Highlights from our first round of interviews. (Chris Swanson and Scott Schrader contributed to this report.)
QBs COACH TYSON HELTON
--on the quarterbacks’ performance during the first day
“I thought the guys were very, very solid. I thought they looked pretty comfortable. Obviously the first day, there’s going to be some mistakes here and there. But they competed hard, I thought they led the team pretty good. They were fairly even. We’ll go back and look at the film and see what we needed to correct. But it was a good day overall.”
--on what will decide the quarterback competition
“At the end of the day, just like what Coach Clay (Helton) talks about. You have to have consistency, you have to move the ball, you have to take care of the ball. The ball has to find the end zone. And it’s just really about those things. Whoever that guy is that can do that on a consistent basis, will be the guy. As of right now, both those guys, that’s what you want. You want that competition in that position, you want them to feel the pressure a little bit and that will make them that much better on Game 1.
“They have both done these things. It’s just that you just want to give each of them as many opportunities as possible to try to say, hey, can there be a clear-cut guy? At the end of the day, if it can’t be clear cut, then you have to go with, okay, who is the most consistent, who is the one that scores, who is the one that takes care of the football. Just like Coach Clay said, you go a couple of weeks and then you make a decision and that gives you enough time to get ready for Alabama.”
--on whether there is a clear-cut leader yet
“Nobody is clear-cut. I thought both guys did a very nice job, they did what they were asked of. Obviously, we’ll go back in the film room, watch that and make the corrections. But Day 1, I would say they were both about the same. And you’re going to have some times where maybe a fan or somebody sees a throw and they say, wow, what a throw. But it’s really not about that. It’s about the consistency, moving the ball, being a good leader all those things.”
--on if the two quarterbacks are actually even
“That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. We wouldn’t be in fall camp rotating two quarterbacks if we did not want to be fair and give them the opportunity to say who is going to be the guy. And we have time. I know everyone wants to hear who is the guy but we’ve been doing this a long time, we have plenty of time. There’s enough time to let those guys continue to develop and then you can make a decision and move on from there.”
--on the initiative to split first team reps
“We try to make it as even as possible. In some drills one guy may get more with the first team than the next guy, but then the next drill, it will be flipped. We always want to have that feeling of, hey, at anytime, I’m in there. So they’re constantly getting that pressure of having to perform. And we tried to keep it pretty even today. Early on, Max got some of the one reps, but in the second half of the practice, Sam got a little more of the one reps.
“We’ll try to keep it fairly even. Sometimes, somebody gets on a drive and it’s a long drive and then the next guy comes in and makes a big play and it’s only three plays. We have to be conscience of that and make sure we try to even out those reps.”
--on how the offense is impacted by the quarterbacks rotating in practice
“We’ve been fortunate because we have a very talented first team but we also have a very talented second group too. So it helps us in the evaluation of these two guys, where you’re not sitting there saying, well this guy is throwing or running with the second team offense. We feel fairly good about the guys we have in the second team that we can still evaluate the two quarterbacks. But again, at the end of the day, we’re going to give both those guys an opportunity to compete with the ones to show what they can do with that one group.”
--on the approaching deadline to choose a quarterback
“It’s what we do, it’s our profession. I don’t feel that stress. I know as a staff we don’t feel that stress. That’s really what you want on a good football team, you want competition. You embrace competition. For those two guys, there’s that stress level to perform consistently so that they can be the guy. But really our job is to coach them, prepare them and get them both ready to play.”
--on whether he’s confident that they’ll be ready to choose a quarterback
“We’re going to make a decision and roll with it. You don’t have a crystal ball of how clear-cut a guy is going to be. But at the end of the day, there comes a point in time, you get more close to the game, you’re about two weeks out or whatever it might be, where you got to say, hey, we’re going to make a decision and roll with it. That’s what we’ll do.”
--on how he characterizes the quarterback battle
“You have two guys who are, number one, good friends. And two, they pull for each other. That’s what you want because the team sees that. The team sees that there is a friendly competition, there is a battle going on everyday but there is a great relation to it between those two guys. They want the team to be successful. You’re always going to put the team in front of yourself and that’s what these guys do. Whatever they’re asked to do, they try to do it to the best of their ability.”
