Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Coach Dana Holgorsen Press Conference
August 09, 2018 03:31 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening Statement
Everybody used to look forward to the watermelon afternoon deal. Everybody does it; the truck comes by and drops off all these watermelons and stuff like that. It's one of the special things that happens at camp. Now-a-days, we have that like every day. We have pineapples and watermelon and all that stuff every day, it's a heck of a deal. We've come a long way. It's really good.
We hired (Director of Sports Nutrition) Taylor (Lile); she's our new sports nutrition lady. She's doing a heck of a job, she's in the back all the time, she sits in my meetings, she's at practice. Twenty-four seven, she's in charge of the food we feed our kids. The new training table in the back is just spectacular. It's a multi-million-dollar deal, and they did a heck of a job on it. She's in charge of the menus and everything, and she claims that she picks out fruit better than anybody. I can't disagree with her; she's doing a heck of a job.
We've come a long way – we used to not be able to feed them. Now, we can feed them whatever we want. It's a big commitment – and this is all NCAA driven, obviously – but it's a big commitment from our administration. It's expensive when you're feeding 120 growing men. It's been great.
On what director of sports nutrition Taylor Lile's plans were to improve the team's nutrition program
Kids actually eating. For us, we like to eat. Most of us, you're a foody, and we like to eat. I cooked last night and it was outstanding. I'll tell you the menu, it was good: steaks, chicken, cornbread, corn on the cob, fresh green beans, cauliflower mixed in with olive oil and bacon, onions, baked potatoes, bacon, butter, sour cream, olive oil on the outside, it was really good. So, along those lines, she comes up with the menu that our guys will eat. So far, it's been really, really good. The presentation is obviously better in the back. They are back there, and they sit down and they're back there for about an hour. They eat. The end game is you want that food to go in their system. Eating and sleeping are the keys to recovering and getting back on the field as healthy as you can possibly get.
On avoiding the players eating junk food
We'd like them to. This time of year, as much as we feed them, we can prevent it because we're giving them four meals per day, really. When you get into the routine of us giving them one meal a day, then what are you going to do? They're going to go do that. We try to educate them to the point of what's good and what's bad. I remember days of when kids would fall out at practice. I'd be like, 'What's wrong with you?' They're like, 'I'm starving.' They'd rush from class, and they'd get over here and go into meetings, then go outside and practice, and they'd fall out because there's nothing in their system. We really couldn't give them snacks and stuff, it's ridiculous. We're asking them to go out there for three hours and sweat and run and all that stuff, and they don't have fuel in their body. Now, it's different. (Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning) Mike (Joseph) has a snack for them every day before a meeting. There's never that excuse ever again. We have protein shakes, we have all the snacks down there, and we feed them sandwiches. That's not going to happen. But you're never going to prevent those kids from eating a late-night McDonalds or pizza or something like that. It's better than nothing. We can't give them three meals a day year 'round.
Any other food questions? This is a great conversation. What'd you cook last night? So, I went back there – we had brunch yesterday – yesterday was our recovery day. We couldn't practice yesterday; we have to give them a recovery day once a week. I went back there, it opened at like 10:30, so we had a huge brunch. There's a big pasta bar, so I walked in and checked this pasta bar out because it was the first time it had been open back there. They had like three different kinds of pastas, chicken, shrimp, sausage, with every kind of sauce you'd want – white sauce, red sauce, whatever. I thought, 'That looks good', but there were like 30 people in line and I was in a hurry. So, I skipped that and went over to the omelet station, because it's brunch, and there's 100 different kinds of omelets and all that. I thought, 'That looks pretty good, too', but there were 30 people there. Once again, I don't have time to wait. So, I went over to the other station where it was just the main deal, and it was pork tenderloin and salmon. So, I had a spliced pork tenderloin with a piece of bread, and then I made a salmon salad, and it had 100 different options when it came to the salad aspect of it. So, I settled for a salmon salad.
On when the media can visit the team's dining facility
We'll treat you at some point. We'll have to schedule that, because that's really good back there. I mean, it's really, really, really good. We'll figure it out; let's get that on the schedule. For one, it's really good, but just to see it with how we're treating our guys, the student-athletes, (Director of Athletics) Shane (Lyons) and (Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director) Steve (Uryasz) and (Deputy Athletic Director) Keli (Zinn) and those guys have done a great job in setting that up for us, and it's something to look into and write about and experience it. It's really good.
