[Fuller/MGoBlog]

If you listened to The Michigan Insider Tuesday morning you heard interviews with some of Michigan’s assistant coaches, including Tim Drevno. We thought you, our beloved readers, might like to read a transcript of what coach Drevno had to say. When you finish reading you should head to The Michigan Insider’s channel on Audioboom and listen to the rest of what Sam and Ira discussed. After all, the cool people like it.

How about that left tackle/Grant Newsome situation? Can you talk about his development and how vital he is to that O-line?

“Yeah, Kevin Tolbert’s done a nice job with him and his staff in the weight room. He’s really put on a lot of weight. He’s over 300 pounds. Has done a nice job all summer with workouts. You can see the maturity level in his eyes, and has done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’ll be ready to tackle that position.”

Still think that Mason Cole’s at center?

“If we started a game today yeah, Mason Cole would be the center. I mean, the next three weeks we’ll flip-flop guys around and see what the best fit is and what’s best for the team.”

You stayed essentially with those five, they played almost every snap last year. Is that the idea or do you want with seniors in there and stuff do you want more rotation through the year?

“You know, you’re always looking for the sixth, seventh, eighth offensive lineman. You want depth and you want good players and good depth to back guys up. We’re always kind of tweaking it and kind of seeing and feeling who’s the best guys for these positions.”

You mentioned flipping guys around a little bit, experimenting to see where everybody fits best. How quickly do you want to get a final five where you know--

“I don’t want to make that decision too soon because I want to make sure we’re making the right decision. We’ll see as we progress through training camp and see how the days go. We’ll come to a conclusion, Coach and I, with it and see what’s best.”

Can you talk about Kyle Kalis and his development? A lot of attention early on in his career and people are wondering when’s that going to blossom for him.

“He’s really at a blossoming point right now. I mean, Kyle had his best spring since I’ve been here. I’ve been through only two springs with him but he did an outstanding job. He’s really understanding the game of football. His football awareness, his lens is opening. He’s really becoming a student of the game and the importance of the fine details of it, so he’s really doing a really nice job.”

With Newsome, is there sort of a list of things you have for him to work on other than getting bigger?

“I mean, his biggest thing is really just being able to get stronger, you know. That was really important that he does that just because coming in as a freshman from high school strength issues and not playing with his cleats, flexibility. But he has the measurables and the smarts to do it. I think the biggest thing is just gaining strength.”

We’ve heard you say you played freshmen before--

“Yeah, yeah!”

But is that something that…it’s kind of unusual to have a few years in a row here with a freshman playing.

“Yeah, no, I’m not—I don’t refer to them as freshmen. I just refer to them as a player and an offensive lineman and we’ve got to do what’s best for the team. I think initially doing it when I was at a former employer I started three true freshmen on the offensive line. If it works, we’re going to do it. It’s nice. It’s nice to have, especially when you have those years with them.”

Is there anyone in this class that you think could play that kind of role that Grant played?

“We’ll see. We’ll see. You’ve got three guys that are here—Michael Onwenu, Stephen Spanellis, Ben Bredeson—I mean, all of them are capable of doing it. It’ll be exciting to go to practice and see how it all works out.”

Spanellis and Onwenu are large, just big human beings. Is that just their body type or did they come in too large?

“You can’t coach big. I mean, this is a big, girthy game and I think at a lot of levels being able to move somebody off the ball, being able to get by somebody, it’s nice. The lower body girth is very important. And also just for injury prevention. I mean, they last longer. The more games you play your body will last longer.”

So you like guys to be big, your linemen. Some of them, a lot of them, gained weight from the spring.

“Yeah. We all went through it with Kevin and Fergus Connolly, where we wanted their weights and things. They did a nice job of getting where they need to be.”

[More after THE JUMP]

With Mason Cole, talk about his transition. He already did that a little bit in the previous spring, and what he brings to the table.

“You know, Mason’s a very, very sharp guy. He can command and direct traffic very well. He’s got very good football awareness, very good instincts. He fixes something and then you really don’t see the problem ever occur again. You want a guy who can really think quick on his feet, especially at the center position making all the calls. To me, it’s as important as the quarterback just being in situations and directing all the traffic.”

Coming from left tackle to center, what can he take from that position to center to be an even better center?

“Yeah, I mean, just playing the left tackle position in terms of all the reps he has played the two years he has played here, and talking about opponents in our conference he understands the schemes that they do run. He probably has a pretty good understanding of the different players on the defensive lines that he faces, so he can help in that area. And it’s neat when you can be able to be multidimensional and very diverse. That’s another club in your bag as you go on. And he’s an NFL football player. It’s going to help his stock and it’s going to help our football team.”

Can you talk about the intangibles of having the experience back that you do and how nice it is?

“Yeah, it’s really nice. They understand the playbook. Like I’ve said before, you have the bowl practice and then go to spring ball and it’s really like you have two spring balls. They’ve done a good job of really understanding what we want and how we want to do it so it’s nice. And the neat thing is, too, they really take control of the room. You know you have a good offensive line when they start taking and fixing problems, which makes it nice for the coaches.”

Talk about the evolution in year two of the program and how much more comfortable those guys are. What more can you do?

“I think everybody in the offense will have a better comfort level. They’ve been with us. They know what to expect. The receivers, the tight ends, the running backs, the quarterbacks, and the line, so it makes it all nice. You look at them, they understand or body language or they start to answer questions in the room, so it’s pretty neat.”

How comfortable are you with the quarterback situation?

“I feel very comfortable with the quarterback situation. Four guys, I think they’re good players and they’re very comfortable of doing it. You’ve just got to find the right time and make the decision at the right time.”

So there’s more than two?

