DBs COACH RONNIE BRADFORD
--On the play of Isaiah Langley
“You know what, right now, he’s had some good days and some bad days. It’s just about becoming a bit more consistent, but it’s not just him, it’s the whole group. Consistency is the sign of a good group, you know what you’re gonna get day in and day out, and you know, he’s building.”
--On the reason for Langley’s performance being up and down
“Sometimes we’re putting in a whole lot of stuff early, you know what I’m saying. It’s about retention and understanding where we wanna be because we expect perfection. We might not always get it, but if that’s what you’re aiming for, then hey, you fall a little short, you’re usually in a pretty damn good range."
--On Langley’s development from when he first began to work with coach Bradford
“Now he’s taken more of a role, he understands what’s at stake, and I tell the guys this all the time. They’re competing, everybody’s competing day in and day out. If you go out and have a bad game, there’s no guarantees in this business. Just ‘cause you may roll out there with the first group, there’s no guarantee you’re gonna stay out there. It’s your play and your preparation every week that defines whether you’re gonna stay out there or not."
--On the play of the freshmen
“Do you see those guys out there? Those can move around a little bit. For them, it’s about getting the playbook and retaining it. That’s where it’s gonna come from. Physically, they’re gifted. But now, do they know where to be, when to be there, and what to do when they get there?"
--On whether Greg Johnson is winning time with his performance so far
“Oh yeah, he’s playing well, he’s stepping up. It’s his second year and I think last year we threw him in there and he was like, 'Uh, what’s going on?' But being in the system, getting another year of spring ball, it’s actually helped him tremendously. He played a little bit of corner in high school, playing it all last year, playing it through the spring, through the summer, and now getting these reps again like he did last fall camp actually benefits the kid. He feels a lot more comfortable, not, 'Am I in the right place?' Now it’s about, OK, what are they trying to do? So he’s done a good job with that so far."
--On his first impressions of Olaijah Griffin
“A kid that was very well coached in high school, that understands it, that gets it. He played all the techniques in high school, whether it be cloud corner, off corner, press corner. So he played all the techniques in high school, now it’s about him understanding what we’re asking from him and what we expect. Our expectations are basically just a tweak on his technique, but the kid comes in here with a pretty good toolbox.”
On what he’s seeing from Ajene Harris
“He’s a pro. He’s a pro in college, you know what I’m saying? He’s not so worried about what he’s doing -- he’s calling out formations and plays that we may see, and tendencies that we may get, and that’s when you know you’ve got a guy who’s locked in to what he’s doing. He’s making guys around him better because he’s making them aware of what the situation is, what you possible could get, what you possibly may not get, and what the adjustment may be. From that, he’s a pro playing college right now. He’s a good kid.”
--On where Harris can still improve
“You can always get better, from a physical standpoint, from a speed standpoint, from a strength standpoint, and mentally. You’re always learning. If you think that you’re done, you know it all, you basically stunt yourself. He’s a kid that’ll continue to learn and get better.
--On what the biggest jump is for a young DB entering college
“You know what, whenever you talk to evaluators, whether it's college or professional, they’ll always say that the two positions that usually are the most difficult from a technical aspect are cornerback and defensive tackle, for the defense. You’ve got to be great with your footwork and hands, cause if you’re not, something big is gonna happen, whether it’s a big run or a pass given up. So those young guys, it’s coming in, learning those techniques, learning those leverages, learning alignments, learning the adjustments, that’s the huge thing that they gotta learn, because it’s not, 'Hey, you’re playing him on defense. And you got him, and you got him, and you got him.' It’s about we got a concept, and we need you to know where your fit is in this concept.”
--On whether or not the young DB’s have done a good job with that.
“For the most part, yeah. Like I’ve said, we’ve thrown a whole lot at them, and they’ve done a pretty good job. The might get a play caught up, a play here or a play there, but when you got somebody standing wide open on the back end you know somebody’s really messed up and that’s what we haven’t had you know? I gotta knock on wood (laughs).”
