Everything From Virginia Tech DL Coach J.C. Price After Wednesday's Practice

Virginia Tech defensive line coach J.C. Price spoke to the media after Wednesday's practice; here's the entirety of what Price had to say:

On how practice was:

"Practice was good. It was good. It was what was needed with some guys trying to get their legs back. Some guys with bruises didn't do much. Some guys who needed to work on some things worked on some things. So, it was typical off-week stuff. So, nothing new."

Q: Do you get a good long look at the younger guys at this stage? And is it different at this once you get to November? Those guys aren't wide-eyed freshman as much as they would have been a couple months ago.

"No, really we haven't. [Interim head coach Philip Montgomery has] done a great job of structuring things the way he sees it and and to be honest with you, we're [at] such low numbers that we really haven't had a chance to have a little scrimmage or let the young guys get after, like you typically would in open week. Just because from a depth standpoint, injuries and just the amount of bodies we have, we haven't been able to to turn those guys loose and let them have some fun. But it was kind of almost just business as usual."

On Kody Huisman mentioning that the bye week would function as a "work week" and how Price has viewed the week so far:

"Just your typical open week. Just cleaning up on different techniques and just trying to get everybody back healthy. It's a kind of a weird deal. You have two this close near the end of the season. Two bye weeks isn't normal to begin with and have so close together. But it still comes at the right time for us. We were beat up in some positions. Luckily, it's not really my positions per se, but there's some other positions that need a little bit of rest and probably need a week off from banging. So, it came at a good time."

On how pleased he's been with Huisman:

"He's who we thought he was. He plays hard. He's probably as intelligent as a player as I've ever coached. He knows three or four positions. He knows what everybody's doing. He can anticipate and look at linemen, read linemen. He's listening to calls, you'll notice he's pointing out things that normal people don't point out during a game. And it helps him being able to play really fast, play anticipative football, and that's why he's really excelling right now."

On if the level of intelligence surprised Price or whether he knew before:

"Obviously the level of his intelligence, we did not know. But we knew he was a smart guy and tough guy. And he was always an extra effort guy on film. But to to see the level of intelligence, football IQ he has, no, obviously, we didn't know that going into it."

On pairing Huisman with Kemari Copeland and Kelvin Gilliam:

"I think the the whole room in general's done really well this season. Obviously, we haven't done enough because we haven't won enough games. But those three guys feed off each other, play off each other's skill sets. And I knew going into the season that I was going to enjoy coaching this group and other than only winning three games, I really enjoyed these guys."

On how much it helps to have a trio of tackles like that:

"Well, everybody wants depth on the D-line. You never have enough. And knock on wood, they've all stayed pretty healthy, but [Emmett Laws'] kind of peeked, he made a couple great plays in Saturday's game. And [Immanuel Hickman Sr.'s] been Steady Eddie the entire season. Elhadj [Fall] is playing end, playing 3-technique. So, he's done some things, as well. And the core seven, eight guys that we've rotated, I can't say enough about 'em as a group."

On whether Copeland has lived up to Price's expectations:

"Oh yeah, he has. And there's still more left to do. We're only guaranteed three more opportunities with this group. So, we need to go out and make the most of it."

On how Gilliam has impressed Price:

"Well, his growth on the field has come from his hard work. It was kind of a weird scenario that he went off and and trained and tried. And he came here to play in a certain scheme and then right before the season started, we said, 'Hey, we're going back to this'. And he's never flinched. And I've never been around a leader as good as KG. Never. He's the best leader I've ever coached. He walks, he talks, he doesn't flinch. And between what [defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes] does for these guys every day, the way Sam busts his ass, and what he brings to the table schematically-wise, stuff he's brought from the league. Then, these guys have bought in to KG's leadership. You wouldn't think walking around this building on a daily basis, in a good way, not in a bad way, that we're only won three games. Guys are positive, guys are are encouraging one another and that goes back to great leadership, both from Sam, Monty and the players like KG."

Q: How challenging is it as a D-line coach to teach guys to be aggressive but still be careful around the quarterback?

"I'm not talking about nothing about penalties because I don't know what a penalty is anymore."

Q: How do you teach that, though?

"You teach the strike zone just like you do in baseball. It's above the knees, below the shoulders and you try to enforce in practice. You do drills, but I don't know what they're looking at halftime anymore. I ain't trying to lose none of that money.

On if they had those rules back in Price's day:

"No, no, no. It was a little bit different. You could actually play football back in my day."