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PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle with Dave, Sid and Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve. (Mike Max was in Florida doing Twins interviews)
(note - either I'm slow from losing an hour of sleep, or PJ was talking faster than usual, but I had a harder time keeping up. did the best I could.)
Sid: did the players report in good shape?
PJ: 1st, Happy Birthday to Sid. (Sid turns 98 on Thursday) the squad is doing great. working hard. we've had 2 practices with no pads. we've installed about 40-50% of the offense. no contact, no tackling. big mental week. learning the system. next week we'll work in more contact.
Sid: how are QB's looking?
PJ: proud of progress they've made. no one has ever thrown a pass in a college game. it's the best of times and worst of times. I look at it as a positive -we get to build QB's from ground up. don't know yet what we'll get on the field. Coach C has done tremendous job developing players. the level of leadership is very high in the room.
Sid: more Depth in OL this year?
PJ: last year only had 4 guys healthy in spring at times. right now we have 13 linemen - can go 1st group, 2nd group, mix some guys in. I like our depth. I'll like it more after next year's recruiting class. Coach Callahan has made a lot of progress with them. Players are improving their technique, improving discipline. got a lot of young guys in the room, and we'll add more in the fall. we'll have to make decisions on who red-shirts, who plays.
Sid: don't you have more depth in all positions?
PJ: year one is an attrition year. you take over a program, and some people leave. installing a new identity, new culture. some people aren't going to fit. year two, have 1st big recruiting class in. start developing numbers. next year we'll have competitive depth. it's a step by step process.
Sid: what about Winfield and Douglas and the other injured players?
PJ: AW has done fantastic job. you can see the development mentally. he's playing faster. a lot of the young guys in the secondary have got to develop. AW doesn't have to prove he's a player - the other guys have to prove that. I'm excited for AW to have a big season. I'm so glad we red-shirted players, (missed some names), Andries. Thomas Rush - that young man's going to play. fans should be excited to meet new youthful talent.
Sid: lost Brooks. what about other RB's?
PJ: Rodney going thru spring practice. being more careful. want to make sure we get Rodney to the season. He's tutoring and leading. need the young guys to step up, fill gap. (mentions Ibrahim, London). Williams will come in ready to play. he'll be here in June. Edmonds same thing. Brooks is Coach Brooks till 2019. he keeps a positive attitude. help young guys develop a lot faster.
Cheryl Reeve: Lynx had challenges when we took over program. what do you focus on - personnel, schemes -in order to move the needle on offense?
PJ: at WMU, we had one of the worst offenses in country in year 1. by year 4 we were top 15 in the country. start with culture beyond anything else. how we do things. expectations. how do you win games. that's what year one's about. as far as QB play - last year, we had QB's who hadn't played much football. this year, we have QB's who haven't played any FB. it all starts with the QB. have to make sure they can handle what the offense is throwing at them. figure out their strengths, weaknesses, and build system from QB. culturally, have to accept how we win. QB play - develop talent. bring in playmakers.
Mona: Seth Green, will he play somewhere else? Philosophy on contact in practice?
PJ: Seth is a phenomenal athlete. he's really embraced the culture. he just got back from attending a leadership conference. he's done a great job. he's in competition (for QB job). But, he's such a good athlete, if he doesn't win the QB job, I've talked to him about playing something else TE, WR, LB? it's all hypothetically. just want to make sure he's prepared. trying to be open and honest. But he's got a great opportunity to win the QB job.
As far as Contact - FB is a violent game. there's got to be some contact. I'm low on that. we train in a controlled environment. that's hard to manipulate with OL and DL. We have 7 different tempos we go at. We call out a tempo and players have to adjust. (explains what tempos mean) Tag, Thud, Full contact. players have to be able to adapt. with so many head injuries, the 1st thing is safety for players. do a lot of things with tackling drills in a controlled environment. may not wear helmets, but focus on technique.
Sid: How about the 7 players who reported early. How are they looking? (henceforth, this will be designated as the Sid Question of the Week - SQotW)
PJ: they're adapting. I'm proud of those guys. they've earned the respect of their teammates. that's the fun thing about FR, watching them earn respect. (I tell them to) keep their mouth shut and let the work speak for them. I'm excited about all 17-18 FR coming in June. It's our 1st true recruiting class. excited about future.
Sid: lot of new ticket programs available for games. Murray's certificate.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah. Happy Birthday, Sid.
