[Fuller/MGoBlog]

How’s the running back group progressing through six practices?

“Progressing well. Just trying to get certain guys like De’Veon [Smith] and Ty Isaac to what I call a mastery level, meaning that it’s progressing past the things we did last year. Instead of going through the hole and getting tackled by a guy it’s really working some moves, try and improve your game.

“With the younger guys, they’re doing well. They’re right where I’d expect them to be. A little overloaded in some aspects in terms of the information coming in on them, but they all look good. They all look good.”

How do you keep De’Veon healthy for a whole year?

“How do I keep him healthy for a full year?”

Yeah. I mean, that was obviously the challenge last year.
”He was healthy. He was relatively healthy. I mean, any football guy who lines up and takes that first—it’s like a car. Once you take that car off the lot it depreciates. It’s never going to be 100% value. So in terms of De’Veon, I think he was healthy besides the toe. But in terms of being healthy, some of the things we’re talking about now: being able to not run down the middle of guys, taking so many hits, being able to make some guys miss. That will improve his health, but I think relatively compared to last year he was relatively healthy.”

WelpThisWasGoingToBeMyMGoQuestion: What’s a realistic expectation for the two freshmen?

“Expectation? They’re true freshmen.”

So how much would that be?

“They’re freshmen! We won’t know. Right now it’s too hard to put anything on it. I’ll just put it to you this way: it’s freshmen. They’re freshmen. I mean, they’re good freshmen, but the fact of the matter is they’re freshmen. So to put an expectation on it is really unfair right now.”

For Ty [Isaac], who probably didn’t see as many carries as he wanted to last year, getting to the mastery level, has he put in more work? Has he taken to that a little bit differently this year?

“Yeah. I mean, regardless the point of the snaps, it’s still just age and being around and hearing it, so trying to take his game to that next level. So yeah, I mean, he’s working. He worked last year. He’s working this year. Sometimes a guy may just outwork you. That’s just a thing. It’s not that he did anything wrong last year. But he’s working hard. Yes, he is. Putting in the work.”

Do you feel like Drake [Johnson] is finally back to finally maybe 100%? He’s running track, too. He said that’s helping his leg and knee strength.

“Well, unfortunate part about me, I never was here when Drake was Drake Drake. So what I saw last year and just seeing a guy who’s coming off an ACL, he looked pretty darn good. So if we can improve him and get him past that, we should be looking at a much improved Drake, and he is looking good. In terms of track, he has a little more burst to him. But just in terms of football-wise, we’re trying to get Drake to that mastery level as well. It’s moving past little things like getting tackled, little better in pass-pro, things of that nature. So he’s one of those guys we’re trying to get to that mastery level.”

[After THE JUMP: some good news re: fullbacks, more on achieving RB mastery level]

What is your feeling about playing freshmen? Obviously you’ve got some early enrollee guys who’ll get 15 practices. Do you have a philosophy about playing freshmen?

“It goes back to kind of what I said last year: the philosophy stays within can I trust you? You know, in terms of pass-pro, not putting the ball on the ground, and learning and knowing your assignments.

“That’s the number one key: if I can trust you. And then, if you can play and utilize all your talents and skills within the system and you just outwork everybody and you’re the better player, that’s the guy who plays. So whether he’s a freshman, sophomore, makes no difference.

“To answer the question, that’s where it starts with me as a freshman. I’ve got to be able to trust you. If you can pass-pro, protect the quarterback, not put the ball on the ground, and know your assignments, then you give yourself a pretty good chance at playing.”

What’s the hardest thing to earn in that trust category, would you say? The thing that’s the toughest to master?

“The toughest? All three of them.”

Are they all equal?

“All equal. I mean, but as a running back you can’t gain on yards with the ball on the ground, so if you want to put them in order I would say yeah, not putting the ball on the ground and then second is knowing your assignment.”

And protection is…?

“Protecting the quarterback, yeah. Because we can always put somebody in if you can’t protect the quarterback.”

How hard is it to replace Kerridge and Houma?

