spring practice 2012

Quick reminder: you've got one week to get it at the lowest price ----------------------->
so if you were waiting to get 13 more for grandma, better act fast.

Burkesportal

So in preparation for Brian to be laid up on a cocktail of drugs they won't let you take while operating devices with internet connections, we underlings were fully prepared for one of those M.A.S.H. episodes when Colonel Blake has to leave the base and Hawkeye and Trapper hire a circus or something. Alas before Ace and I could declare ourselves the Pros from Dover and infiltrate the alumni golf game Brian turned out to be mostly lucid, meaning we now have loads of weird unpublished things taking up space in the hopper.

Here's one of those on Burke's return, which if you're old/young enough to get the phrase "The Cake is a Lie!" you'll get it; if you don't, don't bother.

A one-man advantage. If you like hockey and/or wanted to know what was up with Michigan's power play, I mean like 1265151422-slap_shotreally wanna know, your Diarist of the Week is JeepinBen for the first two parts of a three-part series on special teams strategy. Part the 1st, which got the bump, covered the basics and Part II got into penalty killing and controlling the neutral zone. Sample:

The powerplay is a lot like football plays – constraints are huge

This will come into view with the “Penalty Kill” diary, but depending on what the offense is doing, the defense does something and vice versa. There are ways to break kills, kills designed to stop specific powerplays, etc.

Learn what you were actually doing when you selected "umbrella or something" in NHL '99, and you too will be able to offer intelligent criticism when Michigan uses 25 minutes of man advantage in an elimination game to stand around with the puck. Not sold yet? There's Slapshots clips in those links.

Stray thought re Slapshots clips: Do you think Valeri Bure used to skate behind guys' nets and exclaim "I'm doing D.J. Tanner!" because that would totally screw with pretty much every guy in my generation.

Spring's springing. We have this one week to sample this year's line of football. It's not a real game so there won't be predictions and MonuMental backgrounds for this one coming, but Lanyard Program came out with one of his programs. The part that is totally real is the lacrosse game immediately after the fake football: Michigan will finally face Ohio's state university letterman to letterman. MaizeAndBlueWahoo, our resident LAX man, got his lacrosse primer bumped.

HokeIsComing

Winter's coming. By which we mean the cessation of football hostilities and many peaceful months pockmarked by commitments before fall football begins and the wars resume. User Silly Goose compares various programs to Game of Thrones houses. When describing Michigan as the Starks he left out the part about how we chop off the heads of deserters, which teaches us important moral lessons about leadership. And instead of all of the houses battling it out in a single playoff they decide things by getting into ill-defined wars between each other. The allegories fit pretty strongly, which probably says something Campbellian about ascribing character archetypes to sports rivals (if you make this your essay for Rabkin's class I wanna see it!). Blazefire seems to think when winter comes it will be zombies from Ohio THE Stadium.

Etc. Ace's weekly rankings. The Gedeon announcement will bump next week's but if you want to get a jump now to see Midwest power programs filling up—not like 16 commits in April filling up, but 7 to 10 each—it's here. Tennis wins. Blockhams are reliving the best 1:17 of their lives.

#Best of the Board

OHIO WANT IT THEN THEY SHOULDA PUT A RING ON IT

Oh no did Jared Sullinger just pose in drag in front of a light, easily crop-able background? Photoshoppers, start your graphics engines:

shouldawonaringwithit_thumb

The more I learn about the methods people were using to lure Trey Burke to the NBA…

NOTRE DAME IS QUARTERBACKLESS, USING A RECEIVER AS THEIR HB, HAD ONE OF THEIR BEST PLAYERS RECENTLY RETURN FROM A VISION QUEST, AND OF COURSE ARE GOING TO WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BECAUSE IT'S NOTRE DAME.

Those are the key points from hart20 on the state of things in the town under our state.

#HASHTAGS CREATE BUSINESS SYNERGY

This doesn't have anything to do with anything but this blog by friend of MGoUser antoo had six rounds of ideas for hashtags Dave Brandon should copyright in order to better use technology as a competitive advantage to engage and connect to fans who use hashtags.

HE'S GOING TO EASTERN MICHIGAN!

thumbnail.xlarge.1.1307107840.pick-a-little-talk-a-little-ladiesmusicman_6442

The moderator sticky is a serious place where the moderators and editors and other site personnel solemnly explain why your post was deleted, your points were docked, and your avatar is suddenly a pretty pink pony. We take this very seriously and are totally not making fun of you in there.

