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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCEApril 21, 2011Randy EdsallCOACH EDSALL: Things are picking up it this spring, installing new offense, new defense, and all new schemes in terms of special teams. Kids are working hard, and working to accomplish all the things that we want them to in terms of being a fundamentally sound football team and being a team that plays with very good technique. These next five days will be important for the young men to establish their position here on the depth chart as we finish spring and head into fall camp then in August. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Edsall. Q. What things do you look at during the spring game and later on in the fall camp that helps to determine who gets the starting job going into the fall season? COACH EDSALL: Well, what I look for is a who is consistent, who is consistently doing what we want them to do each and every day. Then who are the guys that can go out and execute their responsibilities within the particular schemes that we're going to be playing and using the technique and have the ability to make plays? That is how it's all determined. It's all determined by what you do on the field and in competition. We've had a chance to look at all the kids on film from a year ago, but now they've got to go out and do it on the field and do it in practice and do it in scrimmages. Everything in terms of the depth chart is always going to be based on productivity and how you perform under pressure. Q. When coming into a program that's looking to right the ship, so to speak, what are your goals for that team to show improvement and progress in your first season? COACH EDSALL: My biggest thing is that I just want our kids to play as hard as they can for each and every play for 60 minutes. If we do that, and we do that with being a fundamentally sound team and executing great technique, then we have a chance to be a better football team. That's what we're looking to establish and looking to do with our guys here. Q. What do you feel the most significant way is you've been able to put your stamp on the program this spring and make your mark? COACH EDSALL: Well, what you do is you start to put the program that you want in. And really our program's all about discipline. It's going to be about being opportunistic. It's going to be a team that's got to be fundamentally sound. We're not going to beat ourselves. We're looking for guys that are play makers, guys that can make big plays and then getting those guys in position on the field to do that. But to me, if you're going to be successful in anything, and even in football, there's got to be discipline. You can't beat yourself. You got to do the little things right. Those are the things that we're trying to establish here this spring is to get our guys to understand that. Then, again, be a relentless team each and every play for the whole 60 minutes that you play. Those are the thing that's we're trying to establish. Q. How might the offense or defense look differently this fall with you and your new coordinators in charge? COACH EDSALL: Well, we have new systems. I'm not going to get into too much of what we're doing. We're going to be very multiple on both sides of the ball and really look to utilize the players that we have and get them into the best position that we can in order for them to be successful of and be able to make the plays. But to me, what you should always do is coach. Take a look at what your players can do, and put them in the best possible positions so they can be successful. Q. I noticed that you're doing a lot of moving and shifting and focusing around on the defensive side of the ball, including Kenny Tate. Talk about what you're trying to achieve there. I know it's about bottom line getting the best 11 on the field, but talk about how that's gone a gone a little bit? COACH EDSALL: When you have a chance to study the film from last year, and you see where Kenny was playing, most of the time he was playing down anyhow. He wasn't playing really as a true safety. He was playing more as a linebacker. He's probably within five to seven yards of the line of scrimmage quite a bit. Again, having the opportunity to coach in the NFL, when you look at Kenny, his best opportunity at the next level is going to be as a linebacker. When you look at that and when you have some other guys back there at safety that you like, you know, you don't want to have a guy sitting out who can make you better. Again, you get your best 11 on the field. But, again, putting Kenny there gives him a chance to be able to do some things that we want him to do and that he's capable of doing. And that's the whole thing that we've tried to come in and take a look at in terms of things that we wanted to run offensively and defensively. Look at our personnel, work to get that personnel into the best possible positions for what we want to do. Then as you go through spring and you start to see a little bit more of guys on the field in certain positions and watching what they do, you still end up tweaking it, because again, you're just trying to get those pieces all put so the puzzle goes together. I think we're very, very close with having that done here with five practices to go. But for us, every day's an evaluation. The biggest thing we're trying to do is evaluate these kids to get them better. But also to evaluate do we have the right guys on the field, and do we have the right guys in the positions that can make them the most successful, but also make our team the most successful. Q. What are you seeing that you like so far out of practice? What are your impressions in particular of Danny O'Brien? COACH EDSALL: Well, in practice the kids are really working hard in terms of doing the things that we want done. The tempo was a lot different for them than what they were used to before. I like everything I've seen about Danny. He's a great kid. He's a talented young man. He's a student of the game. He's a worker, he's a leader. He has all of the things that I'm looking for in a quarterback. I think the thing that I like about it is he got off to a little bit of a rough start in the spring, but then he just started getting more comfortable with what we're doing. Boy, I tell you what, he's really been