Washington senior linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala speaks with the media during spring camp about being one of only a handful of veterans on defense and his thoughts on the new coaches.
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00:00Especially after this past year.
00:02Is it weird seeing all the guys for a long time, especially guys like Eddie?
00:06Is it just weird not having those guys out here?
00:08Yeah, it is.
00:08It's tough.
00:10I'm not gonna lie, when this first, everything started first,
00:13it was a hard process being able to see all my teammates.
00:16Guys that I've done three to five years with.
00:19But at the same time, it's also a blessing.
00:21I'm just happy for them.
00:22Being everybody's just reached their dreams and everyone has their own journey.
00:25So that's really what it is.
00:27What was that like last week and
00:28seeing all those guys reach their dreams like that for you?
00:32Words can't even explain the happiness and joy, man.
00:35Those are brothers that I came in with and put in time, time and effort.
00:41You don't go four, two, and one by just being a regular team.
00:44And that's not just the stuff you do on the field, but off the field.
00:47The relationships, the camaraderie between each other, the cross breeding.
00:53You realize all that stuff now when everyone's gone and everyone feels it.
00:56Every time we see each other, it's like, my gosh, how you doing?
00:58I know it's only been a couple weeks, but it's always good energy,
01:02great energy with the guys.
01:02And that's what the sportsmanship and the team's all about.
01:05Did you ever have a question about coming back yourself?
01:09I think once the board left, just seeing how everything was,
01:11letting it play out.
01:12And obviously, communicating with my family was very big,
01:15just being able to see how everything plays out.
01:17But once we got to fish and being able to talk to him and see his staff,
01:21it's a great decision to be back here, be back home and learn from them.
01:25Constantly just always be on the uprise and learn more, so yeah.
01:29What's the difference between Coach Ball leading the linebacker room and
01:31Coach Inns leading the linebacker room?
01:33Coach Ball and Inns?
01:34Yeah. Well, one thing I can tell that they're both those energy type guys.
01:38They command a lot out of the room, which is very good.
01:40Keeps accountability between all of us.
01:42But Coach Ball, man, like I said, he brings great energy.
01:45One thing he does, I feel like, for the upperclassmen, me, Drew and Carson,
01:49it's more like a partnership, being able to talk with him,
01:51being able to talk ball, come up with our own stuff.
01:53Find that fine line between the different universities that we come together,
01:57obviously with Coach Steve as well.
01:59So with the defensive play, we'll be able to just have that partnership,
02:01talk at the table, and just hear each other's thoughts and
02:04find that fine line of how we can become a great defense.