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00:00 >> Coach Revelle last week, kickoff, maybe there'd be certain games where you might
00:03 rotate in and play in a game even if kind of nobody goes down.
00:06 I guess how would that work and what kind of goes into preparing for that?
00:09 >> We did it last year with Darius and Jazz.
00:13 Depending on the matchup, the week to week deal, they both were healthy.
00:17 And there were certain matchups that fit guys better than others.
00:19 And so that was a good deal we had.
00:21 So now we got the same kind of deal with KJ working, Meech, Casey,
00:26 Jaylin Early, different matchups on the inside that can help.
00:29 Also multiple guys that play center, so in matchups and things like that.
00:33 And also the tackle position with Wes, Rob,
00:36 Darius who's also won games for us on the edge.
00:38 Byers who can win games on the edge and inside.
00:40 So it's fun as they're learning it, but that's beyond what we're about to do right
00:46 now. Right now what we're about to do is make sure we can understand the basic
00:49 elements to go how to go win a football game.
00:52 >> Just one more on that note, defensive lines talked about a lot in the interior.
00:55 If you can split reps, you can keep your bodies fresh.
00:57 Does that hold for the offensive line too?
00:59 Is that a benefit of being able to rotate guys in and out?
01:01 Is that you get better reps out of them?
01:02 >> Yeah, I don't think of more of this freshness.
01:04 I mean, that is a possibility because we don't have a huge drop off.
01:08 But it's more matchups.
01:09 But once a guy is out there pretty rolling,
01:10 we should be in shape to play the whole game.
01:12 >> When you have as much experience and versatility as you have in the line,
01:17 just how much of a challenge is it to find the right fit and what goes into that?
01:22 >> Well, I mean, I wouldn't call it a challenge.
01:25 It's just more of they understand,
01:27 the group understands what it needs to be to go out there.
01:30 So they better clearly display it or they just won't go out there.
01:33 So they know what it is.
01:34 I mean, they know what it gotta look like for
01:36 them to go out there and get multiple reps and be trusted.
01:38 It's not a secret or some written or grading skill or anything like that.
01:41 They know exactly what needs to show up for them to be trusted to go in the game.
01:44 Now, if it's an equal deal, I'm always gonna go with the young guy.
01:48 And they know that.
01:49 >> How would you categorize Robert's progress in spring and
01:51 getting back up to full speed for fall?
01:53 >> Getting healthy.
01:53 I mean, Rob's played a lot of football around here.
01:55 So that's never gonna be a problem for him.
01:57 But I think this is probably the best his body has felt for the longest time.
02:00 >> Okay, and then Jeremiah,
02:02 looks like he could be a Swiss Army Knife for you on that line.
02:06 Is there a place that you wanna steer him in camp?
02:07 Or is it just he can play a lot of different things, so
02:09 you're gonna move him around and see what works best?
02:11 >> He's still good for me with the offense.
02:13 I'm keeping him solely at one spot, the right tackle position.
02:15 That's what I do before I start moving him around.
02:17 I want him to feel comfortable with the offense because we actually do a lot of
02:20 things in this offense.
02:21 So before I start just, hey, you playing guard, this practice,
02:23 a tackle, a left tackle.
02:24 I try to keep him in one spot until they have a full understanding.
02:27 He's only been in the offense for 15 practices.
02:29 So hopefully by mid-camp, he's feeling a little comfortable.
02:32 I can say, all right, go in there and go on.
02:33 Go in there, he can do it physically, there's no question.
02:36 But I wanna make sure I'm not giving him a disadvantage by asking him to do things
02:39 he hadn't had become a master of.
02:41 >> Going into the start of fall camp, how solidified a kind of a depth chart do you
02:45 have in your own head?
02:45 Or is it written down somewhere?
02:46 Is it fairly still fluid in terms of moving guys around and
02:49 seeing kind of the right vibe?
02:50 >> I mean, you got some guys that are definitely, you know,
02:52 Murray Smith, man, there's no question.
02:54 He's gonna be the guy.
02:55 He's always been the guy, man.
02:56 He's done a really good job.
02:58 And I tell him every year I try to replace him.
03:00 He always up for the challenge.
03:02 He is, I tell him every year.
03:03 I sit him down and say, I'm looking for somebody to be better than him.
03:05 He say, come on, bring it.
03:06 So with Mo, that's the kind of guy he is.
03:08 That's how he's always been.
03:09 That's why he's developing the player he's become.
03:11 So he's the one I would say solidified the rest of them.
03:12 We're gonna have some fun this summer.
03:15 >> Casey, I know, had played a lot of spots.
