Fall Camp Presser 8-8-14: Brady Hoke
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News bullets and other important items:
- Blake Countess (groin) and Mario Ojemudia (ankle) were held out of practice but should return by Monday
- Drake Harris injured his other hamstring and has been limited to doing rehab reps
- The offensive line could change from morning practice to afternoon practice until they find a combination they like. Don’t shoot the messenger.
- The open scrimmage on the 16th was Hoke’s idea and will feature…football. They’re going to play football.
Opening remarks:
“Thanks for coming. Number one, it’s always good to get in the pads for the first day. You know, even though you've been in short pads and helmets it was good to get out in full pads. It was good that the energy that we've had all week has been really positive, how the guys have reacted to some adversity that we put them under. Today we did a little crowd noise and certain situational football setting and you could see we've got a lot of work to do. So we'll continue to put a bunch of pressure on our team. You know, Blake [Countess], he's got a little bit of a groin so we held him out today. Mario's [Ojemudia] got a little bit of an ankle, he's in a boot, but talking to him he said that he feels better every day and I think he'll be okay. Blake and Mario, they should be by Monday ready to go so we're excited about that. We've had good practices but we've got a long way to go when you look at where we need to be.”
What would you say, in just the five days of practice, you've seen the most improvement of and where would you say 'we've got to get this better pretty quick?'
“Well, I guess the biggest thing is how they came into camp. From conditioning and all, the kind of shape we're in, to football IQ and where that's at, and that's why we’ve got to continue to put a lot of stress on them. You know, that way things become a little more reactive and automatic when you're looking at it. That's probably in how they're competing with each other, you know, we get a couple scuffles now and then, and most of that is guys just going. And they're going hard.”
Could you talk about the enthusiasm? They were jacked up at the beginning today.
“Well, they were jacked up at the beginning. It was great they were jacked up at the beginning and it was great they were jacked up at the end. I mean, you need both. You can always start fast but you've got to finish. I thought they've come out every day that way, so they've been excited about football. Obviously tomorrow we'll go two practices and that will be a little bit more challenging in some ways. I think we've got a really good plan when you look at the health and wellness and getting them off their feet and trying to get them as much sleep as we can. That's a little different than years past and I think that's a testament a little bit to how they've gone about their team business.”
About the freshman; are all of them participating?
“All of them are participating. Some of them have to leave a little early depending on what they have on the academic schedule.”
They're all qualified?
“Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yes. I didn't know you were talking about that. They're all qualified, they're all here.”
With being unsure whether Ty [Issac] is going to be given the opportunity to play or not, how do you decide how many reps to get him in case he can play or in case he doesn’t and you don’ want to take away from somebody else
“Right, right. And I think the one thing we’ve done is we are getting a ton of reps. How we practice—so there’s enough reps there. I think as we get closer, a week from now, when you start really game planning—because he really needs to take some reps to learn what the offense is.I think luckily he’s played at a Division I university and there’s a lot of similarities always but I think this has been beneficial for him and I think everyone’s kind of gotten what we need.
Would you be surprised if Devin [Gardner] wasn’t the guy in week 1?
“I would think he’s had a really good fall camp so far. You know, it’s five days. He’s right now the guy taking most of the reps with the ones but we’re splitting them up a little bit at times and if he’s not playing well, you know, Shane [Morris]—Doug’s not hesitant in practice to make that change and so they both are taking reps with the ones. Devin’s getting the majority of them.
You talked a little bit about multiple running backs. Could you see early in the season, let’s say Devin’s the starter, trying to get Shane in there earlier than later and getting him some playing time?
“You know, we haven’t really talked about what kind of contingency plan or plan to try and get him, if he isn’t the starter, reps yet in that first game, second game, third game, fourth game, whatever it might be.”
You talked before about staying away from ‘I like this team,’ but do you have a sense of this team’s identity yet?
“No, not yet but we talk about it every day, their identity and what they want to make it. It’s things that you do repeatedly and they can be good or bad.”
And what’s the response you get?
