Tom Herman

Opening statement: I thought that today (there was) a lot more energy, I think maybe yesterday they were a little bit nervous; first practice jitters. We challenged them to go out there, have some fun, and let loose. Are we going to be a buttoned up outfit? "Absolutely," is what I told them, but we're not going to be writing messages on our wrist tape and wearing wristbands around our knees and point to the crowd and all that, but we're going to have fun with our teammates. What we do is too hard not to have fun and make it fun every day, so I think they responded to that challenge and I saw a lot smiles on their faces. We are practicing without pads, from a positivity standpoint, practicing without pads ten times better than we did in the spring and much better than any place I've ever been. That's attributed to the guys, I think, buying into going hard, but also the functional leg strength and hip strength that we have to stay up and using our techniques and our hands. That all ties together; we're going really, really hard and really fast without pads on and everybody's staying up and staying injury free.



On the development of offensive linemen Patrick Vahe and Patrick Hudson : Vahe is great, again, the worst position to go in shorts is offensive line. There's no surface area to grab on the defensive line, you can't really be physical without pads on; but Pat has had a great summer and I expect that when we put the pads on we'll see more and more. He had a good spring, too, so he's our starting left guard right now and he'll be tough to beat out. Patrick Hudson is a guy that I love being around – great kid, hard worker. He's a freshman and the speed of the game is still pretty fast for him, but you want to talk about a guy that looks like what their supposed to look like and has all the physical tools, that's it. He has drive; he just has to put all of the pieces together in full speed action.



On development at right tackle: (I want) consistency. ( Denzel Okafor and Tristan Nickelson ) have deficiencies right now. Tristan's is physically limited at times, because of how long a levered guy that he is; he gets his body out of position at times, but he's always in the right spot, he's always on the right person, it's just executing at the point of attack. I think he's gotten better and will continue to get better at that. Denzel (Okafor) is a very fluid, long athlete who has some strength and power. Much like Pat (Hudson), it's the speed of the game and going to the right place, at the right time, with the right technique and putting it all together. So just consistency is the biggest thing and improvement in their deficiencies.



On the development and leadership of DeShon Elliott at defensive back: When we first got here, I think he was more concerned about being liked than he was about leading the team and he's done a 180 from that. He's a really good leader right now and the guys respect him. Again, if you're not a hard worker you can talk all you want and guys are going to roll their eyes at you, but right now he's walking the walk in terms of work ethic, very articulate and vocal guy and has a knack for saying the right thing at the right time.



On Chris Brown 's best position at defensive back: He's still really young, but he's a physical guy that will hit you and has man cover skills. I think his best position is nickel; the problem is we have two really good ones in front of him right now in P.J. (Locke III) and Antwuan (Davis). That safety room is pretty jammed up, so if corner is the best place for him to see the field, we're certainly willing to do anything and everything we can. Who's to say he can't beat those guys out either? There's nothing solidified at this point.



On what Gary Johnson has shown in practice: He can really run; I think he's a sideline-to-sideline, blitz the quarterback kind of guy. His practice endurance is not where it needs to be and that's to be expected. We have to put some weight on him; he has to continue to get some mass on him. He came to us at, I think, only 214 pounds and he's up in the low 220s right now, but to play (weakside) linebacker, that's still probably a little bit light, but I think he'll have a role for us just because he will hit you and he can run.



DeShon Elliott

On motivation to get through hot days and hard practices: You just want to play for your brothers. You look to the left and right of you, and you see them working hard and you think, "Come on, I've got to bring it." You've always got to be like, "Hey, if you've got me, I've got you." That's what you've got to do.



On taking more of a leadership role: I'm trying to lead them on the right path, Montrell (Estell), Josh (Thompson), Taquon (Graham), Gary (Johnson), we're just trying to show them the culture that these coaches have showed us. So we get them on the culture and then they can pass it on to the following class.



On teaching the culture across the team: Right now, it's an offense-defense. But when it comes to game day, we're a team, we're brothers together, we're a family. So you've got to work as that, as it is.



On Coach Naivar: Coach Naivar, when I say that he might be the best defensive backs coach in the country, I mean that. He's all about detail and not only detail, but he also wants you to play with energy at all times. If you're not aggressive, then you can't play for that man.



On players buying in to the team culture: This is the culture, by listening. The young guys listen to us and we listen to the coaches. So it doesn't matter if it's a hydration task, eating your meals, getting ready, getting rest at night, everyone's trying to get everybody else on board to believe in that culture. That's what we've got to do to win.



On personal goals before the first game of the season: Just being able to understand, that I know everything and can play all positions and communicate to my teammates, just continue to work hard.



Patrick Vahe

On a third fall camp: It's a crazy experience, having this be my third camp. You learn a lot and you see a lot of people come in, come out. So it's pretty much just a humbling experience to go through. It really brings out the best of me.



On the new coaching staff: I'll say the only difference is just a lot responsibility and accountability, put together. Coaches try to emphasize making sure that everybody's on board with the goals that they have for us. Because it's not like a three-year plan; it's going to be a plan for this year and that's something that we're trying to work for.



On what he accomplished over the summer: Really, I was just trying to burn a lot of fat and gain a lot of muscle, and then at the same time work on my cardio. So with this strength staff, they helped me out a lot with that, dropped a lot of weight and I was able to see that I had a lot more stamina when it came to working out. It helped me out for being in condition for football.



On the effects of improvements in personal hydration: Doing this hydration stuff, it helped me out a lot. I've noticed that I'm not pulling a lot more cramps than I used to, usually after practice and after workouts. They have a set plan for hydration so it's not just drinking water, you're got to drink Gatorade as well for electrolytes and you've got to drink cherry juices to get rid of the soreness after workouts or practice. So it helps out a lot knowing that they have a hydration plan for us.



On the camaraderie among the offensive line group: Basically, we're just one big family unit. The thing that we're trying to emphasize is that we're trying to hold each other accountable. We've got to be most disciplined unit on the team because, pretty much, the big boys have to rule for the team and carry everybody on our backs. So that's what we're trying to work for.



On stepping up to a leadership role: I'm trying to be more vocal so me and Connor are out there trying to make sure that we get everybody on board and make sure that everybody's on the same page as everybody else, not trying to drag anyone behind.



On what he's trying to accomplish between now and the first game of the season: Just making sure that everybody's together as a family unit. A strong bond between us and when we go out there making sure that we know that we've got each others backs. So for us being on the offense, we try and make sure that everybody's on the same page, all eleven guys. Because if there's one guy that's off, and ten people are doing it right, then it's going to be messed up.