• last year
Center Beaux Limmer and guard Brady Latham on how group is progressing plus changes in offense with new coordinator.
Transcript
00:00 I mean, every other year, I guess you've been here,
00:02 it's been mostly returning starters.
00:04 So a lot of new faces around you.
00:06 Just kind of how are those guys picking things up
00:08 and especially, especially your tackles?
00:11 Yeah, it is. We're the old guys now.
00:13 We're the two guys in the middle
00:15 who's been here and done before,
00:16 and it's kind of we've taken it as our job
00:18 to show the new guys, like, this is what you need to do.
00:21 This is how you need to prepare.
00:23 The SEC is a different animal,
00:25 and whatever you expect college football to be,
00:28 the SEC is like a whole other level.
00:30 So, and they're doing a great job doing that.
00:33 We've got a lot of really good young guys
00:35 with a bunch of talent,
00:36 not just on the O-line, but everywhere.
00:38 I know you all are talking about the B-line a lot.
00:41 And it's been really fun to see from fall camp,
00:43 like guys realizing that, working hard,
00:47 and like really, really showing a bunch of improvement.
00:49 What, at 700 pounds, how much could you go up through, though?
00:56 There's no telling. I don't know.
00:59 It might have looked easy,
01:00 but it definitely didn't feel easy to me.
01:02 So, I'm really looking forward to the end of the camp.
01:05 We're going to be getting through there.
01:07 All the guys around me, you know,
01:08 screaming and all their adrenaline's pumping.
01:10 So, it'll be easy.
01:12 Leo, what stands out when you think about Bo
01:18 as a center lining up next to you this season?
01:20 What's he doing well so far?
01:22 Well, he's doing a bunch of things really well.
01:24 Bo is super smart and really calm under pressure.
01:27 So, he does a really good job of giving us a point.
01:31 The center's kind of like the quarterback
01:32 of the offensive line,
01:33 so he always sets us in the right direction.
01:35 He's done a great job of that.
01:37 Also, Bo is really strong and powerful, like you said.
01:39 And, like, when we're in combos or when we work together,
01:43 you can definitely feel it.
01:46 What's been maybe the most difficult part
01:49 about the transition, maybe something even early on in it
01:52 that you've kind of worked past now?
01:54 Yeah, most of the hard stuff
01:55 was having to snap the ball before you can fire off.
01:59 You can't really put any weight on your --
02:02 on your toes or on your hand.
02:04 You got to worry about snapping the ball
02:06 and then being able to fire off.
02:07 So, not having enough power to come off the ball,
02:11 to snap, that's a lot of different.
02:12 So, playing with leverage,
02:15 it's been quite a lot more,
02:17 especially when you're playing up against the middle,
02:20 it's like tank or somebody who weighs more than you
02:22 and they just feel like a ball.
02:24 And when you're being able to fire off, that's a lot.
02:27 So, yeah, playing with leverage is good.
02:31 You guys are both older guys, but Josh Braun,
02:33 you know, he's played in the SEC.
02:34 What have you seen from him from,
02:36 you know, a standpoint of, you know, playing on the field
02:38 but also being a leader as well?
02:41 So, Josh Braun has been an awesome addition.
02:44 He's great on the field,
02:45 but he's also a great guy off the field.
02:47 And I think the biggest thing, the biggest veteran thing
02:50 you can see with Josh Braun is just the way
02:52 he takes care of his body,
02:53 the way he prepares pre-practice, pre-football.
02:56 He's always in the film room.
02:57 He's always taking care of his body.
02:59 And through that, you can tell that even though
03:02 he is a little bit younger, he's a true veteran
03:04 and knows how to take care of himself
03:07 so that he's ready to play.
03:09 Oh, Amari Wiggins, what have you seen from him?
03:11 I guess, you know, he would be the backup center, you know.
03:15 Yeah, he's been good.
03:16 Like Coach Campbell said,
03:18 he didn't come in the spring ball.
03:20 He just got here and he's picked up the offense real well.
03:23 Since day one, Coach asked him questions.
03:25 He knows what to do.
03:27 So, yeah, that's kind of been --
03:29 Usually, a kid can't come in
03:31 and just learn things like this,
03:32 especially with how, you know, complex our offense is now.
03:37 So, for him to come in and just pick it up like that
03:38 is really impressive.
03:41 I can't tell you all how many times I've been asked,
03:43 "What about the tackles?"
03:45 So, what have you seen from Manuel,
03:47 Kudas, Chamblee, and the backup?
03:50 Yeah.
03:51 So, I've been playing next to Devon Manuel a lot,
03:52 and he has a lot of athletic ability.
03:55 He is really, really athletic.
03:57 It's been really fun playing next to him.
04:00 I can always count on him to be there and make the block.
04:02 He is -- He has a lot, like Coach was saying,
04:05 he has a lot of potential, and I think, like,
04:08 just moving forward, he'll just be better and better and better.
04:10 I've had a lot of -- I've really enjoyed playing next to him.
04:13 Kudas is a great guy, too.
04:16 You know, Kudas has kind of played everywhere
04:17 since he's been here.
