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00:02 >> Hey, Coach, this event's lost a lot of staff production from last year with
00:06 Sierra Bulls and the IAA.
00:07 How high are your expectations for
00:09 Ashton Devon this year to pick up some of that?
00:12 >> Well, I thought those guys were great players, and
00:14 more than that, I thought they were great people.
00:19 I got a chance to be around them, and you can't get two better people than that.
00:23 So we all have high expectations for Ashton.
00:28 We think he's gonna be a great player for us.
00:30 He needs to continue to develop.
00:31 I think he's one of the best, if not the best defensive line coaches in
00:35 the country, so we expect him to play well.
00:37 >> Ron, when we talked to you a couple weeks ago,
00:41 you talked about building the depth.
00:42 It's still in the middle of fall camp to do that.
00:45 Do you feel confident going into game week that you've built the depth that you
00:49 need at some positions to counter rotate guys?
00:51 And how do you manage that now in a game?
00:55 >> I do feel like that.
00:56 And we just go in with a plan.
00:59 You have to go in with a plan to play these guys, and
01:01 you have to believe in them enough to play them, regardless of the situation.
01:06 Sometimes you gotta put guys in.
01:07 And I just learned that in the, really with Dan Mullin.
01:12 Dan Mullin taught me that in SEC.
01:15 I mean, you're not gonna get to October, November,
01:18 December effectively without playing a player.
01:20 So we're committed to that.
01:25 >> Kind of bouncing off that depth with MJ Griffin going out.
01:28 He was primed to have a pretty big role with this defense.
01:30 What's it been like filling that gap these past couple weeks and
01:33 kind of that next man on the tally?
01:34 >> Well, it's a shame because MJ, I thought,
01:39 was developed into an outstanding player, both on and off the field.
01:45 In the sense of his study and work habits, his attention to detail,
01:49 his desire to be a great player.
01:53 But MJ was a piece of a puzzle, and so we have other pieces, and
01:57 we're developing those pieces, and we're gonna continue to develop.
02:01 And this is not a one week or a one month, but it's a year long deal.
02:05 >> Yeah, Ron, I mean, you had spring bowl, you have this fall camp, but
02:11 this is opening night, first time the lights are on, playing a different team.
02:14 Are there one or two questions you have in your mind that you're anxious to have
02:18 answered about your guys?
02:20 >> I'm excited to see them play.
02:23 I think they're gonna play really, really hard.
02:24 I think they've bought in everything we're asking them to do.
02:29 I think with any group of people, whether it be coaches,
02:35 or trainers, or players, it's when you get uncomfortable.
02:40 And when you feel pressure, and when circumstances strike, how do you respond?
02:45 And so that's what we wanna train them to do.
02:48 We wanna train them to respond properly to adversity.
02:52 In fact, I'm gonna meet with them today, and
02:54 that's what that meeting is gonna be about, about mental toughness.
02:59 Which is really basically the ability to withstand without tearing or breaking.
03:04 So that's what I wanna see, where we are at that in terms of that.
03:09 >> Ron, when you look at Georgia Tech, what do you see from their offense, and
03:12 more importantly, I guess, or
03:14 just a side note, their quarterback, their transfer quarterback,
03:16 what kind of challenges does he present?
03:17 >> Well, their offense is, they're gonna run the ball, and
03:20 they're gonna run gap schemes, and they're gonna bring pullers.
03:23 But this is what struck me about Georgia Tech,
03:27 particularly towards the end of the year.
03:29 They don't quit, they come back on North Carolina,
03:32 they're down by two possessions, I believe, in North Carolina.
03:35 They come back on Virginia Tech, they're down by two possessions.
03:37 So you're playing a team that, to me, that shows character.
03:41 So you're gonna have to understand,
03:42 you're playing a team that has some character, number one.
03:45 Number two, this quarterback, after I watched him, I said,
03:50 Jeff, I like the quarterback.
03:52 I mean, I think he can throw the ball, and I think he is not afraid.
03:56 And he said, no, we wanted him, we recruited him, but
03:58 we came down to the end with him.
