Yukon's head football coach. Here in the Duncan Music Louds great place to have a show like this and coaches with us to kick off the season. Let's get into some of the specifics of who's out there now. You lost a lot of guys on defense. Had a real good year defensively and offensively. Random ball really well. Last year we were talking about in the break there passing attack. How important is it last year Yukon's passing attack under two hundred yards a game. How much does it matter?
And how much do you feel like you got to improve that area if you want to be a better football team.
Well, we want to improve it, and it is an area of emphasis. We've got some guys that can catch a short one and turn it into a long one. They run after catchability. It's pretty special. So, you know, we were talking about passing yard It is important, but you know, when does it come and why does it come is important. And if you can get a guy that can catch a five yard slant and take it eighty yards, it looks like this huge long bomb or something.
Really it wasn't. It was just a guy that has ability to getting the ball and making something happen for us, it's really all about balance. You know. We want to be a balanced football team. And that doesn't mean we're fifty to fifty running pass or fifty to fifty run pass yards. It means that if we're in a game where it demands that we run the football to win the game, that we have the ability to run the
football and win the game. Or if we're in a game where we have to throw the ball over the yard to win it, that we have the ability to do that. And I feel like we're we are getting closer to where we need in that respect. You know, I feel like we have a really good passing attack right now, but we do like to wear people out by running the football. And we've got six really good running backs as well. So you know, we're just going to search for balance. And at the end of the day,
the most important thing is you win the game. However you win the game, you win the game. And so one thing we are looking for is more explosive plays on offense. Though, whether it's you know, a quick pass that mel Brown catches in the flat and turns into a long one, or if it's a deep one down the field to shemar or if it's cam breaking one. You know, it's those explosive plays that we're looking for in.
The rushing attack almost two hundred yards a game.
One thing I was say, pretty balanced.
I know it was great, But one thing I was thinking about, you were not trailing in a lot of games last year, so you didn't have to throw to get back into games. I think that might be part of the reason the passing yardage wasn't better.
You know, this is what's interesting is Joe Fiano was I think that eleventh most efficient quarterback in the country and passing efficiency and I don't know how they calculate that stat but maybe it was eleventh, maybe it was twelve thirteen, I don't know. He was in the top twenty. I know that, so to me, that's a good sign. And you're right, you know, the situation in the game dictates how you play the game. Like I said, if we have to throw it to win a game, I
feel like we can do that. If we have to run it to win a game, I feel like we can do that. But I feel that, but we've got to go out and prove it.
Skylar Bill, he wears number one. If you were to describe him to our audience who hadn't seen him close up, what would you say?
Twitchy? You know, he's twitched up guy. I mean he's got quickness, explosiveness, He's put on some weight. I mean he's yoked up, his legs are bigger, he looks more, he looks faster, he looks more sturdy. I think right now he had a little of an injury for the last couple of weeks, but he's back full speed now, so he'll be fresh legged when we get to our first game. The other thing I would describe him as
is committed. This is a guy that was offered almost a half a million dollars by Michigan to transfer and decided to come back to Yukon for not that much. And you know that says something about him as a person, his commitment to this team, and so you know, you love those characteristics of a guy like that. He's just he's a really good person who's a really good player.
Jim Moore is with us on Mike Chrispino. That's the one thing you've done more than one thing, but you've done well, and Dan Hurley's done it as well. Jim Penders in baseball been able to convince athletes in this world we live in today that maybe there's something else besides dollar signs that is important to a player's development, or a man's development, or an athlete's development. How do
you go about doing that? How do you I mean, obviously you've got to be genuine, you've got to mean it, But you've got to be convincing too.
Well, it's getting harder. It's getting harder and harder. More and more players are moving for the sole reason of can they make more money somewhere else. I think it's
it's not a moment where you convince them. It's a series of moments over the course of their time with you, where they understand that you sincerely care about them and you love them, and that you are there for them and their future, however that may be, and that you're willing to support them in the good times and the tough times, and that they see that you're committed to them, and that you put them in an environment where there's you know, good food, and they have great athletic trainers
and a great medical staff. They're going to take care of them, and they trust the strength and conditioning coach and they trust their position coach has their best interest in mine is going to do a great job of helping them develop into a really good football player. It's having a great facility they can come to and feel
comfortable in. It's having good Wi Fi. You know, so they want to lay around and you know so it's all those moments that lead to them coming to the decision that, yeah, you know what, I'm going to leave some money on the table because this is the best place for me and this is where I can get what I need to be successful. And so at the end of the day, it's not easy, but you have something you can rely on that reinforces the things that you're telling in them in that moment, like we care
about you. And it's not just words. They feel it. They've felt it for all the entire time they've been there. They've felt it when you started recruiting and you said this is how it's going to be when you get there, and that's why they came. And then it's that way while they're there, and then they want to stay. Not all of them want to stay motivated by money, and what you find is some of these guys that are motivated by money they go to other places, they go shoot.
I wish i'd have stayed. You know, this money's not worth it. You know, they don't care about me here. I hear that a lot. I hear that from a lot of guys.
Yeah, we talked to Shamar Porter. Where's number five. He's a wide receiver who is a young guy, a sophomore, And we stood next to him after you do your little press thing after practice and he came over. His size was kind of impressive, and I liked what he said.
He talked about the things he can do better, that he started to do better in this camp that was important to him, and I felt like, Okay, here's a guy that understands what he's got to do better, and he's working at it, and he's actually seeing it come to fruition that goes a long way and getting the guy motivated.
I think one of the things I've said consistently, consistently since I've been here is that our team is not a team full of entitled kids. Our team is full of guys that want to work for it, and they value hard work. They don't feel like they deserve anything. They want to work for it. And Schamar is a great example, as in my opinion, almost every player on our team is. They don't take things for granted. They're not entitled, they don't act in title well that I'm
supposed to get that or I deserve that. They just work for it. And you can't even imagine how fun it is to coach a team of young men like that that are hungry, that hang on every word you say, yeah, they're going to ask why. But in this climate today, and you know with that generation, telling them why you're asking them to do something is important. But our guys don't ask why are you making me do this? Tell me why we're doing this? You know, Okay, I get it.
Oh that can make me better, you know. I always think it's a coach is responsible to tell them why before they even ask. But we've got a bunch of guys they just they just dig in and they work and that is refreshing to be around.
It goes a long way to building a great football team. Jim Morrow will us will be back quick treat. When you've gone football, you shall live at the Duncan Music Lounge.