The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Charlie Strong press conference transcript
03.07.2016 | Football
A transcript of Football head coach Charlie Strong's press conference on the first day of spring practices.
Head coach Charlie Strong
Opening Statement: It has been a long time since December the fifth, and that's the last time since we played against Baylor. Players walked off the field, coaches walked off the field, everyone was excited, and then we got into spring ball. It has been very competitive. There has been a lot of energy. This spring, one thing that we want to do is make sure that we are very organized, and fundamentals and technique are going to be very important. The thing about it is that we had to be more instinctive and that's what I have been telling our coaches, is that we have to be better teachers. When you are better teachers, you can make it simple and guys will be instinctive. Some of the goals for this spring are just, offensively, we want to teach and demand execution. When it is a new offense, the offensive coach has to do a good job teaching. We just have to do a great job in executing it. Defense is about attention to detail. We just have to be able to communicate on defense. Overall, as a team, it is about team chemistry, it is about individual improvement, it is about discipline, it is about being patient. With a new offense we have to be patient, but also we have to build confidence and motivate our players. We have to make sure that each practice counts. We can't waste a practice. We only get so many opportunities this spring, and we have to make it happen.
On expectations going into the first practice: We had a great meeting, and I hope that we just take it from the meetings to the field. You look at [offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach] Sterlin [Gilbert] and [offensive line coach/running game coordinator] Matt [Mattox], they are doing an unbelievable job. And [wide receivers coach] Charlie [Williams], and there is [tight ends coach/special teams coordinator] Jeff [Traylor], who is an old head and then you have [running backs coach] AJ {Anthony Johnson] on the staff. And they are going to be meeting together a lot. I feel like once we hit the field that we have had enough meeting time now that we can get things accomplished on the football field. You look at us on defense, you still have [defensive coordinator] Vance [Bedford], and [linebackers coach] BJ [Brian Jean-Mary] and then add [defensive backs coach] Clay [Jennings] to the mix, who will be very good for us and very helpful. You have old veteran guys and you have some young guys, and now it is all about us becoming teachers and getting that outside on the field.
On the quarterback situation: The way that we walked out there today, you have quarterbacks, you have [Tyrone] Swoopes, you have [Jerrod] Heard, you have [Shane] Buechele coming in and [Kai] Locksley and [Matthew] Merrick, so you have five guys coming in. You will have enough reps this spring where we will know fairly quickly who our guy will be. Just the way that we practice and the tempo that we are going to practice at, I think that you will be able to see it.
On the tempo and the structure of the practice: We did restructure practice and now when we get out there today for the first time, we will see it for the first time and see how quickly we move the ball up by five yards. I told them also that we have to make sure that we get in line on defense too, because I don't want guys just running just wide open and guys still trying to get set up. We do not lose our confidence and players do not lose their confidence. It is going to move quickly but we just have to also make sure that it is organized and it is done the right way.
On how much can you learn from your team in spring practice: I think right now they are chomping at the bits because it has been so long since they have done anything. So now when we walk out there today, you just want to make sure that we are going to have a lot of individual time so that way guys will be able to work on their fundamentals and everything that we are looking for. I think that when you walk away on April 16th, people will have a gauge of where we are and just how much we need to improve over the summer and get into fall camp.
On how you will assess the new quarterbacks versus the veterans: You have a chance just because it is a new offense, so it is not like you walk in there and know what to expect. It is like I said earlier that the slate is clean with the quarterbacks, with everyone on the team, with everyone on offense. So the slate is clean. So you are going to have a good battle, you are going to have a good gauge of where your guys are going to be. It will be wide open. It's going to be a matter of how quickly guys can pick it up, and how quickly guys can do what he is asking them to do. It will be a different change. It will be so upbeat and so up-tempo that we will see exactly where we are.
On the adjustments the defenses will have to make with new up-tempo pace: What's said more than anything is that guys have to get aligned, and we have to get lined up. It will be a different attack for us and now that you see it, as I told our guys on defense, you have to get the calls in and we have to hurry up and get going, because I want to see the up-tempo and I want to see us move around. When you practice fast, you're going to play fast, and I want to see that happen. So it's more about us just getting aligned and making sure we get the calls in. With that said, if we have to stop the practice I'll blow the whistle and we'll stop. But I want to make sure that we can get things accomplished the right way where it just doesn't turn into guys all over the place and looks unorganized just because we can't get aligned.
