Hokies Staying Positive, Readying for Arkansas After Giving Clemson "Our Best Shot"

You'll rarely find a coach or player in any sport who will hail a moral victory, but the Hokies could hardly be blamed for finding the silver linings in their narrow, 42-35 loss to second-ranked Clemson.

"The guys never gave up, even though we were down," DT Nigel Williams said. "After the first quarter, we all rallied on offense and defense. All the young guys helped pick up the older guys and vice versa. We just kept pushing and chugging along and we fought to the last second."

After being down in both the third and fourth quarters by multiple touchdowns, Tech wouldn't give up, ultimately having a shot at the tie (or even the win) on their last drive of the game. Surely, the Hokies would've preferred to complete the comeback, but taking a team like the Tigers is a worthy consolation prize.

"We gave them our best shot," said WR Cam Phillips. "That is obviously a good football game and we just came up a little short."

But not every Hokie was quite so willing to look at the bright side of things. Ever the competitor, Sam Rogers acknowledges that the Hokies do have some reasons to be frustrated.

"There's not many moral victories. A loss is a loss," Rogers said. "I felt like we had a chance to win the game and we didn't...The way our team responded was really encouraging. I never doubted that about our team, but putting that on display, the character is really cool to see."

The team will get a little time to recover from the close loss, at least. The Hokies will take the next week off to focus on exams and getting healthy before starting preparation for their 24th-straight bowl appearance against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte.

With such a close bowl destination, the matchup with Bret Bielema's bunch looks to be a quasi-home game for the Hokies. Accordingly, Rogers thinks the chance for one last send-off in front of Tech fans is one of the most appealing parts of the coming trip.

"I'm looking forward to having a huge turnout from Hokie Nation," Rogers said. "It's not too far away and I know a lot of fans will travel there and support us in our last game of the season. I can't wait to see all the orange and maroon in the stands."

This game will also serve as an opportunity for the program to get back to the 10-win standard that the Hokies so frequently reached in Frank Beamer's days. For Phillips — whose slippery open field antics have since earned him the nickname the 'ankle assassin' from his teammates — that extra win can make quite the difference.

"I think just going from single digits to double digits is a big thing, especially around here," Phillips said. "Ten wins, a lot of people weren't expecting us to be right here in this position. Win the Coastal, play for an ACC Championship; I think 10 wins would be the big thing to how successful our season was."

It also means something to this senior class. Seniors like Williams came to Virginia Tech on the back end of 10-win seasons being the norm, and they're anxious for a chance to get the team back to its former glory in their final game in the orange and maroon.

"The difference between nine games and 10 games is a big difference. Another big thing is going out the season the right way," Williams said. "Getting these seniors out of here with a good win, Arkansas has a good team. They had a pretty good season as well. (They) played some tough opponents. It'll be a good win down in Charlotte in the Belk Bowl."

Nigel Williams

ON HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HIM TO PUT UP A GOOD SHOWING AGAINST CLEMSON:

"It came as a surprise to us. The way we worked throughout this past year, and overall my past few years, we've been working for that stage. We push each other and we believed and prepared to get there. It was a tough game, a tough loss, but I'm really proud of the way the guys worked and the way we played on Saturday."

ON HIS IMPRESSIONS OF DESHAUN WATSON:

"I think it's nothing different from what we practiced against throughout the week. Between Jerod (Evans), (Brenden) Motley, and some young quarterbacks. I feel like we were well prepared going into the game. The game plan didn't need changed throughout the season with all the mobile quarterbacks we had played against. I thought we were prepared. Clemson had a good game plan as well. We both played a good game."

ON WHAT HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH THE BELK BOWL:

"I think the biggest thing (is) this is my last ride with these guys in the locker room. Just coming out here ready to lead and push these guys to get this tenth win is probably the biggest thing. Coach Fuente always speaks on sweat equity. You can definitely feel that in the locker room, getting to show it this last game."

ON WHAT ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE AFTER THE FIRST THREE DRIVES:

"It always came down to our execution and how well we did in that. Everything they did that we game planned for just came down to how well each individual came together in the game plan in order to get the best product out of it."

ON IF IT'S HIT HIM THAT THIS WILL BE HIS FINAL GAME:

"Not quite yet. Right now I'm just focusing on watching some film on Arkansas and getting healthy. Got a couple of guys banged up, so just getting in and watching film. Just getting ready to practice and prepare for the game."

