Miami Hurricanes defensive coordinator Lance Guidry spoke to the media today for his weekly press conference.
Guidry emphasized the importance of strategizing against the opposition's best plays. "It's a cat and mouse game the whole time," he explained, referring to the constant need to adjust and adapt to opponents' offensive tendencies.
"When they put [their players] at all kind of different places, it kind of hinders you," he said. "We find a way to win games, which is good. So however we do it, I hope we keep doing it."
When asked about freshman phenom Rueben Bain, Guidry spoke highly of the player's progression. "Rueben's doing a great job," he said. "He's a student of the game so I expect him to continue to play well."
Guidry also touched upon the evolution of other players. For Jayden Wayne, it's all about gaining more reps. "The more reps he gets, the better he's getting. He can do some things for us; he plays really hard." Similarly, on James Williams, Guidry said, "He's making big plays. He's one of the bright spots, and he needs to continue to play well."
The coordinator praised his defense for stepping up in crucial moments, specifically highlighting their performance in overtime. Speaking about the recent overtime win over Virginia and comparing it to the Clemson game, Guidry said, "This one was tougher... I was glad we went on defense first... When the offense came on the field, I felt like we were going to score."
Addressing the confidence that comes from such tough wins, Guidry believes it to be contagious. He said, "I think it is. You never think you're out of a game... This program hasn't done that in a while, and we're starting to learn how to win."
On being asked about the team's performance on third down, Guidry admitted that the opposition had a solid game plan. "They had a good third-down package... They did a good job."
Guidry also addressed the challenges of facing NC State's versatile offense, singling out their quarterback MJ Morris and versatile offensive weapon Kevin Concepcion. "They're going to try and get him the ball probably 10 to 12 times a game... It creates problems," he said.
