Just got back from tonight's football event in the upper West end of the stadium.
Different format from previous years, where each asst. coach was queried. Tonight, 5 players, Shaw, Bloomgren, and Anderson took to the mikes.
Johnny Caspers (Earth Studies), Kevin Palma (STS), Michael Rector (HumBio), Solomon Thomas (Comm), and Konrad Ukropina (graduated, getting Master's in something I can't remember) troop up front in alpha order.
Caspers talks about his position group, mentions all the usuals. Later takes a crowd question about when they'll gel. Can't give a specific time frame, but "soon". 2014 experience of late gelling showed them what to look for and how to work out issues of not being gel. Favorite team to beat: U$C
Palma, asked about being the focus with Martinez graduated, says that his ILB group is trying to be the best group it can be, so that there is no dropoff when rotations come in. Okereke, Jones, Perez, Barton, and Branch all draw a mention. (No Noor Davis mention, who was there for the food before most of the players were dismissed) Favorite team to beat: U$C
Rector, glad to be back for year 5. Worked on perfecting everything, not just one particular set of routes. Special to finish out his career. Today was last Tuesday morning run ever. After football, wants to go to med school to be cardiovascular surgeon. Favorite team to beat: Dux, as Pac-12 title goes through the North.
Solomon Thomas (who got raves all night from Husak, Shaw, Anderson) said that Phillips is coming along and will be fine. Dylan Jackson, Eric Cotton, and Jordan Watkins drew praise. Probably forgot about LK? Favorite team to beat: Difficult question, because I don't like a lot of teams in the Pac 12. But I hate U$C.
Konrad Ukropina will work in VR after his Master's, he hopes. Husak asked him to take the crowd through the game winner v. ND, which he did. Husak reminded us all that KU was 18-20 on FG and 67-67 on PAT. Crowd question later "what happened on the 2 FG". KU replied that he had watched those two way more than the others, and that the technical answer was that due to his soccer background, sometimes a bad habit creeps in that gets his plant foot to close to the ball, and something about his shoulders coming through. Trying to make sure everything moves toward the goal posts is a focus. Favorite team to beat: U$C.
Husak shout out to former OL Mike McLaughlin and Eric Heitmann. Mentions that Stanford had 3 top 10 finishes from program inception through 2009, and now 3 more. 3 10 win seasons through 2009, and 5 more since. 3X Pac 12 Coach of the Year David Shaw, ladies and gentleman.
Shaw is excited to start camp and have the team show him what they can do. Has made a point of starting the year with a blank slate (too many preconceived notions as asst. coach), and finding out what the team's strengths and weaknesses are.
This being Stanford, has 95 leaders on the team. JC, CM, ST, and Dallas Lloyd draw mention as leaders.
QB is a 2 man race. Reps will be split evenly in camp. In response to an audience question, if still 2 QB's come game time, will game reps be split by series, or even within series. "Yes". This should provoke some followup on the board.
Fake fumble play in the Rose Bowl had been in their pocket for 7 years. Iowa on 1/1 was the perfect team and situation to run it.
Solomon Thomas will earn national attention.
Excited to see even more of CM and Bryce Love on the field together.
VR is awesome. RB's get help learning pass pro assignments.
Asked about Coach Denny Green, Shaw responded that Coach Green was the best motivator he had ever met. He had a way to get young men from different backgrounds to move in the same direction. The day after Coach Green passed away, Coach Shaw was reminiscing with former teammate Vaughan Bryant. They traded stories about things that they now get (at 40) that Coach taught them long ago at 18.
Husak calls up DC Anderson and OC Bloomgren up together to finish the night. Anderson goes first.
DB's are deep and talented, and Akina is a great coach. Will allow LB's and DL more time to get after the QB as situations present. Hoping PK, MT, and JA can each improve in non-pass rushing ways to help the D more. Recruiting seems to go in cycles. Have hit jackpot the last couple years on DB's and DL. Asked to name 2 players who really showed signs of stepping things up in the spring, he named Sean Barton and Jordan Watkins. Phillips should be back for the opener.
Bloomgren up next. Likes his OL. Does not name a starting 5, but give the 6 names that will be playing in the Ogre/Jumbo packages. Caspers, Tucker, Fanaika, Hall, Bright, Burkett. Burkett did great job in spring mastering the offense, is a cut above the other centers at that.
Irwin, who looks like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo (Bloomgren's add, not mine), Rector, Owusu, and Arteaga-Whiteside at receiver. Dalton Schultz is phenomenal. Daniel Marx (back from injury) is as good a blocker as we've had since I've been here.
CM didn't do too much during spring, and Love showed he is a complete running back, not just a package guy.(Husak called CM the best player in the country, and BL the most dangerous player in the conference).
QB "controversy" isn't because both of them are bad, which he has seen before. Even reps in camp.
Husak finished with a CM story. During Pro Day at Stanford, heard several people refer to CM as "a Wes Welker type", and got upset as that diminishes the fact that CM is a great RB. Husak preferred a comparison to Marshall Faulk, and agreed with another he heard a few days ago: Ladanian Tomlinson. Don't let CM be called Wes Welker.
