Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Coach Dana Holgorsen Press Conference
September 26, 2017 03:51 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
On updates on injuries
It's unfortunate for (redshirt freshman linebacker Brendan Ferns); I will comment on him. Obviously two years in a row. He got four games in this year where he didn't get four games in last year. He was probably our most solid special teams player at this point. He seems to be in good spirits, it's going to a six-month deal and he should be ready for spring football. Like I've said 100 different times, injuries, football, there's risk. There's short-term risk and long-term risk. If you're not willing to accept that risk, then you don't play. I really liked what I saw out of him for four games. He seems to be in good spirits and I want him to hang in there and get it fixed and hopefully it doesn't happen to him again. He did make a sly comment. He was curious if anybody has played football while possessing their doctorate degree. He's never had a B; if anybody could do it, it'd be him. So, it's unfortunate we lost him. You gain a couple back and you lose a couple – that's just a part of the game. All the rest of them I anticipate to be 100 percent here in about 12 days.
On if redshirt freshman linebacker Brendan Ferns qualifies for another redshirt
I believe so. I believe the rule says two season-ending injuries in a row gives you an option for a sixth. Like I said, that's a long ways down the road, right? We're not going to worry about that now. He's a good kid, 4.0 student and he did a really good job for us. He played more snaps than anybody up until the point he got hurt on special teams. I don't want to sit here and talk about injuries the whole day but I do appreciate him and sympathize what he's going through based on two years in a row for a good player. He wasn't quite the difference maker that (redshirt sophomore linebacker) David Long (Jr.) or (redshirt junior safety) Dravon (Askew-Henry) or Karl (Joseph) and some things that have happened here over the last three years, but you try to have all the bullets in the holster, so to speak, when you're trying to go play Big 12 football. We'll be closer to that moving forward for TCU than we have been here for the previous four games.
On the plans for redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton moving forward
He have some bodies in there, that's why we practice. Looking forward, we're going to shuffle some things on defense getting (redshirt sophomore linebacker) David (Long Jr.) back, getting (redshirt junior safety) Toyous (Avery) back, getting (senior safety) Kyzir (White) back. We'll be able to shuffle some things around and see what the best lineup is. We have to practice in order to figure that out.
On how long redshirt sophomore linebacker David Long Jr. can play coming off injury
That's why we practice. Our medical staff has done a really good job rehabbing these guys and getting them ready to go. Here moving forward, I don't want to talk about it. Here moving forward, we're going to line up these guys, I told you who's out, and all the rest of them have been cleared. So, we're going to go practice. In my mind, if they look good, they'll play. That's where we're at. We're as healthy right now as we've been all year. End of discussion.
On how he thought the defensive line played against Kansas
Yeah, it wasn't good. Now, we were happy with (freshman defensive lineman) Lamonte (McDougle). He looked different than the rest of them out there, which is why he was the player of the game. I'm glad we had one of them that filled gaps and got off blocks and made some plays. He had four tackles, which there's been plenty of games where the nose guard did not get four tackles. We've never played three nose tackles, either. A lot of times since I've been here we've played 1.1 nose tackles throughout the course of 70, 80 snaps and they didn't have four tackles. He's disruptive and active, uses his hands well. I don't know how many snaps he got, it wasn't a ton. But he had four tackles, one of them being a sack. Getting to the quarterback and making that play, that was a legit play. So, good for him. He'll probably be playing more.
On if freshman defensive lineman Lamonte McDougle had to do with defending the run better as the Kansas game went on
Yeah, he helped. When you get off blocks and make tackles, that's a lot better than getting driven back and not getting off blocks. I'm looking forward to getting out and practicing, we're going to go through some run-game stuff and we need to do a better job. I thought we ran the ball pretty well, but we need to do a better job in getting off blocks and holding our gaps. If you don't get off blocks and make the tackle as a (defensive) lineman, you guys know with this defense, you better occupy a couple of people in there and free up linebackers and make plays. I think we know how to coach this defense and we've been really good against the run, so we're probably going to keep coaching it the way we've been. Our job as coaches is to practice and get these guys better and to play people we feel are the best guys for the roles that we're asking them to do. You develop them, put them in the right places and get them ready to go and that's what we're going to do moving forward.