“Well, I think from a physical standpoint it’s been real positive. I think from a competitive standpoint it’s been real positive.”
In terms of freshmen getting in the mix, Freddy [Canteen] especially…
“I think Freddy. I think Mason Cole. Mason Cole’s a good football player. I think I said that in the spring. He’s a little different than most freshmen offensive linemen in some ways. I think [Bryan] Mone, Mone’s a little different. Him being here was a big plus. Wilton Speight’s taken some good reps. Drake Harris is the other guy. He’s got a little bit of a ham, hammy, hamstring and so he’s a guy that hasn’t—he’s taken some limited reps but not like we’d like to get with him.
Was that something that he re-hurt this week?
“Yeah. He re-hurt it early in the week. Different hamstring.”
Did you guys think about shutting him down for a while?
“He has been shut down.”
You said he’s been doing limited reps…
“Limited, yeah. And most of those are rehab reps.”
You were in pads for the first time today. Do you know when you’ll have your first scrimmage?
“Yeah I do but I don’t know if I remember right now. Sometime next week, but I couldn’t tell you when it is. I kind of go by it daily.”
Blake’s injury is, you said, a groin. Is that related to the core [injury that caused him to have offseason surgery]?
“No. No, no, no. He’ll be fine.”
Is this just a brief thing with Drake here?
“You know, I’m not a doctor so it’s hard for me to really analyze that. I think it’s something that we’re very weary about. I think Coach Wellman, Strength and Conditioning—I think the rehab that we’ve done, I think Paul Schmidt and the trainers have all handled it very well. You know, is it a nagging thing? Maybe. Some people have those things so we have to think what can we do to help besides this rest and they know much better than I know.”
Who do you see mixing in besides Funchess among the wide receivers at the top spot?
“Jehu [Chesson]. Amara’s [Darboh] done well. Dennis [Norfleet] and Freddy [Canteen] right now have done a nice job. Bo Dever. Jack Wangler’s made some good plays but if I would look at that group I think Funch, Amarah, Jehu, Fleet and Canteen.”
Norfleet and Canteen are at slot?
“They’re at slot, yes.”
What kind of progress has Amara made after sitting out last year with injury?
“He really has come along real well. I think in the spring, probably the last two weeks, we could have put him in live stuff but we just decided not to. He’s done well.”
Where have you seen this week the impact of Coach Nussmeier’s new system on the offensive line?
“Well, I think there’s some things that we like more vertical. I think that the combination schemes that we want to be a little more heavy on the line of scrimmage. When you look at hands, you know, four hands on one man to initiate some movement on the line of scrimmage. I think the backs themselves, Drake Johnson, Derrick [Green] and De’Veon [Smith], they’re downhill guys so it’s punctured the line of scrimmage a little bit.
When it comes to the line right now, how do you balance moving guys around trying different things versus wanting to have one unit building cohesion playing alongside each other?
“How do you balance it? I think it can be tricky but I think it can be massaged very well. I think Darrell [Funk] has done a nice job with it and Nuss and who we’ve put in that first group and maybe that changes daily. I’m sure it will change from a morning practice to the afternoon at times until we really feel this is it with these guys. I think the competition there has been really good for us and I think they’ve come out every day very physical.”
So who was the first group today?
“Today it was Mason Cole at the left tackle position, Jack [Miller] was at the center position, Magnuson was at the left guard position for a little bit, Ben Braden was at right tackle, and the right guard was Graham [Glasgow] and David Dawson.”
Can I ask a question about the open scrimmage [on August 16th]?
“I’d love for you to.”
You talked about in the spring how you didn’t show your cards. Is this going to be the same kind of thing?
“That’s why you have to come.”
You could have opposing coaches come in, right?
“If they’re coming in during two-a-day…”
They could.
“Well, they could. Do you think they will?
Yeah, they could have a graduate assistant or somebody…
“Are you going to trust a graduate assistant right now?”
I think you were one once, right?
“Kinda.”
I don’t know your bio by heart.
