Tom Herman

Opening statement: Really, really good recovery day yesterday – cryo chamber, salt water float tanks, massage therapist… – you name it, the kids got in and handled their business and responded pretty well today with some good energy. Updates; Jason Hall has been diagnosed with a concussion, so we're treating it as such, and then Malcolm Roach early in practice today kind of sprained his toe, so we're going to take a closer look at that thing when he gets in.



On the reaction of players to the volume of recovery methods available: It's two-fold; one, Coach (Yancy) McKnight tells them all the time, the first fold of the two-fold thing is that it helps their body, obviously. The second one is Coach McKnight talking to them and telling them, "You go really hard around here and you're going to get rewarded," and those rewards were on Sunday with all of the stuff we make available to them and put them through. So they also know that, then today, if they want to experience that again next Sunday, they have to come out and perform today. It provides, obviously, some therapeutic effects, but it also psychologically keeps them motivated.



On the protocol for concussions: I'm not really sure, to be honest with you, I know nowadays they've taken it out of the coach's hands and put it into the trainers and doctors' hands. I can get you the Big 12 protocol, I mean it's written and there's a conference and NCAA protocol, so it has to do with, based on tests and when (the player is) symptom free. I don't know how many days symptom free, but I know you can't even take the test until you're symptom free, then you take the different tests they already have baselines on you for. If you pass those tests, then you do a conditioning test, if you are symptom free 24 hours from the conditioning test then you go practice, non-contact, and then if you're symptom free 24 hours after non-contact practice then you're cleared to go. But when they're allowed to take that test, I'm not really sure.



On the depth at nose tackle and interior defensive line: I think nose (tackle) is the position that we need some depth. Gerald Wilbon and, actually, Jamari Chisholm have been playing well, they're not Poona Ford 's caliber just yet, but they're playing well and if we had to play tomorrow they would play 10 to 12 snaps and hopefully get us some good production. But, again, we need those guys (to continue) to improve their game so that we feel good that, in the fourth quarter and in the second half of the season, that Poona Ford is still where he needs to be.



On who stood out at Saturday's scrimmage: I can tell you the two players of the game; on offense was Patrick Vahe and on defense was DeShon Elliott . Both those guys played a bunch and played really, really well, so, I think those two probably merit the most praise.



On John Burt 's pass catching ability and his standing on the wide receiver depth chart: Better, not great, but that is a skill that can be learned, I fully believe that, and just like any other skill, you have a genetic potential … there's a ceiling somewhere in every skill, and I think he's getting closer to that; he's not there yet. So how does he factor? I don't know right now, again, that's a really deep room; but he's jogging in there with our second group right now at the Z position and provides us some legitimate speed on the outside. It doesn't matter how fast you run if you don't catch the football, but I've been pleased with how hard he's worked to improve that skill, but he still has some more work to do.



On Burt's track & field participation: It showed me something that he didn't run track until, I believe, the Big 12 Conference meet and that he was that committed to becoming a better football player and wide receiver; and then when he did go run in the Big 12 and I believe nationals, right? Regionals and nationals, he didn't miss one workout. To his credit, he found a way to get those in. It kind of tells you how natural of an athlete he is, the natural speed that he has too, what he did, he decided to go out, kind of stretched a little bit, did one of these [stretching] and took second in the Big 12. I was proud of how much commitment he showed in the spring to football.



Thoughts on depth at cornerback: Not great. The good thing is corners don't rotate, but if they get hurt that's going to be an issue. Davante Davis needs to continue to earn our trust in terms of, you know he's physically able to do it, he just has some breakdowns from time to time that can be costly, so he has to be more consistent; and then Josh Thompson , I think, has the ability in there, too, he's just trying to keep his head above water right now as a freshman, but we need to accelerate his growth process, too.



On Jamari Chisholm 's conditioning and development: Better than I thought it would be. A guy comes in in August, you really kind of just anticipate probably either having to redshirt him or not getting much out of him until middle or late in the season; but he's done a good job. The good part is, when he's in there, Coach (Todd) Orlando and Coach (Oscar) Giles keep it pretty simple for him, too, so it's just about playing, not a whole lot of thinking, but his physical condition is better than I thought it would be.



