The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
08.05.2016 | Football
Head coach Charlie Strong and all nine of his assistants were available to meet with the media on Friday morning, prior to the Longhorns beginning camp practices on Saturday.
Texas head coach Charlie Strong
On naming a starting quarterback: We're going to get a chance to find and name a starter early. Right now we have Shane [Buechele] who had an unbelievable spring, we have Jerrod [Heard] who was banged up in the spring and now we've had a chance to watch him, and then we have [Tyrone] Swoopes. So we need to name a starter early just to get the flow going and so that we get good reps with the team.
On what "early" means when naming a starting quarterback: I just like to give the guys a chance to get out there and move around, because you go the first few days in shorts and then you go to shorter passes with shorts and pads. With myself and the offensive staff, we'll sit down and we'll talk about it and then we'll make a decision and say, "Hey, it's time for us to get our starter so we can move forward," and get the team headed in the right direction.
On which coach names the starting quarterback: It will be a collaborative effort, because the way the offense is staffed, they're going to have an input. They're going to see it more than me, and I won't be able to see it as much as them. Everyone's going to be involved.
On how anxious/nervous he gets for the first fall practice: Oh, I don't get nervous. Your senior guys work from January to this point, so now you get a chance to watch them run around. We've seen the four that we got in January, but we haven't seen the ones that we got on Signing Day and the ones we got in July, so we didn't get a chance to see those guys move around. Now we really get a chance to watch them move around and watch them move around against one another.
On where the optimism for the upcoming season comes from: You just look at where we've been. We were not very pleased in the first two years, so now we feel like we've recruited well enough, the guys have been in the system, they kind of understand it, and we'll see where my attitude is and see the way I'm thinking. With the older guys, so much is being said right now about this young group, so you feel like right now with this older group that they can deliver the message where they're taking ownership in the team, so that message has been delivered. They want to see a change, so now you get players that really want to see a change and you just fill it. It's going to be a quiet confidence, but those guys need to continue to work and if you continue to work, good things should happen for you.
On quarterback Jerrod Heard potentially working at wide receiver: No, we haven't seen him work at all. We're going to have to have three quarterbacks as you look at what happened to us last season, as we had a guy go down. We've put guys where they need to be put to have a chance to help us.
On strength and conditioning coach Pat Moorer coaching Natasha Hastings in the 2016 Summer Olympics: Their relationship started when we were in South Carolina. She ran there at South Carolina and he was the strength coach for the track & field team there at South Carolina. So when he came here, I think she moved here so he could continue to work with her. But P. Moorer is one of those guys who takes his job seriously and does a really good job not only training with her, but look at our football team right now. It's amazing when you look at our team and look at their bodies. We have 300-pounders, but it's not a sloppy 300 pounds. A lot of times you see guys that are sloppy looking, but they're not sloppy. They're built up good and they look good. He takes pride in his work.
On which players are emerging as leaders on offense and defense: I look at it like so much has been said about the youth of our team, but you still have to look at what the older guys are doing and you have to keep pressing, because the leadership has to come from the older guys. You look at Bluiett, you look at Boyette, you look at those guys like a Tim Cole, who doesn't say much but he goes to work. Kent Perkins won't ever open but he's got enough young linemen around him where he goes to work and he talks, and even with Haines. But you have those guys and they're the ones that are delivering the message. I told the guys, "You've heard me enough now, you know what I stand for, and now someone else needs to deliver it." So now it's been delivered through those older guys.
On whether there will be pressure on the defense to perform: On defense, we have to be better because if you're ever going to win a championship, you're going to have to win it on defense. If you look at us last season, we never made anyone one-dimensional and you have to make people one-dimensional. We just didn't get off the field on third down. On first and second down we played really well, but on third down… you know, I was looking at that Notre Dame game yesterday and on the first drive they converted three third downs and they were long yardage third downs. It wasn't one or two, it was seven plus. So we have to get better on defense and we have to play a lot better, and we can. We have the talent, it's more about us just playing better.
