With JT Daniels and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown still not available for interviews, we were left to asking OC Tee Martin, QBs coach Bryan Ellis and QB Jack Sears for their thoughts on the dynamic freshman duo. They went in depth on their play and the scrimmage as a whole.
OC TEE MARTIN
--on how the QBs played in the scrimmage
"The guys played well with what they had to manage. The obvious of JT throwing great, was 10 of 12 or whatever it was, three touchdowns, that was kind of obvious. But I feel Matt and Jack also did some good things as well. Some of the sacks were on us. We've got to improve that. The decision-making was there. They got us in and out of some runs that made some runs successful. Protections, I thought they managed well. But it was good to just have the guys in the environment of the Coliseum. It's always different for young guys and inexperienced guys. Got a chance to kind of see the guys operate without us being on the field. That was good to see. Again, first live-bullet scrimmage, obviously we have to improve as an offense together and then as quarterbacks. They got their notes from Coach Ellis and myself earlier today, and we'll improve this week."
--on why the scrimmage setting proved to be so different for some players
"It's sometimes when you're out here [at practice] you have that feeling of extra time. But then when it's real live bullets and you're getting blown down for a sack and it counts and the ball's going to be spotted, it's a little different tempo, a little different ... we've got to have a better sense of urgency at times. Not all of them, just a couple of them, but we'll improve those things as a unit, couple physical beats up front that made it look a little worse than what it could have been. But all in all as an offense it was a really positive day."
--on what makes Amon-Ra St. Brown atypical for a freshman?
"He is unbelievable. I remember getting here and watching Robert Woods' freshman tape and saying, 'That's the best freshman I had ever seen.' And if he continues to go the way that he's going, we'll be saying that about him. Very mature, not only from a physical standpoint but mentally. He's a one-rep guy. What I mean by that, he's a guy you can say it to him one time, he does it one time and he gets it. He's not a high-rep guy. And makes plays. He's faster than advertised, stronger than advertised and he's just the total package. So we'll continue to have him grow within what we do and compete for a starting spot. He's playing really well right now."
--on St. Brown’s ability to win 50-50 balls
"I think his jumping ability and his strength. He's able to body people up, similar to basketball being in the paint. He's really strong. He's benching over 300 pounds as an 18-year-old. That's not normal. He has great body control. A lot of that timing of the jump, body control, strength, it all comes together when the ball's in the air and he has that ability to do that."
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OC TEE MARTIN
--on how the QBs played in the scrimmage
"The guys played well with what they had to manage. The obvious of JT throwing great, was 10 of 12 or whatever it was, three touchdowns, that was kind of obvious. But I feel Matt and Jack also did some good things as well. Some of the sacks were on us. We've got to improve that. The decision-making was there. They got us in and out of some runs that made some runs successful. Protections, I thought they managed well. But it was good to just have the guys in the environment of the Coliseum. It's always different for young guys and inexperienced guys. Got a chance to kind of see the guys operate without us being on the field. That was good to see. Again, first live-bullet scrimmage, obviously we have to improve as an offense together and then as quarterbacks. They got their notes from Coach Ellis and myself earlier today, and we'll improve this week."
--on why the scrimmage setting proved to be so different for some players
"It's sometimes when you're out here [at practice] you have that feeling of extra time. But then when it's real live bullets and you're getting blown down for a sack and it counts and the ball's going to be spotted, it's a little different tempo, a little different ... we've got to have a better sense of urgency at times. Not all of them, just a couple of them, but we'll improve those things as a unit, couple physical beats up front that made it look a little worse than what it could have been. But all in all as an offense it was a really positive day."
--on what makes Amon-Ra St. Brown atypical for a freshman?
"He is unbelievable. I remember getting here and watching Robert Woods' freshman tape and saying, 'That's the best freshman I had ever seen.' And if he continues to go the way that he's going, we'll be saying that about him. Very mature, not only from a physical standpoint but mentally. He's a one-rep guy. What I mean by that, he's a guy you can say it to him one time, he does it one time and he gets it. He's not a high-rep guy. And makes plays. He's faster than advertised, stronger than advertised and he's just the total package. So we'll continue to have him grow within what we do and compete for a starting spot. He's playing really well right now."
--on St. Brown’s ability to win 50-50 balls
"I think his jumping ability and his strength. He's able to body people up, similar to basketball being in the paint. He's really strong. He's benching over 300 pounds as an 18-year-old. That's not normal. He has great body control. A lot of that timing of the jump, body control, strength, it all comes together when the ball's in the air and he has that ability to do that."
Continued below...
