Ted Roof Press Conference
Oklahoma Sooners defensive coordinator Ted Roof meets the press on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
Transcript
00:00 >> Okay, starting to back this time, John.
00:04 >> Yeah, Ted, I wanted to ask you about a comment that Butch Jones made.
00:07 After the game, he said it sounded like you guys' team speed overall as a team
00:11 caught him by surprise.
00:12 I think he was referring to film study, when you see Oklahoma on film 2022 and
00:17 portray that to what happened on Saturday.
00:19 He was taken aback, I think his staff was kind of surprised by your team speed.
00:24 Can you address how much faster you are this year as a team defense than last year
00:29 and how that manifested?
00:30 >> Well, I don't know if I could give you an exact figure on the speed,
00:36 but I think we're certainly, we were fresh, we were well conditioned.
00:43 Our guys were hungry and it showed.
00:46 They did, they confident, they played fast and it was a good result.
00:51 >> How much did that maybe make itself clear with the transfers that you guys had?
00:58 >> I think certainly they certainly added to it and you go back to depth.
01:02 I mean, we didn't play that many plays defensively.
01:08 So I think it's a combination of things.
01:11 Sure.
01:13 >> First row far right, Ryan.
01:15 >> You probably got in really early and played stipulated.
01:17 What have you seen from him through the fall to kind of link up and
01:21 earn that kind of role early on?
01:25 >> Yeah, so far this fall we've seen a guy that is really prideful in how he prepares.
01:30 He's mature and he's talented and he's a competitor.
01:38 And so, yeah, a bunch of good things we've seen from him.
01:41 >> Go down the line, George.
01:44 >> Yeah, Ted, Kip Lewis was I think the first linebacker that got in.
01:48 Just what has he shown and how has he impressed you so far through fall camp?
01:52 >> Kip's really matured.
01:53 He's a different guy than he was last year.
01:55 And I'm really proud of him.
01:59 He played really hard, played fast, and is starting to have confidence.
02:05 As far as knowing what to do, year two in the system.
02:08 And the first year of transition from high school to college and
02:12 then into a new system and then the next year.
02:15 And he's made some good strides and expect him to continue to make good strides.
02:20 >> How good are just his instincts?
02:22 It seems like he has good eyes and just knows where the football's going.
02:25 >> Yeah, he's very instinctive.
02:27 That's one of his strengths.
02:29 Yeah.
02:29 >> Another question about linebackers, Ted.
02:33 I mean, obviously, competition is gonna get harder as the season goes along.
02:37 >> Sure. >> But what you've seen from camp and
02:38 now first game, do you have a sense of how many linebackers you may be able to play?
02:43 And what would kind of be that ultimate limitation in your mind, numbers wise?
02:47 >> Well, I think we played either 12 or 13 on Saturday.
02:51 And we're not gonna have the luxury of doing that too many times
02:55 at the linebacker position.
02:57 But you'd like to keep good rotation, to keep guys fresh.
03:02 And at the same time, guys that are in backup roles,
03:06 getting meaningful reps when the game's in balance and things like that.
03:10 Because that's how they grow and that's how they continue to grow and develop.
03:15 So, but a lot of that's dictated by the circumstances of the game and
03:19 by how guys practice and how they play when they have their opportunities.
03:21 So there's a lot of things that go into that, but
03:25 we wanna play a bunch of guys, as many guys that earn it.
03:28 >> Is like nine, I mean, like you said, 12,
03:31 there's probably not a reasonable number in every game.
03:34 But eight, nine, I mean,
03:36 would that be too many to try to get out there in the normal flow?
03:39 >> Well, the thing you run into is, no, I don't think that's too many.
03:44 You're limited in practice reps.
03:46 So guys preparing within the game plan, that part of it.
03:52 So like I said, we were able to play our fourth team.
03:56 And what was really cool about that was our first team and
04:00 second team guys were on the field screaming at him about protecting the shutout.
04:05 And that was a big deal and that was a really cool thing to see,
04:09 how prideful everybody was about that.
04:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]
04:14 >> Yeah, Ted, obviously a lot of talk about the line going into the season and
04:19 after the game on Saturday.
04:21 What did you learn about those guys when you went back and
04:25 reviewed the game that maybe you didn't know Saturday afternoon?
04:30 >> I think a lot of things were affirmed.
04:32 I think that we knew what we had and we played 44 guys on defense,
04:36 so we had some depth there to be able to rotate guys and
04:41 not see big, not see drop offs and that's an encouraging sign.
04:46 Again, we've still got a lot of things to get better at and
04:51 improve on and we've got to do that.
04:54 So, but at the same time it was a great start and
04:58 that's what it was, was a start.