03:59 So you're talking about a guy who can run, I think, a little bit.
04:03 He's got some toughness, he'll stand in there in the pocket, and
04:08 I think he can throw.
04:10 I think he can throw the football, so it'll be a challenge for our defense.
04:14 >> Ron, going back to MJ Griffin, you talked about trying to develop the depth
04:17 there, and sort of that next span up mentality.
04:19 How have the guys in the secondary, and specifically in that safety room,
04:23 kind of rallied around MJ to try and pick up the slack for losing him?
04:27 >> Well, they all wanna play, and
04:29 they all think they're better than we think they are, you know how that goes.
04:31 >> [LAUGH] >> They're a lot better than we think
04:35 they are, so I think they're just like, not in a negative way, but
04:39 they're like, I give my shot.
04:42 So, I mean, I don't worry about that part, it's just, I coach every guy.
04:48 I mean, I'm one of those guys, I coach every player.
04:51 I don't see, for example, I don't see walk-ons as opposed to scholarships.
04:57 As a general state, we had Adam Archuleta, first round pick, started for
05:00 the Rams in the Super Bowl as a rookie, he was a walk-on, all right?
05:04 We had an offensive lineman, same thing.
05:07 Started for Cincinnati, first round pick, walk-on.
05:10 So, I coach every guy, I like coaching, so I coach every guy.
05:14 >> Hey, Coach, you mentioned mental toughness a couple of times.
05:18 How important to you and your coaching philosophy is mental health and
05:22 instilling pressure being a privilege to your players?
05:25 >> You know what?
05:26 The pressure being a privilege, that is true, that is true.
05:32 Expectations are a privilege, so all that is true.
05:36 People say that, but it really is a fact.
05:37 In terms of the mental health, I'm not an expert on mental health,
05:47 but I do think that a positive mental outlook and being happy and
05:53 enjoying what you're doing, you're only gonna do it better.
05:57 So, what I try to do is build relationships.
06:01 And then, therefore, I can see if a guy's having a bad day or
06:03 a bad month or something's bothering him or whatever.
06:05 So, that's how I try to be involved in the sense of being able to read a guy,
06:11 particularly freshmen.
06:13 So, I got a kid, he's a freshman at Navy, my son.
06:17 And I talked to him a couple weeks ago, didn't quite sound the same.
06:21 Yeah, he sounded a little bit down and all that stuff.
06:23 And then I talked to him yesterday, and he sounded like a different guy.
06:27 So, to me, that's how you can help these young men as a mentor, as a coach.
06:33 It's just being able to feel when they are not quite right.
06:38 >> Ron, what's that competition at linebacker been like?
06:42 It's the one position where people feel you lost a lot,
06:44 didn't have a ton of experience, brought some guys in.
06:47 >> Yeah.
06:48 >> TJ had a great spring, it seems like he had a really good fall.
06:51 What's the competition been like, and how has he progressed?
06:54 >> Well, they all are progressing.
06:55 I think they're all gonna continue to get better as it goes.
06:58 Coach Ivy puts a lot of pressure on himself to perform and
07:04 put some expectations on those guys to perform.
07:09 They're getting better and better.
07:10 I'm not, you know what, I feel good about it, I do.
07:14 I feel good that they're gonna get better and better.
07:16 I love the coaches that are coaching them.
07:18 The coaches care, and they're detailed.
07:23 And they're trying to please me, and they're trying to please Coach Brown, and
07:27 they're trying to help their players.
07:29 So I feel good about that.
07:31 >> And kind of building off of that,
07:33 do you think there's an expectation that maybe TJ Capers gets involved at some
07:36 point this season, or are you guys still kind of playing it by ear with his injury?
07:40 >> Well, we gotta get him healthy first.
07:43 We gotta get him healthy first, and then we gotta be able to see what he is at this
07:47 level, at the level he came from, I thought it was outstanding.
07:51 He's a big guy who can run now and will strike you.
07:53 So we just need to see, how does he learn?
07:57 You know what I mean?
07:57 How does he process information?
07:59 Can he show up every day?
08:01 Those type of things.
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08:05 Thank you.
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