Phil Longo explains two-point play-call, confidence and talks impact of Charlie Heck.
What'd you see on the two-point play that led you to run the option?
Well, you know, every week we put together a goal-line playlist and usually your two best goal-line playlist plays, maybe your three best, are your choices for the two-point play. We had one that we were going to run out of our base offense in trips, but we scored with the RB in one game this year. The other one that we ran that same play was the touchdown catch that won the Miami game.
So, we had that play produce two touchdowns for us in two of the last four games, and Clemson has an excellent staff, and I just felt like that wasn't going to be the right call at the three-yard line because what they do defensively, it can create some issues at the three. We like that play maybe from the seven or the 10, but that was one of the calls. The reason we didn't go with it is I just think they had their guys coached up. They knew that we ran that twice and it was productive for us down there.
So, it really was the third choice. The second choice was the play we ran and the first choice for us as the two-point play, we exhausted that trying to score. That was the catch that (Jake) Bargas caught, you know, the great catch on the one-inch line there. That would've been my first choice as the two-point play.
Was the option play the same one you used for South Carolina?
No, and everybody kept saying that. We ran straight speed option at South Carolina on a two-point conversion and it was a check by Sam Howell.
So, we had a play called and if they gave us a certain look where we had great numbers, he made the call to run the speed option. We ran a very simple speed option, and he optioned off the D-end. Well, he didn't have to pitch it. He worked off the D-end and then he scored. This one was a true triple option play. So, we could've given the ball to Javonte (Williams), we could pull it if the end crashed and we were going to pitch off the safety.
The defensive end at Clemson made a great play. I mean, he did. He came down, gave us enough of a look where Sam pulled it and then rocked back out and just athletically he tracked Sam back down the line of scrimmage and got to him before Sam was able to square his shoulders and get up field. He tried to muscle it in. He gave it his best effort. I don't know how he got that ball out to try to even pitch it at the end when he was wrapped up, but the safety triggered to the pitch man, so Sam had to keep it and the D-end caught him. That's what happened on the triple option.
Do you have to fight against dwelling on why that play didn't work or maybe why you didn't choose something else or is it just another play?
I mean, there's nothing to dwell on. I had three choices. One of them I just thought, schematically, was going to be well worked on and well defended. We carried it into the game to run it from further out. It was a choice because it's been such a good play for us, but I don't think it was the right move down there. The play we really wanted to use, you know, when you're driving to score the touchdown to keep yourself in the game at the end there, we're in a nine-minute or an eight and a half-minute drive that stemmed most of the quarter and got us all the way down to the one-inch line, the play that got us to the one-inch line was really our top two-point play, but at that point, the priority is to score the touchdown and then you worry about the two-point after that. It didn't get us in. It got us to the one-inch line. Javonte (Williams) punched it in after that, and so we had to go to our second choice and it was the triple option, but I have confidence in the play or I wouldn't have called it.
So, it's a great call and I'm a genius when we score and it's a terrible call when we don't, and obviously, I'm not happy that we didn't get in, but right now, my focus is on Georgia Tech. That's what I would expect out of our players and that's what I need to do.
Moving forward regardless of the result of the play, what do you think it does for your guys to see that decisiveness?
Well, I think right now, I think we have - I don't know the numbers, I didn't look at them - I'm going to guess we're nine of 11 on fourth down or seven of nine on fourth down, and that is Coach Brown's aggressiveness. It changes how I call third down. If we have third down and eight and I have two downs, I may call a play to get us five or six yards because I know after a certain point we're going to have four downs. So, it helps me be a better play caller. It doesn't necessarily mean that we always have to try to get to the sticks on third and eight. So, while our third and long percentage is a little lower, it gets better when we get all those fourth downs we've had, and the fact that he calls the game so aggressively, helps my job as a play caller.
So, going for the two and going for the win after playing Clemson so well here I think is just in theme with the way he's called just about every game.
Is that aggressiveness something Mack Brown laid out early and therefore helps you with scheming during the week or is just a game day type deal?
No, it's from the get go. When he had this discussion with us, it's his mindset. It's based on some statistical analysis, but it's also based on the fact that he has confidence in our players, both on the offensive side and on the defensive side, and he has confidence in the plan that the staff comes up with each week. He's going to try to win every football game, and I don't think you'll see that change. That's his philosophy and that's our staff's philosophy.
What'd you like from the offensive line this week and the rushing game?
That was the best thing that came out of this game. For the first time, I thought there was legitimate continuity up front. We battled a very good defensive line. We did a number of things up front. We did some progressive things. We made some adjustments and we did some things that we hadn't done maybe in weeks prior and we were physical. So, that was a huge positive from the game. It allowed the running backs to beat the line of scrimmage, and then Michael (Carter) and Javonte (Williams) are so talented that if you can beat the line of scrimmage, and I've said that a number of times, if you can beat the line of scrimmage with those guys, you have a good shot at running the football.
Did you see Charlie Heck's impact that he had?
Yeah, and I said this in the staff room, too. Charlie helped us physically on the field, but Charlie also, just his presence on the sideline and his leadership and the fact that he was back. There's an incredible value in Charlie off the field, as well, and I thought we kind of felt that on Saturday, too, especially with the offensive line.