On how the players feel about playing a Sunday evening game: It's really great for the team, and they understand that and they haven't said much about it. I don't think they will ever say anything about it. I think it will just be one of those, "Hey, let's go get ready to play." It's a big-time opponent, a top ten opponent. We're going to have them at home and it's going to be a packed stadium. So it's going to be fun watching that young group of guys run out there. It will be fun for them.
On if there was disconnect on Baylor recruits coming to play for Texas: No, the thing about it is, and I told them this, is that you may have signed there, but you never went to school there. They didn't get there. Their first day of school was here at the University of Texas, so they're Longhorns, and that's what I've said, and I've told our team that. They are us. If we don't say something about it, they never bring it up. We never say anything about it. They're a part of us and they're who we are.
On if he's having fun: I really am. It can be demanding at times, but it's no stress. No stress at all. You have to make it fun, because if you don't, it will wear you down. And that's the thing you can't do, you can't let it wear you down. The expectations, the level… there's a standard there, and you have to reach that level. But when you watch players and it's all about developing young men, then it becomes fun for you. You have to be able to balance our life too and make sure that things don't pull you down. Adversity is everywhere now, it's just how you handle it. You can't let it become a negative to you.
On sophomore linebacker Malik Jefferson's publicity events and his role as the "Unofficial Mayor of Austin": Well Malik loves that, but he deserves it because he knows how to handle himself and he does a great job not only on the field, but also to be able to sell yourself off the field and that's what he's doing right now.
On how Malik Jefferson can improve on the field: The thing you want to see happen with Malik is that he continues to get better each and every week, and that will happen with him because he's gotten a lot stronger, a lot bigger, and so much is expected, and you try to tell him, "Listen. Don't feel like that you have to become the face of this program." Don't feel like the expectations aren't there, but just don't feel like it's all on your shoulders. On defense, there are eleven guys out there. You are only one of eleven. The other guys have to get the job done on offense, on defense and in the kicking game.
On if the next month of practice will determine how the season goes: It will be. When you go out to work you want to see how the guys work, how they respond, and when you do put pressure on them if they can they bounce back. It's going to be fun to watch because the competition is there, now it's all about the physical and the mental, and the whole buildup and whole makeup, and just watching them grow each and every day.
On the coaches, not just the players, believing in the success of the program: They do. We have an unbelievable coaching staff, you have guys that work together and guys that are all aligned, and that's what you want to make sure of, is that guys are aligned. Because what the players do, they're going to feel the coaches feel. They're going to play off what the coaches are doing, so you're going to see a group of coaches that have fun and the players are going to have fun. You see coaches wanting to go their own separate ways, and that's what you can't have happen, and that's what you don't have on this staff. You have a great coaching staff.
Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert
On how eager he is to start the season: Yeah, those are all good words… I'm extremely excited, motivated, determined to get to the mark. We've obviously put a lot of work in this summer and carried it from the spring. It's exciting to get on the field tomorrow and continue our evaluation and continue the fit and put our guys in the right spots to be successful.
On what Coach Strong means by determining the starting quarterback "early": Yeah, I think it just means sooner rather than later. We want to make sure we get the right guy, and that's the most important thing, is making sure we make the right decision. I'd like it to be sooner rather than later so we can get the fit with the guys up front, and once we get the receivers and all of those guys established as well, you just like for all of those guys to mesh and the comfort to be able to get them in before we get done with camp.
On seeing leadership qualities beginning to emerge in freshman quarterback Shane Buechele: Yeah, that's him. You hear all of these things about Shane, and the thing about it is he isn't doing these things by himself. There are guys around him, and a lot of our guys who have bought in to try what we're going to do and work just as hard. While Shane's doing all these extra things, it's not like he's by himself. There are a lot of guys who have bought in and doing the right things and asking things we've asked them to do and things they're doing more of.
On if he has a quarterback who can pull the trigger on leading the offense: Yeah, we do. It's going to work itself out over the next couple weeks, and we'll set up that guy to be successful. Whichever guy we decide to go with, we'll play to his strengths, we'll scheme it that way, and we'll set him and ourselves up to have success on Saturdays. That's the ultimate goal.
