March 20, 2013
Head Coach Mark Stoops – Wednesday, March 20
On practicing inside instead of outside…
“It just felt like better weather, better traction. It’s good. We get good work done in here. I like going in here.”
On how the second practice of spring football went…
“It went good. It went good. It felt a little bit better today. The guys were a little bit more comfortable today. Weren’t as anxious and pressing as hard, so overall I thought it was a better day. I thought the offense was much more efficient today.”
On if any of the quarterbacks have done anything notable…
“I’ll watch the film. Out here, there’s so much going on, I’m out here watching so many different things, but like I said on Monday each of them looked really good at times and each of them were a little bit bumpy at times. That has to do with the whole offense and everyone that’s around them.”
On if there’s a benefit to the quarterback going into the fall knowing he’s the starter…
“Again, I’ve talked about that earlier. I’m not going to press that issue. If somebody emerges and they’re the leader and they won the job, then we’ll name them. Outside of that, we’re going to take our time and we’re going to get it right.”
On if he noticed anything different Wednesday after watching film from Monday’s practice…
“I thought it was good. Very good at times and very sloppy at times. The overall execution, it doesn’t take much on either side of the ball. One person here or there can screw up a play on either side of the ball. It’s hard to get all 11 right now executing perfectly. It’s really hard to get 22 guys where we need them to be, where the offense is playing good and the defense is playing good and it’s just whoever makes a better play. Right now, it’s just one side or the other is not doing the right things.”
On keeping an open mind early on in the spring…
“Yeah, absolutely. Just trying to develop guys right now. Get them to understand what we’re doing, how we’re coaching them, and then see how they progress. We have who we have right now, so the only thing we’ve got to do is get each and every guy better.”
On if he’s been pleased with the running backs so far…
“I am. Again, it’s hard for me to tell until we get in and watch with the coaches and identify each and every part of it, but I have been impressed with the running backs. I feel like we’ve got some guys who can help us.”
On evaluating running backs differently based on the style of offense…
“Well it’s just what’s most efficient for them and what they need them to be. It’s really not much different, really. They’ve got to be able to make people miss, we’ve got to be physical when we need to and they’ve got to be able to protect. Yeah, and then the last part of that would be catching the ball.”
On how well the quarterbacks are picking up the offense…
“It’s hard for them right now. This is just day two of the implementation, so new plays, new motions with the quarterback, so it’s hard on them. It’s hard to get all 11 guys. The quarterback needs to look good because the other 10 guys need to know what they’re doing as well. So, again, I think they’ll pick it up with no problem, it will just take some time.”
On having to worry about quarterbacks now for the first time…
“Yeah, absolutely. I’ve never had to worry about them much. I was happy when they threw it to the other side. Yeah, we’ll get them. I think those guys are good players and just need some reps.”
On his linebackers so far…
“Avery (Williamson) is doing a nice job. Avery is just a good football player. He’s played a lot of ball. I like him. He’s solid there in the middle. But we need to build some depth.”
On the defensive secondary and building depth…
“Secondary, again, we need to build some depth. I feel like there are some guys there that can play, and we’ll get them right and get them on the same page and get them executing, but we do need some depth. Wwe need some speed in the secondary, we need some corners. Same thing with offense. We need more depth there at wide receiver in this offense as well.”
On if next year’s team will need help from incoming players…
“Yeah, but again, with spring, of all the great teams I’ve been around, it’s the same way in the spring across the board, so it’s hard to judge. Each and every team would tell you that you need more depth. You don’t have a full roster out here with all the guys you’re going to have in the fall. So, I think it’s fairly common for us to say we want to be better.”
On Za’Darius Smith so far…
“Yeah, we’ve been real pleased with Za’Darius. He’s done a nice job and he understands some of the techniques because he played with Coach (Jimmy) Brumbaugh (last season), but schematically and all that, he’s learning.”
