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00:00 first touchdown it seemed like everybody wanted to get to the end zone.
00:04 You guys pride yourself on getting down the field as a line, helping who are,
00:09 whoever it might be, get a little extra yard and how much fun was it to kind of,
00:13 it was almost like it seemed like a race to get to it.
00:16 >> Yeah, that's always kind of our mentality is to get to the ball,
00:19 follow the ball, chase the ball.
00:20 Coach Owens does a great job of instilling that mentality in us and
00:24 really don't let your guy get on the pile, don't let them make the play.
00:28 And for me on that one, I was chasing the ball cuz I didn't really get
00:32 the backside cut off.
00:33 So I wanted to try and make up for that and saw Mike was the first one there.
00:38 And then as you saw, everyone kind of got there.
00:40 We wanna do whatever we can to help Jowar, Isaac, Maurice,
00:44 all those guys who have raised the ball.
00:45 So yeah, it's trying to be high effort however we can.
00:49 >> Mason, it looks like you're getting healthy, Jermaine, Jared Dawson.
00:56 I mean, you've got a ton of bodies up there on the defensive line now.
01:00 How does that, I guess it motivates you the time you're in to go all out,
01:06 because who knows how many plays you're gonna get.
01:08 Is that kind of the way all you guys are operating now?
01:10 >> Yeah, I mean, it's really awesome to see everybody getting back healthy.
01:14 Obviously, you never wanna see people be injured.
01:17 You never wanna see people deal with those things.
01:20 Me specifically, I've just found it to be good to be able to come back.
01:27 I've enjoyed every opportunity I've had.
01:29 I know all the other guys are doing the same thing.
01:31 So it's really awesome to be 100% in the D line room.
01:35 >> Mason, what did the Notre Dame game do for you?
01:40 I mean, they have offensive linemen who have automatically been top ten picks.
01:44 And Hartman hadn't been sacked that much there, and
01:47 you were back there quite a bit.
01:48 Kind of for your confidence, how much of a boost was it moving forward?
01:52 >> Yeah, good boost.
01:54 My first game back, I played a little bit in the Boston College game.
01:57 And that was just knocking the rust off, having some time.
02:00 But I was just playing the game that I've always played,
02:04 doing what I knew I could do, doing what my coaches are confident in putting me
02:08 in the game, knowing that I can do.
02:10 So yeah, it was a good game for sure, but not satisfied at all.
02:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]
02:21 >> Go ahead, Lance.
02:23 >> Mason, I'm Devin, you'll play with Kyron at Baylor.
02:26 I wanted to know if you said anything about Kyron at all, or
02:29 what's kind of the scouting part right now on Kyron,
02:32 what you guys have seen from him?
02:35 >> Yeah, we're just going through breaking him down.
02:38 Just gonna be another game for us where we focus on what we gotta do.
02:43 It doesn't really matter who the opponent is.
02:45 Yeah, you scout for him, and you go through and
02:48 add that to the game plan a little bit.
02:50 But at the end of the day, it's our game.
02:51 And as long as we play the game defensively that we know we can,
02:55 we'll just go in there and be able to take care of business for sure.
02:57 >> Mason, kind of to follow up on that though,
03:00 when you do have an opposing quarterback who's physical, can run,
03:04 is gonna come at you, how much of a challenge is that?
03:06 Obviously, you need to be a little bit more disciplined.
03:08 Is it a little more challenging to stay disciplined like that when you know
03:11 you can take it on?
03:12 >> I wouldn't say it's more challenging.
03:14 We've played some good quarterbacks already this year.
03:17 Some guys that are dual threat can do it both in the air and with their legs.
03:22 Like I said, as long as we play our game and
03:24 focus on what we need to do defensively, I don't think there's really anybody in
03:28 the country that is gonna be a problem for
03:30 us as long as we do what we know we can do and play our game.
03:34 Like you said, yeah, he's a good quarterback, but at the end of the day,
03:37 it's up to us and our game.
03:39 As long as we do right, we'll be fine.
03:40 >> Mason, you made a comment that you're not anywhere near where you think you
03:45 should be, what do you have to do to get better and
03:48 the defense seems to be getting better as a whole week in and week out.
03:53 What are you doing better and what do you have to do?
03:58 >> I'd say just more reps, just practice reps.
04:02 I think as a team, offensively and defensively,
04:06 we're getting better each week of the season.
04:07 I mean, it's easy to see that from the public eye.
04:12 Defensively, specifically, like you said, we just need more reps.
04:15 We're getting better each week,
04:18 proving to the country that we are the best defense in the country.
04:21 And that's just what we need to continue to focus on doing and
04:24 keep proving that to everybody else.
04:27 >> Eric, the first full game, well, obviously,
04:29 Isbergi didn't play, but with Granado's injury, it happened so fast.
04:33 You guys were prepared all week without him.
04:36 Just talk about missing him first and then Austin filling in.
04:40 You got some other guys and reps.
04:41 >> Yeah, obviously, that was a tough moment for all of us.
04:44 Granado's such a leader for us.
04:47 He's been around here for a long time and kind of an emotional leader for us.
04:50 And he's still helping us the best he can and
04:56 we want him to get back as soon as he can.
04:59 >> Give him that mic.
05:00 Yes, share that mic.
05:01 >> [INAUDIBLE]
05:04 >> But yeah, that was tough.
05:06 And obviously, Austin stepped in at halftime of the Notre Dame game,
05:09 played the whole Pitt game.