03:16 You're trying to center, I guess.
03:17 What kind of progress have you seen from him at that,
03:19 especially with the snapping?
03:20 Cuz I don't know if he's the guy who might be kind of the number two there.
03:23 >> Well, he's a little bit different than JB because he's played a lot of football.
03:26 So his knowledge of the game picked up quickly.
03:28 So he was able to go quickly and learn from it.
03:30 So he's been able to play, you saw him at center in the spring,
03:33 both guard positions, possibly emergency tackle.
03:35 He did that at Colorado.
03:36 So it's just more of him solidifying the spot he's gonna play,
03:41 which I think he'll do a good job.
03:44 >> Between Julian and Jalen Early,
03:46 could both of those guys make noise this camp and compete for top spots?
03:50 Or are they still in the development process?
03:52 >> Absolutely, they can make some noise.
03:53 I think, with them, it's just overcoming the middle part of the transition.
03:58 Their bodies gotta catch up, they gotta get stronger.
04:00 They've only been through one true offseason.
04:02 And then Julian, he had the ankle set back after the season.
04:04 We had him down four minutes.
04:06 So it's just more catching up mentally and their bodies catching up physically to be
04:10 able to withstand practice, withstand adversity.
04:13 Once they break through that wall, they'll be able to make some noise.
04:16 >> How significant was it to get Big Meech back?
04:18 >> Awesome, just older leadership and also appreciation.
04:22 You got people in the room that appreciate where they are and come to work every day,
04:25 loving it every day, and not seeing it as a chore that wears off on those young guys.
04:29 >> Have you seen the room change like that, develop over the time that you've been
04:32 here to where maybe they govern themselves in a way they couldn't when you first got
04:35 here? >> It's a continuing process because you
04:37 add new people.
04:38 So you add some people in every year, so it's a continuing process.
04:42 Yeah, absolutely, because they take ownership in it.
04:44 I mean, you got some guys that have been in that room for a long time,
04:46 from Darius Washington, to Marvin Smith, to Robert Scott, to Bless,
04:49 who's been here two years long.
04:50 You got Thomas Schrader, a name that people hadn't heard because he's coming off
04:53 the injury, things like that.
04:55 We each like, so we have guys that have been in that room for a long time,
04:58 that know the coach and know what the expectation is, so
05:00 that helps those younger guys progress even more.
05:03 >> Do you have a new, who is, if there is one, a new Dylan Gibbons in that room,
05:07 that guy who seems like kind of the vocal leader, the guy who brings it all together?
05:11 >> Yeah, I mean, right now we got some guys that's beating for that spot.
05:14 I would say the leadership when they speak is mo, when he speaks, they listen.
05:17 He's just not gonna go out there and give 10,000 speeches and
05:20 all that kind of stuff.
05:21 But when he speaks and sees things, he's more of that one-on-one,
05:24 relationship-based, I'm gonna go get this right behind the scenes.
05:26 But when he speaks, they listen, when he raises, that's a big deal.
05:30 I think there's some other guys kind of getting into that deal.
05:32 Casey's earned some of that trust, being an older guy, been through it.
05:35 KJ, DeAndre, he's been a guy that's earned a little bit of that spot.
05:39 So we'll see as it continues to progress.
05:40 There he is when he's at the top of his game.
05:43 So I'm interested to see him become that.
05:46 >> You talked about Bless.
05:47 I'm sure it was frustrating for him, I have to imagine, coming here,
05:50 playing one game and then a season being over after.
05:52 What have you seen from him this offseason?
05:54 >> Steady at it.
05:54 Bless, coming into last year, he was a star tackle.
05:58 And now he's working a lot with the one or something, two,
06:00 he's working at both tackles.
06:01 He knows the offense.
06:02 He's got his upper body strength.
06:03 So if Bless can put it together, I think he could be a guy for us.
06:07 >> In terms of the offensive responsibilities,
06:09 there's a lot of skilled position players that can do some things,
06:11 do some damage for you.
06:12 How would you handicap the receiver position?
06:14 Johnny and Keon, both of them, Keon wasn't here last year, but
06:18 they've proven at the D1 level they can be a force.
06:20 What about behind them on that depth chart?
06:22 >> Yeah, I mean, even if we talk about, we don't know behind yet,
06:25 but we got some guys that's really rolling.
06:27 I think the solidified one is Johnny for sure.
06:29 But we got, I mean, when you really look at it is you got guys that developed and
06:34 became guys, and you also got guys that came in with experience.