On how the 2017 recruiting class is developing: Great, I think Cade (Brewer) and Reese (Leitao) will play, Toneil (Carter) and Daniel Young will play, Josh (Thompson), Jamari (Chisholm), Ta'Quon (Graham) will definitely play. So whatever that number is, seven or eight, could be up to nine guys that you're going to count on for quality minutes, I think that's a pretty good percentage of a true freshman class that can survive out there.



On what will be worked on during week two of training camp: Less install, but we'll still install probably until Wednesday or so. You'd like to have 90, 95 percent of the offense and defense in by Wednesday and then I think it's revisiting the things that you did install that you think are going to be bread and butter or your base offense and defenses, and then just the polishing of the mechanics of a game and getting the signal, getting lined up, making checks, running the same play over and over and over again against different looks and running the same defense against different formations and, "Where do I go? What do I do?" … different runs; so it's just a matter of repetition now versus a lot of different things.



On situational pass rushing personnel: Right now Breckyn Hager and Jeffery McCulloch are two guys that are running with the twos on first and second down, but if we get them in third-and-long, we'd definitely jog them out there on the field. Coach Orlando does that, that's kind of our deal; we want to get you in third-and-long, third-and-predictable, and then jog a bunch of pass rushers out on the field and make the quarterbacks lives very difficult.



On noticing a difference with changes in August recruiting rules: It doesn't make me like it any more, I still would love to have recruits here; a lot of teams are starting today and every team will have started by next Monday in high school, that takes the sting out of it a little bit knowing that you probably wouldn't see those kids anyway because they're starting their training camp, too, but last week, that was tough, it was weird not having kids around. The silver lining is that I get to focus more on what's going on on the field, but I like really good players, too.



On why he wanted Todd Orlando as his defensive coordinator: Why I wanted him was because we had a two-year history together that was extremely productive. I think we finished in the top five in the country or top ten in the country both years in rush defense and total defense we were in the top 15, and turnover margin, I think the first year we were one or two in the country and so that was a no-brainer for me, just the history. He does things, especially as a guy that has called plays for a pro spread offense … the way that his defense is structured is really, really hard on spread (offense) teams. I saw that through two springs and two falls of our offense; you would have thought that we were one of the worst offenses in the country in training camp both years at Houston and we go out (during the season) and we're a top 20 offense, but we couldn't move the ball against him. What he does is, again, our defenses have been really, really productive against the run and when you can do that on first and second down (it helps) … the stats (against) Florida State, I think Delvin Cook had 14 carries for 31 yards, I think Oklahoma, (Samaje) Perine and (Joe) Mixon had under 100 yards combined, so he's able to stop teams from running the football and get you into predictable passing situations and then have fun getting exotic and drawing up fun pass rushes and blitzes.



On if the team is playing to his standards: For the most part, there are still some guys, and the really cool thing is when most of the team goes as hard and hits as hard as you expect them to, then the ones that don't get exposed and they stick out like a sore thumb. It's really cool because, again, that the players then see that and can be the ones to call out if, you will, "Hey, that's not to our standard, man, what are you doing? That's not the way we do things around here." So for the most part, we still have to get guys that are talented enough to help us that have to go hard enough to become part of our family.



On the play of the linebacker unit: Better, not great, better. Have nowhere to go but up, so at least they went up and not sideways, so yeah, better I think. (Anthony) Wheeler is an extremely physical guy, Malik (Jefferson) and his newfound strength is striking people, Gary Johnson has been an added physical guy, and then Ed Freeman is very solid in there and then obviously Naashon (Hughes) is a pretty physical, tough guy, too, so again the best answer is better but not elite yet.



On developing player-led leadership: There's a quote by, I believe it was Alexander the Great, where it says, "The actions of each of us determine the fate of all of us." So I think when you get in your position meeting rooms and if a tight end screws up the first one's usually on him, the subsequent penalties are on the entire unit. At some point if you're the guy that's not screwing up and you're having to pay for the guy that does screw up at some point you're going to say something and you're going to do something and you're going to police that because you don't want to have to pay for other people's penalties. I think we do a lot of that. We call it unit pride, where every position coach and every unit should strive to be the example unit. When I get up and brag on a unit, it should be your unit and your unit is only as strong as its weakest link, too, and so I think that that understanding in the game of football is critical, that, "Everything that I do on and off the field affects the success of everybody." So I think that's on the individual and then as the group you have to then realize, too, "Hey, if I want to achieve the things that I want to achieve, even if I'm doing everything I'm supposed to, I need to make sure that everybody else is doing what they're supposed to, too, because I can't do this alone."



