Highlights from our latest interviews.
OL COACH NEIL CALLAWAY
--on what he wants to see from Zach Banner
“Zach’s still got to work on a lot of things mechanically. Footwork is the main thing Zach needs to work on. Zach’s a bright young man, very charismatic. He’s got a good personality. He needs to stay focused sometimes.”
--on Banner playing left tackle
“I would be comfortable with him at left tackle but I’m not saying he’s going to be the left tackle.”
--on his objectives this spring
“The biggest thing is getting us all to play together, playing as one, communicating, what we call echoing calls to where we’re all tied together and on the same page, playing hard playing physical, those are the things you look for. (They’re) not checked off but were making progress.”
--Callaway noted improvement in chemistry, communication and physicality.
--on how Chad Wheeler is performing at 310 pounds after being 280 last year
“He move well, handles it well, and I think he’s had a very productive spring.”
--on how close the line is to being where he wants them
“We’ve got a ways to go. We’ve got a ways to go. Spring’s hard because we put everything in, defense puts everything in. A lot of times we’re scratching our head like what was that. It’s hard, but we’ve got a long ways to go. We got to get back in (fall) camp and get focused on certain things and we’ll be fine.”
--He said the starting five needs to be cemented two weeks before the opener, at the latest.
--He was noncommittal to who would play center, noting that he likes how Nico Falah is doing in spring.
OL NICO FALAH
--on competing for the starting job at center
“I really want the center position bad. I’ve been working on it all offseason and I’m excited to wrap it up this spring and work on it even more in fall. (Callaway) pretty much told me it’s Khaliel (Rodgers), Toa (Lobendahn) and me coming into the fall. We’ll see how the competition plays out.”
--on his progress at the position
“When I first started, mentally, I wasn’t locked in the position. I wanted to play tackle or guard. But right now, I’m continuing to grow at the position, it’s helped me a lot knowing the whole offensive calls, because I know what every single position on the O-Line is doing and I make their calls for them. It’s a big mental thing, it’s more mental than physical, actually. I really like the center position a lot.”
--on how he views the position change now that he has experience there
“I’m very thankful. It’s a blessing in disguise for me. Now I really appreciate it. From the beginning, I did not appreciate it at all. Last season, I was kind of upset when they put me at center. But it’s been a great blessing to me.”
--on Neil Callaway
“What’s different is it’s a lot harder. Everything, physically, mentally. His terminologies are ridiculous, multiple terms. His practices are ridiculous, non-stop, no breaks, but it’s gotten us better mentally and physically and we can see the strides, conditioning-wise. A lot of our guys are not as tired as they once were and he’s a great coach.”
--on his goal to be a regular starter
“That’s my main goal, that’s been my main goal since I got to USC. I wanted to start and wanted to start. It finally came against UCLA and Stanford last year and I’m looking to build on that and see what happens this fall. It feels close, for once. Finally. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity and I’m ready to go after it.”
OL VIANE TALAMAIVAO
--on how the offensive line has grown this spring
“I think we’ve developed much more of a work ethic compared to previous years. We’re not fully there yet, but I think we’ve done a great job of really trying to establish an identity for ourselves with running the ball and just being more physical upfront. And I think collectively as a group, I think we’ve taken to the idea of becoming technicians and our coach is just adamant about work and technique over and over and over again. So we’ve really taken that ideology and tried to run with it.”
--on whether experience or the coaching change was the primary cause for that growth
“I would say it’s a little mixture of both. Obviously, we were not happy with how we performed last year with all the inconsistencies as a group, mixed with just being more experienced now and really realizing who we are as leaders on this team and, of course, a new coaching change and someone to really foster that growth as a unit. So it’s a mixture of both.”
--on if the expectations for all these name guys coming out of high school creates a hunger for this unit to perform
“I think what people expect and what we expect of ourselves is completely different. I don’t think we pay attention, you know, all the stars and stripes and everything that you earned in high school goes away as soon as you sign. And I think it’s time for us to really just re-establish and re-build an identity and a name for ourselves. I know for sure, speaking for myself individually, I want to be the best player I can be. Whatever that comes with, it comes with, but I just really want to develop my game and see how good I can be.
“I just want to be an overall better player. I want to be a well-rounded technician and everything, so I’m trying to work hard to really focus on the small things and the small details that can really take my game to the next level. Like I said, I want to be the best player I can be and I want to see how good I can be and that means doing all the little things. I’m out here just trying to grind and work harder to take the little things and correct all the little things I may not be good at and work on areas that I’m not strong at and really strengthen the areas that I am good at. I just want to be the best player I can be.”
--on what people would notice as a change in the offensive line
“One thing for sure that you’ll notice, I want people to look at our offensive line and say, Wow, these guys play hard. I think that’s the whole mantra of our O-line this year, of our coach: Guys are going to play hard and guys are going to go non-stop and have a motor.”
--on if they feel challenged by the team’s record the last few years
“All I know is that if it’s something, if it’s a big enough buzz where people are talking about it in our locker room, then obviously it’s something that’s bothering our team. But I think we do a good job of just tuning out and focusing on us and focusing on what we need to do individually and collectively as a group. So I think there is a pressure, there’s pressure that’s always there because of how great this institution is, and how great and rich of a history this program has had. So there’s always a level of greatness that we have to live up to and that we want to live up to. I would say that’s the only pressure that we have. But it’s 2016, we’re out here looking for revenge.”
