Roush:
* Roush started off talking about the work they're putting in (though he said Taylor put together a great schedule so the players aren't feeling it too much) and noting with some pride/amazement that they're getting a hundred team reps a practice. I think I'd seen that stat mentioned somewhere but interesting to hear a player say it. Practice reps are a focus, as Taylor said they'd be.
* Roush said that the pace is a lot more comfortable now and that based on muscle memory the players can just see the signal (folks ready for sideline signals more like other teams?) and line up and know what to do instinctively. I certainly hope that is the case. From the Byham interview it's possible Roush is on the more comfortable and instinctive side. He called the offense "pretty intuitive and quick," so that's probably the case he's on the more comfortable side, though he did also cite that Holt had only been there a week or two and was picking it up. I think I'll really believe the offense is second nature once we stop hearing about tempo from our players (in fairness it wasn't Roush who raised it here) and we're hearing it from opponents instead, but for now it's good to hear players sounding like they're getting the knack of it.
* Roush talked about everybody battling for their spots (an echo of how Byham talked about the competition) but how they also want each other to succeed. That's the needle the coaches want to thread in terms of competition, competitive but not combative as they say.
* He said Byham's main points of emphasis are making plays and being consistent, getting the job done in blocking and in the pass concepts. Pretty generic.
* Also very generic answer on the QB competition and all of them battling, and kept to the generic answers even when asked a follow-up on the newer QBs. Not the most expansive answers in general. He must have got that Crash Davis media training from somewhere.
* Opened up a bit when asked about Holt, repeating the praise of Holt's quick pick-up of the playbook and revealing that Holt has gotten in a bit during team reps. Roush said Holt is driven and learning on his own but that Roush is there to help with blocking or anything else and has helped out with footwork.
* Really have to credit Ben's professionalism and slogging through with the interview to break through for some insights, as the next question may have elicited the most interesting response when Roush talked about how in the run game he's focused on calming down and doing his job and not trying to do too much. Listening to this I thought about how at times last year Roush looked frenetic and eager to do something, and then the comment took on even more poignancy after I saw the Byham interview's praise of the work Roush is doing in the run game right now. Putting the interviews together, it sounds like Roush has made strides not only in physical preparation but in terms of having a consistent mentality, which is to calm down before run plays and focus on doing his job and to look to make a big play in the passing game. Hopefully this pays dividends.
* Refused to take the bait on if he has a favorite uniform color, though it's a response near and dear to my heart ("I'm not big into all that"). He did say he supports whatever his teammates want to wear, a reminder that sometimes when college teams wear certain uniforms it's reflective of team preferences.
* All the players are understandably excited about the start of the season but I liked how Roush emphasized that there's still camp left and he's keeping his mindset on that. His coaches will be proud of that answer!
Byham:
* Byham has been the member of Taylor's staff I've been most skeptical about. I didn't see as much appeal from his resume as I did for the others and it was a relatively high bar to improve on the prior position coach given Morgan Turner's track record. I get good vibes from Byham but he doesn't strike me as a detailed technician. For example, it's been nice that Ben has asked the points of emphasis question to so many people, and what both Byham and his TEs said in this and the two player interviews struck me as much more generic (be good at the parts of being a TE) than what we've heard from some other groups. It's the earliest days, but just being honest that Byham has tended to impress me less than his peers. [I swear that I had this view before my wife walked out on the patio and asked who I was watching, saying "he's cute." By the way, yes, good looking dude. What an awful profile picture.] In any case, I've long felt that TE coaches (like RB coaches) need to bring value in recruiting, ideally in addition to their own position group, so a lot of what I will ultimately judge Byham on has yet to be seen. Way too early to cast any negative or positive judgment, just sharing some musings.
* As with all the coaches, unfailingly upbeat assessment of how things are going. I don't know if it's that Taylor hires optimistic sunny people or they see tactical value in putting on a brave face/no upside to being grouches or they are drinking the Kool-Aid and are in for a rude awakening on how far there is to come or we're about to shock the world.