On if it helps that players know their position coach is criticized for the units' actions: It only helps if the relationship is there and the trust and belief is there in that position room. If you don't trust your positon coach, you don't like the guy and you don't believe in him, I can yell at him all you want, you're probably happy when I yell at him. But if you do, if you truly love your positon coach, you don't want to be the reason that he is reprimanded.



Todd Orlando

On how week one of training camp went: You get into practices, really it's hard to evaluate until we actually bring people to the ground. So probably need another week to pace through it. The thing about fall camp is that the first four days, in my opinion, everybody's gung-ho, everybody gives you all they got. Then all of a sudden you start banging a bit, come back the following week and start to find out what you're about. I think I've said this before, in terms of, "Know who your team is by week three, because now it gets real hard." It's harder to get up in the morning, harder to do the physical part of it. But there's nothing that's been alarming from me going into the first week, kind of where I thought we'd be.



On defensive line depth: I think Charles (Omenihu), obviously you have Malcolm (Roach). Charles has done a nice job. It'll come down to percentage of plays, whether that is Malcolm being out there 70 and Charles 30 or whether that becomes 60/40, Or does Charles start? Who knows, it's a great competition right now but I think Charles has been playing really good ball. Poona's (Ford) a staple, Chris (Daniels) has done a good job. Graham, TQ ( Ta'Quon Graham ) has been doing a really good job, the incoming freshman. Really impressed with his play now, he's got the physical tools already. He can run, he's a mature kid, he's a focused kid and Oscar (Giles) and myself know that we've got to get him right and ready to play. But we've got guys behind those that are battling everyday and are ready to play, so you're going to probably need seven to eight guys that are game ready. But our guys like Poona Ford , we're going to be looking for them to tow a certain percentage of the game. So we're looking at Poona to take 50 to 55 plays, somewhere in that ballpark and we've got to train the other guys to take the rest.



On Charles Omenihu 's development: He's playing more physical. I think he played high in the spring and watching his film from last year I thought that there were times when they played him almost like a pass rush specialist instead of an every down guy. He really cares. I mean after every practice, if I see him down in the hallway he says, "Please take a look at this." Coach Giles is the same way with him. You know, "Coach there's some things I need to clear up, can you help?" That's all, at the end of the day and if you have talent, we'll make you a player.



On Ta'Quon Graham 's development: They've done a great job with him. He's been with Coach McKnight and their staff a couple of months but he was a big old kid, we didn't know how well he would run and move. And we're pretty complex on our defense so with younger guys like that you're always concerned how this kid's going to pick it up, he's actually not going to be able to use his tools out there because he's thinking too much. That's probably the most impressive part, that he's been able to do that. And our kids know talent, so they're going to help you. Our kids help him out and they get it. We had our red stripes for all the newcomers and he was the first one that we pulled the stripe off of, so that's a little thing right them.



On DeShon Elliott 's play in Saturday's scrimmage: He was unbelievable on the sidelines, that was number one. He brought great energy to us, he had a tremendous pick on one of the plays and then just showed up countless times. He's playing some good ball right now. I mean, in the last three days when I look at a guy that's kind of turned it up, he's one of those guys that's popped into my head.



On competition in the Big 12 Conference: I think everyone's unique, but some of the systems are similar. That can be good and bad, I think the good part of it is that you see those formations over and over again, but the problem you have with it is that to favor some things that you like versus those formations, you let other look at, "This is what he likes." So that part's not good. It's going to be a heck of a challenge. The quarterbacks in this league, and the offensive coordinators are so creative and then they'll run pace behind it. So I think our kids, our offense is doing the same stuff so it's just one of those things, coming into this league, that you know what you're getting into. At the end of the day, turnovers are going to be huge, getting the ball back to our offense and third downs are going to be huge, You have to have a little bit of common sense in this league, that if you think that you're going to stop people to 200 yards of total offense and three points, that's pretty delusional in my opinion. But there's certain things that you have to do in this league to set up opportunities, short fields and you've got to be good in the kicking game.



