Tom Herman

Opening statement: It was hot. At one point I think it was 109 heat index or something like that, but this is about the time of day that we're going to kick off in four weeks so it was good to get out there. About 55 plays for the ones and twos, so we got a lot of reps. Update, Reggie Hemphill (Hemphill-Mapps) practiced, he was good to go. Jason Hall got dinged up after about 20, 30 plays so they took him in. Neck, head, something. They haven't examined him enough to say whether it's a concussion or not. But other than that, I think everybody else came out healthy.



On the team's progression with install: Pretty far, in terms of our base offense and defense and base meaning third down as well. We don't have a huge red zone package in yet, but we need it a little bit so that we can function in the scrimmage. And then, don't have two minute. There's a few special situations that we don't have in just yet, but probably over three quarters of what we're going to do is being run out there.



On the quarterbacks' grasping of the playbook: That's the goal, that you can ask any kid in the classroom or a teaching environment, "You got that?" "Yes sir." Not very many kids say, "No, I don't have that." So we make a big deal about teaching the teacher in our program and you've got to know it so well that you can teach it back to the teacher. I think Shane and Sam both have that. In the classroom I think Shane can transfer it to the field a little bit better now. Sam, he gets it right in the classroom but when 11 guys are flying around it's a little bit too hit or miss right now. But both of them, definitely in the classroom, understand and grasp the offense.



On the team's legs and if fatigue was a factor: After today, not great. But the good thing is that, we didn't practice on Sundays in the past anyway but now that tomorrow is a mandated off day, we'll get guys in cryo chambers, we'll get them in the saltwater float tanks. We've got masseuses and massage therapists coming in to get all that done. So it'll be a big, big recovery day for us tomorrow. So Monday, hopefully we'll be in a lot better shape than we are right now.



On the team practicing with a "championship caliber": I don't know about, "Championship," I think we're getting there. I think it's probably premature to use that word in anything we do right now, but I think we definitely understand the value of hard work and hard practice, full speed and emptying your tank. And we're doing that for the most part. The guys that aren't are getting exposed too. And the cool thing is that it's transitioning from a coach-fed program to a player-led program. We're not they're yet, but more and more guys are. If a coach has got his back turned or if we miss something that's not the way we do things around here, a lot of the guys will pick up on it and call the offender out on their own, which is what you want.



On responsibilities of Stan Drayton as associate head coach: Well, a couple of things. One, he's in most of the meetings with me and Coach McKnight about motivation and culture, which we have those every couple of days. Where is the team, what do we need, what's next. And so, practice plans, he's involved in all of those meetings. And probably the biggest thing is that if something needs to be done and I'm not there, he's able to run the meeting or run the staff. For instance, we had our coaches' retreat and we had a big time recruit show up on campus, and so I had to leave. But we had 20 guys on our staff and we had a very regimented itinerary that we needed to stick to in order to get done what we needed to get done. So I just said, "Hey, Stan's in charge. I've got to run for a couple of hours, go see the recruit." And so I think that's all of those things that probably, just as an assistant coach without that title, that you don't get exposed to as much.



On Connor Williams and who are the team's vocal leaders: He's one of them, which is great. He wasn't in January or February, but he is now. I think Andrew Beck , on that side of the ball, is probably one. And Patrick Vahe. On defense, you've got a few in Naashon (Hughes) and P.J. Locke, DeShon Elliott are kind of emerging as the three. And Malik, Malik does a good job with that too.



On Taquon Graham's development: Well he comes from a great high school program. When you're trained the way that he's been trained, you're physically and mentally able to adapt. Certainly when you're 18 going against 22-year-old men, there's a growth and development that you can't make up. But at least he's as developed as you can be for an 18-year-old. The biggest thing is just, can you physically survive in there from a size and strength standpoint. He's one of those true freshmen that, god's blessed him with some really, really advanced physical tools for a guy his age, and then he was developed really well in high school.



On Shane Buechele being more vocal: I heard him scream (today), which was really cool. In enjoyment and in disapproval, hearing his voice is really cool. I think even the players told him too, "Hey, your voice is really powerful." It can have a dramatic effect on the way that we respond, whether it's to success or to failure. What you say and how you say it has an effect and so I think he's really taken that to heart and done a good job of, and it's not forced either, just expressing what he was feeling inside. Where before, I think he kind of kept it all to himself.



On the importance of vocal leadership: First, you've got to do. We talk all the time that the people that you're leading, they hear your words and they see your actions, and they feel your intentions. So, you've got to have the second two in order first, they've got to see your actions and feel your intentions. Then lastly, I think probably the biggest part about being vocal is that it unites or unifies the entire team. Whereas if you're not vocal, you wind up having these little clicks that go kind of go over here or either blank somebody else, complain about things and then you've got clicks over here and clicks over there. But maybe it's good things too, but they're still, "Hey, you're my guy so we're going to go and celebrate together." Where I think, when you're hearing all these people from different sides of the ball and from different positions, it fosters a much more team atmosphere.



On preferring vocal leadership to leadership by example: There's not a true leader that's never been exemplary, so that's a given. If you're a, in a word, leader. By default you have to lead by example. The being vocal is the next step, so the lead by example guys are guys that keep their mouths shut. But I'd rather it that way than the other way. I think for you to take the next step as a leader, you have to be heard.



On designed quarterback runs in the offense: A lot of the rushing yards from our previous quarterbacks in this system were on scrambles, so designed runs probably won't be a whole lot less than what we had in the past. Maybe a little bit less because of ability, but also because of the depth issue at that position. But the beauty of running your quarterback is, again, you're equating numbers in the run game. Where instead of handing off to somebody and not blocking, playing nine against 11, you're at least playing ten on 11.