On the feeling going into year three with the roster set up: I was just looking at our roster, and I think about our seniors right now, when you think about [TE Caleb] Bluiett, [DT Paul] Boyette… even getting [DB] Sheroid Evans back has been a good boost for us there. But we have enough guys that are in that senior class that have played a lot of football. So now it's going to be a good mixture of that young group of guys that are not so much young, but when you played as a freshman or you played as a sophomore, then you have playing experience underneath you. So it's more or less now that guys have played enough. I don't know if you can say if we're a young team anymore because you had enough guys that have played a lot of football.
On the realistic expectations of this team: It's got to come down to just us teaching it right and then guys executing it because a lot of the times we say, "Hey its up tempo its go-go-go-go-go." But still when you make the call you have to make sure that its getting done the right way, whether guys are just not going in the right direction or guys just aren't really listening or focusing in or locking in. So it has to be more of the teaching part and we command execution, where there's execution each and every play. And Sterlin is seeing it where he's getting exactly what he needs out of it. A lot of the times, some these guys with this offense, some have heard it, some have heard the calls, so now its more about them just repping and just going with it.
On balancing sense of urgency and patience at the same time: What I was saying with patience with our coaches is just don't get down on a guy. I said, "Coach, what happens with a lot of guys is it's going to take a little more time for them than for others. So if he can't pick it up right away, if he's a really good player, lets be patient with him and give him a chance to really pick it up, especially if he's a player that we're counting on to play for us." So we have to slow it down and maybe some days we have to slow it down. Practice wise, making sure that we can get out of it what we need to get out of it all. At the end of the day it comes back to just fundamentals and technique. We can talk about scheme all we want but you watch the teams that win - it's blocking and tackling. It's guys getting off blocks, guys separating off blocks, guys that are just doing those little things and it's attention to detail.
On any position changes on the team because of size changes: Well if you look at guys that really put on weight, I know [DE Charles] Omenihu, I think he came in here at about 215[lbs]. He's 265 right now. I know he's one that really just sticks out, the rest of the guys have been able to maintain it very well. [OL] Garrett Thomas, I think he's made it up to 300 plus. Some of those guys are taking it off and then they're putting it back on the right way, but it's more of where they feel comfortable with where they're playing at with their weight. You look at our defensive backs and all of them are still right where they were at the end of the season. So with their range of weight they've been putting it on and taking it off. They're still right there where they need to be. The guy that really sticks out to me is Omenihu and where he's going and Garrett.
On if Charles Omenihu will move over to the strong side defensive end: It depends, because we play so much odd and we move guys around so much that wherever he can help us is where we're going to place him.
On if he knows which quarterback will be with the first-team at practice: No, I don't know which quarterback. [Tyrone] Swoopes is a guy that ended up there so he'll probably be the first one the day we walk out there. He'll probably be the first one in there.
On if he has a date he plans to set the starting offensive line: No, we'll just play it because I think that's Sterlin. Whoever he's comfortable with and he'll be able to know that, not right away, but we'll give the guys enough reps where he'll be able to place them in that position. Then he can just say, "Hey this is the guy we have to go with. Lets go with it and make it happen."
On who is in line to start on the offensive line particularly at the center position: What you're talking about, you're right. You talk about [Kent Perkins] Perk, you talk about [Patrick] Vahe then you go Connor [Williams], and then Shack [Zach Shackelford] is in the mix and he's going to get a chance. I think we may even look at [Elijah] Rodriguez there at the center position, [Terrell] Cuney at the center position and then you see how [Brandon] Hodges is a guy that's very talented that has not come on for us yet and had an unbelievable spring. He's one of those guys we'll be able to count on to come in. Then I told our guys the other day, "You know what? Some of our help is coming." So once we get that help in there, - because it's more about building depth now - when we get those guys in there, even with our offensive line and defensive line, the help is coming and we just have to wait for it to get here and just get through this spring.
