get in he's really
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fast and and hopefully he didn't get
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hurt again tonight but we'll need him
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here in the stretch at the end we got
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time for two more think back to when you
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guys were recruiting Bo ainson calling
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him Thor back in the day I mean he was
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dang near unblockable at times tonight
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like what what stood out to you about
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the way he played because I mean the
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first half especially he was he was all
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over the place yeah they've they've got
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a special package where they put he and
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Dez and Javari and and Cayman uh in on
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on third Downs for pass rush all those
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guys are special pass rushers and and um
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I thought they hell came and and and Dez
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a couple of times tonight because
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they're just all over the quarterback
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and and they're just affecting the
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passer more than like we thought we
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would and like we've always said stop
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the run and affect the quarterback and
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and that's what we've done here for the
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last two
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weeks with Bo and the rest of them B's A
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B's a special player and we're we're
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we're actually doing what we've been
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talking about doing for six week or six
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years we're playing a lot of players so
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B's fresh Dez is fresh all those
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defensive mindor are rolling it's 85
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degrees out there tonight it is so hot
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and and and the fact that you keep the
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ball for a 93 yard Drive lets your
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defense rest uh so that that's uh the
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the the the football that that we wanted
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to play to help each other and and
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that's what we we've done the last two
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weeks we we've played really good team
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ball and and that's helped us a lot
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that's the psycho package right I'm
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sorry psycho package yes yeah no
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question you talking about uh you Barlo
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obviously getting into there at the end
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where is he kind of at right now I know
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he obviously missed a lot of time um you
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know but I guess as you guys try to work
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him back you know what's his I guess
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percentage wise is he right now yeah he
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um I I think he and and bullet right now
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are are ready to arrest Omarian when
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he's on a roll like he was tonight it's
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hard to get him out and he doesn't want
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to come out you know so and we wanted
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him to to break Nate and and uh Ethan's
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record tonight as well and he gained
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more than 3,000 yards in career I mean
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this was a a box night for him he
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checked all the boxes and he's really
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really happy about it uh but I I really
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think that uh Barlo so fast and he
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showed that at the end of the the game
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uh when we were trying to run the clock
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out that I feel like he'll have some
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special moments here the last three
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games did Natron have a reaction to a
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Mar c Natron said you should have given
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it to me more and I said no you you were
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griping wanting to get out so that was
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it is it a bad time for a b week no it's
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a great time for us because we just for
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health um and I I do believe this team
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moving forward um will continue to get
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better with jacobe Criswell continuing
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to get better and he just he's gotten
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more patience he made some plays with
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his feet tonight oh yeah he checked us
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some key plays he killed the clock in
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the fourth quarter when we needed him to
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he's really starting to become become
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that complete quarterback and uh
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I'm excited about that I can if I can
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ask one more about that Jacobi said he
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made a ton of progress during the last
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by week so you're looking at this week
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as an opportunity for him to make a
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similar step forward yes without
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question um and and normally I wouldn't
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say we needed to but this team's just
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getting better and and they're they're
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um they still know there's things out
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there they've got to do um and and I
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also believe that U um the the other
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thing with trans for portly you got so
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many young players that need to be
15:31
coached my dream was never and they need
15:34
to be able to see what it's going to be
15:36
for them in the spring and for next year
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so they don't want to transfer cuz I'm
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telling you there's agents calling kids
15:42
every day saying I don't know how much
15:44
you're playing would you like to
15:46
transfer to this school and we get calls
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every day it's unbelievable from kids
15:52
playing um that that are their agents
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are saying would you be interested in so
15:58
so I said he's not in the portal so but
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agents are talking to agents and that's
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that's happening more than ever before
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so you you are having to continue to
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recruit your own roster all righty thank
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you coach