05:01 So, but we've got to improve a lot this week.
05:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]
05:06 Sure.
05:08 >> Ted, what impressed you the most about the way Gentry played on Saturday?
05:12 >> I thought he played really fast and I thought he played confident.
05:14 His first start and there wasn't a lot of hesitation.
05:21 He played fast and he played with confidence.
05:23 And Coach Vela has done a great job with him,
05:27 bringing him along and Gentry's bought into everything.
05:29 He wants to do it right.
05:31 He's so detail oriented for a young guy that he's like at another level for
05:38 a guy that's at his point in career as far as the details.
05:42 He wants to be coached.
05:44 He wants to be coached hard and I have a lot of respect for him.
05:48 >> What did you see out of him in his freshman year that grows when he was
05:52 really seemed like a sponge learning everything?
05:54 What did you see out of him?
05:55 >> I think you said the right word.
05:56 He was a sponge trying to learn everything.
05:59 And year one in the system, year one in college football.
06:03 And so I saw a lot of growth and at the same time.
06:07 Now with some more reps, the increased reps where things become muscle memory.
06:15 Where it's bam, bam, bam instead of dot to dot to dot, but bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
06:20 And that's like you see with that's no different than most every kid in every
06:24 position on defense.
06:25 Sure.
06:26 >> Can you tell?
06:28 >> Talk about SMU and what they do offensively coming into the game.
06:32 >> Thank you for asking that question about moving on to the next game.
06:37 I appreciate that.
06:38 Certainly their head coach and their offensive coordinator.
06:45 I was with them on staff when we were at Auburn when we won the national
06:48 championship and so I have familiarity with those guys, have a lot of respect for
06:52 them, they're well coached football team, they go fast.
06:58 They hit you with a lot of different formations, a lot of different motions.
07:02 And also from a schematic standpoint, a lot of variation in what they do.
07:10 Their quarterback's a guy that was his second start and is impressive.
07:17 Stone moves in the pocket well, is a quarterback run threat.
07:22 At the same time can make all the throws.
07:25 It's big plays at receiver a lot of speed and
07:28 the tight ends are really multi-dimensional.
07:32 The receivers and their blockers and then the running backs.
07:35 I thought the depth at running back, they did broke some big runs in.
07:39 Johnson ran for 124 yards on 14 carries, I think.
07:43 So the ability to do both to run the ball and then take shots.
07:50 >> Ted, on a day where you guys primarily rushed for and
07:53 they're running heavy protections.
07:56 What are you looking for when you sit down to grade things out?
07:58 And what were some of those elements that were affirmed about the defensive line for
08:02 you on Saturday?
08:03 >> Well, you're right.
08:04 We saw a lot of max protection and we anticipated that.
08:07 So, but as far as being able to generate some,
08:12 get the quarterback off his spot with four.
08:14 And then when that happens and teams are maxing up, your coverage and
08:18 your rush have to work together.
08:19 Your coverage has got to do a good job and buy those guys some more times.
08:22 Because if they're in seven man protection and you're rushing four,
08:25 that means three guys are getting double teamed and only one guy's got a singled up.
08:29 So, it's got to work together and we anticipated that.
08:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]
08:39 >> He didn't have a lot of reps Saturday, but DJ Terry did earn the start.
08:44 And for someone that wasn't even involved in spring football,
08:48 what does that say about him?
08:49 What did he show during camp so that he can make that sort of leap that fast?
08:53 >> Well, he earned that starting job.
08:56 He's a guy that came in from day one extremely humble.
09:01 And all he wanted to do was learn and be coached and grow and get better.
09:05 And we absolutely love his attitude, love his work ethic.
09:09 And see him, gonna expect him to go like that.
09:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]
09:13 >> Jesse.
09:14 >> Hey Ted, you've mentioned a couple or a few second year guys that saw snaps on
09:19 Saturday, Jaron, Kip, Kobe.
09:21 Just when you've got guys in the second year in the system,
09:24 seeing maybe a bigger role than they did last year.
09:26 What do you hope to see from them on the field?
09:30 >> I hope to see people playing fast, people playing physical, and
09:33 people playing with confidence and knowing what to do and
09:35 helping other people know what to do.
09:37 And I think they're growing, they're not where we want them yet, but
09:41 they've certainly grown in that department.
09:43 And we gotta continue to grow and I wanna continue to see that development,
09:48 which I'm confident that we will.
09:50 >> What is the aspect of as a freshman just getting adjusted to the college
09:54 transition, getting used to the system, but then second year seeing snaps,
09:57 what is that transition?
