[Upchurch]

You mentioned at media day that year two makes things so much easier—or more familiar, I should say. How’s it feeling?

“No, not easier. But feeling good right now. Coming off of a very good practice today, so feel good about the way our guys are working. Feel really good about the way we practiced today. There was quite a bit of good scrimmaging. Feel like our team is building a callus now that bodes very well for us. I mean, it was not. It was a little more [purulent] than about a week ago, but now it’s starting to harden. Feel good about that.”

Your quarterbacks now compared to a year ago: do you feel like they’re about where they were or in the system for a year, does that help them?

“Definitely has helped them. Right now we’re—I hate to compare—but we’re better. We’re better at that position than we were eight, nine days into camp last year.”

Have you narrowed it down? Is it down to two guys? Have a rank order?

“Yeah, not just two. I mean, Shane Morris is doing good, having a good camp. Wilton Speight’s having an outstanding camp. John O’Korn’s having a very good camp. The quarterback play’s been really good in camp, right from the first day. Been very pleased with that. They’ve…they’re completing balls, they’re running the team, they know what they’re doing. They’re competing at a good, high level. It’s been good. Yeah.

“I’m trying to think through different camps. I’ve said it to myself: this group of quarterbacks is playing really well. Better than most camps that I’ve seen from the start. Sometimes they struggle with their accuracy and struggle with different things, communicating, fumbled snaps on the ground. We haven’t been seeing that. We’ve been seeing solid play that’s improving, too. It started good and it’s getting better every day. Hope we’ll be better tomorrow than we were today, but we had a good day today.”

Are there any other positions where you’re seeing as fierce a competitive battle as you are at quarterback?

“Uh, there’s…there’s some good play. Some good—young guys are playing very well. Devin Asiasi had a heck of a day today. Michael Onwenu is somebody I’m—you know, he’s one of my favorites. Doing a heck of a good job. Ben Bredeson is doing an outstanding job. Rashan Gary is a really good football player. The young linebackers are playing really well. The young receivers are doing a heck of a good job. Chris Evans is maybe one of the most outstanding of them all. Khaleke Hudson’s doing an outstanding job. Dylan Crawford’s doing a good job. So, yeah, it’s been good. Quinn Nordin’s doing an outstanding job. Those guys, some really good players in that class have heated some of the competitive waters at multiple positions. It’s a good thing.”

How many freshmen do you expect to play this year?

“Right now it’s competitive and I don’t see any of our older guys just giving their jobs away. Don’t see that happening. Not through the nine practices. Not saying that for one minute, so it’s still to be determined. There’s some competitive, heated-up waters. More than you see on really probably any team I’ve ever been on where a group of new guys…they’re showing that they’re on track to be either starters or backup players. It’s still to be determined.

“They’ve got to do it over the course of the next couple weeks, but it’ll be exciting to watch. Some of them will, some of them won’t. The best players are going to play, regardless of class year that they’re in. As I’ve said, we’ve got a lot of veteran players who like their starting jobs. It’ll be a battle.”

Last year you waited until the first snap at Utah to reveal the starting lineup. Do you imagine that’ll be the same this season, too, with the quarterbacks and rest of the roster?

“I haven’t decided yet.”

[After THE JUMP: I guess you could say this press conference was…[/puts on sunglasses] suspended.]

How do you like your fullbacks at this point?

“Good. Yeah. There’s…we can—nobody’s really taken that job over yet, but there’s the guys that are really competing at it: Hill, Poggi, Hirsch is doing a nice job, and so is Bobby Henderson. Yeah, just keep—Hirsch is improving every day. He’s getting his football legs back under him, but…caught a pass in the flat and took a nice hit on the boundary when he turned it up and got up with a smile on his face and a little cut on his nose and he was smiling, so I think he likes being back in football.

“It rages on. We’re still early. This is really a good nine practices in, so still 20 to go. Nothing’s been—there have been some things decided, but not everything.”

