First practice in the rain -- how did it go?
"It was good. You've got to take advantage of it. When you've got the best weather in college football, you don't get many of these days. As we all know, we've had more than normal. I'm going to tell Mike [Bohn] and President Folt, 'You guys told me the weather was going to be a whole lot better than this.' But no, it's been good. We've actually, even in February and early March some, rescheduled some walkthroughs we had the days that it did rain so we could get out in it. Because you just don't get to practice in the elements much. The guys know me, I'm always excited when it's going to be windy or rain or anything that's just a bit of a changeup. So got good work, some great ball-handling, great for footing. The game's a little bit different when you get in those conditions and having to adjust is good for every position on the floor."
How has Alex Grinch adjusted the defense moving into Year 2?
"I think we're just as a whole, we're adapting. Especially defensively, that's a lot of different faces out there, so I think on one hand you've got some skill sets of guys that you've seen, which is our returners. We've got a lot of new players that are exciting and we feel like are going to make a really strong impact, so we're trying to do what we can to mold those two together and create the type of defense that we feel like we can have. So no, I've been very pleased with the progress defensively this offseason. I think the group as a whole, I see our guys really kind of bonding together. I think they really sense after going through what we put these guys through last season and even early here in spring ball, I think sense this has got a chance to be a really good group and has a chance to be a really strong part of this football team. A lot of times, diversity or challenges like that can really pull people together in ways that sometimes success has a hard time doing. So I think coaches have done a really nice job, we've made some adjustments with the roster, we've got a great plan I think we've executed well up to this point, and I can tell you practices have been completely back and forth -- probably won a little overall more by the defense, but it's been back and forth and extremely competitive."
How do you feel about the size, speed, etc., of the defensive front?
"Better. Better. There's more good players up front. And some of that is some of the returners that have come back have had to change their bodies -- a few guys trimming up, a few guys putting on mass, most of them all putting on strength and adding strength. So that's been good. And then obviously with some of the guys we brought in, we brought in some good players up front, there's no question about it. And we have a few more coming. You can just see, I think there's more competition, there's less of a gap between -- what was good for us last year on the front and the next level was too big, so the gap's much smaller. There's a lot more competition, there's a lot more talent. I think this group has shown [they have] an opportunity to be more difficult for offenses to block than our group last year. Like I said, the pieces are in place and the coaches have done a nice job getting them in the right place here early."
Specifically with Anthony Lucas, what does he bring to the table?
"He's intriguing, he's exciting. He's a unique athlete for his size. Just not many body types like that walking around and to have the athleticism behind it has been great. He's done a really nice job acclimating himself to the team. These transfers, especially a young transfer like that, he's been in two places in a relatively short amount of time and it's a big adjustment. I give him a lot of credit -- he's handled it well, he's handled just kind of the overall transition, his work ethic has been great, he's really bought into everything we're doing. I think he sensed an opportunity and he certainly -- I'm glad he's on our team, I'll put it that way."
What was the vetting process like with him after the way he ended his time at Texas A&M?
"Pretty similar to everybody else. It moves quickly in this day and age, but you've got to be thorough. I think luckily for us we obviously have some staff members that have been there, which was helpful. We have some guys on our staff that we're involved in recruiting him, know obviously a lot of people in that area. So there were a lot of different connections. So we felt good early on about the kind of guy that we were bringing in, the kind of player. To this point, everything he's showed us has backed that up."
What's stood out about Dorian Singer, and seeing him now are you surprised he was at one point a walk-on at Arizona?
"Yeah, it kind of reminded me of another walk-on I had at East Carolina, Justin Hardy -- who when he left was the all-time leading receiver in college football history -- in that he catches everything, kind of like Justin did. Tremendous ball skills, just some catches that kind of make you go 'Wow.' It kind of becomes a point where you're a little surprised if he doesn't come down with it, no matter how tough it looks -- he just kind of finds a way. He's acclimated well, he's learned the offense, he's got some experience obviously playing so we've been able to move him around a little bit and work him at some different spots. But I know our quarterbacks are gaining trust in him fast because he's so reliable."
What spots and how many are you still looking to add through the portal this year?
"That's hard to say because there will be more movement on the roster. You can't always predict how many more guys are going to leave. You don't have control on other guys getting in the portal, so some of that is going to depend on what's there and how many upgrades that we think are available. But we've still got a couple of scholarships open that we're going to be in the market for a couple of positions. We'll see how it plays out. Like I said, it's probably a little too early to say right now. You never know when -- like what happened with Jordan [Addison] last year, when a great player jumps in, you've got to look at them regardless of position. And I do think there's going to be some guys that if they do get it in are going to be pretty excited about coming in and playing on this team at this place, like we've seen here the last two years. So we'll keep an open mind. If a guy can come in and help us, we've got some room and I would expect, I think it will be more than one. I think there will be multiple opportunities here once spring ends."
Where do you see Miller Moss' development?
"Really well, really well. Last year was great for him. You guys didn't see much of him and I wish we could have got him in a few more games. We weren't able to pull away, get a few more opportunities for him, but he got so many reps. And I'll tell you the time that was super helpful for him was the early part of the bowl practice when Caleb wasn't able to practice. He got a ton of reps there. So I think his experience, his confidence has grown. We've challenged him some physically to make some of the improvements, and he's had a really nice offseason. He's probably in the best shape of his life right now. He's throwing the ball well, he's playing more confident, so it's fun to see a guy's confidence take off because you start to see their best ball. Now you combine that with some of the jumps physically, so I'm really proud of the way he's progressed."