--On whether Iman Marshall has been more physical during this camp
“Marshall’s always been physical, you know what he’s done. He’s gonna become more technical, he’s not so much relying on his strength, cause now he’s using his feet even more as far as far as, “I’m gonna make sure I’m in good position.” When I’m in good position, I can get my hands on him and maul him, but I gotta make sure I’m not trying to be overly aggressive that if they happen to slip off I’m out of control. That’s what I think he’s done a tremendous job on in the offseason, I think he’s done a tremendous job with the weight staff, as far as improving his footwork so that he’s always in balance with what’s going on, his technique at this point, that’s big time.”
--On what he thinks of the players competing at the strong safety spot
“I think Bubba’s doing well, I think Isaiah Pola-Mao’s got some work there, I think C.J. Pollard’s gotten some work there. We’ve got big bodies back there, and those guys fly around, they’re kind of physically imposing. Not a whole lot of wide receivers wanna come in there and crack with those kind of bodies. They’re doing a good job getting in there and understanding where their run fit is. An even better aspect of it is that those kids can cover, they can cover out wide. So it’s continuing to improve, the coverage, the run reads, but each day it’s gradual, you know what I’m saying? Each day we always say, 'Be better than yesterday. Beat yesterday.' So I think those guys are doing a good job."
--On the similarities between the two safety spots in the Trojans' scheme
“They’re interchangeable, you know what I’m saying? They can pick a tight end up, set him on the other side of the field, or they can motion here and you can get the safeties mixed up. So you better know both, at the end of the day, and if you know both, like Isaiah Pola-Mao, who was playing behind Marvell Tell, playing some strong safety. So that’s why you’ve got to learn. Those guys all dual-learn, there isn’t no, 'You just learn this and you just learn that,' because you never know who might get dinged up, and what it does is we wanna get our best 11 on the field. So if one of our best 11 is our backup free safety, than guess what, he becomes a strong safety.”
--On the play of Isaiah Langley
“You know what, right now, he’s had some good days and some bad days. It’s just about becoming a bit more consistent, but it’s not just him, it’s the whole group. Consistency is the sign of a good group, you know what you’re gonna get day in and day out, and you know, he’s building.”
--On the reason for Langley’s performance being up and down
“Sometimes we’re putting in a whole lot of stuff early, you know what I’m saying. It’s about retention and understanding where we wanna be because we expect perfection. We might not always get it, but if that’s what you’re aiming for, then hey, you fall a little short, you’re usually in a pretty damn good range."
--On Langley’s development from when he first began to work with coach Bradford
“Now he’s taken more of a role, he understands what’s at stake, and I tell the guys this all the time. They’re competing, everybody’s competing day in and day out. If you go out and have a bad game, there’s no guarantees in this business. Just ‘cause you may roll out there with the first group, there’s no guarantee you’re gonna stay out there. It’s your play and your preparation every week that defines whether you’re gonna stay out there or not."
--On the play of the freshmen
“Do you see those guys out there? Those can move around a little bit. For them, it’s about getting the playbook and retaining it. That’s where it’s gonna come from. Physically, they’re gifted. But now, do they know where to be, when to be there, and what to do when they get there?"
--On whether Greg Johnson is winning time with his performance so far
“Oh yeah, he’s playing well, he’s stepping up. It’s his second year and I think last year we threw him in there and he was like, 'Uh, what’s going on?' But being in the system, getting another year of spring ball, it’s actually helped him tremendously. He played a little bit of corner in high school, playing it all last year, playing it through the spring, through the summer, and now getting these reps again like he did last fall camp actually benefits the kid. He feels a lot more comfortable, not, 'Am I in the right place?' Now it’s about, OK, what are they trying to do? So he’s done a good job with that so far."