In terms of offensive line, Grant Newsome, you’ve talked about him a little bit and Mason Cole moving over to center—what have you noticed out of those guys? Before your arrival the offensive line was a work in progress. What’s the progress you’ve seen from those guys from last year up until now?

“It’s been improving. It’s a good group to work with because there’s that group that’s older and has played together for a long time, played in a lot of games. And then there’s another group that’s real young and showed that they have what it takes. And then there’s a good group of preferred walk-ons that came in with this class that are doing a really nice job: Robinson, Vastardis, Kay.

“So there’s a whole other group and a young group. Ben Bredenson is—did I mention Ben? I hope I did before because he has really been good and outstanding. Played guard, started at guard and now he’s playing tackle and he’s got a really bright future. Mike Onwenu—I mean, he could be a contributor on either side of the ball. I think he’s that good.”

Is he working on both?

“He is, yeah. He’s going to school, he’s taking tests, and he’s playing both ways. He might just be my favorite guy right now. He’s awesome. I love—I really like him a lot.”

What’s the thought process behind having players compete for jersey numbers? There are several with #1, several with #10. Why are you doing that?

“Multiple people wanted the same number and rather than be the person who promises somebody that they would get that number or try to be the picker of who will be the more deserving person to have their preferred number, any number that wasn’t already taken by somebody that was playing in games would compete for the right to wear that number and who’s ever going to play first, whosever is going to play in the first game first will get that number and the others will switch to a different number. I think it’s right. I think it’s fair.

“Told everybody that up front. Here’s the open numbers, and they can compete for that number if they want. There’s a few numbers that…there’s three, maybe. 10 is one, number 1 is one, couple guys wearing 2. They seem to like the lower numbers, which is interesting. Back when I played nobody really liked the single digits. Now the times have changed. People like the lower numbers.”

In the spring, you said you were happy with Moe Ways’ progress and then obviously had the foot injury. How does he look so far? Is he back to full speed, where you saw him before the injury?

“Yeah, Moe hasn’t missed a day. Moe’s done a nice job and doesn’t seem to be having any ill effects from the injury that he sustained in the spring. The play he got hurt was a touchdown pass. Then broke the fifth metacarpal in his foot, but he’s showing no signs of it lingering or it slowing him down.”

There were three freshmen missing from the team picture: Shelton Johnson, Kareem Walker, [Ahmir] Mitchell. Are they on the team? Is there any discipline with them and what’s the reason? Has the roster changed at all since we were given it?

“I don’t think you have your information right.”

[MGoStreamOfConsciousness: Ah, football season is truly upon us now. The playful banter, the result of the never-ending cat and mouse game, is back.]

They weren’t in the photo.

“Who’d you say?”

[MGoStreamOfConsciousness: He’s more receptive to straightening this out than you’d think he’d be.]

Kareem Walker, Shelton Johnson, and Ahmir Mitchell. Is there a reason for it?

“No, they were all invited to it.”

Are they all currently in good standing? Are they with the program?

“Uh, there’s…two of those players are suspended.”

[MGoStreamOfConsciousness: That’s…that’s actually more than I thought he’d say. New season, new leaf, I guess.]

Who are they?

[MGoStreamOfConsciousness: Oh no. No no no. Why is his brow furrowing? Wait, is that a brow furrow/smirk combo?]

“Uh…you know, I know you like to ask a lot of questions, but we’ll just handle that internally.”

How long of a suspension are those guys out for?

[MGoStreamOfConsciousness: Whoahoho that is fire in his eyes, literal fire.]

“That’s why I don’t give you any information, because you’re never satisfied. You always want a second question, a third question, a fourth question. I just said we’d handle it internally. Thank you.

[MGoStreamOfConsciousness: That looks like the way you shift your weight when you’re about to take a step forward but—]

“Good? Thanks a lot.”

[MGoStreamOfConsciousness: Oh, okay, yeah, that’s definitely a step forward and I’m directly in the path he’s trying to use to walk out better not turn this into an awkward left-right-left shuffle that middle-of-the-hallway walkers do when they run into each other turn sideways now Adam TURN SIDEWAYS welp he’s gone.]