On if he can measure the benefits of the nutrition program
I don't know how you can measure it. It's just one of those things where, if it's working and there are no issues, then it's thumbs up. (Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning) Mike (Joseph) weighs them in and out like twice a day. So, if a guy is dropping weight, then we're going to catch it pretty quickly. What's the number one reason why they drop weight? It's the intake. We measure how much energy they are exerting with the GPS's and how much they are running. We can measure if they are working hard, or if they aren't working hard. The science on the GPS aspect of it is unbelievable. I can go back and say this practice a year ago, the numbers, and I can compare different practices throughout the course of the year and from year to year to year. So, we know what they are exerting. If they are dropping weight, then that means the intake isn't what it needs to be. We catch it, and we make them drink four Gatorades, or whatever, and we take them into the dining hall, and one of the strength coaches will sit with them or (Director of Sports Nutrition) Taylor (Lile) will sit with them and say, 'Eat this', and you aren't moving until you eat it. It's like growing up as a kid, and you don't eat your peas, then you have to sit there until you eat your peas. I spent the night at the dinner table before growing up. We sit there, and we make them eat it.
On if he's thrown off by an off day during camp
I thought it would, but it's good. We ask so much out of them out of the practices that we get. When I first started coaching at Valdosta State, we had three-a-day practices. We had practice for an hour-and-a-half in the morning, and hour-and-a-half in the afternoon, and then like 45 minutes at night. So, it was three-a-days, and we spent more time dressing than we did practicing. So, with one-a-day practices, we're literally out there for about three hours. You're out there for a long time. I thought I'd be concerned with it, but the morning walk-throughs that we have, you can use balls now, so that's basically a practice in the morning that, really, doesn't technically count as a practice. No pads, but it's all mental. Half of the practices, you're focusing on the mental aspect of teaching them what to do anyway.
On if the team's age is helping
It helps everything. With the least amount of practices, we have 25 practices, and I think we have about six walk-throughs. Some teams will have more walk-throughs based on when school starts. We start so early that you can't have practices once you start school, walk-throughs. We go to 20 hours once that starts. Teams that don't have school until after Labor Day, it's a huge advantage for them because they get as many walk-throughs as they possibly want. I think the NCAA needs to look at that; that's not fair. But we'll take our 25 practices and six walk-throughs, and we'll make the most out of it. Some teams will have more. For us having an experienced team, it probably alleviates the fact that we need that.
On working in a third center
We have three people that can snap it. I think we have five people that can snap it; we don't have three centers that can play. I don't know where you came up with that; I saw somebody write that. Believe it or not, I look at some of the stuff that you all write. We have two. I feel really good about two. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman) Matt (Jones) started 13 games for us last year. (Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jacob) Buccigrossi, right now, is ahead of him. That doesn't mean he's going to start, but right now, he's running with the first team. He was hurt last year, so he couldn't play. But we have two; we do have three. (Freshman offensive lineman) Briason Mays is going to be a good player for us, but he's a freshman, and hopefully he doesn't play.
On how he plans to use the new redshirt rule
I've commented on this a lot. I don't how we use it, but I think we can use it in a bunch of different ways. I can see us playing guys early and say, 'We need you on the shelf. You're not ready." But I can see, in game eight, that this kid is like (senior wide receiver) David Sills (V) was – he's really making a lot of plays on scout team. So, let's pull him up. Guys get hurt, we need a body, and we can plug them in. We'll probably end up dressing and traveling more than we have, and if we need them, then we'll use them. If we don't, then we keep them on the sideline. I think there's a bunch of different ways to use it.
On if the new redshirt rule differs from position-to-position
No, I don't. O-line and d-line are the hardest stuff to play at this level. With that said, we played two freshmen last year that weren't ready to play on the d-line. Those guys weren't ready to play. We had to use them. If we have a need and a void, then we'll utilize them, but I don't want to (senior offensive lineman) Isaiah Hardy somebody. What I mean by that is he played 60 snaps last year. (Sophomore defensive lineman) Darius Stills played 40 snaps last year. We can probably save that and play them unless we absolutely have to and save that year.
