Can you share your early impressions of the new look offense and the process of calling plays and whatnot?

“Yeah, loving it. It’s been really fun. It’s been different. Little bit of an adjustment for the kids but they’ve adjusted really well and they’ve done a really good job of grabbing conceptually what we’re doing and how the tempo and everything and how it’s changed. The kids have been good; I’ve been great. I’ve been in this process before of changing offenses so I’ve been familiar with going from a more Pro[-style], under center to little bit more of a tempo spread attack, so it’s been really good for us.”

Does it help at all that it’s like last year where you came in and it’s all new with having to change offenses but having the knowledge of your personnel?

“Yeah, it helps a lot. It’s all about your personnel and what you can do with the guys you have so it’s been really helpful that I know the guys, from a physical standpoint what they can do on the field and then from a personal standpoint getting to know them a little more. Since I’ve been here a year it’s helped and kind of helped the adjustment with Josh [Gattis] coming in, so it’s been really good.”

Where have you been before that you’ve been through similar changes in the offense?

“When I was at Central we went from a Pro offense to a true spread offense, so that was—so I’ve been through the adjustments and the kinks of having to coach this position and having to go from you’re always doing one thing to switching it up and doing different things. That was where we did it most.”

And how did the transition go?

“It went well, especially with the personnel we had. I had a really good tight end there so it helped that he liked to play in a two-point, three-point, off the ball, on the ball, so it went really good for us there.”

How would you describe Josh’s persona or presence on the field and in staff meetings?

“Yeah, on the field he’s intense. I love it. He’s intense, he’s focused, he’s detailed, he wants to get the most out of guys he can and really kind of fits along with the coaching style I have and the philosophy I have so really loving it.

“In the meeting rooms he’s been awesome. He didn’t really just come in and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this like this.’ ‘This is not my offense,’ he said. ‘This is our offense.’ And that’s been a huge piece for us as a staff. Very collaborative. Everybody’s working really well together. It’s been fun to be around.”

[After THE JUMP: player updates, including the freshman willing to stick his face in a fan]

How have Nick [Eubanks] and Sean [McKeon] improved?

“Yeah, they’ve been phenomenal this spring. Especially Sean. Sean as a blocker has bee really good as he’s always been but his receiving ability—catching the ball in traffic, making the hard catch, making competitive catches to the point where Khaleke [Hudson] came up to me and said, ‘Man, Sean’s gotten so much better.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, he has.’ It’s a credit to him and what he’s done this offseason. He really hasn’t had ay drops. He’s going to pluck the ball, he’s going to make competitive catches so I’m really proud of him as a receiver.

“And Nick, Nick has always kind of had that natural receiving ability but he’s taken a step in the run game to help himself and he really wants to be more physical and do those things. Having both those two has been really good.”

Last year Zack [Gentry] was kind of Shea’s go-to guy in certain situations [like] when he was under pressure. Has Sean stepped into that role at all or has anyone?

“Yeah, Sean’s really just done his part. When his number’s called he does it, but I think the thing this year we’re gonna have, we’re gonna have so many playmakers it’s going to be hard to key on one guy. If you want to try to stop Sean then you have to deal with Donovan [Peoples-Jones]. If you stop Donovan then you have to deal with Nico then you have to deal with Nick then you have to deal with all the other guys we’ve got. Sean’s really taken the part of trying to be that security blanket for him but most of the guys are doing a really good job.”

Has having those receivers out so far made the tight ends step up more?

“Yeah, yeah. It’s kind of forced the guys to do a little more but that’s alright, we’re really used to that anyways so being able to play in 12 personnel sets and do the things we do, it’s been really good for us. But the young guys, the young receivers—people talked about Mikey [Sainristil], people talked about Ronnie Bell but especially like Mikey and Erick [All], those guys have really stepped up. For being kids fresh out of high school they’ve done a really good job for us.”

What’s the biggest difference for your group? In the run game last year you did some stuff that maybe translates over. What’s the biggest difference so far for you?

“Being a little bit more stood up. We’ll still do a lot of the stuff we did in the run game. From a scheme standpoint we’ll change it up depending on different—obviously by the defense we face, but more so the positions that we’re going to be in for the multitude of times.”

What’s enabled Erick All to make this early impact he’s been making?

