Everything From Virginia Tech OL Kyle Altuner After Wednesday's Practice

Virginia Tech offensive lineman Kyle Altuner spoke to the media after Wednesday's practice; here's the entirety of what Altuner had to say:

On what the open week does for Altuner, being so close to last week:

"Yeah, kind of same thing. Just making sure my body's as best as it can at this point in the season. Making sure all the guys are getting right off the field and even in the classroom. So, yes, sir."

On if he likes having the two bye weeks so close together:

"Yeah, I mean I always want to play some football, but bye week's always nice to make sure your body's uh good. And like I said before, just making sure that your body feels the way that you want so you can go out and perform the way you want to.

On what the last four games has been like playing on the same rotation:

Yeah, it's been awesome. We got Layth [Ghannam] and then Tomas [Rimac], vet guy next to me. The communication is just building, the chemistry. And it's paying dividends when we're out there and defense gives different looks."

On if the unit is hoping for a rotation:

"Yeah. No doubt. Yeah. You always want the the guys behind you to get reps as well. You're always fighting out there on the field, but if the next guy comes in, it's always good for him. Get some good film. Get out there and just do the best that he can."

On how much the 357-yard rushing performance serves as a badge of honor and whether they would prefer a run-heavy offense:

"Yeah, we love running the ball here on the O line. We take pride in that. The backs do a great job doing their thing. So, we just laid the foundation and they go work. But yeah, we love running the ball for sure."

On whether he would prefer that over pass blocking:

"Whatever coach calls, man, I just do it to the best of my ability. Yes, sir."

On being the only ACC team to hold Louisville under 150 rushing yards and if that shows that the line is on the same wavelength:

"Yeah, that's huge that we're all on the same page. And then, we're just trusting Coach [Matt] Moore. He does a great job every week off getting us schemed up for the defense that we're going against. And then it's just about us going out there and executing. And Coach Moore is a big part in that for sure.

On what sold him on coming to Blacksburg beyond Moore, his offensive line coach back at West Virginia:

"When I visited here, that was my first time experiencing it. Other than I think I came here, it's like the Notre Dame game was my sophomore year, maybe like 2021 [Editor's note: It was.]. The culture here is great. You go to a game and you love it. You want to come back. And then the staff here when I had visited was great. I bought into them. Strength program. And just all around, Blacksburg is beautiful."

On growth as a pass blocking unit through the season:

"Just little things like twists, doing our assignment. Those are paying dividends, when it comes to keeping the quarterback clean and we're just out there working our butts off."

On how tough it's been for Tomas Rimac to shift around the offensive line (Rimac has played at every OL slot but center):

"It's tough. It's crazy, though. You go into a week and you're kind of scheming up, you're thinking of your position. You got to visualize it and if you get moved to a different position, it just flips your brain a little bit. I've never been in that position, but for him to be able to do that is is incredible."

On Rimac making PFF's national team of the week at right tackle and whether that's more of a team honor:

"Yeah, sure. Seeing him do well is awesome. We obviously want to be as good as he he is. And we do that. We try and get there every week. But yeah, I think all around, it's a group work, but definitely for him, that's a huge honor."

On Florida State's defense:

Yeah, interiorly they got some big guys. They've kind of run a defense that we've seen a little before. But this week, we're just going to do the best that we can with film, trust what Coach Moore is teaching us."

On if they run a 3-3-5:

"They run a couple different fronts. They'll run a little Okie front, little four-down. They got a couple blitzes that they show."

On if he'll be watching Florida State's Saturday game vs. Clemson:

"Yeah, I'll definitely tune in for sure."

On the biggest areas of improvement Altuner feels are needed with three games left:

"Just little things, my fundamentals. Keep learning the game um the best that I can. That'll help just looking at a defense. You kind of get tells of how you can put yourself in a better position than if you didn't know. So yeah, just the little things, fundamentals, making sure those are sharp."

On his biggest area of improvement:

"I think fundamentals, for sure. Each week, I'm just trying to make sure my hands tight, my feet are running, making sure I'm having solid communication out there. All those little things are huge and I think I've been improving pretty well."