The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Tracking the Longhorns: Preseason practice No. 10
08.13.2013 | Football
Co-offensive coodinator Major Applewhite and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz met with media Tuesday
The Longhorns completed their 10th practice of the preseason on Tuesday, one day after their first scrimmage. The team is back on the field Wednesday morning for the first of two practices on the day.
After Tuesday's practice, co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz met with the media to update them on both sides of the ball.
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Major Applewhite
On where the offense is at this point:
We've got a ways to go. [We're] putting guys through different drills, going through our red zones and normal downs. Now it's time to start featuring different players and packages.
On defense versus offense:
I think the defense is much happier after this last scrimmage. They played extremely well.
On the progression of some of the veteran receivers with the two starters out of action:
That's something we've talked to our guys about [with] Jaxon [Shipley] and Mike [Davis] being out. It can't be an excuse for us. The time for excuses is over; it's been over. We've got to go out so guys like John Harris can perform. Our younger guys are being forced to play a ton of reps and really get their work in. Those guys have done a good job in the absence of others.
On what John Harris needs to do to take the next step:
I need to see him use his skills, do well at what he does, which is block and be physical inside and body people up. We aren't going to get him to go vertical all the time, but he has the size and strength to take people one on one. Just being consistent every day is what we need from all of our guys, not just the guys at the wideout position.
On the freshmen wideouts:
They are all doing great. Getting more offense than they've ever had, been on the field longer than they ever have before and they are doing a great job.
On his relationship with junior QB David Ash:
It's great. I'm going to coach him hard, but I'm going to praise him hard at the same time. We just are going to demand a lot out of each other as coaches and players. He's done a great job responding to it and as a coach you've got to find the time to put your foot on the gas and when to lay off of it.
On how Ash performed in the scrimmage on Monday night:
It was kind of hard to grade it. He did a good job, but you're not allowed to put any hits on the quarterbacks. I was pleased to see him run and not turn over the ball. At the same time, we had some penalties and signals that he could have managed better.
On freshman QB Tyrone Swoopes:
He is still learning the offense and how to throw different passes, but overall he is an accurate passer for a freshman. He has the natural ability to throw the football.
On redshirt freshman Jalen Overstreet's performance at running back:
He's done a great job. At Tatum High School he was really a tailback asked to play quarterback. His switch to tailback [in the summer] was a natural move. He has good hands and can really provide some depth in the backfield.
On sophomore WR/RB Daje Johnson and where he fits in:
Now that we have put in all of our plays and concepts it's time to find where everything fits and [start] practicing situational football. I don't think it's difficult trying to fit him in. I think it's a fun thing. That's what you enjoy as a coordinator every year. Finding out how you are going to get from A to B with different pieces.
On comparing Daje Johnson to former Longhorn D.J. Monroe:
Daje just has a unique skill set with his ability to run routes and catch the football. Also having the running ability of D.J. Monroe, he's been exciting to watch and look forward to seeing what he does out on the field. He brings a sense of urgency for the season.
On injuries:
It doesn't matter if your tackle is out and it doesn't matter if Mike Davis or Jaxon Shipley is out. It doesn't matter who is there, but we will kick off in a couple weeks. There are no excuses. We just need to move on, not worry about it, not talk about it, just go.
On his role since becoming the play-caller:
Determining what needs to be done in the run game and what needs to be done in the pass game. All the roles have changed. I enjoy and embrace the change.
On freshmen receivers coming in and trying to play right away:
It's always tough from a physical standpoint going up against bigger, more experienced guys. In terms of learning, all four of the guys are doing a good job. From day one on to day five and six when you're working the red zone and short yardage, these guys are still bobbing above water. So credit to the coaches, the older guys teaching them and themselves for putting in the work. Right now, it's been pretty easy for these guys to come in and play. We always tell our guys - if you're good enough, then you're old enough so we could care less how old you are.
On the offensive line:
They've done a great job. I said it last year as a running back coach and I will say it this year as a quarterback coach - it's a lot more than just your offensive line. There are just so many different things to go into the offense. What I see are linemen who are a little bit more comfortable in their combos. They've worked together and become thicker on the line of scrimmage. You see Johnathan [Gray], Joe [Bergeron] and Malcolm [Brown becoming a whole lot more comfortable in the open field as well.
On whether there will be one featured tailback:
Due to the number of backs and the personnel we have to offer, we are going to play with multiple backs in multiple situations. One will have to go back there to start the game, but we may start with two backs or even three for the first play of the game. They just have to constantly stay prepared. They are all getting a lot of reps and excited to share.
On whether freshman QB Tyrone Swoopes will play:
We almost had to play three quarterbacks last year, so we are always going to be able to say that we have three ready.
On this team in an up-tempo pace:
[The] total team has done a great job. The offense is learning each and every day how we can get faster and be more efficient. The defense is getting great workouts. When you look across our league, eight to 10 teams will go no-huddle. This is good for us. The defense has lightweight calls and can get up quick, so now we have to get into our stuff quick.