“That’s okay. Yeah but what are you showing? We’re going to play football though.”
So you will keep your cards close to the vest.
“No, you said that. I didn’t say that. We’re going to play football.”
Whose idea was it?
“Mine.”
You’ve got to put this thing together pretty quickly.
“I think it’s good. You know, the more you look at pro football and for a team that’s got some youth but experience I think it’s good for them to be in front of people. Just like crowd noise today, I want as many distractions as we can get. I also think it’s great for Michigan fans because we love them.”
Do you want to invite us more to distract the players?
“No, probably not. You don’t distract them. You may distract me.”
Playing at home hasn’t been a problem. Have you considered doing a scrimmage at an away stadium?
“You know, we’ve done that. We did that when we were going to Alabama, to Texas. I thought that was really good for us. I thought it would’ve been maybe better if we could’ve opened it up and had people in Ford Field. I think that would’ve been pretty cool but that’s pretty hard to negotiate when they have their security, their event staff, all those things.”
Angelique
I was wondering more who was driving the Shane Morris bus.
I like Shane, and I look forward to seeing him lead Michigan. Next year.
August 10th, 2014 at 12:29 AM ^
Someone's still trying to profit off of this nonexistent "QB controversy".
#hamhammyhamstring
First, nice job, Adam. Welcome aboard!
Second, I juuuuust watched the presser video then came over here. For the folks who went full freak mode last night re the line, when Hoke answered the "So who was the first group today?" question, there was some frowning/hesistating as he thought it through. Nothing close to set in stone. In other words, he and the staff are just giving guys some reps, much like Shane is getting some reps with 1s.
Cliffs Notes version: relax, have a beer, enjoy a beautiful day.
Am I the only one who thinks that a lot of the problem with the line was development and being overloaded with info? I'm certainly not expecting greatness but we've seen other schools do more with less on the O-line. I think repping the same things over and over will do a world of good this year. Just my 2 cents.
Many, many fans and coachs alike felt last season was much too heavy on quantity at the expense of quality. There are two things that I've seen reported-three actually that should make a substantial difference this season, especially after they get a few games under their belt. With that being said, I think we'll see a much improved line in the very first game and if half of them live up to their pre-Michigan hype we will at least have a strong side that I don't think Nuss will hesitate to utilize. Here is what I've heard or read-try to get as much info as I can gather so at times I get mixed up as to the written word and what I listen to.
You were dead on to Al's decision to have them learn his entire play book, not a bad decision in and of itself, but it can't be force fed. Nuss is going to do it in the correct fashion. He is going to simplify, meaning all 8 that he plans on using will know, at minimum, a go-to package that they should be able to rely on for positive yardage at any given time. And of course from there he'll introduce as much as they can digest with the caveat they, as a complete unit, demonstrate they are ready to to take the next step and that will be proven on the field.
Actually "on the field" is the second point I picked up. Al relied heavily on film to teach his players what he wanted them to do. This is rather shocking to me, and I only coached at the high school level. It is okay to introduce them to the schemes you want them to learn visually, but I have never heard of a coach that didn't teach through continuous repitition of the correct way to do things. His on-field activities were limited to just a few drills they repeated daily which, of course led to boredom and did nothing toward getting them ready to block as a unit or even individually. Realizing that, coupled with Al's desire to use almost every play in his play book it becomes much clearer why they looked clueless last season. This is really a talented bunch of kids. I think the most telling is the rapid progression of Cole, Although he probably won't start(not stating he won't) he is on equal footing with 7 others, all of whom have been here two years longer, minimum. I think one may be here in his second year. Looked at the projected depth chart but can't recall if this is the case or not. But you should get my drift. If this kid can pick it up so quickly it is obvious their teaching methods have also been simplified and designed for easy comprehension. Also, Nuss likes the long ball, a lot. And the name Fox has been tossed about as a potential contributitor this season. Will have to admit, and I don't like to simply because I'm not a "fair weather" fan, I had to leave after the PSU debacle last season because I simply couldn't take any more, so headed south two months earlier than normal. I only say this because names like Fox and a few others are new to me.