09:58 >> Well, if you look at the, just looking at it big picture wise,
10:01 you look at a freshman transition to college that doesn't play football.
10:06 There's a lot of things that go on with that.
10:08 And then you throw on the football aspect,
10:11 jumping from high school football to college football at University of Oklahoma.
10:16 There's a lot of transition involved and a lot of new and a lot of
10:19 guys wanting to feel like, hey, I can do this.
10:25 Because it can be overwhelming walking into the University of Oklahoma.
10:30 And then just stay with it and the guys that can handle the bumps in the road,
10:37 cuz there's gonna be bumps in the road.
10:38 And guys that wanna continue to be coached hard and
10:41 handle the bumps and continue growth.
10:43 And that's what I've seen out of those guys.
10:46 Sure.
10:47 >> Back right, Brandon.
10:49 >> Yeah, Ted, came in late, didn't play much last year.
10:53 But Kofi McKenzie, what have you seen from him, I guess, through the fall?
10:57 And what did you see out there, maybe not in exactly prime time duty, but
11:03 what he showed from you on film that may give you confidence later on in the season
11:07 that you can start to play a little bit more?
11:09 >> Well, all reps are valuable reps.
11:13 For us as coaches and for them as players,
11:16 there is no not as significant reps, every rep is significant.
11:20 And Kofi's a guy that works extremely hard at learning what to do,
11:25 learn the entire picture, not just his job.
11:28 And he came in, he had a lot of production for his number of snaps, and
11:31 I thought he did a good job.
11:32 >> Okay, third row, Tariq.
11:37 >> Hey, Coach, Connery just got a couple snaps on Saturday, but
11:42 first reps in the division, what did you see out of him?
11:45 You mentioned the adjustment of playing against bigger players,
11:48 how do you feel like he adjusted?
11:50 >> I thought he did well.
11:51 We were going three and out there, had a pretty good clip.
11:58 And then one of the series he was in,
12:00 I think we took the ball away on the first, had to take away on the first play.
12:05 But another guy that transitioned into the University of Oklahoma in this system,
12:10 at this level of football, and we've all been real impressed with Conner.
12:15 Again, a guy that takes tremendous pride in how he works, how he prepares,
12:19 wants to be coached hard, and is working to get all the details down.
12:24 And I expect him to continue to grow and
12:27 get better, because this is really important to him.
12:29 >> Left side, third row, Rambo.
12:34 >> What do you think of Peyton Bowen's performance on Saturday, and
12:36 how do you think he's gonna contribute to this defense moving forward?
12:40 >> Well, again, I was pleased with Peyton.
12:42 I thought he tackled well.
12:44 I thought we tackled well as a defense.
12:46 But I was impressed with him, his ball skills, his instincts.
12:51 Again, we can make it whatever, but that was his first action in college football.
12:59 And there's something that goes with that first time, getting past,
13:04 getting through it, and then where it just becomes football again,
13:08 as opposed to, my gosh, this is the first time.
13:10 But the moment's not too big for him.
13:13 And again, he's got such a bright future.
13:16 >> Time for one more, if there is one.
13:19 Eric.
13:20 >> You mentioned Coach Lashley.
13:22 What do you remember about him in 2010,
13:24 just his journey from being a GA to that Auburn staff?
13:27 So what he's accomplished now, and behind that scenario?
13:30 >> I remember him having twins just after we had twins.
13:33 Our twins were like 10 years, 11, 12 years old, and he had twins.
13:37 So there was a lot of communication about raising twins.
13:43 And he's a good coach, and has obviously had a great career.
13:47 But certainly expected him to do that, and saw it at a very young age.
13:52 So happy for him, and get to play against him this week.
13:58 >> We'll do one last one, second one.
13:59 >> I see.
14:00 >> Ted, Kenai Walker was a guy that flashed a little bit on Saturday.
14:03 What's been the biggest difference for him between last year and this year?
14:06 >> Just consistency.
14:10 The consistency in the transition after he transferred.
14:17 Just the consistency of how he's worked,
14:21 how he's put in time, put in the work.
14:25 And how I've seen him get better, and
14:29 not like this, but I've seen him go like that.
14:35 >> Brent talked about after the game that the play he made is something that Jay
14:38 teaches every day in practice.
14:40 >> Yeah. >> Has there been kind of
14:41 a transition from raw talent to a fundamentality for him?
14:45 >> Yeah, practice reps is game reality, and that's what happened.
14:50 >> Thank you, coach.
14:53 >> Sure, yeah.
14:54 >> Who's your best raising friends of yours?
14:59 >> Mine?
14:59 >> Yeah.
15:00 >> Make sure you have a good spouse.
15:02 >> [LAUGH]