The takeaway here is that Kade Eldridge seems like the clear No. 2 guy at the position behind Lake McRee. I'm honestly not expecting any of the freshmen to have much an impact this year, but their time will come for sure.
How have the tight ends looked this camp?
"[We're] more full, which is good. So it's been really good to have those guys out there and just getting better every day. Doing the 1-0 thing, all that, and really pushing hard just to bring the group together and get everybody closer. Pushing for that as an offense as well and ultimately as a team too. I know that's been a big thing for Coach Riley and all of us, just to bring the guys together and really get that family feel with the guys."
How have you seen Lake McRee progress in his return from injury?
"Yeah, he's been great. He was ahead of schedule coming back to get right there and get healthy. A lot of work put in in the offseason, so super proud of him for that. He's been great during camp. Nothing major has come up so far. Just trying to be smart with him and make sure that he gets through camp healthy and he can play Game 1, but I know he's excited for that as well and looking to have a really big year."
It's a very young room, has anyone emerged that you are comfortable leaning on beside Lake?
"Yeah, I think Kade Eldridge has really had a good camp coming off of his redshirt year. I look for him for sure to be in the mix. Joey Olsen has been really good throughout the time he's been here as well. As we kind of progress through camp, we'll see Walker Lyons and those guys, but really excited about the talent level that they bring. Really dynamic with the ball in their hands, can do some really good things and coming along as blockers too, which is really important. Getting Carson Tabaracci back as well will be really big for us as well to bring more of a veteran presence there too."
Is that blocking component something you want to see more from the group in the run game?
"Yeah, for sure, I think just kind of everything. We need to be better out in space as well. We made a big push of when we get the ball in our hands of making plays, not just being possession guys. So we've worked at that throughout the offseason, that's something they've pushed really hard for. Always have to work on fundamentals and technique in the blocking game -- that's just part of it. So we spend a lot of time on that stuff and just making sure if there's a 280-pound D-end I can man him up and block him and do well."
Who has stood out as a blocker?
"I think Kade Eldridge. He's a big, strong physical kid and he's really starting to gain an understanding of how to kind of stick your face on somebody and be really physical. He embraces it and likes it too. The big thing with him is just playing under control and trying to find that fine line of being really physical but still being under control and being able to maintain that block as well."
Have you seen Olsen's confidence grow from the spring?
"Yeah, absolutely. If anyone can come in the spring it's such a huge advantage for them because they just get to know the process, they get to know how practice flows, what the expectations are from coach and from me and the plays and all that stuff, obviously, too. They have a base foundation knowing what our base offense is so they can adjust and adapt a little better than somebody coming in in the summer and just learning it all right now. So they have a lot of banked reps as well."
How has Walker Lyons looked so far?
"He's done really well. Very intelligent kid. Came from Folsom, which is a really good football program as well. You can tell he was well coached, ran a lot of things that we run here probably, so a lot of that is familiar to him. But being out for a couple years as well, there's a little bit of rust to knock off and that type of thing. But he's done really well, man, really excited about him. Looking for him to make a major push at the end of camp here as well and hopefully get in the mix. But excited about all the guys we have right now."
Why has it seemed there's been a bigger emphasis on team chemistry this spring?
"For all of us to do what we want to accomplish, there's going to be ups and downs throughout the year, you know, and we have to be able to handle that together. You have to be able to be vulnerable with each other and be there for each other when things aren't going our way. And then when things are going our way, still have guys holding each other accountable too. So I know that's been a really big push for us as coaches with our guys, and they've done really, really well with it. They feel the importance of it as well."
What stood out about the TEs in the scrimmage?
"You know, I think they did really good job, like no MAs and busts -- no missed assignments. But again, catching the ball and doing something with it after, I thought they did a really good job of that. We had limited opportunities, but in our room we talk about not counting our reps but making our reps count. We don't know when we're going to be in and when we're not, but from a blocking standpoint as well I think Eldridge did a really good job coming off the rock and just knocking people back too, which is good to see. Joey's getting better every single day. Playing receiver, it's hard sometimes to go in there and block an Ant Lucas instead of a corner, it's a little bit different. But he's gotten so much better too. And then Lake, just knocking some of that rust off of Lake too and just him getting his body back right. All of those things together, I just feel like we did a pretty good job throughout the scrimmage."
Do you look at the room now and feel it's how it should look now that you have the three freshmen in?
"Yeah, for sure, you can see it. The talent level I think is where we want it to be. Now it's up to me, right, to get all these guys ready. That's the next part, but they're really, we're blessed with a great group, man. They work hard at it, they care. When they mess something up they're really upset about it, but they're good at moving on and getting better from it too. So I feel like we're in a really good position there with those guys."
As an offensive coach, what stands out about the progress the defense has made?
"Tremendous progress, for sure. Those guys, they're playing really well together. Probably just more playing down the middle of people and getting better at shedding blocks and making plays up front. Our guys are bigger, they're stronger. At the end of the day, that's so much better for us offensively -- O-line, tight ends, blocking scheme, because we're having to go block Kam Fountain and some of these 270-pound, 280 D-ends by ourself that are really trying to challenge us and our group too. There's so many veteran presences over that that were really great additions for us and great team guys too, so I'm excited about them. I'm excited to be on the other side and watch them play on Saturdays too."
