Fall Camp Presser Transcript 8-21-12: Brady Hoke Comment Count

Heiko

News bullets and other important things:

  • Elliott Mealer would start at left guard if there were a game tomorrow. He plays faster, has better technique, and has more confidence.
  • Pipkins was hurt during one-on-one drill. He is now fine and practicing in full pads.
  • Justice Hayes is getting more reps. Hoke is hoping to develop him more.
  • Roundtree is recovering well. Was in pads and running yesterday.
  • Will Campbell is practicing at the 3-tech DT position. Richard Ash, Quinton Washington, and Ondre Pipkins are practicing at the nose.
  • Team will be practicing at Ford Field today to simulate playing in an indoor stadium.

Brady Hoke

From file

Opening remarks:

“Is everybody ready? Yeah? Good. Ahem. This is our 19th practice today [ED-S: He means of the fall camp, Mr. Rosenberg]. I think you can tell it’s the 19th practice in some good ways and in some ways that -- they’re starting to get tired of punching each other, hitting each other, you know, those things that go along with preparing for football. That’s the good thing about it. I think we’re making some progresson a daily practice when you look at where we’re at as a football team, where we’re at with trying to bring some guys who haven’t played much football at Michigan. We’ve got that in the defensive front, a little bit on the offensive front who haven’t played in games, really. So that’s coming along. It’s a little bit of a process to make sure that we’re getting all we can out of them without going over the edge. I think we’re making progress. I like how they’ve come to work every day. I’m happy, somewhat, where we’re at.”

[After THE JUMP, the questions.]

How’s the battle at left guard playing out?

“Well I think Elliott Mealer’s really done a nice job, and I think right now if we were playing tomorrow, he’d be the guy. Joey’s competing, but I think Elliott, and you’d love to see it about a guy who’s a senior -- his work ethic, his leadership, I think the maturation process, I’m really excited for Elliott as much as anything else as much as our football team.”

How’s Kalis doing?

“He’s not well back, but there’s competition up front, and he’s part of that competition. Joey Burzynski’s part of that competition. I know Darryl’s done some things with moving him around a little bit, trying to find those seven or eight guys that can fit and can play a lot of positions.”

What has Elliott done to separate himself?

“You know I think he’s playing faster, I think he’s playing with better technique. I think when you look at pad level and those things, and he’s finishing things better. We think it’s more of confidence -- he’s got his confidence level at a high level.”

What was encouraging from your scrimmage?

“I thought Saturday was pretty competitive. I thought it was physical on both sides of the ball, which I think we were all very pleased with. It wasn’t perfect in any way. There were some mistakes and blown assignments, but when you looked overall at the effort, which is the number one thing I’m going to look at and the toughness that we play with, I was pretty excited Saturday after watching the tape about where we had been earlier to what we were on Saturday, and now we’ve got to keep progressing from there.”

How is Pipkins?

“He’s fine. You know, our medical staff here did a phenomenal job of taking the right precautions and all that. Yeah he’s back, full pads, doing everything … I was there and we didn’t think it was going to be real bad, but you’re not sure. It was my drill, just a one-on-one drill.”

How is he progressing?

“He’s making progress. I think a lot of those freshmen guys, all of them, really, they’re all making progress. This is big boy football. It’s a little different, so the speed of the game is usually -- the physicalness of the game, the burst, the intensity, you know, is always hard. This has been a grind for them from the standpoint of we just finished classes again I don’t know how many days ago, but it seems like it hadn’t been that long ago, and now they’re in the middle of camp. Everything’s a little more intense. Coach Wellman’s a little more intense than high school.”

How do you notice the freshmen linemen getting acclimated to how physical practices are?

“Well I think they’re doing a good job. I think all those guys, both sides of the ball, from day one when you start putting shoulder pads and helmets on to going full pads and now having two a day practices and all that, I think they’re all figuring out that these fundamentals and techniques coaches talk about, probably is going to be important for me to survive.”

Is Roundtree close to practicing?

“He’s close, he’s way ahead. I shouldn’t say that, because that sounds like I really know I’m a doctor. He’s progressing nicely.”

When do you anticipate his return?

“You know, I don’t want to speculate on that. He’s running. I’ve seen him run. He was in full pads today. Just doing stuff with the trainers and those people.”

Have you made a decision on Fitz yet?