On what he liked about the offensive line's performance against Kansas
The best part of Kansas' team, and it was not even close, was their (defensive) line. They have good players on their (defensive) line. And our (offensive) line kind of was tired of hearing about it and stepped up to the plate and played pretty well, in my opinion. We had one sack, which was the second play of the game where (redshirt junior quarterback) Will (Grier) rolled out of there and it should have been an easy completion but they played it pretty well. I thought the pressure was limited, I think Will does a really good job of feeling pressure and getting out of bad situations. With that said, I thought we pass protected pretty well, I thought we ran-blocked pretty well as well against a decent front. When you have a couple of 100-yard rushers, that's not just (No.) 25 and 4 being good players, which they are, but we had some space in there as well. We still need depth, getting (redshirt senior offensive lineman) Grant (Lingafelter) back is important, getting (redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jacob) Buccigrossi back is important. We're still trying to develop (redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Kelby) Wickline, we're still trying to develop (junior offensive lineman Isaiah) Hardy, so we have some guys to work with this week to try to get a little bit better.
On how to keep senior running back Justin Crawford fresh
Keep doing what we're doing. Part of it is on him to continue to do what he's done, not just during practice and in games, but that's everything. Reduce distractions. This is not just for him, it's for a lot of our guys, throughout the course of the season – it's a long season – don't let your body deteriorate, don't quit feeding it the right way, you have to sleep the right way, you have to lift the right way. (Director of Strength and Conditioning) Mike (Joseph) does such a good job downstairs and our administration has been good as far as getting us what we need, our medical care is good. There's a lot of talk about recovery, more so than at any point in the history of football. There's more available for these guys to be able to do the right thing and keep their bodies sharp. We have all of that available. At the end of the day, they have to do it. This is the first time this has ever been available to Justin, so he has to keep doing that. From a coaching perspective, we haven't had to give it to him 25 times because (No.) 4 can go in there and play and (No.) 32 can go in there and play. So, keeping those guys healthy is important, too. We've gotten to our third and fourth back a lot here in the last couple of years. It's going to get hard moving forward, we just have to hope for the best.
On if he's tried the team's cryotherapy machine yet
I've been in it a couple of times. For an old, fat guy, it speeds your metabolism up. I've been in it a few times, it's good stuff. The players like it. It's quicker than sitting in a cold tub for 15, 20 minutes – that starts to hurt a little bit, or at least it hurts until it's numb. The technology is good and a lot of our guys like sitting in that thing. I got in it, I was curious about it for one. I'm not sore, you aren't going to get sore walking around the block. Even with that, it does speed the metabolism up, which increased blood flow, which if you are sore and beat up, it helps heel you. So, it's good stuff.
On if he wonders how student-athletes competed 30 years ago with all of the innovations in technology that is now available
I wonder how they did it. With the leather helmets? I don't want to get into a CTE discussion, but it has changed. There has been a lot of talk about it. The biggest difference is how you practice now compared to how you used to practice. The days of being out there for three hours are long gone, that's for sure. How did we used to practice with not being able to drink water and sit there and do inside drill for 45 minutes? We probably get more reps in a 10-minute inside period now than we did 20 years ago, in a 30-minute inside period. That has always been a fun discussion. For me growing up, we would run a play and get in the huddle and the coach would yell at us for about 45 seconds or three minutes. Then we would call another play and you would run it and get in the huddle and sit there and talk about it for two, three minutes. How you practice is a lot different. It's a lot different for sure.
