The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
04.15.2014 | Football
Head coach Charlie Strong visited with the media after Tuesday's practice
Head coach Charlie Strong visited with the media after Tuesday's practice. The Longhorns have one more practice (Thursday) before taking the field for the annual Orange-White Scrimmage which is set for 1 p.m. Central on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Head Coach Charlie Strong
Opening statement: In the beginning I said we had five phases and now we are two days away from finishing up our second phase and looking forward to the spring game. We have been very fortunate this spring to not have too many injuries. I know you heard about our quarterback David Ash with his foot injury and then (wide receiver) Jake Oliver has an elbow and then we lost (safety) Erik Huhn with the knee. So those are the only two players that are going to miss the spring practice, along with Ash. But it has been great and the guys have really worked. We had some good days and we had some bad days and we are always looking to improve and always looking to get better.
Last week was really a good week for us to be on a great campus like this of a great university and have three former presidents (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush) and the President of the United States to come and visit to talk about 50 years of what President Johnson did with the Civil Rights Act. It allowed us the quality we have now and what we are able to enjoy and for myself it was just great to see some of the guys that you had a chance to grow up looking at like Andrew Young being there and having a chance to (see) Julian Bond, Jim Brown, Dr. Harry Edwards, and even David Robinson was there and Jessie Jackson. And then to hear President Obama speak, and also to go to dinner with President Bush and go to lunch with President Clinton but what a special moment. The trail has been paved and so many guys' shoulders that I stand on that I have the opportunity of just because of what happened last week and what happened in our past that I'm just so fortunate.
But just to get back to the spring game. It is going to be one of the games where it will be good on good (first-team offense vs. first-team defense; second-team offense vs. second-team defense) and we are going to allow our players to just go out and play and have a good time. I always look at that game like you did all that hard work, you had 14 good practices, and now is a chance to see the fans in the stadium—I know we are going to have a good turnout—and then allow them to just go out and not so much have fun because we want to score and we want to keep them from scoring on defense but just make sure that our offense we are able to execute and defensively we are able to stop people. In special teams we really are not going to do much. We are not going to kick the ball off but we will punt it with no rush, punt returner will go back field the punt and wherever he fields it that is where it is going to be put down. Just looking forward to it and just looking forward to allowing our guys to go out and have a good time.
On what kind of setback the injury is for David Ash: I always say this about the quarterback position, it is one that a lot is expected. When you play well everyone wants to praise you and when you play bad everyone is looking to criticize you, but David Ash has really done a great job for us this spring and has really performed well and is very tough because that injury for him—I don't know how long he has had it—he said has been bothering and he came in for our trainers to check and we were able to find out exactly what was wrong. You would've never known that he had the injury by just how well he has been practicing and the way he has been carrying himself. He understands that a team is going to come and go as their quarterback goes and he wants to be a leader.
On whether Ash established himself as clear No. 1 quarterback: I wouldn't say so much that he is clear number one but he has established himself and he did a great job with just learning the offense and more with the terminology and just wanting to be a leader and lead the team.
On any conversations with Tyrone Swoopes about how his workload is going to increase: I told Tyrone, 'the key thing for you is it is all about confidence, it is all about you doing everything we ask you to do and play within yourself.' I said, 'now that you are the quarterback just take the field and know this is your team and it is up to you to go lead it.'
On what has Swoopes shown this spring: Well it is all about coming to work every day and wanting to get better each and every day to where he is locked in and focused. For a quarterback it is all about preparation where he understands the offense. You need to understand the offense, you need to understand terminology, you need to understand the checks to get us in a good place, a bad place. With Coach (Joe) Wickline and Coach (Shawn) Watson are both doing just a good job of installing in the quarterbacks and they have done a great job of being able to lock in with everything we tell them to do.
On whether it's hard for Swoopes, who hasn't establish himself yet, to become a leader on the team: Well at some point you have to establish yourself so when is it going to happen. You never know with that position so you are always looking because you have a lot of people around you and it is not solely placed on your shoulders. If you look at this offense, we have an offensive line that is doing a really good job of blocking and protecting the quarterback, you have big backs with Malcolm Brown being one of them, and the receivers are making plays but he just needs everyone and that is what you are looking for in a team. We need everyone to perform and when you do lose a quarterback, whomever you lose, someone else will have to step up so now it is Swoopes' job to step up.