On the attitude of the players through training camp so far: Well I think it's your expectation. We had one goal coming into camp, become a closer unit. I keep saying this, it'd be hard for me to fail Craig Naivar because I know everything about Craig Naivar and I felt, even on my worst day walking into this office, that I don't feel great and maybe go through the motions at work. I can remember Craig Naivar and say that I'm not going to let his family down. I'm not going to let Tom Herman 's family members down because we're extremely close and I care about them. So what I want our kids to do during this time to get better is to go out on that field and not do it for themselves. It's easy to tell yourself, "I'm done." But it's really hard for them to do that when somebody else is relying upon them. So the only way for us to get better is to give maximum effort in practice everyday, that's what we've got to do. And it has nothing to do with X's and O's, it's about running to the football, playing with great fundamentals and techniques. To me, that's the process of playing better defense. To sit here and say that I'm bringing a magic potion to make this, I'm not. There's a lot of defenses that they've actually played before and other people play. But to get these kids to be one when they go out on the field, that's all we're trying to do during this camp and what a better time to do it is to when you spend 12 to 14 days with somebody and then you're going to be put through adversity. The one thing about fall camp is that you've got to battle through it together and you've got to work things together to push through it. That's all we care about right now.



On the junior class buying in: They've been great. You said beforehand, there's only a handful of these senior-type guys that have been there, the Malik Jefferson s, P.J.s ( P.J. Locke III ), those type of guys that have been in this program. They bought in, whether or not during the spring-time there was some analyzing things and saying, "Hey, this is going to be really, really hard." But I think after Coach (Yancy) McKnight got through the summer workout plan, they feel bigger and faster and stronger and more confident. The stuff that we're asking them to do is common for them. In the past it was, "Do this," and, "Do this," and everything was forced to them so they were expending energy thinking about all these things. That's the part I've been impressed with. I've been impressed with Malik Jefferson going and telling a freshman or sophomore that that's not why we do it, "No, we do it this way." We need more of them, there's no doubt about it, but it is a positive.



On the mindset of the junior class: I just want them to understand, that if you really care and have love for someone, and (Tom) Herman brings this up all the time, and it is real. If a family member needs something, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that gets done. Random person comes up to me that I don't know, probably not. That's the closeness that you have to develop right now, this is what it's all about. All I care about when we leave camp and we start to get into preparation weeks it's, "I'm not going to fail you, no matter what gets thrown at us, because I really, really care for you and I love you." That's what I'm working on.



On communicating with recruits about defensive approach: We bring it up and it's not a secret to anybody, that we want to attack people. So we're not going to sit there and give vanilla looks, we're going to be creative in terms of trying to push people. Not sitting there and knowing where people are coming, but creating tackles-for-loss and pressures. Which from our standpoint, if you're a recruit, equals production and production probably equals a little bi of accolades in terms of exposure. That's what I would tell a recruit if he asked me what our defense is about.



On objectives of the defensive scheme: We don't come in one-minded and say, "I know this." If I'm running the football, the fastest way to do it is from A to B, so I would say that I want them going sideways. The easiest throw is going from A to B, straight ahead too. So I don't think that's just Todd Orlando , I think that's every defensive coordinator in the country, which is to make guys not gain ground going forward, but sideways. But we have schemes that do both.



On the team's effective pass rushers: The guys up front, probably three or four. You've got some decent ones at linebacker. That's the thing with guys like Jeff (McCulloch) and Nate ( Naashon Hughes ), they can rush the passer. Blitz-wise, Malik (Jefferson) and Breckyn Hager , they can rush the passer. So I don't know what that actual number is. Since we pressure so much, they all kind of have to do it, but we've got some guys that can get after the quarterback.



On blitzing approach: It's pressure that's not real high risk, at times. Keeping our guys on the move and making people think, that's important nowadays. And like I said beforehand, their creativity, if you sit there and they know what you're doing, you've got no chance. It's extremely difficulty, especially in this league. It's impressive when you put film on, and the creativity, you watch the quarterback play and just the skill play, it's impressive.



On Anthony Wheeler 's leadership development: He'll be on the sidelines and he'll give you the stuff that he needs to. But that's my job, is to make sure he understands that the middle linebacker spot is the quarterback of the defense. So if Shane (Buechele) and Sammy ( Sam Ehlinger ) came out and all of a sudden he played well, then that's not a problem. But if something went wrong, we're looking at that position to step in and calm everybody down or rev everybody up. And that's what I'm looking for from him, and it has nothing to do with whether or not he can do it, he just needs to continue to do it more often. Because we are going to be put in adverse times and the first people that they're going to look for is your middle linebacker, the guy that lines up, that makes all the calls.