Florida State coordinators Adam Fuller, Alex Atkins and John Papuchis spoke to the media on Monday. Below are quotes and videos.

3rd and 17 coverage bust up 31-10

"Yeah, I was concerned on that play for sure. You saw it in the moment, we finally gained control of the game, you get them in third and forever. When you have game plans, you have situations, sometimes it doesn't come up until those moments, right. That's unfortunately the lesson learned of being dialed in throughout the game when it comes up. The minute that ball was snapped, I saw it starting to unfold. Defense is like that sometimes. If 10 guys execute and one guy does the wrong thing and the ball finds that place, it becomes a big issue. It's another lesson learned that it takes 11 to operate as one, especially on defense. If the ball doesn't find the mistake then people don't see it. But when it finds it, it becomes very glaring and obvious. That's a hard way to learn the lesson, but that's a lesson that needed to be learned."

Common themes allowed in big passing plays allowed so far this season?

"I don't think. Some of it has been when we have played some mobile quarterbacks, probably having eyes and trying to help out in places that you shouldn't help out and then you lose leverage and now you're in a chase race. I think there hasn't been one individual per se or one group. It's just you're constantly trying to build it where you have options to play multiple things and take away things that people are doing. I think our guys, they want to play really well. And so I think we've had some really poor eyes, especially on some of these scramble situations that we've got to tie up and fix."

Common denominator on third-down lapses vs. BC?

"Yeah, I mean, there wasn't really a common (denominator). There was a unbalanced scramble, there was a counter run on a third and extra long, there were a couple quarterback draws in there. It's just tying it all together. The ball found the mistakes and that's something that you continue to harp to your group and you continue to harp to the individuals of mistakes need to be addressed and cleaned up and we did it and so now we've got to go play better."

Omar Graham

"We've got to keep getting Omar in there a little bit more. He's now fully healthy and he's moving better and I've got good confidence in Omar. When we have called his number, for the most part he's gone in there and executed well. We've got to help him and put him in probably more positions and get him involved even a little bit more. But I feel really good about Omar. I think he fits in with those other three and we've got to continue to give him those opportunities."

First-team defense had to play more vs. BC, how did you think they held up?

"We had some guys play their most reps they played this season. It wasn't something they hadn't done before in their career, but I think all those moments of whether it was a mistake or whether it was playing more reps, it's all part of them taking all that information and putting it to this week. We don't want to play a lot of plays, but sometimes that happens if you don't execute on third down. That's usually the message. Regardless how our offense performs or special teams, our job is to go out there and get off the field. A lot of times that happens on third down. We were really good the first two weeks, not very good last week and that creates some opportunities for them."

How does moving in a new starter after Akeem Dent couldn't play vs. BC affect chemistry?

"That's part of it. Sometimes those things happen during camp and in practice because guys go down. We are pretty intentional about trying to create those opportunities in practice, but game time is game time, that comfortability. There's always gonna be 11 guys out there and we've got to put the right guys in and they've got to be comfortable playing in their roles. Usually if they're out there on Saturday, we've, we've worked that grouping or they've worked with each other throughout the week. Sometimes there are things that just pop up and you've got to kind of turn left on some of the things and get guys in different spots. But we do a pretty good job throughout this season in the year of working guys in multiple roles so that when those things do happen, they're prepared.

What challenges does Clemson's run game present?

They've got a really good running back. I think he's done a really good job of just breaking tackles. He's aggressive, I think he's a really good pass-catcher. I know he probably hasn't had the success that he's wanted yet, but we've seen him at his best and he's a really good player. And they've got another backup back that comes in and shares carries with him as well. I don't think the quarterback probably gets enough credit on his athleticism. That showed up at times. Going back, TCU last year used their quarterback in the run game pretty extensively. I think if they want to use the one that's at Clemson now, he probably has that ability to be involved with it more."

BC QB mobility, how do you project forward knowing you may not face another QB like him

"He's a shifty runner, but we've seen quarterbacks like that in the past. I think when you're playing and as the game gets going and you start giving the information, 'Hey, in these sets, this is what's gonna play.' Guys hear it and then some guys say, 'Well, I'm gonna help out on these things, too. I'm gonna make sure this doesn't hurt us.' Then it creates another issue. I think give credit, the way college football has gone now, you're getting a lot of good players behind the center and they have options, whether it's to keep it, to throw it, to run quarterback draws. When you're playing, you've just got to make sure that whatever the weakness of each call is, guys understand it and still get their job done and then be able to tilt it the other way when you need to."

Did Castellanos change the way you rushed the QB?

"I think at times, but that happens in a lot of games."(Azareye'h blitz on final BC series, what was the thinking?) "That's a good question. We try to have a plan going into the game and then you just adapt as you go throughout the game. To answer your question, that was the first time we brought that pressure that game and obviously, it worked well."

