Transcript: Bud Foster

Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster will have his hands full against Oklahoma State in the Camping World Bowl Dec. 28. What's he expecting?

You have faced a number of great receivers during your time here, what are your thoughts on Oklahoma Sate’s James Washington?

"I’ve been on the road [recruiting], but I have gone through a couple games. He’s a dynamic football player, but he is one of many over there on that side of the ball. Marcell Ateman is equally as talented but he’s a little bit taller and they are a two-headed monster from that standpoint of a receiving corps, then you have a couple other guys that are good as well. Dynamic football player, great speed and great competitor. I’ve been impressed by him and their skill kids particularly. All the way across the board from their receivers to their running back just a dynamic football team and their quarterback. We know Mason [Rudolph]: we tried to recruit him, a really talented guy. Probably one of the more explosive if not the most explosive team we will face all year."

Earlier this year Tremaine Edmunds said that he would discuss his future plans with the coaching staff. Have you talked with him about it yet?

"No, we really haven’t. We’ve been on the road and obviously they’ve done their paperwork and we’ll so how it comes back and we will sit down with him and his family and he will make the decision that he feels is best for him. Whatever he decides, would I like to have him back yes, but whatever he decides we will support him. We haven’t had the opportunity to do any of that yet and we will see what the paperwork says. He had a great year but do I think he has room to grow and develop, yes, but at the same time he’s a pretty special guy all around. He maybe one of my biggest recruits when it’s all said and done. I would love to see him stay and keep our defense intact. We would have a really special group if we do that."

There are at least two or three other guys that at least have to think about it, does it make it uneasy having that many guys thinking about it?

"I don’t know if they are thinking about it as much as just wanting to know what there status is. I know this, don’t rush going to that next level too soon because the NFL stands for not for long. These guys have the opportunity to do something really special because once you leave here that’s a job. Probably the most competitive job in the world. They have the opportunity to do some special things here for another year. I hope they all look at that and see they have a year to develop another year to mature in a lot of ways. There is a camaraderie that they just won’t get back again and I hope they look at that as they move on."

What have seen from QB Mason Rudolph. What do you remember about him since he decided to almost come here?

"It was a while back. He’s big, has a live arm, accurate, strong, he will stay in the pocket against the rush. I think the NFL guys will like him a lot because he is in that 6-4 to 6-5 range and is a drop-back guy. He doesn’t run a lot - not that he can’t, but he doesn’t do that - but he delivers the ball extremely well on time. You can see a lot of experience in the offense and a lot of game experience and it shows by his completion percentage, where he throws the ball, how quickly he gets rid of it, all of those things.”

Is Rudolph comparable to anyone you’ve played recently?

"I don’t know if we have played a guy that big and accurate recently off the top of my head. We’ve played a lot of guys like him over the years but just a talented guy. Good people around him. He knows where to go with the football, he doesn’t panic, he has a lot of poise back there. Just a dynamic football team."

With the early signing day coming up has it impacted the preparation for the bowl game in term of previous years?

"Not necessarily. We are kind of on the same schedule that we have been. Obviously, to get back to the bowl game you have to have good players so we are working hard to get those guys in place. I came off the road and Brad [Cornelsen, offensive coordinator] got in late Wednesday night or Thursday morning and came in and had a couple days to look at these guys. The other staff guys really haven’t. They have iPads and computers but the way our travel schedule is it is hard to work in some things. We will settle down and really lock in. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I want, it’s just getting everybody together to put it all on paper and get talking. Today was really our first day doing some Oklahoma State stuff. We practiced last weekend but that was really just a bunch of crossover work. Today was the first time really introduced some Oklahoma State. Tomorrow we will have a larger scout team practice focusing on Oklahoma State so we’re in that process right now."

Is this the busiest time if the year for you guys?

"Without a doubt. That’s the livelihood and I’m excited about the kids committed to us and I hope will sign on the 20th and a couple guys we’re still chasing. I like this class and the direction we’re going. I’ll tell you I’d rather be busy this time of year between recruiting and a bowl game. Like I said, I’m really excited to play against an outstanding football team, an outstanding program like Oklahoma State."

Brandon Facyson is a really smart guy, he is he someone that you can communicate differently with?

"Yeah. He’s had a lot of experience on the football field, a very mature guy. All of those guys on the backend. They’re very coachable just from the standpoint that they have been through a lot and just the maturity level. Him, Greg [Stroman] Terrell [Edmunds], guys like that: they are fun to coach. Our whole defense for the most part is a good group of kids that want to please, that are very intelligent. We’ve gotten our results this year by their work and I told them today I appreciate what they’re all about and we need to go finish and that’s the part we need to go do. We have the opportunity to do it one more time and this group will never be together again collectively. You would like for them to be but someone might not be able to make it here or there down for a reunion or things of that nature but it has been a very special group in my 24 years of being a coordinator which I am excited about."

Guys who have high academic goals sometimes have class conflicts with practice. Has Facyson ever had anything like that?

"I don’t really recall him having any of those issues. There are a few guys we’ll adjust our schedule but they are here to be students first. It’s cool to coach some guys that have those aspirations, intellect and that desire to go do something very special with their lives and affect people, that’s pretty cool and makes him special."

When you have guys who can cover like your corners how does it change the way that you can call a game?

"It gives me a little bit of a comfort zone. The game today is so much about matchups. You look at it in the NFL and it’s the same way. If they can exploit a matchup offensively they will attack that, and that’s the one thing luckily that we have been able to do over the years is put those kind of athletes on the field that allow us to do some different things and be comfortable, so to speak. They are put on an island a lot but that goes back to their skillset and their competitiveness but when you have those guys maybe you want to pressure a little bit more. We’ve mixed it up some this year but I don’t have any reservations about playing man coverage with those guys whether it’s playing man free or quarters which in a lot of instances, quarters is basically man coverage with potential help. When you have those types of guys it makes my job a little bit easier. It just allows you the freedom to load the box a little bit more."

Is it even more important to have them in a matchup like this?

"Yeah without a doubt, Having four guys out there that can cover their four and then you have to put your linebacker on their back, that’s critical. If we can have those kinds of matchups that’s what we need, if not they’re going to throw the ball around the yard on us."

Tempo is a big deal in the Big 12, with playing WVU how do you think you handled the tempo?

"Well the season opener was a long time ago and like think you’re not ready until you play the game. I like to think that with all of the teams that tried to run tempo against us that we are well prepared for that. They are fast and we just have to get lined up quickly. With that being said or commination we have to be critical. I don’t want them to dictate us but at the same time they are going to go at a tempo and we have to be able to line up and be ready to go and not give up anything cheap. Make every throw competitive and make sure on every run that we’re in our proper gaps and those types of things. That’s part of the tempo, getting lined up and getting your eyes in the right spot and be ready to go execute. I hope we’re farther along now in Game 13 than we were in Game One."