Aug. 28, 2001

On Opening Day:

"I'm very excited about [playing a team rival in my first game as a head coach]. It's something I have worried about. I've had one other head coach in this situation: Coach Ross got sick when we were with the San Diego Chargers. I was the interim head coach and I'm probably the only undefeated NFL head coach.

"I think everybody in our football program is anxiously awaiting Saturday. Our kids are working very hard. They're getting better by the day. I like our enthusiasm. I'll be very surprised if they don't play very hard on Saturday."

On Players' Health:

"I'm sure people are concerned about Guilian Gary. Guilian practiced yesterday. He was at full speed. He was rusty. I am going to wait and evaluate how he progresses through the rest of the week, and a decision will be made later as to how much he'll play on Saturday. Other than that, we are fairly healthy. More and more guys have been getting to full strength every day. So I think we'll be in good shape by the time the game comes."

On ACC Games From The Past Weekend:

"I looked at the box scores. I saw that Carolina fumbled the ball and that was their undoing. I saw that Virginia fumbled the ball and that was probably their undoing. Georgia Tech didn't and that's why they won. That's what I'm hoping we're going to do. I see that the kicking game is a big advantage. And it always will be, especially in early games. It's hard to simulate game speed with special teams. But I get really focused. And I'm not interested in what the other teams are doing except for North Carolina."

On North Carolina:

"They can run. They have tremendous athletes. Their defense is also senior-laden, so they've got some kids who have been in battles before. But so do we. I thought the advantage they have right now that I saw in that first game was the composure they showed to stay in the game. It's a tribute to the coaches and to the players. When they were losing 41-14 at halftime, they actually made a game of it at the end and had a chance. That shows a lot of poise on the part of their coaching staff. It shows a lot of determination by the players. That makes our job even tougher."

On Shaun Hill:

"He has progressed very fast. He's much improved over where he was in the spring. He has a better understanding of the offense and what we're trying to get done with it. His decisions have been very quick and accurate."

On Preparing for Saturday's Home Opener:

"I've tried to cover every game situation that we could possibly come up with. Nothing substitutes playing in a game. Our last preseason scrimmage, we did everything from pre-game warm-ups to the way our staff would function in a game. I was pleased with it."