Abdul Hodge 090623

  • last year
Iowa tight end coach
Transcript
00:00 -All right, Abdul, can you hear me all right?
00:02 -Yes.
00:03 -All right.
00:04 All right, coach, do you want to give an opening statement
00:07 and then we'll go into questions.
00:09 -I'll center you there.
00:10 -All right, appreciate it. Yes, yes.
00:11 All right, good morning.
00:14 Thank you for having me on today.
00:15 Always great to get a game underneath our belt
00:18 so we can see where we at as a unit
00:20 and see where we at as a position group.
00:22 It's even better when you can start the season with a win,
00:24 okay, because whether you win or lose,
00:26 there's always things to improve on.
00:28 As for the tight end and the fullback room,
00:30 this past weekend, we had four tight ends,
00:32 one fullback that saw a game action.
00:34 A few of those guys also contributed on special teams,
00:37 which I'm excited about.
00:38 This week, another great opportunity
00:40 to compete against a very good football team.
00:42 With that being said, opening up for questions.
00:44 -All right, if you have questions, raise your hand
00:47 and we'll go down, go down the row.
00:49 First question, Abdul, is from John Steppe.
00:53 -Hey, Abdul, how are you?
00:55 -How are you doing, John?
00:56 -Good. Good to see you.
00:58 -So obviously a really productive day
01:00 for the tight end room, but is there anything in particular
01:03 that you want to see improved from week one to week two?
01:06 -Oh, there's always room for improvement.
01:08 I think, you know, we can be better in the run game,
01:10 you know, just being very detailed
01:12 in what we're trying to get done
01:14 in terms of the line of scrimmage
01:15 and also in the passing game.
01:17 I thought we left a couple of plays on the field.
01:19 So there's a few things we would love to do even better.
01:21 But the great thing is we get a chance to go back out
01:24 and improve on those things.
01:25 So obviously the run game and also in the passing game,
01:28 just all facets of the game, you know,
01:30 we got guys also playing special teams.
01:32 So that's a big part of what we do here at Iowa,
01:35 offensive, defensive, special teams.
01:36 So anytime our guys on the field,
01:38 we want to execute at high level.
01:40 And we're always pushing the standard
01:42 in terms of how we improve on a consistent basis
01:45 in all areas of the game.
01:49 -All right, next question is from Scott Dockterman.
01:52 -Hey, Abdul, how's it going today?
01:54 -Going well, Scott. -Good.
01:55 I wanted to ask you about the schematic challenges
01:59 that Iowa State presents with their 3-3-5 --
02:03 yeah, 3-3-5 and the way they play their safeties
02:06 just a little bit differently than everybody else.
02:09 What does that do for your group,
02:12 especially in the running game,
02:14 where they seem to be coming from a lot
02:15 of different directions?
02:17 -Yeah, obviously, great question.
02:19 The 3-3-5 look give you a lot of different challenges
02:23 because it's not something you see on a consistent basis,
02:28 you know, throughout weekend and week out in college football.
02:30 Typically, you can see a four-down team,
02:32 or sometimes you'll see a three-four look.
02:34 So that 3-3-5 is a unique way that they're playing defense.
02:38 But when you kind of look at it, the end of the day,
02:41 they're trying to get that ball outside.
02:43 And that star, that middle field safety,
02:45 they'll allow him to kind of roam
02:47 and play freely inside out to the football.
02:49 So it creates challenges because I don't know
02:52 how many rules they have defensively,
02:53 but I know those guys are playing fast.
02:55 Those guys are playing physical and getting up the field,
02:57 and they're creating seams,
02:58 trying to create seams in the offense,
03:00 which is always a challenge.
03:01 So what we got to do is get on the tape,
03:04 putting a great plan together.
03:06 And it comes down to Saturday,
03:08 going out and really trying to execute it at a high level.
03:11 -All right, next question is from Chad Leistico.
03:15 -Hey, Abdul.
03:16 Just following up on Scott's question there, excuse me.
03:20 You said they're trying to push the ball outside.
03:21 So what does that mean for your tight ends?
03:23 I mean, do they need to beat some double teams this week?
