[Fuller/MGoBlog]

Did you ask Mike Riley for a scouting report here on Oregon State’s personnel or anything?

“No, it’s so different. The schemes are so different. There’s not a lot of carryover from what I remember us doing at Oregon State back in the day or I remember him doing the last few years.”

MGoQuestion: Is Khalid Hill 100% and will he see more time going forward?

“Yeah, yeah. He’s healthy to my knowledge and he’s going to continue contributing for us.”

Can you share a little bit about your decision to go to Oregon State and the whole process, because your dad had the connection with Riley a little bit.

“Mmhmm. Yeah, that was the connection really was that he played for Reily so it was the kind of deal where I knew I could go there and be well looked after and learn under a really good leader who treats people well. So, that was kind of the most important part of the thing.”

They gave you a lot of responsibility, though, as a student.

“Yeah, I don’t know why they gave me so much. They were very trusting, but the guys there were really good in terms of teaching and giving me responsibility but then giving you tools to get things done and trusting you, so I greatly appreciated that.”

You’re still pretty young. In the past few years since then do you think you’ve learned more than most coaches would at your age?

“Uh…I don’t know. That’s a tough question. To compare to other people I’m not really sure, but I would hope so.”

[After THE JUMP: I got shut down in the interest of protecting play calls and it was actually pretty awesome]

Yesterday Jake Butt mentioned that he’s pretty satisfied with the way Jake Rudock is learning the offense because learning an NFL offense is complicated but he’s doing a good job. I was just wondering your perspective on Jake Butt and on how you feel like he’s taken to the new…

“The scheme and the system? A+. You know, he knows the offense in great detail at more positions than he’s even asked to play, so really impressed with him in that regard.”

When you saw him go up for the touchdown catch in traffic I’m guessing that’s not the first time you’ve seen him do that in practice.

“Yeah, he has a knack for coming down with balls like that. We kind of say in our room that 50/50 balls, as they say, are all balls. We expect to catch them and he certainly is a guy who can make those kind of plays.”

He’s mentioned he’s the healthiest he’s been since you got here. Is he everything you expect him to be or do you feel like there’s even a higher peak for him to work for?

“Oh, he can get way, way better. He’s not even close to reaching his potential, and in a lot of ways he’s still making a lot of plays so it’s pretty exciting. It’s the same thing we expect for all the guys, even guys like Darboh and Graham Glasgow. I mean, they’ll tell you the same thing. They’re playing well but there’s always more you can do and always things you can get better at, so he falls into that category for sure.”

What specifically is an area he’s getting pushed to improve?

“Just being well rounded, I think. He’s obviously a very natural receiver but I think as he matures as a player he’ll be a much better blocker and a much more effective blocker consistently. I think that’s what he would tell you is his main focus.”

I realize it’s early, but so far so good developmentally with Jake Butt?

“Yeah, super satisfied. He could be a guy who does everything right and goes above and beyond and makes your job as a coach very easy.”

What’s sort of a fair expectation for Ian Bunting this season? He had the one catch, but do you expect him to be a regular contributor to the offense?

“No doubt, yeah. He’s a talented guy. He’s obviously tall and long and looks like a big tree, and I think every week you can expect him to contribute in some way or another. I’m excited for that.”

And Wheatley has an injury, right? Are you expecting him to help at some point this season?

“Uh…yeah, that’d be nice, though I’m not sure exactly how that’s going to play out for him. But it’s a really long season, so we’ll see what happens.”

What are you expecting on Saturday, or maybe don’t you know?

“From our guys?”

From your perspective, what do you think it’s going to be like?

“I’m just expecting us to play well. I think we will. I think the preparation’s been really good. Just expecting to execute well.”

You grew up hearing about Michigan in terms of games all these years. Have you been to a game at the stadium?

“I’ve never been to a game at Michigan, which surprises everybody.”

So what is that emotion of running out of the tunnel and the whole gameday experience and being a part of it? Is that something the last couple of months you’ve been thinking about?

“Yeah, I’m excited for it. I’m really excited for it. I tell all these recruits about it and I haven’t even experienced it yet. It’s one of a kind from what I hear, and I’m really excited to experience it first hand.”

MGoQuestion: The fourth-and-one run in the fourth quarter with about five minutes left against Utah: Poggi lines up in the B gap and he blocked the end man on the line of scrimmage. Was that run supposed to go inside or outside of him?

“Um…that run…I’m not going to answer that question just in case Oregon State people are listening. Good question, though. Appreciate the detail.”

Going back to it, your dad’s been downplaying the whole nostalgia thing. It seems like he’s more focused on winning now and he’s not going to revel in that history. Have you guys had side conversations? Is he more excited than he’s letting on?

