Larry Scott Pregame Press Conference: Pittsburgh

Courtesy UM

Opening Statement…

“How’s everyone doing? [We had] another good afternoon. The guys came out and had a lot of energy. It was a spirited practice, a spirited hour and a half or so. They really attacked the day. We outlined it again for them, and they went out and did it, and they did it with a lot of spirit and a lot of energy. I just love where we are right now, and I’m excited about the week and continuing preparation, getting on that plane and going up and doing this thing and finishing the regular season the right way.”

On the play of Pitt wide receiver Tyler Boyd and the Panthers as a team…

“He’s extremely talented, and he does everything well. There’s not just one thing you point at and look at it, and say, ‘Okay, he does this well, but he doesn’t do this very well.’ He’s a really good route-runner, attacks the football, catches everything, he’s physical when he needs to be physical, great on the perimeter blocking. They find a million different ways to get him the football – putting him in the backfield and handing it to him, speed sweeping and handing it to him, throwing him bubbles and throwing him screens, and then throwing the ball downfield to him. Obviously they think the world of him in their offense, and feel like they have to get him the ball to make a difference. You can see it on film – he’s a special player.”

“My impressions of them [are] they’re well-coached, physical, and it really looks like they’re finding a groove and playing good football on both sides of the football, offense and defense. They really seem to be getting in sync under their quarterback [Nate] Peterman - he’s doing a really good job with the football, both throwing it and if things break down, creating plays with his feet and running a little bit too. They bring [Chad] Voytik, their backup quarterback, in to do some quarterback runs and different things with him. They’re finding a groove in a lot of different ways and finding a way to move the football on offense. Defensively, they’re tough. They’re rugged up front and have a big defensive line. It looks like they really trust their secondary with coverages. They sometimes put more in the box, dedicating another safety to the box to stop the run, and putting a lot of weight on their corners and safeties. Obviously they trust those kids and the system that they’re in. But they’re well coached, they’re where they’re supposed to be, and when you look at the film you say, ‘Wow, what a tough football team.’”

On Pitt defensive end Ejuan Price, who leads the ACC with 11.5 sacks…

“He’s a guy you better be aware of. Depending on the situations and how we’re doing things, you better just know where he is and make sure you can find No. 5. He deserves it, ultimately. When you watch film, he making a lot of plays for them defensively, he gets after the quarterback – I think he had five sacks last week in that [Louisville] game. You better know where he is, and make sure you have a plan to neutralize him.”

On Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead, who is now playing both offense and defense…

“[Playing both sides] is real difficult, so that tells you what kind of athlete he is. Not only that, but what kind of football intelligence he has, to be able to play safety and then go back and play some slot receiver, running back-type of things –obviously he’s a very talented player. He brings a skillset to the game that makes him very versatile, and they can do a lot with him, playing him on both sides of the ball. And he’s able to retain the information, so he must be a smart football player and have a high football IQ. It says a lot about that kid.”

On how the team is planning on spending Thanksgiving…

“Together in a hotel getting ready to play Pittsburgh, that’s what we’ll do. If you think about it, even as a kid or just as a football fan, usually those are the days and those are the times you want to be playing football. Families are all together at home, they’re in front of the television and watching football. The University of Miami has another opportunity the day after Thanksgiving to put our brand on national TV and go out and represent our community, our school and our university. What an awesome opportunity for our kids.”

On what he is thankful for…

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to still be here. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be at the University of Miami. I’m thankful for the opportunity for my family and the situation that we’re all in. We’re still fortunate. Through it all, we’re still very fortunate to do what we do at such a great institution. We’re very fortunate and thankful for that.”

On if different kickoff times affect any preparation or mindset…

“Give us a time and we’ll show up. We have to get on the plane, get on the bus. Give us a time and we’ll adjust, as long as we know far enough in advance so we can move some things around to make sure the team’s ready to go. Give us a time. Walmart parking lot, Sears parking lot, wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just give us the time and date, the bus will pull off and we’ll get off. We’ll put our pads on and go to work.”

On if he has a preference about a bowl game…

“No, we’re just fortunate enough to be in one. There are a lot of football teams that will be sitting at home watching bowl teams play. Fortunately enough, we’re not one of them.”