* Byham talked about there being six TEs, all scholarship guys and all competing for a spot. This is confirmation that Hawkins has moved back to TE and that Shield Taylor found a home there following the abolition of the fullback position. This idea of competing for a spot is probably a theme in the TE room as Roush used similar language. I like that sense of competitiveness. Obviously we don't want things to get toxic, but players on a college football team should know that there are limited spots to go around and some players win and some lose when it comes to "spots."
* I found it somewhat interesting that across the three TE room interviews, three names came up (Yurosek, Roush, Holt) and three didn't (Hawkins, Ungar, and Taylor). I don't want to read too much into it but it is something I'm noting. In any coaching transition there will always be some guys coaches like more or less than the previous staff did and that might happen here. Heck, we already know with pretty high certainty that Holt was a guy who didn't clear the football evaluation bar of the previous staff but did with the new staff. Hawkins is a guy I've had high hopes for based on my analysis of him as a prospect and then the early returns last year, but the main data point we have on him so far with the new staff is that they changed his position before aborting that mission. Changing a guy's position is usually not a brobdingnagian vote of confidence in his projection, and then changing it back is definitely not a vote of confidence in the alternative projection. I think it's possible Hawkins was more of a Harbaugh/Shaw era big target and in the Taylor era other skill sets may come to the fore more. We'll see. Not going to give up on a sophomore but I've been surprised to not hear more about Hawkins the last six months. I've never had confidence Ungar can stay healthy/be a football player. Shield Taylor faces an uphill climb to relevance with the new staff.
* Byham talked about mixing a lot of different personnel packages, playing multiple positions, and bumping around across the pass game/pass protection/run game responsibilities. This is always the life of the TE and hearing from a TE coach always has a similar flavor because that versatility is such a hallmark of the position. I may judge Byham a little bit for focusing on the obvious there, but I also may be too harsh because this is what being a TE is and the versatility he makes a point of emphasis is what you'll typically hear from TE coaches. For what it's worth, the watchword in Byham's room is being "problem-solvers."
* Roush started off talking about the work they're putting in (though he said Taylor put together a great schedule so the players aren't feeling it too much) and noting with some pride/amazement that they're getting a hundred team reps a practice. I think I'd seen that stat mentioned somewhere but interesting to hear a player say it. Practice reps are a focus, as Taylor said they'd be.
* Roush said that the pace is a lot more comfortable now and that based on muscle memory the players can just see the signal (folks ready for sideline signals more like other teams?) and line up and know what to do instinctively. I certainly hope that is the case. From the Byham interview it's possible Roush is on the more comfortable and instinctive side. He called the offense "pretty intuitive and quick," so that's probably the case he's on the more comfortable side, though he did also cite that Holt had only been there a week or two and was picking it up. I think I'll really believe the offense is second nature once we stop hearing about tempo from our players (in fairness it wasn't Roush who raised it here) and we're hearing it from opponents instead, but for now it's good to hear players sounding like they're getting the knack of it.
* Roush talked about everybody battling for their spots (an echo of how Byham talked about the competition) but how they also want each other to succeed. That's the needle the coaches want to thread in terms of competition, competitive but not combative as they say.
* He said Byham's main points of emphasis are making plays and being consistent, getting the job done in blocking and in the pass concepts. Pretty generic.
* Also very generic answer on the QB competition and all of them battling, and kept to the generic answers even when asked a follow-up on the newer QBs. Not the most expansive answers in general. He must have got that Crash Davis media training from somewhere.
* Opened up a bit when asked about Holt, repeating the praise of Holt's quick pick-up of the playbook and revealing that Holt has gotten in a bit during team reps. Roush said Holt is driven and learning on his own but that Roush is there to help with blocking or anything else and has helped out with footwork.
