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football Edit

Dana Bible trying to keep changes to a minimum

NC State interim head coach Dana Bible met with the media following Thursday's practice to talk about the team's preparations for the Music City Bowl and star quarterback Mike Glennon.
A full transcript of what the coach had to say is below:
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There's a lot going on around the program obviously, has there been a lot of change?
From the start, I wasn't going to reinvent the wheel. There's been a blueprint for six years and it's been very successful, we're following the blueprint. We've also tried to keep [the changes] to a minimum. There's enough change that's happened. We're trying to keep things as on-course as they've been for the last six years.
How much does that help in preparing and for when you get down to Tennessee?
All I know is they say this about football teams, football coaches and players - we're creatures of habit. Again, we feel strong about the habits we've created through past years here, and we're going to follow that. Our guys have a lot of confidence in this plan that we've followed since Coach O'Brien was here. They know it, they believe in it, and it gives us the best chance to be successful.
Players have said they want to win this game for the coaches. That has to make you feel good as a coaching staff.
It sure does. We put it right back on them. On coaches, we want everybody to be successful because of the seniors and because of the team. So, from the very start of this change, it has been that all sides are going to be do their parts on this. If they motivate us and we motivate them, then it's a good way for us to interact.
What kind of challenge does Vanderbilt present?
They're a heck of a team. If you look at it, they've won their last six games in a row. They are arguably one of the hottest team in the whole country. They're talented. They come from a conference that is certainly powerful. We know that we have our hands full and we're looking forward to the challenge.
You started the game with an SEC opponent and end the season with another, is this a chance for redemption?
We'll see how far we've come, how much we've developed through the course of the season and where we are with this particular team as we go into game 13.
Have you decided if you'll be on the field or in the box?
I'll be in the box, which is where I've been all the time. That's what I know. Again, it's keeping change to a minimum. We spent time on that, talked it through, thought it through and believe that's in the best interest for us, staff-wise and in the best interest for us to be success.
Couple of defensive players said the other day that a few new wrinkles have been put in, any new wrinkles offensively?
In bowl time, you have all of those extra practices and it's a chance to experiment and expand. I don't think that's noteworthy to this particular example, I think that's true when it comes to playing in a bowl.
Can you talk about Mike Glennon and his progression from the time you started with him until now?
I've been very fortunate to coach Mike. He's a youngster that came to us six years ago in the recruiting process. The truth of the matter is, he recruited us as much as we recruited him. He had a plan from the very beginning. He and Coach O'Brien also had a plan, the plan has played true. He's developed into a heck of a college player and - I don't have a crystal ball - but I believe that he has a great future. I just feel really fortunate to have a chance to have coached him.
How have Manny Stocker and Pete Thomas grown this year?
You're talking about Manny as a true freshman, so he's improved tremendously in his command of the offense and just being comfortable at this level and the speed. He's come miles. As far as Pete, he's been on the scout team, so I don't really get a chance to see him that much. I've seen him the last couple of practices because of bowl practice and he's got talent. It should be a very competitive situation [next year].
We've all seen the success Russell Wilson has had in the NFL after coming up in your system, what kind of similarities do you see with Mike that make you think he can have similar success?
The offense that we run here is a pro-style offense. Part of the transition for Mike and part of the transition that Russell is going through, and if you go back a few more years to Matt Ryan, what you see is they get up to speed quicker because they're coming from this kind of background, offensively. The plays that we run are the plays that are run on Sunday - I'm not saying that's better or worse, but that's the style that we are, so they transition sometimes faster and sometimes better than maybe somebody who has been in the shotgun and run a certain type of offense. They're starting at a different level. The transition right there maybe is a little quicker because they've got five years of this.
When you think all the way back to Erik Kramer [a former NC State quarterback who played under Bible and went on to the NFL] and everybody in-between, what kind of pride do you have seeing all of these guys succeed in the NFL?
A lot. I've coached in the NFL and I value how talented that whole league is and how challenging it is [to win]. People ask me sometimes, 'what's the hardest thing you've ever done in football?' I would say the hardest thing I've ever been a part of is winning an NFL game. That is a challenge. For those young players to have success, it's really special because of what they have to do to make that work. I have an appreciation for that, but I'll be honest with you, it's not just about the quarterbacks, it's about all of the guys. I'm equally excited about the successes that any of the guys that I've been on the team with have. It's really exciting to watch them grow and find their way in this line of work because it's a challenging and very competitive line of work.
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