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Manny Diaz
On what he likes so far and what he's concerned about:
I like the intensity that we're practicing with. I think we've picked up where we left off in the spring, which picked up where we left off in the weight room in January and February. It's just been a continual process of upping the intensity level in which we do everything. That's just been fun to watch the guys work through a very physical first week of practice and through the weekend. It's been a great week.
On who has stood out to him so far on defense:
It's fall camp. We've been out there for about 10 practices now, so I mean everybody kind of bounces around, but certainly you're seeing what you'd expect out of your older guys. [Senior safety] Adrian Phillips has picked up where he left off in the spring. [Senior defensive end] Jackson Jeffcoat is doing a great job up front. [Junior linebacker] Jordan Hicks [and cornerback] Carrington Byndom; just the usual suspects. The guys that should be playing the best ball of their careers are all doing that. But as a coach, you're looking at the whole group, and I'm really pleased with how everybody's developing.
On how his mindset has changed from last year:
Well our team, which has more maturity, we can raise the expectations on the kids and what we expect out of them. They've raised their expectations of what they expect, not only out of each other, but also out of their teammates. That's a big part of it is that when you're young, you're not sure you know the answer yourself, it's hard to demand that the guy next to you knows the answer. But when you grow up and all of a sudden you start looking around and you realize that you're dependent on the guy to your right and to your left, you start asking different questions of that guy. That's what you can see, certainly of us defensively, and I think it's the entire football team.
On what specifically a dominant defense means to him:
Number one, we always want to be a winning defense. We want to do what it takes to win the football game, but what we have to define ourselves is that no matter who we're playing or where we're setting the ball down, we have to play fast, we have to play physical, we have to play tough. Those are three things; that's our image. That's what the Texas standard is, and that's what we strive for every time we take the field, whether it's practice or a game.
On what he thought some of the biggest problems were last year and why he thinks they'll be able to be better on defense this year:
We've always said enough with talking about the problems of last year, but I do know that this is a player development job. That's something that we've never wavered from at any point during the last 12 months. We are fully invested in our guys getting better and they're getting better. Everybody develops at different times, and they all figure it out at different times, and the answer for most things in life is consistency and enthusiasm. We have stayed after it and we've continued to hammer the rod, and we've done it with a great attitude. The kids are responding. Now that's what we're seeing out of them. We're seeing great consistency and great enthusiasm.
On if there are other signs early in camp that he thinks they can have that consistency:
All we are talking about is every time we go out and play; play fast, tough and physical. What we are trying to create is, we are trying to create habits. That's what you're trying to do. We do it every year. You've got a different deck of cards every year. That's what you've seen the last two years. With this team, with this group of guys that we have, we're trying to create something that's a habit. That lasts a lot longer than motivation.
On Jackson Jeffcoat's physical condition after surgery and if he's up to speed:
He has. Every time there's been a physical question asked of him, he's come up with the right answer so we're happy with where he's at.
On the difference he's seen in junior linebacker Steve Edmond and sophomore linebacker Dalton Santos after their weight loss:
It's dramatic. They're moving better. They can play harder longer, faster, more agile. Steve last night was sideline to sideline. He made the field look small, which is what he has the ability to do. He took a lot of confidence from that. That's just a preseason scrimmage. He had to go out and build on that today and tomorrow. These guys don't just come ready to play. It takes a while and these guys have got to get through offseason programs. All of this comes down to preparation. The preparations start the first time they put a bar on top of their chest when we got back in January. That's what's changed Steve. What's changed these guys is their ability to do things that they weren't able to do before. By nature, when you get stronger – you can be big and not be strong – but then all of a sudden you start getting strong and you start looking around at other things in your life that you're like, 'My god, I couldn't do that before too. What else have I been selling myself short on?' Then all of a sudden your expectation of yourself changes, and that's the maturity of an individual and then therefore a football team.
On whether they are tinkering with the secondary and whether the cornerbacks could become safeties:
We're always looking. One thing you understand about the Big 12 Conference, your secondary of course is always going to be under siege, and you're always going to have to deal with the threat of injuries. You're always looking for combinations we have that we can play our best four, five, six guys, wherever they are. One thing we have right now is that we have guys that have a very high football I.Q. back there that can handle more than one spot. Certainly, we're always looking to find guys that can help us out in different positions when we have time to do it. But still, when the lights come on and the foot hits the ball, we're going to try to get everybody in their best spot, but it's nice to have some flexibility.
On his experience going to Nigeria with Emmanuel Acho:
It's hard to describe in one word. There's just so many things. It was fascinating, it was interesting, it was happy, it was sad; it was the whole spectrum of emotions. It was neat to be able to serve alongside a former player because you have that coach/player relationship, and then all of a sudden you're just two guys and someone needs to carry a body back to a recovery room. You just grab a gurney, and you're just carrying a body. It was an experience that you certainly will never forget, and as most people say, when you do something like that, you're there to serve and you're there to give, but what you get back in return is far more than what you feel you've given.