On if Swoopes solely a running quarterback or is he similar to Teddy Bridgewater: No, he can do both. He can throw the football but he has just got to get comfortable throwing it. He is big, he is strong, he is physical and he is very smart. For him it is just more of him learning the offense.
On did he want to have a quarterback picked out by the end of spring or did he want to wait until fall camp: It is just so hard because you only have 15 practices in the spring to really say this guy is going to be the guy or we are hoping to be the guy because now it is summertime and we will have a chance to get the work done during the summer and then when you get to fall camp now you start locking down who this guy is going to be and get to put them in those situations where they have to go perform.
On Erik Huhn's progress before his injury: Yeah, you know the thing I really liked about him is that was a big safety for us and we drop down our safeties in the box and they are like big and physical. It is just so tough because you never want to see anyone get an injury and he was really developing and coming along good for us.
On how did Swoopes looked in last Saturday's scrimmage: He did a really outstanding job last Saturday. I know I don't know his numbers but he had really good numbers and threw an unbelievable ball to (wide receiver) Marcus (Johnson) down the sideline where he beat one of our defensive backs. It was a big throw but did a really good job and he settled in and had the confidence and just a different air about him when leading the offense.
On thoughts about finally getting an opportunity to go recruit after spring game: Well recruiting never ends and you just continue to recruit the whole time. So what has happened is you develop those relationships right now and then you get a chance to go out because a lot of spring practices will be going on in the month of May so our coaches will have a chance to get in the area and go see the young men that we have a high interest in and watch them practice. I think the recruits love seeing you walk in the school and not only that but we want to go to as many high schools in the state as we possibly can.
On has he had to restart a practice again in the past week or two and get the guys in the right mindset: No, I think they understand once you do it one time then they understand. When you get a new staff and guys are still trying to get a feel for you and what you expect from them and you don't ever like to restart a practice but if things aren't going the way you want them to, I think that is how you send a message that we are just not going to come out here and show no effort. Anytime I look at it—and I tell the guys this all the time—it is all about the effort, it is all about your assignment and what you are suppose to do. It is all about fundamentals and technique that you do what we ask you to do. So it doesn't take much to go hard, you can go hard every snap and you don't have to be talented to do that, but you have to understand your assignment and understand when we call a defense or make an offensive play call that you know what you are doing. Also know the fundamentals of properly carrying a football, catching a football, getting in a football position, all those things have to come into effect when you are talking to a player.
On whether Joe Bergeron will be back by the summer: If he does what I ask him then he has an opportunity to be back in the summer.
On his message to Joe Bergeron: Well he needed some things worked on so if he gets that done then he will be back.
On whether Erik Huhn needed surgery on his knee: Huhn already had surgery. It was similar to what (Kent) Perkins had so he has already started his rehab.
On if the offense is depleted without David Ash, Joe Bergeron, and Jonathan Gray: Well, I don't say it is depleted because you have enough guys in place. I mean you still have a quarterback in (Tyrone) Swoopes and then you have Malcolm Brown and we were able to take (Jalen) Overstreet and move him to running back so I don't think it is going to be depleted. Those guys are injured but you always have guys and that is why you recruit so now it is time for someone else to step up.
On who else does he have at quarterback besides Tyrone Swoopes: Well the only two we have left is Miles (Onyegbule) and Trey Holtz.
On has he decided how he will divide snaps among those three on Saturday: Well at some point the other two will play because it is going to be good on good so it is one's versus one's and two's versus two's so they are going to get a chance to play.
On what is the message to the Alumni Reunion Weekend: Well it is all about what they have done here with the program. There is so much tradition and pride within this program and the foundation has been made and they built this program so it is always good. A good thing about having the alumni reunions is those stories get bigger and bigger because one guy will say he did this and another will say he did this. But it is good that you always see that group come together because really that is the foundation of our program and you like to be around and our coaches will be around to meet a lot of them.
On defensive backfield separating themselves this spring: (Quandre) Diggs has had a really good camp and you look at (Mykkele) Thompson having a good camp. With the DBs it is just a really solid group of core guys sitting there like with Duke Thomas and Josh Turner. They played a lot together so you can see that that group can come together and jell really well.
On whether there is depth in the defensive backfield: Yeah because even when you look at the young guys with (Chevoski) Collins and (Adrian) Colbert coming on and you have some guys like (Bryson) Echols that can help us and that is what you want to establish, make sure we establish enough depth at every position.
