Yeah, so this is kind of a transition week for us. It's week four. Early in the week, we did some just you know, we call it generic practice where we're just working against ourselves, and then we start to work into some game week prep. You know, you got a lot of new faces. Yet part of this is just training them to the ways that we do things, you know, whether it's meeting during the game week or how we
practice during the game week. You get these high school players in they've really never been on the scout team, you know, teach them, you know, how we run our scout teams, how they read a card, the intensity of the effort, the speed, the pace that we want. So still just a lot of educational stuff and it we get we get a jump on our first game in terms of some of the game plan stuff. So this is always an interesting week.
You know.
Today it's you know, the first practice of the week. Intensity kind of not the first practice the day, but the first practice working on your next opponent. The intensity goes down a little bit because there's a lot of learning and tomorrow it will be better. And that wasn't bad at all. They work, but it's it was a transitional day for us. So we'll go tomorrow. Uh, we'll
go Thursday, Friday, we'll have a Mott game. They'll get a couple of days off that they need to rest and recover, and then we'll come back in and and get going in earnest for the for the first game on the thirtieth.
Can the players kind of sense the light at the end of the tunnel getting ready to.
Play someone else? I hope not.
I mean, that's not what I want him to be doing. There is no light at the end of the tunnel.
You know. We don't even look at the season that way.
I mean, there's just you gotta just put your head down and grind every day, you know, And so we don't we actually talk opposite that. We tell him there is no light at the end of the t the end of the tunnel, so just keep digging.
Which was a h press. You've never seen her. I don't obviously Sky they're coming back, was big. But the guys.
Around him, Uh, Ty Bowman. Ty Bowman's a really good football player. He's fought through some injuries, he's fought through some discomfort. He's shown up big Ramelo before he you know, got hurt and he'll be okay, He'll be back. Ramelo was doing some really good things. He's physical, he's a really really good blocker. He's a great slot receiver. Schamar has done some really good things. You know, he's got that speed to break away. Terence Smith has done some
good things. Chris Parker's done some good things. John Nyder has been a little dinged up. But you notice when he's out here because you know, he he just doesn't drop the ball. He catches everything. Kaya Johnson, the freshman has the last couple of weeks, we've really kind of pushed him. He's got he's got speed, he can run, you know. So now it's just a matter of comprehending what it takes to play at this level and understanding our system.
But I like that room.
What is it that Shamar he needs to work on in particular too.
I think just consistency of catching the ball and being able to lower his body, lower his center of gravity and get in and out of breaks. You know, because he's a six foot three, two hundred and eighteen pound guy that can run, and sometimes when you're that side, it's size, it's not easy to just lower your center of gravity and slow the momentum and redirect and gain momentum and accelerate. So those are the two things he needs to work on. But he's he's a hard work or he's a great kid.
Uh. He loves to work, he loves to practice.
I think he had a little bit of a breakthrough today. Quite frankly, you know, he's had a couple of days where I think he's kind of maybe ah I he he called it just kind of in his head a little bit too much, and we talked about it during practice, and and I saw him really elevate his game in the second half of practice.
Jim, some you mentioned Nier and some of the the in state guys that you've gotten Knighter Harper, Uh.
Teddy Williams. I should have mentioned Jackson.
Sorry, but I mean, but those guys have really made uh found a niche on special teams in these last couple of years. Maybe now is there's more of an opportunity of offense. Well what what what have you seen from those guys since they've been here in terms of their determination to the contribute.
Well, a ton of determination to contribute, a ton of grit. They're they're loyal, it's very important to them. To play in their home state for this university, and you see it in the way they prepare every day.
You know.
You talk about Teddy and Jackson and they're just very dependable. And I think Jason's gonna go from being a a special teams guy who I should have mentioned him when I talked about the receivers to a guy that's gonna contribute in games for us. You know, they become very very trustworthy to us. And you know you can add in, you know what Cam's become and when Victor's become and some other guys. And so it's fun to watch those guys, you know, have some success or be on the prespice of success.
In in their home state. You know, it's got to feel good.
And they do the dirty working.
There was a leading tech yeah uh, he was our special Player of the Year last year.
Yeah.
I mean there was a high school quarterback who Now I used him as as an example this morning to the Scout team players that haven't done this before. I so, you know, John Nyder came here a couple of years ago.
He was a high school quarterback.
I said, But the Scout team defense or the the first and second team defensive players going against him in and practice every day. Just kept saying, my god, this guy he just catches everything. As we moved him the receiver, he found his way to the field. Then he found his way to a scholarship.
You know.
So it just says a lot about him and it's a great example of what you know, these young guys have to try to aspire to.
So there's more clarity at quarterback than there has been the last couple of years at this point in camp.
Is that.
