Mike London Quotes: Preparing for BYU

The Virginia Cavaliers travel to Provo, Utah for the Hoos' first away game of the season. Mike London and company have their hands full preparing for the BYU Cougars, the No. 21/23 team in the country. On Wednesday's ACC teleconference, London answered questions on what he's seeing from BYU as well as how his team is preparing.

In comparing this year's BYU team from last year's, London noted that there are a lot of similarities, focusing specifically on quarterback Taysom Hill.

"The biggest thing is their quarterback Hill, he does a fantastic job of running their offense," London said. "Whether he's running the ball, throwing the ball, you see teams so stacked up on him, then the throws the ball.  He see him backed up, he hands the ball off, or has a chance to get it to his play‑maker."

"He is a very, very good player.  He's improved a lot, as you hope all guys do when they come back and play another year.  He is definitely a really, really good football player."

London can't emphasize that enough. Las Vegas has Hill's odds of winning the Heisman Trophy at 20/1 -- those are the ninth best odds among any Heisman candidate. Also consider that just last week, Hill was off the board, meaning Vegas didn't think he had a shot of winning it.

London was also asked about how he is preparing his team for the high altitude.

"There's nothing really you can do to prepare for the high altitude till you get into it.  One of the things that we've been doing a lot of is this whole recovery hydration thing.  When you're flying out there, it's critical that you hydrate.  Their elevation, as far as where they are, is about 4500 feet.  Anything between 4900 feet, we hear football players talk about it's an anaerobic exercise.  We're going to do things on our own schedule, eastern standard time, then wake up in the morning when we need to, get the guys ready to play."

But the altitude isn't his biggest concern.

"It's not as much worrying about the altitude, being able to breathe, as it is to prepare for it.  Teams travel across the country a lot of times.  We've flown out to USC before.  This is another trip we'll go out and play another really good team on the road."

"It's about taking care of your body the best way possible."