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UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 2, 2017Doug NussmeierGainesville, Florida Q. Coach, could you talk a little bit about Luke Del Rio and what he's got to try to do to get himself back into that quarterback derby because a lot of people are having a tendency to write him off because of the circumstances that he had to face. DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, the first thing is to be healthy, obviously. It's well-documented Luke's injuries, and he's done a really good job in his rehabilitation. Very happy with where he's at, and when you go back and look at the body of work when he was healthy, Luke played some really good football for us last season, so we're excited. Obviously he'll be right in the middle of that competition. Q. He kind of told us how he was at a real crossroads this off-season but he wanted to keep playing. What kind of conversations did you and he have? DOUG NUSSMEIER: I think when you play you've got to be peace with yourself, and that's a personal decision. The discussions we had at first were take some time and really think about the body of work, where you've been, what you've done throughout your playing experience, and there's a lot more to just that moment in time. A lot of times you get caught up in the moment, and to think about all the hours, the sweat, all the things you've put into your whole career, you only get one opportunity to play the game, and it's a great game. So take some time, think about it, and obviously Luke is a smart guy. He was going to make the best decision for him and his family. Q. How do you size up this competition you have and what you're looking for and how long you think it's going to take to see what you need to see? DOUG NUSSMEIER: I don't think there's a time frame on it. Obviously Coach and I will visit on that daily. But really excited. Excited about competition. I think any time -- I've said it for two years now, when you can create competition within your rooms, it makes your football team better. We're excited about watching the competition and rolling the ball out and letting those guys get after it. Q. Coach Mac was saying the offensive line is so much further ahead than where it's been. How much did that hamstring you guys maybe, to do what you wanted to do, to execute the way you wanted to execute? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, you know, when you come into the situation -- I think we had four scholarship linemen the first spring when we got here. Obviously that group has grown. We've played a lot of young players, and really excited about the depth there, finally the ability to have a couple groups -- last year the only guy really that we were able to keep healthy in one position was David Sharpe for the season, so to get a group hopefully where we can build some consistency, let them play week in and week out, and to have some guys that have been in some games and develop some experience, really excited about that. Q. And how much more just physical is this unit going to be? I know Coach kind of called them out even after the Outback Bowl to do that. What have you seen? DOUG NUSSMEIER: It's no secret, we've got to run the football better. We have not done that well. We've got to run the ball better. That's not just them, but it's a whole team goal offensively. We need to be more physical and run the ball. Obviously look out there in the SEC Championship, our first year, and we've got 32 freshmen out there, and any time you're playing those type of young players in the box, it's difficult. I think it's a lot easier for skill players on the perimeter to play earlier on just from the strength and the physicality that goes on inside the box. But really pleased with where they're at. We've got to take another step, but we've got some depth, and those guys are competing. Q. Coach was joking a little bit, but he may have a point. Is it easier for you to coach a left-handed quarterback? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Golly, it's interesting, being left-handed, playing left-handed, then you reverse everything to teach it right-handed, and now you get a lefty, I think it's almost more difficult now because now I've got to train myself to go backwards. But it keeps you on your toes because every time you're talking and you're talking feet and eye placement and those kind of things, you've always got to flip it for both groups. Having Malik now as a lefty, it'll be interesting. Q. This is a pretty diverse group in size; some of them run a little bit better than the other ones. You've got left-handers and right-handers. Is there something that these four guys -- if you want to throw Kadarius in there, too, but is there something all your quarterback candidates have in common that you like? Is there something that they all do well, whether it's a physical trait or whether it's something mental? DOUG NUSSMEIER: I think you talk about the quality of people in the room, and when you look at that position, you talk about guys that are leaders in everything they do in life and the way they approach their day-to-day lives, how they live their lives. They're great competitors but they're great kids. That's what excites me the most about them. It's exciting to go in the room every day because they're great kids. Q. Is that why you recruit kids like that? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, I think that's -- in any evaluation of players, you know, you look at the character of the player and what type of player is this player, what type of person is this person. That's part of everything. You need to know, is he a vocal leader, is he a quiet leader, is he a non-leader, is he ultra competitive or is he a guy that's going to kind of be a piece. Every player is built differently, and when you get into recruiting, you look at strengths and weaknesses of every player. Q. Coach Mac has probably put a lot of pressure on Brad Davis, how much he's talked about the offensive line. What specifically gives you guys confidence that they're going to be a stronger unit this year? