Q&A With Head Football Coach Mike London Following Friday's Practice

Aug. 9, 2008

Give us a state of the team so far.
"The systems are starting to be put in place and starting to see guys in position to make plays. It's good to see healthy bodies out there competing. The tempo is fast and I'm pleased with what I see thus far. There's some improvement going on with schemes and personnel. We have another stretch coming up here with pads, then we start two-a-days tomorrow and a scrimmage Tuesday so we'll see coming out of a next week how things have progressed."

What has stood out so far after five days of practice?
"Just how fast guys are playing and practicing. We could go out and be standing around and going through the motions but the mindset here is going to be playing fast and we want all facets of the game - offense, defense, special teams - to be doing that."

How has the transition been for you, after so many years going through training camps as an assistant, now to be the head coach?
"It's all about preparation and being around good people as I've been a member of other staffs. I've talked about things I've learned from Dom Capers, Al Groh, Tom O'Brien, Jimmye Laycock and all those guys are very successful in their own right. So if you have the plan in place, the next thing to do is just execute it. The players are following the plan that the coaches are implementing so it makes for an easy transition."

"... the mindset here is going to be playing fast and we want all facets of the game - offense, defense, special teams - to be doing that."

What's the plan for next week?
"We have a two-a-day tomorrow then we'll go into a controlled-scrimmage on Tuesday. That scrimmage will be important as we get our players accustomed to the new timing changes in college football this year, using both a 40- and 25-second play clock depending on the situation. Then we'll finish up the last of the acclimation practices and start all over again with the prep for Elon."

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