So we've got simplification, better teaching and although these two are very positives moves in the right direction, the third is what we've been waiting for. As an extremely knowledgeable group, I think the entire membership here is aware that depth is back to when Carr was at his best, especially on the defense where lber and dbs are two, three deep in cases and heavy on quality. Even the defensive line, when they subsitute should not experience a big drop off. And the offense, according to Hoke has picked out a group of 8 they want to work with to find the best five to name as the starting unit. We're two TEs away from being deep at every position. And even there, Butt should be back soon,so we'll have at least one that can offer a pair of hands along with blocking ability. Although dangerous, even by Bo's standards after scholarships were reduced, but something I think this team really needs is Brady's plan to teach through a lot of First team O vs. First Team D and heavy on contact drills. Lord knows this OL, especially, needs to come together and the only way to do that is by demonstrating what you just learned during drills. I think this will slow down as the season progresses, but it's my thinking that Brady(Nuss) realizes this group needs to experience some success and that might not be easy against our D which will make the practices even more meaningful. But all the extra work can be nothing but a positive and let's not discuss the potential danger inherent here. There might be some kind of cap on how far the hitting goes but they will have timing down, "four hands on a defender" to gain an initial thrust, etc.
Without Brady coming out and saying it, except in two instances, I count four true freshmen that wil contribute heavily, two on each side of the ball. Canteen and Cole on offense and Mone and Jabrill on D/limited O.
And as a group the staff has actually done much more which the readers are already aware of, and imo the sum of all these changes should result in us looking like true Michigan teams, i.e., cohesion and execution on the field, along w/organization and a much more efficient staff on the sidelines. I must say I still had a lot of questions concerning whether or not Brady was up to this task, but any coach, through his actions alone, who admits the team needed help and then obtaining same is definitely setting an example of what he's trying to teach and that is putting the team's success above one's personal goals. And I, in no way, meant that Brady was attempting to do this. But by making these changes - and change is difficult for many coaches - has made some giant strides in righting this ship. Should be an exciting campaign my friends. *This was actually in answer to jsquiggs questions.
of DG's career if we can't get him into a working offense this year--Denard redux. But your description of Borges's methods sounds so ineffective that it raises the question: why did Hoke work with him for years and years? Why did it work in other places? I'd be curious as to your reply.
EDIT: Very much like what you say about Hoke's willingness to admit that some change was in order. We all know that Beilein made some very serious changes in the bball department that have paid off enormously. I have felt very critical of Borges, and also questioned his ability to succeed here, but one thing that he is obviously not is too proud or vain to act for the betterment of the program.
I wonder, did Hoke organize his coaches in a set up where say, Falk, had to do what Borges told him, and gave Falk no opportunities to talk to Hoke directly about the OL tire fire last year? While I very much agree with everything Wolfman and MGobules said about Hoke's willingness to change up stuff/staff and how that reflects positively on Hoke, I still can't for the life of me understand how he (and Falk by extension) let Borges coach the way Wolfman says he did. I feel that there had to be personality and trust conflicts amongst the coaching staff going on behind the scenes last year.
The World Wonders.
I'm a bit shocked to find out that Big Jon had a part in the play-calling though.
Welcome, Adam!
August 10th, 2014 at 12:05 AM ^
Whenever Big Jon got tired, Funk took over his equipment duties and let him work with the OL.
August 10th, 2014 at 1:16 AM ^
I was astounded to read this, but all one has to do is think back to the second OSU game with Hoke in charge. We were still running zone blocking, so we hadn't witnessed the "keystone cop approach" of last season. However, the play calling in the second half was absolutely unbelievable and it became obvious by midway by the third quarter that changes had to be made. I sat in disbelief as I watched Hoke calmly walk the sidelines and wondering why he wasn't talking to Al in a manner somewhat like, "Al, even though our receivers are cutting off the patterns a couple yards early and gaining 8 instead of 10, why don't we keep attacking through the air until they take it away from us?" You watched it. For one entire half we gained 8 or 9 on first and failed to pick up the 36 to 72 inches in the next two downs trying to run power fb behind a line that was not recruited to stand up and bull doze anyone. My goodness, that is one of the oldest adages in football. If somethig works, keep doing it until they stop you. Don't stop yourself.