OG VIANE TALAMAIVAO
--on if he’s feeling anxious to hit someone
“Part of me, yeah. But I’m more anxious (about), once we hit the real grind of camp and really just seeing how focused we can stay as far as just brushing up on technique and all that because the season is coming up right around the corner. So now more than ever is the time to just work on technique and really just take what the coaches are giving us, learning as much as we can. That’s what I’m mostly excited for. The physical aspect is there, there’s always excitement for that. But I’m just really excited to see how we can grow as a team.”
--on the expectations of this offensive line
“Everyone is hyping it up to be one of the better offensive lines that’s been here. But the truth is, we haven’t done anything yet. And to be honest, we were really inconsistent last year, myself included. There were games when we were high and there were games where we were low. I think how we progress through camp and just the attitude we take moving forward of really just acknowledging that there are high expectations for us and really shouldering all of that and putting the pressure on us. At the end of the day, I feel like last year we had a little bit of it, but I think we kind of shied away from it. But now, this year, I think, hey, put it on us. If there’s going to be anybody that’s going to take this team, it’s going to be us.”
--on what was pinpointed as an issue from last year and what has to change
“I think just with everything, all the turmoil that we went through last year as a team, changing head coaches and having to change the staff midseason. And really coming off a rocky start. I think we’re tougher mentally this year as a team than we were last year. And that’s indicative of the work we’ve done in spring ball with the culture we’re trying to create with our coaches. It’s an everyday thing for us. Like I said, we’ll see when season starts, but going into this fall, I like how we have responded as a team and just the mindset going into camp collectively because there shouldn’t be any surprises.”
--on what he’s thinking heading into the year
“I just want to be the best player I can be, and that’s all in effort of being the best teammate I can be, and that’s all in effort of making our team the best it can be. I think my mentality, the difference from this year to last year is, camp is always tough because it’s supposed to be tough. But I think this year, at least for me, I’m just trying to focus on being as technically sound of a player as I possibly can be. So that’s taking coaching from today, tomorrow and the rest of camp. I’m in preparation mode for season. We play Alabama on Sept. 3, I think everyone knows that. But I think people overlook the fact that we have a game the next week against Utah State, who’s going to come in and want to beat us. They’re a really good team. So I’m in preparation mode, man, whatever we have to do to get it right in camp, I’m all for it. So I’m ready for a big year for our team, hopefully.”
Continued below...
QBs COACH TYSON HELTON
--on the quarterbacks’ performance during the first day
“I thought the guys were very, very solid. I thought they looked pretty comfortable. Obviously the first day, there’s going to be some mistakes here and there. But they competed hard, I thought they led the team pretty good. They were fairly even. We’ll go back and look at the film and see what we needed to correct. But it was a good day overall.”
--on what will decide the quarterback competition
“At the end of the day, just like what Coach Clay (Helton) talks about. You have to have consistency, you have to move the ball, you have to take care of the ball. The ball has to find the end zone. And it’s just really about those things. Whoever that guy is that can do that on a consistent basis, will be the guy. As of right now, both those guys, that’s what you want. You want that competition in that position, you want them to feel the pressure a little bit and that will make them that much better on Game 1.
“They have both done these things. It’s just that you just want to give each of them as many opportunities as possible to try to say, hey, can there be a clear-cut guy? At the end of the day, if it can’t be clear cut, then you have to go with, okay, who is the most consistent, who is the one that scores, who is the one that takes care of the football. Just like Coach Clay said, you go a couple of weeks and then you make a decision and that gives you enough time to get ready for Alabama.”
--on whether there is a clear-cut leader yet
“Nobody is clear-cut. I thought both guys did a very nice job, they did what they were asked of. Obviously, we’ll go back in the film room, watch that and make the corrections. But Day 1, I would say they were both about the same. And you’re going to have some times where maybe a fan or somebody sees a throw and they say, wow, what a throw. But it’s really not about that. It’s about the consistency, moving the ball, being a good leader all those things.”
--on if the two quarterbacks are actually even
“That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. We wouldn’t be in fall camp rotating two quarterbacks if we did not want to be fair and give them the opportunity to say who is going to be the guy. And we have time. I know everyone wants to hear who is the guy but we’ve been doing this a long time, we have plenty of time. There’s enough time to let those guys continue to develop and then you can make a decision and move on from there.”