News bullets and other important things:

  • Blake Countess is being considered for punt and kick returns.
  • Nathan Brink will be out for the spring game.
  • Kenny Demens has been held back recently due to a concussion.
  • Jerald Robinson has had an AC (shoulder) problem that he's been working through.

Brady Hoke

file

Opening remarks:

“This is kind of an exciting weekend around here for multiple reasons. Obviously we get a chance to go in the Big House and play football and compete, kind of assess where we’re at to some degree. The other thing is with Victors’ weekend, I think 350 or so former players are coming back for an event Friday night and then on Saturday, obviously the game and I think there’s 100 guys signed up to play in the flag football game, [for] which we’ll make sure we have enough trainers around [Ed-S: ...because they're old(!) get it?]. And then that night, Victors Night, something James Hall started seven years ago, we’re going to honor Coach Moeller. It will be a great celebration of the guys that he coached and what he did for Michigan.”

Will there be a team meeting like there was last year?

“Yes. On Friday? Yes.”

You’ve talked about having the Spring Game against anothr team. If you had a magic wand, would you prefer an NFL model where a team could come here for a few days or would you rather just have the spring game against them?

“I think the NFL model. I think you get together for two days. You get together, you plan out practices together as a staff. You do your different situational drills that you may do … I think it would be a great idea to be honest with you. I don’t know from a budget standpoint and all those things, if you’re traveling and doing those kinds of things, who you would do it with. I like that model. ”

Would you also prefer it to be not open to the public or the media?

“Probably not. I think that would be worked out through both schools, how they felt about it.”

How has Denard progressed in terms of limiting turnovers?

“You know, I think he’s done a good job with ball security, which he’s been pretty good with that. I think in his decisiveness and throws, I think he’s made some pretty good throws. I can’t say I’ve seen him make a bad throw but maybe once or twice where you’re going, ‘What the heck was he looking at?’ as a coach, but I think he’s done a good job. I think the mastering of the offense or whatever you want to call it. I think he’s a little better.”

What have you seen in terms of leadership this spring?

“Yeah. Well I think so. I think Roundtree and Kovacs are two guys, I think Patrick Omameh … Will Campbell’s done a good job. I’d be remiss not to name a lot of those seniors, but I think they’re really understanding this is the way we want to go about our business.”

Who are some players on offensive and defensive line that have stepped up?

“I think Ricky, as a center. I think he’s really going to be a good center for us. I think his athleticism, I think there’s still some issues with making sure we’re getting the ball where we need it out of the gun and that part of it. We want to make sure we’re not making the quarterback work too hard for it. Elliott Mealer I think has had one of his better springs. I think he’s grown up a little bit and playing with more confidence. Joey Burzynski, a young man out of San Diego, he’s done a good job and he’s made an impact as a guard in there [and as] a second center or third center. I think Mike Schofield … I think Taylor has progressed, which I think there’s more progression for him still because of his abilities. Schofield’s done a nice job. ”

And on the defensive line?

“The other side of the ball, I think Will Campbell’s made some strides. Looking at Tuesday, I thought was one of his better days since he’s been here. I think Jibreel and Craig played inside. Gives us a quickness and gives our defense an ability to run. I think they’re doing well at the point of attack. I think they’ll be better in the fall because of strength gains and weight gains they’ll go through. Doesn’t have to be a lot, but some. Richard Ash has started to play with a little more confidence. Keith Heitzman is a guy we redshirted a year ago and has shown some signs. And Quinton Washington. If you look at all those guys, none of them are where we want them to be or need them to be, but I think at the same time they’re making some good progress.”

How can you tell that you’re playing physical enough?

“Well we really are more physical than we were last year at this time. When I say that, we’re more physical in the standpoint of we play a little faster, I think the effort down the field -- that second or third block, the point of attack, and I think we’re just playing with better fundamentals than last year at this time. Now by no means are we close to where we want to be.”

How is the punting situation?

“I think they’re kind of neck and neck. One day one of them is really consistent and one day he’s not. The other guy’s consistent. We’re going to do some stuff on Saturday to really put some heat on them and see how they handle that part of it. We’ve been doing that some, but I think in that environment you get a couple more speed guys on there, I think it will be interesting to see.”

Hokespeak translation: Hagerup = inconsistent big leg, Wile = consistent less big leg. We'll see what happens when there are punt cover teams running at them.