However, the good news is that Nuss appears to be fully in charge of the offensive side of the ball and all that goes with it, just as Greg is on the other side. Hell, Brady is one of the greatest recruiters in the nation. In addition to the players, he was able to convince two of the most respected coordinators in the game to join him, basically making it one hell of a triumvirate. In today's cfb you won't find many coaches who are willing to set their egos aside and through actions alone demonstrate they realize problems exist that must be addressed and then taking the proper measures to correct them. I will admit I was worried terribly until I learned of the newly implemented plans. I can definitely live with this plan.
August 10th, 2014 at 9:49 AM ^
I think Manning can recruit some too, just saying.
August 10th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
KBlow seems to have meant O-Line coach Funk instead of just-retired legendary equipment manager Falk.
August 10th, 2014 at 7:13 PM ^
if you look at Hoke's career, it is defined by two teams along with his soon to be 4 years at MI. And he certainly didn't get the M job based on career winning pct. Ths is a huge, huge jump in caliber of play and coaching. Brady is not an "impact coach" meaning he isn't going to have a huge effect in his first season. 2011 being the outlier here, They, BH and Al were wise enough to leave things alone offensively and allow Denard and those OL recruited for their quickness and ability to get to the second level do what thy had already proven to be successful. Toss in Mattison on the D side and a whole lots of bounces going our way and you have an atypical BH first season. The last two are more in line with his history.
It should be obvious enough by now to know Brady's greatest strength is his recruiting ability and I'm not speaking of only players. He was able to pull two of the best coordinators in the game to AA, although in Mattison's case, his daughter being a student here helped greatly as well. If he were just mediocre in this regard, getting BSU to the top would have never occurred. Because it was a mid-level, simply by outrecruiting the other coaches in the league he was able to get them to the top, but it took awhile. That won't work here. Coaching has to be as good as the top coach in the league in addition to recruiting at a similar level.
SDSU, just a brief stay because UM called is very similar to the Florida schools not in the SEC or ACC. The leftovers there-players RR used to make his living off of- have built many of the smaller FL schools to a degree it's not unusual to see one of them knock off a "big boy" on any given Saturday throughout the year. Being around so much talent it didn't take Brady long at all to gather missing parts to the puzzle that allowed them to become respectable in his brief time there. By respectable I mean a decent record and beating another mid level Navy in the bowl game. As I said, recruting is his forte. I believe his coaching skills as far as to motivation, being the architect of a game plan, being more than adequate on the sidelines on Saturday are all minimal, at best. But I find it refreshing where egos of the head man are normally as big as the attendance at major schools to find someone that will admit, by his actions, he needs help and has the ability to get that help and allow them to do their work. I still don't know if we can win big in this "CEO" approach because, and it probably dates back to my days on the sidelines, I believe there has to be a major presence there, one who sees the necessity and then makes in game adjustments as needed, manages the clock and in general builds an unequivocal belief in his team that as long as they operate as taught, they won't get beat by better coaching. But just as no two successful businesses are built in the same manner, there are usually similarities shared by the very best. Then there will always be one who has a totally different management approach but matches the bottom line of those that operate by the recognized script. But as much as I believe in the importance of that sideline presence, the generals like Woody, The Bear, Bo, et. al., I know they all faced opposition that operated in a completely different style and came out on the wrong end.
As excited as I am that he made these changes, it will be interesting to see how it plays out on Saturdays.
August 10th, 2014 at 11:10 PM ^
Mattison's daughter went to Notre Dame if I remember right, that is why he left Michigan the first time and went and coached at ND. The reason he came back this time, was because of Hoke and his daughter lives in south central Michigan (coldwater) I think. He wanted to be closer to his grandchildren and had a coaching job lined up!
