Coach Manny Diaz said Monday afternoon that “we’re excited to be in game week. This is our 10th week of football practice, we’ve only played four games. We’ve had a very unusual schedule with a few byes, a feeling of just waiting to get this thing going, get into a routine. The routine is here.”

Diaz said of going up against Virginia Tech this weekend that “(we’re) expecting a great atmosphere, a great game. We probably had our best practice of the year yesterday. We had a couple of days off, the guys came back with high energy.”

Diaz said S Bubba Bolden (NCAA eligibility) and DT Nesta Silvera (injury) are practicing and can play this weekend.

WR Mark Pope?

“Mark practiced yesterday,” Diaz said. “Right now we are probably as healthy as we’ve been. Nesta has been out there practicing. Good to have those guys back.”

Asked about the OL situation and the lineup there, Diaz said “Every week we’re trying to take the best team to the field - we have very young football players. We were watching 2016 Miami-Virginia Tech and I’m watching Shaq (Quarterman) and (Mike) Pinckney run around out there and you see them do a lot of really good things, but they were humbled that day like we all were on defense that night in Blacksburg. That’s all part of the learning process. They’re better for it now. So whether it’s Jakai (Clark) or Zion (Nelson), DJ (Scaife) is a sophomore, Corey Gaynor this is his fifth start. You have some inexperienced guys. So get them better, improve.”

With Clark benched at one point last game, Diaz said, “There was also an ankle injury, I don’t categorize that as bench him.”

* Virginia Tech is a program that was winning double digit games regularly and now is struggling.

“Virginia Tech is a program we have a lot of respect for,” Diaz said. “They’ve had an identity there (on defense under D coordinator Bud Foster). And Justin Fuente on the offensive side of the ball, when he came to the league he’s brought as creative an offense (as there is in the ACC).

“It’s a game where if you’re not locked in on both sides of the ball you have a chance to look silly. It’s very hard to look at a team a week ago (the Hokies were blown out by Duke) and say `That’s the team that will show up on Saturday.’ … We expect to see their best effort on Saturday.”

* Diaz said De’Andre Wilder is medically disqualified from playing but is finishing his degree at UM

* In this transfer-heavy age of college football, how does Diaz deal with a player who complains he’s not getting enough reps?

“I don’t think it’s anything more than what’s happened in the past,” Diaz said. “Look, you are allowed to have 85 guys on scholarship and only 11 can play at a time. … The most important thing as coaches is to be honest and upfront about why they’re not playing, what they can do to improve and get more playing time.”

Diaz said the team charts practice performance so they also show players why another guy might be working in front of them, adding that he wants to “push more guys onto the field” and build depth.

The goal?

“A two-deep with no dropoff,” Diaz said. “We have to develop that.”

* Of transfer Jaelan Phillips and his injury status, Diaz said, he can’t practice this season and that “Jaelan is working out. The biggest thing is he’s worked out his arms now - he’s not the same guy as when he showed up on campus. That and incorporate him into our locker room, onto campus, going to class. That’s where he’s been about this fall.”

* Diaz said at QB that with Jarren Williams that he has to trust his eyes and take what the defense gives him.

“Jarren is very accurate - in terms of the grand scheme of the offense no matter what pass concept we have it’s getting that rhythm, count in his head to be as quickly as possible,” Diaz said.

Diaz also the QB in the Dan Enos offense is “all about decision-making.”

Coach Manny Diaz addressed his team’s practices on Monday on 560 AM coming off a bye weekend.

Diaz said last Wednesday that he wasn’t happy with how his team practiced that day … and the same was true the Wednesday a week earlier.

“We didn’t have a great day one day last week, set the ball down and we competed, just changed course,” Diaz said. “We practiced yesterday and had one of the best practices we had all year. There is a tendency you get into the bye week blues. Coming off the Saturday prior that was not going to be acceptable. As you’re trying to set the culture of a program there are things you have to be hard on. You have to set the tone.”

Was a goal in the bye week to see if some other players deserve more playing time?

“The biggest thing is you’re always going to find more depth,” Diaz said. “Starting in October (we knew) this would be the meat of our season, there would be some guys ready for a role in October that maybe we’re ready August 24. The more depth we have, that makes us a better team. We’re getting some guys back we didn’t have the first month. I’m exited to see us get as many guys on the field as we possibly can.”

Among the players returning: transfer safety Bubba Bolden, who is eligible to return with the Virginia Tech game.

“It’ll be good to see him, more competition in our secondary,” Diaz said.

Diaz also said DT Nesta Silvera “will be back (off injury), allowing us to roll guys up front.”

What has Diaz seen in the difference between this year and last year with this team?

“For me we’re still too early in the season, our sample size is too small,” Diaz said. “Let’s go around the track a few times and we’ll see where we’re at and where we’re going.”

Diaz also said on offense that “we have moved the ball against anybody” when things are clicking.

“I’ve seen excitement with the demeanor we’re playing on that side of the ball,” he said. “The issue has still been consistency. The biggest thing - we just need to go play games. I’m excited to play six games in six weeks. Our season has been so start, stop, start, stop.”

* Asked about struggles on the offensive line and if there could be lineup changes, Diaz said, “One you’re trying to build continuity and confidence. There’s the idea if you are constantly trying to fire people, young people, it becomes difficult for them to gain confidence. … you still have to demand a performance, at their highest level.

“Part of it also is a depth standpoint. Perhaps instead of one guy playing 75 plays, hey one guy can play 50, one 25. We would like to have the ability to push more guys into the game. That is something you may see going forward.”

* With Virginia Tech up next - the Hokies were just blown out by Duke - Diaz said, “What do we say? In college football you’re probably not going to see the same team every week. Clemson is watching North Carolina lose back to back games to Wake (Forest) and App (State), saying ` We got this.’ Every time you think something is about to be easy you better duck, because you’re about to get whacked on the back of the head.

“We would expect a wounded team, a very hungry team coming out of that locker room. But I can’t worry about what’s coming out of that tunnel, I have to worry about what’s coming out of our tunnel regardless of what Virginia Tech’s mentality is.”