OL COACH NEIL CALLAWAY
--on what he wants to see from Zach Banner
“Zach’s still got to work on a lot of things mechanically. Footwork is the main thing Zach needs to work on. Zach’s a bright young man, very charismatic. He’s got a good personality. He needs to stay focused sometimes.”
--on Banner playing left tackle
“I would be comfortable with him at left tackle but I’m not saying he’s going to be the left tackle.”
--on his objectives this spring
“The biggest thing is getting us all to play together, playing as one, communicating, what we call echoing calls to where we’re all tied together and on the same page, playing hard playing physical, those are the things you look for. (They’re) not checked off but were making progress.”
--Callaway noted improvement in chemistry, communication and physicality.
--on how Chad Wheeler is performing at 310 pounds after being 280 last year
“He move well, handles it well, and I think he’s had a very productive spring.”
--on how close the line is to being where he wants them
“We’ve got a ways to go. We’ve got a ways to go. Spring’s hard because we put everything in, defense puts everything in. A lot of times we’re scratching our head like what was that. It’s hard, but we’ve got a long ways to go. We got to get back in (fall) camp and get focused on certain things and we’ll be fine.”
--He said the starting five needs to be cemented two weeks before the opener, at the latest.
--He was noncommittal to who would play center, noting that he likes how Nico Falah is doing in spring.
OL NICO FALAH
--on competing for the starting job at center
“I really want the center position bad. I’ve been working on it all offseason and I’m excited to wrap it up this spring and work on it even more in fall. (Callaway) pretty much told me it’s Khaliel (Rodgers), Toa (Lobendahn) and me coming into the fall. We’ll see how the competition plays out.”
--on his progress at the position
“When I first started, mentally, I wasn’t locked in the position. I wanted to play tackle or guard. But right now, I’m continuing to grow at the position, it’s helped me a lot knowing the whole offensive calls, because I know what every single position on the O-Line is doing and I make their calls for them. It’s a big mental thing, it’s more mental than physical, actually. I really like the center position a lot.”
--on how he views the position change now that he has experience there
“I’m very thankful. It’s a blessing in disguise for me. Now I really appreciate it. From the beginning, I did not appreciate it at all. Last season, I was kind of upset when they put me at center. But it’s been a great blessing to me.”
--on Neil Callaway
“What’s different is it’s a lot harder. Everything, physically, mentally. His terminologies are ridiculous, multiple terms. His practices are ridiculous, non-stop, no breaks, but it’s gotten us better mentally and physically and we can see the strides, conditioning-wise. A lot of our guys are not as tired as they once were and he’s a great coach.”
--on his goal to be a regular starter
“That’s my main goal, that’s been my main goal since I got to USC. I wanted to start and wanted to start. It finally came against UCLA and Stanford last year and I’m looking to build on that and see what happens this fall. It feels close, for once. Finally. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity and I’m ready to go after it.”
OL VIANE TALAMAIVAO
--on how the offensive line has grown this spring
“I think we’ve developed much more of a work ethic compared to previous years. We’re not fully there yet, but I think we’ve done a great job of really trying to establish an identity for ourselves with running the ball and just being more physical upfront. And I think collectively as a group, I think we’ve taken to the idea of becoming technicians and our coach is just adamant about work and technique over and over and over again. So we’ve really taken that ideology and tried to run with it.”
--on whether experience or the coaching change was the primary cause for that growth
“I would say it’s a little mixture of both. Obviously, we were not happy with how we performed last year with all the inconsistencies as a group, mixed with just being more experienced now and really realizing who we are as leaders on this team and, of course, a new coaching change and someone to really foster that growth as a unit. So it’s a mixture of both.”
--on if the expectations for all these name guys coming out of high school creates a hunger for this unit to perform
“I think what people expect and what we expect of ourselves is completely different. I don’t think we pay attention, you know, all the stars and stripes and everything that you earned in high school goes away as soon as you sign. And I think it’s time for us to really just re-establish and re-build an identity and a name for ourselves. I know for sure, speaking for myself individually, I want to be the best player I can be. Whatever that comes with, it comes with, but I just really want to develop my game and see how good I can be.
“I just want to be an overall better player. I want to be a well-rounded technician and everything, so I’m trying to work hard to really focus on the small things and the small details that can really take my game to the next level. Like I said, I want to be the best player I can be and I want to see how good I can be and that means doing all the little things. I’m out here just trying to grind and work harder to take the little things and correct all the little things I may not be good at and work on areas that I’m not strong at and really strengthen the areas that I am good at. I just want to be the best player I can be.”
--on what people would notice as a change in the offensive line
“One thing for sure that you’ll notice, I want people to look at our offensive line and say, Wow, these guys play hard. I think that’s the whole mantra of our O-line this year, of our coach: Guys are going to play hard and guys are going to go non-stop and have a motor.”
--on if they feel challenged by the team’s record the last few years
“All I know is that if it’s something, if it’s a big enough buzz where people are talking about it in our locker room, then obviously it’s something that’s bothering our team. But I think we do a good job of just tuning out and focusing on us and focusing on what we need to do individually and collectively as a group. So I think there is a pressure, there’s pressure that’s always there because of how great this institution is, and how great and rich of a history this program has had. So there’s always a level of greatness that we have to live up to and that we want to live up to. I would say that’s the only pressure that we have. But it’s 2016, we’re out here looking for revenge.”
