[Fuller/MGoBlog]

Talk about where your group is right now and how pleased you are with their progress.

“Really pleased with where we’re at. Simple thing that we talk about as a group is just getting better every week, and I think the last three or four weeks we’ve been better and looking to continue that moving forward.”

What does it mean to have somebody at the top of the all-time tight ends list in terms of receptions. I know Jake was excited about it.

“Yeah, really excited. The whole group was really thrilled for him, which says a lot about who he is as a teammate in the room and just in general on the team. Guys being happy for his success says a lot about who he is. And understanding the work he puts in, how he approaches every day. It’s not really surprising. It’s just what you expect of a guy who puts that much into it.”

Jabrill got so many opportunities on punt return early in the year and seemed like there was one or two every game he was a step away from breaking. Is there something in the last couple weeks that’s different in the way they’ve been blocking you guys or adjusted to something?

“Uh, well, shoot, I think against Maryland they only punted a couple of times, which is unusual for a game like that. Then both times there was excellent hang time on the ball and great location on the punt, so credit to them. That’s how it goes sometimes. There’s things you can do to neutralize a great returner. It’s really all in the punter’s hands. And then not having as many opportunities is the other part of it. I think those things kind of go in cycles and hopefully we’ll see a few more opportunities down the stretch.”

Jim talked a lot about Kekoa’s blocking, then he did, too, last night. How much do you work with the wide receivers on blocking? Is that you or is that Jedd?

“None for me. I can’t take any credit for those guys. Jedd and Drew [Terrell] and Ryan Nehlen and the other guys, they do a nice job working with them. Really seen a lot of progress from those guys.”

[After THE JUMP: Kenny Allen’s kicker swagger, running the program like an NFL team, and differences in utilizing tall vs. short TEs]

How much does it help your offense to have those guys on the outside in addition to, obviously, your tight ends?

“It’s huge. You talk about receivers getting really involved effectively in the run game, you’re turning five- and seven-yard runs into twelve and fifteen or longer yard runs. It can really make the difference. It really starts with their mentality of assuming their block is gonna be the one that breaks a big run, so it’s kind of been a point of pride in that room just hearing them talk about it. It’s cool to see it really show up.”

Kekoa talked about how much you work on it. Do you think, from your experience, that you work on that kind of thing more than other schools or other teams?

“In terms of receiver blocking?”

Yeah.

“I don’t know. I know they work on it a lot and it’s definitely a point of pride, like I said, but in terms of a comparison I’m not sure.”

Do you feel like Kenny’s [Allen] got his swagger back and his confidence if he ever lost it?

“I’m not sure Kenny and the word ‘swagger’ have ever been used together.”

Kicker swagger.

“Yeah, exactly. No, he’s kicking the ball well and certainly has confidence. I’m not sure if his confidence ever really wavered or if our confidence in him wavered much, but he’s certainly back to his old ways.”

In practice, did you continue to see him grow and become more consistent?

“Yeah. He’s been practicing really well, and he really has been all throughout. It’s just one of those things where you can go through a little bit of a lull and you see that in the NFL this year, teams dealing with guys who are good kickers who practice well and typically play well going through a phase where they miss a few. Not that Kenny would want any excuses made for him, but it does happen. He’s not back to what we’re used to. It’s great. He’s a huge weapon for us.”

What adjustments did he make technically to get himself back on track?

“Nothing too drastic. Just trying to be more consistent is the main thing. Really nothing drastic. People can do a lot to overexplain a bad game or two games with that position. I think there’s not as much to it as people think.”
Jim said the other day that he was speeding things up. Is that something he discovered on his own or you guys worked it out together?

“In terms of Kenny’s operation.”

Yeah.

“Yeah, he has a tendency to do that. He’s always had that, and it’s a matter of keeping it rom rearing its head because he does have a tendency to do that. It seems to be pretty much out of the picture now.”

He was talking the other night about Devin [Asiasi] and the fact that he can move around and you can shift him and put him in the backfield. Has that always been natural to him because of his body type or is there some skill set he has that’s unique?

“Typically guys that aren’t quite as tall have a little bit more versatility because it’s tough for tall guys to operate in the backfield and block people in space because they have to get their pad level down to a linebacker and typically those guys are 6’, 6’1”, 6’2”, and if you’re 6’6” that can make it difficult to operate in tight quarters. So, he has a little bit of an advantage there not being quite as tall as the other guys.”

Does that make it harder for Zach [Gentry] and Ian [Bunting] to get on the field more often because they are 6’6”, 6’7”?