How do you combat what BC was doing with hiding formations, playing with tempo after breaking huddle

"That's something we had anticipated so it was something we incorporated into the weeks of practice. You don't see teams huddle very much anymore. It's something that if you get used to it, it's pretty simple. But just making sure that our guys were prepared when they broke the huddle to match up on whether it was where the wideouts lined up or the extra offensive lineman at times and whatever that had to be. It was definitely something that was a little bit of a change in tempo, but you think of tempo and there's various ways. Most people think of it as get on the ball, go as fast as you can. That's what we're traditionally seeing in college football. But there are various, I've seen teams huddle with the offensive linemen and the quarterback and break, I've seen teams that just line up just the skill guys. Whatever it is, that team ended up putting 11 guys in and bursted out. It's something we had practiced and we've just got to be better with it."

How much of the poor eyes/discipline you have mentioned is correctable?

"When you talk about eyes, it's all correctable because if you have poor eyes, it means they weren't in the right place. Sometimes it's just the execution in the moment of making sure that you're detailed with doing your job and put them in the right place. And then usually that key work will bring you to whatever your assignment is."

As you're coaching, do you focus more on the good stretches we've seen from this defense or the issues that need correcting in the bad moments?

"Both. You always want to correct your mistakes and you want to make sure that you build on the positives. I don't think we lean one way or the other. You try to be as honest as you can when you coach your players, this is what we're really good at, this is what we need to address. Some mistakes are mistakes, they could be one-offs. If there's a problem that continues, obviously that's got to be addressed either personnel or schematically whatever that comes to. But I think the answer to your question is both. We work at it both ways."

(on Ryan Fitzgerald)

“Ryan is off to a really good start. It started with how he competed in fall camp. I thought he did a really nice job. It’s carried over into the first three games. And I think you can tell he has some confidence to him in the way he’s playing, and he should. Confidence, real confidence, is earned through what you put out there on the field, and he’s been able to do a good job so far. So we look forward to that continuing. But I’ve been really pleased with how he started.”

(On miscues on special teams)

“The first one, the squib, just the whole scenario of how that went down is two-score game, I think it’s 31-16 at the time. Third quarter on the field, we weren’t really thinking to have our hands team on the field, yet. And I think it was an onside kick scenario, we saw they were going to attempt an onside kick, called a timeout and got our unit out there. The handling of the squib is one of those things that obviously you’d love to have that play back, but from a coaching standpoint we have to put our guys in that situation more often where we have those live scenarios. Obviously he did everything that he was obviously trying to field the ball. We just have got to be better in the moment and we’ve got to put them in more situations like that when the situations present themselves.”

(On return game)

“I think there’s pretty good execution, especially in our kickoff return unit. And usually those big plays are a product of all 10 guys doing their job with obviously the returner then doing his. We're really close. I mean, we're really close to having a big play happen there. But, you know, it all has to come together for us at the right moment with the right kick. But we will have opportunities in both return units if we continue to play the way that we've been playing, as well.”

On Jared Verse’s presence and production

“Especially early in the season, you know, Jared is not gonna sneak up on anybody, and I think teams are trying to find ways to, you know, whether it's with a running back or a tight end, to try to slow him down in terms of pass rush, but his presence in and of itself creates opportunities across the board for the defense. And then, you know, I think Game 1, I think, you know, he probably felt like he was getting a little bit frustrated because I think he had that expectation for himself in terms of what he wanted to go accomplish. Game 2 and 3, he just went out and tried to play hard. And, you know, I don't think Jared is real concerned right now in terms of statistical production. I know he wants those things to happen, everybody does, but I think he just wants to focus on playing hard playing to the best of his ability because the people who are doing the evaluation on him for the next level they're gonna see how hard he's playing, his want to in terms of trying to do everything in his power to to be successful. And you know, all the numbers will take care of themselves.”

On Benson’s technique going after the squib kick

“I mean, the only thing that I would say is when we're in a position to get on top of the ball as opposed to try to pick it up. We probably prefer to smother the ball in that situation, but that's a judgment call in the moment by the player because the ball needs to be rolling slowly enough to feel like you can just get on top of it. But it is the tricky thing you know, obviously footballs bounce all kinds of different ways and it's hard to simulate that exact kick at that exact moment in practice, but it's something that we got to put them in that situation more often.”

On the punt return that looked like it hit Coleman

“We were in a punt safe setup defensively or on the punt return unit. So we really didn't have anyone protecting it. I feel like he knew that that was the case. You know, there wasn't a return set up with it. And I think he was in between thinking and he could go get it and he couldn't. And he got caught kind of in between mode, which is one of those valuable lessons for him as a punt returner, especially in the situation, just get away. Like, if you're not 100% sure, you can go get it, get away. And if you are convicted that you can then just go get it. But you can't live half in and half out, and he totally understood it. And it's gonna be something he's gonna be better at moving forward.”

On Klubnik vs. Castellanos comparison

“Well, each week is kind of its own challenges across the board, you know, I think with Kade you got to have good rush-lane discipline, he can run with the ball. I don't think they're gonna put him in as many quarterback design-run situations as maybe we saw in this past week. But you know, we got to be disciplined, we got to be structured in how we rush and what we do. And, you know, and that's gonna be true, no matter who you play against. But, you know, I think Cade’s gonna present a little bit different issues this week, but we certainly have to be disciplined in what we do.”