ON HOW EXCITING IT IS TO KNOW THE FANS WILL TRAVEL WELL TO CHARLOTTE:

"It's always good to go to a game knowing that your fans are going to be there. They definitely help us out on the sideline and on the field just hearing them cheer let's go Hokies and everything. Just knowing it's gonna be a close arena in Charlotte, it's right down the road. Just a short little trip. Pretty excited to see how the fans travel."

Cam Phillips

ON WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO GET THE SHORT PASSES SO MUCH:

"We do practice that a lot. Short throws, quick gains, the coaches like to use it as an extension of the run game. It worked well for us with the pressure that they kept bringing. We didn't have a lot of time. The coaches said be ready for it and kept calling it and it was working."

ON WHAT LED TO THE OFFENSE HAVING SO MUCH SUCCESS THIS YEAR:

"I think just the time that we had, and the execution played a big part in it. The coaches calling the plays and being confident enough, and trusting us to make those plays. Good quarterback play doesn't hurt. Very successful season. Put up a lot of yards and a lot of points. Bright future for us."

ON WHAT HE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH THE BOWL GAME:

"I would say I always look forward to just a new opponent. Someone that you don't get to play very often. Arkansas, being an SEC team, I'm pretty sure that they're gonna have a lot of talented guys and I'm really looking forward to that."

ON WHAT HE IS MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS:

"For class to get out. It was a long season. It's obviously not over yet, but it's time to heal up and finish school and study for finals and finish strong on that note."

ON HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO THE YOUNGER GUYS TO GET MORE PRACTICES:

"Maybe you can say that it gives the guys a chance to just experience the atmosphere and understand how things should go as far as the practices we'll have in between. It's sort of developmental, so you can work on the basics. As far as wide receivers, a lot of drill work. I think that is needed. Kind of tone it down a little in practice and it will be good for us."

ON IF HE'S GIVEN ANY THOUGHT OF DECLARING FOR THE DRAFT:

"No, I haven't given that any thought."

ON IF ANYONE HAS TALKED ABOUT A TIMELINE FOR HIM TO MAKE THAT DECISION:

"I haven't thought about it. My focus was winning the ACC championship. Personally, I'm still highly upset about that. I'm not really thinking about the future. Just bowl game, finishing school strong, that's pretty much it."

ON HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT MOVING TO THE SLOT HAS HAD ON HIS PERFORMANCE:

"Honestly it really wasn't too much of a difference. My freshman and sophomore year, I played in the slot a little bit, but it's obviously more full time here. Just something new, different match ups. The coaches, they did a good job of trying to get me the ball and putting me in different positions and trying to take advantage of my strengths, I guess, running with the ball after the catch. I think I did a pretty good job of it."

ON IF THE TEAM HAS GIVEN HIM ANY NICKNAMES AFTER HIS CUTS THE PAST FEW WEEKS:

"I actually just heard a really good joke back in the room. Terrell (Edmunds) and Nij (Yoshua Nijman) said I was the ankle assassin. That was something I haven't heard before. I'm just trying to make a play and the guys have fun with it."

ON HOW IMPORTANT THIS BREAK IS TO GET RESTED UP:

"I think it's really important. It's pretty much a one-game season now. We can get to 10 wins, so that's gonna be really important to us so we are gonna handle this break that we get and handle it with care and make sure that we do everything that we need to do to win the game."

ON WHAT A 10-WIN SEASON WOULD MEAN TO HIM AND WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT ARKANSAS:

"I think just going from single digits to double digits is a big thing, especially around here. 10 wins, a lot of people weren't expecting us to be right here in this position. Win the Coastal, play for an ACC championship; I think 10 wins would be the big thing to how successful our season was. I think that will be really important for us to get there. Arkansas, what I do know, is that of course they're in the SEC and have a lot of big bodies. I believe their coach came from Wisconsin, so those guys have some size on them. Being from the SEC, I know they have some athletes. It should be a really good challenge."

ON IF HE, BUCKY HODGES, AND ISAIAH FORD TALK ABOUT THE DRAFT:

"We don't really talk about it too much. I guess what football players talk about, whenever we do get to the league just how fun it'll be and stuff like that. Not really too much on our decisions or stuff like that. I guess that would be kind of a sensitive topic. There's not gonna be too much said about that."