On interchanging offensive lineman during practice
We don't do that with our first-team guys. It's really no different than what we do with the receivers. The first-team guys are your first-team guys. Don't move those guys around. With the backups, you do all kinds of different stuff to see where they fit. (Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman) Chase Behrndt was playing tackle today with the second-team. You move those guys around to get the best guys out there. (Associate head coach – defensive coordinator/linebackers – Tony) Gibby (Gibson) does that as well. You find the best 11, start them, don't screw with them and then, the backups, you can mess with that as much as you want to so you find what fits.
On his takeaway from the first practice in full-pads
I was pleased with our situations. We did two-minute, we did four-minute, we did third-and-play it, which on third downs if you convert, then you stay on the field. If you don't convert, then you have to run off the field, and we exchanged it with punt teams and PAT/field goal teams. It flowed pretty well. I'm happy with that. It was sloppy, which is expected. We played a lot of bodies and a lot of guys that aren't quite ready to play yet, they're never going to look good. Overall, I was pleased with it. It was physical.
On if he is comfortable with the depth of this year's team
No, we have to keep practicing. We have a lot more bodies that I think are capable of helping us, but we still have 20 practices to go. I make a big deal about how the depth chart aspect of things doesn't exist. We have guys competing. It's going to be a fun camp to be able to figure out who our starters are.
On if the second and third teams are looking ready to play
No, absolutely not. Not yet.
On the defense
I like our maturity on the d-line – those old guys. (Redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jabril's (Robinson) looked good, (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Kenny's (Bigelow Jr.) looked good. They have brought maturity to our d-line. They're grown men. (Senior defensive lineman Ezekiel) Zeke's (Rose) old, (junior defensive lineman) Reese (Donahue) is old. So, it's nice to have older mature guys. It reminds me of, and these guys have a chance to be better than two or three years ago, when we had Christian (Brown), Noble (Nwachukwu) and Darrien (Howard) – three seniors, old guys, two fifth-year seniors and a fourth-year senior. Those were program guys, guys that have been here for a long time. Those guys are mature. It gives you a chance to be successful. If you have young guys at those spots, then you have no chance. That's where we were last year. So, we have older, mature guys that talk and play football and understand the game. It gives that second level and that third level, which we have a lot of experience there, a chance to do their job.
On preparing graduate transfers to play in a short time frame
The summer helps. Having those guys all summer – that is critical. I think if those two guys showed up August 1st like Rasul (Douglas) did his junior year, it'd take them a while to get acclimated to the way things are around here. Those guys were here all of June and all of July. We worked with them, as a staff, all of June. The guys got to know them a little bit. It helps to have (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Kenny (Bigelow Jr.) who's best friends with Daikiel (Shorts Jr.), Wendell (Smallwood), (senior wide receiver) David Sills (V) and that whole crew. So, he came in comfortable. He and (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jabril (Robinson) have connected, and that's made that transition easier as well. But to answer your question, probably the summer more than anything.
On redshirt junior linebacker Shea Campbell
He's earned his scholarship. He's on scholarship. I don't know if he's taken a snap yet, though. (Associate head coach – defensive coordinator/linebackers – Tony) Gibby (Gibson) loves him. He reminds us a lot of Justin Arndt – a West Virginia kid that walked on and does everything right. He's a good football player, shows up in practice. He did a great job for us on scout team last year. He's going to be on a bunch of special teams and a backup linebacker right now. Hopefully he lives up to what we think he can do.
On the competition at kicker
(Redshirt sophomore) Evan (Staley) is a clear-cut number one at PAT/field goal. He's kicking the ball very well. We have some competition as a backup kicker. (Redshirt sophomore Luke) Hogan and (redshirt junior Skyler) Simcox – those guys are competing right now. (Redshirt senior) Billy (Kinney) looks really good. Billy's been on the shelf for about six months. I can't remember if he finished spring or not, but he looks good. We haven't got into the competition aspect of the kickoffs yet. We'll get into that next week. That's really the only competition right now. Deep snapper and kickoff guy are the only competitions right now.
