UVA offensive lineman John Paul Flores talks versatility and experience.
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00:00Moving around, I think a couple of days ago Coach Kitchens said you can plug in
00:04just about anywhere.
00:05Are you moving around a lot on the line?
00:07Yeah, I am.
00:09They've had me play left guard, center, right tackle, but
00:14anywhere that the coaches think or need me to play, I'm happy to play it.
00:19I just try to help the team in any way I can.
00:22I mean, there's a lot of moving pieces on the offensive line,
00:25and we're trying to get better each and every day, so.
00:28Do you think your previous experience helps with that,
00:31to be able to move to so many spots, or?
00:33Yeah, I think a little bit of knowledge of playing the game.
00:37We didn't play because of the COVID year, but
00:39still having three years under my belt with college football.
00:42Our defense at Dartmouth ran hokey, they ran four down, they ran bare, so
00:46there's only so many different things that defense can do, different fronts.
00:50Everyone runs its own scheme, a gap scheme.
00:53So you can only block it so many different ways, but
00:56there's a little technical difficulties within each thing that
01:01don't translate between college and Virginia now, so.
01:05What's the transition been like for the story that you're probably aware of?
01:11It's been good, it's a lot of football.
01:15At least in the summer, I'm not taking classes right now, so
01:17in the summer it was learning the playbook, coming in, trying to learn your
01:21teammates, because offensive line play is your one big family,
01:26you're one big unit, you got to communicate, it's the biggest thing on the online.
01:29So being able to bond with the guys, and luckily I came in and
01:34they welcomed me with open arms, and I was happy about that, so yeah.
01:40It was a good transition, and they got me in the dorms, and
01:44I got a roommate who's also a transfer, so I just try to learn teammates as
01:48quick as possible, and you gotta play for your brother to the left and the right,
01:53so it's important to know the golf move too.
01:56How's it been playing for Coach Tujay so far?
01:58It's been great, he brings great energy, he's a veteran coach,
02:03he knows what he wants out of his players, how to get it out of his players,
02:08and how to motivate his players, so I've enjoyed it thus far.
02:13You mentioned you've been moving around the offensive line a little bit,
02:16you can play a few different positions.
02:18Is there a specific position that if you got your way,
02:21that's the spot that you feel most comfortable in?
02:25Not really, I mean, whatever they need me to play, I'll play.
02:31I'll get comfortable with it, I've been working right side and left side, so
02:36I'm fine pressing off both sides, front block, pass block, whatever it is.
02:42But kind of settling into one position, and
02:44learning it as best as possible would be great to start.
02:48Yeah.
02:48Yeah.