04:18 He's played center, he's played guard,
04:19 he's played nice playing tackle.
04:22 So, him having to learn, you know,
04:23 pass and tackle as well,
04:24 I've never seen pass sitting on the inside.
04:26 So, him trying to get a grasp on, you know,
04:30 how to set guys and putting the little line back.
04:33 That's been a little bit of a change for him.
04:35 He's picking it up well.
04:36 Like I said earlier, he's a really strong dude.
04:38 He's from the run game, run blocking, run blocking.
04:41 So, he's missing, but he's up in the run game,
04:44 and he's strong, so it's going to be good.
04:47 Right from the scrimmage,
04:48 and what's happened since then?
04:50 Yeah, it's like Coach said, too.
04:52 We got to -- we got to pride ourselves
04:54 on scrimming and finishing people.
04:58 We got to be cheerful in that regard
04:59 because we don't want to hurt our own guys, you know,
05:01 and lose all the depth that we have,
05:04 but at the same time, that shouldn't be stopping us
05:07 from, you know, driving hard,
05:08 just keeping guys off the ground.
05:10 So, we need to pride ourselves on not losing block
05:14 and also refusing to lose.
05:17 Yeah, I think Bo summed it up pretty good.
05:22 We got to -- we got to start fast and play hard.
05:26 I think the snaps that were in the bowl game,
05:30 maybe 100 percent of those over time.
05:33 In retrospect, how much did that help you,
05:36 you know, to start in the bowl game
05:37 and then get all those snaps at the end of the condition?
05:41 Yeah, it was huge to get at least one game under my belt
05:43 before I came in the spring and fall
05:45 and this year playing center.
05:48 It's been a big deal of confidence,
05:50 knowing that I can play at that --
05:53 at least at that level,
05:56 and then hopefully carry it over to the SEC play.
06:00 But, yeah, it's a huge confidence boost,
06:03 knowing where to go, the spots and protections.
06:08 So, I've got confidence in the baseball team right there.
06:12 A couple of young guys.
06:14 Luke Brown, all these plays he's practiced, he's hard.
06:17 I guess, Brady, what have you seen from Luke
06:20 and in the room, what do you think about him?
06:22 Yeah, we've got some pretty awesome freshmen.
06:25 Luke's a great guy, and he works really, really hard.
06:27 He's come back, you know, he got injured in the spring,
06:30 he's come back, worked really hard to get back,
06:32 and he's been playing both tackle and guard,
06:34 and he gives it all.
06:35 He's really strong and has a good punch.
06:39 Then you got Paris, he's at left guard,
06:40 and he's playing great.
06:43 Paris is really physical,
06:46 and when he comes on someone, like, he blows them up.
06:49 So, he's doing really good.
06:51 And then you got Aaron Smith, who has really good hands
06:53 and good feet, and all those guys
06:55 are really playing really well.
06:57 Don't go through well.
07:00 Young guys, but at a high level,
07:02 you mentioned Aaron Smith, he's a came in,
07:05 to be honest, not a lot of high expectations for him,
07:08 but he's definitely kind of grown old.
07:10 [inaudible]
07:13 Both you guys, Brady, maybe you can take it first.
07:16 You all played so much together, you know, started.
07:20 I mean, it's not a good combo, do you think you are,
07:22 for Cody to kind of build a unit,
07:24 you know, from the inside out?
07:26 Yeah, it's really cool.
07:28 It's been awesome to have this experience
07:29 to play so many games with my best friend.
07:32 It's been, and it's cool that we're able to build on that.
07:35 I mean, O-line's a special unit,
07:36 and you build relationships with everyone you play with.
07:41 Me and Devin are becoming great friends.
07:44 Kudas is coming in, has a great personality.
07:47 Josh Braun, we're all becoming friends to eat together.
07:51 And that relationship that you build,
07:52 like, you really build it during fall camp,
07:54 and then it carries over to the season.
07:56 It's really special, and I'm glad
07:58 that I'm able to share it with you guys.
08:00 I remember a couple of years ago,
08:02 Kirk Pittman would say that you'd be the guy
08:04 that maybe started the most guys in practice.
08:07 Are there some, maybe some younger guys on the team
08:10 that got, like, that nastiness or a little bit of edge to them?
08:13 I'd say Patrick Kudas really has some nastiness to him.
08:17 He plays really, really hard, and he finishes plays.
08:22 It's really fun to watch Kudas,
08:25 and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him.
08:29 Aaron Smith got to come in, like you said,
08:31 walk on the maybe the list and stuff.
08:34 But do you feel like he's someone like Street
08:36 that could eventually play himself in,
08:38 but not just scholarship,
08:39 but possibly play in the main for Sam?
08:43 Yes, sir, I definitely think Aaron Smith can do that.
08:45 He is-- he's coming.
08:47 He works hard every single day.
08:48 He has a really good technique.
08:50 The cool thing to watch with Aaron is, like,
08:52 especially, like, as a young guy,
08:53 a lot of times you struggle with your hands.
08:55 His hands are really, really good.
08:57 He punches hard, and he's really, like, stepped up
09:01 and gives his defense to the end of the hard time.