What about kicker?

“I think Gibbons has done a really good job. And Matt continues to do a good job, [but] I think it’s Gibbons for sure.”

What about the secondary?

“Well I think Blake Countess is a guy working his tail off all the time. Kovacs, I think Marvin Robinson’s improved. That’s huge. I think Thomas Gordon’s better. I think JT and Courtney and Raymon Taylor are doing a nice job, and Jarrod Wilson’s gotten a bunch of snaps. He’ll take a bunch of snaps on Saturday. I think he’s doing a nice job. And a guy I don’t want to forget -- Floyd Simmons is a guy who’s doing really well for us in the kicking game, but he’s done a nice job in the back end too. ”

Are you set with the kick returners or would you like to wait until fall to experiment?

“I think both … I think Jeremy Gallon is a really good punt returner. I think he’s got great confidence in catching the ball. His vision’s pretty good. He’ll take it burst-wise when we look at the punting game. In the kickoff game I really want to see Rawls and Hayes come along a little bit. Vince Smith’s been back there before. Jeremy's been back there some, but punt-wise [it would first be] Gallon, and the next one would be Countess. He’s very confident in what he does back there. I think Countess is a guy we’ve looked at kick returner some.”

How is the competition between Frank Clark and Brennen Beyer?

“It’s pretty good. You’re talking about two wonderful young kids who, I think, as they continue through the weight room and everything else, both of those guys are going to be good football players. They’re pretty good now, but they both have a very good future. I think it’s daily. Frank’s here one day and Beyer’s here one day. They compete and they’re really friends. It’s fun.”

Is Denard becoming more adept at using his running ability as a third option if receivers aren’t open?

“No, I think it’s probably a place where he’s got to improve that a little bit. I think he’s really conscious of going through different reads. He really wants to make sure he’s letting the play play out. He probably hasn’t taken the ball down and run maybe like he will in the fall.”

With a guy like him, how do you balance using his athleticism with making sure he goes through his progressions?

“It’s a balancing act. You’re exactly right. When you have a guy who has that capability and at the same time, I think there’s things where if he let the dig route come further in it’d maybe be a 15 yard gain, but him tucking the ball down would probably be a 15 yard gain, too.”

What will be the format on Saturday?

“We’ll probably go sixty-some plays. We always have depth problems in the spring, so we’ll go ones on ones and twos on twos and compete. We’re not at the point program-wise because of depth issues on the offensive front and defensive front to draft like you want to. So we’ll pretty much do what we’ve been doing.

Will there be a scoring system?

“Yeah there will. There’ll be a blue team and a white team. I want to move the ball all over. It’s not going to be a true drive. We’ll do some punt before it. We’ll work that part of the game in the stadium. We’ll do some PAT stuff. The kids have been over there doing some of that, but just to do it in the stadium.”

How are you health-wise right now?

“I’m good, thanks.”

What about your team?

“Pretty good. Brink has done all the individual drills. He hasn’t done any full contact with 11 bodies out there, but we knew that going in. We get some boo-boos here and there, but we’re pretty healthy.”

Has Kenny Demens been held back at all?

“He was held back for two days because of a mild concussion deal. Kenny -- and he’ll tell you -- probably could have gone, but we’re trying to be, like we should, cautious with those kinds of things.”

Was that this week or last week?

“What’s today?”

Thursday.

“It was Saturday and Tuesday.”

Is there anyone who will be out for sure on Saturday?

“Brink won’t go. I think that’s it. Some guys are going to be limited play-wise. We’re not going to run Fitz 30 times. Taylor’s not going to play 60 plays. That’s not going to happen.”

How beneficial was it for Joe Bolden when Kenny sat out a couple days?

“Oh it was really probably a great indoctrination for a young guy. But it’s been good. Him and Kaleb and Jarrod -- I’m real proud of how they made the transition. When you think about it, they should be going to Prom. But I mean, it’s just … that part of it is good to have them.”

Can you talk about the relationship between the spring game and Mott?

“Well I think as you know, that relationship for over 20 years has been special. The football team and the rest of the athletic teams, the athletes going up there and sharing with the kids and being around them, so it’s one that we really think is special. I think it’s a win-win for both Mott and [the football program].”

How have the receivers developed?