On the top three priorities of this spring: When we talk about upgrading the position we have to start with the defensive front. I think that's the key position there because when you look at it you're talking about [Paul] Boyette [Jr.], you're talking about Poona [Ford], you're talking about Chris Nelson and you're talking about Quincy Vasser. We have to get ourselves a good defensive front. And then if you look at us last season people were able to run the ball and throw the ball with ease on us because you have to control the line of scrimmage there. The next need would be at the wide receiver position. We need a playmaker there. We're talking about spreading this thing out, now whose hands are we going to get the ball in? You have some guys there. You talk about Armanti Foreman, you talk about Petey [Jacorey Warrick], you talk about guys like [DeAndre] McNeal, [Ryan] Newsome, guys that can step up, and John Burt is in track right now. You have the freshman in there with Collin [Johnson], but you need guys to step up at that position. And then we talk about the quarterback position because the team's going to go as the quarterback goes and we just have to make sure of that. We have the numbers there, and it's about who is really going to step up and be that guy, because the numbers are there. Now it's about, who is that guy? Can it be Swoopes? Can it be Heard, who is it going to be? Can it be Buechele? Will he be the guy? But who is that guy there at that position?
On if he would feel comfortable starting a true freshman at quarterback: If we feel like he can take us where we need to get to, we could play a true freshman at quarterback.
On any players that will be limited or miss spring practices due to injuries: Well [LB Dalton] Santos is one, Santos has the toe injury right now. [WR Ty] Templin is a guy – [DE] Derick Roberson is going to be off and on this spring. [RB] Kirk Johnson would be the other one. [TE] Blake Whitely is the one who will be sitting out this spring.
On the open competition at the quarterback position: Well you're looking at guys that are older now, so they understand now that they're a year older. You think about Swoopes as a senior now, so it's time to step up and do something. Even with Jerrod [Heard] being a redshirt freshman last year, now he has a chance to step up. You still have guys - what you have now is that it's all new for them. So now you have a chance to go compete and guys have to step up. There's no choice.
On playing ones vs ones in the spring practices: Yeah, so what we'll do is we're going to shorts our first two days. On Wednesday we'll do three-on-three, one-on-one, yeah, we're going to pound them. Because you still can't take away that toughness even though you may say, hey, we got a wide open offense. But it's still, like I said, it comes back to fundamentals and technique, and we're not going to shy away from that at all. We're going to do our one-on-ones, our three-on-threes - we got to get every day with our defensive backs. We're going to do our tackling, but we got to get those things done. We will not shy away from that. In the spring game it probably will be ones versus ones. When we first start off it will be ones versus twos so that we can get our offense and build some confidence.
On the idea of taking tackling out of practices: When you go for a tackle against another player, they really don't give you the picture that you need. We have pads out there, and we have this one "popsicle" that you just run and tackle and have to drive your feet. There's a lot of different ways, but it's all about the technique and how you teach tackling. What people get so afraid of is the injuries through tackling, where a guy's head is down and he's not tackling with the proper technique. But it's all about how we teach it and how you have to club through and drag your feet on contact with your head nice up. But it is a trend that a lot of people are going through, especially in the spring. You know, I've been around coaches where they didn't like spring practice because you get the injuries and you might not get them back by the time the fall season starts.
On the defensive leadership of younger players like LB Malik Jefferson: Well Malik's played, but you still have guys that have been around, like [Paul] Boyette's a guy who's been there. But Malik is one of those guys that's played a lot of football and everybody expects a lot out of him because he's at that position at the middle linebacker position.
On how fired up he is for spring football: I am ready to go. This is a critical year for us. This is our third year. There's a standard here, and we need to meet that standard. The first two years are behind us, but it's time for us to move forward now. I feel like we have the guys in place and we know this spring we still have to build at some positions. But it's all about moving it forward, and now that I feel like now that the guys - there are guys who you wish were always helping but now they really understand what you're really trying to get accomplished and they understand what the vision is.
On the anticipation that this spring will be higher competition at the quarterback position: It has been. What we did was team drills and this is the first spring that I really have seen guys really go at it and compete where it bothered them when they lost. You'd see guys calling out, "Hey, I won" when you say you didn't win. But it's the first time where you really see guys that are really competitive. And it's just a whole attitude change when they're really beginning to get it. I think that everyone that's seen us not get to a bowl game, but sitting at home, really bothered them. And it bothered a lot of them, because at first they thought they were going to get all of this rest, but when December 31st hit they all thought they could come back. Now it's January, the first day they come back we say no, you can't come back. Now you're beginning to feel it a little more, and it's important to them.