--on the initiative to split first team reps
“We try to make it as even as possible. In some drills one guy may get more with the first team than the next guy, but then the next drill, it will be flipped. We always want to have that feeling of, hey, at anytime, I’m in there. So they’re constantly getting that pressure of having to perform. And we tried to keep it pretty even today. Early on, Max got some of the one reps, but in the second half of the practice, Sam got a little more of the one reps.
“We’ll try to keep it fairly even. Sometimes, somebody gets on a drive and it’s a long drive and then the next guy comes in and makes a big play and it’s only three plays. We have to be conscience of that and make sure we try to even out those reps.”
--on how the offense is impacted by the quarterbacks rotating in practice
“We’ve been fortunate because we have a very talented first team but we also have a very talented second group too. So it helps us in the evaluation of these two guys, where you’re not sitting there saying, well this guy is throwing or running with the second team offense. We feel fairly good about the guys we have in the second team that we can still evaluate the two quarterbacks. But again, at the end of the day, we’re going to give both those guys an opportunity to compete with the ones to show what they can do with that one group.”
--on the approaching deadline to choose a quarterback
“It’s what we do, it’s our profession. I don’t feel that stress. I know as a staff we don’t feel that stress. That’s really what you want on a good football team, you want competition. You embrace competition. For those two guys, there’s that stress level to perform consistently so that they can be the guy. But really our job is to coach them, prepare them and get them both ready to play.”
--on whether he’s confident that they’ll be ready to choose a quarterback
“We’re going to make a decision and roll with it. You don’t have a crystal ball of how clear-cut a guy is going to be. But at the end of the day, there comes a point in time, you get more close to the game, you’re about two weeks out or whatever it might be, where you got to say, hey, we’re going to make a decision and roll with it. That’s what we’ll do.”
--on how he characterizes the quarterback battle
“You have two guys who are, number one, good friends. And two, they pull for each other. That’s what you want because the team sees that. The team sees that there is a friendly competition, there is a battle going on everyday but there is a great relation to it between those two guys. They want the team to be successful. You’re always going to put the team in front of yourself and that’s what these guys do. Whatever they’re asked to do, they try to do it to the best of their ability.”
OG VIANE TALAMAIVAO
--on if he’s feeling anxious to hit someone
“Part of me, yeah. But I’m more anxious (about), once we hit the real grind of camp and really just seeing how focused we can stay as far as just brushing up on technique and all that because the season is coming up right around the corner. So now more than ever is the time to just work on technique and really just take what the coaches are giving us, learning as much as we can. That’s what I’m mostly excited for. The physical aspect is there, there’s always excitement for that. But I’m just really excited to see how we can grow as a team.”
--on the expectations of this offensive line
“Everyone is hyping it up to be one of the better offensive lines that’s been here. But the truth is, we haven’t done anything yet. And to be honest, we were really inconsistent last year, myself included. There were games when we were high and there were games where we were low. I think how we progress through camp and just the attitude we take moving forward of really just acknowledging that there are high expectations for us and really shouldering all of that and putting the pressure on us. At the end of the day, I feel like last year we had a little bit of it, but I think we kind of shied away from it. But now, this year, I think, hey, put it on us. If there’s going to be anybody that’s going to take this team, it’s going to be us.”
--on what was pinpointed as an issue from last year and what has to change
“I think just with everything, all the turmoil that we went through last year as a team, changing head coaches and having to change the staff midseason. And really coming off a rocky start. I think we’re tougher mentally this year as a team than we were last year. And that’s indicative of the work we’ve done in spring ball with the culture we’re trying to create with our coaches. It’s an everyday thing for us. Like I said, we’ll see when season starts, but going into this fall, I like how we have responded as a team and just the mindset going into camp collectively because there shouldn’t be any surprises.”
--on what he’s thinking heading into the year
“I just want to be the best player I can be, and that’s all in effort of being the best teammate I can be, and that’s all in effort of making our team the best it can be. I think my mentality, the difference from this year to last year is, camp is always tough because it’s supposed to be tough. But I think this year, at least for me, I’m just trying to focus on being as technically sound of a player as I possibly can be. So that’s taking coaching from today, tomorrow and the rest of camp. I’m in preparation mode for season. We play Alabama on Sept. 3, I think everyone knows that. But I think people overlook the fact that we have a game the next week against Utah State, who’s going to come in and want to beat us. They’re a really good team. So I’m in preparation mode, man, whatever we have to do to get it right in camp, I’m all for it. So I’m ready for a big year for our team, hopefully.”
Continued below...
