Aug. 6, 2005
– How are you feeling?
“I feel great. I’ve lost a lot of weight, and I’m ready to roll. Thank goodness that’s old news now.”
How excited are you to finally get started?
“This is really the start of things. We haven’t been around them all summer. They’ve been here working, but the coaches haven’t been able to get on the field with them. It’s great to see how guys change. We’ve had guys whose bodies have changed over the summer. We’ve had guys mature. How much they’ve changed and matured … that’s the fun part of about starting. And to see the what the new guys look like, that’s fun as well.”
Is there anybody who has changed a lot?
“There haven’t been any major changes, just little changes here and there.”
How tough will things be this year with three new teams and two divisions?
“You don’t add three teams like we have over the last two years and things get easier. They get harder. But that’s the purpose of doing it, to make it a better conference. Hopefully, as time goes on, we’ll be in the best conference out there. That’s what you shoot for, to try and be the best.”
Who are some of the guys that when people watch practice, they’ll see significant improvement?
“I think we have to wait and see that. We’ve had one walk-through, so I can’t tell you who it’s going to be. It’s going to be interesting for us to find out. We’ll find out about the same time Joe Fan will. We’ll see it a lot more in-depth. The fans will be able to see what they can see in the game, but we’ll be able to see the subtle improvements by everyone.”
What are you looking to see from Reggie Ball?
“We’ll find out early in the season whether he’s taken the next step. I don’t know that you find that out at practice. I think you can find out if someone has taken a step back in practice, but I don’t know that you can see if someone has taken a giant step forward in practice, espacially a guy who has started 25 games. So I think that’s sort of a wait-and-see thing. If a guy hasn’t played much, and all of a sudden he makes a jump, then you can see that he’s getting closer to being ready to play. But a guy that’s played, until he plays in a game, especially at the quarterback position, you’re not really sure what you’re going to get until you actually get in a game.”
What do you want to see out of him in a game?
“Consistency. We’ve got to avoid turnovers. He knows that. I know that. Everybody knows that. So, I think that’s one of the big keys for us. We can’t have up-and-down. We’ve got to be steady and consistent. Half his interceptions came in three ball games last year. We’ve got to eliminate that kind of stuff.”
As you go through pre-season practice, how will the reps at quarterback compare to how it was in the spring?
“Reggie secured the job in spring practice. But we’ll still give Taylor (Bennett), and Kyle Manley, for that matter, enough reps to prepare them to play. You never know, you could sprain an ankle the last week of pre-season, and those two guys have got to be ready to play. You’ve got to get those guys ready to play, so we’ll give them enough reps so they’ll be ready to go in the ball game.”
Did you feel in the spring that they were ready to play?
“No. They’re not ready to play. They got a lot closer to being ready. But Reggie wasn’t ready to play when he was a freshman. He got the opportunity and made the most of it. Those guys could do the same thing. But if you asked me if Reggie was ready to play the first time he walked into a game … no. He wasn’t. But I had four-year starters in college who walked into their first NFL game who weren’t ready to play. That’s nothing new.”
Have you given any thought to using two guys in a game?
“Sure. I think we’re mentally ready to do that, if that’s how it plays out.”
Some coaches would rather use just one guy.
“Oh, yeah, that’s the preference. But sometimes situations dictate otherwise.”
Calvin Johnson looked very solid in the spring game. What are your expectations for him this season?
“Probably he has the same expectations this year that Reggie had last year. He’s coming off being the Rookie of the Year in the conference. He had a very good freshman year, and everyone expects him to take the next step, us included. He’ll get better. He’ll become more knowledgeable, become a better route runner. We know some things now that we’re going to have to do to make sure he’s in the game plan each week. I think that he will be used more and better this year, and hopefully that ends up in better production. In general, if they want to bad enough, defenses can take away somebody. They can do whatever it takes. But very few people make those kind of drastic changes on a week-in, week-out basis.”
Where do you expect help for Calvin to come from at the receiving position?
“I think [Damarius Bilbo] is primed for a good year. I’m very excited about watching what he does in pre-season. I’m very excited about him. He is in wide-receiver shape, probably for the very first time. He understands exactly what he’s supposed to do, and he’s an excellent leader for us. We’ll have to see what James Johnson and Pat Clark do for us, and what are Xavier McGuire and Chris Dunlap going to do? They’re guys who have been here and made plays for us at times. Are they going to step up and go to the next level with their play? I think we’ve got the ability to make some things happen there. We’ll just have to see how that plays out as well.”
We’ve heard how grounded Calvin is. Has he matured or changed in ways that you can see?
“I think he has become more knowledgeable about everything. Last year, he walked into it, and I don’t think he knew what to expect. I think he has a much better idea about what to expect from game-day, press, walking around campus, things like that. He’s still the same humble guy he always was. That part has not changed at all.”
When you look at his physical talent, as you have gone through your career as a coach in pro and college, how does he rank?
“I’ve never had one like this. I’ve never had one that’s as big and fast and had as good a hand-eye coordination in combination as this guy, anywhere.”
Michael Irvin?
“Never. Never had one.”
How about the other side of the ball? You’ve had some key losses on the defense, but also some key players returning.