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, like I said, I think that having some consistency in the room -- obviously you look across the offense, really the only room is somewhat you see the same since we got here is the tight end room, but you look at the quarterbacks, the running backs, receivers, they're new rooms, and these guys have been at least here -- when you look at 'Tez being here a couple years, T.J. has been here a couple years, now 'Waan has started as a young freshman, you've got Tyler and Jordan, okay, Antonio Riles, all these guys that have been around, now Fred. They understand our system, they know what the expectation is, and they've played, so they have some experience to draw on. Now it's just a matter of us doing it on a consistent basis. Q. (Indiscernible.) DOUG NUSSMEIER: I think that's something you talk about. I don't think it's necessarily etched in stone. Now, a lot of teams will play actually strong and weak players in the college game. You see them play an open-end tackle and a closed-end tackle. You don't see it quite as much. It used to be a bigger thing, but some teams still will do that. It may be something we would consider. Q. What's been your impression of Malik so far and the way he's assimilated with this team and worked his way in with his new teammates? DOUG NUSSMEIER: He doesn't have any personality at all. (Laughter.) No, I think that's the biggest thing that stands out to you when you meet him. It's instant energy. He's a guy that can command a room. He has presence. I think the team has gravitated towards that and getting to know him. He's a great personality to get to know. Just like our other guys around Feleipe and Luke and Kadarius and Kyle and all those guys and Jake. They all have their own unique personality, but the one thing about Malik is he's bubbly and he's out there. Q. Did you have a conversation with Feleipe? Did you sit down with him, and how have you seen him respond and handle this whole thing? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, we talked as a whole group, and any time -- when you add a player, that obviously is going to be a high-profile player, the talk is any time we have the ability at any position to enhance our roster, make our roster better, we're going to do it, and competition only makes all of us better. I think that's the great thing about that room is they all realize they're here to compete, but at the same point in time, they're going to compete the right way. Q. Coach McElwain mentioned he's optimistic about the running back room, but what do you see -- it would appear that Jordan Scarlett has an opportunity to be a feature back this year. How do you see him diving into that opportunity? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Yeah, well, I think Jordan had a tremendous season for us last year, almost 900 yards and did some really good things. I think the biggest thing about Jordan was the mentality he brought week in and week out to our offense. This was a guy every week we could count on. We talk about that physical style of play. When you watched him play, he played with that physical style that we want, so you had an actual tangible example of it, and really, really excited about him going into this season. Obviously Lamical playing as a true freshman last year, now he's got some experience that he can draw on. He's done some really good things. Mark is going to take the next step, we hope, and I think Mark has all the ability in the world. He's just got to take the next step, and then we've got some young guys that are coming in that are going to challenge. Q. What does Mark need to do? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, Mark needs to become a consistent performer day in and day out and do the right things. Q. You guys have a lot of depth at the wide receiver position. How do you see the rotation there playing out especially with so many bodies to work with? DOUG NUSSMEIER: You've got one of those fidget spinner things, you just kind of hit it and it keeps spinning and spinning? No, we do have depth. We have guys that do different things well. That's going to be the whole key is putting these guys in the best position for what they do well, and obviously there's only one ball. We've talked about playing unselfish as a group, and that group is exciting. We've got some guys that can turn the field over fast and really looking forward to watching how they fit in as pieces into the packages that we're using. Q. And how much has it helped to have Dre finally being able to -- especially since he only played one half last year, to be able to have him as a versatile weapon? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, when we came out of spring last year we were very, very excited about what he was bringing to the table as a weapon, and then obviously to lose him in the first game, he's worked extremely hard to get back, and we'll just see as he progresses through camp what his package is and how that leg is responding and where he's at. Q. The biggest improvement, what do you want to see as far as the side of the offensive line? What group are you expecting to see the biggest improvement out of heading into the season? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, I think we need to improve across the board. I don't know that we played good enough to be where we want to be at any one position last season. And once again, I say this: Our guys are competing and we're able to create better competition in our rooms than we've had. Every year we've gotten better with the competition in those rooms which is going to raise our level of play, so I think across the board we've got to play better at every position. Q. Kadarius, what kind of weapon is he, and have you had a guy like that, and how did you use him? DOUG NUSSMEIER: You know, he's an interesting guy because he can do a lot of things, like you said. One of the things when the ball is in his hand, he's electric. I don't know if there's any real comparison, maybe a little bit similar to a Blake Sims that we had at Alabama and the things that he can do, but Kadarius is a special kid. Great, great competitor. He's still learning everything. I think with any young player, especially playing the quarterback position, you have to be careful not to put too much on him at one point in time, but as you saw in the spring, you caught a little glimpse of the things he can do with the ball in his hands. He's special. Q. He's the kind of guy you've got to find a role for do you feel? You've got to get him some touches in games? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, sure, you want to find a role for him and a way he's going to fit in the offense without him feeling like he's got the burden of the offense on him. Q. When you get to talk to the media or the fans, as the coordinator obviously you always get asked about the offense, and because of you and Coach Mac when you look back at you guys' history and the success that you guys have had, obviously fans and media will have their opinions, but do you guys put more pressure on yourselves than anybody else, and as competitors, guys that played, guys that have had success, how frustrating is it for you guys that you want to get it turned around and get it to where you want it to be? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, at the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to win, and we've won 19 in two years, which is pretty good. It's not good enough, but it's pretty good. We're not where we need to be; we know that. We've got to get better. It's interesting because did we get better? Slightly. When you look at the actual numbers, the numbers are actually better slightly. Now, in the national average they fell back, but when you look at the actual hard number, you say, yeah, we averaged a little bit more yards. Yeah, they're not where they need to be. So is it frustrating? No, it's a process, and you want to go from here to there quickly, and we need to go. But at the same point in time, feel like we've set the floor and now we've got to rise, you know, we've had a chance to turn over a couple rooms, get some guys in there we think we can turn the field over now, and now it's time to go get it done. Q. As the coordinator you obviously build the offense around your quarterback. As you go through fall camp and you're going to have this competition, how do you handle that when you've got guys competing that have different skill sets? DOUG NUSSMEIER: That's a great question because obviously it's about the players, not the plays, and you've got to find the plays that fit the players. When we decide who our quarterback is, obviously we're going to put the best set of plays that fit that quarterback in the game plan, and those are the type of things that when you have different guys, it's building that library, so to say, so for example, because you may have a guy that's a starter and a backup that does something different, now all of a sudden the starter is out and the backup is in. Well, maybe the plays that the starter ran don't fit the backup as well, so now you have to have another set of plays, so to say. When you go through camp, you build a library, as we teach our guys. We're building a large volume here, and then as we go into game planning, we're going to pull certain books out that fit that game plan, and those are the ones we're going to use. Q. What kind of a gut-punch was it losing Dre Massey last year, and what have you seen from him to think that he's either close or at where he was before the injury? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, he's worked extremely hard in his rehabilitation. Obviously our trainers have done a great job and our strength staff getting him back to where he needs to be. Like I said, he was a dynamic player in the spring last year. When you turned on the tape and the things he was able to do for a new player coming in, we really had high expectations, and then in the first game he's got to go off. So you kind of go, well, I don't know what it could have been. You had a vision and a thought, it never materialized, so we'll see as we get to camp. Q. Any limitations on him like right off the bat for you? DOUG NUSSMEIER: No. Q. Do you think the opponent you guys have had has kind of made guys sharper in what they've done in the off-season rather than a directional school the first game, that it's against Michigan? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, to me it's always about us. It's going to be about us and how we perform, how we execute, how we do the things that we know how to do. You're going to play very good teams in this league. Whether it be week one, whether it be at the end of the season, it doesn't really matter. To me it's about how we prepare, and do we play our best football. Q. And then for you, the second time you'll be facing your former employer since you've been here. Any emotions for you going and playing against, coaching against those guys? DOUG NUSSMEIER: No, it's about -- obviously I know some of the kids in their locker room that we recruited and some people that are on their staff and those type of things and I have a great amount of respect for them and care for those kids, but it's about our kids and our locker room. Q. A few players spoke about how Malik arrived and already knew the offense in and out, inside out. Is that your impression, that he's that tuned in already, and is that impressive to you? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, he's been around a lot of football, and so -- and he loves football. You know, through the recruiting process, the phone would ring, hey, I'm watching the replay of this game and that play and those type of things. Once again, the quality of people you have in the room. You know, and all of our guys, they're constantly studying late at night, getting texts late at night, what about this, what about this. Those are the kind of guys you want on your team. You want them to love to play football. Q. Is that unusual, though, for a guy to come in immediately and have such a grasp? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Well, I think probably a little bit, and a little bit due to the fact that he's seasoned. When you start most players, you usually get a freshman coming out of high school. Here's a guy that's been through his time at Notre Dame and those type of things and understands what it's all about. Q. Is it unusual to have a player call you and say, hey, I'm watching this old game and ask what plays -- DOUG NUSSMEIER: No, I mean, our guys will do it -- to be honest with you, they do it frequently, and it's great. It makes you really appreciate their investment in what we're doing. Q. Do you remember the plays they ask you? DOUG NUSSMEIER: Sometimes I go, wait a second, let me flip channels. My kids get mad sometimes or my wife because she might be watching a movie, but oh, well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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