Yeah, I mean there's you know, there's clarity. Yeah. Well, we like all our guys.
I mean I I think that all four of those guys add something. It's nice to have depth, you know, knock on wood. You know, we've gone three years where we haven't been able to get out of a season with that having a quarterback injury. So, uh, I think we're more set up if that happens. Hopefully it doesn't happen, though.
How about your line played the boys on up.
Front both sides of the football.
Well, you know, a lot of new guys, but they've done well. You know, Ben Morowski's played a lot of football. He's just been injured. He's been able to still stay healthy this camp. West Hose played a lot of football f here and it else elsewhere. So when you have that guy in the middle that a lot of the communication flows through, you can have that cohesiveness you need in the offensive line. I like the way Carson has played. You know, Carson's got a lot of snaps here as well.
I think bringing in ty Chan from Notre Dame, you know, he's fitting at the right guard spot and he's done really well. Kyle Jurgen's played a lot last year. He's playing at left guard. And then I think we've got a lot of a lot of depth. You know, it's not necessarily proven, but what we've seen out here is encouraging.
You mentioned some guys have been dinged up, you know, just usual camp stuff. Is the expectation that everyone's available CCSU.
Uh that's the hope. Yeah, I don't know, Yeah, that's the hope. I mean it.
I I we're trending towards, you know, most everybody being available right now.
It's just a you know, it's important.
That we still get great practice in we maintain the level of physicality.
Uh, but we.
Work hard to stay healthy, you know, and one of the ways you do that is you stay on your feet and you're still physical. You know, guys get on the ground to get hurt. So just I think our teams learned how to practice hard, tough, physical.
Fast, and still kind of take care of each other. That's what I feel at least.
Are you happy with the progress of camp the goals you said?
I'm happy?
Uh, I mean I'm pleased, not satisfied. I love the way they're working, and I think that their intent on getting you know, uh to a certain point where you know, we can go out on Saturdays and compete with anybody. You know, I feel that that team that's important to this team to do that.
Are you able to tell about your defense?
Yet?
Where do you have to get in a real game to understand that they've learned the cohesion necessary for well?
I think I think it's gonna take a game, I really do, you know. I'd like to be able to sit here and say, yeah, I know what they're all about, but there's so many new guys that I don't you know, and games always reveal things, both you know, positive and negative things you have to work on. So I would say, Mike,
we need to we need to play a game. You know where it's the intensity and you're seeing unscattered looks that you have to adjust to, and the communication is so important and you're you know, you're tackling guys that have different color jerseys and helmets on. Then you do it which is you know, you're not in the locker room next year, in the weight room and the meal room every day. So there's just a different level intensity. And so let's see how we.
React behind Louis and Alex at tight end.
Who else should we know about?
What's the scouting report on the depth behind those two guys?
Well tight end and you know we kind of we we play with really two different tight end type bodies. So you got you got Alex and notter are are tight ends. And then like our our fs, you know, kind of move guys. You've got lou You've got Juice, You've got uh, you know, a guy like Michael Burton, Xavier Watson, and then you've got the tweeners like Dom Toy.
You can kind of do bowl.
We have a really heavy and deep tight end room and we're gonna utilize.
All those guys.
They all bring something a little bit different to the game and being creative and the way we use them, use them is really important because it creates problems for the defense. You know, I think tight ends are matchup problems. So we have a lot of good ones.
Are you able to see the influence of your new QB coach yet Price Tracy.
And what is uh?
Yeah, I mean he's you know, he's been some really good places with some really good people, you know. I mean he's been at Notre Dame, he's been at Alabama, he's been at Georgia, He's been around winning programs and uh uh he is an really intense guy that this is very important too. And he's very detailed, He's very demanding. He knows what he's talking about. He brings good conceptual ideas to our scheme. Uh I I I he keeps he holds the players to a high level of accountability.
And yet I think they really they really like him, you know, cause they know they can trust him. But now I'm I'm I'm really happy that that he's a part of this staff.
Any good players and last year you actually had a ton of experience and a lot of depth on the d line. He gets to able to rotate guys in anything like that. Do you see enough this year that maybe that could happen again, that these guys can hold up to that standard.
I hope.
So it's kind of like, you know, to same answers Mike's questions.
Like we'll see, you know, we'll see as we.
Go, but you know, you'd expect guys like like, uh, Matt Hoffman, I think you guys are talking to him, but Brian or.
Cleto troll.
You know, it's like time for those guys to take that step from kind of some late game action into some real action. And if they can do that, then I think we've got a nice group there, you know, cause I think we've got some good starters and some guys that are proven, but some of those unproven guys on game day have to take a step up. And the indications are from what we've seen.
In practice, is they're ready to do that, but they got to go do it.
On the field against an opponent that's not wearing the same helmet as them. Appreciate you