“It looks like we’ll have about eight guys returning on defense who have started a game. And we’ve got to have some depth come through from some young players. That’s going to be a key for us, to have some young guys step up and provide some depth for us on defense, maybe from some guys who played on special teams last year and did not get in games a lot. Whether it’s third down, goal-line or short yardage, they’re going to have to help us on the field this year. We were 12th in the nation last year, and we have a big group coming back this year, so I’m excited about our defense.”
Is (center) Kevin Tuminello better prepared going into this fall than he was last fall?
“Very much so. He played (last year). Sometimes we forget that Andy Tidwell-Neal was banged up and out, and Kevin played a decent amount last year. He was hurt at the end of the year and was not able to play in the bowl game. But he played a decent amount, and I’m looking forward to seeing him take that next step. He has enough experience to step into that role and be very solid for us.”
What does (defensive back) Chris Reis mean to this team? It seems like he can step into any position and he excels.
“I don’t think I can put it into words. I really don’t. He’s not selfish. He wants what is best for the team. He plays whatever position and plays it well, and he’s a great leader. That’s trying to put it into words, but I’m not doing it justice, what he means to the football team.”
(Defensive end) Eric Henderson says he’s in the best shape of his career. Do you get a sense that he’s really looking forward to this year?
“He’s very excited about this year. He knows it’s his last year, and he wants to be in great shape. He’s had nagging injuries over the last couple of years, and it’s just slowed him down. I think he’s looking forward to it, and we’re looking forward to a healthy Eric Henderson, too.”
He mentioned not making the pre-season All-ACC team. People have forgotten about him because of the injuries.
“That’s exactly right. He missed at least four games last year, or parts of four games. When you don’t get on the field, they’re not going to remember you.”
What else does he have to do, other than stay healthy, to take his game to another level?
“I think he’ll get better as he gets more knowledgeable about what we’re doing and what he can do. He’s a very good all-around player. He’s not just a pass-rusher or a run-defender. He plays the whole game very well. All he needs is to stay on the field.”
How do you get P.J. Daniels to not always seek contact, to not always run over when you can run around a defender?
“You talk to a guy about that. But if a guy’s a leopard, he’s a leopard. You can’t change him to something else. If he’s a bull, he’s a bull. You can’t change him to something else. You can try and tell him if he’s more elusive, he’s going to be better in the long run, but he’s got to come to that realization.”
Can you talk about the running back position?
“It’s the best depth we’ve had since I’ve been here. Chris Woods has played and done some good things. Rashaun Grant has played and done some good things. Then we’ve added Tashard Choice, who has solidified himself as the second guy going into this season. He’s a very similar back to P.J. They’re both in that 208 to 210 (pound) range who are more physical than the other guys. The other two guys are quick dip-and-dart guys. The good thing is we might be able to finish the season with healthy backs, which we have never done here.”
Going back to Calvin and Reggie, do you worry that Reggie looks to Calvin too much? Do you have to remind him that there are other players who can play, because (Johnson) is such a target?
“It’s a double-edged sword. You can say that, and all of a audden, you don’t look for Calvin enough, and he’s one of the best players on the field. What you do is, you give the quarterback reads and ask him to understand matchups on the field and make good decisions off the matchups he sees. You can’t go out there only looking for one guy. But when you have good matchups, you can’t not look for one of the best players in the conference.”
As you go into pre-season practice, he there been any limitations placed on you by your doctors?
“Oh, no. I’ve been completely set free by those guys. I’m not set free from my wife’s diet, but I’m set free from all that other stuff.”
How much weight have you lost?
“About 30 (pounds). A little over 30.”
How do you feel after losing those pounds?
“I don’t have any aches and pains anymmore when I play racquetball that I used to.”
Have you had any realizations after going through this experience?
“I haven’t had any awakenings or epiphanies or anything like that. I pretty much enjoyed life and didn’t take it for granted to start with.”
Do you have any players or assistants treat you any differently now?
“Heavens, no. That was about a one-week deal.”
You’ve had winning seasons and gone to bowls the last few years. Do you feel like it’s time to take it to the next level?
“We can. Whether we do it or not, that remains to be seen. But we can. There are a lot of factors that go into taking a good team to the next level. You have to hit all of those and have a couple of other things go right to be able to to what Auburn did last year, go from whatever they were, 7-4, to going undefeated. A lot of things have to go right.”
Do you feel any sort of pressure that you have to have a “statement” type of year that this program is getting better and better?
“The pressure for me is to do what’s right by the program and the players every day. After that, there isn’t any pressure.”
Does this seem to be the least amount of questions you’ve had going into a season, a season where more things seem to be in place as you start?
“Maybe so. The offensive line is probably our biggest question mark right now. And it’s the first year that we’ve kept our staff intact. This is two years now that we’ve had them together. We’re all on the same page. Our players have been around us now for three years, this is our fourth. We’re past that transition stage, and we’re in the developmental and building stage.”
You’ve got some weapons on offense, but obviously you need the offensive line to be solid.
“The promising thing is that this is the most athletic group we’ve had – run, jump, change direction, that kind of stuff. It probably is the least amount of experience we’ve walked into a season with. That’s a concern, so it could go either way. It’s harder for a young guy to start on the offensive line than it is anywhere else, except quarterback, in my mind.”
–GT–
