David Shaw
KJ Costello was able to practice "more than last week" and Shaw is "hopeful". He is somewhere between questionable and probable.
Davis Mills is "down" for this week. So, if Costello can't go -- which will be determined in the next two days -- then I expect Jack West to start again.
You've talked about the process of understanding what you can ask this team to do that they can do well with a lot of young guys playing. How would you describe the progress the past couple weeks to get to know what they can do?
"We've made a lot of progress. I think this past game was a setback, but the way this team played against Washington, the way this team played on the road against Oregon State, that's dividends from money invested in the bank the previous three weeks. Every game, every rep, that we take with these young guys is another couple hundred dollars in the bank that will pay off down the road. You hate to completely think about it that way but that's the way it's going to be.
"Take Jake Hornibrook. He got better from Monday night till today. There were a couple things he had to get used to and got better. He's a better football player now than he was Thursday night. By the end of the season he will be better than he is now. That's just what playing the game does. The hard part is that as we poke them and prod them the combination of what they do well and what's going to fit into the game plan is a bit of an adventure. This is where we are right now and I'm excited about our progress."
What do you think this situation has done to challenge the coaches as teachers? Do you feel like it's had to push you guys to, not necessarily teach differently, but there is now an even greater emphasis on teaching guys quickly.
"Absolutely. In some instances it's like spring football but it counts. This is the way it feels in spring football. You have young guys, you're going through team periods and scrimmages, and you're evaluating them, but these are ... football games. These are going in the win-loss column. It's the same feeling as far as not giving them too much but we have to give them enough. With young guys it's hard to find that balance, particularly on the offensive line."
Lance Anderson
Coach Shaw talked about evaluating the long stretches of the game when the defense played well versus giving up big plays. How did you view it in terms of balancing it?
"It's so hard to find the positive when those big plays really are the things that stick out and they're what can make a huge difference in a game. You go back and look at it there were a lot of good plays in that game. We played a lot of good defense. We gave up nine plays of more than 15 yards and in those nine plays we gave up 258 yards of offense. If you look at the other 68 plays of the game we gave up less than 200 yards at 2.8 yards per snap. That's great, but when you give up nine plays for 258 yards that's tough. That's what's killing us is those big plays."
Do you see any common denominators through the games when you give up big plays?
"There are not a lot of big mental busts. It's just missed tackles or guys making a play. The problem is if we miss a tackle on the line of scrimmage we're not limiting that play to maybe a 10-, 12-, 15-yard play. They're turning into 50-plus yard runs. We gave up two 50-plus yard runs. We didn't get the ball down on the ground. We have to make plays and tackle better. A lot of it is being physical at the point of attack, taking air out of the run game. Make some of those tackles be a bit easier."
What did you see from Stuart Head's first start?
"Since he's played over the past couple weeks he has done a really phenomenal job. This week he played more than any other by far and he played well. On a couple of those big plays he could have been the guy to get the ball carrier down. So that needs to be better, but at the point of attack he played really physical. He had some negative plays, some really physical tackles. He definitely showing us what he thought he could be. He's a physical kid who likes contact and can cover ground."
The defensive line is one of the healthiest groups on the team so it's easier to track their development over the course of the season. How would you grade that unit as a whole and who are standouts in your mind?
"As a group that definitely improved over the previous couple years. That group is playing more physical. You see the individual development. Three guys really jump out to me: Thomas Booker, Mike Williams, Thomas Schaffer. Those three guys have made a lot of improvement. They're playing some really good football for us right now. They're playing tough, they're playing physical. They each have their limitations but they're getting a lot out of their ability."
What do you see from Loa Kaufusi?
"He was solid last Thursday night. He made a couple tackles late in the game. He played physical, which was really good to see. He played fast. He had some mental errors that need to be cleaned up. Loa has some ability. He has good length. He's a strong kid. Sometimes you need to get him to play with more fire, more energy, more juice and enthusiasm all the time. I think he's starting to do that. It's flashing in practice every week."
What have you seen from Zahran Manley and Salim Turner-Muhammad?
"Both are making progress. Zahran Manley is a little bit ahead of Salim right now. Zahran is on the verge of playing. With some of the corners dinged up and in and out throughout the year he is pressing for playing time. I think eventually he is going to be a really good player. I don't know how soon it will be. One thing that helps him a lot is he is getting a lot of practice reps. He makes mistakes and there are times you can tell he's a freshman. He's getting better all the time. He's close to playing.
"I think we've focused more at corner with Salim. Early on in camp we were trying both, but it seems like he's more comfortable at corner. For the near future that's where he's going to be."
On Nicolas Toomer: "He is healthy now. He has been getting reps with the scout team and on Fridays in our 7-on-7 we get him reps with the defense. Pretty much missed all of fall camp so this is really his first chance to get reps and start learning the defense. We're trying to rep him at safety. Physically he has the tools of what you want in a safety. Now it's just learning the defense."