“Uh…I wouldn’t say it’s harder for them because those guys have an advantage at the point of attack if they’re lined up in-line blocking a defensive end. Iowa’s guys are 6’5”, 6’8”, lot of length on the edge, so guys that are tall like Ian have an edge in that regard whereas Devin is a little more natural leading up on somebody coming out of the backfield. I mean, that’s the beauty of the position and our group of guys is that there’s kind of a good guy for each job.”

Given where you are in year two with the numbers you guys are putting up on both sides of the ball, would you say you’re ahead of schedule for what you were planning on doing when you got here?

“Uh…shoot, I have no idea in terms of specifically how well we thought we’d be playing. I wish we would have played this well last year, so it’s tough to say.”

How much of an NFL mentality exists in this program in terms of Jim was talking the other day about celebrations [after wins] and keeping those shorter and the work aspect of it. It’s different than other college teams, it seems like, to a certain extent.

“It’s tough to really compare it to other teams because I haven’t been around too many.”

Is it run similar to an NFL team, would you say?

“Yeah, I would say so. I would say so. The majority of our staff came from the NFL or spent a lot of time in the NFL, so I think it’s kind of naturally going to happen but it’s not the kind of thing you think about or plan. We’re just doing things the way that we know how to and if it ends up being that way then it’s a good thing.

“We demand a lot of the players and they rise to the occasion and we’re always focused on getting better, so if that’s—I mean, a lot of great college teams are like that, too, so I think that’s just kind of a growth growth mindset and pro mentality, not that that’s exclusive to any level. There’s probably high school teams like that and Pop Warner.”

Does that become a factor at all in recruiting when you’ve got guys that you know eventually want to go to the NFL, to talk about the kind of staff that you have?

“Yeah, I would imagine so. I think high schoolers seeing a staff that’s spent a lot of time in the NFL is probably alluring just to understand that guys that have been in the NFL have a better sense of how to prepare you for it. Each guy’s different. To some guys that’s everything. Other recruits couldn’t care less about it.”

Not to nitpick but you guys had a couple kicks that leaked out a little bit on you on Saturday. Is that just a technique thing, a fit thing?

“On kickoff coverage?”

Yeah.

“Yeah. It’s technique and effort and just being disciplined in our assignments and then having the right personnel in the game. A couple of those kicks were late in the game and it’s not necessarily the same people you’d have in the beginning of the game covering, so getting the personnel right and the intensity and discipline of the coverage and properly fitting it up is something that’s important to us and we’re going to get right and improve.”

Overall, you’ve got to be pretty pleased with the way these guys have covered both punts and kicks this year, right?

“Yeah, pretty pleased. It could be better. I think earlier in the year there was a handful of medium to big plays opponents had on us that kind of left a bad taste in our mouth. Demond King’s an excellent returner, so we definitely have our work cut out for us there. We’ve got to be really, really sharp [and] better than we have been because we haven’t really been tested that much lately. We’ve got to really bring it on Saturday.”

Going back to the end of last year and your comment on expectations, when you saw what you were able to accomplish in the Florida game and in the spring, did you kind of see this type of performance coming this year, being 9-0 and being as good as you are? Did you see the potential for that?

“Yeah. I mean, you could see the potential even when we first got here. We knew there was a lot of capable players and guys who were hungry to win. They were hungry to work hard and be good. I think you could see the potential early, but you understand that it doesn’t mean anything until you go through spring and all 15 practices and then have a great offseason and fall camp, so you could see it but at the same time you know nothing’s promised to you. Just like when the preseason rankings came out this year, you knew it didn’t really mean anything but you knew we had that capability.”

When you play as many young guys—freshmen, redshirt freshmen, sophomores—as you do, you don’t do it necessarily to catch recruits’ attention, but is that a side benefit that they see that if you come here and perform at a certain level you’ll be there, you’re out on the field?

“I think most recruits look at that—the good ones, the really competitive ones, look at it and see that it’s a meritocracy and guys who put in the work and show that they can help us win will be on the field, so I think the guys that are really wired up right see that and like it as opposed to maybe situations at certain schools where people say, yeah, you’ll be the starter or you’ll be number two. That’s not how it works here, but the guys who are really competitive-natured guys want to come in and compete and work for everything that they get, so it’s a good thing for us.”

What does Desmond King do that makes him so dangerous in the return game?

“He typically makes the first guy miss, which is everything. Typically in coverage somebody’s going to get beat. I mean a blocker’s going to get beat, so there’s going to be one guy that’s down there way ahead of the pack, and the great ones can make that guy miss. Then you have a chance to get all of your blockers in position and really come alive. But if you can’t make that first guy miss you don’t have a chance, and that’s what he does a really good job of.”