Different format from previous years, where each asst. coach was queried. Tonight, 5 players, Shaw, Bloomgren, and Anderson took to the mikes.
Johnny Caspers (Earth Studies), Kevin Palma (STS), Michael Rector (HumBio), Solomon Thomas (Comm), and Konrad Ukropina (graduated, getting Master's in something I can't remember) troop up front in alpha order.
Caspers talks about his position group, mentions all the usuals. Later takes a crowd question about when they'll gel. Can't give a specific time frame, but "soon". 2014 experience of late gelling showed them what to look for and how to work out issues of not being gel. Favorite team to beat: U$C
Palma, asked about being the focus with Martinez graduated, says that his ILB group is trying to be the best group it can be, so that there is no dropoff when rotations come in. Okereke, Jones, Perez, Barton, and Branch all draw a mention. (No Noor Davis mention, who was there for the food before most of the players were dismissed) Favorite team to beat: U$C
Rector, glad to be back for year 5. Worked on perfecting everything, not just one particular set of routes. Special to finish out his career. Today was last Tuesday morning run ever. After football, wants to go to med school to be cardiovascular surgeon. Favorite team to beat: Dux, as Pac-12 title goes through the North.
Solomon Thomas (who got raves all night from Husak, Shaw, Anderson) said that Phillips is coming along and will be fine. Dylan Jackson, Eric Cotton, and Jordan Watkins drew praise. Probably forgot about LK? Favorite team to beat: Difficult question, because I don't like a lot of teams in the Pac 12. But I hate U$C.
Konrad Ukropina will work in VR after his Master's, he hopes. Husak asked him to take the crowd through the game winner v. ND, which he did. Husak reminded us all that KU was 18-20 on FG and 67-67 on PAT. Crowd question later "what happened on the 2 FG". KU replied that he had watched those two way more than the others, and that the technical answer was that due to his soccer background, sometimes a bad habit creeps in that gets his plant foot to close to the ball, and something about his shoulders coming through. Trying to make sure everything moves toward the goal posts is a focus. Favorite team to beat: U$C.
Husak shout out to former OL Mike McLaughlin and Eric Heitmann. Mentions that Stanford had 3 top 10 finishes from program inception through 2009, and now 3 more. 3 10 win seasons through 2009, and 5 more since. 3X Pac 12 Coach of the Year David Shaw, ladies and gentleman.
Shaw is excited to start camp and have the team show him what they can do. Has made a point of starting the year with a blank slate (too many preconceived notions as asst. coach), and finding out what the team's strengths and weaknesses are.
This being Stanford, has 95 leaders on the team. JC, CM, ST, and Dallas Lloyd draw mention as leaders.
QB is a 2 man race. Reps will be split evenly in camp. In response to an audience question, if still 2 QB's come game time, will game reps be split by series, or even within series. "Yes". This should provoke some followup on the board.
Fake fumble play in the Rose Bowl had been in their pocket for 7 years. Iowa on 1/1 was the perfect team and situation to run it.
Solomon Thomas will earn national attention.
Excited to see even more of CM and Bryce Love on the field together.
VR is awesome. RB's get help learning pass pro assignments.
Asked about Coach Denny Green, Shaw responded that Coach Green was the best motivator he had ever met. He had a way to get young men from different backgrounds to move in the same direction. The day after Coach Green passed away, Coach Shaw was reminiscing with former teammate Vaughan Bryant. They traded stories about things that they now get (at 40) that Coach taught them long ago at 18.
Husak calls up DC Anderson and OC Bloomgren up together to finish the night. Anderson goes first.
DB's are deep and talented, and Akina is a great coach. Will allow LB's and DL more time to get after the QB as situations present. Hoping PK, MT, and JA can each improve in non-pass rushing ways to help the D more. Recruiting seems to go in cycles. Have hit jackpot the last couple years on DB's and DL. Asked to name 2 players who really showed signs of stepping things up in the spring, he named Sean Barton and Jordan Watkins. Phillips should be back for the opener.
Bloomgren up next. Likes his OL. Does not name a starting 5, but give the 6 names that will be playing in the Ogre/Jumbo packages. Caspers, Tucker, Fanaika, Hall, Bright, Burkett. Burkett did great job in spring mastering the offense, is a cut above the other centers at that.
Irwin, who looks like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo (Bloomgren's add, not mine), Rector, Owusu, and Arteaga-Whiteside at receiver. Dalton Schultz is phenomenal. Daniel Marx (back from injury) is as good a blocker as we've had since I've been here.
CM didn't do too much during spring, and Love showed he is a complete running back, not just a package guy.(Husak called CM the best player in the country, and BL the most dangerous player in the conference).
QB "controversy" isn't because both of them are bad, which he has seen before. Even reps in camp.
Husak finished with a CM story. During Pro Day at Stanford, heard several people refer to CM as "a Wes Welker type", and got upset as that diminishes the fact that CM is a great RB. Husak preferred a comparison to Marshall Faulk, and agreed with another he heard a few days ago: Ladanian Tomlinson. Don't let CM be called Wes Welker.
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