KJ Costello was able to practice "more than last week" and Shaw is "hopeful". He is somewhere between questionable and probable.
Davis Mills is "down" for this week. So, if Costello can't go -- which will be determined in the next two days -- then I expect Jack West to start again.
You've talked about the process of understanding what you can ask this team to do that they can do well with a lot of young guys playing. How would you describe the progress the past couple weeks to get to know what they can do?
"We've made a lot of progress. I think this past game was a setback, but the way this team played against Washington, the way this team played on the road against Oregon State, that's dividends from money invested in the bank the previous three weeks. Every game, every rep, that we take with these young guys is another couple hundred dollars in the bank that will pay off down the road. You hate to completely think about it that way but that's the way it's going to be.
"Take Jake Hornibrook. He got better from Monday night till today. There were a couple things he had to get used to and got better. He's a better football player now than he was Thursday night. By the end of the season he will be better than he is now. That's just what playing the game does. The hard part is that as we poke them and prod them the combination of what they do well and what's going to fit into the game plan is a bit of an adventure. This is where we are right now and I'm excited about our progress."
What do you think this situation has done to challenge the coaches as teachers? Do you feel like it's had to push you guys to, not necessarily teach differently, but there is now an even greater emphasis on teaching guys quickly.
"Absolutely. In some instances it's like spring football but it counts. This is the way it feels in spring football. You have young guys, you're going through team periods and scrimmages, and you're evaluating them, but these are ... football games. These are going in the win-loss column. It's the same feeling as far as not giving them too much but we have to give them enough. With young guys it's hard to find that balance, particularly on the offensive line."
Lance Anderson
Coach Shaw talked about evaluating the long stretches of the game when the defense played well versus giving up big plays. How did you view it in terms of balancing it?
"It's so hard to find the positive when those big plays really are the things that stick out and they're what can make a huge difference in a game. You go back and look at it there were a lot of good plays in that game. We played a lot of good defense. We gave up nine plays of more than 15 yards and in those nine plays we gave up 258 yards of offense. If you look at the other 68 plays of the game we gave up less than 200 yards at 2.8 yards per snap. That's great, but when you give up nine plays for 258 yards that's tough. That's what's killing us is those big plays."
Do you see any common denominators through the games when you give up big plays?
"There are not a lot of big mental busts. It's just missed tackles or guys making a play. The problem is if we miss a tackle on the line of scrimmage we're not limiting that play to maybe a 10-, 12-, 15-yard play. They're turning into 50-plus yard runs. We gave up two 50-plus yard runs. We didn't get the ball down on the ground. We have to make plays and tackle better. A lot of it is being physical at the point of attack, taking air out of the run game. Make some of those tackles be a bit easier."
What did you see from Stuart Head's first start?
"Since he's played over the past couple weeks he has done a really phenomenal job. This week he played more than any other by far and he played well. On a couple of those big plays he could have been the guy to get the ball carrier down. So that needs to be better, but at the point of attack he played really physical. He had some negative plays, some really physical tackles. He definitely showing us what he thought he could be. He's a physical kid who likes contact and can cover ground."
The defensive line is one of the healthiest groups on the team so it's easier to track their development over the course of the season. How would you grade that unit as a whole and who are standouts in your mind?
"As a group that definitely improved over the previous couple years. That group is playing more physical. You see the individual development. Three guys really jump out to me: Thomas Booker, Mike Williams, Thomas Schaffer. Those three guys have made a lot of improvement. They're playing some really good football for us right now. They're playing tough, they're playing physical. They each have their limitations but they're getting a lot out of their ability."
What do you see from Loa Kaufusi?
"He was solid last Thursday night. He made a couple tackles late in the game. He played physical, which was really good to see. He played fast. He had some mental errors that need to be cleaned up. Loa has some ability. He has good length. He's a strong kid. Sometimes you need to get him to play with more fire, more energy, more juice and enthusiasm all the time. I think he's starting to do that. It's flashing in practice every week."
What have you seen from Zahran Manley and Salim Turner-Muhammad?
"Both are making progress. Zahran Manley is a little bit ahead of Salim right now. Zahran is on the verge of playing. With some of the corners dinged up and in and out throughout the year he is pressing for playing time. I think eventually he is going to be a really good player. I don't know how soon it will be. One thing that helps him a lot is he is getting a lot of practice reps. He makes mistakes and there are times you can tell he's a freshman. He's getting better all the time. He's close to playing.
"I think we've focused more at corner with Salim. Early on in camp we were trying both, but it seems like he's more comfortable at corner. For the near future that's where he's going to be."
On Nicolas Toomer: "He is healthy now. He has been getting reps with the scout team and on Fridays in our 7-on-7 we get him reps with the defense. Pretty much missed all of fall camp so this is really his first chance to get reps and start learning the defense. We're trying to rep him at safety. Physically he has the tools of what you want in a safety. Now it's just learning the defense."