03:27 What's the best way to kind of loosen up that 3-3-5,
03:29 in your opinion, with your position group?
03:31 -Yeah, great question.
03:32 Well, really, you were playing against a 3-3-5 defense,
03:36 a three down front, a four down front,
03:38 five guys on the line of scrimmage, a six.
03:41 At the end of the day, it's going to come down
03:42 to our technique and our fundamentals, right?
03:44 We got aiming points we need to get to.
03:46 We got to take great first steps.
03:48 We got to know, okay, is it inside zone?
03:49 Is it a slant?
03:50 We got to know what we're trying to accomplish
03:53 in the grand scheme of things.
03:54 But when it all comes down to it, it's man-on-man.
03:57 You know, one guy versus the next guy
03:59 on the line of scrimmage or in a pass game.
04:01 And it's just executing what we do best,
04:04 playing with great pad level, taking a great first step,
04:06 and having a great finish.
04:07 So at the end of the day, we can't cloud those pitches up.
04:11 Kind of they do a great job of that,
04:12 of clouding those pitches up,
04:14 so you don't really know what guy's going to be.
04:16 But you just got to look at the picture in front of you
04:19 and take a great first step and finish your play.
04:22 And at the end of the day, it's going to come down
04:23 to how we play technically and fundamentally
04:25 and how we finish plays.
04:26 And at the end of the day, it's going to be a high,
04:28 a really intense environment.
04:30 So we got to kind of play fast, play physical,
04:33 get a great start, okay, but improve on all the things
04:37 that we wanted to improve on the week before.
04:41 - All right, the next question is from Adam Jacoby.
04:46 - Hi, Coach Hodge. How are you doing today?
04:48 - Doing well, Adam.
04:49 - So we've heard a lot of respect from Coach Ferentz
04:54 about the tight end room,
04:56 all of a sudden that unit in a lot of high regard.
04:59 So when you're bringing in a guy like Eric Hall,
05:02 is it just as simple as having four tight ends
05:05 you trust is better than three?
05:07 Or is there something that he was bringing
05:08 that was unique to the unit that helped enhance the group
05:12 in a way that the incumbents maybe weren't as capable of?
05:17 - Yeah, I think I understand your question.
05:20 I'll state first, getting Eric Hall here
05:23 was a huge plus for us.
05:25 Not only he's a great individual on and off the field,
05:29 but he's a really good football player.
05:30 He plays the game the right way.
05:32 He's smart, he plays the game physical,
05:34 and he's a team player.
05:35 And from day one, our guys, you know,
05:38 really took ownership and accepting him into the group.
05:41 And he's hit the ground running.
05:43 He's bought into everything that we set,
05:46 that we set the standard that we set for the room
05:48 and for our entire football team.
05:49 That's offense, defense, and special teams.
05:52 If you looked at last week,
05:53 you got a guy that's starting on punt return,
05:55 and he's also starting on kickoff return.
05:57 So that will tell you a lot about him.
05:59 Now, as far as the tight end room,
06:01 the standard has always been set.
06:03 Whether I'm in a room,
06:04 Coach Brian Farris is coaching the room,
06:06 LeVar Woods is coaching the room,
06:08 Eric Johnson's in the room,
06:09 or Reese Morgan's in the room,
06:10 the standard have always been set.
06:12 It's our job as position coaches to uphold that standard,
06:15 to push this thing forward,
06:17 make sure these guys are getting better
06:18 on a consistent basis.
06:20 Last year, we played with two tight ends, one fullback.
06:23 So you got three guys playing pretty much
06:25 100% of the snaps.
06:27 This past weekend, you saw, you know,
06:29 four tight ends playing and one fullback.
06:31 So now you got five guys in that room that are playing.
06:34 My job as a position coach is to get,
06:36 how many guys can we get above the line
06:38 that is able to play at a high level,
06:41 able to execute a game plan at a high level
06:45 so Coach Farris, Brian Farris,
06:47 could look out and he can say,
06:48 "Okay, well, we got a lot of guys that can play,
06:50 three, four, five tight ends, a couple fullbacks,"
06:52 and let him choose who he wants to put on the field.