How have the tight ends looked this camp?
"[We're] more full, which is good. So it's been really good to have those guys out there and just getting better every day. Doing the 1-0 thing, all that, and really pushing hard just to bring the group together and get everybody closer. Pushing for that as an offense as well and ultimately as a team too. I know that's been a big thing for Coach Riley and all of us, just to bring the guys together and really get that family feel with the guys."
How have you seen Lake McRee progress in his return from injury?
"Yeah, he's been great. He was ahead of schedule coming back to get right there and get healthy. A lot of work put in in the offseason, so super proud of him for that. He's been great during camp. Nothing major has come up so far. Just trying to be smart with him and make sure that he gets through camp healthy and he can play Game 1, but I know he's excited for that as well and looking to have a really big year."
It's a very young room, has anyone emerged that you are comfortable leaning on beside Lake?
"Yeah, I think Kade Eldridge has really had a good camp coming off of his redshirt year. I look for him for sure to be in the mix. Joey Olsen has been really good throughout the time he's been here as well. As we kind of progress through camp, we'll see Walker Lyons and those guys, but really excited about the talent level that they bring. Really dynamic with the ball in their hands, can do some really good things and coming along as blockers too, which is really important. Getting Carson Tabaracci back as well will be really big for us as well to bring more of a veteran presence there too."
Is that blocking component something you want to see more from the group in the run game?
"Yeah, for sure, I think just kind of everything. We need to be better out in space as well. We made a big push of when we get the ball in our hands of making plays, not just being possession guys. So we've worked at that throughout the offseason, that's something they've pushed really hard for. Always have to work on fundamentals and technique in the blocking game -- that's just part of it. So we spend a lot of time on that stuff and just making sure if there's a 280-pound D-end I can man him up and block him and do well."
Who has stood out as a blocker?
"I think Kade Eldridge. He's a big, strong physical kid and he's really starting to gain an understanding of how to kind of stick your face on somebody and be really physical. He embraces it and likes it too. The big thing with him is just playing under control and trying to find that fine line of being really physical but still being under control and being able to maintain that block as well."
Have you seen Olsen's confidence grow from the spring?
"Yeah, absolutely. If anyone can come in the spring it's such a huge advantage for them because they just get to know the process, they get to know how practice flows, what the expectations are from coach and from me and the plays and all that stuff, obviously, too. They have a base foundation knowing what our base offense is so they can adjust and adapt a little better than somebody coming in in the summer and just learning it all right now. So they have a lot of banked reps as well."
How has Walker Lyons looked so far?
"He's done really well. Very intelligent kid. Came from Folsom, which is a really good football program as well. You can tell he was well coached, ran a lot of things that we run here probably, so a lot of that is familiar to him. But being out for a couple years as well, there's a little bit of rust to knock off and that type of thing. But he's done really well, man, really excited about him. Looking for him to make a major push at the end of camp here as well and hopefully get in the mix. But excited about all the guys we have right now."
Why has it seemed there's been a bigger emphasis on team chemistry this spring?
"For all of us to do what we want to accomplish, there's going to be ups and downs throughout the year, you know, and we have to be able to handle that together. You have to be able to be vulnerable with each other and be there for each other when things aren't going our way. And then when things are going our way, still have guys holding each other accountable too. So I know that's been a really big push for us as coaches with our guys, and they've done really, really well with it. They feel the importance of it as well."
What stood out about the TEs in the scrimmage?
"You know, I think they did really good job, like no MAs and busts -- no missed assignments. But again, catching the ball and doing something with it after, I thought they did a really good job of that. We had limited opportunities, but in our room we talk about not counting our reps but making our reps count. We don't know when we're going to be in and when we're not, but from a blocking standpoint as well I think Eldridge did a really good job coming off the rock and just knocking people back too, which is good to see. Joey's getting better every single day. Playing receiver, it's hard sometimes to go in there and block an Ant Lucas instead of a corner, it's a little bit different. But he's gotten so much better too. And then Lake, just knocking some of that rust off of Lake too and just him getting his body back right. All of those things together, I just feel like we did a pretty good job throughout the scrimmage."
Do you look at the room now and feel it's how it should look now that you have the three freshmen in?
"Yeah, for sure, you can see it. The talent level I think is where we want it to be. Now it's up to me, right, to get all these guys ready. That's the next part, but they're really, we're blessed with a great group, man. They work hard at it, they care. When they mess something up they're really upset about it, but they're good at moving on and getting better from it too. So I feel like we're in a really good position there with those guys."
As an offensive coach, what stands out about the progress the defense has made?
"Tremendous progress, for sure. Those guys, they're playing really well together. Probably just more playing down the middle of people and getting better at shedding blocks and making plays up front. Our guys are bigger, they're stronger. At the end of the day, that's so much better for us offensively -- O-line, tight ends, blocking scheme, because we're having to go block Kam Fountain and some of these 270-pound, 280 D-ends by ourself that are really trying to challenge us and our group too. There's so many veteran presences over that that were really great additions for us and great team guys too, so I'm excited about them. I'm excited to be on the other side and watch them play on Saturdays too."