“No. No.”

What does he have to do to earn his way off suspension?

“He’s got to demonstrate that he’ll do the right things.”

Does his legal situation play into that?

“No. Well, the legal situation is why he is suspended, but …”

I mean more in terms of how you might reinstate him …

“No. ”

Is some of this due to your gamesmanship to leave Alabama guessing?

“No. I really don’t care. No it’s not.”

What about Clark?

“He’s in the same boat right now. They’ve both got an oar.”

Just one oar?

“They’ve each got one. It’s chained boats.”

How are the reps being divided between the running backs in practice?

“You know, pretty even. Fitz and Thomas and Justice -- I think Justice we’ve given a lot of reps trying to develop him a lot more. And then Fitz has taken some reps in there, just like Frank, they’re taking some reps in there.”

Where are you right now in the Gardner experiment?

“I think we’re liking when he goes out there and liking when he’s taking snaps under center. Devin’s an athlete.”

Do you expect Roy to play in the opener?

“I would think so.”

You always say the defense is only as good as the defensive line. How do you like your defensive line right now? How is Will Campbell doing?

“Thanks for reminding me. Well, we’ve been throwing Will a little bit more at the three-technique … Richard Ash and Quinton Washington and Ondre and Ryan Glasgow have been playing a lot of the one. We felt we needed to -- Jibreel’s going to be able to play the three. At times you’re going to need a little heavier package in there, bigger guy, and Will gives you that. So we’ve kind of been trying to get as multiple as we can. When Chris Wormley got hurt, that affected a little bit posssibly in the rotation is one of those young guys -- we have to do a better job teaching some guys how to play that. Will’s had that experience at it, so he’s doing a good job with that.”

MGoQuestion: Does Will Campbell go against Ricky Barnum in one-on-one drills in practice?

“Yeah we always go ones and ones, twos on twos.”

MGoQuestion: Right now who’s getting more push between the two of them?

“I would say they both push pretty well.”

MGoFistShake.

How do you feel a guy as small as Jibreel Black is going to handle Alabama’s offensive line?

“We’ll find out. That’s the fun part. He’s decent sized. Your fundamentals and techniques are always what’s important.”

When will you start installing the game plan vs. Alabama?

“Well we kind of have been. As we go along, there’s some similarities that we do defensively and our offense does that help us practicing against each other. I know when both sides of the ball will really start Thursday a little more into Alabama.”

How does this game help Michigan’s recruiting profile and push its name in a recruiting hotbed?

“Well I don’t know if we have to push Michigan’s name. I think it’s pretty significant. You know, I don’t, to be honest with you, think about that much. But obviously on national television …”

Did that come into play when you scheduled the game?

“That would be a question for Dave Brandon because I wasn’t here yet.”

At what point did you make a decision on how Gardner would split time between his two positions?

“I think with him, you don’t overload him at the receiver standpoint. We’ve had guys be dual players before. It hasn’t necessarily been a quarterback or a wideout. I think it’s possible, and Devin’s a very intelligent young man. He’s smart and picks up -- knows football pretty well. I think he’s done a nice job. We’re real comfortable where we’re at with it right now.”

What do you like most about him as a receiver?

“He’s big. He can run. He’s rangy.”

Will you continually re-evaluate how he splits time as the season progresses?

“That’s first and foremost how he handles it. Russell Bellomy’s progression, too. I think that’s part of it. Russ has done a nice job. He’s had a nice camp.”

Has he come closer to passing Devin?

“No I wouldn’t say that.”

With Roy out, have the other receivers taken advantage of the reps?

“Obviously I think Devin falls into that a little bit. I think we’ve become a little more multiple with Jerald and Jeremy Jackson being able to play the slot and the X. I think we’ve become a little bit more multiple I guess with those guys. Joe Reynolds has had a good camp, which is a guy who probably works as hard as anybody. He’s don e a nice job.”

This may not be a fair memory test, but when you were at Ball State, you recruited Toledo and Ohio pretty strongly. Do you remember if you had ever heard of Jordan Kovacs?

“You know what, I don’t remember him. I really don’t. I tell you how good a recruiter we were -- we turned down Jake Ryan at San Diego State, and we had recruited his brother Connor to go to Ball State. So I remind Jake that we didn’t want him.”

How unusual is it that you see a guy bloom that late?

