Phil Longo previews Clemson, talks offensive line performance and explains why two-minute drill is successful

The offensive coordinator is working with youngest line of his career

Is the offensive line that you guys started the other night, is that the least experienced group of five that you've ever gone into a game with? They had 10 career starts going in. 

Probably. I didn't go compare it to other years or teams, but I think we know that as a staff going in with regards to a number of starts and experience and our age and the years that our guys are in. So it's a process, you know what I mean? It's just like building the offense or building the team. You're doing that with each unit, too. And I think the key for us is not to lose sight of the process. We just said to make sure we know where we're going. We have a plan, we believe in the plan, we like it. And you know, if there are growing pains on the way there, that's the way it is.

But the good thing in the process is that our guys are working their butts off and we are getting better and we're doing things better that we didn't do well last week or the week before and we've got to keep doing that. And eventually those improvements are going to pay off for us.

How would you evaluate the offensive line’s play? 

Stacy comes in after grading them all and I look at them. We watch them as an offensive staff. I think we felt like we did some good things. We did a better job protecting Sam. You know, you got to see a little bit of what we can do down the field when Sam is protected.

I thought we were able to get into some space with the receivers and those guys made some plays. We did some nice things in the run game in the second half at the O-line spot. You know, maybe we would like to be a little more consistent and I think because we're moving different people, you lose continuity when you're moving people around. The thing that I hope for this year is that we're able to keep the same five or six or seven guys now and we get them locked in and we play with a little bit more continuity because you're making calls and you're talking to people next to each other and you get used to playing next to somebody and you trust somebody. And when you have to move people around a little bit, it hurts the continuity.

So I think we're starting — I hope we're starting — to settle in and develop some continuity up front.

Can you explain why Billy Ross got most of the second-half snaps ahead of Ed Montilus? 

Yeah, just to spell some guys. It's just like we do at wide receiver or running back. We want to keep everybody fresh and as guys start to earn the right to get on the field in terms of the way they're practicing and executing, then we'll play more guys at every position. That's the philosophy at every position.

So if we get to a point where we have eight linemen, we play eight linemen. If we get to a point where we have six or seven receivers, we'll play that many. We're not going to play them by default. And if we have to roll through four at the receiver spot and five or six at O-line, we will. But as they get better and they kind of meet this standard that we have in their room, then they go into the rotation and we're going to play more so that we're fresh.

Where was the mistake made on the sack-fumble and what was supposed to happen on that play? 

We have two linemen that are going to slide and then drop. We didn't drop quick enough and they kind of folded inside and it slowed us a little bit in terms of ID’ing it. We didn't drop and get out in front of it. I think Sam could've stayed on the move a little bit. There are scenarios where you have to pull up and step underneath. I'm not sure if that was one where we had to, so it was a little bit of everybody. They brought two off the edge and we should have been able to handle it and we didn’t.

As far as Clemson goes, what is going to be most important to give UNC a chance to win? 

You know, you're going to get bored with me every week. I tell you pretty much the same thing, but we have to secure the football. You know, last week we were really happy offensive output-wise, production wise. We were really good in the red zone. We were good on fourth down, we were good on third down. We minimized some penalties. We still had two snap infractions, but overall, I think it was 20 yards in penalties on the offensive side. We ran the ball, especially when we wanted to, we ran the ball a little bit better. We protected better.

But the single biggest statistic that impacts wins and losses is turnovers and we were minus-two last week and particularly the two in the first half really put us behind the eight ball a little bit. I think if we could have a couple of drops and those turnovers back, we feel really, really good about our game on the offensive side.

What does Clemson do best?

We identify three guys every week just schematically or personnel-wise that we want to attack. There aren't three guys this week. I mean they're solid. Corners are really good. Safeties are good. Defensive line is different than the D-line that they had. You know, they had those four freaks last year, but they're extremely well-coached. 

I heard Coach Brown talking and he's describing the team exactly the way we see it. They’re physical, they pursue well, they have good lateral movement. They squeeze grass. They're going to give you a little bit and then squeeze it because they're so athletic. They can be out of position a little bit and change direction and maybe recover a little better than some other teams.That's the benefit to having 11 good athletes out there.

So with regards to being successful against them, we have to protect the football and we've got to be really, really precise about what we're doing with the trigger quickly. Passes, can't errant. We've got to hit the grass and hit holes when they're there. I think we have to hit the line of scrimmage in the running game when it's there. The elevator doors are going to open up and only stay open so long and we need to pop and beat the line of scrimmage when it's there. Fundamental technique, I think, and the focus on the little things. Those are even more important when you're playing the better football teams because those little things make a huge difference. And we're going to focus on us this week much more than we are Clemson.

Is there a commonality that has put you in a hole this past two games? 

You know, it really has been different. What we need is, especially offensively, we need to focus for four quarters. We need to play the first quarter the same way we play the second [quarter] and the same way we play the second half. This game was different than some of the others in that we're moving the football and we're doing some good things offensively and we turned it over.

Turning it over blew two of our drives in the first half, particularly the second quarter, and those are things that we know are important and we can't do. And it happened and it put us behind and so now you're trying to recover and make up for it and in this game, that was the biggest issue.

So that's going to be the focus for Clemson. We've been a good team, ball security-wise. Sam's made really good decisions in the pass game. He has not endangered the football until this game. And I think we had one fumble prior, right? Maybe two all season. Yeah. Good.

What's the common theme in the successful drives in the two-minute periods?

You know, it's an interesting question.

I really think there is no quit in our guys. I think when there's something in the game that creates a sense of urgency, our guys respond well. I've been part of teams that play really well and we do a great job and it's a fight to get the same performance or production out of guys when the bullets are flying a little faster and the game is on the line and that's just not this team.

The problem is we don't want to be in that situation every week. You know what I mean? We want to take care of business in the first half and put ourselves in a position where maybe we can dictate for four quarters or at least be in control of our own destiny for four quarters and not have to be the cardiac kids in the fourth quarter every single weekend. So it's a good trait to have when we're in that situation. I’d just like to be in that situation a little bit less.

That third down play where Jace Ruder got hurt. Is that an example of what you were hoping to do for him in the game plan?

Jace has the offense in. He's the next guy, so we have confidence in him throwing the football. We have confidence in him running the football. The plan was to utilize him a little bit more last week. And that got nipped in the bud with the injury, but I don't think there's any lack of confidence in using Jace and we were going to on Saturday.

With Jace injured, who is your second guy at quarterback?

Well, Vince is bigger. He's taller. He seems to feel well, obviously because of his size and stature, he throws the ball very well. And with him right now, it's just the playlist would be smaller because he doesn't have the same amount of work and investment in time in the things that we're doing. So when you have to go with a younger quarterback, just like anywhere else, you're going to minimize the play sheet a little bit and give him a smaller focus and kind of lean on those plays that maybe promote what he does the best.

Mack talked about injuries and limited depth and how it can force you to simplify your scheme. How do you balance simplifying enough for the players without simplifying too much for the defense? 

One of the biggest benefits on the offensive side is we’re simpler to begin with.

Our twos get the same amount of reps. The white group gets the same amount of reps as the blue group. They are getting the same training and the same study and so I don't know that we need to cut things out and simplify it that way. I think sometimes, though, when you have, like we're talking about with with an experienced quarterback, instead of having the volume of things that you might carry in with the veterans or the guys that have been playing, you might hone in on your focus a little bit just so they have less to think about. Because you want them to play aggressively and you want them to play fast and they can't do that if they have to think too much.

So there's a happy medium there. Where can they keep playing instinctively without us being too simple? And really, that's the fine line we're trying to find when we play a younger guy.