On the running backs and defensive backs: Well, I got to go to that running back room because I don't know how many people are going to want to tackle [D'Onta] Foreman and [Chris] Warren. And then when Kirk Johnson comes back and he's healthy. But you have two big backs that are physical backs, and then you have guys like Kyle Porter who will be a good change of pace. But you have big physical backs. You know the defensive back room, you have a lot of talent when you look at Holton Hill, you look at those guys on the outside, [Antwuan] Davis, [Kris] Boyd is a guy that hasn't played a lot, and [John] Bonney. You look at the safeties and the young guys with [DeShon] Elliott, [P.J.] Locke, and then [Jason] Hall and [Dylan] Haines who are two veteran guys. You have a lot of talent in the back-end.
On Malik Jefferson moving to a new position: When you look at it, Malik is a guy who can play a lot of different positions for us and is very versatile. When we go to our odd package, he's a guy that we move around a lot because when you go and talk about winning one-on-one, he's been a guy who's been able to rush from the outside and he can win one-on-one on the outside. But you look at that last game, and you look at the job that [Breckyn] Hager and [Anthony] Wheeler did, both of those guys came in and played very well. So now you're building something there at the linebacker position where, at one point, it was a weak spot for us. But now you get Tim Cole who's a senior, you get [Edwin] Freeman who's played a lot, there's Malik, there's Wheeler, there's Hager - [Cameron] Townsend's a guy that hasn't played a lot but is very talented and has a lot of talent. But we have so many options there at that position and so many guys we can move around and we can create one-on-one and create the matchups we're looking for.
On the feeling of the "seat always being hot": [laughs] The seat's always been hot since I've been here. We need to win. We're talking about an unbelievable program that's just so rich in tradition and there's a standard for excellence here. In the first two years it hasn't happened, but we need to go out and we need to compete at the highest level, put a product on the field that everyone's pleased with, but a very competitive product.
On the leadership of this team being at the level that you would like: Well, you know what happens when we start talking about leadership, because you look at it and say okay, we have a senior at quarterback with Swoopes, and you look at the wide receiver with [Jacorey Warrick]. You know, I didn't even know it, but Warrick was in the locker room, and we were in the locker room talking one day and he says, "Coach, you know there's only like four or five of us left!" And I didn't think about it like that, because he named them all for me and I was like, "Wow." But you're just looking for guys just to go play and compete. And then once you can go play and compete, then the leadership falls in place for you. And now all of a sudden guys having that confidence to start believing in themselves and then they just take over. A guy you never thought, but he gains respect by the way he plays and you don't have to say much. People are always going to look at Malik as a leader because you look at the guy who's the middle linebacker on your defense. You know what, that guy is a real guide, and he plays like it, and that's what you're hoping now with everybody else, to where he gets enough around him, to play up to their ability.
On the pace of practice that offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert would like versus what he would like: Well, I don't know how fast we would go today, because we haven't been able to practice yet. It won't be much of an adjustment for me because, like I said, if it's going too fast we're not getting to the line, the whistle will be blown and then we get lined up. But I'm going to give him everything he needs to get it done so that we have a chance to be successful on the offense.
On the advantages of having Chris Warren at back: You look at him and he's just so big and wide. It's no fat there, he can carry it, but we're going to see now. And with what we're doing, he may shed a pound or two, but he's just gotten so much stronger. And you're talking about someone who's never lifted weights before, and this is probably the first offseason he's been through. We were talking the other day and he said, "Coach, none of my clothes fit me anymore," and I said, "I hope not, you're 250." But him and [D'Onta] Foreman, they're just two big physical-looking backs, and backs that you'd like to see pound people.
On having the choice for quarterback for the fall: I hope we're not talking about it in the fall. I hope that by the end of spring we can at least say, "Hey, I feel really comfortable with this guy." I hope that happens, and like I said, that's a position where we've had two guys that played a lot last season. Now you've got some more guys that are pushing them. But you're just hoping that at some point that someone will rise up and become the guy there.