“I don’t think so. It’s just, you know, there’s a time and a place for nostalgia and all that and when you’re in the thick of it week to week it’s meetings, practice, review practice, script practice, [and] you don’t think about that stuff. I don’t know if that’s hard to believe but it really is true. Like, I don’t find myself thinking about it. If you asked me if I’m excited I’m excited, but it’s not the kind of thing where you’re like ‘Yeah, I can’t wait to get in there in the Big House.’ You just really want to play well, and then all that other stuff takes care of itself.”

But privately, that’s what I’m going for.

“No, that’s what I’m saying. It’s probably hard to believe but no, that’s the truth.”

How many guys are left at Oregon State that you know?

“All the oldest guys. Like, I think some of the fifth-year guys and fourth-year guys. There might be like 10 or 15. Not many”

Any that you were close with?

“Uh, not super close but I coached a bunch of them on the scout teams and was involved in the recruitment of quite a few, so to that extent, yeah.”

Have you tracked them? Have you kept in touch over the years?

“Most of the guys I was closer with are gone now, like Sean Mannion from last year. He’s a good friend of mine. Richard Mulaney transferred to Alabama. I was kind of friends with him. So, not really. I saw them play last year, actually, against Arizona State. I was out there during our bye week for the Ravens, so I actually saw them all play last year live and met some of the new guys.”

Is it a relief in some ways that you don’t have to play against too many of your friends?

“No. It wouldn’t really matter. It wouldn’t really matter at all.”

Butt obviously stood out in that first game in some ways. Were there other tight ends that you saw on film that did some good things?

“Yeah, everybody did a thing or two that was nice. He got the bulk of the reps and then we had I think five guys play, which was really exciting for me. Everyone did a thing or two that was nice and then everyone did a thing or two that was not exactly what we were looking for. It was a solid group effort but we’d like the consistency of the whole group to improve.”

If there was a whole group aspect that you’d like to see take that game one to game two jump what would that be?

“In terms of aspect of their play?”

Yes.

“I’d say just getting off the line of scrimmage on the snap, coming off the ball with some violence, and just finishing plays. I’d like to see just some fanatical effort plays, chasing the ball downfield even if it doesn’t affect that particular play because eventually you might make a block that springs a touchdown. Just getting around the football a lot of good things can happen, so really would like to see guys flying around and playing just out of their minds. If they get tired  then they can come out. We’ve got a nice, big group so it’s a good thing.”

How much say do you have on which tight end is in at which point of the game? Is that mostly coach Drevno’s decision who’s going in at which juncture?

“Kind of a combination. Sometimes it’s me. Sometimes in the way we call the game there’s certain play where things are designed for them or fits their skill set better or maybe it’s to protect a tendency or break a tendency,that kind of thing. So, it’s maybe half and half.”

Back to the week one to week two thing, Jake Butt mentioned that your dad had told him and Rudock that especially for a quarterback and tight end and receivers the week one to week two jump is really important. Are you stressing that with him? Is that an emphasis this week?

“I wouldn’t say it’s an emphasis. I would say it’s true. It’s true every week, but it’s more true one to two because week one is the first true assessment of where you’re at. Like, fall camp happens and you have a good idea but you never really know until it’s somebody else that you’re lining up against, so I think that makes it more true in that week one-week two capsule. And then, still true after that but maybe not as much because you have a better sense of where you’re at. Week one is a real truth teller of kind of your fall camp results.”

May I ask a very general recruiting question?

“Sure. Possibly.”

With the Nike deal, are you seeing that kids are responding to that? Obviously you respond as a school and a program and coaching staff, but that seems to be a lot of conversation about Nike and Adidas that Nike seems to draw in a lot of young interest.

“Yeah, I’d say that’s definitely true, and there’s a lot of guys who like Adidas too. I think any direction you go it’s- you’re going to make some people really happy and other guys will be disappointed, but we’ve gotten some good feedback.”

Is it because of the Jumpman logo?

“Yeah, I think some people are thrilled about that. Some guys just don’t care, which is interesting, but overall it’s been pretty good feedback.”

Is it something where when you’re talking to kids you’re playing that up?

“I think if it’s something that appeals to somebody you might. But in the course of recruiting somebody you cover everything, so it kind of just comes up. I wouldn’t say it’s a real button you want to press right away.”

It’s not the deal maker?

“Yeah. I think if you think big picture about Michigan and what we have to offer that’s just kind of a nice icing on the cake at a place like this. At some places that might be the big sell, you know? I think that says a lot about what we have to offer as a university.”

Piggybacking on the nostalgia thing, were you ever amazed by the amount of coverage that your dad has drawn here and the last eight months and the hype? Did you sort of laugh about it or did you think it was deserving or…?

“Yeah, I haven’t really been surprised at all I guess because I’m somewhat used to it and could see it coming, I guess. It’s kind of funny at times. Kind of annoying at times, but if you expect it then it is what it is. It doesn’t really get on my nerves or anything.

“You just kind of…it is what it is. And it’s funny, our guys know that but like other teams, it probably irritates them. Like, Utah was clearly irritated by it from what I’ve heard people saying, which I get. It’s just kind of funny. I don’t know.”