There were many players who didn't suit up for practice Tuesday but my understanding is that it was more of a spring practice with the majority of time spent teaching fundamentals in individual drills.
Three players took reps with the offensive linemen in practice: Tucker Fisk, Dylan Boles and Dalyn Wade-Perry. I assumed DWP would be a likely candidate and obviously Fisk has been discussed often as a lineman. I should have guessed Boles would get a look because he's not playing at defensive line but is a solid athlete, a tireless worker and great teammate. He's the type who will maximize his effort trying to help at that position, just like he has been commended for doing the same at defensive line.
DWP is probably only a short-term practice option based on what I heard yesterday and the fact the defense doesn't want to lose him for any meaningful length of time.
For a reminder, this is the offensive line injury situation:
Walker Little (out for the season)
Dylan Powell (out for the season)
Henry Hattis (out for the season)
Grant Pease (out for the season -- was likely headed toward scholarship before injury)
Trey Stratford (out for the season -- down to 240 pounds and has not practiced at Stanford)
Branson Bragg (probably out for the season/maybe bowl game)
Devery Hamilton (unknown -- wearing boot on left foot)
Q&A with Lance Anderson
After the Oregon State game you said the guys played passively in the fourth quarter and were waiting for teammates to make a play. With that specifically, what did you see versus Washington?
"I think we played much more aggressively. Starting in the secondary, those guys challenged routes better than they have all year long or going back to Northwestern. I thought the corners played really well. We gave up a couple deep ones but they really battled and competed all night.
"Up front we rushed hard, we hit the quarterback, got a couple sacks -- should have had a few more -- but we were getting there and affecting the quarterback. Guys like Curtis Robinson were flying around, playing hard, playing physical. I was very pleased with how hard we played, how aggressive we played. We have to do that all the time. That has to be our nature. We've shown it in spurts this year."
I think it was after Paulson Adebo's first big pass breakup that Duane Akina met him on the field and seemed to be trying to get Paulson pumped up. Paulson had a big smile that they showed on the broadcast. How important was it to get Paulson confident?
"He just needs to get back to playing with confidence. He works. The attention that he received all offseason, it didn't affect his work ethic at all or his approach to the game. It stayed the same. He still pushes himself, still works hard. It's just the results weren't there like we're used to. He still works as hard as anybody. It's just great to see him having some success again because he's a talented kid and he works really hard."
We've talked about Kyu Kelly a couple weeks in a row. When you watch him what impresses you about how well he's doing?
"I think the way he's gone out and competed. He doesn't shy away from anything. He's not hesitant, he just goes. He covers guys and goes all out. It's great to see that. Right now he's playing like he's not worried about making a mistake. He has that aggressive mentality that we want. We've been really pleased with what he's done for us."
You guys are slowly bringing Stuart Head along. He made an impact in limited reps against Washington. What are your expectations for what those steps look like with Stuart and what his role could ultimately be?
"I think he's getting more and more healthy. I think having the partial bye week this week will help. He had a full week of practice last week for the first time since he was injured in fall camp. We expect him to have a bigger and bigger role going forward. He is another kid who has length, runs really well, is a physical kid who doesn't shy away from contact. He will be a great guy to work in."
When he's all the way back, what does that rotation look like to you with Head, Kendall Williamson and Malik Antoine?
"It gives us a lot of versatility. It gives us the ability to rotate those guys through, keep those guys fresh and playing fast instead of having to take 70-75 snaps a game. Plus it gives us more versatility in the defense, like in our nickel or dime packages. Now maybe we can work one of those guys at the nickel position ... especially Stu and Kendall are good sized guys who also run well. If we have a bigger slot receiver or a tight end who is a dangerous matchup we can get those guys involved at the nickel position."
I know you guys are being careful in practice this week. What is the to-do list?
"Yesterday we had a good chance to spend a lot of time watching the game film from Washington, correcting mistakes and errors. Normally on a Monday we don't have as much as time. We spend a little bit of time on the previous game but then we have to move on to the next opponent. We had much more time. That is good we will be able to learn from our mistakes -- whether it was some of those missed sacks, the errors in some of the pickups in coverage.
"Today and tomorrow it will be the same thing in practice: We will focus on a lot of fundamentals to work some of our base calls, things that we use a lot of, really repping those things in practice. Plus it gives us time to work on the fundamentals. We've had a lot of individual periods, so some of the freshmen that we're going to need to help us down the line ... like Stephen Herron, who we're hoping to get up and ready to go."