“Well, I mean, you look at all of them. Wilton Speight: good football player. I think all of them—John O’Korn, Shane Morris, Brandon Peters—they all bring something. That’s why we have training camp, to find the best fit.”

You had Shane playing receiver--

“Yeah, yeah! I think that he’s a quarterback but we’re always looking for other positions for other people. And that doesn’t mean he’s a receiver today, but he’s a very capable person.”

Jabrill Peppers obviously was on offense some. How much do you think or hope snaps-wise he can be on offense?

“Selfishly, I’d like to take him.”

Realistically, what do you think?

“We’ll have to see about that. I’ll have to talk to Don about that, talk to coach Harbaugh about that. Coach will make the final decision on that, but Jabrill could play any position on the field. Probably couldn’t play the offensive line or tight end, but probably one of the most dynamic, explosive players I’ve ever been around. He’s in the lead with the Frank Gores and the Michael Crabtrees of the world and the Vernon Davises. He’s a very, very talented football player.”

Even if he isn’t getting the ball and you’re not getting wear and tear, just having him line up gets-

“Oh yeah, absolutely! You know, that’s part of game planning and building an illusion and things but he’s a guy you’d like to be on your side. As we progress through this training camp we’ll see where he fits.”

No matter who the quarterback is, do you know exactly what this offense will look like? I know there are slight variations, but they seem to be similarly styled. Do you know what your offense is going to look like?

“You know, that’s the next three weeks. We’ll figure that out. I’d day that we’re multi-dimensional and we’ll do what it takes to win a game. If we have to throw it, we’ll throw it. If we have to run it, we’ll run it. If we have to mix it, we’ll mix it. Ultimately we’re a two-back, physical football team downhill but we’re multi-dimensional. That means we can get in some empty. We can get into a full-house backfield, whatever. And to bring a different style, they’re all capable of doing it. They’re confident. We’ll just see who leads us the best and makes decisions and what’s best for us.”

You have experience almost everywhere else on the offense. How much does that help whoever is the starter?

“I think it all helps. I think it all helps. They’ve been there, they’ve done it. Just with the two receivers coming back, how explosive they are. The tight ends, Jake Butt. The running back corps. I mean, it all helps and they all feed off one another so it helps in getting ready.”

You have 4/5 of your offensive line back. Where do you look for improvement on the line?

“I think we’ve got to be more consistent running the ball, and I think that we’ll be able to do that this year. I think they’ve all made great strides in the weight room with their strength and they have a better understanding what we want. Better pass protection. Everything’s got to improve. We’ve got to take one more step to be better. We demand that from ourselves, and we’ll be excited to see.”

You talked about Mason Cole. Obviously he’s a first-year center and he’s already on the Rimington watch list.

“Yeah, he’s a very talented football player. Like I mentioned earlier, great football awareness, a student of the game, can fix problems, and like I mentioned earlier he’s a dynamic football player that will have a career someday here in the National Football League and I really think moving him inside has helped his stock, his versatility, but it helps us be a better team.”

With Jim Harbaugh, does he ever surprise you, whether it’s with the Signing of the Stars, the camps, the tweets, the things he does?

“He doesn’t surprise me because I’ve been around him long enough, but he’s always a thinker. He’s always changing things. He’s very creative. Very creative human being and can really stay with a task for a long time. Very unique and special.”

That personality and the things he does, how does that help the team?

“You know, the one thing about Jim is every day he’s demanding the best in you as a coach, as a father. He demands that of his players. Don’t become complacent. We’ve got to be better today than we were yesterday, and it’s that competitive edge and working to be the best…he just has tremendous leadership skill about him.”

Is it important that the offense know who the quarterback’s going to be sooner rather than later, maybe halfway through camp?

“You can’t put a timetable on that. You want to make the right decision. You don’t want to make the wrong decision and look back and say we didn’t make the right decision. We’re going to take our time with it. Jim and I will discuss that and figure out what the best fit is for that and we’ll come to that when we need to.”

You’ve got new fullbacks. Is there a breakdown? Do you have a best pass catcher? Do you have a best blocker?

“You know, both of them bring different things to the table. Khalid Hill, he’s very explosive. Great initial quickness, great first step but he has versatility. You can kind of line him up in the slot or do some things with him. And Henry Poggi’s done a great job transitioning from the D-line to us. He’s been with us for a year. They all bring something different, which is unique and neat for us to be able to line them up in different areas to help us.”

Can you talk about O’Korn and Speight and what you need to see from them?

“Yeah. Both of them need to come out and be consistent each and every day and make a play where there’s no play to be made. Lead us. Understand where to go with the ball. Understand how to get us in the right play. Both of them are very capable. I’m excited to see them moving forward. Really am.”

Anybody ahead of each other or is it pretty even right now?

“Pretty even right now. That’s why we’ve got training camp. We’re excited about tomorrow, to roll the balls out and see where it all lands.”

How would you describe the offensive line’s development from the time you got here? They struggled a couple years before you got here. How have you really seen them galvanize?

“I think they’ve really done a good job with the want-to to be good. They demand that from themselves. They’ve done a good job in the two years that we’ve been here to become students of the game and understand what we want and how to do it, and they’ve got a tremendous brotherhood in the room. And they want to be good, which is really neat to see.”

What’s the most drastic change you’ve seen in the offensive line besides personnel?

“I think the most drastic change is really just understanding our system. The growth that they’ve made of understanding what we want, understanding the concepts, and really becoming students of the game and understanding that this is a game of adjustments and the different personnels and things they bring in, just understanding and their football lens opening up.”

[Skipped two repeat questions about Newsome and the fullbacks]

Will you go live more with the quarterbacks this year?

“That’s really up to Coach. Coach will make that decision. That’s his decision.”