On how did the guys respond to the competitiveness in the three-on-three drills: Well that is the first time y'all have had a chance to see that but we have done three-on-three I think since the first day of pads we went three-on-three. It is good though and they are asking for the drill. It is a good drill and the thing I like about it is that it is so close quarters that guys don't have a chance to get injured and you have a chance to defensively you got to lock and get off a block and offensively try that is why I put a running back in there and let him run down him to see if we can get off blocks and make the tackle.
On how the team responded to the first spring of strength coach Pat Moorer: Well you just look at his work and what he has done. When you talk about a program and building toughness in a program, it is going to start in the weight room and when it starts in the weight room it just carries on to the football field. What he has done in the weight room is he also has a great relationship with the players. So it is about work but they know they can always go to him and he is the one that handles a lot of the discipline and he is really fair about what he does and the players that is why they respect him so much.
On his assessment of the offensive line: Well, you look at the two tackles with Kennedy (Estelle) and (Desmond) Harrison and then the center position with (Dominic) Espinosa, an outstanding player and very smart player, and then you look at Taylor (Doyle) on one side in the guard position where you are getting a lot of work with (Sedrick) Flowers. But we have been able even with us losing (Kent) Perkins you can continue to try establish some depth with Rami (Hammad) still sitting there. There are enough players sitting there where you probably need from seven to eight linemen and you can always find a guy that you can rotate around because even with (Jake) Raulerson he is coming on at center also. So that is a group that is really beginning to jell together and form their own nucleus and their own niche. I really like that offensive line. Now we just got to go out and protect the quarterback and block some guys.
On the progress of defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway: Ridgeway is really doing well. The thing about Ridgeway, you look at him out in the defensive front because you still got Malcom (Brown), you got 'Tank' (Desmond Jackson) sitting in there and so he is a swing guy that you want play the three-technique because he is just a strong, physical guy. It is hard to move him because he is so strong and he is still developing but once he learns to use his hands, then he is one of those guys who is strong enough to move people out of the way.
On what does he expect to get from the Spring Game: They have a chance where the fans are going to get a chance to see them and it is going to be almost like a game but it is also going to be structured like a practice where they are going to go out and compete and we are not just going to go through the motions. We are going to give great effort.
On getting injured guys back in the summer: Well what is great that those guys are coming back is that it adds depth to what you are looking for in a football player. Now you have a chance since some of those guys have been starters so now they come in and are able to go right to work. I said this to them that they have been in the pit the whole time so they really have been working and it is not very fun in the pit and they couldn't work their way out of the pit. So they weren't practicing but they have done a lot.
On whether the spring evaluation period one of the more critical times in the year with recruiting: Well, we have an idea of who we are going to offer and the offers have been laid out already. So the spring evaluations give our guys the chance to look at them but still we aren't going to take back the offer and now we are just going to go watch them practice.
On areas of concern: Well you start at the quarterback position because there is the one that manages the team for you. So you always go from the quarterback position to I always want to make sure we are protected up front because that is where the games starts with the offensive line and then on the defensive line do we have enough depth that we can get off of blocks. The little guys don't bother me as much as the big guys but I just want to make sure that the quarterback position and the offensive and defensive lines are really strong enough.
On would Jerrod Heard have a chance to compete for starting job: Yeah, he is going to have a chance because he is going to be out there but the thing is that the guys that are hear now know the system and Jerrod has to come in and learn the system and he gets here in June when summer school starts.
On is the middle linebacker position still open: (Steve) Edmond is inside right now with Tim Cole and you have (Andrew) Beck outside at the SAM linebacker but you still have enough bodies in there where guys are going to get an opportunity to work. That is a position we would've liked to assign more but I think we only assigned one linebacker.
On thoughts about Tim Cole: The thing about Cole is we cover up that position because he is not a very big player so you like to cover him up and let him run and use his athletic ability.
On how has Steve Edmond come back after injury last season: The thing about him is he just works and he always works hard and can provide the leadership. He doesn't say a lot but he lets his work speak for itself. I can remember when we were going through winter conditioning and I use to say, 'god almighty is he going to make it?' but then somebody kept saying you just wait until he plays and watch him, coach. And he does. When we scrimmage he tries to make every tackle and has done a really good job.
On what has he seen from freshman linebacker Andrew Beck: Still learning. Sometimes it moves too fast for Beck but (Dalton) Santos is one that is really doing an outstanding job. So the thing about young guys is when they come in, which is great for Beck that he gets a semester up on the rest of the guys, it is all a learning process and how quickly they can absorb the information.