"It was good. You've got to take advantage of it. When you've got the best weather in college football, you don't get many of these days. As we all know, we've had more than normal. I'm going to tell Mike [Bohn] and President Folt, 'You guys told me the weather was going to be a whole lot better than this.' But no, it's been good. We've actually, even in February and early March some, rescheduled some walkthroughs we had the days that it did rain so we could get out in it. Because you just don't get to practice in the elements much. The guys know me, I'm always excited when it's going to be windy or rain or anything that's just a bit of a changeup. So got good work, some great ball-handling, great for footing. The game's a little bit different when you get in those conditions and having to adjust is good for every position on the floor."
How has Alex Grinch adjusted the defense moving into Year 2?
"I think we're just as a whole, we're adapting. Especially defensively, that's a lot of different faces out there, so I think on one hand you've got some skill sets of guys that you've seen, which is our returners. We've got a lot of new players that are exciting and we feel like are going to make a really strong impact, so we're trying to do what we can to mold those two together and create the type of defense that we feel like we can have. So no, I've been very pleased with the progress defensively this offseason. I think the group as a whole, I see our guys really kind of bonding together. I think they really sense after going through what we put these guys through last season and even early here in spring ball, I think sense this has got a chance to be a really good group and has a chance to be a really strong part of this football team. A lot of times, diversity or challenges like that can really pull people together in ways that sometimes success has a hard time doing. So I think coaches have done a really nice job, we've made some adjustments with the roster, we've got a great plan I think we've executed well up to this point, and I can tell you practices have been completely back and forth -- probably won a little overall more by the defense, but it's been back and forth and extremely competitive."
How do you feel about the size, speed, etc., of the defensive front?
"Better. Better. There's more good players up front. And some of that is some of the returners that have come back have had to change their bodies -- a few guys trimming up, a few guys putting on mass, most of them all putting on strength and adding strength. So that's been good. And then obviously with some of the guys we brought in, we brought in some good players up front, there's no question about it. And we have a few more coming. You can just see, I think there's more competition, there's less of a gap between -- what was good for us last year on the front and the next level was too big, so the gap's much smaller. There's a lot more competition, there's a lot more talent. I think this group has shown [they have] an opportunity to be more difficult for offenses to block than our group last year. Like I said, the pieces are in place and the coaches have done a nice job getting them in the right place here early."
Specifically with Anthony Lucas, what does he bring to the table?
"He's intriguing, he's exciting. He's a unique athlete for his size. Just not many body types like that walking around and to have the athleticism behind it has been great. He's done a really nice job acclimating himself to the team. These transfers, especially a young transfer like that, he's been in two places in a relatively short amount of time and it's a big adjustment. I give him a lot of credit -- he's handled it well, he's handled just kind of the overall transition, his work ethic has been great, he's really bought into everything we're doing. I think he sensed an opportunity and he certainly -- I'm glad he's on our team, I'll put it that way."
What was the vetting process like with him after the way he ended his time at Texas A&M?
"Pretty similar to everybody else. It moves quickly in this day and age, but you've got to be thorough. I think luckily for us we obviously have some staff members that have been there, which was helpful. We have some guys on our staff that we're involved in recruiting him, know obviously a lot of people in that area. So there were a lot of different connections. So we felt good early on about the kind of guy that we were bringing in, the kind of player. To this point, everything he's showed us has backed that up."
What's stood out about Dorian Singer, and seeing him now are you surprised he was at one point a walk-on at Arizona?
"Yeah, it kind of reminded me of another walk-on I had at East Carolina, Justin Hardy -- who when he left was the all-time leading receiver in college football history -- in that he catches everything, kind of like Justin did. Tremendous ball skills, just some catches that kind of make you go 'Wow.' It kind of becomes a point where you're a little surprised if he doesn't come down with it, no matter how tough it looks -- he just kind of finds a way. He's acclimated well, he's learned the offense, he's got some experience obviously playing so we've been able to move him around a little bit and work him at some different spots. But I know our quarterbacks are gaining trust in him fast because he's so reliable."
What spots and how many are you still looking to add through the portal this year?
"That's hard to say because there will be more movement on the roster. You can't always predict how many more guys are going to leave. You don't have control on other guys getting in the portal, so some of that is going to depend on what's there and how many upgrades that we think are available. But we've still got a couple of scholarships open that we're going to be in the market for a couple of positions. We'll see how it plays out. Like I said, it's probably a little too early to say right now. You never know when -- like what happened with Jordan [Addison] last year, when a great player jumps in, you've got to look at them regardless of position. And I do think there's going to be some guys that if they do get it in are going to be pretty excited about coming in and playing on this team at this place, like we've seen here the last two years. So we'll keep an open mind. If a guy can come in and help us, we've got some room and I would expect, I think it will be more than one. I think there will be multiple opportunities here once spring ends."
Where do you see Miller Moss' development?
"Really well, really well. Last year was great for him. You guys didn't see much of him and I wish we could have got him in a few more games. We weren't able to pull away, get a few more opportunities for him, but he got so many reps. And I'll tell you the time that was super helpful for him was the early part of the bowl practice when Caleb wasn't able to practice. He got a ton of reps there. So I think his experience, his confidence has grown. We've challenged him some physically to make some of the improvements, and he's had a really nice offseason. He's probably in the best shape of his life right now. He's throwing the ball well, he's playing more confident, so it's fun to see a guy's confidence take off because you start to see their best ball. Now you combine that with some of the jumps physically, so I'm really proud of the way he's progressed."