On how redshirt junior quarterback can find the balance between being a competitor running the ball and knowing when to slide
He gets it. I guess I have to bring (WVU baseball coach Randy) Mazey over here to teach him how to slide. I haven't played baseball in a long time. I haven't attempted to slide in probably 20-some years. I don't view it as something that is really hard. Evidently it is hard because he is bad at it. Step one is, you nailed it, he is competitive so he is always trying to get an extra yard and I'm like, 'If you already have the first down who cares about a yard?' If you have to strain for the extra yard to get the first down, sometimes that's important, sometimes it's not. If it is at the end of the game, if it is fourth down, yeah, by all means do what you have to do to keep it alive like he did against Virginia Tech. He was throwing his body all over the place. He kind of had to in that situation. In some of the situations that I have looked at over the last three weeks, he does such a good job in the pocket. He feels it, he is smart about it, he has great ball security and he gets out of there and looks good in certain situations as well. First-and-ten, I'm O.K. with a second-and-one as opposed to getting hit or trying to juke somebody. It's like, 'Dude you don't have moves, you are not going to juke people.' The other part of that is, one, preserving health, but two, preserving the ball, too. That ball is not in a good place once he is on the move. He fumbled one that went out of bounds, luckily. We have some fun drills we are going to get him to do today. I will be able to answer that question better after we do those drills because I haven't taught it. To me, it is pretty easy – get down.
On the two quarterbacks that have gotten hurt the past three years have been outside of the pocket
Yeah, he (Clint Trickett) got beheaded against TCU. I am still mad about that non-call. Skyler (Howard) was a really good running quarterback. (Redshirt junior quarterback) Will (Grier) is as good as I've ever seen in the pocket of knowing pressure and getting out of that. That is a gift that you can't coach. You can work on it and get guys better at it, but that is a gift that he has which is going to be very beneficial for us moving forward. When you get out, you have to be smarter; you can't take that hit. That puts your body and this team in harm's way. I know you wrote an article on it and we've addressed it. We are going to work on it and try to get better at it.
On Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's recent comments on visitor locker room conditions
It was funny. The one in Kansas didn't smell very well. I think it's been pretty good. When we go to TCU it is probably the nicest one I have ever seen. They just redid their stuff and it is unbelievable. What is surprising is the Redskins one was bad. The visiting locker room for the Redskins was bad. That was not good. Baylor's is good. Texas' is adequate. Texas is probably the most chopped up. This is as big of an area as I have to address the whole team, which they don't care about that. The sanitary aspect of it is a problem. Kansas announced that 350-million-dollar football renovation to their stuff; I'm sure their visitor locker room is going to get addressed. It was hot in their too, it stunk, it was bad.
On if there should be standards for visiting locker rooms
Yeah, you would think so. I think he (Jim Harbaugh) nailed it. Me complaining about it, which I am not, that is just part of the deal. I would never complain about that, it's not my place. It is an administrative deal. Administration, Big 12 offices, Big 10 offices, I am sure they are going to do something about it. I have other things to worry about. That is what a visitor's locker room should be, shouldn't it? Treat the visitor like crap, make it hard on them. No air conditioning, no stalls on the toilets; that makes me chuckle.
On if it is difficult to take away things from other defenses while watching films because of the different styles
Yeah. Coverages are coverages. Probably the biggest difference with what we do is that we fill gaps differently than other people. You try, and you do the same thing on offense, you do the same thing on special teams, you try to get opponents that somewhat resemble it. The more they resemble it the better it is. How they attack the opponent is really pretty important. How you did specific blitzes with pressure, coverages, leverage, looking for matchups. You can get that done with different types of schemes. It can be nonexistent, you can throw the whole film out too. You just have to look at it and gauge it and see what you think. Practice and come up with a plan, move forward.