On the wide receivers: We've got some guys around that can play, but at the same time… using the word "easy" in football is like oil and water. So there's nothing easy, and those guys are talented and there's some more talented guys that we got in this summer with the freshman class. We still have to go through evaluations with those guys as well and try to get the right fit with what we do offensively and make sure they're in the right places while doing it at a high level.
On the difficulty of plugging new players into the offensive scheme: The way we're viewing camp right now is kind of like having two spring balls. We just went through one and then you gain all of these kids… we just got 14 offensive kids in the summer, so we have to go back through another evaluation process to see if it lies with our quarterback position, through the o-line, the receivers, the tight ends and running backs. You can't just plug any of those guys in. We have to see what those guys' skill sets are, where they're at, where they're going to fit, and how they're going to excel in what we ask them to do.
On what the incoming freshmen bring to the team: I'm extremely confident. Again, we're limited in what the NCAA allows us to do in the summer so you take a lot of these kids… I didn't have an opportunity to see these guys play live and in person or see them in spring ball. So tomorrow will be the first time I see some of these guys and their skill sets: running, catching a ball, cut, and do that kind of stuff. That's why the clock is ticking to get to tomorrow so we can start that process.
On if players understand the offense more instinctually as the summer progresses: Yeah, and I think they understand the offense a little better than they did in the spring. When you're out there, you're trying to play fast, you're trying to process a play, and you're trying to do it with a big linebacker bumping on you or a corner jamming you. When you start to minimize the thinking process, it allows you to go faster. But I know those guys will continue to work on the scheming stuff this summer, so getting into tomorrow will be what we'd like to pick up on where we left off in the spring.
Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford
On young players and excitement for the season: I was excited coming into last season and we just didn't play well. It's just that simple. We need to be a better tackling football team. Today's game is a spread offense and it's spread down the sideline. We tackled poorly last year. Those are the things we need to make great strides on. As we get ready for this upcoming season and talk about the guys we have, with the young kids coming in right now, it's going to give us depth. We're going to spend a lot of time on tackling. We spent time on it last year, we're going to double the time we spend on it this year. We're going to take time to teach the fundamentals on how to get in your stance, how to wrap, how to get a guy on the ground. I think it starts with that. You can talk to them about schemes, and whether you'll be playing man or zone, whether you're going to drop eight or you're going to rush eight. It really doesn't make a difference. If you don't tackle well, you're going to lose ball games.
On competition at positions: We're getting to a point right now with this football team where we're starting to have some depth. And because of that we're going to be able to play more guys. We're talking about now, as a defensive staff, playing anywhere from 18 to 24 guys. I think in this day and age with the up-tempo offenses, and those guys average 85 plays a game, you need to play the numbers. You can't ask for a guy to go out there in one season and have 900 snaps anymore. I think it does a disservice to him. In the fourth quarter when it comes to tackling, he's not going to make that play. His legs are too tired. The depth that we have coming in, even though they are young, we have to play those guys early and let them get some experience behind them.
On lessons from last season: We all took that personally. How we played, the things we did. We didn't finish games. You go back to the first game of the year, versus Notre Dame last year, we had some opportunities to make some plays we didn't. The Texas Tech game I go back to. We're playing decent in the first quarter and Holton [Hill] has the chance to intercept the ball, it bounces up, goes to the receiver and touchdown. You go back and imagine if he makes that play. And that's what football is all about on defense. When you have an opportunity to make the play, you've got to make the play, whether it's tackling, whether it's getting an interception, whether it's causing a fumble. All of that's part of it. And the depth that we have right now is going to make us a better football team. A lot of guys right now are like, 'Coach I want to play, Coach I want to play.' Well, we start practice Saturday. We're going to find who really wants to play. After practice 15 we'll have a good idea who's going to be in front to play the most. We're going to play a lot of guys. Who's going to start the Notre Dame game, who's going to come off the bench. That's what we're going to find in the next 15 practices.
On having an up-tempo offense on the other side of the ball in practice: I don't think that really makes a difference. Because at the end of the day, we look at it as a defensive staff, we can get lined up whether you're in a normal offense, up-tempo offense. It's about communication, talking to each other. It's about assignments, it's about the details of the game. Those are the things we have to continue to work on. Half the practice we go against the offense, the other half we're in scout team and we're teaching guys how to get off a block, how to communicate whether it's third down and 10 or third-and-one. So it doesn't affect us one way or another.