“It probably happens more than we all think. But we’re talking about a guy who’s got an unbelievable, number one, love for Michigan, unbelievable pride and work ethic, football instincts that a lot of guys don’t have, and he’s got a football intelligence. You’re talking about Jordan, right? He has those things. I tell you he’s an important part of us, and he’s fun to be around.”

Is Matt Wile still ahead of Will Hagerup for the punting position?

“I think it’s really neck and neck right now. They both punted well Saturday, and we got after them pretty good with pressure and everything. I was very pleased with how they punted Saturday.”

Return game? Norfleet?

“This is a guy that has a specific skill when you look at a return guy. He’s a good hand-eye coordination guy. He’s not afraid, which you have to -- can’t be afraid when you’re doing that job. It’s like playing corner. If you get beat, you better learn from it but forget about it. I think it’s the same thing as the return guy.”

Will you or have you done anything special to prepare for playing in a dome?

“Well we’re going to Ford Field tomorrow night. We’re going to go down there and change the environment up a little bit. Change it up a little bit. I think it’s good for us. Have some distractions that are built in when you do that, so we’ve been doing some crowd noise or whatever, some music. I think AC/DC was on today when we did some first down stuff. So we’re going to do that.”

Is it going to be more of a practice or a scrimmage?

“Practice with some situational -- two minutes. Put some high pressure stuff on them. See if they can stay focused.”

Did you do that at any point last year?

“I don’t think so. We practiced in a banquet hall during the bowl game. It was a good practice.”

Comments

State Street

August 22nd, 2012 at 8:24 AM ^

Kind of funny how vague these answers are.  Sounds like Hoke could have wrote out the responses to these questions in February and they would hold pretty much the same weight.

Similarly, if nobody had even asked about dome preparations with that last question would anyone outside of the fort even know there was a practice at Ford Field today?

The writers who make a living covering the team must be treating these once a week pressers like Bear Grylls treats a token insect - just enough to survive and make a living. 

San Diego Mick

August 22nd, 2012 at 8:27 AM ^

He gives you all these tidbits and yet you're still confused  (at least I am) yet you feel satisfied somehow that you got some info anyway, right?

Sounds like the competition is fierce, which I love hearing. Also, it seems a lot of guys are going to get playing time, starter or not. This is great for keeping guys fresh, situational rotations and puts the program in a reload and not rebuild mode going forward.

MGoShoe

August 22nd, 2012 at 8:30 AM ^

...begin regarding LG, DL packages, RB rotation, WR rotation, P, KR/PR, and suspensions.

Oh, and there are...

days until the Wolverines suit up against the defending national champions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MGoNY

August 22nd, 2012 at 9:14 AM ^

something to do with black not being able to hold up against the run. only the coaches know. could be a situation where black is a passing down sub for pipkins/qwash/ash. it's hard to ask a guy like black to make this move and be an every down guy. sounds like wormley was def in line for playing time. tough loss.

jg2112

August 22nd, 2012 at 9:20 AM ^

it has something to do with something Hoke explicitly said in the press conference:

 At times you’re going to need a little heavier package in there, bigger guy, and Will gives you that. So we’ve kind of been trying to get as multiple as we can.  

JeepinBen

August 22nd, 2012 at 9:21 AM ^

Situationally, if we need to go to a "heavy" d line package (3rd and short, goal line, etc) Will could be a huge asset 1 on 1 vs a guard with someone else (Pipkins, etc) holding the nose.

He'll probably stay the starting nose tackle, but Mattison likes formation subs (see Jake Ryan playing with his hand down in the nickel) and I bet they're working on some heavy D line situations. A D line of Roh/Pipkins/Campbell/Black wont get a ton of pass rush, but it should be hard to blow off the ball.

I wouldn't be shocked to see the following combinations at times:

Base: Roh/Campbell/Black/Beyer

Nickel/Passing situations: Ryan/Roh/Black/Beyer (Mattison claims he pulls the 3 tech in nickel situations, but last year Heininger came off whether he was playing the 3 or 5. Our best pass rushers will stay on the field, my guess is Campbell isn't one of them)

Run/Heavy situations: Roh/Pipkins/Campbell/Black

Jeff M

August 22nd, 2012 at 9:23 AM ^

I think Hoke was alluding to using him at 3 and Ash/Pipkins at 1 in short yardage situations/goalline packages. The way I read it, it's just a situational thing, but he'll get most of his playing time at 1, with Black getting most of the time at 3.