“Receiver-wise, I think Roy’s had a really really good spring. I think Jeremy [Gallon] has, and Jeremy Jackson’s improved. Dileo has done a nice job. Gosh dangit … I have to get through the depth chart in my head … who am I missing? Jerald. I think Jerald’s made some good strides. He’s been a little bit beat up. He’s had a bit of an AC separation, but he’s played through it and has done a nice job. I’m excited about him. I know I’m leaving somebody out. I think they all -- you can see improvement. One thing I like about the receivers and I liked about them last year: they’re not afraid to block. They’re not afraid to get up in a safety’s face or a corner’s face, and that’s pretty good.”

Is there any amount of a bounty system in college football, and is that why coaches are hesitant to talk about injuries?

“Yeah … I’ve never heard a coach ever talk about that. I think coaches talk about we have to stop this back or whatever, hold him under this many yards, but that’s part of team defense. I have never heard a coach say we want to dive at his knees. I think it probably has been said, but none that I’ve been around.”

Greg Mattison

file

Have you been able to address some of the problems in the secondary that you mentioned at the last press conference?

“Yeah. And again, anything that we saw based on last year we wanted to address. That, underneath coverage where we wanted to see the quarterback throw it more rather than locking in to people, not giving up big plays -- we address it every practice. And I tell you this, just yesterday your job is to address it before it happens. When the secondary isn’t playing deep third like they should, and if they’re not right over the football or if I saw like yesterday a guy’s trying a little too anxious getting up too close to that pile, every time I’ll put an arrow on it and say that’s a recipe for a big play. Now you understand that didn’t now but that could happen during the season and we can’t allow that. That's, to me, what coaching is: preventing something from happening before it happens. We’ve really tried to address that, and in every practice we will continue to address that.”

It seems that Terrence Talbott has been really impressive. What have you seen from him?

“He’s like a lot of our guys out there. We’re trying to rotate through and find out who’s going to step up each day. As you know, our program is about nobody ever really having a position locked. Raymon steps in there, shows some good things. Terrence goes in there and shows some good things. It doesn’t matter but what we’re looking for is a guy that’s going to come out there every day and do it the way we want it every day. We’re getting the ability now to have guys where if somebody for some reason doesn’t have a great day, there’s a guy that can go in and [we can say], ‘Okay it’s your turn, let’s see what you can do.’ That’s at every position. That’s the way we will always do things here.”

Have you been able to see that from Terrence every day?

“I’ve seen him wanting to improve every day. I’ve seen him working on improving every day. I think at the very end of spring we’ll evaluate and say who had the most good days and where does he fit, now? … All of this is a process until we get to that opening game.”

What specifically has he done, though?

“He’s been physical. He’s a guy that’s done a really good job of taking out blocks. He’s done an adequate job of coverage. When we have blitzed him, he’s come hard. All the things a corner’s got to do. You’re just evaluating each day which one does the best at what you’re asking them to do.”

How has Blake Countess looked?

“Blake Countess has had a good spring so far. You know, the thing with a corner is you can have a whole bunch of really good plays and practices and just slip up once and everybody on that field sees it. You’re really looking for the guy that never slips up. That’s the deal. That’s what happens at that position. Blake has come out and has been very hungry. He wants to get better, and that’s something you always worry about when you have a guy that had a pretty good freshman year. What’s he going to be like next year? Again, that won’t happen here. We won’t let that happen here, but we haven’t had to guard against that with him. He’s come out every day and has worked hard.”

Depth was a major concern before. How good is it to see younger guys step up and give you some depth in the secondary?

“That’s good. I think that’s -- and our whole defense, they know the whole system now. If a young man is not physically strong enough, if he’s not big enough, he still knows his system now, and he’s been allowed to play better than when he’s learning it from scratch like everybody was last year. And that’s one thing I’ve noticed about the guys on defense. They appear to be playing faster. When you put something in or when you run a defense and something breaks down, you can just tell them what it was and they go, ‘Oh I got it, I see it now.’ That’s the beauty of being here a second year with the same system.”

How has the defensive line come together so far?

“I would say I’ve been very very pleased with Craig Roh playing the end position. Here’s a guy who’s been a rush to the open side for three years and has done a very good job. Now he’s inside the tight end. He’s played very physical. The key is the technique there, because you’re not bigger than everybody you’re playing against, so you'd better have great technique. Craig has come out every day. Jibreel Black has worked very hard. Shows why we made the move. I think like Ash, like Heitzman, you can go right down the line. They’ve all had moments. They’re the group now where you have to say those moments have to become every play. The coaches are working very hard on getting that done.”