Three players took reps with the offensive linemen in practice: Tucker Fisk, Dylan Boles and Dalyn Wade-Perry. I assumed DWP would be a likely candidate and obviously Fisk has been discussed often as a lineman. I should have guessed Boles would get a look because he's not playing at defensive line but is a solid athlete, a tireless worker and great teammate. He's the type who will maximize his effort trying to help at that position, just like he has been commended for doing the same at defensive line.
DWP is probably only a short-term practice option based on what I heard yesterday and the fact the defense doesn't want to lose him for any meaningful length of time.
For a reminder, this is the offensive line injury situation:
Walker Little (out for the season)
Dylan Powell (out for the season)
Henry Hattis (out for the season)
Grant Pease (out for the season -- was likely headed toward scholarship before injury)
Trey Stratford (out for the season -- down to 240 pounds and has not practiced at Stanford)
Branson Bragg (probably out for the season/maybe bowl game)
Devery Hamilton (unknown -- wearing boot on left foot)
Q&A with Lance Anderson
After the Oregon State game you said the guys played passively in the fourth quarter and were waiting for teammates to make a play. With that specifically, what did you see versus Washington?
"I think we played much more aggressively. Starting in the secondary, those guys challenged routes better than they have all year long or going back to Northwestern. I thought the corners played really well. We gave up a couple deep ones but they really battled and competed all night.
"Up front we rushed hard, we hit the quarterback, got a couple sacks -- should have had a few more -- but we were getting there and affecting the quarterback. Guys like Curtis Robinson were flying around, playing hard, playing physical. I was very pleased with how hard we played, how aggressive we played. We have to do that all the time. That has to be our nature. We've shown it in spurts this year."
I think it was after Paulson Adebo's first big pass breakup that Duane Akina met him on the field and seemed to be trying to get Paulson pumped up. Paulson had a big smile that they showed on the broadcast. How important was it to get Paulson confident?
"He just needs to get back to playing with confidence. He works. The attention that he received all offseason, it didn't affect his work ethic at all or his approach to the game. It stayed the same. He still pushes himself, still works hard. It's just the results weren't there like we're used to. He still works as hard as anybody. It's just great to see him having some success again because he's a talented kid and he works really hard."
We've talked about Kyu Kelly a couple weeks in a row. When you watch him what impresses you about how well he's doing?
"I think the way he's gone out and competed. He doesn't shy away from anything. He's not hesitant, he just goes. He covers guys and goes all out. It's great to see that. Right now he's playing like he's not worried about making a mistake. He has that aggressive mentality that we want. We've been really pleased with what he's done for us."
You guys are slowly bringing Stuart Head along. He made an impact in limited reps against Washington. What are your expectations for what those steps look like with Stuart and what his role could ultimately be?
"I think he's getting more and more healthy. I think having the partial bye week this week will help. He had a full week of practice last week for the first time since he was injured in fall camp. We expect him to have a bigger and bigger role going forward. He is another kid who has length, runs really well, is a physical kid who doesn't shy away from contact. He will be a great guy to work in."
When he's all the way back, what does that rotation look like to you with Head, Kendall Williamson and Malik Antoine?
"It gives us a lot of versatility. It gives us the ability to rotate those guys through, keep those guys fresh and playing fast instead of having to take 70-75 snaps a game. Plus it gives us more versatility in the defense, like in our nickel or dime packages. Now maybe we can work one of those guys at the nickel position ... especially Stu and Kendall are good sized guys who also run well. If we have a bigger slot receiver or a tight end who is a dangerous matchup we can get those guys involved at the nickel position."
I know you guys are being careful in practice this week. What is the to-do list?
"Yesterday we had a good chance to spend a lot of time watching the game film from Washington, correcting mistakes and errors. Normally on a Monday we don't have as much as time. We spend a little bit of time on the previous game but then we have to move on to the next opponent. We had much more time. That is good we will be able to learn from our mistakes -- whether it was some of those missed sacks, the errors in some of the pickups in coverage.
"Today and tomorrow it will be the same thing in practice: We will focus on a lot of fundamentals to work some of our base calls, things that we use a lot of, really repping those things in practice. Plus it gives us time to work on the fundamentals. We've had a lot of individual periods, so some of the freshmen that we're going to need to help us down the line ... like Stephen Herron, who we're hoping to get up and ready to go."
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