06:55 But it's my job to get as much guys as ready as possible.
06:59 And you know, this is a long season.
07:01 So the more guys you can get that can execute
07:02 at a high level, the better it's going to be
07:05 for our entire football team.
07:07 -Great, thank you. -Next question
07:08 is from Tyler Tachman.
07:10 Hey, Coach, I hope you're doing well.
07:12 Kind of going off of the question about Eric,
07:15 when he was in the transfer portal,
07:17 what made you guys want to add him?
07:20 What just kind of initially stood out during that process?
07:24 Two things. One, I believe I wasn't here,
07:27 but when he was coming out of high school
07:28 during the recruiting process,
07:30 Calvin Bell and a couple of other coaches
07:32 were trying to recruit him.
07:34 Obviously, he selected to go to another program.
07:36 And then once he became available
07:38 in the transfer portal, we played against him
07:41 in the Big Ten Championship game.
07:43 So that's all you really need to know about him
07:45 is that he was a really good player.
07:47 He was selected as a team captain.
07:49 We had a void with Sam LaPorta getting drafted
07:53 and going on to play in the NFL.
07:55 So we needed some production in the room.
07:57 And he's the guy that kind of stood out to us.
07:58 And the first time meeting him,
08:00 you'll know that this guy loves football.
08:02 This guy is a smart football player,
08:04 and he's a team player.
08:05 He's a guy that you definitely want to get in that room
08:07 to push the pack and keep doing what we're doing
08:09 as far as the tight ends, the offense and the defense,
08:13 and special teams.
08:14 - All right, coach.
08:15 Next question is from Mitch Fick.
08:18 - Hey, coach, what are you seeing from Hayden Large
08:20 at fullback making that transition?
08:22 It sounded like he was making progress in the summer
08:24 and getting to fall camp,
08:25 but what did you see on Saturday from him as well?
08:28 - Yeah, Hayden's an individual that came into our program
08:32 from Doerr University, got an opportunity this spring
08:35 to move from tight end to fullback.
08:37 And ever since he's done that,
08:39 he's been doing a tremendous job for us.
08:41 I think the first thing you got to do is to be fluid
08:44 and be willing to move.
08:46 Maybe it's a position change.
08:48 You know, maybe he's playing,
08:50 instead of playing a Y, you're playing an F, right?
08:52 So at the end of the day, are you a football player?
08:55 And I think Hayden is a football player.
08:56 He's a guy that we looked at and say,
08:58 "Hey, man, this guy likes to run.
09:00 He enjoys hitting guys and he's physical,
09:03 and he's a learner.
09:03 So let's try him at the fullback spot
09:05 and he's been doing a really great job."
09:07 And rather, Hayden's playing the entire game
09:10 or maybe he gets a few plays here or there.
09:13 He's not complaining on the sideline.
09:15 He just waiting for his number to be called
09:17 and he's going to go in the game next cue.
09:19 - All right, coach, next question is from Elliot Clow.
09:22 - Coach, so of course, right now,
09:26 we're going to be talking a lot about guys like Eric Hall,
09:29 Luke Lachey, but when you're looking down the line
09:32 at some of these younger guys like Zach Ortworth
09:34 and Grant Leeper, obviously,
09:37 none of the freshmen played in that first game,
09:39 but are any of these guys sticking out
09:40 as maybe the guy who could be next
09:42 or that have really impressed you so far?
09:45 Obviously, Grant being fairly new to the sport,
09:48 but any of these guys really impressing you so far
09:51 that are younger that fans might not know of quite yet?
09:55 - Yeah, you skipped over a couple of names
09:57 I'm going to throw out.
09:58 Addison Estrenga has been doing a really great job.
10:00 This is his second year in the program.
10:02 He traveled with us last year as a true freshman,
10:04 and he's been doing a really great job for us.
10:07 So he's a guy that's been playing special teams,
10:08 but also have been playing in certain,
10:11 a few different packages this past weekend,
10:14 and he's continuously doing a great job.
10:16 So we'll try to add to his load a little bit more
10:20 as we go forward, but we really feel great about him.