--On his first impressions of Olaijah Griffin
“A kid that was very well coached in high school, that understands it, that gets it. He played all the techniques in high school, whether it be cloud corner, off corner, press corner. So he played all the techniques in high school, now it’s about him understanding what we’re asking from him and what we expect. Our expectations are basically just a tweak on his technique, but the kid comes in here with a pretty good toolbox.”
On what he’s seeing from Ajene Harris
“He’s a pro. He’s a pro in college, you know what I’m saying? He’s not so worried about what he’s doing -- he’s calling out formations and plays that we may see, and tendencies that we may get, and that’s when you know you’ve got a guy who’s locked in to what he’s doing. He’s making guys around him better because he’s making them aware of what the situation is, what you possible could get, what you possibly may not get, and what the adjustment may be. From that, he’s a pro playing college right now. He’s a good kid.”
--On where Harris can still improve
“You can always get better, from a physical standpoint, from a speed standpoint, from a strength standpoint, and mentally. You’re always learning. If you think that you’re done, you know it all, you basically stunt yourself. He’s a kid that’ll continue to learn and get better.
--On what the biggest jump is for a young DB entering college
“You know what, whenever you talk to evaluators, whether it's college or professional, they’ll always say that the two positions that usually are the most difficult from a technical aspect are cornerback and defensive tackle, for the defense. You’ve got to be great with your footwork and hands, cause if you’re not, something big is gonna happen, whether it’s a big run or a pass given up. So those young guys, it’s coming in, learning those techniques, learning those leverages, learning alignments, learning the adjustments, that’s the huge thing that they gotta learn, because it’s not, 'Hey, you’re playing him on defense. And you got him, and you got him, and you got him.' It’s about we got a concept, and we need you to know where your fit is in this concept.”
--On whether or not the young DB’s have done a good job with that.
“For the most part, yeah. Like I’ve said, we’ve thrown a whole lot at them, and they’ve done a pretty good job. The might get a play caught up, a play here or a play there, but when you got somebody standing wide open on the back end you know somebody’s really messed up and that’s what we haven’t had you know? I gotta knock on wood (laughs).”
--On whether Iman Marshall has been more physical during this camp
“Marshall’s always been physical, you know what he’s done. He’s gonna become more technical, he’s not so much relying on his strength, cause now he’s using his feet even more as far as far as, “I’m gonna make sure I’m in good position.” When I’m in good position, I can get my hands on him and maul him, but I gotta make sure I’m not trying to be overly aggressive that if they happen to slip off I’m out of control. That’s what I think he’s done a tremendous job on in the offseason, I think he’s done a tremendous job with the weight staff, as far as improving his footwork so that he’s always in balance with what’s going on, his technique at this point, that’s big time.”
--On what he thinks of the players competing at the strong safety spot
“I think Bubba’s doing well, I think Isaiah Pola-Mao’s got some work there, I think C.J. Pollard’s gotten some work there. We’ve got big bodies back there, and those guys fly around, they’re kind of physically imposing. Not a whole lot of wide receivers wanna come in there and crack with those kind of bodies. They’re doing a good job getting in there and understanding where their run fit is. An even better aspect of it is that those kids can cover, they can cover out wide. So it’s continuing to improve, the coverage, the run reads, but each day it’s gradual, you know what I’m saying? Each day we always say, 'Be better than yesterday. Beat yesterday.' So I think those guys are doing a good job."
--On the similarities between the two safety spots in the Trojans' scheme
“They’re interchangeable, you know what I’m saying? They can pick a tight end up, set him on the other side of the field, or they can motion here and you can get the safeties mixed up. So you better know both, at the end of the day, and if you know both, like Isaiah Pola-Mao, who was playing behind Marvell Tell, playing some strong safety. So that’s why you’ve got to learn. Those guys all dual-learn, there isn’t no, 'You just learn this and you just learn that,' because you never know who might get dinged up, and what it does is we wanna get our best 11 on the field. So if one of our best 11 is our backup free safety, than guess what, he becomes a strong safety.”
