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00:00Coach, kind of the status, where do you feel like you are right now?
00:04And you got a lot of work,
00:06it seemed like you got a lot of work in and couldn't work in today.
00:10I think we made really good progress.
00:13That question today with a lot of team action, a lot of wild tackle.
00:17But for the most part, I saw good signs of certain guys stepping up and
00:21making plays.
00:22Now the guys right there on the edge of getting to them, but not quite ready yet.
00:26So it's a good thing that those things happen.
00:29So you can learn from it, improve, and get better.
00:31But I think we've got capable players who work really hard.
00:35We're feeling a little banged up in certain spots where that's not happening now.
00:39But I would hope all of them are ready for fall camp.
00:41But a lot of newcomers have done well and improved.
00:45And a lot of the guys that have been here for two years have really shown
00:49improvement and promise, so we just gotta keep pushing forward.
00:53At this point, is the goal, especially with the skill guys,
00:55to just not really figure out, worry about the depth chart?
00:58We'll just kind of do them all, back and forth reps?
01:01Well, I feel good that our offensive line has worked hard.
01:05We've built some depth there that we feel really good about.
01:08Gotta continue to press forward with the tight ends and make sure that there's some
01:12new pieces and understand what we're doing is maybe the main thing that they're
01:15slightly behind with.
01:16Receivers, without question, Chris Bell is at a great camp and
01:24he's really made a lot of plays and we're gonna need him to be a force for us.
01:26And the other receivers are improving.
01:29There's quite a list of them that are continuing to get better.
01:32We just gotta keep pushing that forward.
01:33We wanna be as dominant as we can and be able to make plays in the passing game.
01:37At the running back position, we've got depth and we've got some capable runners.
01:41We've all done a good job at this point.
01:42We feel good about it and I think Tyler Shook has really made some plays.
01:48He stood out.
01:49You can tell his experience and leadership has shown up.
01:52And the other young quarterbacks are getting better and
01:54they're getting closer to feeling confident.
01:57You don't feel it in the direct offense to help us score and win.
02:01Jeff, you mentioned how there's a lot of players heading into their second year
02:03under your system.
02:04Do you think compared to this time last year,
02:06this team is a lot farther along considering there are so
02:08many people who already know the scheme and are in part kind of serving as leaders
02:11for those who are still actively trying to learn it?
02:14Without question, the people that are back for year two are ahead of the game.
02:18And they've shown improvement.
02:20And even guys that maybe you would have liked to play a little bit better
02:23last year, a little bit more, they've made strides.
02:26Pretty much all of them to quite a bit extent.
02:30The newcomers show really good progress, show really good athleticism,
02:35show really good talent.
02:36We just gotta keep working on them.
02:38And every repetition matters, every day matters, every film session matters,
02:42every game-like rep matters.
02:45And we gotta make sure that even when this spring practice is over,
02:49that the summer is critical to make sure that we're constantly pushing them up on
02:53that because we need those guys ready to go game one.
02:57I guess when you do have guys who are banged up,
02:59some that are still coming in the summer, I guess how much can you get from spring
03:02camp, how much can you evaluate or what do you just kind of take from this time
03:05right now knowing that you don't have the full product yet?
03:09I think you gotta be careful in the spring.
03:11There's a lot of guys that play a lot of football for us that, wow,
03:16getting better support, getting them healthy and fresh to fall camp is vital.
03:21So there are some guys picked up,
03:23there are some guys that are not going through at all injury.
03:26There are some guys that have been injured in camp to this point that
03:30unfortunately had surgeries and they're gonna be out for a while.
03:34So there's gotta be a perfect balance.
03:37But the veterans have done a good job.
03:40And every veteran that has produced for us has shown great signs and
03:44the ones that have not practiced will be ready for fall camp,
03:48I can guarantee you that.
03:49So we gotta make sure that we don't lose anybody and
03:53that we have as many people ready for the first practice in August.
03:57Jeff, we talked to some guys earlier, like some of the receivers, and
04:00they kind of alluded to how much you have to study to grasp this offense.
04:04From your experience, I guess,
04:05how much time does it take for guys to get a little bit more comfortable?
04:08Is it different?
04:09Is it a similar trend, I guess?
04:11How does it kind of take guys to kind of grasp what you're like?
04:14Well, I think our guys love football.
04:16Anytime you go into something new,
04:18the complexity of defenses is what kind of causes some confusion.
04:25And the ability to know exactly what you're doing and
04:29being able to do it after the snap.
04:30Our defense does a lot, they disguise, they move after the snap.
04:33You gotta read what's going on, you gotta be sharp, and
04:37that takes some repetitions.
04:39And you can talk about it, you can draw it up until you see it full speed and
04:43realize, man, I should have done this, I should have done that.
