DL COACH KENECHI UDEZE
--On the progress of Brandon Pili, Marlon Tuipulotu and Jay Tufele after one year in the program
“I feel great with all of them because they’re competitive. Everybody really battles their butts off to get back on the field. As a coach when you have a competitive room, a lot of great stuff happens. Guys are competitive enough to where they can help the guy next to them. It’s really cool after practice when the guys stay after and really try to help Trevor Trout and try to help each other instead of just waiting for the next day and where we’re in the individual period again. So I’m not only happy with the guys developing but also developing each other.”
--If he feels comfortable with playing his line
“I feel great with them, I really do. And the best thing about watching a Brandon Pili, a Jay Tufele, a Marlon Tuipulotu, they’re all different. They all possess different special qualities. It’s really cool when we have out package and they’re all on the football field. It’s really cool to see them all attack and do what makes them special. So as a coach, you just have to keep developing, maturing them and finding different ways to make them better.”
--If the defensive front can control games
“I don’t see why not but that’s something we have to prove. We have to prove that with our first opportunity. And before you know it’s going to be here really soon and we have another following that and so forth. So all I’m really concerned about is the next day in practice because that’s what we control.”
--On shifting the whole line up in practice
“This is camp. Guys have to get reps, we have to see what they can do, what they can handle. And I never put a guy in if he’s not ready or if I don’t think he can execute at a high level. So it’s really about the guys that have proven themselves, that are competing and are trying to get the technique that we’re asking them to go in there and demonstrate and those guys are being rolled in because they’re doing a great job at it.”
--On the differences between Pili, Tuipulotu and Tufele
“Pili’s athleticism at that size, the stuff that he can do is really remarkable. With Marlon, Marlon is going to do everything right. I’m really happy and really proud of him stepping into fall camp and not missing a beat. You can’t do anything but really smile as a coach and be happy for the young man. And Jay is literally what I call the bully. He’s strong, he’s aggressive and when he puts his hands on you, he tells the story of what’s going on. They all have something really special about them and as we develop through this, they’re all just going to keep developing and adapting other abilities through the game of football. But for right now, it’s really about getting them ready on a day to day basis, having their minds right and making sure that they’re really sound. I’m a firm believer that the best football players are always the smartest.”
--On Christian Rector at defensive end
“I love it. In a realistic 4-3 defense, in the NFL, he has the end body. So I love the fact that he’s getting reps at end because he’s a natural and he moves naturally. He has a really good feel for the game, so I’m really happy that he’s getting reps all over the place. He’s a utility man, he does everything.”
--On Connor Murphy
“Connor Murphy is doing really good. I think his change of direction, his agility, with our strength and conditioning staff, with Coach (Ivan) Lewis really developing him over the summer. And you can see it in fall camp, you can see he does a great job of changing direction. You can see it year by year, he’s getting better and better and he’s moving better.”
--On Caleb Tremblay taking a jump
“Anytime you get a young guy that comes here, he doesn’t know what we’re asking to do. You can get overwhelmed, you can’t mad at them, but they don’t know what they’re doing. So you have to teach them what we’re asking them to do and then overtime, you see the changes, you see them taking the coaching and them showing up in a team setting. Now they’re defeating a man in front of them and now they’re having success and that builds confidence. So when guys are here, especially when they come and are admitted as a spring enrollee, you get that much more time to work with them, instead of just getting them in fall camp. That’s why you can see a jump from where he was in spring to where he is now.”
--On the progress of Brandon Pili, Marlon Tuipulotu and Jay Tufele after one year in the program
“I feel great with all of them because they’re competitive. Everybody really battles their butts off to get back on the field. As a coach when you have a competitive room, a lot of great stuff happens. Guys are competitive enough to where they can help the guy next to them. It’s really cool after practice when the guys stay after and really try to help Trevor Trout and try to help each other instead of just waiting for the next day and where we’re in the individual period again. So I’m not only happy with the guys developing but also developing each other.”
--If he feels comfortable with playing his line
“I feel great with them, I really do. And the best thing about watching a Brandon Pili, a Jay Tufele, a Marlon Tuipulotu, they’re all different. They all possess different special qualities. It’s really cool when we have out package and they’re all on the football field. It’s really cool to see them all attack and do what makes them special. So as a coach, you just have to keep developing, maturing them and finding different ways to make them better.”
--If the defensive front can control games
“I don’t see why not but that’s something we have to prove. We have to prove that with our first opportunity. And before you know it’s going to be here really soon and we have another following that and so forth. So all I’m really concerned about is the next day in practice because that’s what we control.”
--On shifting the whole line up in practice
“This is camp. Guys have to get reps, we have to see what they can do, what they can handle. And I never put a guy in if he’s not ready or if I don’t think he can execute at a high level. So it’s really about the guys that have proven themselves, that are competing and are trying to get the technique that we’re asking them to go in there and demonstrate and those guys are being rolled in because they’re doing a great job at it.”
--On the differences between Pili, Tuipulotu and Tufele
“Pili’s athleticism at that size, the stuff that he can do is really remarkable. With Marlon, Marlon is going to do everything right. I’m really happy and really proud of him stepping into fall camp and not missing a beat. You can’t do anything but really smile as a coach and be happy for the young man. And Jay is literally what I call the bully. He’s strong, he’s aggressive and when he puts his hands on you, he tells the story of what’s going on. They all have something really special about them and as we develop through this, they’re all just going to keep developing and adapting other abilities through the game of football. But for right now, it’s really about getting them ready on a day to day basis, having their minds right and making sure that they’re really sound. I’m a firm believer that the best football players are always the smartest.”
--On Christian Rector at defensive end
“I love it. In a realistic 4-3 defense, in the NFL, he has the end body. So I love the fact that he’s getting reps at end because he’s a natural and he moves naturally. He has a really good feel for the game, so I’m really happy that he’s getting reps all over the place. He’s a utility man, he does everything.”
--On Connor Murphy
“Connor Murphy is doing really good. I think his change of direction, his agility, with our strength and conditioning staff, with Coach (Ivan) Lewis really developing him over the summer. And you can see it in fall camp, you can see he does a great job of changing direction. You can see it year by year, he’s getting better and better and he’s moving better.”
--On Caleb Tremblay taking a jump
“Anytime you get a young guy that comes here, he doesn’t know what we’re asking to do. You can get overwhelmed, you can’t mad at them, but they don’t know what they’re doing. So you have to teach them what we’re asking them to do and then overtime, you see the changes, you see them taking the coaching and them showing up in a team setting. Now they’re defeating a man in front of them and now they’re having success and that builds confidence. So when guys are here, especially when they come and are admitted as a spring enrollee, you get that much more time to work with them, instead of just getting them in fall camp. That’s why you can see a jump from where he was in spring to where he is now.”