10:22 Steve Stiglianos, he's not a young guy,
10:24 but he's kind of newer to our program,
10:26 came in here as a transfer,
10:28 and he's our most improved guy,
10:30 I keep saying from last year to this year.
10:32 And you saw him last week in our 13 personnel
10:34 doing a great job, and he'll continue to do so.
10:36 Now, in terms of the incoming freshmen,
10:38 Grant Leeper and Zach Oatworth.
10:39 Zach Oatworth is a guy that's been traveling with us.
10:41 We travel with six tight ends.
10:43 That can tell you kind of where he's at.
10:45 I think he's going to be a guy
10:46 that's going to be a really great football player for us.
10:48 Obviously he's got a guy like Luke Erickall,
10:50 Steve Stiglianos, and Addison Estrenga
10:52 that he could get a great example from and learn from,
10:55 but he's a guy that will continue to improve.
10:58 Grant Leeper, having one year of basketball,
11:01 I'm only played, sorry,
11:02 he's been primarily been playing basketball in high school.
11:06 This is senior year, he went out for football
11:08 and kind of became a really good football player
11:12 within that first year.
11:13 So he's going to take some time to develop
11:16 and get in our program, but if he stays with it,
11:18 he continue to improve in the weight room
11:20 and do everything that we're telling him to do
11:21 and put the work in, he's going to be a good one for us.
11:25 - Thanks Coach.
11:26 Two more questions for you.
11:28 First one is from Chad Lystico.
11:30 - Have you ever seen Luke Lachey angry?
11:34 He's always angry.
11:36 And does he play mean on the field at all?
11:39 - Yeah, I have.
11:40 Luke's a different guy on the field,
11:42 you know, and I think he's coming more into,
11:45 he's maturing as a overall individual on and off the field,
11:50 understanding the difference between
11:51 off the field being a good guy
11:53 and it's okay when you're on the field
11:54 to be a little asshole.
11:55 So Luke's been doing a great job.
11:57 He's playing the game fast and physical.
11:59 I thought he played a physical game last week.
12:01 We got to continue to push him and push the pack forward
12:03 and he'll play the game the right way.
12:04 But Luke's a great guy, but on the field,
12:06 he gets after it.
12:07 And obviously he's a team captain now.
12:10 He's been a lot more vocal
12:11 and he's been doing a great job for us.
12:12 So look forward to him,
12:14 continues to have a lot of production,
12:15 both in the run game and in the passing game.
12:18 - All right, Coach, last question for you
12:19 is from Scott Dochterman.
12:21 - I wanted to ask about 14 personnel.
12:24 I don't think I've ever seen that before.
12:26 And I think now granted you guys have run
12:28 a lot of 23 personnel
12:30 where you've had a traditional fullback in there,
12:32 but last week you had Eric in that F position.
12:36 What'd you say, what'd you see
12:38 when you first saw the alignment
12:40 or the number, the amount of personnel,
12:42 what did you think?
12:43 And is this something that you think
12:45 is a winning type of formation for you going forward?
12:49 - Yeah, it's a great question.
12:51 You know, when it comes down to it,
12:54 I think our goal in every personnel group
12:59 is to get our best guys on the field at one time.
13:02 And just so it happened,
13:04 I think in that position group,
13:05 you know, getting four tight ends on the field work for us.
13:09 And I think there's a lot of things that we can do.
13:11 And there's some things that the guys do naturally,
13:14 Eric all being one of them,
13:16 he's a natural football player.
13:17 He got a great feel for many different spots
13:20 within our offense.
13:21 So why not put him at a fullback position
13:24 and see if we can gain an advantage from there.
13:26 Hopefully we can continue to build on that as we go forward,
13:30 but whether it's 13 personnel, 14 personnel,
13:34 11 personnel, 12, or there's no tight ends on the field.
13:39 We just got to get guys that's ready to go.
13:41 And that's up to coach Brian Ferrins
13:44 and let him make the decision
13:45 on what personnel group is going to be on the field.
13:47 Our job is to be, my job is to get those guys ready to go.
13:50 Their job is to be ready to go.
13:52 - All right, perfect.
13:54 Thank you for your time, coach.
13:56 - Appreciate it.
13:56 Thanks for having me.