Chuck Clark

ON IF IT'S HIT HIM THAT THIS WILL BE HIS FINAL GAME:

"Yeah, it has. It kind of struck me after we played UVA. It's kind of winding down."

ON WHAT POSITIVES HE TOOK FROM THE CLEMSON GAME:

"The positives that you can take from that is we have a solid football team. We played against a solid team. They're gonna go on and hopefully they keep winning more games and it shows what we can do for the guys that will be coming back on this team that they can do it."

ON IF HE'S STARTED ANY NFL PREPARATION:

"As of right now, you just wanna focus on finishing out strong as a senior and trying to send the other seniors out with a win and doing your part. At the end of the day, you do have to think about those things, but you don't think about it firsthand. It's in the back of your mind."

ON WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO GO OUT WITH A 10-WIN SEASON:

"It would mean everything. I think during my time here I haven't had a 10-win season. It would mean everything to leave with a win and then also send the other seniors out with a 10-win season."

ON HOW CLOSE OF A GROUP THIS SENIOR CLASS IS:

"We are a very tight group. I look at the seniors that have been here, it's a very tight group. A lot of our guys are guys from the class before me, so a few of the guys in my class are actually true freshman. A lot of those guys are redshirts. They were here before us and we learned from them, actually. We ended up being seniors together. We lost a lot of guys from both classes as well. We are a very tight group."

ON WHAT HE WILL DO THIS DURING THIS WEEK OFF:

"We actually still have to work out this week and we have finals. So we're just gonna be here staying in shape."

Sam Rogers

ON HOW PROUD HE IS OF THE RESPONSE OF THE TEAM IN THE SECOND HALF:

"I'm really just proud of the way our guys responded all season. I think the character and resiliency on this team is really, really high. Just being down like that — you obviously don't want to be down like that — but being down like that and always fighting back and never feeling like you're out of the game is huge for us."

ON WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO HIM TO GET BACK TO A 10-WIN SEASON:

"It would mean a lot. That's our goal right now: get 10 wins. Send the senior class off right. Me and the rest of the guys getting out with 10 wins, coming from where we come from the past couple of years, to get to 10 wins would be huge. Real excited for that opportunity and just ready to get back to work."

ON IF HE FEELS THE RUNNING GAME HAS GOTTEN GOING THE PAST FEW GAMES:

"I don't know. I feel like Coach (Fuente) does a good job with calling certain plays and making sure our running game has been efficient all season. It hasn't been too big a problem all season. As long as we're putting points up on the board, it doesn't matter how we do it."

ON WHAT WENT THROUGH HIS MIND WHEN HE SAW MITCHELL LUDWIG JUMP SHOT THE BALL:

"We were talking about, as an offense, the series before and then I heard the crowd going wild. That's all I knew. I knew that play was in, I had seen that play run in practice and stuff. It was good to see we actually ran it."

ON HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HEAL UP IN THE DOWN TIME BEFORE THE BOWL:

"Football takes a toll on you. It's a long season and it's a violent game. It'll be huge to get back and get some rest and get our legs back right and go play one more together."

ON HOW MUCH OF AN ENERGY BOOST COMPLETING A TRICK PLAY IS:

"I think when you convert on those trick plays it's a big boost to your team. It's also a big risk. That's a testament to Coach Fuente and the trust he has in us to convert those plays and execute those plays. I would say you convert one of those, it gives you a big energy boost."

ON WHAT HE WILL FOCUS ON THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS:

"Coach Fuente told us the only thing we've gotta worry about right now is academics, lifting, and running. Those are the things I'm gonna worry about right now this week coming up. We'll start bowl prep this weekend, but right now just finishing up strong in school and getting our legs back right."

ON WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT PLAYING AN SEC TEAM:

"I haven't really looked too much into Arkansas as far as what they do defensively and all that stuff. It'll be fun just to plan an SEC team. Anytime you get to play a team like that, you're guys are getting excited for it. I know everybody will be ready to go."

ON IF HE FEELS HE'S BEEN A GOOD MENTOR ON THE TEAM:

"I don't know. I try to help anywhere I can. Obviously being the same position, I've tried to help Steven (Peoples) as much as possible and I try to be a mentor to whoever I can. To how much, I guess you'd have to ask them."