Head Coach Doug Marrone - Spring Practice
March 25, 2009
Can you go through your thought process on the changes you've implemented at linebacker:
“My thoughts were that we wanted to get better at that position athletically and bring in some people who can run with decent size. Also, at the same time, create some competition at that position. We feel we've upgraded the competition at that position from an athletic standpoint. At that same time, it has to transition onto the football field."
Why did you decide Doug Hogue would be a good fit at linebacker? Did you tell him you need his help at the position?
“That was the situation. You look at someone on the offensive side of the ball and you look at the depth on that side. You look at a position in terms of how many touches can you get that player on offense and where can he move up and how deep is that position. Then you say to yourself, if you can put him on the defensive side of the ball, one, he can help us and, two, can he get more snaps on offense or should you have him in a position where he can start. Athletically, if he can do things well, then obviously you want to put those players on the field. We're looking for the 11 best players on offense and defense."
You moved Derrell Smith to the middle from the outside.
“We have moved Derrell to the middle. Again, we want to upgrade ourselves athletically at those positions and create great competition.”
When you talk about that great depth at the running back position, where does Averin (Collier) fit into the mix?
“We haven't seen him yet with the pads on. We like what we see so far so we're looking forward to seeing how he progresses through the course of the spring."
Dan Sheeran was another guy who you moved (from wide receiver to outside linebacker). Did you move him because of the same situation?
“Right, the same situation. We have some depth at that position (receiver). Again, how many times can we give him the ball on offense and how many snaps can he play in a game. He's someone who has the ability to help us on defense and we hope it transfers when you start putting the pads on."
Did you feel you weren't athletic enough there (at the linebacker position)?
“I always want to get better, athletically, on defense. Not to fall short of what we're doing offensively, but I want to put athletes on the field for defense. People who can run, people who can cover and people who can hit. I don't think we ever stop looking to get that done."
You're looking at (linebacker) Chad Battles as a defensive end?
“Yes, we moved him down and we feel that's a position that he's growing into naturally now. Instead of trying to keep him back and keep him down, let him grow to what his body should be and compete at that defensive end position."
Did you get enough to look at Doug (Hogue) and Dan (Sheeran) to see how they held up today?
“I know this, when I was looking over there, I saw someone who could run and react and have the ability to help us at that position."
What's the drill that the defense does where they huddle and run into the endzone?
“Coach (Scott) Shafer will be able to expand upon it, but we have to be able to run. Every good defense is built on being able to run and, obviously, hit and tackle. We want to make sure we get as many people to the ball as possible. We have two whistles. One whistles the play dead and the second whistle makes everyone hustle to the football. We're getting it into their minds right now that the play is not over until we get all 11 players to that position."
Will they actually do that in a game?
“(smiling) Well, there won't be two whistles in the game, but we do expect 11 people on the football . That's what we're trying to get done."
What have you liked out of (cornerback) Nick Chestnut so far?
“I think he's had a good two days thus far, so I'm excited to see what happens when we throw the pads on. He's someone who can transition well, plays the ball well, good ball skills and good hips. So, we're looking to see how he goes as the spring progresses."
What do you see or think when (wide receiver) Mike Williams is out there making four or five big catches in a row?
“I see someone who can make big catches, but I also see a player who needs to be developed. I know people look and see a big catch, but Mike (Williams) will be the first one to tell you that he has a long way to go. What you saw out there today is the unfinished product. We're looking to make sure that during the spring, we're putting that development in his play so he is not jumping up to catch a ball or running through balls that he can stay on the ground with. Obviously, as it goes onto the offseason, we will be building his strength level again, becoming faster, becoming stronger, and then going into the preseason and we will have a plan to develop him in the preseason."
How much do you plan to work with the tackles?
“I will be working with the offensive line quite a bit."
I saw just a couple of drops out there and you had guys doing pushups – what do you make of that?
"What you saw today is we have to make sure we're putting an emphasis on catching the football first. That's the main thing when we throw it. Unforced errors, as I call it. We don’t want to lose the tempo in practice and lose our place. We're making sure we're keeping track of what we do. That's an important in any aspect of the game. Today, you saw some type of competition. We had 3rd-and-3, 3rd-and-4 or 3rd-and-6. We're really starting to go through some phases in practice. We introduced our base offense and defense and 1st-and-10. Today, we just started putting third down in there. You'll see as we go through the spring, we'll be put in more situations where we need to compete. The numbers are out of what we've done in the past here before and what we need to improve upon here to be the best in the BIG EAST."
Do you think the guys are ready to put the pads on for Friday?
"I hope so because football is a contact sport and that's the one that I've always looked forward to. I've always enjoyed putting the pads on and actually getting out there. The one thing I do believe you can't measure when we don’t have pads on is what's inside of you. Nothing's really hitting you back right now. When you get out there on a football field and put a helmet on, there's someone in front of you that's trying to hit you and it takes a different type of player to go out there and compete at a high level."
Are any of the quarterbacks elevating themselves?
"I think, right now, what we're trying to do is we're trying to get enough looks with the different receivers and the different plays, making sure they can do everything before we get a full evaluation. You'll see us rotating them through in different types of phases. It might be one progression the first day of one-two-three-four and the next day it might be two-three-four-one. This way we can see all the quarterbacks, making sure we see all throws and making sure they're working with all the different receivers and units for our evaluation."
Was there one that jumped out at you that you thought had a good day?
"Well, I really think I'm going to keep it under the evaluation process until I can get out there and really say where one's better than the other. I want to gather my information before I start saying one's ahead of the other and start causing some issues with the lack of competition. I want to keep the competition as high as I can for as long as I can between the four quarterbacks (David Legree, Andrew Robinson, Ryan Nassib and Cameron Dantley) and just see who the best one is during the course of the spring."