On how recruiting is going this season
It's going pretty well. We are evaluating a lot of guys right now. We are going to send all 10 coaches out. Probably the biggest area that we are doing this weekend is going and seeing guys that we have committed or trying to get committed. That is what we are focusing on right now. We are still evaluating a lot of guys, recruiting a lot of guys. Official visits are going to start taking place here pretty quick. We are going to deal with in-season visits more, moving forward here in October and November than we ever have just because of the early signing period. We still have two weeks in December that we can visit guys prior to that early signing period, I prefer that, but if specific guys don't have a Friday night game and they want to come on an official visit to see a home game, then we will do that. What is going to be interesting is that I am hesitating a little on just because you keep doing what you have been doing because we have had some success recruiting and see what you get with that early signing period. Now you have an opportunity to be able to recalibrate and reevaluate what you need going into that January signing period, recruiting period, and all of that. I'm comfortable with where we are at, the numbers we have, who we have on board and where we are at. We have to keep recruiting them. There is a bunch of them out there that aren't committed that we are recruiting that we are going to continue to do. Then, you have to reevaluate where you are after that signing period to fill out the class. We have 25 this year, in the past we have had upwards of about 32. We signed some transfers this past summer that knocked out some of those numbers. Not looking for as many as we have in the past, this year anyway.
On if the early signing period speeds up decision making or evaluation
Probably decision making. I don't think it affects this one, I think it will affect the next one. What's really going to be interesting is next year's class. This year's class seems very normal to me with the opportunity to be able to end it in December. The next one, the 2019 class is going to get interesting as to how you evaluate them, when you evaluate them and when you have to make decisions on them because they can start taking visits, which to me is absurd. They can start taking visits in April, May, June. Which means you have to make decisions, really before spring practice, before their spring academic semester is over. To me, that's ridiculous they increase the academic requirements and they decrease the amount of time that you can evaluate them academically. I think there is going to be issues with that. I'm curious to see how all of that is going to play out. From a 2018-class perspective, I haven't noticed any difference whatsoever. Maybe a few more official visits moving forward in October and November.
On if the borderline academic recruits are going to get pushed back
They will get pushed back. Then you will have some mid-majors or some guys that normally wouldn't be in the game with that kid. You are going to see some of those guys take chances on guys. I don't view us as that, because I am not going to jeopardize and initial on a guy that is not academically qualified, so we are going to just recruit somebody else. If you sign that kid and he doesn't make it, you lose that number. We have used, if I am not mistaken, every single initial we have had since I have been here. We have used everyone and I think you have to keep your numbers up. I am not going to take a chance on a couple of guys that are not quite there yet academically. I am not going to bring those guys in in May and try to sign them.
On updates on injuries
It's unfortunate for (redshirt freshman linebacker Brendan Ferns); I will comment on him. Obviously two years in a row. He got four games in this year where he didn't get four games in last year. He was probably our most solid special teams player at this point. He seems to be in good spirits, it's going to a six-month deal and he should be ready for spring football. Like I've said 100 different times, injuries, football, there's risk. There's short-term risk and long-term risk. If you're not willing to accept that risk, then you don't play. I really liked what I saw out of him for four games. He seems to be in good spirits and I want him to hang in there and get it fixed and hopefully it doesn't happen to him again. He did make a sly comment. He was curious if anybody has played football while possessing their doctorate degree. He's never had a B; if anybody could do it, it'd be him. So, it's unfortunate we lost him. You gain a couple back and you lose a couple – that's just a part of the game. All the rest of them I anticipate to be 100 percent here in about 12 days.
On if redshirt freshman linebacker Brendan Ferns qualifies for another redshirt
I believe so. I believe the rule says two season-ending injuries in a row gives you an option for a sixth. Like I said, that's a long ways down the road, right? We're not going to worry about that now. He's a good kid, 4.0 student and he did a really good job for us. He played more snaps than anybody up until the point he got hurt on special teams. I don't want to sit here and talk about injuries the whole day but I do appreciate him and sympathize what he's going through based on two years in a row for a good player. He wasn't quite the difference maker that (redshirt sophomore linebacker) David Long (Jr.) or (redshirt junior safety) Dravon (Askew-Henry) or Karl (Joseph) and some things that have happened here over the last three years, but you try to have all the bullets in the holster, so to speak, when you're trying to go play Big 12 football. We'll be closer to that moving forward for TCU than we have been here for the previous four games.
On the plans for redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton moving forward
He have some bodies in there, that's why we practice. Looking forward, we're going to shuffle some things on defense getting (redshirt sophomore linebacker) David (Long Jr.) back, getting (redshirt junior safety) Toyous (Avery) back, getting (senior safety) Kyzir (White) back. We'll be able to shuffle some things around and see what the best lineup is. We have to practice in order to figure that out.