What kind of moments has Jibreel Black had?

“The thing he shows, like we thought, is you’re going to have a faster player in there. So now when a guy beats a block, he has the ability to run some things down. Now on the other end of that, he’s not as big, so you'd better play with better technique. That’s what he’s had to work on the most.”

How does the technique change going from end to tackle?

“Well you have people on both sides of you. The position that he played was the same position that Craig played. You’re almost always out in open space and you only have one guy inside that you really have to deal with. Now you have a guy on both sides of you and you can get blocks from both ways. It’s a little bit more physical in there, but it’s also a place where you can become a faster athlete in there than if you were out there in space.”

How quickly is he learning to beat double teams and things like that?

“Craig has done a very very good job of working on his technique. Craig always does. Craig has unbelievable pride in himself. He’s a very intelligent football player. He wants to be very good, so he knows I have to do it this way, and I’ve been pleased with Craig.”

What about Jibreel?

“The same thing. It’s the exact same position, you’re just in a little farther. One’s getting double teamed from a tight end and a tackle. Another guy’s getting double teamed from a tackle and a guard. So it’s the same position, both of which you better play with great technique [otherwise] you’re going to get knocked off the football, so they’ve worked very hard on that.”

Does it change the way you coach having guys who have been in your system for a year now? Can you do some different things now?

“No. In fact, it’s kind of changed back to the old fashioned way for me personnally. I feel very strongly that we need to get the rush position and the SAM position playing better than it ever did. I’ve enjoyed this spring because I’ve had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Jake and Cam and the SAM position and Brennen and Frank at the rush position. The one thing it’s freed you up a little more is you don’t have to spend your whole time on the blackboard putting in defense. You don’t have to take as long putting things in. Now you can spend more time on little things that will help that defense. The players are smarter in that when you say, ‘Hey you have to do it this way,’ [they say], ‘I get it now.’ You can kind of do that to help the defense.”

With the position battles between Jake and Cam and Brennen and Frank, are those players similar or do they complement each other in terms of skill set?

“They’re different in that Cam and Jake are part secondary, part defensive line. In other words they have a lot of pass responsibility that goes with it. Cam Gordon and Jake have worked very very hard at that position this spring. I really believe they’ve improved. I can tell a lot of their technique is improved. Cam probably is, if you asked him, probably says okay now I know I’m a SAM. A year ago he moved from safety down there, and we’ll see. Now he says, ‘Yeah I understand this part of it and I want to be good at this.’ I’m really excited about that because Jake never came off the field last year. He truly played almost every snap of every game. Now it allows you to say, okay, you got a very very good player that can complement him. The same thing is true with Brennen Beyer and Frank Clark. The two of them are competing every day, and every little step they take is being coached, and now you have a little better speed on the pass rush with them there and you have an extra person. I’m really excited about those guys.”

Did Cam struggle with his transition from safety to SAM last year?

“Not outwardly. And that’s just me guessing that. I would, too. If I was a safety and some old, bald-headed guy came in here and said we’re going to take you from safety and we’re going to put you up on a big tight end, I have to go, ‘Okay …’ Any time it didn’t work well, I’d look over at that coach. This year he’s doing it very very physically and if it doesn’t work he knows why it doesn’t work and he’s got to get better at it.”

So he’s embracing the position now?

“Yes. Yes. I think he feels very comfortable at it. And he’s learning every day how to be a pass rusher. So now you end up getting a guy that’s a little faster that might put some more speed on the field that way.”

Was it a struggle for him not to be able to play last year?

“Well a lot of why he didn’t play last year though was [because] he was hurt. A lot of last year I think, he had a bad back and he was out for about five or six weeks I think.”

How is it now?

“Oh he’s been great. He’s worked very hard in the weight room as all of our guys have, and Aaron keeps doing a great job with him. I see it. I see it on the field where the punch that you had last year, you’d go, ‘Okay …’ But now you say, ‘Oh that’s a good punch. I see it. That guy’s really using the strength a little more.‘ That will happen more all the way through the summer, too.”

How did he hurt his back?

“I don’t know. Just football related. I don’t know how he did it, tweaked it, I don’t know.”

Was that during the summer or the fall?

“It was during the season.”

How has Josh Furman been?

“That’s something you can ask Coach Hoke.”

How do you see Joe Bolden fitting in next fall?