On having the PAT/field goal kicker be separate from the kickoff man
You'd like that if you had three different ones who could just focus on that, but then you have to talk about who's the backup. So, those guys will have to do it anyway. At that point, there's been guys who do all three. Did Pat (McAfee) do all three? I believe he did. That's rare, but it's been done before. You have to pretty talented in order to do it, but doing two, I think, is realistic.
On the older wide receivers mentoring younger newcomers
That's a summer conversation as well. When those guys got here in the summer, we paired up (freshman) Sam (James) with (redshirt sophomore) T.J. (Simmons), (freshman) Randy (Fields Jr.) with (senior) Gary (Jennings Jr.) and (freshman) Bryce (Wheaton) with (senior) David (Sills V), or something. That's just to help those guys out. We can coach them two hours a week in the summer, which isn't very much. So, you want those guys to be able to do what they do by following them around and do what they do. We have four older backup receivers. We have four starters. I'm not going to tell you who they are, but my mind is set right now. We have four starters, four backups that are all old and have been here for three/four years and then we have four freshmen under them. I'm trying to get those freshmen to be number twos. The backups, right now, should be panicking, because the older guys are helping the youngers to beat out the older, backup guys.
On if Evan Staley is more of an accurate kicker than a power kicker
He knocked through a 54-yarder yesterday, or 53-yarder yesterday. That one had some space. He's striking the ball really well. He's earned his scholarship. He's striking the ball really well. Those other guys have to keep competing. That's the way things go.
On the two injured players who are not in fall camp
They can be here and get treated and eat. They just can't be a part of any football activities. They're not in meetings, they're not in walkthroughs. They're not a part of any of that. They're just rehabbing all day long. Rehabbing, eating, sleeping and all the necessary to get back on the field. That's (senior linebacker Quondarius) Qualls and (redshirt sophomore linebacker Brendan) Ferns. We just never added them. We reported to fall camp with 110 guys, and those two guys were not a part of the 110. But they can be here, and they get treated and use the facility and eat. Technically, they're still in school for a while. They just can't be a part of football right now. Once school starts, they'll be in meetings, be a part of walkthroughs. They're both doing good. They look good. They're both two kids that have played a lot for us, and they will play this year. At what point? I don't know. That's a medical decision.
Opening Statement
Everybody used to look forward to the watermelon afternoon deal. Everybody does it; the truck comes by and drops off all these watermelons and stuff like that. It's one of the special things that happens at camp. Now-a-days, we have that like every day. We have pineapples and watermelon and all that stuff every day, it's a heck of a deal. We've come a long way. It's really good.
We hired (Director of Sports Nutrition) Taylor (Lile); she's our new sports nutrition lady. She's doing a heck of a job, she's in the back all the time, she sits in my meetings, she's at practice. Twenty-four seven, she's in charge of the food we feed our kids. The new training table in the back is just spectacular. It's a multi-million-dollar deal, and they did a heck of a job on it. She's in charge of the menus and everything, and she claims that she picks out fruit better than anybody. I can't disagree with her; she's doing a heck of a job.
We've come a long way – we used to not be able to feed them. Now, we can feed them whatever we want. It's a big commitment – and this is all NCAA driven, obviously – but it's a big commitment from our administration. It's expensive when you're feeding 120 growing men. It's been great.
On what director of sports nutrition Taylor Lile's plans were to improve the team's nutrition program
Kids actually eating. For us, we like to eat. Most of us, you're a foody, and we like to eat. I cooked last night and it was outstanding. I'll tell you the menu, it was good: steaks, chicken, cornbread, corn on the cob, fresh green beans, cauliflower mixed in with olive oil and bacon, onions, baked potatoes, bacon, butter, sour cream, olive oil on the outside, it was really good. So, along those lines, she comes up with the menu that our guys will eat. So far, it's been really, really good. The presentation is obviously better in the back. They are back there, and they sit down and they're back there for about an hour. They eat. The end game is you want that food to go in their system. Eating and sleeping are the keys to recovering and getting back on the field as healthy as you can possibly get.