On how long redshirt sophomore linebacker David Long Jr. can play coming off injury
That's why we practice. Our medical staff has done a really good job rehabbing these guys and getting them ready to go. Here moving forward, I don't want to talk about it. Here moving forward, we're going to line up these guys, I told you who's out, and all the rest of them have been cleared. So, we're going to go practice. In my mind, if they look good, they'll play. That's where we're at. We're as healthy right now as we've been all year. End of discussion.
On how he thought the defensive line played against Kansas
Yeah, it wasn't good. Now, we were happy with (freshman defensive lineman) Lamonte (McDougle). He looked different than the rest of them out there, which is why he was the player of the game. I'm glad we had one of them that filled gaps and got off blocks and made some plays. He had four tackles, which there's been plenty of games where the nose guard did not get four tackles. We've never played three nose tackles, either. A lot of times since I've been here we've played 1.1 nose tackles throughout the course of 70, 80 snaps and they didn't have four tackles. He's disruptive and active, uses his hands well. I don't know how many snaps he got, it wasn't a ton. But he had four tackles, one of them being a sack. Getting to the quarterback and making that play, that was a legit play. So, good for him. He'll probably be playing more.
On if freshman defensive lineman Lamonte McDougle had to do with defending the run better as the Kansas game went on
Yeah, he helped. When you get off blocks and make tackles, that's a lot better than getting driven back and not getting off blocks. I'm looking forward to getting out and practicing, we're going to go through some run-game stuff and we need to do a better job. I thought we ran the ball pretty well, but we need to do a better job in getting off blocks and holding our gaps. If you don't get off blocks and make the tackle as a (defensive) lineman, you guys know with this defense, you better occupy a couple of people in there and free up linebackers and make plays. I think we know how to coach this defense and we've been really good against the run, so we're probably going to keep coaching it the way we've been. Our job as coaches is to practice and get these guys better and to play people we feel are the best guys for the roles that we're asking them to do. You develop them, put them in the right places and get them ready to go and that's what we're going to do moving forward.
On what he liked about the offensive line's performance against Kansas
The best part of Kansas' team, and it was not even close, was their (defensive) line. They have good players on their (defensive) line. And our (offensive) line kind of was tired of hearing about it and stepped up to the plate and played pretty well, in my opinion. We had one sack, which was the second play of the game where (redshirt junior quarterback) Will (Grier) rolled out of there and it should have been an easy completion but they played it pretty well. I thought the pressure was limited, I think Will does a really good job of feeling pressure and getting out of bad situations. With that said, I thought we pass protected pretty well, I thought we ran-blocked pretty well as well against a decent front. When you have a couple of 100-yard rushers, that's not just (No.) 25 and 4 being good players, which they are, but we had some space in there as well. We still need depth, getting (redshirt senior offensive lineman) Grant (Lingafelter) back is important, getting (redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jacob) Buccigrossi back is important. We're still trying to develop (redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Kelby) Wickline, we're still trying to develop (junior offensive lineman Isaiah) Hardy, so we have some guys to work with this week to try to get a little bit better.
On how to keep senior running back Justin Crawford fresh
Keep doing what we're doing. Part of it is on him to continue to do what he's done, not just during practice and in games, but that's everything. Reduce distractions. This is not just for him, it's for a lot of our guys, throughout the course of the season – it's a long season – don't let your body deteriorate, don't quit feeding it the right way, you have to sleep the right way, you have to lift the right way. (Director of Strength and Conditioning) Mike (Joseph) does such a good job downstairs and our administration has been good as far as getting us what we need, our medical care is good. There's a lot of talk about recovery, more so than at any point in the history of football. There's more available for these guys to be able to do the right thing and keep their bodies sharp. We have all of that available. At the end of the day, they have to do it. This is the first time this has ever been available to Justin, so he has to keep doing that. From a coaching perspective, we haven't had to give it to him 25 times because (No.) 4 can go in there and play and (No.) 32 can go in there and play. So, keeping those guys healthy is important, too. We've gotten to our third and fourth back a lot here in the last couple of years. It's going to get hard moving forward, we just have to hope for the best.