You've had some success with the inside runs. How much better was Ed Montilus this week?
Ed was better. You know, Coach (Stacey) Searels, like all of our guys, we're spelling people. We're rep counting and we're trying to get some rest to those guys who really need it. You have some players that can just go and they can get all 85 reps and they won't be as fresh though as if you give them 60. You know what I mean? And then you have other that can't. These big men are carrying 305, 310, 315 pounds and we're running in tempo. So, we're doing a good job now, I think. We have continuity at the front five, we're rolling through the guys to give them a break when we need to, we're settling down at center and we've got much better overall, the word is continuity for the offensive line. I think, and this is what I've been waiting for as a coordinator, I think we're ready to take another step offensively here. I think it's going to open up some things for our skill players.
Going into the huddle to save some of those guys a little bit. Was it also a means to shrink the game?
"It did a few things. It helps us kind of conceal what we're trying to signal. I think it helps us slow the game down to minimize reps for the defense. I think, you know, another benefit that we got on Saturday was that it gave our guys time to breathe. It was a little bit of an adjustment though because our guys are used to going and they want to go and they know what the advantage is when the other side is more fatigued than we are, but those were three of the advantages that we got out of game planning and getting ready for Clemson. I thought it worked and helped us the way we wanted it to on Saturday.
Was there a concern with Clemson trying to take signals? Is that always a concern?
Oh, I don't know. That's a concern every week with anybody, you know? It is what it is. It's part of the game, but it did give us a little bit of rest, too. It also gave Sam maybe a little bit of an opportunity to interact with the guys a little bit, and that's something you lose when you're in no huddle, and then one other thing I think is changing the tempo for us because we went some tempo in between some of our sugar huddle stuff and that change up was an advantage for us. A few times we popped some bigger runs because we got lined up and we snapped it before they got lined up. So, there were a number of things that we were hoping to get from it and it worked for us on Saturday.
Were you able to get something from Sam and him from you when he was coming over to the sideline to get the play?
Old school, like 30, 40 years ago. That's how you used to run plays, but when he's close enough and he's on the boundary, we interact a lot with signals and body language, but he was close and we didn't mind. We were trying to draw the clock down. So, to bring him over and to be able to converse with him a little bit about what we wanted to do was just helpful. I don't see us doing a lot of that, but Saturday, it was an advantage and so we did it.
Were there times where you sent a player into the huddle with a play?
We did that one time. I think Javonte (Williams) looked at me like I was losing my mind, but we gave him a play, and they're not used to it. That's not what we do, but we wanted to get Javonte out there. I gave him the play so I didn't have to signal it and it was a productive play for us. So, it went just fine.
With that nine-minute drive, did you think that might take the rest of the game like that?
You don't ever plan a nine-minute drive, but the fact that we were in some of the sugar huddle stuff, it took some more time. The fact that we exhausted all four downs to turn the chains a couple of times, that takes some time, and it just happened to work out that way. I think when we were down there with 2:20 left, Coach Brown and I were actually talking about he brought up to me, 'Hey, let's see if we can drain this the whole way.' The priority there was scoring.
The second priority was trying to drain that clock so we didn't have to put Jay (Bateman) back out on the field, the defense. It's a credit to the offense. I think it was 15, 16 plays. They've done that a few times. We need to finish them. That's where we want to be.
At what point did you know Charlie was going to play?
Pretty early in the week.
How did you find out?
Well, I mean, he went and he tested it. They put a club on and as the week went on he just felt good about it and decided that he was going to take a shot at it and he felt good on Saturday. So, he played and he played fairly well.
What has Charlie Heck meant to this offensive line?
Well, he's the veteran, he's the oldest guy, he's probably one of our most consistent players. I think those guys in the room look up to him. So, as I said earlier, he's just as much of a presence there on the sideline as he was a player. So, he was a benefit two-fold and those guys are glad just to have him back and have his leadership back, and then he was productive on the field for us. So, it's good to have Heck back in the lineup.
Georgia Tech has allowed the most rushing yards, but the fewest passing yards in the ACC...
You know, it's deceiving because a lot of people have chosen to run the ball on them. So, they're running the ball a lot. That helps their pass defense. I think we're going to do what we always do. We're going to try to establish the run game, okay? and we're going to try to establish the line of scrimmage and beyond that, if they give something up, we're going to try to take it. If that means through the air, it'll be through the air. If they're going to let us run the football all day, then we're going to run the football. It's hard to tell you what we're going to do game plan wise until we get out there on Saturday because really what they do dictates where we're going to attack.
What have you seen that Georgia Tech's done well on defense?
The game that we're watching the most is their game against Clemson.
There are some guys up on the defensive line that are twitchy and they can change directions and they're physical, 97 being one of them. 52 does a good job. 89 is a guy that comes in on the second tier and he does a good job. 41 is a lighter guy, but he has great speed and great change of direction. He can be a headache on the edge. They actually played Clemson very hard, I thought, especially early on in the game. So, they're a concern. We've got our hands full up front.
In the secondary, they haven't been challenged as much I think because of the fact that they've been giving up some run plays. If we have an opportunity to challenge them with some of our people, we will. If we're running the ball well, you may see us do that for four quarters.
