Aug. 19, 2010
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Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp
On camp to this point: I think the biggest emphasis we have right now is consistency in performance. We’re trying to narrow down the guys we’re repping by position and get those guys the turns and looks they need and those are the guys that have been productive, so that’s kind of where we are right now.
On standouts in the scrimmage: I think across the board we had some good production at each position. I think you look at Sam Acho, obviously, Reggie Wilson, for a freshman, stepped up, Jackson Jeffcoat’s done a nice job, Dravannti Johnson in rushing the passer, Eddie Jones, Kheeston Randall did some nice things inside. At linebacker Keenan Robinson was our biggest producer for the scrimmage. Emmanuel Acho, all the linebackers I thought did a nice job, and in the secondary we did a nice job of covering down, so I saw some god things we wanted to work on as far as our front stuff and some coverage, playing more zone, and working on those things right now and emphasizing those in camp.
On Kheeston Randall stepping up: I think Kheeston’s really worked on the things we’ve asked him to work out from the standpoint of flexibility and get off and take off and initial quickness on the line of scrimmage, playing with great pad level and he’s bought into really working on those things. He did it last year, he did a nice job for us, but this offseason he’s really changed his body. He’s worked on the things we’ve asked him to do and he’s really had a good camp.
On Randall being a nice guy: I hope he’s not nice on the field, but he is [nice off the field]. All of those guys are first-class guys and that’s why they’re good players because they handle things on and off the field. It’s amazing how those things carry over.
On Keenan Robinson being productive in the scrimmage: Just having the most tackles, really. We were pretty spread out through third-down stops, played third down well, played the pass well. We had to clean up some things in the run game as far as our hand placement, pad level and fits and things. We tackled very well for the first scrimmage. I’m really pleased with our space play, so we just have to continue to work on those things and look for the guys that consistently perform well all the time.
On Emmanuel Acho: Emmanuel’s playing really well. He’s playing really all three positions at linebacker as we prepare for depth through the year. He can play all three, he’s very intelligent and he’s very productive.
On every linebacker learning all three positions: No, Emmanuel’s cross-training, Dravannti Johnson’s playing the (strongside) and the buck, Keenan could play the (middle) if he needed to and Dustin Earnest and Jared Norton have done a nice job at the (middle).
On Jared Norton: He’s been out of the game for a while and he’s got to work himself back in shape as far as carrying the pads and things, but he’s doing some productive things. We’re kind of working through him carrying the weight he’s got right now and we’ll adjust that as his game comes. He’s been fully cleared.
On the depth at linebacker: We feel very good about our quality of depth there. We’ve got some playmakers and guys that have made plays on Saturday and we feel good about some of the guys and we have to continue to progress there.
On Reggie Wilson: Reggie’s got great initial quickness and he’s got a great motor. God’s blessed him with a great change of direction, and again, just learning scheme right now is going to be as much as anything with most freshmen that have his ability.
On Jordan Hicks: He’s working at the (weakside) and dime for us right now. He’s gotten a lot of reps right now with the second group and he’s really done a nice job. He learns extremely well, he’s an outstanding athlete, can play in space, plays physical, a guy that has shown some playmaking ability, so I’m pleased with his progress.
On Christian Scott in coverage: Christian’s done a nice job. He really worked on his feet in the offseason, worked on his change of direction, his coverage skill down the field, and I've been pleased with his progress. We’ve really got some great competition at safety right now. You look at Blake Gideon, Christian Scott, Kenny Vaccaro and Nolan Brewster and I’m pleased with where our freshmen are.
On the freshman defensive backs: I think Carrington Byndom’s been a guy that’s jumped out at us that’s been productive. He learns concepts well. He understands that part of it. A.J. White’s shown some flashes, Bryant Jackson continues to come along and Adrian Phillips, at the end of the day when you look at the production sheet, he’s just got a lot of production.
On the secondary showing leadership: I’ve been real pleased with the way they approach practice and a lot of times in these situations, those guys can read what you guys write and start to like it a little too much and they haven’t done that. They’ve come on, they’ve worked hard every day and we've stayed on top of them to make sure that they understand that one mistake back there is very glaring as opposed to a three technique, so they’ve really approached practice well and they’ve approached the things that we’ve asked them to work on very well.
On the young defensive tackles: Ashton [Dorsey]’s done a nice job inside. He fits when he’s in there. He does a good with his pad level. We've just got to get in a little better shape. Greg Daniels has done a good job inside for us. We’ve moved him down there and he’s done a nice job inside. Taylor Bible and De’Aires Cotton have done some good things at times, so those guys we just have to continue to bring them along, and sometimes with freshmen, you’re not always looking at game one, you’re looking at midseason, you’re looking late in the year at what they can do and those guys continue to need to improve.
On working with offensive coaches: I think when we sit as a staff we do a really nice job of talking on each side about what scheme-wise gives you problems, but also what players give you problems, and those are things we talk about as far as scheme and players and personnel and that’s a good job of communicating between all of us. That something we may think is an issue defensively, they don’t think is a problem from a scheme standpoint or a certain player that maybe they are a little down on that we say, ‘Hey, this player is doing a nice job against us.’
On if leadership has to come from seniors: No, I think the leadership doesn’t have to be a senior, it could be anybody, and we’ve got some guys that have played a lot of good football here and those guys have done a nice job. They really have. We just have to continue to press forward with where we are, especially right now in camp, you can’t really see the end and you’re kind of in the middle of what’s going on and you’re not in game preparation yet. You’re still working against each other and now’s the time when you find out a lot about your team in the next few days.
On zone coverage last year: I thought we covered well in zone, I really did. I thought we did a nice job with some things. Man coverage is more natural ability, as far as zone coverage and people talk about instincts in zone, seeing the quarterback, feeling the routes and that takes a lot more work than man coverage takes. They both take time, but that certainly takes more.
