Everything From Virginia Tech TE Benji Gosnell At Tuesday's Press Conference

Virginia Tech tight end Benji Gosnell spoke to the media at Tuesday's weekly press conference; here's the entirety of what Gosnell had to say:

On what a win of that nature does for the locker room:

"It's refreshing for one, to be able to kind of gut out a win like that. It shows you what kind of team we are. And you just grow closer as a team. Adversity builds people, it builds a team, it builds a group together. So, a lot of times, when you have so many things go wrong in a game like that, like a punt block, a lot of times, you're waking up the next day and you know, like if we could have done this, could have done this, we could have won, But we found out a way to win. And that's the sign of a improved team and a good team, finding ways to win, no matter the circumstances. So, it builds our confidence that we are a team, that we we find ways to win and you can move on with that."

On what it's like to play in a game like that:

"It's 100% fun. And honestly, from a personal preference, it's preferred. To see the stadium come alive when when we're making a run, to see 300 shirtless people in the student section waving their shirts, that was awesome. And I feel like that's kind of when momentum started to pick up and some of the people started to feel like deep down in their soul [that] somehow, someway, we're going to win this game. And those are the games you want to be in because [interim head coach Philip Montgomery] talked about, in the team meeting before that game, he talked about being the man in the arena and you truly feel like you're a man in an arena and it was a Friday night. Nobody else was playing, really. We were the game on, millions of people watching and as a competitor and as an athlete, you don't want anything more. You want to be put on the spotlight in a close game to bring your guts and show what you can do."

On if he was impressed by the dedication of the shirtless fans:

"Yeah, well, I don't think the weather had anything to do with it, I think they may have been warm with something else. But yes, I was, though. I was. It kind of shows you the spirit in life of Blacksburg in general, not just our football team and our fans, but to see that, it was very encouraging. And hopefully, they can bring that juice Saturday."

On how big his catch in 2OT was that set up a slant-route touchdown to Takye Heath:

"First of all, it was a good play call. That kind of route and that kind of concept is kind of hard to cover really in any coverage, because the corner has to get depth, in case [if it's] some sort of deep route. So, I just caught it and got a few extra yards and tried to use my frame to get a few yards, but it was a good play call. It was good execution, good throw by Kyron [Drones]. Good protection. But it was cool to throw the ball, but I like running the ball, too. It's fun."

On Heath's catch:

"It was an RPO, so I was blocking kind of near that catch. And I kind of saw him slide and reach back. To do that under that kind of circumstances, to have that kind of body control, that kind of focus, those hands and I think he had actually dropped the ball, either like in the last drive of the fourth quarter, something like that. So he didn't let his confidence waver. He trusted his hands. He trusted his preparation, what he worked on, and yeah, I'm just so proud of Takye. I love that dude. He's faced a lot of adversity, and for him to have the game he did and the plays he made. I can't do nothing but hug him after every time he scores and every time he makes a play. I love that dude."

On how good it was for the tight ends to get involved in run blocking:

"Yeah, it's fun. Obviously, our coach [Brent Davis] is big into that. He always tells us the pass game is what it is, it'll find us. But if we can create holes in the run game, that's that's kind of what's important to us. And we've embraced it and it's fun. Like every every run play that's called, every time we get to block anybody, I mean, we're just fired up, because we work on it a ton and to finally see our preparation, what we do during the week show up on film, it's fun to see. Obviously, there's still a lot to work on. Putting a defensive back down's not that impressive, I'm probably 80 pounds heavier than him. So, it's kind of expected in our room, but we just kind of need to keep working on fits, working on leverage, keep getting movement at the second level and work on on the first level first and things like that. So, a lot of work still to be done, but it's always fun when you get to be involved in the run game scheme like that."

Q: How challenging is Louisville's run defense to get you guys going on Saturday?

Yeah, it's an exciting opportunity. They're a really good defense. Their defensive line's very stout. their linebackers and really, their DBs. They get downhill when they're part of the run fits. Linebackers are stout, D-line's stout, they play active, they play with their hair on fire. So, give you a lot of kind of different looks at a very random times. It'll be first-and-10 and they'll have seven up. If you're in two-by-two, they do a good job of trying to get you off schedule and behind the chain. So, we'll have to do a great job this week starting today with our preparation and communication and fixing up the game plan."

On growth from fellow tight end Ja'Ricous Hairston:

"Yeah, I mean, from day one, I was working at camp my redshirt freshman year that he was at, so I remember seeing him from the earliest stages on, being here. And to see him then and to see him now, it's like whatever a bigger difference is than night and day, to be honest. He's improved so much and he's wanted to improve. You want to see a player want to get better and want to be coached hard and want to push yourself. And he's probably one of the hardest, if not the hardest, workers on our team that I've ever met. And I love that dude. We're roommates, kind of from the same area in Southwest Virginia. So, we have a lot of the same hobbies. Hang out all the time. I love that dude and to see him progress the way he has, to see him play as much, it's rewarding and it it's awesome. It's awesome to see.

On his reaction to the missed field goals in the fourth quarter:

"'So what? Now what?' That's what you got to have as a athlete. Obviously, everyone has a job to do, but I can't get mad at somebody else for having maybe an unsuccessful try when I've missed blocks. I mean, that's just not fair to them or to me. So, you know what? You have to move on and you have to be mature about it. And like I said, in the fourth quarter, in the overtime, I kept going around the huddle and I asked the players, I said, "So, what? Now what? It's already happened. You can't do anything about it. What are you going to do now?' So, that's kind of the mentality I bring when that thing happened."

Q: You said Monty told you guys you got to bring your guts. Do you feel like that kind of showed up in overtime?

Oh, for sure. I think it showed up in overtime and I really think it started at halftime. We started the game hot, hit a wall, went into halftime, a few people were kind of star struck, like 'What the heck happened?' But, Coach [Jarret Ferguson], Coach Monty, we broke it up as a team. And they said, 'If you're not willing to go out there and fight, not just play hard, fight and win and if you can't, if you don't believe it in your soul, stay in the locker room. We don't need you, don't want you.' And to no surprise to me, everybody walked out there because everybody believed and everybody was willing to fight. So, it was awesome to see."

On what was going through his mind when he dsaw Cal come up with the stop:

"I was on the like the far end kind of away from everybody because I was squatting. I was just watching the game. I was a little nervous at that point. Just kind of anxious, but I trust our defense. I've seen them step up and make great plays in in crunch time before. I've seen how they play in practice. I see how they practice. I hear how [defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes] coaches and those guys love him. Those guys prepare their butts off for him and they work hard every single day. And no matter who's out there, you got freshman out there, you got this out there, everybody's doing their job. And when it was second down, third down, I didn't expect them to waver or bend a bit because I know what kind of mentality that they bring to the field every day."