05:10 And then this was really the first week that he knew he was gonna go in and
05:14 play the whole game.
05:15 So he did a great job.
05:16 And then we played eight offensive linemen on Saturday.
05:19 JP, Josh Black, Trey got in as well.
05:22 And to have that depth is something that we built starting back
05:27 when we all got here at the end of May, early June.
05:30 And being able to have that as an offensive line is great.
05:33 We have guys moving around, playing different spots.
05:36 And as we get deeper into the season, getting everybody reps,
05:40 game reps are different than practice reps.
05:42 So being able to kind of build that depth through game speed is great.
05:46 Whoever's called upon is gonna be ready.
05:49 >> Hey, this is for both of you guys.
05:54 The path to the ACC title game is clear cut now.
05:59 If you win these three games, then you're in.
06:02 How much, if any, in the locker room have you guys talked about it?
06:07 And how do you kind of, I guess,
06:09 balance chasing that goal with Coach Braum and the mantra of one game season?
06:15 >> Yeah, I mean, it's out there.
06:17 It's kinda in the back of everyone's mind.
06:20 But the forefront is it's a one game season.
06:22 Like Coach Braum, everyone's talked about all season.
06:25 And having that mentality of Virginia Tech's the only game on our schedule
06:29 right now.
06:29 So we're not really concerned with other things.
06:32 And if people on social media wanna forecast and all that, that's great.
06:37 But in this building, we're concerned about playing Virginia Tech and
06:40 doing what we have to to win on Saturday.
06:43 Because we've seen what's happened when maybe we have some letdowns.
06:47 So trying to avoid that, just have a good week of practice and
06:50 go in on Saturday and have another great opportunity.
06:54 >> Yeah, I'd agree.
06:58 I'd say everyone's gonna talk about it.
07:00 But like Eric said, it's up to us and what we do.
07:04 So we think of it as just one game.
07:07 Everyone's gonna say, if this piece loses and we win this and all that.
07:12 But that's all just talk.
07:14 If we just take care of what we need to do and win our game each week,
07:17 prepare for it, go out on Saturday, come out with the win, we'll be fine.
07:21 We'll be in the position that we wanted to be from the beginning.
07:26 >> This one's for both you guys.
07:27 How would you describe the attitude and physicality of your position groups?
07:31 Try to bring a set of tone each game,
07:34 because it seems like especially against Duke and Notre Dame,
07:36 two teams that pride themselves on those things.
07:39 You established it pretty early that you would dictate how that game's gonna go.
07:42 >> Yeah, it's definitely something we take pride in.
07:45 That starts during the week of practice.
07:46 We have a lot of great battles with Mason, Ashton, Steven, Jermaine,
07:51 all those guys, they make us better.
07:54 We think we make them better too.
07:55 The one-on-one pass rush every Tuesday, Wednesday is a fun ten minutes.
07:59 And we get to compete against them, and that kind of sets the tone for the week.
08:03 And we want everything starts up front, offensively and
08:06 defensively, how you block, how you tackle.
08:08 So we know the game kind of starts and ends with us.
08:12 So we wanna take pride in that and kind of be leaders for this team and
08:17 keep that going through the rest of the season.
08:19 >> Yeah, we definitely take pride in the trenches pre-game warm-ups.
08:23 We come together, we do our reps.
08:25 Against each other a little bit just to warm up, but
08:27 then we break it down on trenches.
08:28 Because like Eric said, it does start up front.
08:31 We can set the tone offensively and defensively on the line.
08:36 So if we can dominate the line of scrimmage,
08:38 then more than likely we will dominate the game.
08:40 >> Basically kind of going off of that, talk about setting the tone.
08:44 Obviously only one team has scored on you guys in the first quarter of the season.
08:48 Is it just an energy thing, or
08:49 what do you attribute to kind of getting off to kind of start like that in those
08:52 games, and how do you keep that going against Virginia Tech?
08:55 >> Definitely an energy thing.
08:56 We come out ready to play.
08:59 We wanna start fast.
09:00 We pride ourselves on that.
09:02 Start fast, finish strong, finish fast, all of that.
09:05 We know that we come out and play with energy.
09:07 If you turn on the tape, you can see our defense flying to the ball,
09:11 unlike really any other defense in the country.
09:13 I mean, we get 11 hats to the ball every play,
09:16 because that's who we pride ourselves on as a defense.
09:18 Just being the Red Swarm, being who we are, and
09:21 making sure that we take care of business defensively.
09:24 >> Eric, I have to ask, in between the third and
09:28 fourth quarter when the Jokers played,
09:30 the offensive line seems to have a little more fun than, I mean,
09:33 everybody's having fun.
09:34 The offensive line seems to, is that something that you all have talked about,
09:38 or did it just happen, and how did it kind of start?
09:41 >> Yeah, absolutely, we definitely have a lot of fun with it.
09:46 Kind of just happened, I think it started really the Murray State game.
09:49 A lot of guys were really getting into it, and
09:52 it's kind of progressed week over week.
09:54 Not something that we're prepping for, but
09:57 it's cool to see just kind of the energy from the whole sideline.
10:00 And the whole crowd, the whole stadium, it's really kind of taken on a life of
10:04 its own, and having big games brings about big energy.
10:09 So the next game's the biggest game on our schedule, so
10:12 we'll see what it looks like on Saturday.
10:15 >> All right, thanks, man.