ACC Now: The coaches speak

Editor's note: Stephen Allan will provide updates from the ACC Kickoff in Greensboro today. The head coaches from each team met with the media this afternoon.

GREENSBORO--N.C. State head coach Tom O'Brien addressed a couple of positions that have been hit hard by injuries.

-At linebacker, Dwayne Maddox will fill in for the injured Nate Irving. O'Brien said Maddox had some swings in his play early in the regular season, but once Irving returned, Maddox played much better in spot duty.

O'Brien said Maddox had a strong spring and will be expected to play well. If not, Ray Michel and Sterling Lucas will assume Irving's spot.

"You've got to find a way to get your best three players on the field," O'Brien said.

-At running back, there is no guarantee that Toney Baker will be given playing time just because of his earlier career success. When asked what Baker has to do to get playing time, O'Brien said he has to simply prove he's better than the other backs.

O'Brien also said redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Glennon will get playing time even though Russell Wilson is the established starter.

"If Russell goes down, you don't want someone who's never played," O'Brien said. "It could happen on the road for the championship."

O'Brien noted that Wilson's history of injuries made it more important that Glennon get snaps.

Bowden addresses recruiting: Recently, it seems Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden has gotten outrecruited by Florida's Urban Meyer and other schools for top Florida high school prospects.

Bowden said Florida rising to the top is part of a cyclical process.

"You can't stay on top forever, but we stayed up there longer than anyone," Bowden said. "We'll get back... I'd like to get to the top, as high a rank as we can. Can we? Yeah."

Bowden said he would like to get his team back to the peak before he hands the reigns over to offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher. He said having already appointed Fisher as the next head coach has actually helped recruiting.

"We can say, 'there's the guy that's taking my place,' and he can go and talk to Fisher," Bowden said.

Speed kills in Virginia: Virginia was picked to finish fifth in the coastal division, ahead of only Duke, in the preseason poll.

But rest assured, Al Groh has done everything he can to make sure the Cavaliers are a difficult bunch to contain.

"We probably have the fastest team we've ever had," Groh said.

He said last year, he would have had as fast a team, but because "circumstances came up," he had to throw out one playbook and bring back an old one.

Groh did not say what the circumstances were, but it's likely he was referring to the dismissal of his starting quarterback. Pete Lalich was dismissed in mid-September for a probation violation.

Shannon not missing Orange Bowl: There were probably many people sad to see an old artifact of college football go down when the Orange Bowl was demolished in May 2008.

But Miami head coach Randy Shannon sure isn't one of them.

"When they tore down the Orange Bowl, someone hit it with just a sledgehammer and the whole thing came down," said Shannon, referencing the weak infrastructure. "You never knew what was going to be in the locker rooms."

Shannon said playing in the Miami Dolphins' stadium has been a major help in recruiting. If nothing else, he said he can go into the locker rooms and not worry about running into something foul.

Want to play for UNC?: North Carolina lost five wide receivers this offseason--three to the NFL, two to graduation. So what's head coach Butch Davis going to do?

"As of right now, in the parking lot we're holding tryouts for wide receiver," Davis said laughing. "Anyone who has good hands and can cradle the ball [can come.]"

Davis said it was unlikely he was going to be able to find anyone who could fill the role Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate left. Instead, Davis expects to use a variety of packages and let each wide receiver have a niche.

One player who could see significant time at wideout is former running back Greg Little. Davis said he thinks Little's future is at wide receiver and his time spent at running back would benefit him greatly since he knows how to play physically.

Swinney never expected to be coach: Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney took over for Tommy Bowden midseason fully aware that he was the interim head coach and not the head coach.

"I wasn't very confident [about being hired]," he said. "When all 85,000 people in Death Valley were chanting my name with two minutes left at the end, I thought I might have a shot."

Swinney took a team that struggled to a 3-3 start after starting the season ranked ninth in the preseason AP poll and led it to the Gator Bowl.

Triple-option most explosive offense: Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson threw out a stunning stat at media day today: his team had the most plays covering 20 yards or more in the league last season.

"They say perception is reality, and the perception is we run three yards and a cloud of dust," Johnson said. "If you polled the fans, they'd say it's exciting. If you're winning, it's fun. But if you're losing, then the offense is stale and needs revision."

Spaziani talks past: New Boston College head coach Frank Spaziani discussed his decision to go to the Canadien Football League after 10 years at Virginia as defensive coordinator.

"We didn't have the success we should have had at UVA," he said in his thick, deep Italian accent. "It was time for a change. In retrospect it was the toughest as well as the best thing."

He called it the low point of his career, but used the opportunity to learn the different offenses the CFL used. He said being there gave him nearly a 10-year jump on the learning curve defensively.

Cutcliffe: "We are a bowl team"-- It was a familiar sight Monday afternoon--the media had picked Duke to finish last in the Coastal Division.

But head coach David Cutcliffe thinks his team will be playing past November. In fact, he said he believes his team was good enough to play in a bowl last year.

"We should've been 6-6 at worst last year," he said. "We are a bowl team, and it's my job to coach them to that level. Every hurdle gets higher."

He said that if he had done his job last year, Duke would be playing in a bowl game. He said there certain games from last year that he still thinks about this summer.

Grobe not waving disrespect card: Normally coaches who aren't selected near the top like to talk about how the lack of respect will motivate their team to prove the critics wrong.

Not so with Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe. whose squad was picked fourth in the Atlantic Division.

"I don't think anyone takes us for granted anymore," Grobe said. "There are no preseason W's."

Grobe said the league's competitive balance means there is no clear pick for a runaway title contender and that almost anyone in the league will be able to compete for the championship.

Friedgen happy with young squad: Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen has a much younger squad on his hand this year, and he's perfectly content with that.

"We had some veterans last year that said, 'Coach, I've been there, chill,' " said Friedgen, referring to his outbursts. "The young guys are hungry. This whole team seems hungry. I've had very few effort issues."

The Terrapins entered last season with 30 seniors and finished 8-5 with a bowl win over Nevada.

Beamer on top with not much to say: Virginia Tech is the runaway favorite in the media to win the conference, receiving 69 of a possible 87 votes to win the championship.

But as usual, Frank Beamer isn't saying anything exciting. When he was asked about the prospect of playing Alabama this year, he simply said, "I like it," and mumbled the same line a few times before the next question was asked.

He simply said different players were making good progress and liked playing out-of-conference games on neutral fields.

It's probably a safe bet if he was asked about being picked to finish first, he would say, "I like it."