On forcing turnovers this season: I hope so, but you never know until the game starts. We didn’t have any turnovers in the scrimmage. Our offense did a great job of ball security, taking care of the football. We emphasize that every day. We understand about explosive plays and turnovers and our players understand how important those are.
On being disappointed with forcing no turnovers in the scrimmage: Sure, anytime we are on the field we’ve got to gain momentum for our football team and you do that by changing field position and creating turnovers. It’s kind of like coach Brown said, it’s great for the offense, it’s bad for the defense. They did a great job of ball security, but you’re upset on the other end. We had opportunities and we didn’t cash in on those and the players understand that. They understand the importance of it.
On Garrett Gilbert: He’s playing well. He’s got great velocity on the ball. He’s taking the ball to the right spots. I think the timing on the routes are good and he’s really throwing the ball well.
Offensive coordinator Greg Davis
On Garrett Gilbert’s decision making: He’s had an excellent camp. He had a really good day today. He played very well in the scrimmage yesterday morning. There’s always a tendency for guys with big arms to put the ball in spots where you’re better served dropping the ball down. We’ve talked about that. He’s reacted well. There are still going to be times where you can see things where a back may be open for a while. He can stretch the field. He can really stretch the field with his arm. He’s got the ability to throw the deep post and those kinds of things. We’re excited about where he is right now.
On the young wide receivers: Mike Davis is a young kid that is extremely talented. He’s a natural ball catcher. I’m very excited about him. He’s still going to make some mistakes. To some degree we’re going to have to live with it. We have to get him the ball. He’s that kind of guy. Darius White is the same way. He’s a guy that’s big and fast and hard to press. He’s a little bit like (Malcolm Williams). He’s learning. It’s not just the routes, it’s the speed of the game, the change of tempos, the slight adjustments - all those kinds of things that kind of begin to multiply on them. That’s the wall that everybody talks about. Hopefully they’ll push on through that and be productive.
On who might be a volume pass catcher at wide receiver: We had two guys that were right at 100 and Shipley went over 100. Those are big numbers in 14 games. I don’t know that there will be a guy like that this year. I don’t know that one guy will have that number. I’m hopeful in what I’ve seen so far is that you may have four guys at 50, which is a positive thing. That means more guys are getting involved. Shipley was obviously a featured guy. We did some special things to try to direct him because he was such a good option runner and things like that. This group right now is a little more balanced and I think the numbers will be a little more balanced.
On Cody Johnson: He’s come far enough that he’s in the mix as an every-down player. The three of them – Tre’ (Newton), Fozzy (Whittaker) and Cody – Cody is not just a short-yardage running back. He can go in and play extended snaps. I said it earlier, we’re really pleased with what he did in the summer. His percent body fat is down. Cody has always been a guy that really likes to play. He really likes the game. This summer he showed us that football is really important. He got ready for fall camp. We are very pleased with where he is.
On Chris Whaley: Chris Whaley is working at the V or the slot or the move guy position. He’s doing some work in short-yardage at tailback. He’s doing some work at tight end. Right now we’re moving Chris around. Chris is excited because he sees his future I think as a guy in that role. He’s really embraced it.
On not having any turnovers in yesterday’s scrimmage: Mack said it in the staff meeting. He said, “Here’s the good news and here’s the bad news. The good news is we didn’t turn it over. The bad news is we didn’t get any turnovers.” The first time in the stadium, it’s amazing. It’s simply amazing to me. You can walk over from Denius practice fields and put them in the stadium and give them the same drills against the same guys and some of them don’t react the same way, especially early. Typically that scrimmage yesterday we really struggle offensively – penalties, turnovers, balls on the ground. Yesterday not to do that was encouraging.
On what he’s seen from the defense: Speed. Any time anybody asks me about the defense, that’s the first thing. They can just run so well. Any time defensively, I’m sure coach Brown has addressed this, when you can play man-to-man, you can make the blocks tough to run on. The three guys back there covering in a man-to-man situation – Curtis (Brown), Chykie (Brown) and (Aaron) Williams are skilled.
On the young offensive linemen: I’m very encouraged with Paden Kelley. Paden is playing both right and left tackle. He’s a very athletic guy. He’s a smart guy. Trey Hopkins will play in the first ball game. Trey Hopkins has great hip flexibility. He reminds me a little bit of a young (Justin) Blalock. Not as thick at the same age perhaps, but the same kind of flexibility, the same kind of intelligence. I’m very encouraged by him. We’ve played him both outside and inside. We try really hard to find the first five. Then who is six? Who can swing at guard? Who can swing at tackle? He’s got the ability to play both. We started in the first maybe 10 practices and played him at left tackle. The last three practices we’ve worked him at guard. That in itself is a bigger statement. There needs to be an exclamation. To take a freshman lineman and work him at a couple spots tells you a little bit about his intelligence.
On the running game in the scrimmage: I was pleased with the way we ran the ball yesterday. I really was. We’re doing some things I think that have helped them. We were probably under (center) about 70 percent of the day yesterday. I don’t know that will be the number that will come out at the end of the year, but we are under a lot more. It allows us to be much thicker in our zone scheme. The power play has been a good play. Backs being able to come downhill is an advantage. I feel like we’ll be a good solid running team.
On the tight ends: Barrett Matthews has practiced the last two days. He and Greg Smith, Ahmard Howard are really having a good camp. Those three guys are doing the most work at tight end. We’re also training Greg Smith as a guy that can be on the line, step off the line, go in motion. Chris Whaley is a guy that we’re training that can be on, step off, go in motion. You can have 12 (one RB, two TEs) personnel on the field but end up running a 21 (two RBs, one TE) personnel looking play.
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