04:46You don't really know.
04:47So that's what normally just takes a while.
04:49It's part of it at every level.
04:51I do think that if our guys get a chance to play beyond college,
04:56they are prepared, and they're gonna play at a high level.
04:59And there's not a whole lot that they haven't seen yet.
05:02But they're really good teams.
05:05They're not only sound and talented, but they can be complex.
05:08And they're gonna make sure they have answers and
05:10give you different looks that make you adjust.
05:12And we have to be ready for that.
05:13And pushing the envelope on their intelligence and
05:17knowledge has to constantly happen, so we gotta push that forward.
05:21Jeff, Ron has talked a lot about the secondary and
05:24how the new pieces combined with, obviously,
05:26Quincy and some other guys coming back.
05:28The depth that you've built back there,
05:30it seems like it's a different guy making a play all the time.
05:33And we see in these kind of scrimmages,
05:36you excited about what you've built with the depth?
05:41Well, I am in the secondary.
05:42I think our corner position is strong, and
05:44we've been able to stay pretty healthy throughout the camp.
05:47And I think at least five young men are ready to play and can produce for us.
05:53And we have some different packages where all five are on the field, and
05:57we need to, cuz they've done a really good job.
05:59I think secondary, we have had two young safeties go out with injuries that
06:04required surgery, so the depth is coming into play now where we needed the depth.
06:09So now it's more too deep with some young guys, we gotta continue to develop.
06:14But the two deep we have in the secondary, we feel good about.
06:18They've played football, they've been on the field.
06:21And that's really without MJ Griffin even practicing a whole lot,
06:24cuz he's not cleared to do full team activity.
06:27So we feel good about the secondary.
06:30They have to be a dominant force for us in order for us to be good.
06:35Jeff, do you think there's any one,
06:37what do you think is the one thing so far through these first four weeks of spring
06:39while it's either stood out to you or surprised you the most?
06:44Well, I think the on offense, the depth on the offensive line is
06:48as good as we've had it since I've been a coach.
06:51So we gotta push that forward.
06:53I think there's a lot of depth at running back.
06:55And make sure that those guys are touching the ball in a lot of different ways.
07:00So that's been good, and other positions are progressing.
07:04I think on defense, kind of what we talked about,
07:06there's some D linemen out that aren't going through things.
07:10So you can't get a real test of what's going on.
07:13I think when they're back for the fall, we will have depth.
07:15Just right now, we do not.
07:17But the secondary depth, we have not had that.
07:21So that has to come in to play for us.
07:23We've gotta not only play multiple guys, but there's gotta be competition.
07:28And we have to have guys keep people fresh.
07:31We have to have guys that when some guy gets nicked up for a series of two or
07:34a game or two, the other one has to be no drop off.
07:38And to this point, we have made really good strides there.
07:41Jeff, you had Pat Kelsey and some of the guys on the staff right here.
07:44Can you guys tell me how important or
07:45nice is it to be able to build off of each other's programs and
07:48kind of lean on each other for, I guess, for excitement and buzz?
07:52Well, we're excited about all the sports teams here.
07:55They all do a good job.
07:56They work hard, of course, basketball.
07:58Coach Kelsey is in the middle, bringing recruits in and filling out the roster.
08:04We wanna help out in every way we can.
08:06Fill the young center and play exciting grand basketball.
08:08We love to play a bunch of games and have a lot of fun with it.
08:12So I think at this point, we've tried to assist with that.
08:15And Coach Brady Brown was letting the charge on that a little bit.
08:18He tells us what to do, we just do it.
08:21But a lot of good people.
08:24All the sports programs here, they're working hard and we want them to have success.
08:27And we want all those teams to run forward and watch them all play hard.
08:34One more for Coach?
08:35Does it look like some of the quarterbacks are cross-training at wide receiver?
08:38I guess, what kind of were you hoping to get there?
08:40What kind of packages are you hoping to get with them?
08:43Well, to be quite honest with you, we've had a few guys go down to receiver.
08:49The depth, as far as overall depth, is not what we'd like it to be numbers-wise.
08:55So we have a long, last year I think you saw us play 10 quarterbacks in one game.
09:01So we have a long list of quarterbacks and a couple of really good athletes.
09:05So we've tried to kind of just play them in multiple positions, at quarterback and
09:11receiver, because they're not able to get a ton of reps right now.
09:14Sometimes at quarterback, and we want to keep some fresh legs.
09:19But some of those guys have done a pretty decent job and
09:22you never know what could come about as far as a different package here and
09:26there, or a trick play here and there.
09:28But they've all been completely unselfish.
09:32They block, they learn, it's good for them.
09:34And it's been fun to watch some, because sometimes they make some good plays.
09:39All right, Coach.
09:40Thank you.