* Really have to credit Ben's professionalism and slogging through with the interview to break through for some insights, as the next question may have elicited the most interesting response when Roush talked about how in the run game he's focused on calming down and doing his job and not trying to do too much. Listening to this I thought about how at times last year Roush looked frenetic and eager to do something, and then the comment took on even more poignancy after I saw the Byham interview's praise of the work Roush is doing in the run game right now. Putting the interviews together, it sounds like Roush has made strides not only in physical preparation but in terms of having a consistent mentality, which is to calm down before run plays and focus on doing his job and to look to make a big play in the passing game. Hopefully this pays dividends.
* Refused to take the bait on if he has a favorite uniform color, though it's a response near and dear to my heart ("I'm not big into all that"). He did say he supports whatever his teammates want to wear, a reminder that sometimes when college teams wear certain uniforms it's reflective of team preferences.
* All the players are understandably excited about the start of the season but I liked how Roush emphasized that there's still camp left and he's keeping his mindset on that. His coaches will be proud of that answer!
Byham:
* Byham has been the member of Taylor's staff I've been most skeptical about. I didn't see as much appeal from his resume as I did for the others and it was a relatively high bar to improve on the prior position coach given Morgan Turner's track record. I get good vibes from Byham but he doesn't strike me as a detailed technician. For example, it's been nice that Ben has asked the points of emphasis question to so many people, and what both Byham and his TEs said in this and the two player interviews struck me as much more generic (be good at the parts of being a TE) than what we've heard from some other groups. It's the earliest days, but just being honest that Byham has tended to impress me less than his peers. [I swear that I had this view before my wife walked out on the patio and asked who I was watching, saying "he's cute." By the way, yes, good looking dude. What an awful profile picture.] In any case, I've long felt that TE coaches (like RB coaches) need to bring value in recruiting, ideally in addition to their own position group, so a lot of what I will ultimately judge Byham on has yet to be seen. Way too early to cast any negative or positive judgment, just sharing some musings.
* As with all the coaches, unfailingly upbeat assessment of how things are going. I don't know if it's that Taylor hires optimistic sunny people or they see tactical value in putting on a brave face/no upside to being grouches or they are drinking the Kool-Aid and are in for a rude awakening on how far there is to come or we're about to shock the world.
* Byham talked about there being six TEs, all scholarship guys and all competing for a spot. This is confirmation that Hawkins has moved back to TE and that Shield Taylor found a home there following the abolition of the fullback position. This idea of competing for a spot is probably a theme in the TE room as Roush used similar language. I like that sense of competitiveness. Obviously we don't want things to get toxic, but players on a college football team should know that there are limited spots to go around and some players win and some lose when it comes to "spots."
* I found it somewhat interesting that across the three TE room interviews, three names came up (Yurosek, Roush, Holt) and three didn't (Hawkins, Ungar, and Taylor). I don't want to read too much into it but it is something I'm noting. In any coaching transition there will always be some guys coaches like more or less than the previous staff did and that might happen here. Heck, we already know with pretty high certainty that Holt was a guy who didn't clear the football evaluation bar of the previous staff but did with the new staff. Hawkins is a guy I've had high hopes for based on my analysis of him as a prospect and then the early returns last year, but the main data point we have on him so far with the new staff is that they changed his position before aborting that mission. Changing a guy's position is usually not a brobdingnagian vote of confidence in his projection, and then changing it back is definitely not a vote of confidence in the alternative projection. I think it's possible Hawkins was more of a Harbaugh/Shaw era big target and in the Taylor era other skill sets may come to the fore more. We'll see. Not going to give up on a sophomore but I've been surprised to not hear more about Hawkins the last six months. I've never had confidence Ungar can stay healthy/be a football player. Shield Taylor faces an uphill climb to relevance with the new staff.
* Byham talked about mixing a lot of different personnel packages, playing multiple positions, and bumping around across the pass game/pass protection/run game responsibilities. This is always the life of the TE and hearing from a TE coach always has a similar flavor because that versatility is such a hallmark of the position. I may judge Byham a little bit for focusing on the obvious there, but I also may be too harsh because this is what being a TE is and the versatility he makes a point of emphasis is what you'll typically hear from TE coaches. For what it's worth, the watchword in Byham's room is being "problem-solvers."