On avoiding the players eating junk food
We'd like them to. This time of year, as much as we feed them, we can prevent it because we're giving them four meals per day, really. When you get into the routine of us giving them one meal a day, then what are you going to do? They're going to go do that. We try to educate them to the point of what's good and what's bad. I remember days of when kids would fall out at practice. I'd be like, 'What's wrong with you?' They're like, 'I'm starving.' They'd rush from class, and they'd get over here and go into meetings, then go outside and practice, and they'd fall out because there's nothing in their system. We really couldn't give them snacks and stuff, it's ridiculous. We're asking them to go out there for three hours and sweat and run and all that stuff, and they don't have fuel in their body. Now, it's different. (Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning) Mike (Joseph) has a snack for them every day before a meeting. There's never that excuse ever again. We have protein shakes, we have all the snacks down there, and we feed them sandwiches. That's not going to happen. But you're never going to prevent those kids from eating a late-night McDonalds or pizza or something like that. It's better than nothing. We can't give them three meals a day year 'round.
Any other food questions? This is a great conversation. What'd you cook last night? So, I went back there – we had brunch yesterday – yesterday was our recovery day. We couldn't practice yesterday; we have to give them a recovery day once a week. I went back there, it opened at like 10:30, so we had a huge brunch. There's a big pasta bar, so I walked in and checked this pasta bar out because it was the first time it had been open back there. They had like three different kinds of pastas, chicken, shrimp, sausage, with every kind of sauce you'd want – white sauce, red sauce, whatever. I thought, 'That looks good', but there were like 30 people in line and I was in a hurry. So, I skipped that and went over to the omelet station, because it's brunch, and there's 100 different kinds of omelets and all that. I thought, 'That looks pretty good, too', but there were 30 people there. Once again, I don't have time to wait. So, I went over to the other station where it was just the main deal, and it was pork tenderloin and salmon. So, I had a spliced pork tenderloin with a piece of bread, and then I made a salmon salad, and it had 100 different options when it came to the salad aspect of it. So, I settled for a salmon salad.
On when the media can visit the team's dining facility
We'll treat you at some point. We'll have to schedule that, because that's really good back there. I mean, it's really, really, really good. We'll figure it out; let's get that on the schedule. For one, it's really good, but just to see it with how we're treating our guys, the student-athletes, (Director of Athletics) Shane (Lyons) and (Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director) Steve (Uryasz) and (Deputy Athletic Director) Keli (Zinn) and those guys have done a great job in setting that up for us, and it's something to look into and write about and experience it. It's really good.
On if he can measure the benefits of the nutrition program
I don't know how you can measure it. It's just one of those things where, if it's working and there are no issues, then it's thumbs up. (Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning) Mike (Joseph) weighs them in and out like twice a day. So, if a guy is dropping weight, then we're going to catch it pretty quickly. What's the number one reason why they drop weight? It's the intake. We measure how much energy they are exerting with the GPS's and how much they are running. We can measure if they are working hard, or if they aren't working hard. The science on the GPS aspect of it is unbelievable. I can go back and say this practice a year ago, the numbers, and I can compare different practices throughout the course of the year and from year to year to year. So, we know what they are exerting. If they are dropping weight, then that means the intake isn't what it needs to be. We catch it, and we make them drink four Gatorades, or whatever, and we take them into the dining hall, and one of the strength coaches will sit with them or (Director of Sports Nutrition) Taylor (Lile) will sit with them and say, 'Eat this', and you aren't moving until you eat it. It's like growing up as a kid, and you don't eat your peas, then you have to sit there until you eat your peas. I spent the night at the dinner table before growing up. We sit there, and we make them eat it.
On if he's thrown off by an off day during camp
I thought it would, but it's good. We ask so much out of them out of the practices that we get. When I first started coaching at Valdosta State, we had three-a-day practices. We had practice for an hour-and-a-half in the morning, and hour-and-a-half in the afternoon, and then like 45 minutes at night. So, it was three-a-days, and we spent more time dressing than we did practicing. So, with one-a-day practices, we're literally out there for about three hours. You're out there for a long time. I thought I'd be concerned with it, but the morning walk-throughs that we have, you can use balls now, so that's basically a practice in the morning that, really, doesn't technically count as a practice. No pads, but it's all mental. Half of the practices, you're focusing on the mental aspect of teaching them what to do anyway.