On optimism for the new recruiting class: One thing we did in recruiting, we signed big guys on offense and big guys on defense. You look at the offensive line, the big, 300-pound dude guarding here. Then you go on defense and we watch guys just walk down the halls like, 'Wow.' It gets you excited. I mean, you get three of those guys next to you and they block out the moon. So I'm excited to see those guys. Last year we were somewhat undersized and we would get pushed around a little bit. We're getting to a point now where we have a natural guy who's 327 pounds, and that's not what we put on him, he came in that way. Now push that guy off the block.
On leadership on defense: You look at guys like Paul Boyette, who's a senior. He's done a tremendous job for us. There are a lot of young guys on the defensive line with him and he's taken on that big brother role. You look at the linebackers right now. Tim Cole has done a tremendous job. If you ask our guys who are the leaders on this football team, Tim Cole's name will come up a lot. Dylan Haines is another guy that the players really respect and trust. They're trying to show these young guys what it takes. Sheroid Evans is another example, a guy who's going into his sixth year, two knee injuries. He stays in the guys' faces. That guy is working hard. So we are getting some senior leadership right now from those guys. They're teaching these young guys what it means to come here and play football.
On leadership by example versus vocal leadership: Right now we have a lot of guys that will lead by example. We don't have a lot of guys who are going to tell you. They're real quiet right now. They just work and compete against each other. I think that's a good thing. We're trying to get a few of these guys to come out of their shells but they're not outspoken. Every once in a while I think Kris Boyd is going to be a leader for us one day. He'll let you know a little bit about what it's all about, but for the most part, we have a lot of quiet guys. We're pushing the envelope right now, trying to get these guys to come out and be a little bit more vocal.
Texas defensive line coach Brick Haley
On the depth of the defensive line: It's always exciting to have some guys who now have to compete. A lot of times when we don't have depth, guys know that they are going to play because there is no one behind them. But now, when you have somebody that's going to push you as a player and make you better, it's all about competition. No matter what you do in life, it's all about competition. Everybody's competing to do something, so to have that depth has been great.
On what changes that depth will make on the defensive line: I don't know how many changes we're going to see, but I'll tell you this: I tell my guys in that room every day when we're in the meeting that we're going to go how you go. If we're good up front, we're going to have a good defense, and I really believe that. I don't mind putting that pressure on me, that's fine. We're only going to be as good as our front four, so we need to be able to stop the run and we need to go rush the passer. Those are things we need to do consistently, and those are things we didn't do consistently last year. I think with the added depth and the competition, it's going to give us an opportunity to have a little more consistency in our run-stopping ability and our ability to go rush the passer.
Texas linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary
On how exciting it is to get the season rolling: We're ready to get started. I've always called this the start of Groundhog Day; it's a new season and we know what we're up against every day and players know what they're up against every day. You wake up and try to find a way to get better.
On if the mental approach going into this season is different than last season: I think you definitely can. They knew the standard was not going to get lowered and the performance that we had last year was unacceptable. I think, without us saying it, we harped on it a little bit in the spring and the players have carried that mantra into the locker room and into their summer workouts. They know that we have to get drastically better in every phase for us to get back to the standard that the University of Texas is used to.
On Malik Jefferson and the praise he's receiving: I think he's a great kid. I think his best football is ahead of him. I do think sometimes it's unfair to label one guy as the face of a program. I think he has all the ability in the world to be a great player and be one of the better players to come through here, but I'm a team guy. I always feel like you win as a team, you lose as a team, and if one person is getting the praise when everything is going good, I hate for one person to get the blame when things are not going well. I always harp on the fact that football is a team sport. There are 11 guys on the field every time that ball snaps, so I would always focus on some other great individuals player-wise and character-wise that we have on this team.
Texas defensive backs coach Clay Jennings
On getting the season rolling: I'll tell you what: Camp 2016. Let's get this thing started. Vacation was nice and the first few weeks were enjoyable, but during that last week before we got ready to come back, we're ready to start thinking about some of the things that we have to get accomplished. We talk about, not only as a staff but also as a group, the one thing we have to do is get better from the ground up. We have a lot of young guys that we're excited about. It doesn't matter who plays, but there's going to be a lot of things out there to eat, so we have to make sure we get enough guys to the table and make sure we can take care of it.