However, he also mentions that Wormley's injury may have shaken things up. I read into that being a bit of a domino effect: there's less depth at DE so Black might play some more 5, Campbell some more 3, Pipkins/Ash get more reps at 1, etc.

Blue in Seattle

August 22nd, 2012 at 10:03 AM ^

But the hopeful part of me is thinking that they are getting ready for pipkins to be a starter. Since he's a freshman they are keeping it simple with him only learning the one tech position, while Campbell has the experience to work on two positions.

Whenever Hoke talks about the line, offense or defense, he talks about finding the best seven or eight players. I take that as going beyond just wanting a strong two deep, and actually having two guys rotating at each position to provide a freshness to effort.

msoccer10

August 22nd, 2012 at 10:15 AM ^

Richard Ash was a big time recruit early but dropped off due to what seemed to be work ethic and getting too overweight. But I would bet he will be a better double team eater early on than Pipkins. He has a couple years of coaching and conditioning/strength training on the young man. I think Pipkins will be in the rotation, but I don't expect him to be the starter at any point this year. Mike Martin was just as advanced and he didn't start his Freshman year. Neither did Brandon Graham. D line and o line are just incredibly difficult places to play early on. Same goes for Kyle Kalis. He will get some PT to get him ready for next year and rest the starters but I don't think he starts a single game.

Needs

August 22nd, 2012 at 10:25 AM ^

I generally agree that he'll see meaningful playing time but won't start*, but to be fair, Martin had two returning starters (one of them multi-year) in front of him in Terrance Taylor and Will Johnson, both of whom were comparable in size.  Pipkins faces a far different situation of no returning starters while his size fills a definite need.

*If he does progress, I wouldn't be surprised to see him start against MSU and Iowa, for Manball matchup reasons.

WolvinLA2

August 22nd, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^

Also don't discount QW.  It looked like he was running with the 1s in a couple of the CTK videos, so he's a guy who could be a force at nose in the heavy sets. 

The report on him is that he's not athletic enough to get good/consistent penetration, but he's too strong for anyone to move.  Sounds like the perfect guy to stick at nose on a run down (or against a run-heavy team), allowing BWC to be one on one.

wolverine1987

August 22nd, 2012 at 10:09 AM ^

about which freshmen were standing out during fall practice and might be on the two deep?? Hello, is that question too obvious?

/argh, shakes fist (not blaming you Heiko, you asked a good one)

CJK5H

August 22nd, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^

Anybody else really excited that Justice is getting his fair share of snaps.  With Fitz out I think it would be crucial to have a guy like Justice contribute.  I like Thomas, but with a questionable interior line I can't see him running over or wearing down Alabama players, I like our chances more with a shifty guy in the backfield that will be able to contribute.  I think Rawls will be a damn good back in other parts of our schedule once the line starts to gel more and hes not facing one of the best defensive lines in the country.

GoWings2008

August 22nd, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^

I've been looking forward to Hayes getting some good PT after he dropped ND, I think, and committed to UM.  I always thought he had a heck of an upside and after reading more about him recently, its good to hear he's taking advantage of his reps in camp.  Having two or more solid RBs to rely on will help out immensely.

WolverineinDallas

August 22nd, 2012 at 12:45 PM ^

 

Can someone please help me interpret this quote:

"Return game? Norfleet?

'This is a guy that has a specific skill when you look at a return guy. He’s a good hand-eye coordination guy. He’s not afraid, which you have to -- can’t be afraid when you’re doing that job. It’s like playing corner. If you get beat, you better learn from it but forget about it. I think it’s the same thing as the return guy.”'

Does this mean that Norfleet is indeed going to be the main return guy this year? Or, is Hoke simply making some general comments concerning the characteristics of a good return man? Honestly, I would like to see Justice Hayes as the main kick/punt return guy this year. True freshmen scare me at that position. Does anyone remember De' Anthony Thomas' (I think this is how he spells his name) first game with Oregon last season? I think he fumbled two-three times in their opener against LSU.

M-Wolverine

August 22nd, 2012 at 3:35 PM ^

banquet hall practice.  I think that's where they came up with the fake field goal. Though it all worked out for the best.