Virginia's Bronco Mendenhall Previews Wolfpack

Here is what Virginia football coach Bronco Mendenhall had to say about Saturday's ACC matchup between the NC State and his Cavaliers in Charlottesville

Virginia football coach Bronco Mendenhall met with the media on Monday to preview his team's matchup against NC State in Charlottesville.

Here is what he had to say about the pivotal matchup between the Wolfpack and his Cavaliers, who are 1-1 after last Saturday's 41-23 loss at Clemson:

How much do you know about a program like NC State that you play so infrequently?

"Not very much. And as much reading or as much as you know the head coach, or as much as you think (you know), until you play a team, their true identity, their true character, just kind of the culture of the program, you don’t see, you don’t feel and you don’t know up close and personal. 

"It might have been my first year or second year we played at NC State. But knowing that program then is still significantly different as coordinators have changed since then, and personnel have changed. And so, with that identities can change also. So it’s difficult. And there are certainly some unknowns, and certainly adjusting that happens, just as the game plays out. And even though they’re in our league, even though there’s exchanges and you see him on film on occasion, it’s not the same as preparing for when we’re playing them."

What have you seen from NC State on the offensive side of the ball, especially since it has used so many different players because of the coronavirus?

"I think they’re doing a nice job of adapting, just like every program is expected to do. And really that’s the bottom line. In terms of this 2020 year, with the uncertainty of your own roster, of your own coaching staff… because we’re all vulnerable to the virus. It’s hard to tell when you might get it, and so adaptability is huge. 

"I think North Carolina State has done a nice job managing three different distinct opponents with different rosters. This is just the beginning for all of us. So I think so far they’ve done a very effective job."

Other than the roster changes that NC State has dealt with, what has impressed you about the Wolfpack?

"I think they’re tough. I think they’re competitive, and certainly they’re well coached. So Dave (Doeren) has done a really nice job with changes in personnel and coordinators in his time at NC State, and that’s hard. When you bring a staff with you, and you get culture and identity and direction set, especially with coordinators, if there’s a change there and if there happens to be new terminology and new systems, and if you still maintain success, regardless of other coaches around you or personnel, it reflects more of a program approach and more of a leadership emphasis. 

"So I think that’s just the thing I would say is there’s different styles of play on offense and defense from when we played them last time. There’s probably been a change in between there that we just didn’t see because we didn’t play. But similar toughness, similar competitive spirit, similar resilience and I think that’s attributed to their head coach."  

When you see former assistant and current NC State special assistant Ruffin McNeill on Saturday, will it be strange not to be able to hug him?

"I’m not sure it’s possible. I mean, I might have to put two masks on, but I don’t think it’s possible not to hug him. It’ll be so good to see Ruff and he’s one of my favorite people on the planet. I’ve never heard someone say that he loves someone after like three seconds of meeting him when the other person actually thinks he does, you know. He just has this way of warmth and engaging and, yeah, we used to have a segment when he was here when he would present to the team, even though I was the head coach, he was a different kind of dangerous every day. 

"So, he might be gratefully dangerous, you know, or he might be, I don’t know, getting ready to go on vacation dangerous, or he might be anniversary dangerous and the team used to just love the way he would teach in his own language, his own way. He could admonish a player in ways I could never even imagine, and they still loved him, even though he was hard on them. It’s just his magical personality."  

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