On if the team's age is helping
It helps everything. With the least amount of practices, we have 25 practices, and I think we have about six walk-throughs. Some teams will have more walk-throughs based on when school starts. We start so early that you can't have practices once you start school, walk-throughs. We go to 20 hours once that starts. Teams that don't have school until after Labor Day, it's a huge advantage for them because they get as many walk-throughs as they possibly want. I think the NCAA needs to look at that; that's not fair. But we'll take our 25 practices and six walk-throughs, and we'll make the most out of it. Some teams will have more. For us having an experienced team, it probably alleviates the fact that we need that.
On working in a third center
We have three people that can snap it. I think we have five people that can snap it; we don't have three centers that can play. I don't know where you came up with that; I saw somebody write that. Believe it or not, I look at some of the stuff that you all write. We have two. I feel really good about two. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman) Matt (Jones) started 13 games for us last year. (Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jacob) Buccigrossi, right now, is ahead of him. That doesn't mean he's going to start, but right now, he's running with the first team. He was hurt last year, so he couldn't play. But we have two; we do have three. (Freshman offensive lineman) Briason Mays is going to be a good player for us, but he's a freshman, and hopefully he doesn't play.
On how he plans to use the new redshirt rule
I've commented on this a lot. I don't how we use it, but I think we can use it in a bunch of different ways. I can see us playing guys early and say, 'We need you on the shelf. You're not ready." But I can see, in game eight, that this kid is like (senior wide receiver) David Sills (V) was – he's really making a lot of plays on scout team. So, let's pull him up. Guys get hurt, we need a body, and we can plug them in. We'll probably end up dressing and traveling more than we have, and if we need them, then we'll use them. If we don't, then we keep them on the sideline. I think there's a bunch of different ways to use it.
On if the new redshirt rule differs from position-to-position
No, I don't. O-line and d-line are the hardest stuff to play at this level. With that said, we played two freshmen last year that weren't ready to play on the d-line. Those guys weren't ready to play. We had to use them. If we have a need and a void, then we'll utilize them, but I don't want to (senior offensive lineman) Isaiah Hardy somebody. What I mean by that is he played 60 snaps last year. (Sophomore defensive lineman) Darius Stills played 40 snaps last year. We can probably save that and play them unless we absolutely have to and save that year.
On interchanging offensive lineman during practice
We don't do that with our first-team guys. It's really no different than what we do with the receivers. The first-team guys are your first-team guys. Don't move those guys around. With the backups, you do all kinds of different stuff to see where they fit. (Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman) Chase Behrndt was playing tackle today with the second-team. You move those guys around to get the best guys out there. (Associate head coach – defensive coordinator/linebackers – Tony) Gibby (Gibson) does that as well. You find the best 11, start them, don't screw with them and then, the backups, you can mess with that as much as you want to so you find what fits.
On his takeaway from the first practice in full-pads
I was pleased with our situations. We did two-minute, we did four-minute, we did third-and-play it, which on third downs if you convert, then you stay on the field. If you don't convert, then you have to run off the field, and we exchanged it with punt teams and PAT/field goal teams. It flowed pretty well. I'm happy with that. It was sloppy, which is expected. We played a lot of bodies and a lot of guys that aren't quite ready to play yet, they're never going to look good. Overall, I was pleased with it. It was physical.
On if he is comfortable with the depth of this year's team
No, we have to keep practicing. We have a lot more bodies that I think are capable of helping us, but we still have 20 practices to go. I make a big deal about how the depth chart aspect of things doesn't exist. We have guys competing. It's going to be a fun camp to be able to figure out who our starters are.
On if the second and third teams are looking ready to play
No, absolutely not. Not yet.
On the defense
I like our maturity on the d-line – those old guys. (Redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jabril's (Robinson) looked good, (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Kenny's (Bigelow Jr.) looked good. They have brought maturity to our d-line. They're grown men. (Senior defensive lineman Ezekiel) Zeke's (Rose) old, (junior defensive lineman) Reese (Donahue) is old. So, it's nice to have older mature guys. It reminds me of, and these guys have a chance to be better than two or three years ago, when we had Christian (Brown), Noble (Nwachukwu) and Darrien (Howard) – three seniors, old guys, two fifth-year seniors and a fourth-year senior. Those were program guys, guys that have been here for a long time. Those guys are mature. It gives you a chance to be successful. If you have young guys at those spots, then you have no chance. That's where we were last year. So, we have older, mature guys that talk and play football and understand the game. It gives that second level and that third level, which we have a lot of experience there, a chance to do their job.