(note - either I'm slow from losing an hour of sleep, or PJ was talking faster than usual, but I had a harder time keeping up. did the best I could.)
Sid: did the players report in good shape?
PJ: 1st, Happy Birthday to Sid. (Sid turns 98 on Thursday) the squad is doing great. working hard. we've had 2 practices with no pads. we've installed about 40-50% of the offense. no contact, no tackling. big mental week. learning the system. next week we'll work in more contact.
Sid: how are QB's looking?
PJ: proud of progress they've made. no one has ever thrown a pass in a college game. it's the best of times and worst of times. I look at it as a positive -we get to build QB's from ground up. don't know yet what we'll get on the field. Coach C has done tremendous job developing players. the level of leadership is very high in the room.
Sid: more Depth in OL this year?
PJ: last year only had 4 guys healthy in spring at times. right now we have 13 linemen - can go 1st group, 2nd group, mix some guys in. I like our depth. I'll like it more after next year's recruiting class. Coach Callahan has made a lot of progress with them. Players are improving their technique, improving discipline. got a lot of young guys in the room, and we'll add more in the fall. we'll have to make decisions on who red-shirts, who plays.
Sid: don't you have more depth in all positions?
PJ: year one is an attrition year. you take over a program, and some people leave. installing a new identity, new culture. some people aren't going to fit. year two, have 1st big recruiting class in. start developing numbers. next year we'll have competitive depth. it's a step by step process.
Sid: what about Winfield and Douglas and the other injured players?
PJ: AW has done fantastic job. you can see the development mentally. he's playing faster. a lot of the young guys in the secondary have got to develop. AW doesn't have to prove he's a player - the other guys have to prove that. I'm excited for AW to have a big season. I'm so glad we red-shirted players, (missed some names), Andries. Thomas Rush - that young man's going to play. fans should be excited to meet new youthful talent.
Sid: lost Brooks. what about other RB's?
PJ: Rodney going thru spring practice. being more careful. want to make sure we get Rodney to the season. He's tutoring and leading. need the young guys to step up, fill gap. (mentions Ibrahim, London). Williams will come in ready to play. he'll be here in June. Edmonds same thing. Brooks is Coach Brooks till 2019. he keeps a positive attitude. help young guys develop a lot faster.
Cheryl Reeve: Lynx had challenges when we took over program. what do you focus on - personnel, schemes -in order to move the needle on offense?
PJ: at WMU, we had one of the worst offenses in country in year 1. by year 4 we were top 15 in the country. start with culture beyond anything else. how we do things. expectations. how do you win games. that's what year one's about. as far as QB play - last year, we had QB's who hadn't played much football. this year, we have QB's who haven't played any FB. it all starts with the QB. have to make sure they can handle what the offense is throwing at them. figure out their strengths, weaknesses, and build system from QB. culturally, have to accept how we win. QB play - develop talent. bring in playmakers.
Mona: Seth Green, will he play somewhere else? Philosophy on contact in practice?
PJ: Seth is a phenomenal athlete. he's really embraced the culture. he just got back from attending a leadership conference. he's done a great job. he's in competition (for QB job). But, he's such a good athlete, if he doesn't win the QB job, I've talked to him about playing something else TE, WR, LB? it's all hypothetically. just want to make sure he's prepared. trying to be open and honest. But he's got a great opportunity to win the QB job.
As far as Contact - FB is a violent game. there's got to be some contact. I'm low on that. we train in a controlled environment. that's hard to manipulate with OL and DL. We have 7 different tempos we go at. We call out a tempo and players have to adjust. (explains what tempos mean) Tag, Thud, Full contact. players have to be able to adapt. with so many head injuries, the 1st thing is safety for players. do a lot of things with tackling drills in a controlled environment. may not wear helmets, but focus on technique.
Sid: How about the 7 players who reported early. How are they looking? (henceforth, this will be designated as the Sid Question of the Week - SQotW)
PJ: they're adapting. I'm proud of those guys. they've earned the respect of their teammates. that's the fun thing about FR, watching them earn respect. (I tell them to) keep their mouth shut and let the work speak for them. I'm excited about all 17-18 FR coming in June. It's our 1st true recruiting class. excited about future.
Sid: lot of new ticket programs available for games. Murray's certificate.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah. Happy Birthday, Sid.