[Upchurch]

MGoQuestion: Last we heard Ben Bredeson was taking snaps at left tackle. Do you see that as his long-term future, or do you see him sloting in somewhere else along the line?

“Yeah, he’s a really talented football player and can really play a lot of different positions. Put him out there at left tackle. Just like his foot turn, his speed, his initial quickness. Just trying to figure out the best five out there and the best six and seven. He’s really had a nice camp and is doing a really, really good job. Intelligent guy. Really good football awareness. Can fix a problem after you tell him, so it’s exciting to see that.”

Where do you stand with the quarterbacks? Have you narrowed it down?

“It’s been an unbelievable competition. Guys are coming out every day throwing great balls, great drops, great precision, great timing. I mean, we’re way further along than where we’ve been. I mean quarterback-wise last year. We haven’t made the decision and we don’t want to make the decision too early and make the wrong decision. So, we’ll keep going along here and then we’ll gather together and make that decision.”

You had seen the difference between Jake and Shane somewhat early in camp last year you guys had said even though you didn’t make the decision until later. What’s the difference between Wilton and John at this point?
”For me to say that, it’d be like splitting an atom. I mean, it’s like…they’re all doing really good and they all bring something different to the table and they’re all working hard and competing and we keep evaluating the tape and putting more on them and as they digest it we’ll make that decision.”

A couple freshmen Coach Harbaugh mentioned were doing well on the offensive line. Do you have a set starting five?

“No, no. Ben Bredeson’s really been stepping up there good. We’ve been working him at left tackle. He’s doing a really, really nice job. Michael Onwenu’s done a great job. He’s D-line and comes back. I mean, this offensive system that we have here is a lot to learn. He’s done a good job. And Stephen Spanellis, a big strong guy, we moved him in to guard. He’s doing a really good job. We’re really pleased where we are with the young guys than we were last year in terms of the retention. And the older guys in the room have done a great job. I know during the summer by NCAA rules we can’t get together with them but I heard through the grapevine those guys were getting together and watching tape and really sitting down and getting better as an offensive line.”

Did those young guys make it harder for you this year than you were expecting in camp to settle on--

“Yeah, it did, which is nice. It’s a pleasure to have that. You come out and see a guy coming out and competing against a senior defensive lineman and blocking him you’re going, ‘Hey, that’s pretty good.’ I mean, that’s a big, strong guy across from him that he’s blocking, so that’s exciting.”

You’ve said in the past that you don’t really care if a freshman starts, you’ve done it before. Would you be comfortable with Ben starting at left tackle?

“I would. I would. And nothing’s been set this time but we’ll just keep competing there at that spot and see how it all works out. But he has all the skill set, the mental capacity, the physicality, all the characteristics you look for to be a starter. He’s a special young player and he’s got a chance to have a really, really good future.”

Has anybody nailed down a spot? Not five, but is there two? Three?

“It’s day-to-day, but if we played a game Magnuson would be at right tackle, Kyle Kalis at right guard, Mason at the center spot, Ben Braden at left guard, and then it’s Grant Newsome and Ben Bredeson battling it out at the left tackle. But things could change from there. If we played a game tomorrow, that’d be it.”

[After THE JUMP: a little bit about every offensive position group, plus what M looks for in an offensive lineman]

At the left tackle, are you evaluating more how they work with the other guys or just--

“No, just individually. You know, both of them are very sharp. Very, very sharp and understand the game and just technique. You know, playing the offensive line is a technique-oriented position and technique is always going to win for you. The better the player the better the technique. The margin of error is very, very small.”

How’s Mason Cole done in his new position?

“Really good. Really, really good. Got unbelievable football awareness, great initial quickness, plays with strong hands [which you] look for in a center. Really the brains of the operation. I’ve mentioned this before but he’s sitting in the meeting room, sometimes before it even comes out of my mouth he fixes the problem. So, it’s really—it’s a pleasure to have him. It really is a pleasure, just as it is with the rest of those guys.”

Is De’Veon still the presumed starter?

“De’Veon’s doing good. He’s doing a great job. Chris Evans is outstanding. It’s just—they’re all doing a really, really good job out there.”

What does Chris bring that’s maybe different than--

“He’s got really good instincts in terms of seeing a hole, being able to make a cut, feeling the feel, really letting the play express itself and then taking the lane, taking the running lane. But they’ve all done—Drake Johnson’s done a nice job. Ty Isaac’s done a nice job. They’re all competing in there.”

How far along is your unit from where you probably expected them to be at this point in camp?

“They’re right on task. I really believe that every day they’ve come out and they work so, so hard. We’re way further along than we were last year, but there’s a lot of things we’ve got to get better at. We’ve got to eliminate the dropped balls. We’ve got to eliminate the offisdes. We’ve got to play cleaner football. That’s so, so important going into the first game of the year where a lot of messy football could happen. We want to make sure we’re on point and make sure we eliminate the things that could be drive stoppers for us.”

Where do you look to see the greatest improvement in your mind?
”I just think everybody’s understanding and putting more concepts on them and they’re doing that. We threw a lot at them in the first three days of camp when we started and now there’s a retention that’s really good, so we’ve really improved really well in that area.”

Is there depth beyond those veteran four? Other than those guys and Grant--

“Yeah, absolutely there’s depth. Michael Onwenu’s doing a good job and Dave Dawson. They’re all—Nolan Ulizio. They all bring something to the table. They’re all better football players than they were last year.”

In terms of the outside receivers, obviously we know about Amara and Jehu. Jehu’s going full, right?

“Yep, going full.”