“You’re talking about some pretty big shoes to fill, but Henry Poggi and Khalid Hill are doing a great job of closing that gap. Now, in terms of carrying the ball, that’s to be seen. But in terms of blocking, knowing their assignments, and catching the ball from the backfield, I think they’re just as equal in that department. But those guys are working hard right now. They’re going a great job at it.”

What would somebody like Ty [Isaac] need to do to earn more of your trust?

“Kind of what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas. You would like to know that, wouldn’t you?”

Yeah, I would. That’s why I asked.

Did he cut some weight going into this spring?

“Not sure. Not sure.”

I wasn’t sure if that was something you asked him to do or…

“No, not sure.”

Is he earning more of your trust?

“Is he earning more of my trust?”

Yeah, through this six days or whatever it’s been.

“So you’re basically implying I didn’t trust him last year.”

Well, he didn’t play a lot last year at the end.

“--if anybody heard me say someone outplayed him. Like I said, it’s nothing that Ty did. Last year I said I didn’t really have a proven guy. If it was up to me, all the guys were pretty much equal. De’Veon kind of surpassed those guys in outworking them and just being the better player at that point. So once again, Ty didn’t do anything to dis-earn my trust. Ty didn’t do anything wrong. Wasn’t in the doghouse. It was just De’Veon outplayed those guys.”

Is he still mastering things at a higher level than most of the guys?

“Well, I would say he’s at a further point, yeah. He’s at a further point than most of those guys because a lot of those guys, like I said, are trying to get to the point where De’Veon is. They want to try to beat him, but he’s a little further along. Just a little bit.”

You mentioned the fullbacks—Poggi and Kahlid Hill—don’t necessarily have the running skills of the guys you had last year. Is there a chance that, given you have so many big tailbacks, some of those tailbacks could help out in that way at the fullback spot?

“Not for sure. Haven’t really looked at that right now. But in terms of the system and what we run, I don’t know. We have to look at that. Haven’t looked at that.”

How’s the transition for Khalid been going into the backfield from tight end so far this spring?

“He’s doing well. I mean, he’s accepted the challenge. He’s working at it really, really hard. Like I said, he’s a very explosive guy. Very talented guy. More fast than what people give him credit for, but he brings a lot of oomph when he blocks. And good hands out of the backfield. He’s taken the challenge of it. He’s doing well.”

Do you think with so many guys back, with three main guys back, you could be closer this year to having a feature back take most of the load?

“We had a feature back last year.”

Well, as opposed to rotating between guys in different games.

“We had a feature back, and we rotated some guys.”

Do you plan to make it more central on one of the guys or mostly what you did last year?

“We had a central guy last year.”

Is De’Veon taking more seriously this spring? He said something last week about how he doesn’t want spring practice, he wants to be focused on football. Do you notice he’s a little more focused, and is it his job to lose at this stage?

“It is his job to lose at this stage. And I think what he was saying—he was focused last year—I think what he was saying was now he understands what to focus on. Not being a guy who played every down, played as many snaps, carrying the load, he understands—having that year under his belt—he understands what to focus on now, and I think you can see that in his game right now. He understands what to focus on and how to focus. Last year was just a lot going in and he was kind of all over the place. Now his focus is just streamlined and understanding where he needs to be and where he’s going with it.”

And his bowl game, I mean, how much confidence do you think he took from that and how many carries do you think he could average a game?

“Average a game? Uh, it’s hard to say. He’s a tough runner. He gets stronger and more physical as the game goes on. I mean, he’s a tough guy. But a guy who dishes out and receives that much punishment, and that’s going back to the mastery stage of trying to slip some guys and not take as many hits as possible but still being able to finish the run at the end, I think he could be anywhere between 20 and 25. But yet still, if you have guys that can take some of that pressure off, a change-of-pace guy who can take some of that load off of him, why not?”

He looked like a guy who kind of sought out contact last year at times. Has changing that mindset to sometimes skip some, has that been a tough mental switch for him?

“No, it’s not tough. It’s not tough. I think, once again, once he understands in his skill set that he has a little bit more than just being a straight down the middle guy…but you don’t want to take the aggressiveness away from him. You want him to still be the basis and foundation of who De’Veon is as a runner, you want to be able to have that and just make him go, but at the same time add another tool to the toolbox. If you can make a guy miss, make a guy miss.”