On preparing graduate transfers to play in a short time frame
The summer helps. Having those guys all summer – that is critical. I think if those two guys showed up August 1st like Rasul (Douglas) did his junior year, it'd take them a while to get acclimated to the way things are around here. Those guys were here all of June and all of July. We worked with them, as a staff, all of June. The guys got to know them a little bit. It helps to have (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Kenny (Bigelow Jr.) who's best friends with Daikiel (Shorts Jr.), Wendell (Smallwood), (senior wide receiver) David Sills (V) and that whole crew. So, he came in comfortable. He and (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jabril (Robinson) have connected, and that's made that transition easier as well. But to answer your question, probably the summer more than anything.
On redshirt junior linebacker Shea Campbell
He's earned his scholarship. He's on scholarship. I don't know if he's taken a snap yet, though. (Associate head coach – defensive coordinator/linebackers – Tony) Gibby (Gibson) loves him. He reminds us a lot of Justin Arndt – a West Virginia kid that walked on and does everything right. He's a good football player, shows up in practice. He did a great job for us on scout team last year. He's going to be on a bunch of special teams and a backup linebacker right now. Hopefully he lives up to what we think he can do.
On the competition at kicker
(Redshirt sophomore) Evan (Staley) is a clear-cut number one at PAT/field goal. He's kicking the ball very well. We have some competition as a backup kicker. (Redshirt sophomore Luke) Hogan and (redshirt junior Skyler) Simcox – those guys are competing right now. (Redshirt senior) Billy (Kinney) looks really good. Billy's been on the shelf for about six months. I can't remember if he finished spring or not, but he looks good. We haven't got into the competition aspect of the kickoffs yet. We'll get into that next week. That's really the only competition right now. Deep snapper and kickoff guy are the only competitions right now.
On having the PAT/field goal kicker be separate from the kickoff man
You'd like that if you had three different ones who could just focus on that, but then you have to talk about who's the backup. So, those guys will have to do it anyway. At that point, there's been guys who do all three. Did Pat (McAfee) do all three? I believe he did. That's rare, but it's been done before. You have to pretty talented in order to do it, but doing two, I think, is realistic.
On the older wide receivers mentoring younger newcomers
That's a summer conversation as well. When those guys got here in the summer, we paired up (freshman) Sam (James) with (redshirt sophomore) T.J. (Simmons), (freshman) Randy (Fields Jr.) with (senior) Gary (Jennings Jr.) and (freshman) Bryce (Wheaton) with (senior) David (Sills V), or something. That's just to help those guys out. We can coach them two hours a week in the summer, which isn't very much. So, you want those guys to be able to do what they do by following them around and do what they do. We have four older backup receivers. We have four starters. I'm not going to tell you who they are, but my mind is set right now. We have four starters, four backups that are all old and have been here for three/four years and then we have four freshmen under them. I'm trying to get those freshmen to be number twos. The backups, right now, should be panicking, because the older guys are helping the youngers to beat out the older, backup guys.
On if Evan Staley is more of an accurate kicker than a power kicker
He knocked through a 54-yarder yesterday, or 53-yarder yesterday. That one had some space. He's striking the ball really well. He's earned his scholarship. He's striking the ball really well. Those other guys have to keep competing. That's the way things go.
On the two injured players who are not in fall camp
They can be here and get treated and eat. They just can't be a part of any football activities. They're not in meetings, they're not in walkthroughs. They're not a part of any of that. They're just rehabbing all day long. Rehabbing, eating, sleeping and all the necessary to get back on the field. That's (senior linebacker Quondarius) Qualls and (redshirt sophomore linebacker Brendan) Ferns. We just never added them. We reported to fall camp with 110 guys, and those two guys were not a part of the 110. But they can be here, and they get treated and use the facility and eat. Technically, they're still in school for a while. They just can't be a part of football right now. Once school starts, they'll be in meetings, be a part of walkthroughs. They're both doing good. They look good. They're both two kids that have played a lot for us, and they will play this year. At what point? I don't know. That's a medical decision.
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