“He’s a guy that should be at the senior prom right now. But he’s really really really done a good job of picking up the defense. I really believe he’s going to be a very very good linebacker. Very good. You could never tell that he was going to the senior prom watching him out there on the field, but just think about that. That young man should be thinking about what tux he’s going to buy or rent. And then he’s out here practicing every day and getting coached harder than he’s ever been coached in his life. Just keeps coming back. Jarrod Wilson is the same way. Kaleb Ringer is in the same boat. You have three guys that really should be taking their advanced calc class and they’re here at the University of Michigan practicing as if they’ve been here for two years. That’s what I think is a real, real plus with them. And they’ve taken care of business in the classroom. They’re doing everything they should be doing, so you have three guys for a whole ‘nother period of time.”

How well did they transition into padded practices?

“They’re football players. I think if you asked them, probably they’d say, ‘Let’s get in pads sooner.’ The only reason there’s a transition is because he’s worried about hitting. I don’t think it’s a problem with these guys. The reason they’re here at Michigan is because they do like to hit. The biggest thing with them is being able to get them lined up. They’re like what the team was last year. They’re learning it all new. I really feel like they’ve picked things up maybe faster because everybody else around them has been able to help them with the call.”

Besides football, what did you want Will Campbell to learn from your teaching and being tough on him last season?

“What the bar was. A lot of times I have higher expectations and goals than what a young man is willing to work for. And really to play defense at Michigan, you always have to try to strive for the very very highest. Just striving for it doesn’t work. You have to now do the footwork, you now have to do the study of film, you now have to get off that block and make a play. If you didn’t make a play that you should have made, that’s not good enough. You have two ways as a coach that you can go about it. If you really really want a young man to be a great player, then you tell him about it every time and show him what he should have done to do that. And let him know that you’re going to tell him about it as long as you’re around him because you expect him to make that play. If you want to just walk away and let it go, then that guy will never get there. I think that’s where Craig found out that I happen to think he was a lot better player than what he was playing. Maybe sometimes he thought it was adequate, but adequate doesn’t cut it here, and that’s the same thing with Will and anybody on our defense, really.”

MGoQuestion: What’s your evaluation of the WILL linebacker position?

“I think our linebackers have improved. I don’t look at the WILL and the MIKE being anything different. I think they’re all linebackers in there. The WILL and the MIKE are really the same position, it’s just one’s closer to the tight end and one’s not. That was the position that I wanted to see a lot of improvement, and I think we have taken steps. Not as much as you want yet, but I think there has been -- they’ve all worked. They’ve all tried. That’s the one thing I like about this defense, and I’m not saying last year’s wasn’t that way because they obviously were, but they come out every day wanting to get better. They really have energy and they really have tried to do it. It hasn’t been perfect at all, but you feel good when you walk off the practice field and say, ‘These guys worked hard today. These guys flew around today.’ I think that’s been kind of everybody.”

Has Desmond Morgan been the standout at that position?

“He’s had good practices. He’s got a long way to go, too. There’s been as many times with Desmond that you say, ‘You’re better than that,’ [as you say], ‘That’s a great play.’ I don’t know I’ve ever been in a spring where everybody’s perfect. You can say they are and you’re not going to have a very good defense. Again, it’s get to that top. Do every play perfect. Maybe that’s unrealistic but I don’t believe that.”

How has Kenny looked at the MIKE position?

“He’s working hard. Working hard. He’s improved on some of the things he’s had to improve on. I think that’s where you look in the spring. Are you getting better? Yes he’s getting better.”

How do you feel about this defense now vs. this time last year?

“I know them better. I’ll tell you, I said this before, maybe in all my years of coaching I’ll never forget last year’s team. I mean, ever. What they did. But there’s something about this defense already where they’re all so eager and they know they have a little tougher job. They have to step up and so you want to help them get there. I’m looking forward to this group. I’m looking forward to what we can do with them.”

What do you mean by tougher job?

“Every year is a tough job here. It really is. Every year. And I’m not skirting the question. I couldn’t have told you anything about last year’s defense at this time other than, it didn’t matter who the guys are, we have to get better, we have to get better. That’s the same thing I’ll say about this defense. They come out eager every day. They enjoy hitting, and now we have to teach them how to hit and how to line up to be perfect at what we’re doing. We’ll see how good they can be.”

Is that your new Sugar Bowl ring?

“Yup. Proud of it.”