August 11th, 2014 at 1:00 AM ^
I remember that distinctly, especially him getting Irons bigger, little bro to don the Irish uniform instead of the maize and blue. Thank goodness he did not turn out to be as good as his big bro. I remember hearing something about his daugher, and given his age, I would imagine you are correct in this regard as well. Doesn't matter how it happened. I'm just thankful it did.
August 11th, 2014 at 1:23 PM ^
your loss...was a good read
Hoke has an interview on ESPN where he states Erik is the starter at LT. So who knows? I've also read/seen a few experts predict Shane is the starter by mid year.
I'm not buying into anything this year until I see it on the field for 12 games. After so many years now of getting my hopes up I just want wins on the field especially at the end of the year.
The issues in the last two seasons were apparent right away. You'll have a pretty good idea by the end of the Notre Dame game.
August 10th, 2014 at 2:13 AM ^
August 10th, 2014 at 9:52 AM ^
I also get the sense that we hold out a bunch of play calls/ideas for ND and OSU and tend to get very vanilla with all the teams inbetween. I could be way off base. Maybe it's just there is more intensity in these games. But, I get the sense our playcalling is way different in these two games than others, even than MSU. They seem to realize they can't run up the middle against them and don't waste as much time trying. The rest of the schedule they continue to try and fail over and over. I personally don't get. Do what you're best at, but whatevs.
August 10th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^
games against teams like App State used to be no win situations for a team like Michigan, howeva nowadays, least we forget last years Akron/UConn debacles, a complete bulldozing of the Mountaineers would signal that sumpthins up, in a good way that is.
early last week. IIRC, LT Magnuson, LG Kalis, C Glasgow, RG Bosch, RT Braden....Could have the two guards switched.
"In terms of freshmen getting in the mix, Freddy [Canteen] especially…"
...And then the only mention of him in the entire answer is "I think Freddy." That is so Hoke.
I've missed these. Praise the Lord.
Welcome Adam!.
I always like to watch the presser while following the text. Need the questions that go with the answers. "Torn ACL." WHAT!?!? WHO!?!?! [Hoping against hope the question was "What is the most devastating injury in a football camp?]
Welcome, Adam. Just in time.
EDIT: Geez. I wrote this before I noticed the "ACL tear is faux" post. (Fortunately after the subject post was deleted.)
Puncture line of scrimmage > 2 yards short of line
It's funnier the second time.
I'm happy to hear amara darboh is doing well. Everyone was so high on him last year until he got injured. They may be inexperienced, but our receiving corps could be exciting this year.
That back-and-forth about the scrimmage could be the most Fort Schembechler-y exchange I've ever seen this side of a mid-season Lloyd presser circa 2002. So much crotchety coach-speak... Amazing.
Yep... looks like you'll do just fine here, not-Heiko... Just fine...
welcome.
August 10th, 2014 at 12:13 AM ^
I love the bit about Nuss and the OL. A lot of the problem last year was we'd come off combo blocks too early, allowing instant penetration and TFLs. I'm glad to hear Nuss recognizes that and is focusing on getting the LOS blocked effectively before moving to the linebackers. We saw this in the spring game, probably to a fault (linebackers were getting free runs to the hole). Hopefully, we start working towards getting better blocks down field as our players improve, but I like the crawl before you can run approach.
August 10th, 2014 at 7:28 AM ^
Cole
Magnunson
Miller
Glasgow (No Kalis or Bosch)
Braden
Drake Harris is a redshirt all day.
No mention of Peppers.
Not sure I trust Norfleet in the slot.
I'm starting to brace for 7-5 again.
August 10th, 2014 at 10:11 AM ^
August 10th, 2014 at 10:19 AM ^
Look over the position groups, everything is good enough to win the B1G Championship except the O-line. If the O-line is even respectable, this should be an excellent team
August 10th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
geez they haven't taken a game snap yet and already the sky is falling.
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