“His mental makeup. The kid is just—he’s extremely tough and he does some things for a freshman you don’t really expect. He doesn’t care who he’s going against, whether it’s Khaleke, whether it’s Uche, in the run game Glasgow, whoever’s covering him, he wants to win and he’s going to do everything he can to win. He’s tough as nails, he’s physical, and he catches everything. He has like suction mitts for hands, so he’s gonna be a really good player for us.”

What are some of those things he does?

“He’s just physical. For a freshman, for him being here for 10 practices, he will throw his face in the fan. He doesn’t care who it is, if it’s a linebacker, if it’s a defensive end, and he’s a physical, physical kid. And then in the pass game, when he knows what the route is that he’s supposed to run, he runs it extremely fast and he goes and gets the football. Really excited about having him.”

How much are you sharing him still with receivers?

“Uh, you know, he’s still in my room. We just kind of play him in that receiver position but he’s a tight end by nature but he just plays those positions when needed.”

What kind of strides do Mustapha [Muhammad] and Luke [Schoomaker] have to make to get to that level where Sean and Nick are?

“Yeah, both those kids, they’re really coming on, especially Mustapha. He had a really good couple practices in a row here. Really showing up, really kind of what you saw on his high school film is really showing up now. I think he’s getting comfortable. He was a little sick in the beginning and he’s really pushed forward and got better but both those kids are going to be outstanding players.

“They just have to continue learning the system. Both have done their job in the weight room. Think Mustapha’s at 250, maybe 255 and Schoony’s about 235, 240, and both of them can run. They just keep pushing themselves to get really good.” 

MGoQuestion: Does going more spread change the way that you recruit at all or are you still looking for the same kind of personnel?

“Still looking for the same guy. I’ve always wanted an athletic guy that can run. Just you’ve got to be willing to block. Regardless of being in a spread, Pro, it all comes down to running the football. If you can’t run the ball you’re not going to win, so you’ve got to have a guy that’s going to be able to throw his face in the fan. You just make sure that that guy can run a little bit, too.”

You mentioned a few guys on defense. What players on that side of the ball have jumped out to you as you’ve been watching things?

“Uche as usual. Khaleke, because we always have to deal with Khaleke. He’s always harassing us, holding [and] grabbing us as we say, but he’s such a physical, fast player. Michael Barrett has done some really good things. Obviously Brad [Hawkins] and Josh [Metellus] and those guys are always solid players, really good players for us. For us in our room, we always have to deal with Khaleke, we always have to deal with Glasgow, so those are the guys that really jump out for us.”

Does the competition water heat up in your room given that you guys used to use so many multi-tight end sets [and] maybe not as much anymore?

“Yeah, it’s definitely competition every day because we’re always trying to push each other and try to just figure who the best four or five guys are that we need and keep rolling but I think that the room has really been bolstered I think especially with this young freshman coming in. He’s done a really good job of just keeping everybody on their toes. They know that they can’t rest because there’s a chance that someone might pass you by.”

Just to piggyback on that, there are probably more sets with one tight end than two or three, right?

“Eh, we’ll see.”

You’re still petitioning for the—

“Nah, we take it game by game. See what we’ll do.”

How much is Ben Mason working with your group?

“He’s doing a little bit. More by need he’s been on defense. He’ll still play running back, he’ll still play H-back and do the fullback thing but he’s been on defense a little bit more and he’s just causing havoc over there. He’s probably the other guy that jumps out. We don’t have to deal with Ben as much, so guys are pretty happy about that.”

When Josh got the job players said they went back and looked at Alabama film. Did you do that as well to see what he was doing there?

“Yeah, I had a previous relationship with Josh. When I was at the University of Louisville we recruited against each other when he was at Vanderbilt and I just kind of kept in touch with him the past six or seven years. I’ve known him for a while and I’ve kind of known his background and what he’s done. I went back and I was already going to do a study on them anyway, so I went back and watched whole season too so was pretty impressed by the stuff that they did with all the sets they have there.”

You like what he did with the tight ends last year?

“Oh yeah, loved it. Yeah.”

Big speed in space?

“Yes, big speed in space. I’ll let them handle that one.”

Did you think this change was something this offense needed to maybe liven it up a little bit?

“I think change is always good. Not necessarily a whole shift change but I think the things that we’re going to do are really going to help us. Whatever you can do to help your players and put them in the best position is always going to be the best thing for them.”