On if he's tried the team's cryotherapy machine yet
I've been in it a couple of times. For an old, fat guy, it speeds your metabolism up. I've been in it a few times, it's good stuff. The players like it. It's quicker than sitting in a cold tub for 15, 20 minutes – that starts to hurt a little bit, or at least it hurts until it's numb. The technology is good and a lot of our guys like sitting in that thing. I got in it, I was curious about it for one. I'm not sore, you aren't going to get sore walking around the block. Even with that, it does speed the metabolism up, which increased blood flow, which if you are sore and beat up, it helps heel you. So, it's good stuff.
On if he wonders how student-athletes competed 30 years ago with all of the innovations in technology that is now available
I wonder how they did it. With the leather helmets? I don't want to get into a CTE discussion, but it has changed. There has been a lot of talk about it. The biggest difference is how you practice now compared to how you used to practice. The days of being out there for three hours are long gone, that's for sure. How did we used to practice with not being able to drink water and sit there and do inside drill for 45 minutes? We probably get more reps in a 10-minute inside period now than we did 20 years ago, in a 30-minute inside period. That has always been a fun discussion. For me growing up, we would run a play and get in the huddle and the coach would yell at us for about 45 seconds or three minutes. Then we would call another play and you would run it and get in the huddle and sit there and talk about it for two, three minutes. How you practice is a lot different. It's a lot different for sure.
On how redshirt junior quarterback can find the balance between being a competitor running the ball and knowing when to slide
He gets it. I guess I have to bring (WVU baseball coach Randy) Mazey over here to teach him how to slide. I haven't played baseball in a long time. I haven't attempted to slide in probably 20-some years. I don't view it as something that is really hard. Evidently it is hard because he is bad at it. Step one is, you nailed it, he is competitive so he is always trying to get an extra yard and I'm like, 'If you already have the first down who cares about a yard?' If you have to strain for the extra yard to get the first down, sometimes that's important, sometimes it's not. If it is at the end of the game, if it is fourth down, yeah, by all means do what you have to do to keep it alive like he did against Virginia Tech. He was throwing his body all over the place. He kind of had to in that situation. In some of the situations that I have looked at over the last three weeks, he does such a good job in the pocket. He feels it, he is smart about it, he has great ball security and he gets out of there and looks good in certain situations as well. First-and-ten, I'm O.K. with a second-and-one as opposed to getting hit or trying to juke somebody. It's like, 'Dude you don't have moves, you are not going to juke people.' The other part of that is, one, preserving health, but two, preserving the ball, too. That ball is not in a good place once he is on the move. He fumbled one that went out of bounds, luckily. We have some fun drills we are going to get him to do today. I will be able to answer that question better after we do those drills because I haven't taught it. To me, it is pretty easy – get down.
On the two quarterbacks that have gotten hurt the past three years have been outside of the pocket
Yeah, he (Clint Trickett) got beheaded against TCU. I am still mad about that non-call. Skyler (Howard) was a really good running quarterback. (Redshirt junior quarterback) Will (Grier) is as good as I've ever seen in the pocket of knowing pressure and getting out of that. That is a gift that you can't coach. You can work on it and get guys better at it, but that is a gift that he has which is going to be very beneficial for us moving forward. When you get out, you have to be smarter; you can't take that hit. That puts your body and this team in harm's way. I know you wrote an article on it and we've addressed it. We are going to work on it and try to get better at it.
On Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's recent comments on visitor locker room conditions
It was funny. The one in Kansas didn't smell very well. I think it's been pretty good. When we go to TCU it is probably the nicest one I have ever seen. They just redid their stuff and it is unbelievable. What is surprising is the Redskins one was bad. The visiting locker room for the Redskins was bad. That was not good. Baylor's is good. Texas' is adequate. Texas is probably the most chopped up. This is as big of an area as I have to address the whole team, which they don't care about that. The sanitary aspect of it is a problem. Kansas announced that 350-million-dollar football renovation to their stuff; I'm sure their visitor locker room is going to get addressed. It was hot in their too, it stunk, it was bad.