On Patrick Payton

“Pat does a lot of things really well that probably go unseen. His ability to execute within the defense, his ability to play his run structure, you know, his responsibility in the run. Those are things that always don't show up on stat lines. But Pat does a lot of things out there that have showed progress and growth for him as a player. Are the flash plays, are they quite as many as it felt like maybe (he would have). His first year, every game he played, he made some kind of flash play. But I would also go back and say in the LSU game, batting down that pass on third down was a big play He had a TFL in this past game. So I think those flash plays are there. I just think we probably expect it more now, you know, so Pat has just got to keep doing what he's doing. He's got a bright future ahead of him and it 'sjust got to be every week, persistent growth and improvement as a player.”

On Verse’s snap count

“A little bit of both, you know, in terms of where we we are depthwise going into the last game at defensive end, We knew that we're gonna have some of the guys we're gonna have to handle some more responsibility in terms of snaps. You know that was already the game plan was to play him a little bit more than he had been playing. Anyway, his snap count got pretty high. And that wasn't totally the plan going in. But the way the game played out, it became a necessity. You know, you get into a situation late in the game where the game was within two scores there in the last quarter, your best players are going to be on the field and you know, it's a situation where Jared wanted to be on the field, obviously. So we're going to do whatever we had to do to win the game.”

On what to expect from Clemson

They've always been a dictate defense where they're going to make you do things. They’re good at forcing the leverage on the ball where they want it to go so they can have the advantage. We have to do a good job of understanding where they're trying to attack it and how they're trying to manipulate it. We need to make sure we have answers but also dictate ourselves. Make them have to make decisions quickly. They have guys who can run fast at the linebacker position and on the D-Line. You got to make sure you're on point and understand how they are going to attack you.

On Jordan Travis focusing on the “big picture”

“We want to give them all the information that is needed so they can operate freely and he [Travis] wants it all. To see that you have to as a coach manage it where he's not overthinking and overseeing and making sure he's seeing the specifics. But you also have to give him the information that's gonna help him in the compromising moments, when things break down, when there is something different the defense presents and you’re trying to sequence or do something different. He's yarning for that information. He's not satisfied. He wants to get better in all of it. It's balancing how much information you want to give him to focus on versus execution and how much he can handle about game by game but he is addicted, obsessed is almost an understatement, to how much information he wants to carry into a football game.”

On veteran players playing in games with a higher magnitude

"I was talking to the line and I talked about you know last time we went to Boston College it was Rob Scott, Dylan Gibbons. Now there's Washington, Casey Roddick, Jeremiah Byers, Bless Harris. Those guys went up there two years ago and we won by one. They’re still learning together on the how. You wish you could come into game three and have a completion of knowledge. But the games are the best teachers for players they learned the hardest lessons. Yes, you want to learn those lessons and win but you still have to learn the lessons. Sometimes those lessons you learn and those are more valuable than anything you do on the practice field. This is the first time for us could have been the first time situation. Much of that detail but more with me being with them this the first time I've had to coach that part of it. So now you get to see the response.”

On Jaheim Bell’s impact

"Jaheim [Bell] is a problem; he's a matchup problem, He's smart and does multiple things. He's athletic and quick. He has attributes that are almost born to play sport. He's competitive and tough. Everybody is seeing the flash player, but he's learned to block on the perimeter and is chasing guys down. He's a really good football player. We're excited to have him because of what we can use outside of the edges and running backs. He's a special football player.”

On seeing different looks versus BC and adjusting to the atmosphere in Clemson

"As many times as you see something you can almost say you never see it enough. I'm gonna talk about more schematically like we talked about the zone schemes or whether it be protection. I think protection is improving, because they're seeing things from multiple times.

We talked about environment. Some of those guys have played in those environments, but it's their first time playing with us in this situation. So there's always going to be somewhat they can go back to and say I've done this before, but this person is next to me wasn’t next to me last time I did it. There's always a new element created each time you have an experience. I will say is that our reaction times are doing a lot better as we move forward through the season so I know all that stuff is gonna show up, but we have multiple guys that have been in the program for a while who we were up there two years ago in a almost a similar situation, so they can draw back to those experiences. But we have to coach that sometimes if a guy hasn't done it we can't come back after the fact and use that as an excuse. We have to find ways to create the moment, create the feeling, and have enough guys that have done it because nothing checks you better than peer to peer. They're used to me getting on them because that's just normal. Coach Atkins is supposed to get on me, but when you walk into the locker room and sit in your locker and one of your teammates walks up to you, not in a outgoing matter where they're try to embarrass you in front to your teammatesm but when they say 'This is a problem and I don't see you focused on it. Let's get this fixed.' It's a whole different feeling. As long as we have a lot of that going on, and know whether they've experienced it or not, we can overcome it or prepare for it better.”

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