coming along very nicely here in these last five, six practices. You can just see him getting very comfortable with what we're doing. He's really starting to play very, very well, which I knew that would happen based on being around him and talking to him and how good he wants to be. He wants to know it all. He's a sponge. I couldn't be any more happier with how he's progressing. Q. Anybody out of the one or two guys that have caught your eye or caught on fast to the new things you're asking they will to do? COACH EDSALL: There's been a few. But one of the guys I've been really pleased with is David Meggett. You'll watch him, and he's one of those -- to me, he reminds he me of one of those wily old veterans when I was in the NFL. The guy that takes it all in, doesn't a say whole lot. But when you watch him go out there, and watch him work and watch him do things, he's very, very impressive. He's one of those guys -- and you don't find too many of these guys -- but he runs as fast as he has to on the field, and that's not a negative when I say that. But it seems that if he needs to slow it down, gear it down, and he has a burst and the ability to do that, to outrun people. He does that. You know, I've been impressed with him in terms of what he's done. And Joe Vellano is another guy who is getting better each practice. But I love the way that Joe plays, his motor, the intensity with which he plays. Those are guys there -- we have some other guys, but you never want to give some of those younger guys too much sugar or too much credit because then it goes to their head and they don't keep performing the way you'd like them to. Q. A quick question from a player from our area, Haroon Brown, wrapping up his career there. Has he been able to show you some things at the fullback slot this spring? COACH EDSALL: Yeah, I'm looking for Haroon to be a little more consistent. He has ability. He's a bigger fullback. But, again, it's a matter of consistency with him and all of our fullbacks. Right now I'm not sure who our starter would be. Not sure we'll know that even by the end of these next five practices. He's got ability. But I'm looking for one of those fullbacks to really step up and say, hey, and by their performance, not by talking, but by performance to say this is my job and I'm the number one guy, and I'm the guy that's got this job. I haven't seen that yet. He's in that mix. But, again, I'm waiting for somebody to separate themselves at that position. Q. Wanted to follow up on what you mentioned in terms of pace. Can you explain your philosophy, and Coach Crowton's philosophy in terms of pace and tempo there? COACH EDSALL: Well, we just have a very upbeat practice, and up tempo practice on both sides. We do the huddle, but, again, we run two huddles at the defense. So, again, you do it from a consistency standpoint. You do it so you can get more reps in. But, again, we just practice at a very fast tempo. The defense might have two people coming on them, the offense is in there huddling. As soon as one team runs it, they're in there. So we're just trying to get as many reps as we can, and practice at a high tempo so they have to focus and concentrate on what's going on. They don't have time to let their mind wander. Q. I wanted to follow up on talking about moving guys around like Kenny Tate. As a spectator, you're watching games and you sort of assume that guys are in the positions that they're best suited for. When you take over and look at the film, how obvious is it to you that maybe they're not and how much of an evaluation period does it take to sort of say, okay, now that we've moved him, this is where he's supposed to be? COACH EDSALL: Well, again, it all comes down to a personal preference in terms of what I feel and what our staff feels where they can be the best for what we want to do. All coaches and all staffs are going to have their own evaluations and put guys where they think are the best. For me, in terms of what we want to do in my philosophy, it's something that as we watch the film and you take a look at my whole philosophy has been ever since I've been a head coach, and most of the head coaches I've worked under, get your best 11 on the field, then develop your scheme around those 11 in terms of what they can do. I would say right now after ten practices we probably know. I made some switches after this last scrimmage that we had. So I would say probably after practice nine and now that we've gone into practice ten, I feel like in terms of what we have available to ourselves right now because we don't have our freshmen here. I would say that we've got the guys in the spot that's we feel comfortable with and having those nine evaluations. In the first two it's hard to evaluate because they're not in pads. So I would say it probably took us seven practices to really narrow in on all 80 to 85 guys that we have out here right now. Q. And the obvious question after that is what were the changes that you made after the last scrimmage? COACH EDSALL: Well, we took Lorne Goree and moved him into the middle from the Will to the Mike. And moved Ryan Donohue out there. We did that. And we know where Justin Anderson, we feel now he's going to be a better tackle than an end. Now, again, if you get injuries, he might have to go out and play end. But that is something that you can't control. So I would say those things. I thought offensively we've got things pretty much lined up, it was just really from a defensive standpoint. We had a couple things there. Again, I think we know how when we want to go to our nickel package on defense, who are the guys that can go in there and play inside the nickel. And who are the corners in terms of we're better off keeping our corners in tact, and bringing another guy in and bringing the other corner in and playing outside as a corner. I feel as though we know exactly what we're doing there. Now, these next five practices for everybody that's here, they need to make a statement. If they don't make that kind of statement or show what we think they should show, now you're thinking these freshmen coming in are going to get plugged into some of these spots. So these next five practices are very, very important for everybody. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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