On his motivation for spending his vacation time with the Acho family in Nigeria:
First off, my wife Stephanie had really been pushing to do a mission trip. We were sitting in church back in May and they were talking about mission trips. I thought, 'I wonder if the Acho's are still going to Nigeria?' so I sent him a text and said, "Hey, are you all still going?" He said, "Why?" We started going back and forth and it really all came from there.
On what he got out of his trip to Stanford:
The biggest thing is, again, there are all kinds of people and everyone wants to talk about this, that and the other, but there are defenses and then there's defense. First and foremost, we have to play great defense. That matters more than the defenses that you play. That's still what this game's about. No matter how the offense chooses to line up and how quickly they choose to snap it, that's still the bottom line.
On whether there are any players that are playing really well:
I think our four more experienced guys. [Senior defensive tackle Chris] Whaley, you see some of that older sense of urgency out of him. Same with [senior defensive tackle Ashton] Dorsey. [Sophomore defensive tackle] Malcom Brown has made that jump from getting thrown in the fire as a true freshman. But his strength gains in the offseason are starting to show. All those guys, the four up front, we feel are all starter quality and can all roll through. With the pace that we play on offense, obviously the paces that we play at and the offenses that we have to play, you need to roll a lot of guys in there. It's a tough league on big guys, that's by design.
On whether he would play Jackson Jeffcoat less due to his two injury years:
No, not for that purpose. You don't know what would be the magic number that would equal less exposure to injury. We do know that with the pace, in terms of the play in the Big 12 Conference, to be really good on defense, you're going to have to play more than 11 guys. Especially now, with the increased amount of snap load, which you're anticipating. So it'll be important to coach our second group the same way we coach our first group.
On what else stood out to him from Monday night's scrimmage:
First and foremost, I think just swarm. I think that has been a big rallying point. Team defense is trusting guys and leveraging the football. If I believe that someone is going to set an edge to the football play, then everyone can run and track the inside hip. When you do that, physics says that that's where the more violent tackles happen, creating a lot of knock-back because guys aren't having to stop their feet on contact. You see guys running through contacts. You're starting to see some of those glimpses of guys trusting their teammates. They say, 'Look, I know you're going to be there, so I believe you're going to be there, so I'm going to run to my area as fast as humanly possible.' That's encouraging.
On what he's seen from some of the cornerbacks:
[Junior cornerback] Sheroid Evans has really made a jump in terms of his dedication to football and playing it full-time now. A lot of these guys in recruiting, you have to go from being the best athlete on your high school team and a very gifted athlete, but then you become a good football player. Those two are not always the same thing. Most often they're not the same thing. Sheroid, of course, is very blessed athletically, is now finally dedicating himself to what it takes to become a good defensive back, which you need to do more things than just run fast, otherwise you'd get a four-by-one team to play in your secondary. He's really absorbing the coaching from [defensive backs] Coach [Duane] Akina. You can tell he worked hard in the summer in the seven-on-sevens in the player-led practices. He's done a nice job. [Redshirt freshman cornerback] Bryson Echols has really done some impressive things, showed some toughness at the point of attack, really good feet at the line of scrimmage and he's seems like he's got a knack for getting his hand on the ball and making some plays. [Sophomore cornerback/wide receiver] Duke Thomas, his improvement has been really phenomenal to watch. His effort, his toughness, right now he's as good as anybody we have. He's playing at a very high level. He's just one of those guys that you have to be careful what you tell him because he's going to do it exactly the way he's coached and do it full speed. He's a pleasure to be around.
On any impact from freshmen players:
With such a small class coming in, there's not a bunch of them out there. They all did some nice things last night, which is good. You always want them to feel like they belong. We're all happy with them, but the neat thing now, it'll be fun not to have to rely on first-year players the way we've had to do the last two years. That's something, to be honest, you shouldn't have to do at the University of Texas.
On whether he sees senior cornerback Carrington Byndom playing safety:
It's all going to matter on where we have the best guys. We have to slow down on the improvement thing because we all like to sort of get ahead of ourselves. We still have games to play and people have to play well in games. It's a lot different doing what we're doing out there and then actually going and defending someone that doesn't like us.
On addressing violent hits, what he tells his players:
There are a lot of things in terms of head and eye placement. There are a lot of things in terms of arms and what you do with your arms. They are looking for the lunge. You have to do a better job in terms of making sure that you wrap. That's been something that all defensive coordinators all over the country have all been talking to each other about. Different conferences, that's one of the hardest things. This conference says they call it this way and this conference says they'll call it that way. We've had good communication with the Big 12 Conference. We feel like we have a good read on how they intend to call it and keep the game safe but still allow the guys to play. Everybody wants to watch this game for a reason, and my hope is it's not as dramatic as everybody fears. We'll see.