On if there should be standards for visiting locker rooms
Yeah, you would think so. I think he (Jim Harbaugh) nailed it. Me complaining about it, which I am not, that is just part of the deal. I would never complain about that, it's not my place. It is an administrative deal. Administration, Big 12 offices, Big 10 offices, I am sure they are going to do something about it. I have other things to worry about. That is what a visitor's locker room should be, shouldn't it? Treat the visitor like crap, make it hard on them. No air conditioning, no stalls on the toilets; that makes me chuckle.
On if it is difficult to take away things from other defenses while watching films because of the different styles
Yeah. Coverages are coverages. Probably the biggest difference with what we do is that we fill gaps differently than other people. You try, and you do the same thing on offense, you do the same thing on special teams, you try to get opponents that somewhat resemble it. The more they resemble it the better it is. How they attack the opponent is really pretty important. How you did specific blitzes with pressure, coverages, leverage, looking for matchups. You can get that done with different types of schemes. It can be nonexistent, you can throw the whole film out too. You just have to look at it and gauge it and see what you think. Practice and come up with a plan, move forward.
On how recruiting is going this season
It's going pretty well. We are evaluating a lot of guys right now. We are going to send all 10 coaches out. Probably the biggest area that we are doing this weekend is going and seeing guys that we have committed or trying to get committed. That is what we are focusing on right now. We are still evaluating a lot of guys, recruiting a lot of guys. Official visits are going to start taking place here pretty quick. We are going to deal with in-season visits more, moving forward here in October and November than we ever have just because of the early signing period. We still have two weeks in December that we can visit guys prior to that early signing period, I prefer that, but if specific guys don't have a Friday night game and they want to come on an official visit to see a home game, then we will do that. What is going to be interesting is that I am hesitating a little on just because you keep doing what you have been doing because we have had some success recruiting and see what you get with that early signing period. Now you have an opportunity to be able to recalibrate and reevaluate what you need going into that January signing period, recruiting period, and all of that. I'm comfortable with where we are at, the numbers we have, who we have on board and where we are at. We have to keep recruiting them. There is a bunch of them out there that aren't committed that we are recruiting that we are going to continue to do. Then, you have to reevaluate where you are after that signing period to fill out the class. We have 25 this year, in the past we have had upwards of about 32. We signed some transfers this past summer that knocked out some of those numbers. Not looking for as many as we have in the past, this year anyway.
On if the early signing period speeds up decision making or evaluation
Probably decision making. I don't think it affects this one, I think it will affect the next one. What's really going to be interesting is next year's class. This year's class seems very normal to me with the opportunity to be able to end it in December. The next one, the 2019 class is going to get interesting as to how you evaluate them, when you evaluate them and when you have to make decisions on them because they can start taking visits, which to me is absurd. They can start taking visits in April, May, June. Which means you have to make decisions, really before spring practice, before their spring academic semester is over. To me, that's ridiculous they increase the academic requirements and they decrease the amount of time that you can evaluate them academically. I think there is going to be issues with that. I'm curious to see how all of that is going to play out. From a 2018-class perspective, I haven't noticed any difference whatsoever. Maybe a few more official visits moving forward in October and November.
On if the borderline academic recruits are going to get pushed back
They will get pushed back. Then you will have some mid-majors or some guys that normally wouldn't be in the game with that kid. You are going to see some of those guys take chances on guys. I don't view us as that, because I am not going to jeopardize and initial on a guy that is not academically qualified, so we are going to just recruit somebody else. If you sign that kid and he doesn't make it, you lose that number. We have used, if I am not mistaken, every single initial we have had since I have been here. We have used everyone and I think you have to keep your numbers up. I am not going to take a chance on a couple of guys that are not quite there yet academically. I am not going to bring those guys in in May and try to sign them.
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