On how comfortable he is with his group of players: I've got some kids that have been in the fire, obviously, between Dylan [Haines], Holton [Hill], Jason [Hall], and Davante [Davis]. Also John Bonney to an extent and Kris Boyd and DeShon Elliott. We can't expect anybody to go out there and play 85 plays and be just as fresh and successful every time. That's bad on my part and on my behalf, so I make sure that I do my part and help out Coach Bedford and Coach Strong as far as getting those guys ready to play.
Texas running backs coach Anthony Johnson
On if coming back to The University of Texas was always his ultimate goal: Absolutely. I had the injury in 2004 and had to stop playing, so I immediately got into coaching and started helping Coach [Mack] Brown out with recruiting and stuff like that. I came back and was a graduate assistant for three years also, so sitting in that room as a grad assistant and looking up to Coach Ruck and Coach Applewhite, who was my running backs coach in my last two years as a grad assistant, I always wanted to come back and have the opportunity to jump in.
On how eager he is to coach: I think there's a lot of excitement right now. When I came in here in February, I felt the energy from when I was [playing] here. I do think there is an energy around the building that goes on around winning programs, and that's the energy I remember and it's the same energy that I feel today.
On sophomore running back Chris Warren III and junior running back D'Onta Foreman and if they feel the pressure of carrying the running game: I think they do. I told those guys that we don't have anybody in this room that has started a full season. I know we've been kind of been deemed the best position group on the team, but there's still a lot of work to be done. Those guys have taken that to heart and have had an unbelievable summer, so I'm excited to see what those guys look like here tomorrow.
Texas offensive line coach/running game coordinator Matt Mattox
On how excited he is for his first fall practice at The University of Texas: I'm very excited. I think all coaches at around this time are ready to get to the actual practice portion of everything. As an o-line coach, I'm always ready to get the shoulder pads on as fast as we can. That way we can work on our technique and work on what we need to do, but just the excitement overall and the way we worked over the summer has put us in a really good position and I'm excited about where we're at.
On the offensive line: The great thing about it is that when I stand around them, I feel small. I've had some people comment that they're not used to seeing me look like a small person in pictures. They're great kids, they love football, they've done everything that I've asked them to this summer and that's really all we can ask for. We've given ourselves a chance, and now we have to take it to the next level here in camp.
On adapting their bodies to the new offensive scheme: I've seen their bodies change. I've seen guys who needed to lose weight that have lost it and I've seen guys that needed to add weight that put on the right weight. We had exit meetings in the spring talking about, "Hey, here's what you need to do during the summer and where we need to get to give ourselves a chance," and I really think that all of them have done what they needed to do.
Texas tight ends/special teams coach Jeff Traylor
On the tight ends: Caleb [Blueitt] had a great spring and a great summer. He had a hurt leg and a hurt hand last year and still played really well at tight end for us. With him being healthy and having a great spring and a great summer, we're expecting him to play well. Same goes for Andrew Beck. He's had a great spring and a great summer. Those two guys are veterans. Then we've got Peyton Aucoin, the guy we recruited that we expect to be better as the season moves on.
On the addition of graduate transfer kicker Trent Domingue: He's a veteran kicker. He's kicked in games and he's made field goals in pressure situations, so that's always exciting. We were very blessed to get him as late as we did. We're really excited for him to be on our team and for him to kick the ball for us.
Texas wide receivers coach Charlie Williams
On sophomore wide receiver John Burt: John Burt can beat you down the field, without a doubt. So the next step is to work on the intermediate stuff to continue to improve in that area.
On freshman wide receiver Collin Johnson: He's the best type of wide receiver that a quarterback would love to have. He's tall with range, and his catching range is unbelievable.
On the youth of the receiving corps: They're going to have to grow up pretty quick, and we have a month to do it. We're going to work hard this month and we're going to continue to improve on the little things. When it's time to kick off, we'll make sure to be prepared and ready to roll.