06:37 Guys like Tron, guys like Darion, who he doesn't, I mean,
06:40 if he doesn't have that setback, he's probably more, he got some talent and
06:43 tools, so I'm excited to see him stay healthy this summer and see what he can do.
06:46 But yeah, I mean, you got Keon, you got your Kyle Douglas,
06:48 who's been in the program a long time.
06:50 You got Winston Wright, who's feeling better than he's ever felt.
06:52 Man, of course, big Tron.
06:54 I mean, I'm excited to see all of those.
06:56 And you got some new guys that just got here, we're fattening those guys.
06:59 So it's gonna be fun to see.
07:01 But what I tell the receivers is this, everybody wanna be the receivers.
07:05 That's what, every group wants to be the receivers.
07:07 They're the ones that everybody knows about.
07:09 They get most of the attention in on the field and off the field.
07:13 So if they're the leaders of our team, if they're the most unselfish group,
07:17 if they're our working people, if they're our hustling people,
07:19 we'll be a really good offense.
07:21 >> We saw recently, I think on Twitter, the before and
07:23 after pictures a year ago from Trey Benson, from what he looked like a year ago to
07:26 now, I mean, he was physically impressive a year ago.
07:28 To add that weight, I guess, what have you seen from him?
07:30 What do you expect of him coming into this year?
07:32 >> First, you gotta credit Bill Bastone.
07:34 Our strength and conditioning staff, nutrition, with Jaden,
07:37 they all do a phenomenal job.
07:38 And also, it's the buy-in of the player.
07:40 You can put the program in front of him, you can hold him accountable to it, but
07:44 if they don't buy into it, you don't get the results you're looking for.
07:46 You're just checking off a box.
07:48 And that's a player that ain't checking off a box.
07:50 He's going on to get what he wanna go get.
07:52 So, move him.
07:54 >> Behind Trey, how is it looking in the running back room,
07:56 in terms of the guys putting in the work to maybe separate themselves?
08:00 LT's been around for a long time, obviously, and he's steady for you.
08:03 But Robbie Hill, Kaziah, and CJ, and so forth.
08:07 >> Coach Johnson does a good job in that room, talking about we on fire.
08:09 That guy's a take care of business.
08:11 They're helping each other out.
08:13 They work hard.
08:14 I mean, as far as continuity in the room,
08:17 that room is probably the best of the office.
08:19 When you're talking about taking care of business, growing the world,
08:21 setting the standard, academically, on the field, they're doing a phenomenal job.
08:24 Phenomenal job.
08:25 >> Have you seen more explosiveness out of Winston, in terms of his recovery?
08:29 >> Yeah. >> It's been a long road back.
08:30 >> Been watching, I mean, I ask him, he say he's feeling better, he's up his belt.
08:33 Watching him in the conditioning drills, it look like he's moving a lot better.
08:36 So I'm interested to see him put it all together.
08:39 >> Last thing for me is about receivers.
08:41 You said you got some new guys on campus that have caught your eye.
08:43 Can that be Destin Hill is one of those guys?
08:45 >> Yeah, that's Phat, that's the nickname.
08:46 That's my bad, yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:47 Phat popped out on me a couple of times.
08:49 I watched him condition.
08:50 He got some competitive watching him and Greedy compete.
08:52 So he gotta put it together.
08:54 He gotta learn to understand what's going on too.
08:56 But with him, I mean, I'm excited to see what Jaheim Bale,
09:02 I count him as that guy that can be tight in the inside and outside.
09:04 So it's gonna be fun to watch.
09:06 >> Was Van Dravis as impressive to the coaching staff as he was from the outside
09:09 looking in?
09:09 It just looked like for a freshman he was able to get up to speed very quickly.
09:13 >> Competitive.
09:14 I would say mentally they're pretty much similar, but just the competitive nature.
09:20 To get to a practice at that position here is hard.
09:22 I mean, it's a miles now.
09:24 So to see him fight through and still push and
09:26 wanna showcase himself, we were impressed with him.
09:30 >> How do you manage to get all the receivers reps?
09:32 You got so much talent in the room.
09:34 >> Say it one more time?
09:35 >> How do you manage to get all the receivers reps when you have-
09:37 >> We got plenty of reps going on.
09:38 Yeah, we gonna get some reps in.
09:39 No, but I mean, it's more, I mean, I think more people think of it as, okay,
09:46 these are only two people at a time, three people at a time.
09:48 But I mean, just like D-line, when a receiver runs a vertical route,
09:51 there's another one coming in.
09:52 It's not like he's gonna run four consistent vertical routes.
09:55 So to have that deal where it's not a big drop off is gonna be huge.
09:57 >> Cool, thank you.