Behind them, is it freshmen or--

“Eddie McDoom: unbelievable. Really can stretch the field. Very quick. Kekoa Crawford: very good. Nate Johnson. They’ve all brought something to the table. We recruited them because we knew something about them and they’ve all done a really, really nice job. The [inaudible] off the football for routes, the route precision. Just all those things. And their talent and their skill set. There’s some suddenness out there, which is really nice to see.”

Are they only on the outside? Who’s in the slot?

“We’re working them at every different spot. We’ve kind of put them in there to see where they fit.”

[Ed. A-I edited out duplicate questions throughout]

Is Bredeson a guy similar to like Cole was or Graham [Glasgow] where he could play three, four different positions?

“Yeah. Ben Bredeson is a very good football player. And not to take away from Grant Newsome; he’s a very good football player. But he’s a guy who could play a couple different spots. You look for the balance. You look for the cleats in the ground. You look for initial quickness. You look for quick twitch as you punch and be able to feel something and naturally come off something. You know, it’s a God-given ability that a young man has and he has that.”

If you had to sum up the offense in one statement about what people will see and what excites you about this team from an offensive standpoint, what would it be?

“I just love their work ethic. I love how they come out every day and want to be the best at what they do, and it’s important to them. It’s important [to them] that they be good and that they be good teammates to one another. And they want to win. They want to win, most importantly, the down that’s ahead of them. Then next down, they want to win.”

You said you don’t want to make a decision too early on quarterback. Is there a too late on making a decision on quarterback?

“No. You have to make a decision at some point in time before the first game.”

Why hasn’t Grant solidified [his LT spot]?

“I just think it’s been an unbelievable battle. Like we said, we recruited these guys and as we get more talent in this program it’s a competitiveness. Guys are really competing. It’s not just the offensive line, it’s the quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, the defense. Everybody’s competing and wanting to be the best, so it’s a fight every day.”

What are you seeing from the fullbacks?

“Fullbacks are doing good. Khalid’s [Hill] doing a nice job. Got really good initial quickness. Henry Poggi’s doing a nice job. They’re all—Hendo’s in there [Bobby Henderson]. They’re all bringing something to the table and really helping us to develop this offense.”

Are they up there where Sione was or getting there?

“Khalid has got really good initial quickness and really good snap and you see it. He’s got those first two quick steps that you look for in a fullback. Doesn’t matter if he’s going to block somebody or doesn’t matter if he’s releasing to the flat or running a route. And they’re all doing good things. Absolutely.”

Is Jabrill with you guys at all?

“Not at this time he’s not, but I’m trying to get him over more. Can you talk to Coach Harbaugh for me?”

Do you guys have something for him?

“We always got something because, I mean, Jabrill’s an unbelievable football player that can do a lot of different things. You love to have more offense. But as we get closer here and as we start to work forward to the first opener, we’ll start to put some things together.”

How about Jourdan?

“No, we have not seen him. We’d love to see him. We’d love to see him offensively and that’s in effect. We’ve just been working through some things right now and we’ll get to that.”

How about Drake Harris and Moe Ways, the guys that have been here for a while?

“Really good. They’ve all done a good job, and that brings a lot of depth there. Drake’s had a nice camp and Moe Ways has had a nice camp. I’m kind of going back to some catches and different things we’ve done and they’ve done a good job.”

Talk about the defense. How much does it help that your defense is so good and you go against them in camp every day?

“Very good. Very good. It makes you very good. It makes you every day you gotta come out you gotta compete. And the different looks they give you and stuff—there’s a lot of different moving parts so you’d better know your assignments.”

Is Onwenu—he’s 350 or maybe more. Are his feet that quick for a guy that big?

“Very good. He’s got very good, strong hands. Very good lower body girth. One thing you look for in an offensive lineman is you don’t want to be able to get knocked back. If you got good lower body girth you can hold the ground, and then you come off and you block somebody. Sometimes you might move him two inches but when you drop back down, to be able to take another bite off somebody? He can do that.”

Do you want him to lose weight?

“You know what, my thing with him is when you’re big like that if you can move and you’re big, so be it. I’ve coached some guys sometimes at former employers that were 380 pounds, and if they—you’re not going to be a 320-pound guy. Let’s be realistic about it. That’s a big-boned person.”

Are you good enough to compete for a title with either of these quarterbacks?

“Absolutely. Absolutely, yes.”

Is there any chance you play two quarterbacks?

“Right at this time, no. Things could change, but that’s not what we’ve done, Jim and I, in the past. But if there’s a situation for a gameplan deal where we need to put in somebody else to change it up and create another package we’ll do that.”

Have those quarterbacks done a good job protecting the ball?

“Absolutely, yes. Yep.”

Is Don Brown bringing everything?

“Bringing the house, baby. He is bringing the house and I’m loving every bit of it because that’s how you coach. Coaching is about adjustments. It’s about matchups. It’s about teaching the room. You can sit there and teach a four-down cover 2 and the cover 2’s adjustment outside with the routes and the protections, but when people move you’ve got to be able to block move, be able to protect, and you’ve got to be able to see all that stuff. That makes us a better football team.”

Real quick on the tight ends?

“Tight ends are doing good. We’ve got a stable of tight ends. Jake Butt is Jake Butt. He’s done an outstanding job. Ian’s doing a really nice job. Devin Asiasi: wow. Explosive, just like you saw on the high school tape. Very good in-line blocking tight end.”

And Ty [Wheatley Jr.]?

“Ty’s doing a really nice job. He’s a really good in-line blocking tight end and he’s done a really nice job.”

You guys haven’t been afraid to call Jake Butt the best tight end in the country. Why is that?

“Because he’s like the mailman: he delivers.”