Mike London Postgame Quotes - Miamia Game

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Nov. 10, 2012

Virginia vs. Miami
Nov. 10, 2012
Virginia Coach Mike London Quotes

Opening Statement:
“First, I’d just like to say what a blessing that is to see something like that come to fruition at the end of the game, where there have been a couple of times we’ve come on the short end of that: muffed punt, or interception or something. To see the players and coaches be really resilient, I’m just so elated, so happy for those guys. Whether it is politically correct or not, I feel a tremendous blessing just occurred out there on that field, which is great to see. It was a great day for the program. I know we are what the record is, but at the same time, we’ve been struggling like that. You take a victory against a Coastal (Division) leader. I thought we played very well.”

On Jake McGee:
“Jake is everything we thought he could be. You ask the question, ‘when’s the last time you’ve seen a tight end that effective?’ and of course, Heath Miller was here. You can put Jake out in a slot formation, and defenses have to decide whether or not they want to put a linebacker on him. Obviously, there’s a mismatch because of the speed. They may put a safety on him. There’s a mismatch because of his height. You move him around and do different things. You catch him in a blitz; you catch him in zone coverage and man-to-man coverage. Sometimes you get the matchup that you want. We got a couple of them today. Like I said, he puts bricks in his pockets to try to gain weight. He’s going to have to gain some more weight, but I think he’ll be a good player for us.”

On Dominique Terrell:
“Our offense is just predicated upon the reads and coverages, and guys fitting into those windows. It seemed like today, whether he was the primary or secondary read, he was in position to make some of those catches. Again, another good game for him. You never know who’s going to step up and be counted on. You just have to be ready. Today looked like his day, and a Jake McGee day and a Michael Rocco day.”

On Michael Rocco:
“I think that Michael has done an outstanding job the last couple games. We talk about how selfless he is. He’s a team player. He wants to win. He has a great relationship with Phil (Sims). No one cares about who gets the credit; we just want to win ball games. He has a great understanding of the offense. Part of this time that we traveled down this season, you have to ask him, but it may have been a benefit to him as far as watching but also competing. The thing that makes everyone better is when you have to compete. Like I said, I think that may be a record, and very deserving. He’s a great teammate. I think he and Jake McGee are best friends. That’s probably why Jake got so many catches. He’s looking out for his best friend.”

On coming back from six straight losses:
“I knew that these players don’t quit. I knew that you go back and look and you’re a play or two away, a third down conversion, or whatever it may be. Sometimes you can’t measure desire and you can’t measure heart. It’s tough when things don’t go your way. The players look to leadership to see if we’re going to tank it, or if we’re going to stay positive. I’m an eternal optimist. I choose to be positive. If you can reflect that with the young men you’re in charge of and responsible for, and you set the tone and the atmosphere of ‘you can if we do this and we do that’ and accept nothing less — whether it’s in the classroom, whether it’s in the community, or whether it’s on the field — then, you set a culture that all things happening on the negative side for us, you just believe things can turn around. Again, against a very good Miami team today, we turned a corner.”

On Miami’s play:
“In regards to the coverage, we knew that their safeties were playing relatively deep. The crossers and the underneaths and the high-low combinations were there. Sometimes, you throw the ball in the flats. With the short passing game, you create a one-on-one situation, if it occurs, and that happened today when a couple balls were thrown five or three yard flat routes that turned into nine or 10 yards. I think that’s the way they play their coverage. Again, it goes back to a guy who knows how to throw in the windows.”